Decorate and Renovate

03 Sep

PARTY!!!!

Wouldn’t you just love to be the party goers that get to walk up this path? I recently got to “meet”, via this wonderful blog world of ours, Kate Todd, the voice of the Party Resources blog. Kate is the daughter of renowned party planner Ann Perry Todd, a.k.a. “Dixie”.

As luck would have it, Kate invited me to be a guest on her blog and throw out a few of my favorite party ideas. I was very flattered and more than happy to oblige! I hope you have a chance to hop over and take a peek! Kate has been quite busy collecting great party ideas for all of us to try out ourselves. AND while you are at it….you will want to take a look at Dixie Todd’s website. So many spectacular parties! As we all know, it is no small feat to put together a party as beautifully as those shown on Party Resources. My party hat is off to Dixie and Kate!!!

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02 Sep

J & A Master Bedroom:: The Reveal!!

Category: Interior Decorating

J & A Master Bedroom:: The Reveal!!
Well, if you like lots and lots of pictures, then today is your lucky day! I am absolutely tickled pink at how John & Alice’s bedroom turned out, and I’m so excited to show it to you. So excited, in fact, that I’m pretty sure I had my mom document every square inch of the room. So, you ready? Here goes…

First, let’s remember where this room started:

All of the furniture in the room
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01 Sep

It’s a Giveaway:: Hand-Printed Textiles From Saffron Marigold

Category: Interior Decorating

It’s a Giveaway:: Hand-Printed Textiles From Saffron Marigold
Hello all! I’m so sorry I stood you up yesterday. It was a crazy busy day, and I had to hit the ground running, which left no time for blogging. But hopefully I can make it up to you today with this incredible giveaway from Saffron Marigold!Saffron Marigold sells exquisite block-print textiles, such as duvet covers, tablecloths, table runners, pillow covers, cushion covers, curtains, and
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01 Sep

Extraordinary: Extraordinary Desserts

Category: Design and Ideas

Extraordinary: Extraordinary Desserts

Creme Brullee

I just have to ask….is it fair? One does try to keep one’s figure, but really…..the battle is already lost as soon as one enters HERE. But then again, who cares, when surrender is so delicious?

Caramelized Chocolate Lava Bun

A friend of mine, who happens to know my penchant for sweets, suggested that I check out a little place by the name of Extraordinary Desserts. I thought, “why not….the kids always like to go to bakeries”. We were planning a walk through downtown San Diego anyway to see the changes since I had been there last (did I mention before that Tim and I met on New Year’s Eve in downtown San Diego? Anyway, I digress….) After our hike through the city, a little refreshment might be just the ticket.

Lemon Cupcakes

Little did I imagine I would end up looking like the the latest Lotto winner as soon as I entered the door. I have never seen so many and such beautiful desserts in my life….and believe me, I have seen plenty.

Chocolate Strudel

At first we just sat there staring with our jaws hanging open. One enters Extraordinary Desserts to the full view of the pastry cases. You must pass them to get to the seating area. We discovered that there is no “dessert menu”. When you are done with your meal, you get up and peruse the cases, and try to narrow down the choices to one. Ahem….our waitress thought we had gone AWOL since we were trying to decide for at least 15 minutes.

Raspberry Linzer Danish

By the way, Extraordinary Desserts does have very tasty salads, sandwiches and paninis, which we did eat as well. Tim kept it light with a hummus and olive plate. I had a delicious smoked salmon sandwich, and my daughter had a grilled cheese panini….all very good!

Coffee Cake and Choclate Chip Cookies

But really, what could upstage these confectionery superstars? Here are just a few more pictures just you can understand why my defenses were overrun.

Flourless Chocolate Cake heaped with Fresh Fruit

Chocolate Covered Truffle Loaf Bundt Cakes and Cream Cheese Brownies

Cakes ready for Take Home

After I realized surrender was really the only option, I relaxed and enjoyed the clean and contemporary surroundings punctuated with an Asian flair. The restaurant had a relaxed feel, but I still felt like I was in a place where I would be pampered.

