Daily Inspiration to Realization: Wall of Sconces
July 22nd, 2009 § 1 Comment
The mural of light pictured above is from a boutique hotel I stayed in while visiting San Antonio, Hotel Valencia. I was blown away by this wall of candles they had in the lobby. To re-create this look, Ikea’s MANDAL headboard can be stained or painted to fit your style with shelves that fit into the slats and hold either candles or eco-friendly sconces like CB2′s Smart Candles.
The Daily Inspiration to Realization: The Bed Canopy’s Stylish Younger Sibling, the Ceiling-Track Curtain
July 22nd, 2009 § Leave a Comment
I was looking at HGTV and came across the super-cute asian-inspired bedroom on the top picture. Using ceiling-mounted sheer curtains is a great modern twist to the bed canopy. Use sheer curtains for a more romantic look, or use solid curtains to block out light, and pull to the corners during the day. To make your own sheer canopy, Ikea has a great suspended cable curtain system, DIGNITET for around $15. You can either string your curtains directly on the wire or use clips.
A New Twist to Taste This Summer- Throw an Ice Cream Tasting Party
July 20th, 2009 § 1 Comment
Yet another inspiration stemmed from a local Seattle event: Seattle chef/restauranteur Tom Douglas’ Ice Cream Social event made me think- wine tasting, beer tasting, ice cream tasting? It makes perfect sense! Baskin Robins had the right idea with 31 flavors- who wouldn’t want to try them all? This is a fun idea for a summer get-together with friends- even better for a baby-shower when you need a fun non-alcoholic activity. Ask each guest to either bring their favorite flavor of ice cream (mine is Ben and Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk) or make their own! Other ideas for the party:
- Go with an old-fashioned 1900′s theme and decorate the tables with candy striped table cloths.
- For centerpieces, set out vintage ice cream dishes and fill with ice-cream flavored chupa-chups, salt water taffy, other candy.
- Each guest gets their own shot glass or cordial glass like they would at a wine tasting. Try to find smaller spoons too. I like these cordial glasses from Target because guests can set their glasses down and find them later.
- I created an evite/web jpeg for you to use as well- click here to download.
Make Your Own Vintage Distressed Mirror
July 20th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
I was reading one of my favorite blogs Design*Sponge and there was a posting that showcased a gorgeous inspiration for home decorating. {read the post} In it was this beautiful vintage mirror (pictured) that grabbed my attention. Here are instructions on how to make a new mirror look vingated and stressed like the one above.
Materials
- mirror
- newspaper
- paint thinner
- paint brushes
- household bleach
- black acrylic paint
- cotton balls
Instructions
- Protect your work area with newspapers. Place the new mirror on your work surface, with the back side up. Using a paintbrush or cotton balls, apply paint thinner to the back of the mirror, where you would like aging and distressing to occur.
- Allow the paint thinner to set a few minutes, to loosen the painted and silvered surface. Rub the areas where paint thinner has been applied with an old rag. Remove the paint thinner. Repeat, if you would like more paint or silver removed or distressed.
- Drip, paint or use a toothbrush to apply household bleach to your mirror back. The bleach will react to the silver and create a blackened tarnish. Watch closely. When you have reached the degree of tarnish desired, wash the bleach off with water to stop the process. Repeat the bleach where needed.
- Dip a cotton swab or cotton ball into black acrylic paint and dab or smudge around areas where the paint and silver on the back has been removed completely.
Source: eHow.com
What To Do with Your BBQ Leftovers- Three Recipes to Clean the Fridge Post-Party!
July 16th, 2009 § 1 Comment
One of my favorite followers, Michelle recently sent me a blog request and wrote:
“I have tons of chicken legs, corn and potatoes left over from a weekend BBQ. Any idea on how to use the leftovers for another dinner party?”
Michelle, I have three awesome recipes that will put your leftovers to good use and still be mouth-watering to serve to your dinner party guests! I am keeping the recipes in line with the BBQ/southern cooking style to give a nod to the roots =) On the menu: Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Corn Fritters, and Cajun Roasted Potatoes. Make sure to note that these recipes assume the ingredients are uncooked, so adjust the cooking time to account for this.
If you have a blog post request, email me at domesticandinspired@gmail.com
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2-1/3 cups barbecue sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- Hot pepper sauce
- 4 kaiser or French rolls, split
- 3 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1-1/2 cups)
Directions:
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a heavy pot with the onion, garlic and just enough water to cover (about 1 cup). Add the barbecue sauce, vinegar and a few drops hot sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce and shred with two forks.
- Boil the sauce, skimming occasionally, until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shredded chicken and heat through. Spoon the mixture onto the rolls and top with the cheese.
Source: Everyday with Rachel Ray
Corn Fritters
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from cobs
- 3 x eggs
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp cornmeal
- Salt and pepper
- 2 x green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Directions:
- Whisk corn and eggs in a large bowl.
- Add flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Stir in green onion and cheddar.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over a medium heat then add batter by the spoonful and flatten to form a pancake.
- Cook until golden, flip and cook other side.
