Early spring into Easter color awakenings through spring color palette choices are upon us.
Colors of the season shake off the last of winter’s remnants with the help of warm mid-afternoon breezes, hints of pastel petals, the yellow dusting of pollen (you want pretty flowers, don’t you?), the hum of lawnmowers, and seasonal treats featuring fresh strawberries.
Easy and affordable ways to incorporate the best of the season into your home and garden is to update and refresh through accents and accessories.
Accents and accessories in fresh, lively, and warm colors of spring renews our interiors and exteriors, elevates our moods, and brushes away the heaviness of winter.
“Only those who love color are admitted to its beauty
and immanent presence. It affords utility to all,
but unveils its deeper mysteries only to its devotees.”
Nature’s timing doesn’t always cooperate with early spring into Easter plans for fresh stems and bouquets, so to that I say pick a few faux fabulous stand-ins and let the spring preview begin!
Dorm digs decor ideas and tips are on the project list for the pretty on a penny back to campus crowd.
Dorm decor is a study in ever evolving styles and tastes. Back to campus condos, townhouses, apartments, sorority and fraternity house rooms and the furniture pieces that fill them class is in session.
Typical standard dorm room space comes in around 12′ X 20′ with the most common bed twin XL measuring 80″ long X 38″ wide.
As one who is all about the mix and mingle, my primary dorm digs decor ideas and tips is to layer colors, textures, and patterns which will add depth and contrast to the space.
Pink is having a hot moment, and for the decoristas who think pink, it comes as no surprise. Popular opinion associates the color pink with love, romance, passion, and comfort.
I’ve loved the color pink ever since my mother placed a Sherwin-Williams paint fan deck in front of me in order for me to select the color of my bedroom walls during the great ranch remodel of 1967.
I’ll never be accused of being a Johnny-come-lately to the color pink palette scene, and am enjoying this current in the pink moment.
If the color pink is in your dorm digs decor ideas and in your shopping rounds you come across a piece that hits all the right notes except the color is not a perfect think pink, think paint.
First aid fix with several other good to know uses, isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is a handy dandy item to include in your dorm digs essentials kit.
Isopropyl alcohol cleans ink, oil, grease, and glue from surfaces.
Give the inside of your shoes a good misting with isopropyl alcohol to fight off odors and disinfect them.
Clean a dry erase board by spraying isopropyl alcohol onto the board and quickly wiping off with a paper towel.
Round Dry Erase Board with Gold Frame and Marble Print
Keyboards-phones-tablets have the ability of getting mighty funky over time and use. Always make sure to turn off computer and device before cleaning.
Spray the tip of a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol and simply swap and dab the keys to clean. Allow to dry completely before powering up computer.
To clean and disinfect your phone and/or tablet spray a small amount of isopropyl alcohol onto a microfiber cloth. Gently wipe the glass/screen of your phone and/or tablet with cloth.
Spritz bed pillows with isopropyl alcohol to disinfect and freshen.
Decorative hardware goes a long way in the fight against bland, and a can of gold spray paint or brass caster cups will color your world and furniture legs.
Personal Style Project Supply List:
screwdriver
decorative cabinet/drawer hardware
Using a screwdriver, remove existing hardware from door or drawer. Line up new hardware and once again using screwdriver secure new hardware into place.
Enhancements such as lining drawers with peel and stick wallpaper in your choice of dorm dandy color, texture, and pattern selection takes the ordinary to extraordinary in no time flat.
Sweet summer Southern tea cakes lead the topic of conversation on this particular June afternoon in the Places In The Home test kitchen.
Places In The Home defines tradition as collections, recipes, and/or generational practices from your past bringing about complete and utter joy deemed repeat worthy.
noun
tra·di·tion \trə-ˈdi-shən\
1 a: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)
b: a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
2: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
Summer has only been official for a hot minute, and the South is already experiencing oppressive heat. Frankly speaking, the only heat I’m remotely interested in on days better spent indoors is that of the oven.
