Amazing Bed Frames

A bed frame is so important.  It helps you to feel balanced which is so important when sleeping.  Currently, I have nothing.  I am waiting to find the perfect something.  I may wait forever!

I love this whimsical white frame

Such a great piece, it looks like it has a story to tell

Anthropologie's Hushed Hours Bed

Remember this fun chalkboard bed frame idea?

What type of bed frame do you have?

What's Cooking This Weekend?

Happy Memorial Day weekend friends!!  I hope your weekend is full of food, drinks, sunshine, and friends.  My fav part of a long weekend is a tasty breakfast. 

Breakfast is worthless without potatoes.  Seriously.  The trick is to cut the potatoes in to small squares, throw them in a pan with a lot of oil and cook them on low for a really long time.  I always add some onions and jalapenos too.  After about 15 minutes of cooking, your house will smell edible!

Because plain eggs are too dull for my style, I mix in some chorizo.  Vege chorizo since I am such a health nut.  I brown some onions, add the vege chorizo and cook for a few minutes. 

Then I add eggs that have been beat up and spiced pretty well.

Add some beans, salsa, warm tortillas and a nice pinch of queso and voila, a breakfast for champs.

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Delightful Patio Lighting

I love the juxtaposition of a bit of glamor in a backyard.  This chandelier is the perfect touch.

Love this DIY lighting,  this would be a perfect after work project and would make such a nice impact on your backyard.

Love the romantic look of this space.  You could easily add candles to the hanging wire baskets for added light.

Remember these fun hanging tree lanterns?

What type of lighting inspires you?


Image credits: Better Homes & Gardens.

Let's Talk Chalk

Chalkboards are so wonderfully primitive and yet artistic.  Where else can a child and an adult create a masterpiece?

Now with amazing chalkboard paints, just about anything can be turned into a masterpiece.

Loving this idea of a chalkboard table.  Wouldn't it be great in restaurants as a way to keep young (and aging, i.e., me) patrons busy while their meals are prepared?

DIY details from houzz

Perfect for a wedding or a festive dinner party.

Unveiled

Adorable idea for behind a bed or couch.

Check out Dana Tanamachi, master chalker

Glass charms are for hippies, try name-tagged-glasses instead. 

World Market

If you have conquered the ability to kill plants and herbs, give these temporarily tagged pots a try.

Going Home to Roost

This would be perfect as an office to do list or a kitchen shopping list or schedule.  The ideas are endless.

Design Sponge

Have you chalked anything lately?

Pets, Pets, Everwhere!

If hubbs would permit, and he wont, I would have pics of my beloved Lola and Luka everywhere.  I mean honestly, don't they belong in a nicely framed pic hung next to the family's wedding photos in the hall? Not only are they part of the family, but they are also pretty darn photogenic.

Loving these similarly minded decor ideas:

Lisa Bengtsson's Tillsammans

Why not make a wall paper design out of your fav pup pic?

Lisa Bengtsson's Tillsammans

I am thinking that this pic of Luka blown up quite large and printed on canvas would look smashing in my home office.

Treasures

I LOVE treasures.  This past Sunday I woke up needing to find some treasures. Luckily, hubbs doesn't mind a good treasure hunt.

Needing a good hunt but recognizing that there is nothing that we need, we went to the swap meet at Golden West College.  Lets be honest, this place is pretty junky.  Expect to get dirty, to find very few treasures, but also to spend very little on whatever treasures you do find.

This wagon is so adorable and rustic.  I would love to pile in the gatos and take a trip to the beach.  Hubbs had visions of transporting tools and gardening supplies in it.  Either way, it's a cool piece.

 For $ 5.00, this is a pretty awesome belt buckle for hubbs.  It even draws upon his Russian roots.  Such a steal.

 Nothing says summer like a coral bangle.  After lots of haggling, I was able to call this my own for a whopping $ 2.00.  Whether it is vintage (yes, I may have convinced hubbs it is a costly vintage piece) or plastic, I expect it will be put to good use this summer.

 I mentioned this place was junky, right?  But, amongst the junk, this cute Radio Flyer is waiting for a new best friend.

 Last but not least, I bought two very simple vases.  After a lot of scrubbing, soaking and disinfecting, they look superb.

Happy treasure hunting friends!

Zoë's Teal Inspiration

Simply Güzel is thrilled to have Zoë as today's guest blogger! She is truly a wonderful human being, full of creative ideas, bohemian chic jewelry and a sparkling personality. Thanks Zoë for your fabulous post!

After reading For the Love of Teal on Simply Güzel and taking in the many, lovely hues of greens and blues in all of the accompanying photos, I decided it was time to transform my entryway piece, which used to be red all over.  I had always questioned the reddish color, but I liked the piece, and Simply Güzel provided just the motivation I needed to make this piece worthy of an entryway, with a little touch of teal (or turquoise, or whatever color this turned out to be).  A couple of bottles of spray paint from the local hardware store, and, VOILA!!  

Warning: if you are spray painting outside, you cannot control the wind (I tried really hard!), so wear a mask.  I left the drawers red, originally because I ran out of spray paint, but ultimately because I ended up liking the juxtaposition of the cool teal and the warm red.  I love to mix turquoise and red when it comes to jewelry, so it seemed like a natural progression for the color scheme to end up in my home.  Thanks to Simply Güzel for all of the colorful inspiration!  --  Zoë

Owl Obsessed

I loathe birds.  Obviously.  They are creepy, chirpy, dirty, and a little freaky.  However, owls, totally different story.  Among other things, I have been obsessed with owls lately.  Not only do I NEED to have more owls in my home, I am also finding ways to incorporate them into my every day life.  Pathetic, I know.

