{GHP} Happy Halloween, a few days early

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Entertaining, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Family

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Don’t you just love this time of year. Our neighborhood has come full circle and instead of young teens trick-or-treating we have toddlers and grade school youngsters, dressed as princesses and fuzzy farm animals and scary monsters or super heroes.

{thank you, Kevin, for finding this image}

When our boys were young we would have our friends over for chili and beers and then the dad’s would take the kids trick or treating...thank you Lyn and Dave! It was always so much fun. Now we answer the door in turn so we can see the cute little costumed kids!

Don’t you love this Better Homes and Gardens image…wired pumpkins. Love the blue pumpkins!

source unknown

I keep thinking I will carve our address into a pumpkin…maybe it’s too late for this year’s Halloween, but for sure next year.

via Miss Mustard Seed

Isn’t it amazing how many varieties there are? Pumpkins used to be just the large, orange pumpkins we all found in the market. Then one year there were these tiny orange and white pumpkins, now there are such a plethora of colors and shapes to choose from. I visited my favorite nursery, Rogers Gardens, the other day and a lady had her cart filled with white pumpkins, white hydrangea and white viola…I could only imagine what a beautiful display she was planning.

via Miss Mustard Seed

I also really like this pumpkin, surrounded in bittersweet and the inked name “Ichabod” by Miss Mustard Seed. Very clever and appealing.

via Party Resources

My grandmother lived in Connecticut for nearly a decade and when we visited in the fall it always warmed my heart that literally everyone dressed their front porches and yards with seasonal items…whether it was pumpkins and corn husks or man-made scare crows, everyone seemed to embrace fall!

via Decor Pad

In my neighborhood there are a lot of liquid amber trees. That is our best source for fall foliage. The trees come in a variety of colors, orange, amber or burgundy, and when the leaves turn it is a vivid shock of color. The sycamore trees also give me the sense of season, sometimes their leaves drop and dry to perfection and I’ll gather them for table display. We don’t have bittersweet in our area but the local florists sell it {for a pretty hefty price} so maybe I’ll look into growing it. It may need some frost, in which case, I’ll be out of luck, much like peonies

via Martha Stewart

I’m not sure if flowers in a pumpkin still inspires me but I have to admit, Martha does a good job with flower selection and table settings. Orange calla lilies and orange ranuculas with roses, a timeless combination for wow factor, don’t you think?

via French Essence

This centerpiece is more my style these days. Granted, I would have to grow an apple tree to get full branches of fresh apples with leaves attached, but it is fresh and lovely.

I really like this idea (above) for a fall buffet. How cute…I think you’d want to fun tack the plate on top of the pumpkin to avoid flying appetizers but it sure makes a pretty picture.

source unknown

Wishing you a Halloween filed with treats!

By the way I’ve joined the Open House over at Sherry’s No Minimalist Here

{Home} Snug as a bug…

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

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cottage living, small rooms

Cottages hold a special place in my heart. I’ve tried to figure out why I’m drawn to small spaces, rooms that feel cozy yet inviting and comfortable, I don’t have an answer. Fortunately, Hubby is on the same page so we’re good to go. We neither one have ever wanted a super large home. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t mind a bit more storage and a few extra rooms, even if they were small.

via Content in a Cottage

In the movie, The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, hands down, the Cotswold cottage of Kate Winslet’s character would be where I would want to live. Maybe that’s because the cottage was supposed to be in the Cotswold…for me that would be heaven, thatched roof and all.