Holds true for the cooks, bakers and heat haters in my family as the summertime tradition passed down in our family is a simple piece of advice- cook early, stay cool late.
However, I will make an exception when it comes to baking up a dozen or so sweet summer Southern tea cakes.
Back-Home Tea Cakes
Ingredients
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup milk
sugar
Directions
Cream shortening; gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, mixing well. Cover and chill 2 hours. Work half of dough at a time, and store the remainder in refrigerator.
Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2-inch cookie cutter; place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
Sprinkle with sugar. Cool.
Yields 3 dozen.
Mary Lou Adkins, Sulphur, LA. Southern Living Magazine, July 1990
Here’s the aged index card recipe from which I’ve baked many a tea cake, and it means the world to me on many levels.
To me, tea cakes signify the simple, classic, and unpretentious taste of home. I like to think that’s how I roll.
Giving into part craving, part memory driven tradition I baked up a couple dozen sweet summer Southern tea cakes working with a few recipe additions and adjustments.
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, soda, and salt together and set aside. In separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract, almond extract, and fresh lemon zest.
Beat together until combined. Stir the dry ingredient mixture into creamed butter/sugar mixture. Mix until all ingredients are blended together.
Divide dough in half; lightly dusting each half with flour. Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and place in refrigerator allowing to chill for 1 hour.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough on lightly floured board to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out in round shapes with cookie cutter or good old dependable jelly glass.
Place cut out tea cakes on parchment paper lined cookie sheet; bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly brown.
Makes 2 dozen.
If serving sweet summer Southern tea cakes for dinner is wrong I don’t want to be right.
Perhaps not the best example of a traditional dinner entree, but the combination of a summer evening coupled with a couple of sweet summer Southern tea cakes is very appetizing and oh, so summer.
Two outdoor living features close together in postings support what most of us know to be the case when it comes to good subject content- too much of a good thing is a great thing when it comes to summertime outdoor living lagniappe.
[ lan-yap, lan-yap ]
Louisiana French, from Spanish la ñapa
:something given as a bonus or extra gift; by way of compliment or for good measure.
Outdoor furniture, decor accents and the like attract dirt, dust, pollen, creepy crawlers, and garden variety grime over the course of winter and early spring.
It’s just an outdoor living lagniappe fact that outdoor spaces and places demand attention at the beginning of the fun in the sun season.
Give your outdoor oasis a look see through the lens of polish and refresh.
Clean what pieces will greatly benefit from a brush-sweep-soap session, and assess the situation of items not so worthy.
Clear the deck so to speak of debris, replace rotten/rotting/missing boards, secure loose ones, nail down pop ups, and sand down signs of splinter or potential problem areas (ouch!).
Do you refresh or has the time come to replace outdoor furniture, umbrellas, pillows, and cushions?
When it comes to the decision to refresh or replace, weigh initial cost and difficulty in replacing item against budget friendly-ample retail availability.
Add dish detergent and Borax to a bucket of water. Dip a soft bristle brush into the cleaning solution and proceed to scrub cushion in a circular motion cleaning the entire surface.
Allow at least five minutes for the cleaning solution to penetrate the cushion.
Using a garden hose, rinse the cushion thoroughly in order to remove residual cleanser.
You’ll want to use an old towel for the next step. Pat the cushion with the towel in order to absorb as much of water as possible. Prop the cushion(s) upright in a sunny spot and allow to air-dry until completely dry.
Vegetable and herb gardens unite and produce- it’s your season to be in the spotlight and on the patio dining table in seasonal cocktails, dishes, and salads.
A Few Sprigs of Garden Herbs (Lemon balm, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Bee Balm, Sage, Mint, etc.)
Filtered water
Honey
Ice
Directions
Add tea bags, fruit, and herbs to your half gallon container. Cover contents and fill jar with filtered water. Seal the jar tightly and set it out in the sun for 4-5 hours. Once the tea is finished steeping add honey to taste while it’s still warm. Strain and serve over ice.
Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Please note, make sure to make Sun Tea on a very warm day (85° plus is what I use). Also, make sure you’re using a good filtered water. You don’t want bacteria growing in your sun tea… yuck! You can swap out the honey for flavored simple syrups!
There’s something so delicious about the combination of a warm evening and a cold summer salad.
Summer salad season exemplifies the crisp, the chill, and the complement of garden tomatoes topped with a dollop of mayonnaise, fresh asparagus spears spritzed with lemon and sea salt, and vinegar marinated cucumber slices.
Good lighting lights the outdoor livin’ it up night setting a relaxing, inviting, and aesthetically pleasing backyard bistro scene.
Candle filled glass jars and holders hanging around, twinkle string lights wrapped tree trunks and branches, tabletop lamps or paper lanterns- all super ideas!
Iron chandeliers purchased at auction have become outdoor candle chandeliers.
Votive candles with battery operated LED versions in flicker fabulous mode replaced standard votives, and the look and the ease of operation confirms its patio practicality.
Simple is always a welcome guest at any outdoor gathering. Nothing is more simple, and might I add simply elegant, as a glass container filled with string/fairy lights.
Regarding design and decorating, when I love and appreciate the look of a space I interpret the core design style influence and fashion to my own taste in the style of the original.
In the style of the French tradition, an apéro, short for apéritif, is the planned or spontaneous pre mealtime custom of cocktails and converse with the inclusion of savory bites.
Summer evenings seem tailor-made for an in the style of apéro featuring light bites and tasty beverages to enhance the idea of relaxing and connecting.
Easy plan, prep, and presentation begins with super easy items picked up at your local grocery store in taste and flavor combinations light yet flavor packed.
In a mixing bowl, toss together canned fruit with juice of one lemon. Cover and chill 1 hour. Add two Tablespoons of honey to a small container of Greek yogurt and you’ve got the dressing.
Garnish with avocado slices, yogurt dressing and a fine dusting of black pepper.
Pick up a luscious lemon layer cake and proceed to sweetly impress with the addition of fresh blueberries and lemon slices topping it all of with a generous tablespoon of lemon curd and/or whipped topping.
Sweet summer s’mores because who doesn’t crave s’more sweet moments.
Spending time outdoors is a big part of summer fun, making it easy to understand why outdoor living spaces have become extensions of the life lived within our home- a retreat of heart and home.
Consider this summertime outdoor living lagniappe hints and inside information a little something extra for your summertime let’s patio times.
This Christmas collection of pretty pictures, delightful treats, and Christmas at home is a visual to you, from me gift that hopefully fills the eye and the heart with the most wonderful time of the year sights of the season.
Gathering together to feast, family, and friend during the holidays or just because on a Monday in cozy spaces with good food (fancy schmancy or crackers and can cheese) is rooted in connection, love, and celebration of relationship.
Speaking from years of experience, the kitchen is about to be a hot spot of holiday activity. Music is a must, quality kitchen tools and gadgets essential, organization the sous chef to friend, and the taste of Thanksgiving present and accounted for.
Holiday open houses at favorite antique shoppes result in treasured finds; among them platters O’Plenty perfect for plating birds baked, roasted, and fried.
Louisianans do love to do delicious fried turkey when the weather turns cold and the good holiday times roll.
Country Living – Photography by Johnny Miller
Deep-Fried Turkey
Ingredients
1½ tbsp. kosher salt
1½ tbsp. smoked paprika
1½ tsp. garlic powder
1½ tsp. onion powder
1½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
1¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (12- to 14-pound) whole fresh turkey
Peanut oil (about 3 gallons)
Directions
Stir together first 6 ingredients. Remove giblets and neck from turkey, and discard. Drain cavity well; pat entire turkey dry with paper towels.
Loosen and lift skin from turkey with fingers, without totally detaching skin; generously spread seasoning under skin. Carefully replace skin and secure with wooden picks, if desired.
