Bold Striped Walls

Hope you all had a great weekend!  

From these pictures, take a wild guess at what I am contemplating for my next project around the house.....

     via Decor Pad 

That's right - stripes!

Horizontal, vertical, fat, skinny... I love them all!  I love them as a statement wall in a room with a neutral palate...

                           via Emily Clark

As a graphic backdrop in a more traditional setting (with botanical gallery wall and antique piano)...

                     via Pinterest

And check out these vertical stripes in a sassy metallic gold... such a bold choice!

                                    via Amanda Carol at Home

More narrow stripes in black and white - don't you think they make this small space look taller?

                  via Elle Decor 

Or wide and chocolate brown in a pantry / bar area... classic and pretty.

Am I crazy or do you love them too??

Taking a Shortcut in the Kitchen

You know those days that you are dead tired after work, and cannot imagine putting the effort into actually cooking something?  Well that was me last night.

This last year, I've been trying to improve my culinary skills, but having lived on my own for years before moving in with my sweetiepie, my specialty is the semi-homemade meal for one.  AKA - taking something that comes pretty much ready to heat and serve, and making it "fancy" with a few chopped fresh ingrediants. A trick I learned from my dad, and it really helps (if you've ever tried his "fancy" hotdogs with cheese, chopped scallions, fresh tomatoes, and diced jalapeno, you know what I mean!)

Well last night, soup was on the menu - this one in particular is filling and incredibly delicious for a canned soup - I highly recommend.  Being on my little diet, the best part about this soup in particular, is that for the full can (two servings) it's just 280 calories.  Works for me baby!

A cubed avocado, some fresh cilantro, some diced jalapeno, and a dash of red chili flakes later (yes, I like it spicy) my boring can of soup was transformed.  And I was a happy girl :-)

Any advice for other fancied up shortcut meals??

Exploring the Market of the World...

Have you been to World Market (formerly Cost Plus) lately?

Sweet baby Jesus, they have some AMAZING finds!  My office is literally across the street from Pier 39, which means awesome views - both of the bay, as well as of lost tourists and more fanny packs than you can imagine... Side Note: Where are people still buying fanny packs??  It is a great mystery to me...

Getting back to my original point, World Market is just a hop skip and a jump away, so I can escape calmly walk over during a lunch break, and indulge in a little retail therapy.  For those of you who haven't been to World Market in a while - please do - its not all incense and meditation pillows anymore - they have some seriously fabulous pieces!

I have to add, they are not paying me to say any of this... I'm just way into them right now

Hello there beautiful zebra printed Louis XVI dining chair!!  Imagine a pair of these in a living room... or as an addition to an office (um what if you added mini casters to the legs... fabulous AND functional).  I could even see a chair like this in a bedroom or hallway... heck, it would pretty much work anywhere!  AND it's on sale!  I was barely able to resist.

Look at what else I found - an assortment of animal hide rugs!  Remember my obsession with cow hide rugs that I posted about here??  That obsession is still alive and well my friends. I still want one for the dining room!  Not entirely sure if these are real, but if they weren't, they could have fooled me!

This drafting desk was just calling to me - I've never drafted a thing in my life, but I feel that I need this.  Of course, we have no where to put it, and it would provide zero storage (one of the musts for anything we bring into our tiny apartment), but its just SO COOL.

Don't even get me started on this bookshelf - Jenny of The Little Green Notebook featured it recently - painted grey I believe, but I actually love the dark wood.  And can we talk about that mini ladder??  I'm a tall gal at 5'8" (without heels) so the ladder would be kind of ironic, but I love it regardless.

Can you tell which part of this next vignette I'm loving??  If you guessed the headboard, you'd be right, but not the one you see in the back.  The cutesy buttons are not doing it for me, however, the headboard in the forefront - the one that is unfortunately covered up by all those "exotic" pillows, is just lovely.  I love the nail-head, and love that it's trimmed out in wood.

On to the accessories - I'm ALL ABOUT this weathered globe (everyone will surely think me worldly and well traveled), but have a feeling that I can find one of these at a Goodwill in the area...

And of course, the garden stools - does anyone actually use these as seating??  Doubtful... they don't look comfortable, but they are still so fab - especially the shiny gold one. Me likey :-)

And what did I find here?? The faux fur throws... which as we all know, I went home with.  I'm still trying to find the right spot for him to live - yes our faux fur throw is a "him".  Will he go in the living room, or the bedroom??  To be determined...

Does anyone else have any good finds they've stumbled upon recently??

Healthy Eating: Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings With Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

Dieting sucks.  Let's just be honest with ourselves.  I love steak with a solid pad of butter on top.  If I could eat the massive burritos from Super Burrito Express II every night I'd be a happy girl (and by the way, don't judge me... Super Burrito Express II is AMAZING, despite it's unfortunate name).  The problem is that I associate healthy food with bland food, but I'm desperately trying to change the healthy = bland mantra that I chant (in my head of course) as I watch the girls in my office pretend that they are stuffed after their carrot sticks and hummus.  If this doesn't work, the next step is hypnosis... I kid... sort of.

In an effort to fit back in my pants eat healthier, I've been scouring all my favorite food blogs for healthy recipes, that are tasty (most important) and easy (a close second) - baby steps, right??

This recipe from Domestic Fits for Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings fits the bill... and who doesn't love chicken wings, right??  

The key here is that they are baked, not fried, and all the flavor comes from from the seasoning.  Even the sauce uses goat cheese (one of the most low in fat cheeses... yay) but you could also substitute this with greek yogurt if you aren't a fan of goat cheese.  I haven't met a cheese I don't like, so I can't wait to smother daintily dip my wings in this sauce...

Ingredients:

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried minced garlic

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbs olive oil

8 chicken legs or wings

1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped

2 oz goat cheese

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbs sour cream

Directions:

While you preheat the oven to 425, combine the first 7 ingredients in a plastic bag, or a bowl.  Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub to coat. Add the chicken to the bag (or bowl) and toss or shake bag until well coated.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, turn the chicken over, and continue to bake until cooked through, about 10-15 additional minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken).   In a food processor, add the roasted red pepper, goat cheese salt and sour cream, process until well combined.

And... voila!  Easy right??  I love those kinds of recipes :-)

Deal of the Century - $70 Chandelier

Does anyone else follow Emily Hewitt of A Well Dressed Home?  Her taste is very similar to mine in terms of the palattes she goes for, and I absolutely adore her bedroom.

The color is great, I LOVE that upholstered headboard, and the bedding is classic and soft.  Looking beyond everything fabulous that is happening here, the real gem of this room is that chandelier!  And guess where it's from??  The Home Depot - and it's plastic.  She posts about it here, and I agree - for $100 it's a steal, and since no one goes to touch your chandelier, who cares what it's made of as long as it looks real!

This brings me to my find this morning... Joss & Main is having a sale from AF Lighting (sale here), and guess what I found??  I nearly identical chandelier to the one Emily has hanging in her room... same specs, but ~$40 cheaper!  Holla!


I know a great deal when I see one, so I snatched this pretty chandy up faster than a fat kid going after the last donut hole.  With an additional 5% off (hey, I'll take it where I can get it) I snagged this lovely fixture for $70 - shipping included.

I'm no electrician, but I'm sure we can figure this out.  The hardest decision is deciding where we should hang it - in our bedroom to replace the current boob light the landlord so lovingly installed, or in the dining room, where there is an equally hideous light fixture??

For those unfamiliar with the boob light, feast your eyes:

Decisions, decisions... sounds like it's going to ship pretty quickly, so I'm looking forward to a special package in the mail.  Next up, getting a pretty ceiling medallion for the installation!