Pan Seared Salmon with Roasted Asparagus

 

Lover and I have been trying out some new recipes. I've grown tired of our normal rotation of chicken, beef, more chicken, more beef, the occasional soup, and more chicken. :-) So we've been trying out some fish - slowly and cautiously dipping our toes into the overwhelming world of seafood. Did I mention that Lover has a slight seafood allergy? Yeah, so we are taking it slow and seeing what is ok and what is definitely not A-ok. I thought salmon was a good place to start, as I'd heard it is like the steak of fish - cook it simply, add a few spices and you are good to go. The verdict? Yummy!

We cooked the salmon in a frying pan on medium heat, letting the olive oil heat up till warm before we put the salmon fillets in. They were thick fillets, so we let them cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes. Then, just before we pulled them out of the pan, we spread some "finishing butter" on each fillet and let them cook for another 30 seconds or so. The finishing butter was just some butter mixed up with garlic, salt and onion powder, very simple but oh so yummy. We let the cooked fillets sit for another 3 or 4 minutes before eating them - and I think this made them a lot juicier.

Whilst cooking the salmon, we were also roasting up some fresh asparagus in the oven that we had brushed with some olive oil and spices. We also threw a few rings of fresh pineapple in on a separate pan, and when everything was done we sat down to a table that looked like this:

 

The salmon was delicious, and the asparagus/pineapple combination was AWESOME. Like, may be my new favorite side dish awesome. Scrum-diddly-umptious kind of awesome. :-) Anyways. Make this meal, I dare you. And enjoy a yummy dish that contains neither chicken nor beef nor soup. :-) 

Yesi's Girly Glam Bedroom

Yesi asked me for some ideas to take her bedroom from blah to beautiful a few months back. I took my time and tried to think up a room that would be really feminine and make her feel like a princess - a grown up princess of course! Here's the inspiration board I created for her:



Let's talk about the bed first. Yesi just bought a brand new mattress, so she's already got a great foundation. I'm suggesting a white quilted coverlet like this one. It's 69.99 at Overstock, but Marshalls carries these all the time for about $30. Peeking out underneath the quilt is a light gray bedskirt, and soft white sheets. Go for the best quality you can afford, and it will be a treat every night to get into bed. Pretty up the plain pillowcases by adding some ruffles on the edges, and trimming them with a satin ribbon. These ruffled pillowcases are from Anthropologie, but are an easy DIY  project! Pick up a second set of pillowcases and add extra ruffles to that set for some variation.

Yesi wants a new headboard, and likes the thought of making one herself. There are lots of tutorials for simple upholstered headboards like the one pictured, and it would be even simpler to make a rectangular one. Covering the headboard in a soft linen would add a little  texture, and Yesi could make the headboard tufted for a bit of extra luxe factor.

Then, for the ultimate girly touch, hang a bed canopy like this one over the bed. The curtains could run down behind the headboard and around the edges to make the bed feel like the perfect retreat. And a chunky throw in a neutral color will add the last little bit of cozy to the bed.

Next to the bed, we need a table! I'd suggest finding a fun little wooden one second hand (try craigslist) and painting it a soft creamy color. A little distressing would add the perfect shabby chic touch. Add a fun mercury glass lamp (again, Marshalls has lots of options for around $20) with a white shade, and a few sparkly frames with some inspirational quotes or verses inside will look great on the table.

Next up, walls and windows. Try Benjamin Moore's French Lilac (that's the background color of the board) on the walls, and a fresh coat of white on the ceiling. The lilac has soothing blue undertones, and it will be just the soft wash of color the room needs. These fun ruffled curtains (another DIY project if Yesi wants) hanging from simple curtain rods with crystal finials will glam up the windows. Hang the curtains up as high above the windows as possible, and wide enough that the curtains just overlap the window frame when opened. Yesi has a beautiful antique wooden dresser that she can use in her new room, and I'd love to see this fun mirror project hung above it. She can start with this frameless mirror set from Target, and hang the whole grouping above the dresser.

