My made up Roasted Brussels Sprout arugula toasted almond salad - BOOM!

Yummy improv salad!   My made up roasted brussels sprout arugula toasted almond salad - BOOM!

Toss Brussels sprouts, whatever number your hearts delight, with a little (1 tbs) olive oil, salt and pepper (a few twists)

Roast 35-40 min at 420 flipping every 10 min or so.  If they look a little burny, ya done it right.

Slice whole roasted almonds (or roast your own - by putting in a sauce pan on a low-ish burner and flipping every few minutes or so 'til they smell all yum and roasty)

Throw in those toasty almonds with halved grape tomatoes (so, you take a little tomato and a knife and cut it in half ;) --) and Boggy Creek Farm arugula (jump in your car and go to Boggy Creek Farm Wed-Sat 8am-1pm for the freshest just picked) or grab the packaged greens if your a time stressed mom and missed the farm.  BUT, DO promise you'll give yourself and your kids that experience oh so soon - YOU DESERVE IT! :)

Add your roasted brussels sprouts and toss in your dressing. Add shaved parmesan and a few twists of fresh pepper and VOILA!  You are the super star and you make yummies for the tummy your whole fam will like!

Dressing = 1/2 squeezed lemon, 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil to taste and salt and pepper to taste. Mix that bad boy up.

Phase II: DIY Headboard & Bench Makeover - Bedroom Remodel by Mel

Some of you know my journey for a bedroom remodel on a very tight budget without compromising a bedroom we really love.  The inspiration room:

{designer Sarah Richardson}

I envisioned a very white (like white on white) room with a grass green pop of color headboard and built in side table/window seats with storage for either side of our queen bed with black and antique brass accents around the room.  

First step = new quilt. We had a very eclectic floral persimmon Anthrolopolgie quilt that just plum wore out, despite being the softest thing on earth.  Saturated color to all white is a big change.  We literally waited 3 months for our Quatrefoil quilt to be handmade by Matteo and it was so worth it, although in the meantime I found an Anthropologie clearance quilt that I layer with it.  

I think there were 8 days of painting total although I know I've told people it was 10 or 12.  It freakin' felt like it.

Breakdown =  4 days sanding the 5 lift windows and 3 door frames in our 1941 bungalow, 2 days painting, 1 day painting doors, and 1 day painting the ceiling = pure Hell.  You can see my Phase I  full plight here and here.

P.S.  Ignore that one of the curtain rods and curtains are down temporarily due to a dry wall foul.

Phase II:  Headboard and bench

The bench was so threadbare that nobody in a decade has seen it without a throw on top.  The maroon one at the end of the bed was on it during Christmas time, a rust & brown one the rest of the year.  So, there's no true before and after of the bench.  And the before of the headboard is, well, non-existent.  I've actually never had a headboard.

I should also mention we lowered the bed to the box spring and bought a pretty white box spring cover for a finished look. We plan to raise the curtains nearly to the ceiling and with the high headboard and euro shams, it will hopefully make the room look larger.

The Inspiration:

I searched for 6 months or more for the perfect green fabric.   Como Linen Velvet in Grass Green.  I found it here at Fabric On the Net, and since it was a huge splurge at $85 per yard, it scared the living daylights out of me.  There were lots of swatches going back and forth.  And my frugal heart didn't spare a thread.  I bought 3 yards - 2 for the headboard, 1 for the bench.                                                             

I'm making linen cotton covers for the Euro shams that reside naked as of now and plan to frame my prize lady (I won her in a FB 24 hour auction benefiting the Filipino refugees earlier this year) from my friend & neighbor Jennifer Balkan in a demur brass frame to live above the headboard with brass sconces in the curved carved out area on either side for bedtime reading.  See Jennifer's work here.

{Jennifer Balkan painting - oil on map}

Next on the list Phase III: Built-in side table/window seats

These will be side tables with a window seat combo to flank either side of the bed.  We have two windows on either side of the bed and on the adjoining wall.  I've always been a fan of window seats and the bonus is two storage benches, side table book storage, and drawers on both sides. It's time for Mike's "come with" furniture (as in, this furniture comes with this single dude) and my childhood furniture to make way for our grown up space.