Nancy Meyers, genius

Sometimes with small comes sacrifice. I was blog-surfing and stumbled upon a feature story of a very small, NY apartment. The kitchen sported a washing machine where one might have expected a dishwasher. That got me thinking, which would I rather have, a dishwasher or a washing machine? [answer: washing machine] by the way, have they invented a combination washing machine/dryer combo yet? However, I do believe small spaces can drive innovative ways to maximize space. This window seat (above) could do double duty, in fact we built a window seat when our dining room (which is now our reading room) was a candidate for a new window; we installed a bay window that was the standard chair seat height. We used to have our two young sons sit in the window at the end of the table for family dinners. Now that window seat provides extra seating in our reading room. (To read more about our room switch visit HERE).

via Nest Egg

Same with storage space, small homes are usually short on storage. I think it’s what keeps my acquisitions in check. Seriously, if I had a huge space to store stuff I could easily be a compulsive buyer in some arenas…dishes, flatware, decorative accessories! Yikes, there would be more than I need if storage wasn’t an issue. The above laundry space reminds me of my friends laundry room, which isn’t short on space at all, but she has the stackable washer and dryer {great call, Linda} I like the idea of this as a great space saver. The black fronts on the washer/dryer are really a nice contrast to the white cabinetry, don’t you think?

Small kitchens are especially challenging and I confess, if I could add square footage to any part of the house it would be in our kitchen. Still, I find our lilliputian space forces me to buy only what I need in the way of electronic kitchen gadgets.

And there are clever storage ideas for this room as well, like…

via Coastal Living

Built-in shelves also add space and design value. I love the camera c0llection featured along the upper most shelves, where you might not want to have to reach for an essential item you’ve stored there, but the look is very pretty…I think this might be a bathroom, based on the towels and bath salts on the shelf. I have a friend that has a very small cottage on Balboa Island and the person that renovated her house (before she moved in) used a similar technique in the dining room. They built a group of shelves between the studs and framed out the space. My friend stored her wine glasses there and it looks very nice.

Layla Palmer at The Lettered Cottage designed this tiny space in their home to work as a reading room/guest room. They used reclaimed wood on the walls and added a twin mattress. Very clever and cozy! If you’ve never visited Layla and Kevin be sure to stop by, you’ll get all kinds of ideas for maximizing your home.

Another Layla Palmer room, a beach cottage bedroom on Tybee Island

Using a chest of drawers in the closet saves floor space in a small bedroom. Creating a comfortable room with the space you have can be challenging but doable. There’s a lot of help with space-saving ideas in design in the world of blogs.

This (above) little sitting area may be just a small vignette in a much larger living space, but I like it. The neutral palate and clever use of like-prints in the wall gallery won my vote.

Do you like small spaces or begin to feel claustrophobic in a cottage? There is no right or wrong answer, it’s all a matter of personal taste and preference…hopefully you’ll drop by my cottage for a visit even if you prefer a spacious home.

By the way…Melissa at The Inspired Room is coming out with an ebook. I can hardly wait. Read all about it HERE.

{Home} I need a nap!

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

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day beds

I’ve never been much of a napper (not sure this is a word). I believe this is because growing up I was always afraid I’d miss something, and I am pretty high energy.

As I’ve gotten older and life has gotten more hectic, I’ve gotten wiser and can now see the benefit of a little snooze when the mood strikes. I don’t really like to lie on my bed when I want a nap, although I understand Winston Churchill often napped, and if he took one he believed you get in bed and under the covers! {I wouldn’t want to mess up the bed mid-day, it’s a Type A thing}.

I do love to “rest my eyes” in a comfortable chair, usually my library chair with ottoman after reading a bit late afternoon when the sun beams into that room. I could see myself napping on one of these…

This may actually be a bedroom, which is really great if it is, but with the un-shuttered glass doors, I thought it looked more like a parlor.

Now this is so inviting, who could pass up the chance to relax and rest in this lovely white wicker?

via Coastal Living

Witth this view (above) I’m not sure I could actually nap, more like watch the water and hope for a school of dolphins!

This is lovely, but not sure it’s conducive to a truly, comfortable nap, what do you think?

…again with the view, is it me? No, it can’t be, the view is too wonderful, how could you sleep with this view?

and an all time favorite (below) I’m shown before…I could really enjoy time here, napping or reading or relaxing!

via Coastal Living

Can’t you imagine yourself curling up with a good book, some Camomile tea (confession: I don’t care for Camomile tea, more of an Earl Gray gal myself) and allowing yourself to nod off if the urge hits you?

