About Time

It's about time I showed yall some updated pictures of the house.  

I don't know if you remember what the living room looked like so here are a few before pictures:

 

(above pic is prior owners furniture)

We ordered new furniture once we got everything cleared on the house and it came in just in time - we only had to use patio furniture for a day or two.  We sold our old sofa and chair to the girl who bought the townhouse, so it was crucial to get it in ASAP so we would have something to sit on.  Thanks to my helpers, I picked out some great fabric that will be durable and I will like for a long time.  (I promise I did not purposely adjust the pictures to have a yellow tone - since the trim was brown/yellow and the walls were yellow everything took on that glow)

Sofa: background fabric

Big Pillow: Left

Club Chair: Right

Step 1: Paint the trim and bookshelf.  We had someone do all the trim in the house and then got the best professionals (aka Jeff and his dad) to paint the walls. 

Well Hello Jeff!

Big Improvement already

Step 2: Pick out a wall color.  It's harder than it looks.  Jeff has been eager to paint everything right away (which I am very happy about) but it just made me have to choose paint colors right away.  For those of you who don't know me I am a very indecisive person, so making a decision that I am going to have to live with for a long time is a big deal to me.  I would hate to pick a color, have them paint everything and then decide I don't like it. This color was going to go in the living room, all down the hall, entry way, and kitchen so it had to be perfect.  I got several samples and painted them on poster board, then picked my favorites and painted them on the wall just to make sure I would like it (anything I picked would have been better than what was there - no offense previous owners - just not my style).  We lived like this (below pic) for a couple of days before I finally picked a color. 

But needless to say I picked a color and I LOVE it!!!  

It's Vapor Trails from Benjamin Moore

Step 3: Put everything back where it was, order a rug, and change out the faceplate on the electrical outlets and light switches (did you notice the light switch - Ugh!)

 
 

I love built in bookshelves!!  

It's my favorite thing about this room - they are a work in progress but so far so good!!

Whoo Hoo

 

YAY!!  It's the start of our long Memorial Day weekend!  

Hope you have a good one!

Weekend Recap

We just had the best weekend with my parents and my in-laws!!  I love it when we are all together. And we had the BEST food - we ate all weekend long and it was wonderful!!  Most of you know that I am a foodie and as a foodie this weekend topped them all.

 

Friday: Mom and dad arrived around 3, I got off work around 4, and the party began!  They brought up trout (similar to salmon in color and taste) and we had the crew over for trout, rice, salad and Mrs. Deb's strawberry shortcakes.  Sorry no pictures - there was no time- food went down to fast!  I watched dad cook the fish so I will know how to do that in the future, but I still need to sit down with Mrs. Deb next time she makes the short cakes.  They were Awesome!!  

Saturday: We went out to eat at Folks Folly for a little early birthday celebrations. Best steak ever!

Sunday: On mothers day I had a brunch celebration at our house to honor my mom and mother-in-law.  The menu consisted of shrimp and grits, ham biscuits, fruit with baileys dipping sauce, mimosa's, and bloody mary's. I have to say, the shrimp and grits were the best I have ever had.  It started from a Food.com recipe, but I modified it to add white wine, tomatoes, changed the cheese, and added more sauce.  Here it is below:

 

  

 

Shrimp and Grits

(serves 8)

Ingredients:4 cups water

1 (29 ounce) can chicken broth

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups regular grits (I used quick grits and they were fine)

2 cups Gouda cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

6-8 slices bacon

2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cup sliced green onion

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 -2 cup white wine

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

2 to taste lemon wedge

Directions:

Grits:  Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in grits; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened; add Gouda cheese and next 4 ingredients; set aside but keep warm.

Sauce & Shrimp:
- Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lay down slices of bacon.  Cook in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until it has reached the desired crispiness (Alternative method is to cook bacon in a pan); remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserve 3-4 tablespoon of drippings and put in a skillet; crumble bacon and set aside.
- Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour. Set aside.
- Saute mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes, or until tender; add green onions and saute 2 minutes; and garlic and saute 2 minutes; stir in white wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, and hot sauce and cook 2 more minutes, stir in salt and pepper to taste. Add shrimp to the sauce and stir until they are pink.  If the sauce looks dry then add white wine and lemon.

Serve: Divide grits into large, shallow soup bowls; divide shrimp mixture into servings and place on top of grits; top each serving with crumbled bacon and serve with lemon wedges

If you are going to make for a crowd then you can do a few things ahead of time:
- Peel and devein shrimp
- Grade cheese
- chop green onions

Afterwards we relaxed on the deck - my kind of weekend!!

 

 

Boo its Monday again

Via

Office Chair

I'm in the market for an office chair and I love the look of the petite wingback chairs.  Some of the bigger wingback chairs are too formal and a little overwhelming for my taste but, the smaller ones are perfect in size and would be a nice addition to my house.  I came across some great ones but unfortunately they are a little too pricey for my budget.

                     

 

Aidan Gray

The size, lines, and color of this chair are great and just look at all the detail around the edges.  Of course the soft color of the fabric and the spindle legs appealed to me right away.

The below chair is from Restoration Hardware.  Although, I am not a fan of the deconstructed look, I do love the shape and size.  I wish you could ask them to actually finish the chair and order it that way. 

Then there is this one that I love!!

                                   

Stanley Coastal Living Bay Host Dining Chair

Another option could be to something like this, also from Restoration Hardware  which is a little more reasonable in price

                              

 The search is on and continues - hopefully I will decide one something soon.

:)

Love this time of Year!

In Love

I am in LOVE this this piece of furniture.

I was googling "sideboard tables" and came across this cute little store in Oregon. Everything in the store seems to fit my style. The store is called Sesame and Lilies. I have contacted them about the piece, but bet that it was a onetime item they had. Also, it might be a tad expensive to have it shipped to Memphis. Might be worth it though ;)

Either way, I am totally obsessed with this store and might have to make a trip to Oregon. Anyone with me?