What's a girly, glamorous room without a vanity? The one pictured is a splurge from Pier 1 Imports, but there are lots of simpler options. Refinish a vanity from Craigslist, make one with some glass topped plywood and furniture legs, or build a simple wooden frame and cover it with fabric.

I love this ornate mirror from IKEA for over the vanity. But I'd paint it glossy white. Then I'd hang fabric covered bulletin boards on either side of the mirror and use them for jewelry display/storage.  Yesi can even add some pretty hooks (from Anthropologie or Hobby Lobby) screwed directly into the wall for added display.

On top of the vanity, Yesi can put one of these lovely mirrored jewelry boxes for her more special jewelry, and a couple of sparkly vanity trays to corral even more items. Mercury glass cups can corral makeup brushes, and a few more decorative boxes can hold makeup, scarves, and anything else she needs to store.

The last corner of the room is the 'reading corner'. Yesi can search for a thrifted cozy chair or chaise lounge, or go with a streamlined version like this chair and ottoman from Target.  A plug-in chandelier (this one is only $40 at Ikea!) can hang over the sweet little wooden end table Yesi already has. Some more sparkly or mirrored frames on top of the table, along with a pitcher of fresh or faux flowers and some new reading material will top off the table. Yesi can also hang a few pictures with large mats above the chair - maybe some elegant black and white shots of Paris? The key here will be simple, streamlined frames and nice chunky white mats to give the prints lots of class and presence.

I'm a sucker for little details, so a few more fun ideas are to replace her three doorknobs in the room with crystal doorknobs like these, a fun sweater throw pillow for the bed or chair, and a big woven basket to hold magazines are fun little touches that will really finish off the room.

So there you have it. A girly, glamorously feminine room for my sweet friend!

Simple Living

We are wrapping up a two week long trip to Tampa Bay, FL, and I am excited about heading home, even if it means returning to snow and cold for a few more weeks. Home is just so... home-y, you know? :-) And obviously, as you read here on the blog, I put a lot of effort into making our home a cozy and welcoming place to be. We are so blessed to have a large, beautiful home, with tons more space than we know what to do with. And I work hard to ensure that we are not simply amassing a collection of stuff that will mean nothing when our life is over.

But every time we go away for a week or two, I look around our hotel room and I am amazed. In this case we packed two suitcases, a backpack and a rolling carry on, and an infant carseat. And in those four luggage items, we fit everything we need for day to day life for two weeks. Now, obviously there are some exceptions. We're eating out almost every meal (breakfast is included at our hotel) so I don't need a kitchen, and that saves on a lot of space. But we have all our toiletries, several changes of clothes, some toys for Javi, and a few other niceties like a laptop and my cameras.

I've had to do laundry twice since we got here, as we have so few changes of clothes. I pretty much do that amount of laundry anyways, as the little man loves to coat us and himself in spit up and drool and other body fluids. :-) But it was one load of laundry, completed in about two hours.

We've shopped for snacks and a few breakfast and lunch items twice, and those items are filling up the mini fridge and the shelves above it. It's really quite amazing. This room is approximately the size of my kitchen and dining room, and has a king size bed and a split bathroom - and we are living in it with great comfort.

It really is a reality check on how much stuff we actually need. Obviously there are things that would make our life easier that we don't have here. But the reality is that our lovely house back home is filled with things that we don't really need. And that brings me to a few conclusions.

First, we are so, incredibly, bountifully, blessed. We have so much, when so many people around the world have so little. This reminds me to be thankful for the abundance that we have, and also to do more with that abundance for others.

Secondly, I want to continue on my quest to live a simple and uncluttered life. It was a real eye opener to me when Javi was born - how quickly the stuff started accumulating. And right now it is my responsibility to corral his stuff, later on it will be my job to teach him to live simply.

