Turquoise Pitcher

A few weeks ago I went to Michaels to get some Valentines Craft supplies and something turquoise caught my eye....a pitcher.  A lovely turquoise pitcher just for me! At 40% I just had to get it! : )  You can never have too many pitchers. HA!

House Tour Take 2

So I left out the bedrooms when I took you on the first house tour earlier this winter.  So I figured I would follow up with another house tour to finish up the official move in tour! : )   Just like the last post, I'll mix current photos with ones from before we moved in.

Our master suite is down stairs.  Yes I just called it a master suite, we are fancy like that!

The bedroom is a bit small and narrow, but plenty of room for a room you don't spent too much time in.  Then a small walk-in closet that fits a surprising amount of clothes that we easily can share.  Then the master bath! Oh having a master bath is so lovely!  I love it! I might be my favorite room in the house! ha!  It is spacious and bright!

(Not going to lie, I felt like a baller the first few weeks after we moved in when I could get to the bathroom without leaving the bedroom! haha I didn't think a master bathroom would be possible for our first house. Or as I say "on-suite" since I watch way too much Canadian HGTV!)

Colin informed me he is not a fan of plastic soap dispensers, so we got a glass one at Target.  I figured that would be a challange, but we agreed on one right away! yay!

We have one of my ikea wardrobes in there right now since there is no storage at all.  It was meant to be temporary, but it works well and it is nice to have the full length mirror so it might stay a while.  And as much as I might want a shower curtain to have an opportunity for color and pattern, it is so nice how light and bright the shower is with glass doors!

We have done nothing in terms of decor to this space, and I doubt we will do anything anytime soon either...just not a priority, at least not until all the living spaces are spruced up and fully furnished and decorated.

Now, shall we head upstairs???? Yes, we have an upstairs!

Upstairs are 2 more bedrooms and a full bath.  Right now we each have a bedroom to do with as we please...a girly office/craft room/guest room for myself and a man cave/video game area/boy office for Colin.  Although right now they are just filled with a bunch of unpacked junk from the move! haha Out of sight, out of mind!

The hallway has a nice big closet that I have my dresses and off season clothes in and there is still plenty of room. 

The bathroom has some ducks....lots of ducks.....they might be camping out with us for a while....Hi Ducks!  I wish there was a tub up here for future little ones, but it is still great to have such another large bathroom.  Lets see if Colin actually reads my blog and catches that one. ; )

So there you have it! Thanks for letting me show you around! 

Snow Storm Strada

(First cooking post from the new house!!!!!!)
So, per usual, Nicole made something yummy and I copied her. : )    I had slept over and she made a strata for breakfast and it was so good (especially when you had drank too much wine!) so I decided to make it myself.  I had made it a while ago while we were in the apartment and I just made it again for the 2nd time. It is snowing and will keep snowing, so I figured it was a yummy stuck in the house breakfast for a chilly day!

I couldn't find the recipe I used the first time, but the one on Annie's Eats looked the same or similar so that is the one I went with this time around. (Her website can be found on the right since it has become one of my go-tos)

Not only it this super yummy, it is nice that you do all the prep work and clean up the night before you serve it, so when you are ready to make it, all you need to do is pop it in the oven!

I was excited to have the ipad to read the recipe off of instead of my little iphone. Yay Ipad! (Colin bought one, but he loves me so he shares ((as long as I don't put close up flower pictures as the background! Say What?? Who me??)))

 

 

Spinach and Cheese Strata

recipe from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ cups onion, finely chopped
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

one was plenty!!!!

 1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. pepper, divided
 Dash freshly grated nutmeg

(Or the powered variety that is a few years old that you purchased at a dirty bodega)

 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 oz. coarsely grated Gruyere (about 2 cups)

I had to get a block and grate it myself

 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 2/3 cup)
9 large eggs
2¾ cup milk

Since I shopped pre 'Blizzard of the Century' snow storm, I had to just get what was available, so I ended up with organic cage free extra special extra expensive eggs and rolls rather than a loaf of bread.  But the rolls looked thick and crusty and yummy so I figured it would be a-ok!

