2011 June

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Gettin’ Ready for the Holiday

June 29, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

Mr. Autumn and I are just home from a beautiful four-day bicycle ride in the mountains of Virginia, near Blacksburg. The scenery was breath-taking, but the cycling was very challenging. So, with so little time before the holiday week-end, I thought I better start making some plans.

And if you have been wondering about Jordan, she is still busy working in Ohio. She catches a plane every Monday morning and returns home Thursday night. She only has a few more weeks of this crazy schedule before she will be home for a while. She and I have two takes on the same recipe for Friday’s post. Hers will be the easy version, and mine will be the “from scratch” version, but they are both very tasty.

So, I think the first thing I will do is make the plans for our week-end meals. Come along while I plan our holiday table.

First, I’ll start with a faux leather equestrian place mat by Pomegranate.

Next, I’ll use a large dinner plate as the charger. This one is called Barnyard by Noble Excellence. I bought ten of them at Dillards years ago on sale 80 per cent off.

For the dinner plate, our new Nantucket Basket by Wedgewood will be perfect. My friend Beth has the entire collection of this pattern, and I just love it. I opted to just get the dinner plates because they will go with everything else that we own.

You can see the basket weave pattern in this close-up. It is supposed to resemble the famous Nantucket purses that are so special and so expensive.

I think this rugged and masculine Crate and Barrel salad plate will make a nice contrast against the delicate Nantucket Basket.

This bowl by Bennington Potters, called Blue Agate,will be a perfect addition to complete the red, white, and blue theme I want. The chilled soup will look perfect in it. I bought a set of eight place settings of this pattern when our children were little. Sadly, there are only five bowls remaining, and that’s it.

Let’s see. Which napkin should I use? What about this bandana patterned dish towel from Martha Stewart’s K-Mart collection of a few years ago? Hmmmm… No, I think it needs more contrast.

I like this powder blue gingham napkin better. It offers some contrast, but it still follows the theme. It, too, is from a set of Martha Stewart K-Mart dish towels.

And here are the final touches. I am adding our everyday stainless by Oneida and some blue water goblets I found at the Dollar Tree a few years ago. Mission accomplished.

Here is one last peak. Now all I have to do is figure out a center piece, plan a menu, and do the shopping so that Mr. Autumn and I will have to only deal with the fun part of our week-end: concert, parade, and lots of bicycling with friends.

Take care.

Linking to

Filed Under: Decorating, Projects

From Tired to Fresh

June 28, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

First of all, Jordan and I would like to thank the ladies who hosted last week’s Summer Block Blog Party for selecting us to win a door prize. We won a lantern from Farmhouse Wares, which will go to Jordan and Mr. Spring to use either on their new patio or when they go camping.

Now, on with today’s business. When we moved into our new digs, my intentions were to have a whole new look. To achieve that goal, we donated, consigned, or gave away about half of our stuff. However, we kept our best and favorite pieces of furniture. Among them is a Hinkel Harris dining room set that is the best furniture we own. We had to keep it, and though it is classic in design, it needed an update. Since it is such a good quality, it isn’t furniture that one would slap a coat of paint on in order to give it a new life.

You think the furniture looks tired in this photo? Well, it looked a lot more tired in person. My only alternative was to replace the fabric, which is about 20 years old (Yikes!) with something new, lively, and in our colors.

Doesn’t this faded fabric just make you want to yawn?

I found this lively material at a local fabric store, and they had just enough remaining on the bolt to cover our eight chairs. And better yet, it was fifty per cent off. Who doesn’t love a deal? I love the way it looks like crewel stitchery.

And it met my basic requirements: Its colors are reds, blues, greens, and yellows, which are the shades we use throughout our house so everything will flooooooooooow.

After treating it with a fabric protector and a few hours of low-intensity labor, our chairs went from this:

To this:

Don’t you think the new fabric is much better?

I can change the look each season with the addition of throw pillows against the back. I plan to use two of our wing chairs as the host and hostess chairs, and another update I made was the purchase of a padded bench which will replace two of the chairs on one side of the table. I’ll show it all to you later. First, I need to get the dining room in order. It is not quite ready for the its big reveal.

Take care!

Linking to for WOW Wednesday.

Filed Under: Before and After, Decorating, Projects

Leading Lady

June 28, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

How many of you have heard of Alexandra Stoddard? I’m thinking many readers in my generation know of her and have read her books, but Jordan’s generation might be clueless about who she is.

