Dining Room, A Rug Update, part 2

So...early this year, yes like 2 months ago, I excitedly
replaced out dining room rug with a navy and white
herringbone rug (see post). Sadly, a week in I realized
the quality was cheap and it would not hold up to the traffic of the 

dining room. I quickly rolled that bad boy up and sold it to a local lady for 

what I paid (score) and began the search...again.

I settled on this gorgeous,  handmade rug out of Pakistan.  

It cost a lot more than I originally budgeted, but sometimes you have to 

pull the design trigger, when a one of a kind piece screams your name.

I'm in love!

Before & After Mid Century Chairs

Some good friends handed down two amazing Mid Century 

chairs that I had previously obsessed over at their house.  

They had them and loved them until they moved into a super

 sleek house and just couldn't make sense of these chairs

 in their new space. So, they asked me if I wanted them. 

 I nearly made them sign a contract, I was so excited!  

 Before

 Look at these lines!  You can quickly catch my obsession?

 I loved the vintage green tweed fabric, but unfortunately in 

my friend's move from house to house they were stored in 

a place where they sat under a constant drip of water.  I couldn't

salvage the fabric, and in all honesty this pair of beauties were

loved so much in the 60+ years that the cushions needed 

some pretty significant restorative work.  If you look at this

back cushion, you can see how depleted the cushion is.

Again, those lines.  Swoon.

 After

 Can we have a moment?  SwoonFest.

The restored cushions are cozy.

I wanted to honor the original fabric, so I 

went in search of a tweed fabric.  In

my search I found this sharp herringbone

pattern and it was love at first sight.

 I literally cannot stop staring at them.

Swoon.

Local friends, I highly recommend Advantage Upholstery.  I am now in 

search of a vintage couch for our front room, because this was way too much fun!

xo

Flavor Filled Cream Cheese & Bagels

Bagels and delicious, flavor-filled cream cheese give me a 

bad case of nostalgia.  Maybe it's because they were all

the rage in the 90s, with shops popping up everywhere in the

midwest? Maybe it's because I worked a stint at a bagel

shop in college? Whatever it is, I love kicking it old school

(ugh, the 90s officially feel old school as plaid has officially

come back around) and toasting up chewy bagels and

slathering them with cream cheese.  Here are two 

quick and simple recipes for flavor-filled cream

cheeses to whip up.  

One sweet and One savory, so I gotcha covered.

8 oz container of whipped cream cheese

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

Blend with a spoon to fully incorporate all the flavors

Starting with whipped cream cheese prevents you from 

having to get out the food processor.  Score!

the addition of chopped, lightly toasted

pecans would be delicous, FYI

8 oz container of whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup chopped scallions (chop up into the greens)

1/4 cup chopped sweet peppers (I love the mixed

bag of sweet yellows and red baby peppers)

salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

Blend with a spoon to fully incorporate all the flavors.

 Enjoy.  

I pop the flavored cream cheeses back in the container

the whipped cream cheese arrived in, and the spreads are 

good and ready to go!

Slather on, my bagel loving friends. 

xo

Dining Room, A Rug Update

Before.

A fine area rug, just never really my style.  

 

After.

If I could wrap my house in herringbone, 

I likely would.

Design Tip:

Do you know the difference between herringbone and chevron?

Very similar designs, but chevron is a straight zig zag, 

whereas herringbone  intersects with the opposite, 

as you can see if this up close snap.

xo

Gift Idea: Homemade Marshmallows & Cocoa Mix

My love affair with homemade marshmallows began years ago, when my husband was in grad school, we were living in Oregon and I made a ridiculous purchase of marshmallows at Williams-Sonoma.  I still, to this day cannot believe I paid so much for those marshmallows, but they were good and I figured I would give it the o' college try (errr, grad school wife try, rather) and see about making them myself.  I did, with great success (cutting them into shapes that first year.  Trees for Christmas, hearts for Valentine's Day), and have never looked back (well, I do still look at the back of the box, when I pop into Williams-Sonoma, to see the price climb each holiday season).  Here are two recipes that will make you feel like a gift giving champ!

Find my recipe, for fluffy marshmallow perfection in a blog post 

from several years ago.  Marshmallow link.

See all those delicious flecks of vanilla bean?  Be still, my heart.