Extraordinary Desserts Restaurant Interior

Extraordinary Desserts Desserts Case Display

So….are you curious as to what we picked? Tim had huge self control and only ordered the Kiwi Lemonade (made with crushed Kiwi fruit….there were many other flavors as well….yum!).

Tim’s Kiwi Lemonade and Hummus Plate

That control seemed to fizzle as soon as my, and my daughter’s, desserts were brought to the table. My daughter had the chocolate croissant bread pudding.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

I had the Nectarine Crostata. (I am a sucker for fruit desserts of any kind.) Tim dove across the table like it was his last meal. I literally had to move my plate out of reach before it was completely devoured. My poor daughter had to fend for herself at that point. Nothing comes between me and my dessert.

Nectarine Crostata

For more info about the restaurant hop on over HERE and for more about the amazing chef and founder, Karen Krasne, click HERE

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31 Aug

Two Penny-Pinching Projects

Category: Interior Decorating

Two Penny-Pinching Projects
Today I wanted to share with you two more little projects I did for J & A’s master bedroom. (The big reveal is coming up this week. I just have to get my photographer, a.k.a., my retired photographer mom with the fancy camera, over to the house to take some beautiful photos! My little point and click camera just won’t do the job.)First up, I needed to make another pillow. You see, I had
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31 Aug

Oudoor Garden Inspirations for Outdoor Living

Category: Design and Ideas

Oudoor Garden Inspirations for Outdoor Living

I can never get enough of gorgeous outdoor inspirations - especially when

there’s a gorgeous garden and greenery to go with it. Isn’t the backyard

above just gorgeous?

The white curtains in the background are so romantic in the summer breeze.

The lavender fabric is also a perfect color to complement the surrounding

greenery.

Indoor lamps really make this gorgeous garden setting look polished and chic.

Chips and salsa on a barrel…

Colored glass vases make this garden pop. At night, all you

need are some tea lights in the vases for it to give a soft

magical glow with color.

The fabric makes this dining area so cozy. Candles really

top it off. I can just imagine what this would look like at

dusk.

What a great difference just a pink runner an pink flowers can make!

Love the pillows on the hammock - it really creates

a pop of color and gives the scene an exotic look.

Photos from DIY magazine

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Visit the original post at: Alkemie

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28 Aug

In the Pink in San Juan Capistrano

Category: Design and Ideas

In the Pink in San Juan Capistrano

Studio Pink

Last week the Denham family was gone for a break in sunny San Diego and we took full advantage, packing a lot into a 7 day trip! It is a long drive to San Diego from Sacramento….it can take 8 hours on a good day. To break up the drive, we like to stop in San Juan Capistrano for a leg stretch and some dinner. On this trip, we tried a restaurant I had seen last time we were in town…..and right next door, I found THIS cute shop:

How lucky was that?! Studio Pink is an off-shoot of Whim Design and is all about the “pink”. Unfortunately for me, the shop was closed by the time we rolled into town (one less bathroom stop and we would have made it!), but I had fun peeking in the windows! And the storefront is adorable.

I did run across more info about Whim on the Fabulous Finds Gal blog, so hop on over for a look!! The pillows, the shell mirror, the pink gourd lamp, all so fun and flirty with the Pink walls as a backdrop.

I am peering through the windows taking pictures and when I am done……Tim had disappeared. I suppose pink is just not his color. More likely, he is just starving….so the girls and I hunt him down next door:

Sundried Tomato Cafe

The Sundried Tomato Cafe was a fun little spot to stop for dinner. California fresh with lots of sundried tomatoes on the menu….we were happy to sit a spell and relax.

The girls love artichokes and this one was so good with Parmesan melted all down into the cracks and bread crumbs baked on top. It was served with a garlic and sundried tomato aoli….yum!