Alexandra Stoddard is a decorator turned writer who has written over 25 books on decorating, lifestyles, and living. One of her first books has been a major influence in my life. I enjoyed it so much that I gave many copies to friends for birthdays and Christmas.

I have read this book at least 10 times. Even though it was written in 1988 and could stand an update, most of the information is timeless.

I first heard of Alexandra when she was the key note speaker at a brunch I attended for the Bluegrass Trust Antiques Show. She was a collector of post cards, as was my namesake grandmother and my blog partner, Jordan. She advises that if you love something to buy it, even though you don’t have a place for it. You will find a place. She also says to make everyday events into beautiful rituals. Why have a slice of unbuttered toast with a paper napkin when you can sit down with a nice plate, a nice napkin, some jam, and a beautiful cup for your tea or coffee.

Alexandra is married to the love of her life, attorney Peter Brown, and they moved from their New York City apartment recently to their “country cottage” shown above. They are both getting older and wanted to simplify their lives.

Alexandra and Peter returned to the Bluegrass Trust’s annual antique show last year, and I was able to hear her speak and have a nice chat with her afterwards. We have exchanged post cards over the years (hers are always written in color coordinated ink), and I always love to read and hear what she has to say. By the way, she writes all of her books long-hand. There are no computers for her. This is the book she was promoting the last time I heard her speak:

So, if you need some inspiration when your life seems to get too fast, pick up one of her many books for a good read and for a chance to get in touch with your elegant and unhurried side.

Take care.

Images taken from Alexandrastoddard.com, www.kathrynechendesign.blogspot.com and Amazon.com

Filed Under: Decorating

Guilty – As Charged

June 26, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

One of the great things I love about reading blogs is the way you can get great ideas from other people who care about their homes and like good DIY projects.

Another thing I love is that you can steal these ideas. And I just stole a good one, which was really easy. It is another of those small change/big impact projects. So, if the officers come hunting me down because I stole borrowed this idea, I am guilty, as charged.

When we first looked at our new digs, the fireplace did not bother me. It was trimmed with a beautiful white mantel, which we kept, and edged in black slate. I planned to keep it, too, until we had leftover carrara marble after three of our bathroom floors were finished. So, to continue that theme, we had the slate replaced with marble.

This is a before shot of the fireplace with its gas log insert and black slate surround. It wasn’t good, but we knew it could be better. The first thing we did was remove the insert. It will be replaced with realistic looking gas logs this fall.

This is what it looked like after we removed the insert. Yes, it was yucky, but when Mr. Autumn asked if I was going to paint the fireplace box, I quickly said, “No.” My thought was, “Why paint it when we will be putting logs in there?” Plus, I didn’t know there was such a thing as heat-proof paint.

And then I saw this post over at Young House Love: http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/06/fireplace-happenings/

They had a fireplace that was way uglier than ours, but with some paint and elbow grease, they made a huge transformation. That is when I decided to borrow (ahem) their idea. If theirs could look so good, then ours could look great, too.

The first thing I did was clean it well with the sweeper, followed by detergent and water.

Rustoleum 237543 Heat Resistant Paint Black

Then I used Rustoleum High Heat paint to cover all of the ugliness. It worked really well, even though it had a lot of fumes.

Then I headed to Home Goods to find a mirror. Remember, this is a temporary summer fix till we buy logs, and I didn’t want to spend too much. But instead of finding a mirror which was the right size, I found this:

It is a set of three flameless candles in three different sizes, complete with remote control. That’s right, a remote control. I bought two boxes of them.

Since I didn’t find the mirror at Home Goods, I went to Home Depot and found just what I needed, a mirror without a frame.

When I returned home, I put everything in its place, but I had to work around the cord that we need to keep for the future logs.

Then I pushed the remote control, and………..

Voila!!! I can’t wait to show it to Mr. Autumn when the sun goes down. Maybe one thing will lead to another and we’ll …………roast some marshmallows! Guilty, as charged.

Take care.

We were not paid to mention the products used in this blog.

