Saturday, September 29, 2012

Yaz

I finally got around to watching the last 5 episodes of Fringe from last season and the first episode of season 5. It's a good show, science fiction, blah blah blah. What really made me smile was the music in the last scene. It was Yaz (Yazoo in the UK) playing "Only You" back from 1982. Boy I really love music from the 80's. Probably since I was just a kid and it brings back memories of great parties, friends, dances, and first loves (Bill D. I'm talking about you). My favorite Yaz song was "Don't Go" from their Upstairs at Erics album which I owned on a cassette. It hit #1 in 1982. I remember dancing to it on my 15th birthday party that October. I thought you might enjoy it.


Friday, September 28, 2012

In the pink

Do you go though phases with color?

In the springtime I want things light and airy. I tend to remove knick-knacks and pillows. I put up a white shower curtain and use white towels. I still have tons of color, it's just quieter.

Now that fall is on its way I think I'm nesting. I bought fuchsia pillows for the living room. Fuchsia napkins. Fuchsia hand towels for the bathroom. A new very brightly colored shower curtain. A new brightly colored rug for the kitchen. I can't seem to get enough color and contrast.(pictures to come soon).

I've also kind of decided f*** it. I love pink. The brighter, more saturated fuchsia pink the better. I've never decorated with pink. It's too easy to skew teenage girl bedroom cutesy. Well I did have a laundry room painted baby girl pink in a long ago house. In hind sight it wasn't pretty but it made me happy at the time.

So now I'm trying to decorate with pink. Who cares if it goes teen girl cutesy if it makes me happy? A friend once told me the colors I wanted to decorate with were "too circus like" (What, turquoise, royal blue, leaf green, pink, black and white are circus colors?).  When my son comes home from college he'll roll his eyes and tell me it doesn't look good. Well he'll live here for about 6 months out of the next 30 months until he's done with school and moves out on his own so he doesn't get a vote on decorating anymore. My house my decor my choice.

So pink/fuchsia is in and here to stay. At least until I get a wild hair and decided to do something different in about 6-8 months.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Colorful Modern Chinoiserie Room


I came across this room while trolling Craigs List. The yellow chairs are for sale. I think this is one of the best looking rooms I've seen in awhile. The pink faux bamboo credenza is fab. Love the lemon yellow bamboo trellis chairs with the turquoise band around the bottoms. Grass cloth walls, interesting accessories, blue and white pottery, black and white rug. I wish I could see more. Colorful, modern, chic. Perfect! 

** Update - I had emailed the owner of the chairs for sale to complement the pretty room and received a nice email back. Check out Anna's blog Daily Dose of Kevin for more of her lovely decorating.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Dinosaur Planter

I made this planter for a Christmas gift last year and never blogged about it. I saw something similar on Etsy and thought, "Wow, I could make that" and saved the $25 plus shipping the person charged. I started with a dinosaur I found in the dollar bin at Target. It was kind of hard to find a dinosaur that was large enough to stick a plant. I found some on Amazon.com but didn't want to spend $25 to get a bunch of them. No single items. So I lucked out and found it at Target after much searching. I bought 3 at $2.50 each.


Cut a hole in the dinosaur's back. Also easier said than done. The plastic is thick and strong. I thought I'd use a box cutter. No dice. Knife? Exacto knife? Hand saw? Dremmel tool? No, no, no. Nothing worked. I ended up taking a smaller drill bit and drilling holes all around the spot I wanted to remove. Drill them right next to each other and then take a knife and cut the connecting plastic away and remove the cap. It worked OK. I then did take a Dremmel tool (the little spinning sand paper disk thing) and tried to smooth out the opening somewhat. It also worked OK.

After the hole is cut, paint the dinosaur your favorite color. The one I gave my brother for Christmas was painted orange. I painted the one I kept for myself blue. The last dinosaur is still intact and awaiting a transformation.

The animal is hollow inside. Stick some tin foil in the tail of the animal. You don't want a ton of water pooling in the tail and getting all gross. Fill up any cavities.

