Final Touches on a Wall

So, after a crazy, busy, fun filled house decor shopping weekend, we put everything up on the walls and where they needed to be (mostly thanks to my B-I-L's man power).

It was so much fun to turn the downstairs into a space both of them will enjoy for a while - until we decide to change it up a little... ;-)

There was one last BIG thing we needed to fix. THIS is how they bought the house:

Yes, this hideous artwork was on the wall in the living room, which is also the main wall from the kitchen. Yep, all who walked through were shocked. BUT, this was NOT the shock factor we wanted. So, thankfully, my sis had it painted before I got there.

Here's the slate I had to work with:

WOOO! So much better, and yet so plain. So, my thoughts were:

1. Curtains (but they had to go with the other curtains by the table somewhat, because you can see them both.
2. Artwork/ mirror for the wall?

And after much deliberation with the mirror thing, we found the right one- for a good deal at The Great Indoors. We had also found these great zebra things at Home Goods, but we had purchased those the day before with no idea where they would go. It's amazing how things just work themselves out!

So, here is the after:

The chairs are extra from the dining room table, and are temporary until another couch goes where they are.

As you can see, we chose a sheer curtain to just accent the window. We didn't want more color, and it needed to coordinate with the other room. It was quite the transformation, and we loved it! A little retro chic added into the traditional style.

That was the end of my 3-day makeover with my sister's downstairs. So fun, and can't wait to start the 2nd floor!

Clean and Concise Cubby Hole

Remember this lovely mess from this post?

Here's another flattering angle:

Yes, well, we definitely made it a priority to fix this baby up. This was almost just too much for me to handle, but I just rolled up my sleeves and decided we would find a solution.

We thought about this piece from Pottery Barn:

Gorgeous, right? Also, very expensive. And really, we only needed a temporary fix. My sister wants to eventually build out the space to be a built in cabinet area... so to spend $700 was just crazy! So on to our frugal solution.

Things we had to think about:
1. Measurements. This included making sure all those tv wires, the sub woofer, and all that media stuff could fit in the hole.
2. Color.
3. Price.
4. Something that was temporary, yet still cute and clean.

Insert: IKEA.

We purchased the 4 hole shelf for $40! Our challenge was then finding the right size basket for each hole. YAY Target! But they only had 2 in stock, so we had to wait until more came in or we could go to a different store... so this was the pic I could get before I had to skip town and come back to rainy WA :-).

I don't know 'bout you, but I think this before and after is a pretty good temporary solution.

Cute as a Button

So, after finishing up the table decor, we moved on to the slider windows that were in the same area. At the moment, there were noooo coverings, so that let us have a fresh start to the project.

After much deliberation, we decided to go with curtains, which seems simple enough, but do you KNOW HOW MANY CHOICES ARE OUT THERE???? We just about gave up, we couldn't do pattern because of those awesome seat cushions, and we didn't want too many patterns, and then we couldn't do just plain white or tan, because it didn't match the linen seat cushions we had.

SO. We found our winners at IKEA!!! Whew.

And, the best part. They were the right length :-)

Well, Sister had it in her head that she needed a button to hold back her curtains, oh but not any button. It needed to be MASSIVE in size. Well, searching high and low, we once again failed on that find. But I convinced her to take a look at these other buttons, and when they were in the wall, she was happy as a peach!

They even matched the balls we had found for the bowl in the center of the table. :-)

And we found the awesome curtain rods at TJ Max... And the best part, they were half the price of the ones at Target and TWICE as cuuuuuuute! WHOOOO!

Table Frenzy

So, a table is meant for eating, but can also be a showcase. At the Marble household, their table is one GORGEOUS piece of furniture... straight from Pottery Barn. So, in an effort to not overshadow the beauty of the table, we wanted to keep the centerpiece extremely simple.

So, here we were just wandering the aisles of endless stuff at one of those stores like Ross or Marshalls, and I happened to see this beauty on the top shelf.

It's very rustic and has a lot of charm :-), and it was HUUUUGE. There would be no other place for it except at the center of the HUUUUUGE table! Now, obviously, to keep it from scratching the perfectly manicured wood, we just put some felt dots on the bottom and WA LA, problem solved.

Then we just found from grand balls from Home Goods and the Great Indoors and finished off the bowl with those guys.

