Thursday, July 30, 2015

Carolyne Roehm - New Book Pre-Sale!

Well, the wonderfully talented Carolyne Roehm will be launching her book October 27, 2015 just in time for the Holidays! I for one will be getting on board now for the pre-sale. I find her to have impeccable taste and her talent for entertaining, design and gardening is swoon worthy.  This beautiful book will be all about her garden at Weatherstone in Connecticut.

The stylish Carolyne Roehm.
More about Carolyne HERE.



A few little sneak peaks that Carolyne provided on Facebook!



Can you only imagine what the rest of the book has to offer!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Shop Block Print and Tikka Masala!

We have no good Indian restaurants by us out in NJ horse country.  So, my daughter and I decided to make it ourselves. We found a great recipe for Vegetarian Tikka Masala that was easy and quick! I must say it was really delicious too and it had me thinking of all things with a taste of India.  It lead me to want to share a fabulous site on Etsy called Shop Block Print . This shop has gorgeous hand blocked Indian pillows, fabric and art.  A pair of pillows from this site will add a well travelled touch to anyone's space.  Check out some of my favorite finds from this store and if you too crave a little Indian cuisine try the recipe at the end of my post. Namaste all!














Kate's Tikka Masala!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp of Garam Masala paste
3 large tomatoes diced or
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 inch piece of ginger grated
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped discard seeds unless you like it SPICY!
2 -15 oz cans of chickpeas
1 cup of full fat coconut milk
hand full of cilantro chopped
I added a bit of pan flour to thicken!

Warm up oil in pan add onion and garlic until translucent.
Then add garam paste, ginger and pepper saute for another minute.
Add tomatoes and chickpeas bring to a boil. 
drop to  a simmer for 15 minutes add coconut milk
( I add a tsp spoon of thickening flour to coconut milk before adding)
Add cilantro cook 5 more minutes
We served it over a fantastic rice grown right here in NJ!
I cannot rave enough about this rice once you tried Marooned with its great nutty flavor and gorgeous maroon color you don't want brown or white rice again!




Thursday, July 23, 2015

Outdoor Bar and Libations!

Finally the bar is done! It still needs a bit of accessorizing, but clean and clear counters make for better serving.  This took twice as long, and well you know the rest.  We went with cedar cabinets with Kendall Charcoal Benjamin Moore paint finish.  We raised the ceiling and added an industrial fan and pvc horizontal bead board. The counter is Gray granite in a leather finish to keep water rings at bay. Outdoor rated ice maker and fridge sealed the deal.  Now we are ready for cocktails! Would you prefer shaken or stirred? 
I found this adorable cocktail book "SHAKE". It has wonderful Seasonal libations that would make anyone happy. The two I may attempt to make this weekend are the "Watermelon Daiquiri" and "The Frenchie".  Holland Brook Bar is open for business, Cheers!
Special thanks to Artisan Kitchen Studio for making my design a reality! I alos want to thank all of those who gave me some direction with my front door looks like a 50 /50 split gray to black! I think I will flip a coin because all you talented ladies liked both!


BEFORE!

AFTER!









4 Shots Light RUM
2 cubes cane sugar
2 wedges fresh lime juice
2 wedges of fresh watermelon rind removed
2 slices of lime
2 slices of watermelon for garnish
Muddle watermelon with lime and sugar, add RUM and ice and shake for 10 seconds
Strain into glass with ice and garnish!



For you Francophiles!
10 shots of Rose wine
2 shots of Cointreau
1 cube of sugar
5 fresh raspberries
5 fresh blueberries
4 fresh strawberries
have extra fruit for garnish.
Add all but wine/cointreau to shaker, muddle until sugar is dissolved.
Add cointreau/wine and ice and shake 3 seconds
Strain over large ice cubes and garnish with fruit!
CHEERS!



Monday, July 20, 2015

Front Door Debate!

We are in the process of a few facelift projects this Summer and I am finally feeling like it's almost done! You know the old saying twice as long and twice the cost! The outdoor bar is one day away from being complete and thank goodness since the Summer if half way over.  Kitchen is a wall paint away from completion and I chose BJM Dove Wing to finish up that job. Butlers pantry is getting tiled and painted this week. Now after all the chaos in my home for half the Summer my husband looked at me and said, "We should repaint the Exterior doors".  Okay, but at this point my brain is a bit fried from design work.  So what paint color to choose? I have a few that I love and since we have four exterior doors I want it to be perfect. What would you choose?  I would love to hear your thoughts and see what catches everyone's eye!
I also want to say a special thanks to Perfect Linens! They sent me the sent me a wonderful sheet set. Not only does it look very pretty, it is very soft to the touch.  These sheets are making for a great nights sleep!
I chose Second Skin sheeting but you can find an array of wonderful choices right HERE!


Isn't the embroidery wonderful?

Now onto the front door!

Present day door in a deep red.


Doors I have a crush on. Which do you love?













Hmmm I see a pattern here , do you?

Happy Monday everyone!


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Get Your Summer Greens!

I love green! There are so many tones of green, that one can actually divide them by season. Right now I am loving Summer Greens.  These greens are fresh and fun without imparting warmth to a space. They look clean and work well with other light colors. Check out some of my favorite Green rooms.
Miles Redd!








My Personal Favorite!
Michael Smith and Brunschwig & Fils!


Here are some fabulous fabrics to add to your home to bring in the Summer Greens!






All above from Schumacher!

Aerin for Lee Jofa!



 



Want an instant fix go to ETSY!
All available below from Etsy stores.




SILK WAY

This one is overdone but still very fun!

Fun alternative to the current Palm Leaf!


West End Accents

West End Accents