Subject: Goo Goo Ga Ga and What's for Dinner

Good morning Kara,

I have one really great reason why I haven't posted until now.  

My cousin gave birth to her third baby boy, Cooper Aiden, on January 20th at 11:58 a.m.  He is absolutely adorable and now I have baby on the brain.  I think Hubby is getting a very teeny tiny itch too because he suggested we give the baby thing a trial run by having my other cousins sleep over some weekends.  This weekend my cousin's 16 month old, Maddox, will have his first sleepover at our house.  Should be fun!!

So, back to one of our conversations from last week...what's cooking at The House of Peach.  I figured we could first focus on staples.

During the week, I like to have a mix of "easy" and "more time consuming" meals.  Here's a breakdown of our staples in the two categories.

Easy

Grilled Cheese - I like to make it on bread from the bakery with cheese from the deli.  Also, I could not eat a grilled cheese sandwich without mustard either, although Hubby is not into that!

Pigs in a Blanket - Childhood favorite?!?  It's the only other way I like a hot dog besides on the grill.

Sloppy Joes - The theme here is turning into, "What did you eat when you were 5?"  This one cooks up in no time and according to the commercial includes a full serving of veggies!

Pizza - Pillsbury dough + pizza sauce + whatever veggies you want

More Time Consuming

Spaghetti and Meatballs - This is probably my all-time FAVORITE.  I've been perfecting my meatballs for about two years now, but the recipe is based off of Ina Garten's.  I also buy a jar sauce to save time.  Recently, my favorite has been MIDs.

Shrimp Scampi - Another top recipe.  It's relatively easy to put together, as long as you have good time management in the kitchen and know when to put your pasta in the pot and start your shrimp.  It always tastes fresh and I think a lot of that is due to the lemon zest.  Thanks again to Ina!!

Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas - I came across this recipe years ago and Hubby really likes it.  I sometimes have a weird chicken thing though, where I'm not in the mood for it, so I make mine vegetarian style.

Roast Chicken - When I am in the mood for chicken, there is only one recipe I turn to.  I can't find the exact one I use online, although it's similar to this one.  The one I love can be found in her "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook."  Ina you are a G-D!!

Omelet For Two - Ina again!!  She really is amazing.  Love this recipe because you can add in every veggie you have left in the fridge.  I definitely mix it up and just follow this recipe for the baking instructions.  Yes, it's an omelet in the oven, which makes it super fluffy!  And no flipping required.  Oh, I don't do quite as much cheese as she does though, and I use about 1/2 egg whites and 1/2 whole egg.

French Onion Soup - I recently shared this one with you.  One word besides YUMMY...INA.

Tacos - We love to have a Mexican fiesta in our casa.  I prefer my tacos with ground beef in the hard shells.

Favorite Meatloaf - I've been making this Kraft recipe for years and it really is a favorite.  Minus the salad dressing and cheese on top though!  I just omit those ingredients completely.  But the addition of stuffing as opposed to breadcrumbs is what has kept me hooked.

So, what recipes are included on your list of staples?  Out of my 12 staples, 5 are Ina's.  I definitely have a crush!

By the way, where do you like to store your recipes?  The Anthropologie recipe book I bought isn't going to work out.  I need to get organized though.  I'm not loving my current set-up.

Hope all is well in Tally!!

xxx,
Mel

Subject: Family Room + The Couch Crisis

Good morning Kara!

I'm on a roll catching up with these posts.  I'm happy to report that my family room is coming together...FINALLY. 

I realized that I never shared with you the couch crisis.  If you recall, late last year I wrote about the custom couch that Hubby and I purchased.  It was from a leather store in Georgia and we were able to choose the leather color, if we wanted to add nail heads, etc.  All the fun customized touches that people love in furniture.  Well, needless to say the company stinks and because I don't want to dwell on the subject I will sum up the crisis by saying what arrived was not the Milky Way brown colored couch I hoped for, but a Cherry Cola colored couch leather with more red tones than brown.  My heart sank as I looked at it in the family room.  Thankfully, Hubby saw the unhappiness in my eyes and made them haul the couch away. 