Now, the kitchen still needed a pop. I'm not normally a fan of seat cushions, but in this case, I totally was. Here my sister and I were, just meandering about World Market, and I halted and said "Sister, do you need seat cushions?" Of course, she said, "sure." And then I found these:

And remember that red clock? YEP, ties in perfectly. However, we decided that, since the table normally has 8 chairs around it and then expands to 12 chairs, it would be too busy to keep patterned cushions all around. So we paired them with these:

What a lovely linen color, and they complemented that wonderful cement bowl on the table top.

Oh, but the best part? Each cushion was originally $13 each. We needed12. That's a whole lotta dough. But behold, a wonderful coupon for $10 off of $30... and when we got to the cash register, we asked the guy if he had any coupons, and he said he had another one of those.... so we thought, ok, let's do 2 different transactions... but then halted, and said, wait, we can do 4 different transactions and save $40 by doing it that way. The cashier was so gracious and did this for us... we secretly fistbumped behind our backs and ran out with our big bags full of cushions before the deal police could stop us!

So, overall, here's their new kitchen table look.

PS, don't mind the mess in the background, we were busy! :-)

Delicious Apple Crisp

Ok, this is a gooood one!!! So simple, and sooo delish!

Peel and slice about 8 apples (I used Fuji)
Put them in the bottom of an 8x13 pan
Mix 1 cup sugar, 1tbs flour, and 1 tsp cinnamon and pour over apples - pour 1/2 cup of water over the whole thing
Mix 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup quick cooking oats, 1 cup flour, and 1 cup brown sugar and crumble over the apple mixture

Cook for 45 mins @ 350 in the oven... should come out bubbling and smelling like perfection :-)

Chicken Chow Mein

So last night, I got a little hungry (as we all do), and I decided I would make some chicken chow mein for dinner. So, I asked the hubs if that sounded ok to him, and he said "sure." Terrible Answer, but he was busy doing his chores, so I can't really blame him for not sounding enthusiastic about it...:-) So I got to work.

He came in about 20 mins later, and said, "oh wow, I thought you were making it out of a bag... you're like going all fresh on me." As if I would do it any other way ;-).

So, while it was an experiment, it turned out really really good! So here I am to share:

Started out by cooking 2 chicken breasts, I ended up only using one...
So, while it was cooking, I did the rest:

First, saute half an onion chopped and about 2 big cloves of minced garlic in about a tbs of canola oil
Add fresh brocolli, half an orange bell pepper, a pinch of black pepper
Add a little soy sauce... let simmer for a while and stir it a few times

Cook some chow mein noodles (takes like 2 mins)... make sure you rinse them after cooking.

Add to the veggies, and add more soy sauce, oil, and I added some sweet and sour sauce.

Keep it cooking until the chicken is done. Cut up the chicken and add to the chow mein and let simmer for about ten minutes.

ENJOY!!!

Baby Boy Bliss

So, my lovely friend Kristal held a baby shower for one of her good friends who is having a precious bundle of joy (a boy!). Not only is she a gifted photographer (check her out at: kristaljoyphotography.blogspot.com) but she has a crafty gene in her too!

The minute she posted these photos, I just KNEW I needed to share... so for those of you looking to host a baby shower any time soon, take a look at her idea, and get inspired!

While simple, it is really fun, boyish, cute, and elegant :-). You did awesome Kristal!

Jazzin Up the Kitchen

So, while my potatoes are baking (literally), I figured I would do a little blog on kitchen accessories. So, in my own kitchen, I have space above my cabinets until the ceiling... so I can add some items up there to spice up the area... but at my sister's house, she doesn't have that. The overhead space is enclosed with a wall :-( Sad Day!

But, alas, all hope is not lost!

But, before we get to that... let's talk clocks. Now, we all know that we are supposed to look at the clock to tell time... but who says they need to be ugly? In fact, I say, buy a clock that looks good as a piece of art :-) So that's what we did. Check out this beauty:

The color was perfect to add a splash of interest to the wall... The size was perfect... And it pulled together the living room into the kitchen just perfectly!

Now, onto the kitchen art stuff.

We decided that we would find some type of artwork that fits a kitchen to nail up on that area to make it less booooooring... and what would you know, we found the perfect item! AND it only cost $15 a piece (AND it's made of iron)- AND after we bought it, we found the exact same thing at a fancy furniture store for $105 a piece (AND that one was made of tin!) WHOOOOO, talk about a score!

Now, we did have one tinsy little problem... the artwork was apparently made to be hung vertically (a picture hanger on the back), but we obviously needed it to be hung horizontally, so my brother in law got a little fancy and rigged it so that nails would be hidden... and you can't even tell (love when that happens!)
So, enjoy the pictures and ignore the mess on the counters- pictures happened during the course of construction (that's my story and I'm stickin to it!)