How could anyone not love this little guy? I've named her Kyle and at $29, she is a steal.

Kate Spade's Tootsie

I received this umbrella stand from my dear cuz for Christmas last year.  Funny that she thought it would be an awesome white elephant gift when really it is a beloved piece in my house!

decor pad

My guest bedroom could use a cute owl pic. Maybe this one from etsy?

Do you also love owls?

Living in a Church? Yes, Please!

I love Australia for so many reasons and this just adds one more reason to love the land down under. There is something wonderfully enlightening about the idea of living in a church. Do you think it could earn you brownie points with the Big Honcho up above??

This quaint little church originally constructed in 1867 has recently been converted into a spectacular home.

It is adorably charming from the outside and truly wondrous on the inside.

The details in the windows, the architecture, the ceilings, the sparkling white all speak visions of purity.  I love that even the floors twinkle.

It even has a pool and outdoor deck area sure to make Jesus proud.

I think I am in love with Willis Greenhalgh Architects' design here. 


Photo credits: homedsgn.com.

Wedding Planner and Organizer

When I was getting married I looked at countless books to help me prepare for the big day while keeping everything organized.  I ended up giving up and making my own because even though some were really expensive, nothing seemed to be the perfect fit.  My organizer was literally my bestie during my 7 month engagement.  If I wasn't physically holding it, it was always within arm's reach.  Yes, I am absolutely compulsive and obsessive. I like to think of it as a blessing ...

My cousin just announced her engagement so I have been busy putting together a home-made (with love of course) wedding organizer for her.

I am including a wedding checklist.  She is planning a relatively short engagement so this will become super important.

 Don't forget about the budget. I ended up updating mine every couple of months until I finally just threw it away!

I am also including the following tabbed sections:  Venue, Catering, Flowers, Invitations, Entertainment, Media, Dress, Gifts, Reception, Rehearsal Dinner, Honeymoon, and Extras. 

The beauty about using paper dividers is that you can staple or tape business cards directly on to the dividers so that everything stays organized.

 

 

Within each section include a couple of clear plastic sleeves to insert inspirational pics torn out of mags and brochures you will inevitably come across.

Finally, be sure to include a folder of some sort to keep invoices and receipts in one place.

If you would like a template for the budget or the wedding countdown, feel free to comment below and I will be happy to forward it to you!

What did you use to keep your planning under control?

Perfect Pre-Summer BBQ

One of the best things about summer is BBQ'ing in the backyard.  Luckily, living in So Cal permits me to enjoy the backyard most of the year, even when it isn't summer.  Love So Cal! The perfect dinner is burgers, mac and cheese, corn, and salad.  And fries of some sort.

In an effort to create the perfect BBQ, I marinaded my lean beef with a package of Trader Joe's taco seasoning and a can of their Fire Roasted Diced Green Chile for some spice.  Obviously burgers need bacon (turkey bacon since I am on a health kick) and guac (because we all need our green vitamins).  I made the guac with some crushed garlic, a few ripe avocados (thank you Betty, your avocados are delightful!), a couple table spoons of whatever tasty salsa you happen to have around, salt, fresh cilantro, jalapenos finely chopped (I prefer to grill them first), and a bunch of freshly squeezed lime juice. 

Next, I prepared mac and cheese. The best thing about mac and cheese is that you can use pretty much whatever you have in your fridge and can concoct a pretty tasty side dish. I used small shells. Don't they look nice in my bright blue colander?

I based this recipe off of one found on thekitchen.com and made a few adjustments.  After I cooked the macaroni, I threw it back in the same pan.  Because I was feeling lazy and did not want to bother dirtying up additional dishes, I added a large pie slice of brie cheese, a heaping handful of swiss and gruyere cheese, a nice chunk of butter, a prolonged dash of white wine, and about 13 mushrooms that I quartered.  I let my concoction cook until melted and then I taste tested.  It definitely needed salt and was incredibly rich.  So, I put it in a baking dish, added some more cheese to the top, more salt, and some bits of sun dried tomatoes to try to liven up the richness. I baked for a few minutes until bubbling.

Not sure why but I heard that if you let corn sit in ice cold water for a bit before cooking it tastes better.  Pretty much I believe everything I am told.

Jalapenos, onions and corn ready for the grill. Hubbs' seasons generously with lime while grilling.

A burger is not the same without fries.  To add some flare to the meal I made sweet potato fries. Yum!  Slice them up, throw them in a big pan with a bunch of oil (exact measurement).  Let them cook for quite a while. 35 minutes or so. Stirring frequently.

After the fries are cooked thoroughly, drain on a thick paper towel and season generously with thick salt.  I used the Palm's Tuscan Sea Salt.

Because I am a health nut (no chuckling), I made a salad made up of micro greens and rocket arugula.  I mixed in some olive oil, a 1/3 of a large lemon's juice, and some sea salt.  Let sit for 30 mins, then added a bit more arugula. The result is paradise.

The end result: a feast!

What is your favorite type of BBQ?