Day 739's sneak peek

The guest bedroom (unlike some other projects) is coming along nicely. Which is a good thing, since our house guests will be arriving in just a couple of days! I deviated a bit from the original plan -- which is pretty standard for me -- but I'm still pleased with it. I'm a bit nervous to reveal it given all of the "hype" I have created, but here's a little peek nonetheless.

{please excuse the dusty floors!}

Day 738's DIY blunder

Surely I'm not the only one who occasionally (er, perhaps slightly more often than that) struggles with projects, right? "Struggle" might be a slight understatement with my latest: making roman shades out of mini blinds.

I saw this project on Little Green Notebook on the very first day I found that blog. I declared Jenny my DIY Hero and have been dying to try it out on one of the 4,276 windows in our house dressed in lovely mini blinds. You can get the directions for the project here, but the gist is that you cut all but the lift strings on the blinds, remove the bottom and all but enough slats to create the folds, then put it back together and attach fabric to the front. It sounds complicated, but wasn't too bad. That is, it wasn't after I ruined one set of blinds by accidentally cutting the lift string -- good thing we have plenty of extra sets.

They looked great and raised and lowered like a dream, but since the fabric was a pattern, I wanted to add a black-out liner. So I bought a few yards in Fayetteville over the weekend, thinking it would take just a few minutes to glue it to the back. That part was true, but when I hung it back up, things started to fall apart ...


Um, that wasn't exactly what I was going for! Clearly I need to glue the liner to the top, but that won't solve all of my problems.


After some raising and lowering and trying to encourage the liner to fold properly with the fabric, I realized that the lift cord is preventing that from happening (because it is in between the liner and the fabric), and is causing the major bunching action you see here.

I think I can salvage this one by cutting the liner along the lift string and re-attaching it in three pieces, and now I know I need to line the fabric before attaching it to the shades next time. Live and learn, right?

Day 737: more UK kitchens

This time from Henry Gordon Jones. The mix of cabinet and counter finishes is interesting. What do you think?

Day 737's hometown tour

We spent the long holiday weekend at my dad's river house near my hometown (or what I consider my hometown, at least): Fayetteville, Tennessee. In high school, I thought I was a displaced city girl. And now that I live in "the city" I really enjoy time spent in the country and have all sorts of romantic fantasies about what our life would be like if we moved out of town. Maybe we would live downtown and have a little bed and breakfast in a big Victorian house. Or I could have my little store and Maddie could come to work with me every day. Or we could have a little farmhouse with a big garden and a couple of miniature ponies (because they are so dang cute!). Isn't the grass always so much greener on the other side?!


But I digress. We started the weekend with dinner at The Restaurant, which is kind of in the middle of no where, but has great food. Dad and his wife Ellen know the owners by name, and that a reservation is a must if you want to dine on Friday or Saturday nights.


I headed into town on Friday morning to hit up my favorite spots before meeting everyone for lunch. Sir's Fabric is always a must-stop. There is room after room of remnants, and you'll be hard pressed to find anything over $5 a yard.


On the West side of the square, Magnolia Mall is sure to delight.


I can always find something I need to bring home in a place like this.


In the front windows are buckets and barrels full of marbles. Mom used to bribe us with a bag of marbles each if we behaved while she shopped.


Next door is Dragonfly Gallery, which is full of local art.


Lunch at O'Houlihan's is a requirement for any time spent in Fayetteville. It's a charming little sandwich shop with a beaded board ceiling and schoolhouse-style pendants. It's also where I bought the blueberry tea I served at my sister's shower last weekend.


They have the most delicious German Chocolate Upside-Down cake in the world -- they use pecans instead of coconut, and top it with a raspberry sauce. Delightful! Unfortunately, they were so busy on Friday that they sold out of cake before I could reserve my piece. Tragic!

The rest of the weekend was spent lazing around on the river, but I let my camera battery die and couldn't document any of that. I guess we'll just have to go back for cake and pictures another time.

Day 733's lovely photos

I loved Brooke's recent post on Blueprint Bliss about her "other loves." Yes, if you are reading this blog (and/or Brooke's) you probably love interior design, and duh, so do I. But we all have other loves. Brooke has inspired me to remember my other loves, and remember that I can talk about them here, too.