- Serve with sour cream or butter
Source: Food Network (Canada)
Roasted Cajun Potatoes
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Directions
- Cut each potato lengthwise into eight wedges. In a large bowl, combine the oil, shallots, garlic, salt, paprika, cayenne and pepper; add potatoes and toss to coat. Place in greased roasting pan.
- Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until tender and golden brown, turning every 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
Source: Allrecipes.com
Nautical Theme Party- I’m on a Boat!
July 16th, 2009 § 1 Comment
Just this past weekend I co-hosted a nautical-themed party on my building’s deck/party room. We used a ton of paper for the decor and only spent about $40 TOTAL on decorations (alcohol was an entirely different story.) It was a huge hit! Everyone was told to dress nautical which could include beachy, pirate, mermaid, sailor, captain, etc. Here are some of the highlights.
Decorations:
- Fishing nets hung from the rafters filled with paper fish (we cut out of white paper and drew X’s for their eyes and tongues hanging out of their mouth)
- The walls were covered with paper decorations of portholes (download here) and bubbles (download here)
- There were nautical signs (see above) of a Sailor pointing guests where to go (download), a “Poop Deck” sign for the bathroom (download) and an old scroll telling guests directions to the party room.
- Nautical movies silently played on the television, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Little Mermaid.” Other movies you can play include the old “Treasure Island” and episodes of “Gilligan’s Island.”
- Plastic life rings bought from a party shop hung from the deck railings.
- Snacks for guests included goldfish crackers and Swedish fish. Other ideas include saltwater taffy, lifesavers, crab cake bites, clam chowder shooters.
Other nautical party ideas:
- Make nautical paper hats for guests who show up without a costume and scatter throughout the room or put in a treasure chest. Here are a couple links to how to make a colonial pirate hat and a sailor hat.
- Hang nautical rope and/or orange life vests from deck railings or around the room.
- Make seaweed by twisting dark and light green crepe paper and taping vertically from the floor up, randomly alternating colors.
- Set out small goldfish bowls and fill with water and turquoise rocks, sand and seashells, or floating candles
- If you have a pond, a pool or feel like setting up a kiddie pool, float toy boats carrying tea lights in the water
- I stumbled upon this blog that is entirely dedicated to decorating your house with a nautical/ocean theme- tons of inspiration. Click here to see it.
BBQ Invite for Evite or Print: The Sequel
July 14th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Due to the popularity of my previous BBQ invite post I decided to make another BBQ invite image for you to use in Evite, or print out for a paper invitation. My favorite part about this one is the hilarious look on the animals’ faces like they know what’s coming =) Click here to download the hi-res version for printing. Click here to download the evite/web friendly version.
Wild Mushroom Pizza with Yukon Gold Potato, Arugula, and Rosemary
July 13th, 2009 § 1 Comment
I came up with this recipe today! I was inspired by two pizzas at the trendy Tom Douglas restaurant Serious Pie, instead of replicating each one- I made a seriously healthy hybrid of the two. Serves two.
Inredients
- 10″ frozen pizza crust (I like Whole Foods’ Spelt Pizza)
- cooking spray
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs truffle oil (optional)
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 yukon gold potatoes
- 1 tbs fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs wild mushrooms (chantarelle, shitake, portabello), chopped
- 1 cup arugula
- sea salt
- fresh ground pepper
Directions
- preheat oven according to pizza crust instructions
- boil the potatoes until it is soft when pierced, remove and run under cold water until cool to touch
- Slice the potatoes crosswise into 1/4 inch medallions
- spray a pan with cooking spray and crisp potatoes on med heat, about 5 minutes. Add a dash of salt
- meanwhile in a larger pan sprayed with cooking spray, sautee garlic and mushrooms until tender, about 6 minutes
- spread olive oil on pizza crust, then follow with rosemary
- layer arugula, potato, and mushrooms on the pizza. drizzle with truffle oil and season with salt and pepper to taste
- bake according to pizza crust instructions
Penne alla Vodka recipe for the calorie conscious
July 12th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Believe it or not I was able to take an already low-calorie dish from Weight Watchers and cut the points by over HALF by replacing the white pasta with wheat, and subbing out half of the heavy whipping cream for fat-free milk. The key to this recipe is serving it immediately from the pan- and the best part is it tastes like it is chock-full of fat. I like to add a couple dashes or two of Cayenne pepper (for those of you like me that are watching your girlish figure- spicy food is a great addition to food that will fill you up faster and increase metabolism.)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 medium shallot(s), minced (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
- 2 tbsp parsley, fresh, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or other coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 3 tbsp canned tomato paste
- 2 oz vodka
- 1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste (for cooking pasta)
- 20 leaves basil, fresh, cut into ribbons (chiffonade)
- 12 oz cooked whole wheat pasta
- 1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
- 1/4 cup(s) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over a medium-low heat.
- Add butter, shallots and garlic; sauté until shallots start to caramelize, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add parsley, sea salt and pepper, stirring once or twice.
- Add tomato paste and mix to form a paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, moving paste around pan occasionally; add vodka. Scrap bottom of pan with a wooden spoon and cook for about 5 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
- Add milk/cream to tomato sauce; reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Add pasta to sauce and mix to coat; top with basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
