i'll take my kitchen black, please

I seem to decorate with my emotions, my moods. I recently changed several rooms from deep crimson, terra cotta, and gold to black. What does that say about how I've been feeling?

I have 3 connected rooms. The living room, the family room, and the kitchen. It's hard to change one without changing the others. So I tackled all 3 rooms at once.

IN THE KITCHEN...
I didn't have the money to purchase new cabinets, so I opted to paint them. I also raised the top cabinets 7" and installed hardware. I used long stainless handles, and places them horizontal along the bottom of the doors. I did this because I like it, and because most people would hang them vertically. It also means that the horizontal placement of the handle on the drawers and the doors are the same.


Yes, I said that I am decorating with black, when the color is actually called Lincoln Cottage Black*. It's actually a charcoal gray that looks pretty much black depending on the light and time of day.

Saving money by not purchasing new cabinets, I splurged on new stainless steel appliances. The refrigerator, stove & microwave. I didn't purchase a new dishwasher. I just changed the front panel to the black side so you hardly notice it's there. (unless it's running, a new one would have been so much quieter!)

My favorite change: The sink and faucet! My dad installed both for me, with my brother's help. (including a new disposal.) The sink is very deep, and with the addition of the industrial-look faucet, can easily fill 5 gallon buckets - which I often do!

I painted the walls a light mushroom color. I carried this color into the living area, the family room and up the staircase and through the halls.

I turned the pantry door into a chalkboard. My original door is white and paneled. That original door is still there. I removed the handle and placed a piece of 1/8" hardboard cut to size at the hardware store. I used several pieces of removable double sided foam tape to adhere the board to the door. Several coats of chalkboard paint were applied, letting each coat dry before applying a new one. A new nickel finish door handle, and some chalk, and voila! a reversible and very handy door. I use it for homeschool, grocery lists, favorite quotes, and to do lists. My daughter uses it for fun. Her cousins have fun drawing away when they are visiting and hopefully I don't send them home to later draw on the walls there. whoops!


Raising the upper cabinets allowed me to add magnet strips, shelves and more for additional fun storage. The neutral color palate allows me to change accent colors and pieces on a whim. Right now, apple green.

Check out more of my recent decorating obsession:

take time for family, room

i'm dreaming of a living room (we actually use)

*paint: Valspar Lincoln Cottage Black from Lowes (4009-2) in Satin. (It's only available in Satin and Semi Gloss - and I'm usually a flat and eggshell person.) I used the tinted primer recommended for this paint. It is a color from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

i'm dreaming of a living room (we actually use)

This is the living room. The first room you walk into when you go through the front door. "Living room?" you say. "That's an office!"


Again in my way, I have to do something to a room that has an intended purpose, but I want it to be very different and actually useful for our family. An art studio and office works perfectly for us. I made sure I had plenty of storage in black/brown finish to store clutter away. (Although I took these photos at a moments notice and do have clutter on the desk and a few other surfaces.)


I installed the "track" lighting on the right. It's basically a kit that you double stick to the surface you want it on. I then painted the "rail" to match and you hardly notice it. It's plugged into an outlet behind the cabinets. I also have my printer in the cabinet behind the desk. Fun, easy to use and maintain room.

Although I may be timid in many other areas in my life, changing and decorating is not one of them. This room has been painted 2 to 3 prior to this by me. I've been known to paint a room while my husband is at work, somehow thinking in my twisted head that he won't notice. But even a low VOC paint leaves a smell. I'm sure he knew, but didn't say a thing! As long as I leave his paintings out he'd let me do pretty much anything I wanted. Whoooo hooooo! A perfect match for a girl who dreams decor and doodles in floor plans on a daily basis.

take time for family, room

So, if form follows function, how usable and comfortable the family room became was the basis for all my design choices in this room. It had to have comfortable seating, places to put your popcorn and drinks - and let's face it - your dinner plate, games, dvd's, tv, blah, blah, blah. If a room isn't usable, it isn't designed.


I painted a wall in my family room the same black as my kitchen cabinets. This wall is directly opposite those cabinets, a nice juxtaposition. I had already installed the hard wood floors and base moldings. I wanted to replace the slate tile, but ran out of time and money.


True to form, the furniture placement is now completely and totally different than pictured here. I change rooms around on a monthly, or sometimes weekly, basis. A no cost way to make your space feel different.


My husband is an artist and I love these picture ledges from Ikea. This way the paintings can be moved, added, and changed at anytime, without further holes in the walls. I purchased 6 45" ledges, placing 3 side by side (total 135") at 2 levels. The bottom one is about 6-8" above where the back of the couch would be. I would never place the couch up against the wall (placing furniture around the perimeter of a room is a big personal no! no!) but I can make sure that the line of sight to what is on the walls is not obstructed.


