Faucet Rack

Yesterday I finished a project I've had in the works for years. A long time ago I found these faucet hooks, and knew I would use them to great effect. Our laundry room/mud room has been in need of sturdy hooks for the dog leashes. I saved a few pieces of the wooden pallet my kiln was delivered on, thinking I would use them for something.

Combining all the parts, plus a few screws and a molly bolt (most of the screws went into studs), and ta da! we have a faucet rack!

The hooks accommodate the leashes nicely, and I can even hang my saddle bag.

I'm pretty pleased with the results, and feel justified in holding onto the faucet hooks for so long, waiting for their perfect purpose. I'm also thrilled that I was able to repurpose some of the pallet, to which I have an irrational sentimental attachment.

Setting the Table

I've been thinking about ways to enjoy meals more in ways that don't add calories, and I've concluded that a beautiful, homey table setting paired with small and healthy portions can help assuage hunger for extra calories. To that end, I've gathered a collection of Etsy items to fill a kitchen and warm your belly. I started with this 5 piece place setting from one of my favorite Etsy potters, khphillips (above). You may also notice that I added his blog to my Favorite Reads on the right. I needed a big farm table to set the dishes on, and the one below from brandmojointeriors was perfect to satisfy my appetite.

Next I needed a tablecloth, and I couldn't find a better material for one than this grainsack from the shop of the same name, grainsack.

We'll want some homemade bread, of course. What more appropriate vessel for the bread than this vintage dough bowl from snapsink?

Let's wrap the bread in these lovely napkins from twiddleANDtweet - we don't want it cooling too fast. We'll need a few for each place setting too.

This platter from cyrusthepotter will serve up some grilled vegetables beautifully, don't you agree?

The vintage milk glass serving bowl from highstreetmarket will host our soup with divine ease.

And the wooden ladle from GarageWoodShop will expertly serve up the soup.

These wooden candlesticks from EquilibriumDesigns will light up the table, enhancing the romance of eating healthy at home.

The other night we had some amazing soup, and I wanted to share the recipe with you: Roasted Bell Pepper and Grilled Corn Chowder. (Below, unforth's roast corn photograph.)

Ingredients

For the Chowder:

1 tablespoon butter

3 red bell peppers, large

1 sweet onion, chopped, large

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

4 ounces dry white wine

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

2 ears fresh corn

1 lime, juice only

cayenne pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions

For the Red Peppers:

Roast the red peppers over a grill or stove burner until black on all sides. Place into a plastic bag and let them sweat for 15-20 minutes. Using the back of a knife, scrape the skins off of the peppers and remove the seeds and stem.

For the Corn:

Grill the 2 ears of fresh corn just until they have lightly browned on all sides, then remove from the cob with a chef's knife.

For the Chowder:

In a large soup pot, sweat chopped onion, garlic, and roasted peppers in a little butter. When the vegetables are soft, season with salt and pepper, then add in the white wine. Reduce the wine until almost dry, then add in the cream. Simmer for 5 minutes, then puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add the grilled corn and lime juice last and taste for seasonings.

To Finish:

This is a rich and hearty soup that really needs special attention right when it's finished. The flavors need to be balanced right at the end to bring out all that this soup has to offer. If the taste seems a touch bitter, add more fresh lime juice and salt to balance it out. With enough seasoning and acidity, this soup just dances on the palate with richness and roasted flavor.

This soup was truly delicious, and enjoying it with all of the fruits of Etsy's shops would only improve the experience. (Above, artbylynn's Red Bells.)

Ingenuity On Display

Recently one of the blogs I follow did a few posts on decorating with Mason jars (here and here). I thought this was a happy coincidence, since I had just re-done our mantle with Mason jars. I sent the author the picture, and what do you know, she posted it. Yay! Go check out Ingenuity On Display, she has lots of great ideas.

Home Study Preview

As I referenced in my last post, I've made some progress on organizing and decorating our home office. It's not done, but I wanted to share a few of the areas that are decent enough to photograph. The wall color is Benjamin Moore's Normandy. Above you can see a corner of the room that is next to the entry to the study. In the corner is an antique table with a dark gray/black marble top. The marble isn't actually attached to the table, and it's most likely not original to the table. But the marble has been on that table top for as long as my family can remember, and it seemed silly to separate them after so many years. The chair next to the table is one of my most recent vintage finds. I got an amazing deal on it - $10. We've needed a second seat in the study, and this chair seemed like it would fit the bill. There is a doctor's name written on the bottom, which I found utterly charming. Here is a closer view of the items on the table. A happy plant, sewing machine drawers, and a hurricane vase with several lightbulbs of varying vintage. Another apothecary jar with strips of bark from a tree in our yard (shed naturally), a bowl I made in pottery class, a weather radio, and a small electric fan. The lightswitch plate was recently installed. It was a Christmas gift from my brother, a blacksmith/metalworker/robotics engineer. (You can check out more of his work in his new Etsy shop, SelmerIronWorks. You can buy your own shield switchplate, or browse his businesscard holders or leaf sculptures.) Below you can see the stained glass lamp next to the wall-mounted table. The table is one of my very best vintage finds. I never would have guessed you could buy this much character for $9. Below you can see a detail of the vignette on the table: a few wooden boxes, an oldworld globe, and an iron ladder. One of my recent accomplishments was implementing a plan I've had for quite some time: installing curtains with two pieces of my grandfather's bamboo fishing pole as rods. This fishing pole is 3 segments long, attachable and detachable through brass fittings. I've started getting some things up on the walls as well. Below is a bulletin board next to the desk. Adjacent to the bulletin board are my grandfather's diploma from seminary and his class photo. Yes, same grandfather who fished. The washcloth is for wiping drooly mastiff jowls (see here for further explanation on that), and probably is only there temporarily.