You'll see the full step by step on the old marshmallow post, but 

I cannot get over how much I love cutting huge, square marshmallows!

I bought cute little paper 'fruit' crates at the craft store (they were

labeled as food safe, FYI) and then popped the filled crate

into a clear cello bag and tied with hemp rope.  I decided I needed

to send hot chocolate with the homemade marshmallows, so I filled 

large Ball jars (they were narrow, yet rather tall...a style I had never

seen before, but am now obsessed).  To create this hot chocolate

concoction of love I put the grater attachment in my food processer

 and shaved big bars of dark chocolate (I bought the large bars

from Trader Joe's).  The shavings yielded quite a bit, but I decided

I wanted to gift more hot chocolate so I did equal parts dark chocolate

shavings, unsweetened cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar and a

pinch of sea salt. 

YUM YUM YUM!

On the back of the little label I attached to the 

hot chocolate mix, I placed the directions of

1/3 cup mix to 1 cup hot milk.

I think this is a gift that should extend well into the New Year!

Who wouldn't love to receive this from their Valentine?

xo.

Maple & Bacon Spiced Almonds

 

I always make spicy candied almonds (or pecans) for salads,

but the addition of bacon...oh my!!!  I just know you will 

love this one!

What you need:

2 1/2 cups raw almonds

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

5 strips of  center cut bacon, chopped up

Generous cracks of sea salt

 

Use kitchen shears to rough cut 5 strips of bacon and place in

a pan over medium/high heat.  

Separately:  preheat oven to 325

 Brown the bacon bits thoroughly, then remove the bacon 

from the pan. Center cut bacon does not render much fat

so there will be about a tablspoon of bacon fat in the pan. 

Leave it in the pan.  

IF YOU ARE USING LEFTOVER BACON FOR THIS

RECIPE, ADD 1 T. OF BUTTER TO THE HOT PAN AND 

CARRY ON WITH THE RECIPE.

Add the raw almonds and maple syrup to the bacon fat, in the

pan over medium/high heat.

Stir and coat.  Allow the maple syrup to bubble and reduce, 

while stirring constantly for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, all of the almonds should be coated in thick

maple syrup reduction. 

Turn off heat and return the bacon bits to the pan, along with

cayenne pepper (if you want a bigger kick, add more), and

a very generous dusting of sea salt. Stir to incorporate.

Pour the mixture onto a parchment paper lined sheet tray and

spread the almonds and bacon out into a single layer

Place the sheet tray in the preheated oven and cook for 7-9 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven and allow the coated almonds 15-20 

minutes to cool.  Then, try not eating them all.

 

Allow to cool completely, at least 1 hour before packaging up.

I am packaging up the almonds to give as gifts.  

This time of year you can find adorable containers in every store, 

otherwise, store the almonds in a sealed container or bag at room temperature.

Enjoy!

xo

All I Want For Christmas!

With age comes loads of practicality...am I right, or AM I RIGHT?  Dreams of  a new blender, maybe a good book (or 20 minutes of quiet to read said book)...grown up problems.

I never need for anything, but I am sharing a few things I am obsessing over, as you might want to add one or two of these treasured ideas to you list of wants!!  That is, if you make the good list!

Beauty is the Inner Fire

I am OBSESSED with the works created by artist

 Adam Swanson. His talent is beyond measure, sprinkled

 the the perfect (lots) amount of quirk. I just haven't been 

able to decide which one I covet the most.  This is one of my
favorite paintings of the aerial lift bridge in Duluth, MN.  

Fantastic, right!

Here are a few more that I just love:

Building Blocks 

 Rhythm and Wind 

 Headed Home

Let's be real, I want so so many!  Like nothing I have ever seen!
Someday, a few of his pieces will be mine.

When am I not going crazy for a throw blanket?
When am I not going crazy for Faribault Woolen Mills creations?
And...in a classic buffalo check plaid, sign me up!

Two of these chairs, please.  I mean, for reals.

 These boots.  Glacy Explorer by Sorel.

I think I might actually ask Santa for this, as I have now officially
wanted to have this for far too long.

I really want a little succulent 'garden' for my kitchen counter this winter.
I have one from last spring, in a Mason jar on my counter and it makes
me so happy.  I want a few more.

Big Dreams Here, People!!
Ho Ho Ho.
xo