One of my more random loves is for beautiful food photography (are you still with me?). Maybe it's because I work in the company of some great food stylists and photographers, and can appreciate the work that goes into one little photo, I'm not sure. But have you ever tried to photograph a meal that you prepared and were particularly proud of? It's not easy to make food look appetizing in a photograph. And to make it look beautiful is definitely a skill.

A recent favorite is Jewels of New York, an effort by two young New Yorkers who combined their passion for food and lifestyle design. Did you spot the pretty Wedgwood basalt creamer?




The next two images belong to Jen of Simply Breakfast. I've mentioned her before, and I am so glad she's back in action. Her photography is so lovely and simple -- it inspires me to pair down. She photographs more than food, and you can purchase her work through her etsy shop.




So, there you have it. I hope we can still be friends. And I hope you'll bare with me as I share some of my "other loves" in the future. Maybe you'll share yours, too.

Oh, and speaking of food, I made the lemon-scented blueberry cupcakes this week. De-Lish! So good, actually, that I had to send them to work with Wes so that I wouldn't finish them off myself!

Day 731's anniversary

Today is our two-year anniversary! As much as it seems like our beautiful wedding day was just yesterday, it also seems like we have been together forever. It's hard to imagine myself without my husband, and I am grateful that I don't have to.

Day 730's party pictures

The shower on Friday night was a big success! Of course I stressed a little too much, but it went off without a single hitch, and I think everyone had a great time. Here's a little peek ...

Invitations printed with navy and "pool" blue ink set the tone for the party.


We used mis-matched cloth napkins in shades of blues.


I bought a half yard each of navy calico and blue-and-white striped ticking from Wal-Mart (the teal fabric came from my stash) and made string of flags to hang on the mantle.


Hydrangeas from the wholesale florist were the biggest and most beautiful I'd ever seen!


We opted to have the food catered from a local Mediterranean-style restaurant. Rice and chicken kabobs are an easy crowd-pleaser, and since the party was in the evening, serving dinner was a hospitable gesture.


I dressed my glass canisters (which I was waiting to use until after the party!) with fabric left over from the flags, and served lemonade and blueberry iced tea inside.

Day 727's pretty

Since I have been on the subject of all things blue lately (here, here, here, and here), I thought this pretty bench was a nice end to the week. Doesn't it look so perfect for napping?!

Happy Weekend!

Day 726's dessert

Nearly all of my childhood Fourth of July holidays were spent at my grandparents lake house. There was much swimming, boating, hamburger-eating, and firework-shooting, but also blueberry-picking at a nearby farm. For me (and many Southerners, I'm sure), blueberries and the Fourth of July are one-in-the-same.

Now, my granddad -- Pop -- has a yard-full of blueberry bushes that he offers up to anyone with an empty bucket to fill. The last time I checked, they were nearly in (above photo). I have go-to cobbler recipe, but this year, I think I'm going to branch out a bit. The top contenders are ...


Smitten Kitchen's Blueberry Crumb Bars


Martha Stewart's Blueberry and Buttermilk Tart


Cooking Light's Lemon-Scented Blueberry Cupcakes

How about you? Have any summer memories or blueberry recipes to share?

Day 725's kitchen love

I know I said I wouldn't be around much this week -- and I still have plenty to do! -- but wouldn't you know that we'd have major technology issues (actually it was called a "catastrophic hardware failure") during one of the busiest weeks ever?!

So ... I've got kitchens on my brain. I've been slooooowly working on a little makeover in our kitchen, and I got to see Brooke's gorgeous makeover in person on Monday, when she graciously hosted our little group of Birmingham bloggers. I was impressed when she posted it, but let me tell you, it looks so much better in person. And she totally tackled the tile herself!

Which brings me to these kitchens. We get several IPC publications at work, and I almost always tear out the ads for Plain English, a UK-based cabinet (er, cupboard) maker. The kitchens are so simple and well-edited, and I love the country feel -- they get me every time! Have a look ...