Sprinkle and rub remaining seasoning inside cavity and on outside of turkey. Let turkey stand at room temperature while oil heats.
Meanwhile, pour oil into a deep propane turkey fryer 10 to 12 inches from top; heat to 350°F over a medium-low flame, according to manufacturer’s instructions (about 45 minutes).
Place turkey on fryer rod. Carefully and slowly lower turkey into hot oil with rod attachment.
Fry 35 to 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of thigh registers 165°F (about 3 minutes per pound plus an additional 5 minutes. Keep oil temperature between 300°F and 325°F). Remove turkey from oil; drain and let stand 25 minutes before slicing.
Louisiana pecans harvested from area farms characterize the taste of home.
Cinnamon Candied Pecans
Ingredients
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup pecans
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, melt together butter, cinnamon and granulated sugar until the sugar starts to caramelize. Add pecans and stir to coat; stirring often to keep from burning.
Pour candied pecans onto parchment or wax paper allowing to cool.
Southern sweet potato casserole, candied sweet potatoes, and Dave the Builder’s requested favorite, sweet potato pie- Louisiana sweet potatoes are synonymous with Thanksgiving.
3 large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and sliced French fry style
1 stick butter, sliced
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp water
Directions
Places prepared sweet potatoes in pot. Add sugar and butter slices. Add water and cover with lid. Cook on low about 40 minutes or until tender. Do not stir during cooking time.
Place candied sweet potatoes in casserole and serve.
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and add asparagus. Top with canola oil, salt, and pepper, and brush evenly with basting brush. Bake until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add water to a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In a stainless steel bowl, add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne. Hold bowl over simmering water making sure bottom of bowl does not touch water, and whisk vigorously until volume of egg mixture doubles. Slowly whisk in melted butter until sauce is thick and combined.
Remove from heat, and stir in crawfish. Serve immediately over asparagus.
Shall we never forget the fateful attacks against our nation on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 (9/11).
Has it really been 20 years?
I remember it like it was yesterday, and as time marches on my memories surrounding that day remain crystal clear.
Katie Couric relating to the viewers details too horrific to imagine, too grievous to ignore, too important to forget.
Shared phone calls of disbelief.
Telling Dave the Builder I knew the towers would collapse based on the knowledge of detonation practices learned from studying Las Vegas hotel implosions.
Discussions with other parents of how to explain the events of the day to our children in an honest yet measured manner as not to scare and upset their hearts and thoughts any further than the attacks in the name of pure evil this morning presented.
We revere 9/11 as a day of remembrance and reflection; a day Americans come together in reverent thought, solemn moments of silence, ringing of bells of remembrance and prayers for comfort and strength.
Life as Americans knew it up to that point forever changed on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m. EST.
7:59 a.m.EST– American Airlines Flight 11 departs from Boston’s Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles with 11 crew members and 76 passengers on board.
Five al-Qaeda terrorists hijackers on board are excluded from the total numbers.
8:15 a.m.EST– United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Logan International en route to LAX with 9 crew members and 51 passengers aboard.
Five al-Qaeda terrorists hijackers are excluded from the total numbers.
8:20 a.m. EST– American Airlines Flight 77, en route to Los Angeles, takes off from Dulles International in Washington, D.C. with a total of 59 innocents on board; 6 crew members and 53 passengers.
The 5 al-Qaeda terrorists hijackers are excluded from the total numbers.
8:42 a.m.EST– United Airlines Flight 93 departs Newark Liberty International with 7 crew members and 33 passengers on the flight.
Four al-Qaeda terrorists hijackers aboard this flight are excluded from the total numbers.
8:46 a.m.EST– American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into floors 93 through 99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
9:03 a.m.EST– United Flight 175 crashes into floors 77 through 85 of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
9:37 a.m.EST– American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon. The crash and the fire as a result of it take the lives of 59 passengers and crew and 125 people on the ground.