Next post, the DIY tutorial for the bench makeover and headboard.  For now, I'm "Ester" Bunny'd out.  Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Target, you are killing me with your Woven Global Collection

This is super quick and I promise a little more.  But....I can't get over Target right now.  I've been swooning over their Threshold Woven Global collection and nearly bought this little bench as a coffee table for the red couch in Iris & Sam's room.  My guy talked me out of it, but still, every time I enter the store... I find myself back in the home goods section taking it out, looking it over and still impressed by the quality of these pieces for the price, loving the tone of the wood and the casual, artisan feel.  The small benches are so sweet too.  I can easily see them as an end table or paired at the end of a bed, or of course, just a little sitting stool.

It reminds me of my friend Heather Liskow's beautiful goods she brought from Kuala Lampur here  

and just how warm and inviting these coveted things are.  

                                                   {image from Target, $109 for bench}

                                      {image from Target, $69 little stool, $29-$39 baskets}

Couldn't you just die over these?  L-O-V-E them.

EEEK!! The search is over: velvet DIY tufted headboard

I am so excited I can barely breathe.  After the LOOONG search and lots of swatches for the perfect green velvet upholstery fabric for my DIY velvet tufted headboard, I found her!!!!

Here she is, grass green velvet upholstery fabric:

{you can find her here}

I have been on the search for months and months... Every swatch was too bright, too dark, too cheap feeling, and just...not right.  I thought I wanted Kelly green, but even after contacting the designer behind this look, Palmer Weiss which we all loved, we could not find the exact same fabric.  

And, the grass green is actually a better fit color-wise for the room than kelly green would have been.  She was NOT a cheap date, which freaks me out, meaning, I have to be the queen of execution for this DIY headboard - no room for error.  SCARY!  

The inspiration, Sarah Richardson's bedroom:

And, other tufted headboards that I fancy:

I was considering doing one similar to the white headboard above including the nailhead detail but straight across for a more clean-line, modern feel but, I'm now thinking of one similar to the slight curve on each end.... Hmmmm........ we shall see.  Stay tuned.  

The ultimate DIY party - Troup S'mores! Iris's 7th Bday Party!!

I know friends.  It's been a while.  A long while.  I've been standing with Texas women, as many of you know.  When the fight is hard, and the cause is important, it is sometimes worth the sacrifice.

But....I am a mostly mushy Mommy (still a "Mommy" although I'm sure I'll graduate to "Mom" soon), and when Iris came home from 1st grade with Girl Scout flyers, she insisted, "I don't want to be in the Girl Scouts and sell cookies.  I want to start my OWN girl and boys club!"

As her 7th birthday drew nearer, she could only think of getting together with her pals and having a real club.  Voila - The S'mores!!!  

This is at the finale after they'd created their sashes (faux suede and iron on banding from Joann's Fabrics), earned their badges (iron on, of course!), had a contest to pick their name (Troup S'mores), roasted weenies and hamburgers and veggie burgers (you know me!) and made and enjoyed their very own s'mores!  Plus, camp fire stories in the tent by John Hewlett, you remember him.  There's video of that for those who would like it later....

The party invite photo from Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom.

The inspiration.  Minus the injuries.  Okay, Miss Kitty did scrap with 9 month old Sabine --- :(

The cake.  I did my own recipe, and we grabbed the "log" and "fire" idea from pinterest here - basically, smash up jolly ranchers, and melt them on parchment paper on low in the oven for 10 minutes, then cool in the fridge and break them up for the fire.  The "logs" are those yummy pepperidge farm chocolate cookies.

The sashes.  Thank goodness my Mom saved me in a pinch.  I got the fabric out 3 hours early, and realized.... I need a home economist.  Elaine to the rescue!  We used a faux suede material and the fabric tape you iron on - I recommend sewing before if you want them to last - might take a day of prep, but well worth it.  I'm going to have our Marmie sew up Iris and Sam's.  

The name nominations for interested parties:  007 (Ryder's nomination),  BFF's (Coco's nomination), Ranger 99 (Orion's nomination), Hot Dogs (Scout's nomination), S'mores (Iris's nomination), and Cheese Burgers (Sully's nomination). 

The styrofoam board is Iris's creation for a name nomination board. 

Iris's welcome sign to the Troop!

My 7 year old!  Iris T. Nicholson, working on Pinwheels for Peace to earn her Peace badge!  Print outs & directions here. 

And, below the butterfly bracelet project for the butterfly badge.  Project print outs & directions here. When you move your arm, they REALLY do fly up and down like a butterfly.  We did Blue Swallowtail and Monarch butterflies which are migrating through our yard and TX on the way to Mexico right now.  

If you are interested in some Daisy, Brownie, or Girl Scout ideas for a party or troop, this is a nice little site. 