Happy Thursday, only 1 more day until the weekend! Do you nap?

{Home} Guest bathroom reveal

18 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Renovating

≈ 11 Comments

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guest bathroom

Many of you know about the much-needed face lift we gave our guest bathroom. I know this is the part where I show you before pictures. Now that I look at them I’m really embarrassed at how bad this bathroom looked for far too long.

before

By way of an excuse, albeit feeble, the bathroom had been remodeled when we bought the house. The former owner put a chocolate brown tub, toilet and sink in the tiny bathroom. When we moved in our son was 3 years old and I soon became pregnant with son #2. We used the bathroom as-is for many years and at some point I wallpapered with a rich, wonderful Ralph Lauren paisley, which tied in with the chocolate brown theme already going. Over time the brown tub, much like a dark car, became scratched and unsightly. I was working for a local newspaper, writing advertorial, and a story I was asked to write was about a coating company that re-coated tubs, sinks and the like. They offered to coat our chocolate brown tub and sink and we purchased a new toilet. The bathroom, at that juncture, really did look much better. Unfortunately it didn’t last…and after hosting a baby shower one weekend I noticed a bubble in the sink. That was the coating finally coming off.

So, as home dreamers do, many months ago I began trying to figure out what I wanted this bathroom to look like should we get the opportunity to remodel. I knew I wanted a white vanity, tub and toilet and I wanted a Carrara marble floor. I kept coming back to a few of the Pottery Barn bathroom vanities and ended up selecting PB’s Lucca Simple Single Mini Sink Console. It’s on the smaller size but then so is the bathroom so they work well together. The vanity is free standing and comes with a Carrara marble top and a white sink…check and check. We knew from our experience remodeling our master bath that we wanted a Toto toilet. They are engineered to be very efficient using only 1.6 gallons of water; that and my LCD recessed light in the ceiling is my nod to being environmentally kind (baby steps).

after

When it came to the bathtub I knew we wanted a taller tub than we had. The look seems more custom to me and I was hoping to get a slightly narrower tub than the existing foot print the old tub had. We visited our local Pacific Sales and with Tao’s expert help selected the Arariana…it’s taller than the old tub and 2″ narrower. Believe it or not, 2″ makes a bit of a difference in this postage sized bathroom.

I realize it isn’t finished in this photo but I thought it would be beneficial to document the process.

during construction

after

The sconces are Pottery Barn, as is the Oval Lattice Mirror/Medicine Cabinet. I love the subway tile in our master bath (even though it was made from a tumbled travertine) so we went with simple white 3″ x 6″ subway tile (Daltile) {thanks Gretchen for helping me with the tile order} with a Carrara accent (Home Depot) at the ceiling. With a grand baby I discovered that when they are taking baths it’s helpful to have a hose attachment to the shower so we went with the Hansgrohe Unica wall bar with traditional trim and head in polished chrome. In fact I used polished chrome throughout. I really wanted to keep this bathroom timeless and simple. The walls are Benjamin Moore, London Fog {thanks Linda for helping with this decision}.

By the way, there is a towel bar beneath this picture but when I took these we hadn’t installed it yet. It looks like the shorter version of the towel bar on the side of the vanity…Restoration Hardware.

We interviewed 3 separate contractors and decided to use Martin who did a wonderful job for us.

Sorry I wasn’t able to get a wide-angle picture of this room, it really looks so much better than these images from my point and shoot. Nice to have the room re-do checked off the list.

{Home} It’s a man’s world

13 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Designer, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Family

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Ralph Lauren, tailored

I am often drawn to what some would call masculine lines of design, cars are one example. As a teenager I was into cars, I assume it was my generation and growing up in Southern California. My high school parking lot was filled with cars such as the ’57 Chevy and Pontiac GTO. Nothing as cool as the cars above!