Fast forward about a week later, we got our money back from the "custom" leather store and went on the couch hunt again.  We were pretty sure we wanted this Pottery Barn couch, and the only store that had it in stock was the outlet in North Georgia.  We took a ride to the outlet, sat in the couch and immediately knew it wasn't for us.  The price at the outlet was awesome, but it left a lot to be desired.  Right across the way from the PB outlet was the one and only Restoration Hardware Outlet.  We walked in, walked around and knew we had found a winner.  I present, straight from our family room showroom, our new couch.

This is the Maxwell, but last year's model.  The good thing is we like last year's model more than the 2011 version, because this year's model only has two cushions.  The color can best be described as an old bomber jacket.  It looks worn in and is absolutely delicious!!  There is a word Jewish people use to describe finding your husband or wife because it is believed that person is your destiny.  The word is beschert.  And while AJ is my beschert, I'm pretty sure this couch and I were also meant to be!!

I also picked up pillows from Target the other day and am trying them out every now and then.  They photograph a little Missoni-ish.  Pretty cool! 

I also ordered this pillow from Anthropologie on my little shopping spree.  I'm curious to see how it looks in person and works with the blue Target pillows.

Fireworks Pillow

On Sunday, our Crate and Barrel sideboard arrived too, really pulling the room together.  I can't get over how perfect the size is for the tv wall.

Isn't this wood gorgeous?  It's Peroba wood from Brazil.  I did some research and it's all reclaimed.  They take it from the floors and walls of old buildings.  Love being environmentally conscious! 

We are still in the market for some side tables and a lamp for the room, but it's all a process.  I also want one more chair for the room and have been eyeing this one.  I ordered a sample of the fabric to try and get a better feel for it. 

Indigo Ikat Slipper Chair

Wouldn't it look awesome with this pillow??? 

Jonathan Adler Lemon Pillow

I am OBSESSED with Jonathan Adler.  Hubby...if you are reading, forget bringing flowers home, just deliver this pillow! 

I'll be sure to report back on the Anthropologie pillow and if we end up ordering the Urban Outfitters chair.  Have you seen any cute side tables around?  That's my next hunt for this room.

Can't wait to hear what you think!  Maybe the readers have some thoughts, too??  :)

Subject: An Anthro-esq Bathroom Redo

For the time put into this project, I figured it warranted an e-mail all its own.  Is it weird that I designed the bathroom to look and feel like Anthropologie?  If Anthropologie were a girl, that would be semi-stalkerish.  Thankfully, its a store, and hopefully they are flattered.  Well, here it is.  The big reveal.  It's been complete for a couple weeks now, and each time I walk in the room I am in love.  Even Hubby said the other day how much he liked it.  (Shout out to Hubby and my awesome stepdad who we could not have done the renovations without.)

So, here's the only before picture I have because I am not smart enough to remember to take a before shot!  I can give you a good description though.  Latte walls (think of a cappuccino), gold everything (faucet, shower head, etc.) and the standard mirror over the sink.  There was also this light fixture which was pretty much the bain of my existence.  

Before

 
And with the Anthropologie ruffled shower curtain as the source of inspiration, here's the the after!

After



A look from outside the bathroom



Does this faucet not scream Anthropologie?  It was love at first sight!!  Thanks Home Depot!

How fun is the mirror?!  $30 at Homegoods!  And then our matching Target soap pump and a little birdie from NC.

A full shot of the shower curtain.

I found this towel ring and the matching toilet paper holder at Lowes.  Doesn't it match the faucet so well??

Anthropologie-esq knobs from Hobby Lobby - the best craft store ever.  I think they were $2.50 each!!  Bargain!

A shot of all the knobs and Millie's tush.  (She loves getting in the frame when I take pictures.)

I figured you'd want to see her mug in addition to her tush.

The perfect finishing touch.  I could not believe how hard it was to pick out a light fixture.  I found this one at Lowes.

So, the bathroom is only missing one minor thing.  This hand towel from Anthropologie, which I ordered the other day and should arrive this week.   

Great Southern Butterfly Towels

This was also our first room that we used Martha Stewart paint in.  We chose Glass of Milk for the color.  It actually looks just like the name in person, and sometimes leaves me and Hubby feeling thirsty.  I'm really happy with the product, although we chose a semi-gloss, so you definitely had to wait in between coats because it was sticky.  We ended up taking the color up to the top of the ceiling which makes the whole space look really big. 