Our faux fire for camp fire stories and hangin' out

And, making s'mores!  



















After the party, we updated their sashes with their names.  We are excited to see fun S'mores adventures ensue with the new troup after the party.

Her Daddy is so awesome, he even made smores pancakes Sunday morning for the kiddos!

Coveted...seeking design objects I'm obsessing over

There are those things you discover on a journey to redesign your space, covet like nothing else, and cannot imagine not having.....

For me, those are these gorgeous sconces; the Antony and Eye sconces from French designer Serge Mouille.

I saw them, pinned them, and couldn't get them out of my head.  You can see why....I mean, it's perfectly clear, right?

As this bedroom design comes together bit by little bit, I thought....these are modern perfection, bringing black into the white white space and perfect to go above the white built in side tables to perch on either side of the deep kelly green velvet tufted headboard that I'm closer and closer to deciding I will make, the perfect focal feature of the space.  Only today, did I actually realize they are (choke me - $2050 each!).

Damn middle age design angst!!  If only I were a rich, gay guy and not a middle class mom, I would just do it.

I originally was thinking a pair of the Robert Abbey pharmacy style brushed bronze lamps on either side of the bed ala this:

But, now, I've just got the Mouille Eye on the brain.  Nothing else seems to compare (ahem)...

So, we remember what we are dealing with: blank canvass bedroom freshly painted Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace (taped space represents side table/storage/bench built in):

Here is my color inspiration for the headboard:

Pretty with the Phillip Jeffries raffia I'm obsessed with for the bottom 1/3 of my white, white walls, right?

I'm also on the hunt for the perfect pairing of vintage botanicals to go above my black with gold painted butterfly armoire like these below I spotted on One King's Lane a few weeks back, but not $800.  Naturally, I'm drawn to the irises most....

Design wanderlust for my dreamland bedroom....

My Bedroom Makeover...Green? Yellow? Brass? Black?

A few more images that inspire me for this room - LOVE them both.

This green bedroom has just the amount of black and green touches I'm looking for.  I love the bed skirt which I hadn't considered.  I was going to go with a diamond matelasse box spring cover like the one below and lower my bed to the floor (about 2 1/2 inches lower) to meet the built-ins bed stands/benches with storage I envision on either side:

                                                                   {Potterybarn}

                                     

So, you remember my Missy Elliott reno work.  Here are the seventy year old uglies I was dealing with and learning how to repair and camouflage to work on my DIY budget.

See here and here to catch up cause this momma is too tired to replay ;)

So, terrified, I started painting... Chantilly Lace, here we go!  That pit at the bottom of my stomach looking at white on white on my pretty (although who knows how old) warm yellow that somehow always seemed neutral to me was making me seriously wonder about my choice.

So, here is the before.  Ignore junk on floor on the left (not part of the room!)  Notice tape where built-in benches/side tables are meant to go.  Yes, I am standing in the closet. 

The curtains now look dingy!  We were planning on replacing them with similar white, white gauzy curtains (hopefully from Ikea) and are going to raise the rods (which were handmade by the former owner customized for the window) to make the room look larger.  This, with lowering the bed a few inches, and adding 26X26 Euro shams ($30 including tax for 2 online!) - which came in and I am thrilled with, will work with the effect. After the photo below, I spent 5 hours painting the ceiling.  I have to say it was TOTALLY worth it.  Makes the room look like painted perfection and now, makes me want to paint all of the ceilings.

Behind the bed, I am considering either making a tufted green headboard or great artwork like these from Wisteria.  They would match my black armoire with gold painted butterflies and work well.

This mirror would move to the dresser area on the right.  My childhood dresser will be Craig's Listed and something similar to this in it's place.  Something warm and with a history.

Above is the photo of the base boards and doors painted Chantilly Lace and bottom is the walls as well.  Makes my off white frame look dingy, eh?  I have a matching frame that I'm about to put photos in for the other side and am either going to spray paint both flat white or black.  Haven't decided.  The grasscloth wallpaper will be on the bottom third of the room.

Since these photos, the bed has been lowered so it will fit in to the same height as the built in end tables/benches and the ceiling has been painted.  Next step for the weekend = raise the curtain rods.

Lowered bed + raised curtains + euro shame + chantilly white walls = larger, more peaceful bedroom.

Okay, okay....I know it is very blank canvas right now.  Layers, layers, layers....Next big step...hire the carpentar, build the tape lined side tables/benches/storage spaces.  

Now, off to the yard and planting with Everything Boy!