Ralph Lauren Brookfield collection

In fashion the “preppy” trend captured my comfort zone and I’ve dressed in fairly tailored clothing ever since. (Am I beginning to sound dull or overly masculine?) I am definitely girly in lots of ways, but where design is concerned I truly love fairly tailored lines. This hasn’t always been the case. There was a time in the 80’s when cabbage rose chintz and even pink walls were the look, but after raising 2 sons and living with a guy’s guy husband, I’ve made the transition.

Pamela Pierce

After I was married I noticed that I leaned towards a more “gentleman’s club” style decor. I like English country style and even though that style (at one time) included flowery chintz fabrics, it was the warm oak paneling and barley twist legs of a table that captured my attention. On my first trip to England we frequented pubs and cafes that were the very epitome of what I would call a masculine-looking design style.

via House to Home

via Elle Decor

via New Victorian Ruralist (Natasha Louise King)

A few years back I purchased an antique pair of antlers that, for me, add to the warm, English decor that I love. I’ve noticed an increased use of antlers in beautifully designed rooms, and while I know and understand the reason some people find it disgusting to display dead animal parts of any kind (for the record, I couldn’t hunt a furry creature if my survival depended on it), I must say I think it’s a nice accent!

via Traditional Home

via Elle Decor

via For the Love of a House

Ralph Lauren seems to capture the ideal “masculine” look with his rooms and lifestyle accessories. Maybe it’s a look that some would identify as an upper crust, blue-blood, tailored, thoroughbred, East coast vibe. In any event, I’m in Southern California and I’m on board with the look.

Ralph Lauren Brookfield collection

I’ve linked up with No Minimalist Here today, visit her site, it’s wonderful

What are your go-to styles for life? Is it a “man’s world” or are we just letting them think it is!

{Home} Kitchens to love

11 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining

≈ 10 Comments

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kitchens

What is it about kitchens? When touring various blog sites that have become required reading for me I seem to gravitate towards kitchens. And from the number of images out there, I’m not alone. It’s the heart of the home and if you enjoy cooking, as I do, it’s always tempting to see what others do with such an essential space.

I can direct breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I take pride in my kitchen, but I’m not going to direct a movie.
Julia Roberts

Even though we’ve remodeled our kitchen and I love it…I still find plenty of kitchens to admire. I also find I lean (when looking at images) toward a white kitchen. We painted our cabinets white when we first moved into our house, primarily because we couldn’t afford the remodel of our dreams. By the time we could afford it we were both fairly tired of the white cabinetry and thought we’d try something different. I’m happy with the way it turned out and I figure if I truly get tired of stained cabinets years from now, we can have them painted…circle of life for the kitchen cabinets!

I think a lot of people have a misconception of what the kitchen is about, but you know the grueling part of it is also the pleasure of it. That’s why I think you have to have a certain mentality to understand what that is and be able to handle it.
Todd English

via Belclaire House

I think this is an excellent use of an island sink!

I’m a homebody, I’d rather be in the kitchen cooking than hanging out in a bar.
Milo Ventimiglia

via Cote de Texas, a Paris kitchen

I really like the long standing trend towards unexpected decor items in the kitchen, such as chandeliers, oil paintings and mirrors. I think it only enhances the warmth and inviting nature of the kitchen.

I was like any new bride, who said, ‘I’m going to cook for my man.’ In fact, once I started a small kitchen fire in a pan. Smoke was pouring from the pan, and I got really scared. Right next to our stove is a small fire extinguisher. You know, easy access.
Catherine Zeta-Jones

via Content in a Cottage

This kitchen is beautiful and I especially like the fact that you can see the dining area but it’s not right in the room with the cook. Oh, I also love this little dwarf lemon tree…where can I find one of those for my kitchen?

I’ve never cooked. I can’t do much more in the kitchen than make a cup of tea and some toast.
Ethel Merman

There is something appealing about a simple, but very functional kitchen. Short on bells and whistles of the typical kind, just hard-working efficiency.

