Saturday, January 7, 2012

Summer...please get here

This weekend has been pretty mild here in NC, especially since the beginning of the week got into the low 20s at night..boooo.  I am in no way a cold weather person, my thoughts are if I want to be somewhere cold I will travel there.  I am much more of a warm weather gal, the heat and humidity don't bother me at all.

I'm looking forward to the days where it doesn't get dark until 9:30 and we can sit outside with friends and enjoy the warm summer weather.  Of course with thoughts of warm summer nights I am dreaming of creating a wonderful outdoor space to do just that.  Here's some of got on my mind.




Deck with plants, chairs, umbrella, and lights



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These last two are of our work in progress deck and yard with a cameo of our black lab mix Kiwi.  :)  She's so cute.

Monday, January 2, 2012

I have an addiction....

to caffeine that is, specifically coffee.  For Christmas, Paul and I received a wonderful gift in which to feed our addiction to the delicious bean.  His parents got us a Bosch Tassimo one cup coffee maker, and I must say I have no idea how I even functioned without it.  This machine is a work of art, it's incredible  it will make anything from a frothy cappuccino to hot chocolate.  In fact, over the weekend we had some friends over for a New Years celebration and made a Caramel Macchiato for one of our friends and we all literally stood around it watching it make the tasty little drink. 

I would highly recommend this to anyone that is contemplating getting a one cup coffee maker.  It will make you soo happy if you do.

Here's a pic of it in action, my own little electronic barista whipping me up a cappuccino.  Yummy.




Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wallpaper

OK, so is everyone on board with the resurgence of wallpaper?  Now just a back story for you, I actually walked out of a home when we were searching for one because the entire thing was covered in wallpaper.  Now, that's saying something because I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and work at turning something dated and past it's prime to something beautiful.  Let's not forgot there were squirrels living in my house before we bought it.  But wallpaper from top to bottom, left to right wasn't for me. 

Well, wallpaper has made a comeback and I'm liking what  I see.  It's much more graphic, modern and luxurious looking, and doesn't have to be used cover an entire room but can create an accent wall, back a book shelf  or put into a frame for some cheap art.  Here's a sample of what I saw that I am digging.  Now I just need to think of something I can wallpaper.





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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Merry Everything Happy Always!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday.  We spent it at my mom's house with my younger sister, along with multiple visits from her boyfriend and my Dad.  All in all it was a great, relaxing, long weekend.  So nice I think I will enjoy another three day weekend this week. 

On Christmas morning I made a little sweet treat for breakfast for everyone.  It was a cranberry buttermilk breakfast cake and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E.  Now being that this thing is a blog ... and I blog about my life and other such things you'd think  I would come equipped with a picture of the final product, but you would be wrong.  Yes, I completely forgot to document the process.  I forgot my camera and only had my 1987 cell phone with me (No, it's not really a 1987 phone but it is a blackberry curve so it might as well be from the 80s... Zack Morris would be proud).  So the  closest thing I could find came via pinterest and it was a blueberry buttermilk breakfast cake.  The only true difference are the berries and the zest of lemon was swapped for the zest of an orange. 

I really enjoyed it, next time I will add more berries and maybe a smidge more buttermilk.  Hope you enjoy!!!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Cactus Garden

On our recent trip out west we came across a cactus garden on the grounds of the Naval Post Graduate School and it reminded me how cool succulents are.  Living in south eastern North Carolina limits the variety of succulents that can actually thrive here, which is a bummer because I love the way they look.  They are so low maintenance and they come in a  multitude of shapes, sizes, colors etc.  Here's a little look at some of what we saw along with a couple of cute ideas for indoor plantings and table scape options.  Enjoy!!!






Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I love farmer's markets

I love a good farmers market, after all it is the "eat & buy local" movement at it's best.  Our farmer's market here in NC is pretty good, it's right on the river and runs from April through December.  It's a great stop but it's still fairly young and is definitely still growing.  By comparison, the farmer's market we went to when visiting in Montery, CA is certainly an established market that runs year around. 

There is a surplus of local farmers in that area because the land is so fertile and there is a substantially more diverse community which in turn creates a multitude of shops, farmers and foods.  The climate is very moderate which allows for year around access to all the tasty fruits, veggies, herbs, etc.  The market is packed and it's full of all different ages, professions and ethnic groups.

Along with the standard fruits, veggies and flowers they also have many food vendors offering up made to order empandas, fresh baked pastries, homemade falafel and so much more.  It's the kind of market you want to go to hungry so you can taste a multitude of different flavors all while picking up fresh produce, just picked berries and more flowers than you could even imagine.





Sunday, December 4, 2011

Holiday Decorating

This weekend I finally got around to putting up some holiday decorations.  We chose not to do a tree this year since our home is small and it's just the two of us so we opted out on the tree.  Nonetheless, I still wanted to "deck the halls" of our little casa. 

I love holiday decorations, but I am very particular about what it is that I do like.  For instance I have an affinity for white lights only and I like a little less traditional decorations in terms of colors.  Red and green aren't really for me.  I want the house to look festive but also be indicative of our personal style. 

I'm still not done yet but here is a little peek at what I've done so far.


 The wreath hanging from the curtain rod was an idea I originally got from an old Cottage Living Magazine holiday issue.  Ohhh how I miss that magazine.






It's not quite finished but it's coming together and it's definitely putting me in the holiday spirit.