The one other addition not pictured is the new shower head, shower faucet and shower knob, which is all silver and nice and new.  Just not overly exciting to take a picture of.

Hope you enjoyed it!!  Hooray to both of us having new bathrooms!!

Subject: Catching Up + Something Sweet

You win the prize for blogger of the week!  To get caught up, I figured I would combined your response to the French Onion soup post and your two new posts on painting the kitchen and chairs all in to one post.

Here are all my thoughts on everything:

1.      I don’t know if I 100% knew you didn’t like onions.  I thought you were just way in to hygiene and wanted to ensure your breath was always fresh!  Since they are sautéed though, the onion flavor isn’t ridiculously overpower, but I don’t want to talk you in to anything. 

2.      When it comes to dinner and recipes, we definitely have a rotation going on in this house!  We should swap our favorites and hopefully that will help add to our individual rotations.  Last year, I tried to make one new recipe a week, but I have to say, it didn’t last long.  Once a month is a bit more feasible.  I just bought this adorable Anthropologie recipe book that I’ve been admiring forever.  It got mixed reviews, but it was free shipping, so I figured what the heck?!?  Hopefully I will get it this week and can start organizing my recipes for a swap.  Also, on the subject of new, yumminess (I don’t think that’s a word) my mom recommended this DELISH quesadilla recipe by Pioneer Woman.  I tried it last week and as long as you love shrimp, it’s a winner!!  (Just omit the onions in your case!)  Plus, it cooks up in no time, which I love during the week. 

3.     Okay, so on to your project of the year…painting the kitchen!!  I think the green is such a fun pop, especially against the black and white tiles that I LOVE LOVE LOVE, but I could understand needing a change.  I think you need to plan the entire room out before making any decisions.  I do like the idea of a more neutral wall, but I think you need to decide on your chair fabric and any potential valence fabric before 100% committing to the stripes on the walls.  Have you come across any pictures with the black and white checkered floor and stripped walls?  Just in general?  Maybe that’s something to Google, as I myself definitely like seeing stuff first to confirm the final product is going to be exactly as I imagined.

4.      So, the dining chair re-do is on!  And thanks to you, I remembered I had those extra chairs I picked up in Tallahassee sitting in my attic, so I too spent some of my weekend painting away.  It’s taking SO long.  I have a lot of detail on my chairs and it’s hard getting into those crevices.  But with three different size craft brushes (I knew just what you were referring to in your post), I am making progress.  I would say I’m half way done, and already on two coats.  I chose the lacquered look, too, but in white.  Super glossy, it’s the new trend for Peach and Lass!

5.      The something sweet part of the e-mail…Due to the record amount of snowfall, and on account of everyone being cooped up inside, one of our super sweet neighbors invited Hubby and I along with two other families over for dinner.  She made a HUGE pot of Louisana Gumbo that was to die for!!  Of course, I couldn’t show up empty handed, and with Publix being closed I has only a few options.  I went with what I believe to be a fast, no fail dessert - Brownies.  Here is my recommendation for the number one thing I think everyone should keep in their pantry - a box of Ghiradelli Brownie Mix.  (They should be paying me for this plug!)  They are the most amazing boxed brownies!!  I think they made a nice presentation and one of the neighbor’s kids, adorable 2-year-old Rebecca, saw them and said, “Can I have a snow brownie?!?”  My heart melted and I was ready to let her eat the whole tray.

That’s it for now.  I have so much to write about though.  Here’s my e-mail blog to-do list:  Couch post, tv stand post, bathroom post, laundry room post.  Maybe I can turn everything into one big post called "The House of Peach renovation/furniture updates."

Hope Suz is better and that she’s allowed you to read Brown Bear, Brown Bear in addition to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.     

PS - The TJ Maxx lamp was a great find.  Love how you asked some unsuspecting shopper for their opinion. 

Subject: Two-thirds!

Hi-eee!