In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men’s underwear.
Julia Child

via Elle Decor

A fireplace in the kitchen would be the ultimate luxury for me…but I’d like it situated closer to the area where you sit for your meal. This is a lovely kitchen by design.

It’s the sense of what family is at the dinner table. It was the joy of knowing mother was in the kitchen making our favorite dish. I wish more people would do this and recall the joy of life.
Paul Prudhomme

photo by Jennifer Rizzo

Lastly, just because I remember days when I felt like this saying, raising 2 sweet little boys…

…or in the words of Harry S. Truman…

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Harry S. Truman

Happy Tuesday, may you enjoy your kitchen today and all activities at the hub of your home.

{Party} Planning a party (ENGAGEMENT PARTY)

06 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Drink, Entertaining, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Family, Food, Gardens, Misc, Outdoor living

≈ 2 Comments

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Engagement Party

My apologies for the photo formatting. I’m still trying to figure out why/how to place a group of pictures together without WordPress re-formatting the groupings AFTER it posts as it has below. Arrrg!

Hubby and I, as parents of the groom-to-be, are planning an engagement party for our newly engaged son #2 and his lovely fiancé.

via

I thought since I’m thinking of little else, I’d share with you the steps I generally follow when planning a party larger than 10, which is the largest number of dinner guests my dining room table can comfortably seat, so usually we invite a few couples over and keep dinner simple. This will be a little more involved if for no other reason than we expect a few less than 50 guests for hors d’oeuvres and libations in celebration of the engagement.

First we had to decide on a date. I knew I wanted to host it while daylight savings time is still in place (giving us a bit more daylight into the evening) and didn’t want to interfere with Halloween weekend. The date we selected is October 22^nd and that gave me a little more than 1 month to get things done. Phew! We also had to consider the availability of our groom and bride to be.

I’ve been to an engagement party for a dear friend’s son recently and decided to follow her lead with a cocktails and (heavy) hors d’oeuvres menu. This made the details of the food more manageable for me. I’ll be able to supplement the homemade appetizers with a few store bought favorites (thank you Costco and Trader Joes). I will make sure most of the appetizers are mostly one-bite size and will use only cocktail napkins. Reminder to self, have a few discreet trash cans available tucked in corners out of mainstream sight, to facilitate guests discarded napkins, picks and plastic glasses.

via Party Resources

After we had decided on a date I began our guest list. We need to keep it to no more than 50 guests. Our cottage has managed that number before and although it’s cozy with people, I think it could easily border on cramped once we go over that number. I had to ask the happy couple for their list and then I began shopping invitations. I wanted to try ordering invitations from one of the online sources (I’ve seen so many great looking invitations from a wide variety of online companies) and we all agreed on a style I found on Tiny Prints. We’ve ordered the invitations and they will be here with about a week to address them (in order to give folks a 3 week advance notice of the date of the party).

via Tiny Prints

I’ve lined up 2 servers, one young lady I work with and another that has served at events for another organization I belong to. This is a bit of a luxury, but when it’s a cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, having help with final food prep and tray-passing is so nice. It allows the hostess to enjoy the party!

The menu I’ve chosen will be fairly simple but will include several hors d’oeuvres that are substantive with chicken and beef, a variety of cheese based bites and some snacks that are tasty and easy to eat. I want my guests to feel like they’ve had plenty to eat.

Cheese platter ~ {thank you, Julie!}

Teriyaki Flank Steak Skewers

Herb-marinated chicken tender skewers

Tapenade crostini

Salami bites

Feta with carmelized onion bites

Mushroom turnovers

Brandied sausages

Mixed nuts ~ Sourdough pretzels ~ Black pepper potato chips

Chardonnay ~ Cabernet Sauvignon

Champagne

Beer

Pink Margaritas

Water

Dessert (heart cookies) ~ {thank you, Glenys!}

These little bundles of joy are asparagus, arugula, baby greens salt and pepper wrapped with prosciutto. I will toss the greens (lightly) in a vinaigrette before the wrap. It’s a little salad wrap.