And thirdly, wherever I am, if I have my husband and my son, I have everything I need to be content.

Kitchen Window Shade Swap

Today is February 16th, 2012. Other than my post introducing our little Javi, my last blog was September 26, 2011! And to say that posting was sporadic before then would be stretching the truth a bit. The reality is that from the minute I got pregnant I was exhausted, and that mind-numbing exhaustion never let up until I was about 36 weeks along. And even then, I think it was more out of sheer desperation - the baby's room still wasn't even close to done and it simply HAD to be done. :-)  And now that the little man has arrived, there are more pressing things to be done... like a shower. And maybe food. :-) And sleep if I am lucky.

Anyways, all that to say, I actually did accomplish some projects last year that have been on my list for forever, so I'll be slowly sharing them as I find the time. And I will try to not fill up every post talking about my little guy and how fast he is growing and how awesome it is when he smiles. I really will try. :-)

OK, on to the point of this post. Remember our kitchen?



How it used to look like the inside of a tree, and then I painted the paneling and it looked significantly better? Well, I have been making some more simple updates to this room, while not spending  a ton of money. The plan is to completely redo this room in the next couple of years, so my goal is just to make the room more liveable and maybe a little prettier in the meantime.

We inherited this beautiful window shade with the house. It was perfectly faded and cracked tan plastic. Definitely vintage. And Gorgeous. :) Or not.





I hated it from the get-go, but this window is six feet wide, and six foot wide window treatments are not cheap. Here's where Ollie's enters the scene and makes my day. While browsing there one day as I do periodically, I found an entire rack of oversized window shades. Like dis.



Lovely roman shades that normally would run about 100 buckaroos. Ollie's price? $20! Sold. So I shoved that baby in the back of my two door grand am - if I remember correctly I had to roll down a window to get it home but I was determined. Then I installed that six foot shade all by myself. Girl power!

It actually wasn't that difficult. I put the brackets up first, obviously, and then did a bit of a balancing act to attach the shade. And I loved the difference.



I installed this shade as high as I could above the window to make it look even bigger, and also, I am not going to lie, to cover up some more of that honey colored trim. :) Oh, and an unexpected bonus? The new shade blocks a lot more light  than the old one. Which was awesome during the blistering summer we had. Oh wait, maybe it wasn't that hot... I was pregnant and hot all.the.time. But still, it was nice. Here's a side by side comparison.



Yep. Definitely better. Better looking and better working. :) Now to do something about that trim...

My Favorite Photo Shoot to Date

On November 29 we welcomed a precious little bundle into the world, little Xavier Joel.   After months and months of morning sickness and exhaustion, we were so thrilled to finally meet the little troublemaker!



He had a bit of a rough entrance into the world, but has since proven to be a champion eater and a very good baby. We are enchanted with all of his little faces and watching him wake up and explore the world a little more each day.



We're learning to balance all of the normal, everyday stuff along with caring for a little one. So far it's been an adventure, but we're having fun!



We are loving being a family of three, and celebrating our first Christmas together was so much fun.



Today our little man turns one month old. Can't believe a month has flown by already. Welcome to the world, little  man! 

Sweetie Pie Baby Shower

I think it is super funny that my friend Jen and I share a name, and lately more of my posts have been about her life rather then mine. :-) I showed you some of her maternity pictures, and then also the beautiful nursery that she made for her little girl, and today you get to see the shower that Andrea and I threw for her. So just so we are clear, Jen is married to a great guy, was pregnant, made a super sweet nursery, had a fun shower thrown by friends, and is now enjoying her sweet baby girl. :-)

Andrea and I decided to go with the theme "Sweetie Pie" and use the colors that Jen would be using in her nursery: soft gray, pumpkin orange, magenta and a little bit of green. Andrea handled all the food (and did a fantastic job) and hosted the party, I made a bunch of decorations, and we pulled off a simple and fun baby shower brunch where Jen got spoiled with gifts.