From the family room looking into the kitchen. I also painted the railings here and up the staircase in the same Lincoln Colonial Black. (Mental note, need window treatments in kitchen.)

As you can probably tell from my mental note, changing my living spaces is an ongoing process. I can't clean a room without changing things around. As I lay in bed and try to go to sleep, visions of rooms, paint and decor dance through my head. Oh, if only I had unlimited time and unlimited funds. Yup, my life would be totally out of balance. Maybe it's okay that I have to get creative with money and find the time to do the work myself. Maybe....

*paint: Valspar Lincoln Cottage Black from Lowes (4009-2) in Satin. (It's only available in Satin and Semi Gloss - and I'm usually a flat and eggshell person.) I used the tinted primer recommended for this paint. It is a color from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

too much chocolate?

I know you're thinking, there is no such thing as too much chocolate! I used to think that too, until I had a booth at a chocolate festival. I heard 1000's (that's thousands) of times "Oh, I couldn't eat another bite!" and "I've had too much chocolate." and my personal favorite "I think I'm gonna puke!"

But, if you're not in an expo center filled with over a hundred chocolate vendors and 15 extra large chocolate fountains, those phrases will probably never pass your lips - or your mind!

I went through an obsession with homemade chocolate candies & treats about 8 years ago. For Mother's Day I made dozens of chocolates and packaged them in decorative stoneware casserole dishes for my mom and sisters. It was beautiful, simple, delicious, and wonderfully useful for years after the chocolates were savored and digested.

Then came word that chocolate was a superfood. Good for your cardiovascular system. But not just any chocolate, dark chocolate. You need to find chocolate that lists the cacao or cocoa content at 60% or above. Now we can add "good for you" to "divine," and "heavenly."

Here are some delicious chocolate tips and recipes...

play with your food

My daughter won't eat meat. Although my husband and I occasionally eat meat, my daughter just doesn't like it. She is almost a natural vegetarian - she occasionally likes chicken nuggets or tuna. This really isn't cause for me to worry though, as many of the other foods she likes are protein rich. So much so, that she is getting what she needs.

It can be discouraging when children just won't eat certain foods. People often try to trick their kids by adding pureed veggies to random foods or forcing and coercing kids to try the foods they want them to eat. What we really need to do is stop plotting and worrying and start making food fun! You heard it right, I'm advocating playing with your food!

Since my daughter was about 2 or 3, she has been hearing about superfoods, helping me make her food, and having tea parties several times a week. Make eating fun, let kids be part of the creation and decision process. Teach them little bits every day about what food is for our bodies. No, it's not fuel! I hear people say that food is to our bodies as fuel is to our cars. Do you have a car that uses fuel to fix that crack in the windshield, or pump up a flat tire? Our body uses the nutrients in food to fix our bodies, help them grow, make them strong, help us think, and on and on! A lot more than giving us energy to go!


{Visit the USDA pyramid site for serving size recommendations for kids. They also have fun online games and printable worksheets.}

Fun ways to eat nutritious foods:

Edamame is delicious and fun! (soybeans) We like to buy it frozen and unshelled. I just steam or microwave until warm, sprinkle a little sea salt over the top, and serve!

Peanut and Almond Butter served with whole grain crackers, sliced apples and celery for dipping.

Vegetable Art: serve cut up veggies in a bowl and with an empty plate. Kids can use the plate as a canvas and the veggies as their paint. Turn cauliflower into clouds, celery stalks into tree trunks, etc. After you've completed your art project - eat it!

Make fruit smoothies together. Use only wholesome ingredients like: fruit, fruit juice, yogurt, honey, etc. NO ice cream, sherbet or sugar. Instead of ice, use half of your fruit frozen.

Have a rainbow week. On Monday eat only green vegetables and fruits, Tuesday is orange, Wednesday is red, and so on. Colors tell us the nutrients in the foods, so our bodies need to eat a rainbow!

Produce Detective: When shopping at the grocery store, have kids search out a fruit or veggie that they want to try. Buy a few and try them a couple of different ways.

Invite some friends over for a cooking class party. This is not as hard as you think - I have held kids cooking classes with over 50 attendees. I'll be adding kids cooking class party plans on this blog at a later date.

Chart it: Put a sticker on a chart for every fruit and veggie eaten every day. Plan rewards, like a picnic in the park, for reaching a goal.