9:42 a.m.EST– The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounds all flights.
9:59 a.m.EST– Fifty-six minutes after impact the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses in a mere 10 seconds. More than 800 people inside the South Tower and the surrounding area of the building perish.
10:03 a.m.EST– United Airlines Flight 93 crashes near Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing 40 people on board the aircraft.
The hijackers are not included in this number, and rightfully so.
10:15 a.m. EST– The outer ring of the Pentagon collapses.
10:28 a.m.EST– The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses killing more than 1,600 both in and around the tower.
Fear came to call not expecting bravery and resilience to answer back united we stand.
Our memories will forever be filled with the events of that horrific day in our history, and even though painful to remember we should choose to never forget the attacks on 9/11.
We are the United States of America.
We differ from one another on many points, views, and opinions, but when all is said and done we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Crisp air, nature’s bounty, and a hot glue gun is all the inspiration needed to get the DIY fall decor project ideas flowing.
The little apple candle wreath that could is falls into my PhD (Project half Done) studies.
Believe me, the faux apples are not as red as they appear in the images.
They’re red alright, but not quite as bright red as seen in some of the images.
If I could get the lighting right on both space and camera, I’d be dangerous.
DIY wreath projects need not be a complicated endeavor.
Where’s the fun in that?
For this particular project I chose a Styrofoam wreath form.
Remnants leftover from the umpteen burlap bags used for everything from placemats to gift bags came together to base wrap the wreath in order to cover the Styrofoam.
Hot glue gun used for this step.
Striving for a more polished look than that of the rustic burlap bags, I wrapped the entire form with burlap ribbon purchased from Dollar Tree, pinning the ribbon with a few straight pins to secure into place.
Grab a paper or download a Michaels coupon and let the DIY fall decor project ideas savings begin.
Let me let you all in on a little secret…
DIY projects can get expensive, so clip those coupons.
Place faux apples and pears around the form to get an idea of how you want the finished look to turn out.
Heat up the glue gun (use caution with these things), and once it gets hot glue the faux fruit in place.
Spanish moss is not only decorative, it covers a multitude of gaps and DIY mistakes.
Simple elegance comes to a door or chair frame near you by way of a bag or two of potpourri, a grapevine wreath, your favorite color, texture, and pattern ribbon, and the usual wreath making tools and glue gun to hold fall fabulous all together.
Simple instructions of hot gluing potpourri pieces to wreath and topping off the look with a bow in your choice of ribbon.
Laura of Garden Answer posted another wonderful fall wreath how-to video giving us five different options to choose from.
How fall flipping cute is the owl wreath?
Grapevine wreath.
Hydrangea.
Pine cones.
An assortment of fall leaves.
Feathers.
Small craft gourds.
Dried and/or fresh floral stems.
Seasonal blooms.
Decorative owl figure.
Laura uses echinacea, rose hips, hydrangea, clematis, sedum, vines, pine cones, autumn leaves, and a most darling owl.
Placement is ruled by where the bulk of the clippings and stems fit best without much effort in securing to wreath.
Why make things difficult?
Undone paper clips help to secure stems to the wreath.
I hot glued the pinecones and hanging pinecone acorn to the wreath with ease and great success.
Professional bow maker will never find its way onto my resume, but I can fake it till I make it with the best of them.
A trusty loop and twist method works, and pipe cleaners-stems looped around the center and twisted several times holds everything in place.
Once you decide where on the wreath the bow will go, feed the “ends” of the pipe cleaners-stems in an over and under method through a couple of the wreath twigs in that section.
Gentle pull up on the pipe cleaner-stem ends to pull the bow close to the wreath.
Secure the bow in place, twist the ends together, tuck the stems into the wreath twigs to hide, and fluff the bow.
Gold feathers tucked in visually strategic spots
As time marches on the nandina is turning a stunning golden crimson.
So fall fabulous!
DIY wreaths naturally mirror the beauty of the season.