Just a quick check-in to let you know that we are 2/3 through the weekend and I am 2/3 of the way through painting my chairs. I ended up doing three coats of a high-gloss black paint. I applied the paint using a craft sponge (I think that's what they're called - it has a wooden handle and a little black sponge thing on the end) because I like that it applies coats in thin layers and allows me to control the amount of paint I am applying. Some proof of my progress (sorry for the picture quality...I took it on my phone):

The one on the left has not been painted, while the one on the right has three coats. I know you can't tell a huge difference from the picture, but trust me - it's good. As I've been painting each chair, I have found drips of paint and spots that barely had any paint on them. I remember the first time I painted them I just wanted them done and clearly did not pay much attention to the quality of my work. That is one thing I am trying to do with each project I am doing these days: I just keep reminding myself to take my time. At some point - when it's not literally freezing outside - I may spray a clear coat on all of them just to protect the paint and give them all the same amount of shine. I am remembering now when I first painted these chairs that I sprayed some and handpainted others, so the paint going on now isn't giving an identical finish because the bases aren't the same. Awesome.

On another note - here is my entry table as it was yesterday morning:


Mostly focus on the boring, blah lamp that I bought when we first got married and I wasn't all that adventurous:


Are you asleep yet? And then here it is yesterday afternoon, after I decided to run into TJ Maxx en route to Publix:


So much better! And another close-up:


Not that this lamp is all that adventurous, but I have known for awhile that table needed a different lamp, but I just hadn't taken the time to look. I got this one for $29.99 at TJ Maxx and it came with the shade. The original shade was a shimmer-y silver - which I hated - so I switched it out for this one on another lamp. I'm not sure if you're allowed to do that, but no one stopped me so oh well! There were three college-y age girls on the lamp aisle too and I got their opinion to see if the proportion was still okay (the silver lamp was a little bit bigger than this white one), and they said yes. Sometimes I love asking - and giving! - advice from/to random strangers! My father-in-law suggested black ribbon around the top and bottom of the shade, so I might pick up some ribbon the next time I am at the craft store.

How is your weekend so far? A three-day weekend isn't all that exciting when you work from home!

Shivers,
Kara

Subject: Do I Paint My Kitchen?

Mel -

Ahh! Okay, here we go. So this is probably going to be the biggest project I do all year, so before I embark on it, let's make sure we've thought it all the way through. (I say 'we' like you're going to help me paint, but really, your input is so valuable! But if you want to grab a paint brush the next time you're in the area, be my guest :D) Also, my apologies for not posting this yesterday - I know you were on the edge of your seat! I finally understand why mommies look so exhausted when they say the words, "[Baby's name here] has been sick." I experienced it for the first time yesterday. It's one of those situations where nothing can make them happy, and then you feel terrible when you start to get annoyed, because you know they are uncomfortable but have no idea why. I guess I should embrace her being so snugly, but at some points during the day all I could think about was what I wanted to get done and what I could be doing, if I wasn't reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar...again. Which is why my dining chairs only have one coat of paint on them so far. Maybe today they will get a second??? We'll see.

Okay, so on to my kitchen.

Some background: The current color is Pressed Leaves by Martha Stewart (back when Martha Stewart was at Sherwinn-Williams) and I really do love it. I tried it out in the apartment we lived in before this house, and it is a color with a lot of depth to it. It's a very vivid green, but still seems sophisticated and changes depending on the amount of sunlight. It also goes with so much and I think wall accessories really "pop" against it. People always comment on it when they come to our house. (I'm assuming it's a genuine compliment and not just, "Wow...look at that green...") Also, it looks really good against the white cabinets and white trim. It looks kind of preppy and just really crisp. The walls have been their current color since we moved in in 2007, so you can understand why, after four years, I might be ready for a change.

Now for a few pictures. The kitchen is basically the entire back half of the house and it's a really long room, with two sections: the dining area and the cooking area where all the appliances are. On the dining area side there are two windows with a door in the middle with access to the backyard and a little covered patio. Here is the cooking area:

Basically I'm just sort of "over" the green, but I'm not sure what color I want. The living room, which connects to the kitchen with a big doorway, is currently Dunsmore Cream by Benjamin Moore, and I'm considering painting the kitchen the same color. I think it's a sophisticated color and it also looks good against white trim. Plus, I envision us moving out of this house in the next 2-3 years and we would probably need to paint the kitchen then anyway, but at least now I have the time and am in need of a change. (I'm not advocating living in a house that's for show only, but it is something I'm considering as our family is growing and we'll need to move a bigger place in a few years, so if I'm going to spend the time and money to paint, why not paint it a color that would aid in helping sell our house?)