The middle piece of artwork was a present that my sis had on hand... and to think she was gonna get rid of it!

We bought a third piece to go over the pantry... tied in quite nicely! Check out that light too... isn't that sooo saaaweeet?? It came with the house and works perfectly with their choice of decor. The bowl on the table will be another story... but it's nice in this picture too :-)

And now.... with the clock on the wall:

SOOO lovely right? I love it and it was the perfect touch to turn the blah upper space into a fun little art area.

A Spot of Color

You know those random spaces in homes where we wonder what in the world the builder was thinking when they put it there... they could have done so much more with what they were given, and yet, they choose to give us the oddest spaces...yep, my sister has one of those. So, for the meantime she had stuck some picture frames in there, but the space was too tall for such small frames, and we needed to spark up the area a bit with some color.

She already had these bright red pillows from Pottery Barn, so we wanted to keep with the red theme... and searching high and low, we finally found the perfect vase at Pier One- made of wood... so lovely.

But this vase alone would not be a good enough complement to the space, so we found a random round marblesque ball that matched perfectly. But also because I don't like to decorate in twos for such a space, we tampered and tampered with other objects for the nook, and came up with this button monogram that I had made her for Christmas, placed on a book holder. It all came together quite nicely.

 For the stick things, we bought one package at home goods for $4.99... stuffed the bottom of the vase with paper bags, and cut the things in half/ thirds and used the whole bag instead of wasting money (Thanks Andy for pinching pennies like that :-)).

And the front view from the couch area... ignore the cubby hole on the bottom left- you KNOW we got to that later :-)



Perfect Little Powder Room

So, another fun little space to make pretty is a powder room... and my sister has a cute little cubby bathroom downstairs... but it does include a shower, so I guess it's more than a powder room.

So when they bought the house, the powder room was a light eggshell yellowish color. (Sorry, before pictures won't load)... so my sister picked her paint color and went with a mocha chocolatey color... it's very rich but very pretty.

So, for wall decor and things as such, we needed to go light to open the space and not make it feel clausto. Insert Home Goods. We scored greeeeat artwork that worked with our colors perfectly.

Looks good agains the chocolate, yes???

Trust me, it was a task to convice my brother-in-law that shoes were necessary for this space. Pretty much, my sister fell in love with them, and there was no convincing her otherwise. I consented because one girly space is ok with me.... and it's small and hidden away, so, hey, why not?

So then, we needed a vase to fill the corner and some filler for that vase that matched the artwork... and here's what we came up with (finally) by the end of the day:



The picture doesn't do it justice, but vase is a little mosaic and pinkish in color... and we added the one candle (which smelled so good I would have eaten it) on top of the toilet for effect....

And the finished product:

Cute tissue holder yes? Matches the shoe theme...

So, in the end, we got our dramatic transformation and had a little girly fun with it. :-)

Creamy Fettucini

Here's a healthy great tasting recipe for one of my favorite pasta dishes EVER... Fettucini Alfredo (insert rumbling of my tummy). This is sooo easy and sooo good! In fact, add some cooked salmon or chicken and you can have some protein with your pasta :-).

Ingredients:

1 package of noodles (fresh noodles are the best, but you can always just use the box!)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup butter
1 cup shredded parmesan

Directions:

Melt the cream, butter, and parmesan down until all is combined and thick.

Add to the noodles.

Add your protein if desired.

Serve hot, garnished with more parmesan and a caesar salad.

Enjoy!

P.S. Make enough for me to come share ;-)

First Impressions- the sequel

Ok, so after the whole table ordeal, we needed something on the other side of the entryway... mostly becuase it was a nekked wall... EWWWWW (Trust me, nobody wanted to see that). SO. We were out shopping at Home Goods (a favorite store of mine), and we happened upon a mirror. A funky artistic type of mirror that adds not only a little reflection to widen the space, but a little edge to make it fun. Check it:

So, here we have this fun mirror, but... still needing something. I personally love coat hangers, but plain, normal ones were just not going to cut it. NOPE. So, we went shopping some more and "happened" to get pushed into Anthropologie.... OH WOW! So... after searching through the endless amounts of totally affordable decor available, we saw these guys:

And well, I love to personalize things to make a house feel like a home... so we bit the bullet and bought 6 letters to make up my sister's married name... and BOY, it turned out CAAAAUUUUTE! Check it:

So now the wall is both cute AND functional. And sitting across from the entry table, it's just a nice touch.