Linking to Met Monday at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

Linking to www.theletteredcottage.net

Filed Under: Before and After, Decorating, Things We Bought

Sweet Tea With A Kick

June 24, 2011 By Spring

Author: Spring

Happy Friday! I decided that since it is Friday, and the weekend is so close, to share a cocktail that is perfect for the summer. I grew up in Kentucky and lived seven years in Georgia, so, I am familiar with sweet tea. A couple of years ago one of my friends introduced me to Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. She mixed a cocktail combining a shot of it with some Crystal Light lemonade. It was unlike any mixed drink I had before.

This sweet tea vodka is great to mix with some lemonade at a summer get-together and to sip away. There are many brands out there, but I have to say my favorite is Firefly. Firefly also has many other flavors, but I am sticking to the sweet tea.

I guess Firefly has latched on to the popularity of low-cal mixed drinks because they now have Skinny Sweet Tea vodka. I haven’t tried this version yet, but I plan to buy some soon.

In Syracuse, they are introducing this low-cal beverage slowly, as if we are a focus group. They are only selling it in mini bottles to see if it will be a hit before they spend the bucks on the bigger bottles. I know it will be popular in the South. I just hope the northerners develop a taste for it. Then I won’t have to ask my mom to send it to me.

Even though this has nothing to do with tea or alcohol, I thought I would let you see how Gracie is growing. Here is a picture to keep you updated. She loves being in the backyard when we are working on getting it ready for sod. As you can see, we still have lots of work, but slowly we are making progress.

Have a good week-end, and remember that if you are drinking sweet tea vodka, don’t drive.

Cheers!

I was not paid by Firefly. I am just a fan.

Filed Under: Food

Laundry Room Reveal

June 23, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

Gradually, I have been showing you different rooms of our new digs as they come together. Today, I would like to share our new laundry room with you. It has not been accessorized, yet. That will come later, and I will be sure to show you what I do in that department.

We created a laundry room on the second floor out of a corner of the guest room. This frosted pocket door opens to reveal the laundry room. When the previous owner lived here, there was a plain door here that went into the guest room. A closet was to the left. At our architect’s suggestion, we moved the closets to the other side of the guest room, which I will show you in the future.

Welcome to our laundry room, previously a small closet and wasted space. It measures 8 x 8 and is the first laundry room I have ever had that has such a large window. The floor covering is small octagonal tiles.

The wall above the washer and dryer supports a line of cabinets. The sink is set in carrara marble to tie in with the marble in the rest of the house.

Here is a closer look at the sink. That little enamelware skillet is my soap dish. The color is Benjamin Moore’s palladian blue, matched by Sherwin Williams.

This room gives us lots of storage both under the sink and………

above the appliances.

I had a lid made for this old crock, and it holds the detergent. I have three of the same crocks in my pantry to store sugar and flour. I have had them since we were married.

This is the other side of the room. I brought in the marble-top sewing machine base to use as the folding table. Clothes pins and softening sheets are in the laundry cannister. You can get a glimpse of the rod that runs the width of the room. Mr. Autumn installed it so drying clothes or freshly ironed clothes could hang from it. The window looks out onto the beautiful and historic park across the street.

This built-in ironing board is a real convenience and a space saver. It even swivels.

When my mother saw this photo which gives a closer view of the folding table, she informed me that the wash board is backwards. It is there for looks only to help temporarily hide the electrical box. We added that wall. On the other side is the guest room.

Here is one more peak. If you ever have a desire to wash some clothes, you can come use our laundry room anytime, as long as you do our laundry.

Take care.

We were not paid to mention Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore.

Linking to

Filed Under: Before and After, Decorating

Blues – More Than Just Music

June 22, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

Following our recent posts about color, I thought today would be a good time to make a collage of my favorite color, blue. I hope you enjoy the photos.

In my past posts about the colors yellow, red, and lavendar, I included glass creations by Dale Chihuly. Well, here is some more of his art. These, like the others, were in a special exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden.

Here is another Chihuly.

What could be better than a blue sky on a daughter’s wedding day? Yes, that is my daughter and blog partner Jordan sailing above the spring grass in her wedding dress just moments before the ceremony began. Do you think she was happy???!!???

I love this shot. While bicycling through the mountains of Laos on our way to Hanoi in January, we stopped at a street market. I kept seeing a flash of blue and realized it was a steam shovel working away in the hill above the market. This is all we could see. Then it would briefly disappear and then reappear. It was a very intense teal blue.

This is my Mr. Autumn in his blue cycling jacket stopping long enough for me to snap his photo during a ride in Ohio.