Mix it up: Let each child make their own trail mix (set up ingredients like a salad bar: dried fruits like cranberries, raisins, apricots, coconut, etc., freeze dried berries and veggies, nuts, seeds, cereal, etc.). They can then name their creation, design packaging and have their siblings and friends take turns trying the different mixes. (Packaging can consist of snack size ziploc baggies and plain sticker mailing labels. Stick a plain label on each baggie and provide crayons for the artwork.)

Tea parties: I set up a dinner plate or small platter with a selection of "snack foods" like fresh berries, grapes, cucumbers, baby carrots, sliced cheese, crackers, rolled up sliced turkey, etc. I then serve this on a table covered with a table cloth (pink, of course), small salad or dessert plate to eat from, cup and saucer for the "tea" which is usually warmed water with mint and lemon wedges with a little honey to sweeten or 100% fruit juice.

String Bean Cafe: When I worked as a wedding planner, a couple of sisters I worked with told me of pretending to run a restaurant when they were kids. I loved this idea and have done it many times. Naming your restaurant and making signs and menus are fun art projects. Have the kids help make the food and set the table. Then take turns coming to the restaurant and being waited on.

Seafood: Make a meal that's a play on words. This "seafood" dinner is actually a turkey or veggie hotdog "octopus", macaroni "sea shells" & cheese, and a green "seaweed" salad. Cut the hotdog in half legnth wise about 3/4 of the way through, leaving the top 1/4 to be the head. Turn it over and cut again in half legnthwise 3/4 of the way through. You'll now have a hotdog with the top 1/4 whole and 4 attached "legs". Cook covered in boiling water. The "legs" will curl up as it cooks and look like octopus legs.

What are some fun things you do?

super pumpkins

No, I'm not talking about 300 pound pumpkins. It's the orange color of the pumpkins that make it super. Yup, it's beta carotene, which our body uses to make vitamin A. It's a heart, eye and brain healthy food. Pumpkins can also help keep us young, as antioxidants neutralize cell damaging free radicals. So, pumpkins are a superfood. And a quite delicious one.

My favorite pumpkin dish is Pumpkin Pie. It's humble beginnings were in Colonial America. Colonists scooped out the seeds and pulp and filled the pumpkin with honey, milk, and spices. The top was replaced and the whole thing was roasted in the fire. My daughter and I went to a re-creation of the First Thanksgiving a few months ago. One of our favorite dishes was the roasted pumpkin, which was not sweetened with honey or anything. After having pumpkin in mostly sweet dessert and bread dishes, it took a few bites before I wasn't thinking, "Oh, there's something wrong with this." A few more bites, and I was in love.

My sister Mandy makes deliciously famous pumpkin scones, which I am unable to eat in moderation. The same goes for my sister Heidi's pumpkin bread or my sister Rachael's chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. I wish that I could justify eating a whole loaf of pumpkin bread in one sitting because of the superfood status. Unfortunately, some of the other ingredients are better for our health and weight in moderation.

Because of canned pumpkin, we can enjoy pumpkin treats and dishes year round. But when they are in season, you should try fresh pumpkin. Once, I made the same recipe twice in one day - once using fresh roasted pumpkin puree and the other canned pumpkin. My taste buds, and the taste buds of my many taste testers, could actually tell the difference. The recipe made with fresh roasted pumpkin tasted better. So, if you have access to fresh pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins, try this recipe to make pumpkin puree for your favorite recipe:

{Remember, you won't get a good pumpkin flavor with jack o'lantern or other pumpkins. You need to use the pie or sugar pumpkins.}

Roasted Pumpkin Puree

-Cut your pumpkin in half and remove seeds and pulp.
-Place cut side down in a roasting pan.
-Poke the skin of the pumpkin a few times with a fork.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven until soft. You'll be able to pierce the skin and flesh easily with a fork.
-Let it cool.
-Scoop out flesh into a colander and let excess liquid drain off.
-Place drained pumpkin into blender and blend until smooth.

Heidi's Pumpkin Bread recipe

party planning: step by step

Planning a Party
Step by Step

STEP ONE:
the foundation – WHO – WHAT - WHY - WHERE

Answer the following four questions. They will be the basis for all other decisions for your party.

*WHO do you want to come?
*WHAT do you want to spend?
*WHY are you having a party? (birthday, holiday, etc.)
*WHERE will the party be held?


STEP TWO:
the frame work
(click the links below for more detailed information.)
theme:
-the springboard for all other party decisions.
menu:
-it's not a party without food and drinks.
atmosphere:
-set the mood and entertain.
invitations:
-get them there.
miscellaneous:
like extra supplies, parking, capturing the moment, etc.