The meat ball recipe I use includes Jimmy Dean sausage links with a sweet sauce that envelopes each bite; brown the sausage and allow to simmer in a blackberry brandy, chili sauce, soy sauce and molasses. {Email me if you’d like this recipe}.

The little salami bites are a recipe I found when visiting my friend on Bainbridge Island. Fill each salami round with a spread of boursin herbed cheese and add a row of capers, roll and secure with a pick…super easy and very tasty.

I plan to use pumpkins and fall flowers on the dessert table, bar table and the kitchen island. This time of year makes flowers and other table enhancements easy for me, it is certainly of the my favorite seasons. We plan to have our Kooboo chairs out on the grass and we’ll push the patio table to one side to give the patio more room for guests that want to stand and visit.

I’ll try to remember to take some pictures after we’ve set up for the event for a future post.

I’ll have the patio table pushed to one side with a cloth and flowers and pumpkins. The Kooboo chairs will be situated in the backyard in groupings, to encourage guests to mix and mingle.

We’ll have our French doors wide open to encourage movement with the guests. You know how some parties bottle neck in one spot and you can’t get folks to move around? I’m hoping to avoid that by setting the bar up in the atrium and having the USC game on in the family room and then with seating and standing space in the back yard we’ll hope for plenty of milling around, visiting and general good cheer.

I’ll move this furniture to the backyard as well and we’ll set the bar up here…folks can grab a beverage on their way in (the atrium is one the left side mid-way in the entry.

This is so exciting! I’d love to hear any last minute tips from you!

{Home and Garden} Fall cleaning and organizing

04 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Maintenance, Personal Information

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

fall cleaning, organization, storage

There is something about fall that gives me a burst of energy. I find I want to clean and organize shelves, cupboards, my closet and just about anything that strikes me as something that could use a little improvement! I do all of this somewhat selectively as I’ve had weed through magazines and organize picture boxes on my list for months! I’m determined to tackle one or both of those sometime this fall. I’ll begin with a favorite image of “organization” with plenty of design appeal…

Brook Gianetti of Velvet & Linen blog…this was a closet that Brooke transformed into a smart and stylish space for storage and decoration in her office.

Our study is quite small and Hubby’s computer space is inside a closet. We’ve taken the doors off and painted, and it does look better than it used to, but the Gianetti closet is stunning and invites you to take a closer look at the art and decorative pieces she so creatively displays.

via Better Homes and Gardens

The above study is a little more utilitarian but I really like the color-coordinated storage boxes and it’s tidy appearance is always a goal in our study. Things like magazines and paperwork can take over in a matter of a few hours!

Better Homes and Gardens sent out an email about organization and I found a few of the ideas for creating more storage space, a particularly hot topic at our house. Martha Stewart always has some great ideas for cleaning and organizing…

via Better Homes and Garden

I have 4 pan drawers but they don’t have the dividers…as a result some of my pans to get scratched but since they aren’t on display via a pan rack I guess I’m okay with that. This image did remind me I need to clean out the drawers and make sure they (pans and lids) are where they belong. Do you ever put things back in a convenient spot as opposed to where they belong?

via Better Homes and Garden

Clever and efficient idea for the kitchen, although I believe the tray storage under the cabinets in the above kitchen would have had to be installed when the kitchen was designed, right?

via Better Homes and Gardens

I thought this use of an expandable organizing tool with children’s books would be fun…it could feature the books your grand daughter (oh, or grand son 🙂 wants to read that week at bedtime!

via Martha Stewart

I like Martha’s idea for storing umbrellas on the back of a door.

via Martha Stewart

I’m not sure I’d take a picture of the garment to put on the tag, but when I store my seasonal items, remembering what is inside the bag can be a problem. I like the idea of putting a tag on the bag with the name of the item or items.

via Martha Stewart

This idea is nice but the real reason I’ve posted it is because I need to paint the inside of our hall closet…not this color but just a nice, clean white. Not sure I’ll get to this project this fall.

via Brabourne Farm