Kitchen inspiration- the black and white kitchen

My sister asked me to help her re-do her kitchen. So, we have been sharing a pin board on Pinterest to banter about ideas. We have different views on what would make a cool Black and White kitchen!

Her contemporary kitchen pick-

From blog: searching for style

My contemporary kitchen pick~

from blog: SF girl by the bay

Her Shabby Cottage kitchen pick-

from blog: cupcakes and crinolines

My Shabby Cottage kitchen pick~

from website: Jennifer Hutton Interiors

The constancy between both of our pins is glass on the doors to exposed shelves.

Florentine accessories- all the rage for the holiday season

Florentine home accessories are perfect for the holiday season. They are in lovely colors and offer the sparkle of gilt wood to catch the candlelight of the holiday season. Here are some great Florentine items from Porch and Parlor on Etsy.


Florentine tissue box in mossy blue and gold.

Cream and gold diamond top box.



Three candle wall sconce in black and gold.

Velvet Ikat - the new love in my life

I have a new love, velvet ikat. As if ikat could not get any better, now it is uber touchable! Best of all they are handmade, which supposed my HOLA (Handmade, organic, local, or artisan) initiative.

Here are some great Etsy finds for Velvet Ikat Lumbar Pillows!



Black and palest taupe 14"x20" pillow


Hot pink and beige 16" x 22" pillow


Mustard yellow and cream, Chevron, 16"x 24" lumbar pillow



Red and cream Stylize cross, 16" x 24" lumbar pillow


Brown and cream, ironwork style, 8" x 16" mini lumbar pillow

Back to School: The Dorm - Senioritus and the bridge to adult digs

I always love the back to school issue of Seventeen magazine... long after I was 17! It was the issue that instructed how to take your high school look and elevate it to a college look. Taking that inspiration, I would like to share ideas from Senior year dorm life that transitions nicely to the first apartment and the real life.
Like learning how to wear your fave jeans to the office by adding the jacket from your interview suit, dorm decor can transition to the apartment with the addition of a "grown up" items. Hot pink, neon's and bold florals can be tempered with neutrals. Maybe neutrals seem boring, but everyone cannot be the star of the show. Make your favorite items from college be the leading lady and build a supporting cast of neutrals with fabulous textures.

Here's some mood boards to help create the blend!

A collection of decor from the Senior year dorm

Taking the parts of the hot pink college dorm room and creating a first gathering space!

 

No more boring bathmats

Bathmats, function, fluffy and not normally super fun... until now!
I am obsessed with these GIANT doily bathmats I found on etsy. They are pretty, and funny, and granny chic as well as contempory- all at the same time. I want to carve my own giant needles to make these, but buying might be the more practical option.
What makes these rugs so perfect is the scale. Anyone can crochet a big doily with normal needles and yarn, but it would look like a table cloth on the floor. The folks a Squirrelicious understand scale! Please click on the grey words and check this shop out!

Germinating Peppers... and some Celery

As cheap as I am, I have spent the past few months trying to figure out the cheapest way to start my garden. Growing from seeds, is the cheapest way to get plants, but how to germinate. I've been looking at the clear egg carton each week knowing there has got to be another use for it besides the recycle can, and then I put the two together- an egg carton seed germinator. It sort of looks like the ones in the catalog, so I modified it to work. I cut off the inner part and cut holes in the bottom, the inner egg holder can now serve as the "saucer" and the clear plastic top holds the heat and moisture.
The heating mat- I didn't want to buy a heating mat, but I had a heating pad. So the kit was about complete, all I needed to add was some soil, lights, a place to set up and a couple of racks to keep the seed germinators off the direct heat. As luck would have it, I just got an order from Amazon in a nice sized box. In went the rack, heating pad, another rack, seed germinators, and some lighting from the top. And, the box went under the dining table, who's way would it be in there? And, then there is the question of how hot. I checked my Local extension office in Alabama and they have a chart for all vegetables. Prefect!
So, in my seed germinators are Pepper Giant Thai Hot, Pepper jackpot hybrid (both from Park Seed), Jalapeno M  Pepper from Ferry-Morse and Tall Utah 5270 Improved Celery also from Ferry-Morse. Some of these I have started a bit late for my area, but I'm hoping shade tents will keep the worst of the Alabama Summer Sun off of them.
In the pots outside I have a Radish mix and some Simpson Black Lettuce that I am picking from each day and I direct sowed some "Renagade" Spinach about a week ago. I have one spinach seedling up. And, we are expecting sleet ot snow on Monday. Looks like the lettuce will be needing a hat! if all this grows and fruits, I'll be finishing the Summer with my favorite canning recipes and drying methods. I should only be so lucky!