Stay tuned for more blogs about what other decor we did on the Marble House :-)

First Impressions

So I'm calling this series of blogs the 3 Day Makeover. I spent a weekend in California with my lovely Sister and Brother-In-Law and had a blast helping them update their new home with some fun decor. They hadn't had a chance to do anything yet, so there I was to help! I did some additions to the downstairs only and it was quite the whirlwind, but OH SO FUN!!! Enjoy the mini series :-)

So we all know that we judge books by their cover, even though we're told not to, and when we interview, we better impress in the first 30 seconds, etc, etc, etc. Well, one of the funnest parts of a house is the first thing you see when you enter... the entryway. Well, my sister has a wonderful entryway space, and we I just needed to figure out what to do with it.

So. Essential Elements? Entry table (Check), Lantern (Check), vase (Check), picture frames (Check), and baskets (Check).

Other side of the entryway? Mirror (Check), coat hangers (Check).

NOW. On to the fun part, putting it all together. The table was like 3 inches too long to fit on the side of the wall without a window, so we had to change course and put it under the windows... but that's ok, I can be flexible! And even better, we were able to find the perfect things for that other wall to complement it... :-)

Check these out:

Found this little guy at a home decor store... we got him for half off :-) Pure Iron... and when Sister gets more of the those coffee table type books that she'll never definitely read, she'll stack em up under it:

This was a fabulous find at Pier One! I love love love lanterns, and this is a Pottery Barn look a like for about a fraction of the price... and I had a coupon! EEEEK!

Then we added a framed wedding invitation to make the table more personal... and since it was shaped like a square, we found one of those fabulous glass backed frames at Target.... worked out great!

Now this guy.... well, we debated on this for a while... this is a Pottery Barn pot/vase thingy... and yes, it was about $90... but you know me, I won't spend that... especially since I found one just like this for my own house and I paid... ohhhhh, $4 for it :-).... so we bought it only because sister had a coupon, and Pottery Barn cash... and out of pocket, we paid only $22!!!! YEAAA!!!

The flowers inside... were about $20 a stem at Pottery Barn, but we just took ourselves right over to Michael's and got each stem for half off, making each one $1.99. Score.

Then, under the table was a blank empty space... and we wanted some baskets... but not any old baskets, we wanted baskets with character. Insert Michael's fabulous basket sale @ 40% off. We scored each of these guys for around $13.00 after the sale price... AND they fit perfectly, like they were made just for this space.

AND NOW.... the finished entryway table..... (well, besides the picture frame with the generic pictures in it... I only had so much time, ok?)

Stay tuned for the other side of the entryway...

Fabulous Celebrity

Alright, I have to admit something. My sister rocks. Yes, rocks. And she's a 2nd grade teacher in SoCal. Her school is crazy and they make the teachers be super creative and it's part of their yearly eval... no pressure or anything. Open house is even crazier... they have to do way more than just meander about talking to parents... she had to make jello, yes, individual jello themed OCEAN. I don't ever remember my teachers making jello for open house... let alone do half the stuff she does every week. Props to you big sister. And even though she needed some help on her house decor, she really set up her classroom to be AmAzInG... yep, it's pretty fly like a G6.

One thing my sister loves, and I mean L.O.V.E.S. is animal print. That girl could make a zebra into a pet if you let her, but let's not encourage that :-)

So everyone knows that 2nd graders can be a handful... in fact, it might feel like a jungle at times, so I guess my sister took her love for wild animal prints and the junglistic (my own word, ok?) atmosphere and came up with her very own creation. I was so blown away when I walked in that I had to take pictures and dedicate this post to her! These pictures don't even do it justice, that's how amazing it was.

So this first one is her "Fabulous Celebrity" board. You know... like a star student, except being in SoCal, it's all about being a celebrity... pretty creative sister (Fist Bump coming your way).

 This next one is her "work space." Looks like more fun happens in here than work... but some of the notes on that board were TO.DIE.FOR. Example: "Dear Mrs. Marble- do you know what the world needs more of? Teachers like you!" Oh my. So PRESH!

And of course, the smart board and front of the classroom. Very cute.

The curriculum board for language... I wish my teacher had been this creative...

 Open house theme for 2011? OCEAN!!!! And WOWSA, check out the cute deco on that board! And the kids are gonna put on an ocean play, and they did an ocean research project and had FABTASTIC mobils hanging on the ceiling. (Ahem... overachievers...)