Add dirt and the plant and voila! Dinosaur planter. I've had my planted since December and it's still going strong. My brother's is also alive. I used succulents that don't require much water - just some good sunlight and a drink every now and then.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Best Food Ever

I just cooked the easiest, best meal of my life. It's all gone so I can't show you a picture. It didn't look like anything special - but THE TASTE! Fantastic.

This is not my chicken. I didn't realize I needed to take a picture of my chicken and just ate it too quickly to stop. My chicken looked similar but with broccoli. Yum!


I cooked a boneless, skinless chicken breast in some butter in a cast iron pan. Get the pan nice and hot on medium heat first. Then add the butter and quickly swirl it around then add the chicken. I used just simple Mrs. Dash season (Herb and Garlic) and sprinkled the breast liberally. Cook for 5 minutes. Add a little more butter. Turn over the breast and cook for 4 minutes on the other side. (I used way less than a tablespoon of butter total.) Also, my breasts are fairly thin. If you are cooking thick breasts add more time. If you aren't sure, cut open a breast to make sure its cooked all the way. No pink! Remove the chicken from the pan to rest on a plate. Add some white wine to the hot pan (I was drinking some inexpensive Pinot Grigio) - maybe a cup? Stir so the fond (the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan) are loosened. Cook for about 3-5 minutes so the alcohol evaporates and the sauce thickens. Pour over the chicken. I had some steamed broccoli on the plate also. It did a good job soaking up some of the sauce. Seriously, I wanted to lick my plate clean.

OK. I know this is so easy. I read cooking magazines and watch cooking shows all the time. This is basic stuff. But I've never done it before. I'm not sure why. It just seemed like too much work? Or maybe not worth it? I'm pretty much a lazy cook. I will never make chicken the old way again (dry, in a non-stick pan with some seasoning). I can only imagine what it would taste like if I cooked a few onions first, then added mushrooms and garlic then the chicken. Used fresh herbs. Maybe with a red wine. Ohh... a little heavy cream. But even if I don't do that other stuff, just bottled seasoning, butter and a little wine blew me away!

It's like a whole new world opened up for me. What else can I cook that is easy and quick but I think its too difficult? I've been wanting to make homemade bread but it seemed too time consuming. (Even though I've read a book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day maybe 1/2 dozen times but never tried it).

I have two chicken breasts defrosting so I can make it again tomorrow night. (I buy a 3 lb pack of individually packaged skinless, boneless, frozen chicken breasts. It's basically what I eat every night. When they go on sale for $5.99 for the 3lbs I stock up. I have 1/2 of my freezer full of individually packaged chicken breasts.) Darn, I'll have to open a new bottle of wine Ha!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Found on Craigs List

I love shopping thrift stores, resale shops and Craigs List. You can find such bargains on interesting, unique, wonderful items. I thought I'd share what I'm stalking on Craigs List today. I won't buy any of these items. I don't have the need, space or money. But that doesn't stop me from looking! (Can you tell my decorating taste is turning away from the Mid-Century Modern I have in my condo to a more Hollywood Regency / Chinoiserie Chic style?)

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Pair of gold hexagonal lamps $15 for the pair with only one lampshade. They need a polish but how stunning are these? I'm sure I saw something very similar on eBay for $250? Find them here .


Love, love, love this copper dome lamp. It's 32" tall and only $10! If this was located closer to me I think I'd purchase it and just make it work in my house. Find it here. 


Blue and pink oriental rug. 12'x15' for $200. Now this isn't going to be every one's cup of tea. Just imagine it in a room with lots of natural light, pale, pale pink walls, a linen cream colored chesterfield sofa, a piece of abstract art over the fireplace, a pair of vintage lucite waterfall nesting tables, cream linen curtains with ball fringe with lots of blue and white Chinese porcelain around.  Light, feminine and perfect. Find it here .


