Fresh Paint

Do you remember this paint color disaster? I decided that I couldn't throw the botched green paint in the trash, so I used it in our little first floor bathroom. I'm also slowly replacing all of the brass fixtures to polished nickel.

Oh no! A fake plant! How the heck did that get in there?

I actually really like the green against the black granite floors.

A new mirror is on it's way from West Elm.

As well as a new light fixture

I ordered it in SILVER.

Now just to find the perfect faucet to replace the lovely brass one!

The Messier The Better

My mother is visiting us this week from Texas and she's been cooking up a storm. She's Mexican and man, can she make traditional mexican food like nobody's business. One of my husband's requests this week was for her to make tacos!

I tried taking notes while she was cooking, but after the 5th pinch of cumin and asking Mom "how much do you think that was, a quarter teaspoon?", I gave up and just enjoyed the process. So here is what I've learned about taco making...

1. Use very lean ground beef (we used 2 lbs of - makes enough for 4-6 people)

2. Shred your own cheese (we used chedder, but monterey jack is good too)

3. Fry your own tortilla shells. This is huge! (use white corn tortillas, a little bit of canola oil in the pan and with a tong, fry one half of the tortilla while holding the other side - bending it in half - repeat with the other side. Set aside on a paper towel. Keep warm.)

To season the ground beef:

Saute some yellow onion (we used 1/2 of a large Vidalia) and mix with the ground beef.

(This is all just by "taste")

Cumin

Paprika

Oregano

Garlic (powder is fine)

Cilantro

Onion powder

Cayenne

Salt & pepper

Mix in your favorite salsa (we use 1/2 container of Newman's)

Stuff shells with beef, cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, and top with salsa. YUM!

Sweet Master Suite

Back to the Inlaws house...today it's the master bedroom.

My mother-in-law loves soft, feminine bedrooms that aren't too frou frou, so we chose a soft pallete of pale green (walls are BM Paris Rain) and pale pink.

The antique armoire and the chair (reupholstered in a fabric by Kravet) are from their previous home.

Window treatments are on coming! The balcony overlooks the Sound.

Through a set of french door is their bathroom.

The same pale green is carried through with the wall color and the marble (it's color isn't true in my horrible pictures).

A large "L" shaped walk-in shower is somewhat hidden to the left of the double vanity.

The WC is hidden behind a frosted glass door.

Built in cabinets/shelving flank both sides of the jacuzzi tub. I have no idea why the marble on the tub deck looks brown? It's pale green, I swear. : )

**Update: Per a request...here are some close details of all of the tile (photos taken in the showroom) The floor is a classic basketweave pattern.

Dream On

I'd love to stay here someday (maybe my next birthday, Honey? subtle hint, right?)...Le Choiseul in the Loire Valley of France.

Summer

I hope to have a rainbow of hydrangea someday. Until then, I'll be a "freeloader" and enjoy my in-law's garden!

Gotta Wear Shades?

This is the current state of our dining room. It's still needs some work and I could use some opinions. I still have to hem the drapes up as well as figure out if I'm going to use the window seat as a seat OR as a plant ledge. That's a decision for another day.

The walls are freshly painted in BM Silver Fox.

I have some etchings that I'd like to have framed like in this inspiration photo (drooling over that door and bench!!) to hang on the main wall in the dining room.

My question for you is this...should the light fixture (it was left by the previous owners and it seems to be this one from Restoration Hardware) have shades or not? The room is definitely more on the traditional side, so I thought that keeping the fixture shade free made it look more modern. It's also installed a tab bit too high for my taste. What do you think?

Powder Room

Here is a little powder room from my In-laws house. I have to say, this might be my favorite room in the house! It's just a sweet little space. Just like the rest of the house, I am still working on a window treatment for this room too. There will be a tailored roman shade (eventually).

The antique ventian style mirror (which I love!) was from their previous home.

The vanity was an antique/vintage store find (purchased for much less than a new vanity would have cost!). We had a carpenter retrofit it for the space. The countertop is a honey onyx, the faucet is from Waterworks (Opus) and we decided to go with a frosted glass sink.

The wallpaper is Farrow and Ball Ringwald pattern

The crystal light fixture is vintage

Sunshine and Coffee

{Image courtesy of Gilfer's Flickr}

Be Their Guest

My Inlaws house is coming right along...we're ordering window treatments and still tweaking some things, but it's getting there. This is one of their guest suites...

All of the furniture is from their previous home and is either antique or an older reproduction. I scored the alabaster lamps on Ebay for pennies compared to what they are selling for locally...and they have a little "age" to them which I love.

There is a small balcony outside of the french doors.

This is the view!

Sometimes I wish I didn't live so close...I never get to spend the night in this room.

Looking towards the bathroom. As you can see, I still need to accessorize the antique dresser!

It's fairly simple, but the calcutta gold marble is a classic statement. I decided to have the shower tiled with large tiles just for a little update.

The wood flooring also carried into the bathroom which adds a lot of warmth to the space.

More rooms to come!

It's Greek To Me

Here's another interesting find from a House and Garden (Greek Edition) I picked up at the Athens airport. Of course, I don't read Greek, but from what I gather from the title "Design & Cartoons", they could be saying that you may find inspiration from nonconventional places...even an image of Disney's Pocahontas? Anyone read Greek?


I see how the designer used the aqua from her necklace for the chairseats, the warmth of the wood flooring echoes the color of her skin, even the orb light fixture resembles the pendant on her jewelry. But, where is the most dominant color...the black from her hair? Although from my observations during our trip to Greece, the use of black in interior spaces is really unusual.

For a girl who grew up on all things Disney, this would be a fun way to get color and decor inspiration!