I had the Sundried tomato bisque (natch!) with a salad and topped it off with a fresh berry cobbler…..no sharing (and no sundried tomatoes).

This vacation was starting off really well!

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27 Aug

"Kristi, Everything You Touch Turns To Gold"

Category: Interior Decorating

"Kristi, Everything You Touch Turns To Gold"
I hear these words quite often from Matt. He is absolutely the most supportive and encouraging husband in the world. But one thing’s for sure…he’s delusional. How do I know? Because sometimes, projects go like this:First, I get a grand idea in my head. A project, a beautiful project…and in my head, it looks simply fantastic. Sheer perfection.So I go online to find inspiration and
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27 Aug

New York City Abodes - A Sampling of Blue & Green Diamond Baratta Designs

Category: Design and Ideas

New York City Abodes - A Sampling of Blue & Green Diamond Baratta Designs

Diamond Baratta Design is a fantastic interior design

firm based in New York City. This post shows selections

of their work in New York City from the magazine New

York Spaces. For those of you Turquoise, Teal or Blue

lovers, this is a great post for you.

Such a gorgeous rug and carpet!

Beautiful blues.

Pattern on Pattern.

Perfect way to match wall art to hardware

(in this case the pendant light fixture.)

A pop of turquoise with brown. Not a color combinaton

one would normally think of but it definitely works.

I’m a big fan of using photography as wall art.

This could have been such a drab space but

Diamond and Baratta did no neglect it -

instead they really dressed it up with glass

panel walls in blue.

Diamond Baratta Design

If you like the aesthetics of Diamond Baratta designs,

you’ll really enjoy this book that has great samples of

their work.

So what was your favorite item or room?

Photos from New York Spaces magazine

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26 Aug

I Heart "Heart Rock Herb and Spice Co."!

Category: Design and Ideas

I Heart "Heart Rock Herb and Spice Co."!

Moroccan Spice Blend

Yesterday, I promised to tell you what I received from my girlfriends on the trip to Lake Tahoe. One of the gifts was finding out that my friend Diane (the Master Gardener friend) is starting up a brand new company of hand blended herbs and spices!

Herbs de Provence

Diane has a spectacular garden, which I have blogged about before HERE. She has been collecting rocks in the shape of hearts ever since moving to the lake…..so it was only natural that the name for her new company would be Heart Rock Herb and Spice Co.

Diane surprised us with a little herb and spice blending party of our own! We are all big “foodies” and cook a big dinner whenever we visit, so this was right up our alley. We got to recreate some of her recipes for ourselves! SO cool! Diane let us choose the blends, so we picked her Moroccan blend, her Herbs de Provence blend, the Malaysian blend and we had to try the Tahoe blend, of course.

Diane has sourced herbs and spices specifically for their freshness and is blending the spices per order right before they are shipped so that they are at their peak of fragrant flavor.

Fresh Herbs and Spices

It was so much fun getting to play with all of the ingredients….like the rose petals and lavender, which we used in the Moroccan blend, and the lemon grass and dill we used in the Tahoe blend.

There is so much information on Diane’s website HERE about all of the herbs and spices, and about how you can take advantage of all of the goodness yourselves! Diane not only has an array of cooking herbs and spices, but she has put together a delicious collection of room fragrance blends as well. (Part of our gift was a blend of the month club…..yes…..that means we are getting a new blend every month!!! Lucky or what?!)

Diane is donating 10% of her profits to two non-profit organizations she is passionate about:

Bread and Broth, a food program for the hungry of South Lake Tahoe where Diane is the Director, donating her cooking talents and direction, and also to the Thunderbird Gardens, where Diane is the Master Gardener/Garden Coordinator. Yes….Diane is one busy woman. She puts me to shame…..while at the same time inspiring me to do even more.

These are what I brought home with me!

Diane I “heart” you too! You are my favorite Spice Girl!!!

A heart rock we found on our picnic at Thunderbird Lodge. Our Girl’s Weekend could not have held any more wonderful and coincidental little surprises!

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