Den Updates

Hello!  It's been quite a while since I've posted anything about our den and there has been a lot of changes since that post so I thought I'd share them today.

This is the room we all spend the most time in, other than the kitchen, as this is where the TV is.  :) It's also always been the room that I tend to put everything that I don't love as far as furniture goes but I wanted to change that since we do spend a lot of time in here.  First thing I did was get rid of our old TV stand.  I hated it.  And when you're looking at the TV, you can't help but see the stand it's on so I wanted something pretty to look at. 

Hubby found an old fashioned dresser so I removed the top two drawers, cut the center wood brace (to allow for the DVD and cable box), painted it, distressed it and changed the hardware to come up with this.

It was a long awful winter and I really was tiring of the plain white curtains we had so I bought these lovely cheerful ones at Target.  I don't think I've ever loved a curtain so much.  :)

Hubby picked up this old vintage table at an auction.  The iron horse statue evidently goes on the top of a fence?  Another find that I love.  And I simply can't get enough vintage books lately.

I bought the same curtains for the living room, which has also had changes that I will share next week.  Our den is carpeted, which I don't like but it does make the room more cozy and our dog loves to lay in there so it's staying.  :)

The artwork on the wall above the couch I spent an entire rainy afternoon putting together and painting with old wood planks and various shades of neutral craft paints and stains after seeing a similar version online.  It's one of those pieces of art that just makes me happy looking at it.

And that's it for the den changes.  I've come to discover that I really do prefer a neutral color palette in our home with pops of color added by using fruit or fresh flowers.  I like it simple.  Oh, we also painted the walls Simply White by Benjamin Moore.  I'd like to find a rug to go in there as well, but am not sure about a rug over carpet?  What do you think?

Enjoy your day!
Diana

Our New Coop

In May we are expecting 7 baby chicks and we are thrilled!  There's nothing like the taste of eggs fresh from your backyard.  I've spent the last month planning, designing and building a chicken coop for them to call home. 

I've never built something of this size before but wanted to give it a try.  I honestly designed as I went along, no plan, nothing.  Well, I kinda had a plan but it kept getting tossed cause it wasn't working.  And it was going to be painted white but then I received the Williams-Sonoma Agrarian catalog in the mail and I fell in love with cedar, which happened to be on sale at Lowes.  So there ya go...

I was trying to keep it easy and cheap.  And it's not perfect but nothing I ever build is.  It will do it's job and that's what matters.  The bricks were all found and I just did a random boring pattern because I don't have a brick cutter and didn't want to mess with it.

I'm crazy about the barn door on the end.

Can't wait to collect eggs here with my youngest.  :)

I really like red with cedar so I picked out this hibiscus plant to make it pop.

My hubby, who is still recovering from heart problems, bought me this beautiful peach tree and watching it come alive with blooms makes me smile.

I still have to add sand underneath the coop and finish up a couple of details and then it's ready for the chicks.

That's it for now!

Any of you raise chickens?   Any advice or suggestions? 

What have you been up to??

Simple Stuffed Peaches

If you're anything like me, you start craving juicy summer fruit way before summer arrives and before perfectly ripe fruit hits the farmers market or grocery store.  When those cravings hit, I love to make these stuffed peaches because cooking less than ripe fruit in the oven brings out the flavor.  These are so simple and inexpensive to make with so few ingredients but taste like pure heaven. 

Let's get started, shall we?  First, butter the bottom of a baking dish and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take 3 peaches (more if you like), cut them in half and remove the pit.  I used white flesh peaches here because they are my favorite.  Then scoop out some of the flesh to make room for the cookies.  We use Biscoff cookies in this because I think the taste is amazing paired with the peaches.  Take 7 or 8 cookies, put them in a ziploc bag and smash them up.  You could also use a food processor but I think it's easier, with less to clean, to mash them in a bag.

Spoon the cookie crumbs into the peaches.  It's okay if some spills over. 

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of brown sugar over the top of the crumbs.  This caramelizes the top a bit.

Then dot the tops with bits of unsalted butter.  Pop them in the oven and bake for about 15 or 20 minutes depending on the size of your peach.   While you're waiting, whip up some fresh vanilla cream. (1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 TBS powdered sugar.)

And that's it.  While the peaches are still warm, dollop the fresh cream over the top and watch it melt into the sweet, buttery caramelized crust on top of the peaches....

It is heavenly.......

Over the top delicious.....

You're welcome.  :)

Farmhouse Bathroom

It's been a long time since I've given our master bathroom a facelift and since I was so happy with the Simply White paint I chose for the kitchen, I wanted to extend that color to our master bathroom, as well.  A cool find from hubby also played a part in giving this room a redo. 

I know there are lots of folks that don't like radiators or that want to cover them up but not me.  I love the cast iron and view them as a piece of art.  There weren't any old radiators in our 100 year old home when we moved in and I never really cared that much until I started seeing really cool versions of them. 

And as luck would have it, hubby was given several radiators a few weeks ago.  A couple of them were huge and so heavy that they maybe would have put a hole through our floor so I chose this small one. 