We showed you these cute IKEA vases in an earlier blog.

The blue sky behind this outrider, at a major horse competition here is Lexington, is beautiful.

The water was intensely blue when we went shark hunting in South Africa.

I love the bluish white hue of this French door.

And finally, I always love the way light bounces off of the walls through stained and leaded windows. This is in a French chapel.

What is your favorite color? Please share.

Take care.

Wedding photo taken by Eric Graf.

Filed Under: Out and About, Travel

Small Change/Big Impact

June 20, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

Isn’t it fun to do a little tweaking on a piece of furniture, spend just a little money, and get big satisfaction from the results? I did that just last week.

I have had this walnut Victorian dresser with a marble top for at least 20 years, and it was ancient when I found it at an antique store here in Lexington. I never liked the knobs on it. They made it seem too heavy and well, too Victorian.

When we moved into our new place, we put it in the upstairs foyer because its marble top repeated the marble floors we put in all of the bathrooms and the marble countertops in the kitchen. But those pulls just kept pulling at me. They weren’t right.

I decided to remove them and change up the look with pulls that were more traditional than Victorian. A trip to Home Depot later, and I had just what I needed. However, when I removed the old pulls, the holes were too big for the new screws. They went right through.

But that was okay. It was an easy fix, even if it wasn’t one a carpenter, furniture repair man, or Mr. Autumn would have done. I cut two thicknesses of manilla folder, put a hole in it, and put the screw through. That is all it took to keep it from coming through that big hole.

I did this with all six of the new pulls, and it worked perfectly.

And now the chest has a fresh look that I like much better.

How do you like it? Have you done any easy updates lately?

Take care.

I wasn't paid by Home Depot to mention them in this blog.

Linking to Nifty-Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Filed Under: Before and After

No More Pink Whites

June 19, 2011 By Autumn

Author: Autumn

Mr. Autumn and I have been married a long time – a long time. And for a long time of that long time, we have had four separate baskets for dirty clothes. One is for blacks, one for whites, one for pastels, and one for my delicates. But, for some reason, Mr. Autumn could only hit two baskets – no matter what color his clothes were.

When we moved into our new digs three weeks ago, I asked him why he only put his dirty clothes into two baskets, and he swore up and down that we only have two baskets for dirty clothes – black and white. I had to bring in reinforcements, in the form of our two children, to back me up when I tried to convince him that for most of our marriage we have had four, yes four, dirty clothes baskets.

That’s when I came up with a plan. I would label the baskets. Yep, that should do it.

Do you see that white item in among those dark clothes? I do, too. The other person living in our home can’t see a problem with it. That’s why the labels are needed.

So, when I started the process, the first thing I did was select a computer font and size that would work on home-made labels.

Then I printed it out on a sheet of scrap booking paper with the colors I use in our entire house – yellow, blue, red, and green.

I wanted the labels to be oval, so, I used a diffuser from one of my teapots to work as a template.

Then I cut them out.

I goofed on the next step. I intended to cover both sides in clear contact paper, but I bought the wrong paper. Instead I used a peel and stick laminate but only on one side. Instead of being clear, it is white. It worked, but I could only use it on the back side.

I used the same diffuser to cut out the laminated paper for backing, also.

Next, I punched a hole in the upper left corners, threaded a piece of twine through them, and hung them on our laundry baskets.

And just like that, I easily solved a problem. Now, there will be no more surprises when I open the washing machine. All of the whites will be white.

Linking to Met Monday at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

Filed Under: Projects

Cinnamon Muffins

June 17, 2011 By Spring

Author: Spring

You know the aroma that floats through the air when you pass a Cinnabon bakery in the airport. Well, this recipe smells like that. It might not be as decadent, but it gives almost the same satisfaction you get when eating a cinnamon roll. Well, almost……Plus, it has a few less calories and takes less time.

I don’t remember where I originally found this recipe, so, I can’t give credit. But I have had it for a while, and it is worth sharing.

CINNAMON MUFFINS

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 cup regular sour cream

Sift dry ingredients together. Add butter, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream. Mix till combined. Put in prepared muffin tins.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 18 – 20 minutes. You might need to adjust the baking time according to your oven.

If you want to be naughty, you can drizzle some vanilla frosting onto the top.

Enjoy and have a good week-end.

Cheers!

Image from Google

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Filed Under: Food