For decorations, we kept it simple and fun. I'm loving pennant banners lately, and we thought they tied in well with the "pie" theme. So I whipped up several different banners, one with the words "Sweetie Pie", another with the baby's name, and the last with some fun flowers and patterned papers. I made all the banners with scrapbook paper and gray ribbon from the crafty stores.





I also made a "mini banner" that we draped over the favor table. I have to confess that I liked this one the best! But I pretty much love all small and undersized things. :-)

We made balloon bouquets to fill up the corners, and Andrea bought a beautiful bouquet of ranunculus that was just lovely. On a side note, wasn't it nice of Andrea to paint her home in colors that coordinated with our shower colors? :-) In all seriousness though, Andrea and her family live in a beautiful old Victorian home that is just spectacular. I'll have to show you guys sometime. :-)

For food, Andrea kept it simple and delicious. She made two different kinds of soups and two different salads, and fresh bread for dipping. It was awesome. Food was ready as people came in, so there was no awkward waiting around or bad attitudes from low blood sugar. :-)

Andrea's collection of Polish pottery was the perfect touch to the meal that she served up. Of course we also had lots of coffee, tea and lemonade.

Immediately following lunch, we gathered in the living room for gifts. Here's a preview of the mountain that Jen worked her way through;

One of my favorite things from this shower that we did was that as each gift was opened, the giver shared a favorite memory of her mom and herself with Jen. (Andrea was kind enough to write them all down for Jen to review later) Here's Andrea sharing her memory.

Jen got lots of great stuff for the baby, including baby sunglasses (she'll be growing up in California!) and lovely homemade gifts.

Then it was time for pies! We subbed pies for cake, but Andrea also made Jen a fun little diaper cake.

The pies were delicious. And just to up the ante a little more, Andrea made fresh whipped cream. It was awesome. 

We sent the guests home with individual pies in a jar. (We got this idea from this blogger) Andrea and her daughter made up the pies, and then I whipped up little labels for each one. I used Japanese masking tape to create more pennants, and printed out reheating instructions for the back of the labels.  On a side note, I ate one of these pies the other day that I'd been storing in my freezer, and it was delicious. :-)

So that was it. Simple and sweet, short and fun. It was a blast to plan and work on, and I had a great time at the shower as well. A fun, simple and yummy Sweetie Pie baby shower! :-)

A Robot Pillow :-)

I had a baby shower for a friend of mine on Saturday. Seems like everyone I know is pregnant - which means lots of showers and lots of gifts! I try to buy something off the registry for first time moms because I know they are things they probably really need, but for my friend Kelly I wanted to make something homemade for her little guy too. Kelly and her husband decided to do something a little different for the nursery - robots and bright colors. I thought that sounded like a super fun idea and came up with the idea to make a felt robot pillow to go in the baby's room.



This project was super simple. Hobby Lobby was  having a sale on their 8.5x11 pieces of felt (30 cents each!)  so my total cost for the felt was 1.50. I knew I was going to sew each piece on with embroidery floss, and as luck would have it, I went to a garage sale where the lady was cleaning out her crafting stash. I scored an entire box of embroidery floss for $1. Awesomeness!

I trolled the web for some inspiration pictures, and ended up basically using an Etsy seller's design for the pillow. Don't worry, I may have copied her work but I don't plan on plagiarizing her design for profit. :-)



Anyways, assembly was pretty straightforward. Cut out individual pieces, assemble on background to make sure I liked it, then start sewing. It was pretty fun and therapeutic. And fast. In no time at all I had all the pieces sewn onto the background. Then I sewed another piece of blue felt onto the first one to form a pillow, stuffed it and hand sewed it closed. Easy peasy. And it cost me about $5 to make. Not too shabby! Here's a closeup of  the finished product,



and the fun bin I found to give the pillow and the rest of the gifts.

This little project was so fun that I even whipped up a little initial tag for the bin too! Fun times. :-)

What have you made recently?