I cleaned it up, primed it and then painted it Simply White as well.  I really love it and actually wish it was a working radiator.  That inspired a redo, so I pulled things from around the house, picked up a few things and repainted Benjamin Moore's Simply White to give it a new look.

As you can see, our master bath is small.  But that's okay, I love it anyway. 

For the counter top, I wanted to add a few things to give it a masculine touch as well since my hubby also shares this bathroom.  So, I picked up a vintage shaving mug and brush, as well as a vintage wood leather straight edge sharpener.  It reminded me of a bread board so of course I had to use it.  :)  For fun, I found an old photo of a barber shop price list online, printed it off and framed it.

I love the patina on the wood handle of the old shaving brush.

For the other side of the vanity, I attached an old photo I came across in a flea market to the inside of an old apothecary jar that I filled with soaps. 

I was drawn to the old photo because, if you look closely, and I did with a magnifying glass, it is a woman working in her garden, tending to her tomato plants.  And this was written on the back.....it makes me smile.

I pulled this very fragile vintage fruit basket from the dining room and filled it with white fluffy towels for beside the tub. 

I mentioned before in our previous master bath redo that we don't have a shower in here.  Our only shower is upstairs. 

We use this bathroom for taking long soaks in the tub so I try to make it as peaceful and comfy in there as I can so that whoever takes a soak in there, will feel relaxed and special.

I also moved our Gray Farms sign from the kitchen to right above the tub.  I like it in here much better.

The three storage baskets on the wall came from Pier 1 many years ago and were made for a book shelf but I simply turned them on the side and screwed them into the wall for towels or whatever else I feel like putting in there.

I have pretty much decided to paint our entire upstairs hallway area in Simply White because it is just such a peaceful color.  Our floors up there are dark wood and I think the two will contrast nicely.

I was hoping to give the bathroom a farmhouse feel.  Hopefully I accomplished that.  Or it could be that the word "Farms" on the wall is what makes it feel that way.  ;-)

If you'd like to see how we did our bathroom countertops in reclaimed barn wood, click here.

Do any of your have radiators in your home?  Do you cover them up?  Do they work?

That's it for now!   Enjoy your week!

Diana

Easter Table Ideas

I love Easter.  It's my favorite holiday and I always start planning for it early.  I have so many cherished Easter memories with my hubby and kids.  Hard to believe how time flies.  This year I wanted to create something fun and special to celebrate Easter and I am thrilled to be able to share it with you.  Yes, I know it isn't even Valentine's Day yet but Easter is in March this year, so it will be here before you know it.  :)

I created these egg shaped mini bread board sets just for Easter and I am so proud of them.  They are made from a special type of walnut that my hubby gets that I just love because of the beautiful shade of color through it......kinda like Easter eggs.  :)

For our table, I always like to use white dishes because that's my favorite but I also wanted to add a splash of Easter color so I picked up these lovely blue pasta bowls at Crate and Barrel.  They were a splurge for me but I couldn't resist and we eat a lot of pasta so hey, why not, right?

I also wanted something to put Easter treats in for my kids and thought that these burlap sacks were just the cutest thing ever.  I picked them up on Etsy here.

For some reason, I'm drawn to anything egg shaped, especially involving the kitchen, so making these boards was seriously so much fun.  They will be available in my Etsy shop for just the Easter holiday.  And they will only be available in this walnut. 

My hubby found this old table/desk and I absolutely love it.  When he found it, the drawer was full of all kinds of vintage brochures and letters, which were lots of fun to look at.  I had so much fun using it for this photo shoot.  If it was bigger and had enough space for 6 people, I would totally use it for our dining table.

So if you'd like to purchase a set of these cute little boards for Easter, click here.   Since this is a special seasonal item, quantities are limited.

And thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to visit and leave a sweet comment here on the blog.  I may not be able to respond to each of you, but know that I read every single comment and appreciate each one so much.   And a huge thank you to all my shop customers.  YOU make it possible for me to do what I love.....create.  :)

Easter Blessings to each of you!!

~Diana

Simply White

This past week I decided to repaint the kitchen.  A white kitchen has always been something I've wanted as far as cabinets go, but it never occurred to me to paint the walls white as well.  And hey, it's a lot easier since it doesn't matter if I get paint on the trim.  :) I was really growing tired of the color on the walls, which was Light Gray by Farrow and Ball and darker than I usually like so it was time for a change. 

I chose the perfect shade of white, in my opinion.  Simply White by Benjamin Moore.  And when I say perfect shade of white, I'm not exaggerating.  So far, I've painted my kitchen with it, as well as several pieces of furniture, a door and probably whatever else I can find that needs repainting.

It's simply white and that's why I love it.  The perfect creamy white color.  And a very calming kitchen.

It really makes the walnut and barn wood in my kitchen pop.

My hubby found this amazing rusty, beat up metal basket at the metal salvage yard this weekend and I fell in love with it.  I popped this metal number on it and filled it with my ramekins and tin molds and I smile every time I look at it.  I love rusty finds like that.

 
My next project for the kitchen is to rip out the countertop and install a new barn wood top. 

I can't wait! 

And it's always fun working on projects with this guy..... :)

What do you think of simply white?

Thanks for visiting today!
Diana