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?