Some more pictures, now of the dining area and how it connects to the living room:

You'll notice the black and white floors. I pretty much cannot stand them and in a perfect world we would rip them out and continue the wood from the living room, but that is not going to happen so I need to figure out a way to work with them. At this point I feel like the room is really "loud" with the green on the walls and the tile on the floor. (The phrase "Alice in Wonderland" keeps coming to mind!) So since I can only change one thing, why not change the walls? I've also realized that in the past I have been very heavy-handed with color because I like it a lot, but as my tastes change and evolve, I am finding that I want to be more deliberate with color and part of achieving that may be to paint the walls a neutral color and then bringing in pops of color through wall accessories and fabric, you know? So that's why we can start referring to my new kitchen as having "sophisticated" walls.

I'm considering doing this to the wall behind the table:

I think the stripes would give that wall some interest and keep the neutral color from seeming so dull. My other concern is the countertops. At some point we hope to replace them with black countertops and a new sink too, but until that happens, the countertops and walls will be almost the same color. Will I hate that? Will it motivate me to save up for new countertops?

A major 'pro' of this project is no longer having to consider the green in picking out accessories or fabric, either for the kitchen or the living room. That is the one nice thing about neutral walls. Plus it seems very Sarah's House of me, which is always a good thing!

Okay, tell me what you think!

Kara

Re: Why Onions Make Me Cry and Smile

Dear Snow Bunny!

First, your house looks gorgeous in snow! Second, no you did not tell me about the drama with your couch. Do share! I love good drama stories! And third, your soup looks totally delish. You'll remember from ordering for staff lunches that I always ask for my salads or sandwiches without onion, but I do actually like the flavor - just not the texture. Sometimes I make a black bean soup where I have let the onions sit and carmelize for hours before mixing in the beans and putting it through the blender. Soooo goooood...

I think this is also the perfect time to mention one of my goals for 2011 (a comprehensive list is coming soon...I promise!). The other day I listed out all my go-to recipes and I came up with 20. This is all for main courses (so, meat) and I even included the lamb chops I made for Jon's birthday, even though I have only made those once (because I would do it again for company or a special occasion). So then I went through and broke the list into four categories: Regular Rotation, Weekends (for meals that are a little more labor-intensive for a week night), Company and Rarely (lamb chops went into this category).

So, out of my 20 recipes (I think 18 are Ina's or some variation of hers), only 9 were labeled "Regular Rotation," which means we are eating the same things a lot. So, one of my goals will be to add a new recipe to "Regular Rotation" either once a week or every other week...I think it might end up being the latter, just because a new recipe every week might be a bit much. But there are a ton of recipes in my cookbooks that I have just dismissed because they were unfamiliar, and there are so many websites that I can use as a resource too.

What do you make for dinner? One of the hardest things for me is that since Jon doesn't eat vegetables, it's very limiting. Plus we don't eat red meat more than a few times a month, we really don't eat pork at all...so that pretty much leaves chicken, fish and shellfish. And since Jon doesn't eat vegetables, some of the vegetarian dishes I would like to make (like Wild Mushroom Risotto - yum!) he just looks at and asks, "Where's the meat?" Ahh!

Speaking of dining, I am also going to work on re-painting my dining room chairs. Here they are, in their current state:


I don't love the style, but they were free from my father-in-law (and chairs are expensive!). They were originally a blonde wood, but I painted them black and put this upholstery on. But I'm kind of tired of the fabric, so I'm going to start with painting them first and then finding new fabric. There are six chairs total; only two have arms. I am going to keep them black, but I got a high-gloss paint so they'll almost look laquered. We can decide on fabric options at a later date. It will all depend on if I decide to paint my kitchen or not...which is a convesation for another day! Maybe tomorrow?!


Stay warm!
Kara