Their theme that comes from 1 Corinthians for the year:

So that's the preview! She is amazing, right? I know. I told you so. She makes me so proud. Love you sister: fist bumps and kisses coming your way!

Fiesta Enchiladas!

This recipe is courtesy of my good friend Crystal... she rocked these enchiladas, so I decided to do it myself and see what reviews I got... and when the verdict came in as AMAZING, I decided to share since it's soooo  easy and soooo yummy.

Essential ingredients:

Trader Joe's Enchilada sauce (2 bottles)
Trader Joe's handmade wheat tortillas (2 pkgs)
LOTS and LOTS of cheese (I mixed a mexican blend with cheddar)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (optional)
1 Can Trader Joe's Corn and Chilli salsa mix (no tomato) - this was my own addition and it gave it a little sweet kick
Canola Oil
Glass baking pan/dish thingy

Set up your assembly line... yes, like in 2nd grade...

Heat some oil in a pan, stick in a tortilla- fry it up
Dip it in the enchilada sauce so it's completely covered
Pack it with cheese
Roll it up
Stick it in a baking pan
REPEAT until your baking pan is stuffed!
Cover the entire hot mess with more cheese, bell pepper chunks and the corn stuff.... OH MAN- I can taste it already.

Then bake it at 375 for about 15 mins... and enjoy!
The ingredients above made about 18- 20 enchiladas... enough for a FIESTA!!!!

Enjoy, and once again, thank you Crystal for showing me the BEST and EASIEST enchilada recipe.

The Peaceful Corner

One of the main things I look at when I'm planning on creating a space in my house is what I will feel or think when I look at the decor... will I feel at home, will I feel at peace, will it make me imagine a far away place? Ahhh.... Hawaii with your beautiful beaches and sunsets, France with your cafes of love, Italy with your fountains, cobblestone, and gelato...

So when I saw this pretty little canvas, I knew exactly what I was going to do.... put it in my home. In a corner made just for you (yes, this artwork is now going to be referred to as "you"), so when I sit in my favorite overstuffed chair, with a fabulous novel and a steaming cup of coffee, I can look at you and imagine a peaceful, restful, romantic place that makes me smile.

...Now, what to do, what to do... hang it on a wall? Let it stand alone? NO WAY! This little guy needed to be paired with some sort of romantic table lamp, and greenery... neither of which I can hang on a wall.

Well, thank you Pottery Barn for turning me on to leaning pictures on tables, and thank you extra side table that fits no where else in my cozy living room except that one corner, you gave me the perfect elements to create my peaceful corner.

Paired with an inexpensive lamp from (GASP) Wal Mart (you wouldn't have known if I didn't tell you!) and a $4 (!!!) fake greenery piece from Ikea, and my wedding album, I now have a beautiful French inspired corner.

And when it's right next to the light and open bay window, it is an adorable complement to the greenery outside.

Ahhhh, now where is that novel and coffee?

About Casa Di Amore

So here goes my first blogging adventure. Are you ready? That is, the 3 of you who are reading this? First off, thank you coworker for thinking there are things in my life worth hearing about. I tend to think I lead a pretty mundane and uninteresting fun life, and well, there are some good stories once in a while. Here's a little about me:

Most definitely the first thing that defines me: I love Jesus, and I'm learning that the love I have is pretty pathetic (thank you Francis Chan for pointing that out- anybody else kind of think "Crazy Love" is a defining book in this day and age?) and I'm being convicted daily of my need to know Him more deeply and love Him more deeply- no more fluff coming from this direction! (At least that's my goal...)

Well, there is my husband, (He's the CUTIE PIE on the left in the picture) we've been married since Jan 2009, and well, he always never gives me great stories to tell ;-)!  (Love you honey and pretend you didn't hear me call you a cutie pie.)

Then there is our my dog who I think is the most precious thing to walk the ground... ok, so he photographs like a bat, but who's being judgy? (Yes, I know JUDGY is not a word!)


Books. Yes. That's all on that subject. Totally nerdy amazing, I know!

Well, then there is my love of decorating... creating my home mostly. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to find little doodads and diddies to put in my house (Yes, doodads and diddies really exist). I like the adventure of creating an atmostphere and a home filled with comfort and love.

AND FOOD! Yes, let's not forget about food. Although there are times I wish I had my own personal chef, or at least the people that measure everything and set it out for you to just throw into the pan, I just love cooking. Now, if only I had a cleaning lady too.... (hmmmmm.... convince husband to use bonus check for someone to clean up after I cook?)

Excited to tackle this blogging thing (I think).