 

 

 

Colin commented last time I made it that he wished there was meat in it...ugh, men and meat! So this time around I added breakfast sausage. I had wanted the fresh sausage, but again, since I was shopping pre-snow, I had to get the frozen pre-cooked stuff. I added about half the small box in and I figured he could make the other half as a side.

Colin was a good helper, he chopped onions (I HATE chopping onions, tear, tear),  whisked up the egg mixture and measured out the cheese. It was some good team work!

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg, and continue to cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the spinach, remove from the heat and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 2½-3 quart baking dish. Layer the bottom of the dish with one third of the bread cubes. Top with one third of the spinach mixture and one third of each of the cheeses. Repeat these layers twice more with the bread, spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, the remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Whisk together until blended. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and spinach layered in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

I got to use my new wood utensil from target.  What is this utensil called??? I had gotten one from Macy's (Martha Stewart of course!) and it was the most used utensil in my kitchen.  But sadly, I let it soak in the sink too long and it got a long split in it! I keep meaning to go back and see if they still sell them, but I noticed a similar one at Target last week. : )

 

 

Side Note: Do we like this rug from my old place in the new kitchen??? IDK how I feel, I threw it down just to see if I liked it, then never picked it back up again.  It needs to go the cleaner if I decide to keep it there... OR I have a red flower one from Colin's apartment, but that one needs to be cleaned too! haha Guess it is time to try out a dry cleaner in the new neighborhood!

 

 

Snow and Strata, what a good morning! : )

Transom Window

I haven't formally introduced you to one of my favorite home decor pieces....my antique Polynesian carved wood transom window. (Or so the antique dealer said, I noticed they tend to tell tales! ha!)

 

I bought it last summer when Nicole and I went on our last antique treasure hunt.   At the time we were in the apartment, so I kept it packed up safe under the bed until we moved and had a place to hang it.

 

Transom windows are the small windows above doors which can be seen on older homes.   Most that you would notice here in America are glass, but these are open air transom windows, so the breeze can flow through, while the door stay closed/locked.

 

Colin gave me a hard time for...quite some time...about the amount I spent on it....(I had no intention of making any real purchases that day)...but I go weak in the knees for turquoise chippy paint and there was just no way I could go home without it!  It belonged with me!

 

Swoon! A fireplace AND an antique transom window! I am one lucky girl! : )
 

Living Room Design Ideas

I have so many ideas and things I want to do to the house, but I don't seem to find the time to properly plan or execute any of these ideas.  One of the projects ahead...the living room...or front room as I called it in our 'move in' house tour. 

We basically need all new furniture in that room and to start from scratch.  As expensive as starting from scratch is, it is pretty fun, since you can do whatever you want! I decided to make a mood board, 1) since it is fun and 2) to give Colin my thoughts and get his feedback.

 (I tend to be a bully when it comes to decorating!)

So here it is, my living room mood board! Ta Da! So dreamy!

 

please email me or leave a comment for sources as I did not put together a formal list

Let's talk basics...

Although the room looks big right now since it is empty, it shrinks quick when you do furniture layouts.  I put them in to scale in the computer and we tossed around multiple layout options. We think we decided on option A...so we will need 1 couch/loveseat, 2 big chairs, end table between the 2 chairs, and optional ottoman/coffee table as the main pieces.  (I say optional since we may want to leave the space open for circulation)

 

Let's talk decor style...

I want a clean feminine room, but not a girly room...soft blues, taupes, grays....classic pieces mixed with clean line light industrial pieces.....with lots of patterned fabric, botanical prints, fun frames and antique accents to make it comfy....a room where my transom window can feel right at home!

Thankfully Colin seems to be on board with most of these ideas : )

The idea of grays come from a picture in Better Homes and Gardens from November.  I noticed this lovely dining space and its rich warm gray that blended so nicely with the fireplace stone...a similar fireplace stone to ours.

 

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Nov 2012

 

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Nov 2012

(Sorry I don't want to hunt down my scanner in the mess of stuff I haven't unpacked so I just took a picture of it! haha)

Here is a second mood board, very similar to the first one, but less gray, more taupe and greens.

 

please email me or leave a comment for sources as I did not put together a formal list

Ill keep posting ideas as we start to tackle the different elements of the room. : )