A pair of oriental prints matted in gold bamboo frames. 14"x12" for $25 for the pair. I'd purchase these for the frames. Take out the prints and put in something from The Pink Pagoda on Etsy. I'd hang them in my dining room or bathroom. Find them here. 



I'm really drawn to this chest. It's 30"x30"x16" and selling for $25. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but the gold greek key design is made up of mini greek keys. I love the whimsical chinoiserie design. I'd use it as a bar cabinet in a small dining room. Imagine it stocked with liquor, a really cool ice bucket (I now own 3 ice buckets for my little bar area. I'll have to do a post on them some day) with little Moroccan tea cups as your glasses. Here 
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Seriously, how cool is the headboard? It's 96" wide by 68" tall made up of 6 panels for $150. That's a king headboard size but I'm so tempted to get it and use it for my queen bed. It would go behind my night stands a little but who cares. I already have the materials to make an upholstered headboard and I can't return them so this doesn't get to come live in my house. Boo. Find it here. 



Yes, I'm kind of stuck on oriental furnishings lately. I wouldn't put all of them in my house all at the same time. But a few here and there would be nice. This lovely console table has lovely brass legs. It's 55" long by 20" deep for $85. It would look great in a foyer with a mirror over it and some blue and white pottery with a fashionable basket for shoes. If only I had the space! Here. 



Brass elephant bookends $25. These would look great on a shelf with or without books. Find them here.


Zebra runner. They don't list the size but it looks to be over 60" long. $40. Find it here.



This vintage couch looks to be in great condition. With the neutral color you wouldn't even have to reupholster it. Asking $80. Here. 



Burled wood coffee table. It's kind of expensive at $150 but I love the look. Look at the details at the top of the leg and how the foot kind of curls under (kind of oriental again). Love it! Find it here. 




Coffee table. There was another picture of the top. It's very pretty with nice modern chrome base. Asking $35. Here.



Now I know it will take a special someone to love this blue and orange sofa and take it home.  It's vintage and $50. Look at the little upholstered feet! Imagine this in a large room/loft with tall ceilings. Walls light gray, navy linen drapes, this little number, a couple distressed leather Ralph Lauren club chairs, maybe the burled wood coffee table above, lots of books on some old walnut shelving, some funky 70's brass lamps, a few Hermes orange accents here and there. I could live there. Find it here.



This tole chandelier isn't my style. However it's $50 which is a steal. It would look great in a baby/little girls room, or a shabby chic room. Or even just a whimsical touch in a laundry room. Somebody grab this up and resell it for $250 on eBay. (I'm not allowed to buy to resell items. I tend to fall in love with then and keep them.) Find it here.



Oh God, I really love this one. It would completely dwarf my room. It's 27"wide and 18" high with a 35" chain with 15 bulbs. Imagine it with the little round bulbs on it. It's crazy good looking and only $50. They have two of them! Here. 


 
Yes, I really do have a lamp/light fixture fetish. This absolutely gorgeous, fabulous, stunning vintage chandelier is only $50! They have matching ceiling fixtures (2!) for $25 each. I'm looking for something similar only smaller in scale for my bedroom. Love it, love it, love it! Here.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

New Camera



So I finally got a new camera! My old one kept eating batteries every 5-10 minutes and my son and his iPhone went back to college. I'm not a fancy photographer. What I wanted in a camera was something small and lightweight to fit in my purse all the time. Plus it had to take good pictures and be easy to operate. I found the Nikon Cookpix S6100. I think its last year's model as this year is the S6300 but things like that don't bother me. It is tiny - about the size of a deck of cards. It has 16 mega pixels, 7x optical zoom, one button video record and 3" LCD touch screen. So far I'm really happy. It seems to take good pictures. I still need to figure out how to white balance and take pictures at night in the house without the flash. It might be time to break out the manual and give it a read. The best part? My son had a gift card from his high school graduation party several years ago and gave it to me to use. So the camera, 8G memory card and case was practically free. He's such a nice boy!