There is a small nook in the study where someday we may install some built-in shelves. But until then, a bookshelf my father-in-law made fits perfectly. You can see that I did hang the 1936 Fortune magazine cover. Below that are a lamp, a vase with more bark, a framed watercolor of the chapel of Notre Dame acquired on my trip to Paris, a wooden gavel of my grandfather's, and a greenhouse from Ikea.

Right now the greenhouse is filled with oldworld globes. Something about that just cracked me up.

There is a lot more to show you, like the desk and the large bookshelves and all their contents. But those areas aren't quite ready. We also have to finish putting up all the wall decor, which involves finally getting my diploma replaced and framed (they issued it to me with the WRONG NAME), and framing all the antique maps I've planned to hang. It's taking some time, but I do love it when a plan starts to come together.

A Study of the Home Library

During yesterday's President's Day holiday, I spent a good part of the day organizing our home ofice. We call it the study, but it could also be called a library, I suppose. I haven't quite finished, so it isn't ready for photos, but I was inspired to look for great home offices. So between now and when I can take some pictures (to finish organizing and to wait for some light during the hours I'm home), feast your eyes on these rooms. I love the view and the shelves in this room.

Great wall decor above.

Rustic and simple, and another great view. These shelves are similar to mine, both in form and the many non-book items scattered about.

Speaking of non-books on the shelves... I doubt I could cram the mastiff into any of our shelves.

Sheer luxury, right? Space, lots of shelves, plenty of comfortable seating.

I doubt I could ever exercise the restraint necessary for a single item on a shelf, but it does elevate each piece, doesn't it?

Functional and utilitarian.

Another luxurious study with a wall of shelves, lounging chair, and a great rug.

This home office has Office Depot furniture, but I found it appealing. (Perhaps that praise is too faint. The desk very much reminds me of the current desk in our study. We inherited it from the previous owners, but someday I want a lovelier one.)

More like this desk. I want a beautiful, large expanse of workspace, and accommodating two chairs on either side. I love the rug, too.

Talk about accommodating plenty of people. Great shelves here, too, and beams on the ceiling. And a fireplace?!

But small can be lovely, too. I love a desk that can close and hide your mess. And live plants are always great.

Another well-organized, charming desk.

Big room, small desk. Beautiful from tray ceiling to hardwood floors.

I love library ladders, and this room is so warm.

Another library ladder, though it's at a university. I couldn't resist.

A handsome library in Manchester.

This image of shelving and a ladder is from an abandoned school. I can't believe someone hasn't broken in and stolen it all. If you've enjoyed this selection, I encourage you to pop over to everyeskimo, where she has a collection of desks. I often find that she and I are on similar wavelengths, and today is another instance.

Nesting With Pottery Barn

In the midst of Snopocalypse (yes, again), and in between trying to keep warm, shovel snow, and fight off a nasty bug, I've been trying to dig my way through the pile of catalogs that have accumulated. And of course, the Pottery Barn catalog was full of things that struck me as entirely Etsy-able. The theme of the February 2010 catalog is nesting at home, with accompanying birds, eggs, and other avian accoutrements. This theme is of course excellent marketing, because we are all yearning for warmer weather; the reappearance of songbirds building nests is one of the unmistakable markers for the emergence of Spring. Speckled eggs as decor are a natural touch to perk up your table's centerpiece or a small nook that needs brightening. Stone is a beautiful material for replicating the natural variations in the surface of an egg. The pair of vintage marble eggs above comes from yesstreen. I think the dark and light eggs transcend just Spring decor, and would look great all year. The two vintage alabaster eggs above are from dragonflyonbrady's shop. I would tuck them into a bowl or vase. CoolVintage has this lovely vintage malachite egg ornament. Its earthy green color take this egg way beyond the short-lived easter egg tree. Of course you can't have eggs without a nest. Note that the Pottery Barn stylists included feathers in the image above. LittleRetreats offers us this sweet little nest with quail eggs. I have such a soft spot for speckles. A nest and eggs in a teacup is about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Find it at prettysimpleshoppe. I found this set of three felted nesting bowls with felted eggs at salinascraftroom. These little guys bring some texture into your decor. Pottery Barn's bird canvas wall art is inspired by vintage illustrations of birds. Finding actual vintage illustrations of birds and eggs on Etsy doesn't take long. (Including my shop.) The Audubon Society produced many bird illustrations, but not all of them are as colorful and dynamic as this band tailed pigeon print from AestheticsAndOldLace. I love the variation in speckles in this great vintage print of woodcock and coot eggs from PetitPoulailler. This great vintage print of eggs of American birds is from iowajewel. I always love when there are labels and a legend! These embroidered bird pillows from Pottery Barn are so handsome they're on the cover of the catalog. When I searched for bird embroidery on Etsy, I had no idea that I would find so many sweet items. I cannot get enough of this curious bird on branch pillow from coralandtusk. I love the colors and the precious tilt of the head in the bird's posture.

The color and craftsmanship in this piece with embroidered birds on silk is exquisite. Find it at vintagebellachic.

HAREandDRUM has this sweet hand embroidered swallow. Can't you see it perched on your wall?

This hand embroidered king fisher from fauxbrit13 has a personal message written on the back, the way only a vintage piece can carry.

This hand embroidered bird study from raccooncatcreations marries vintage fabric with handmade art.

Pottery Barn offers many bird pillows, table runners, rugs, even guest towels with their current theme. Etsy doesn't disappoint in this department, either.

TheShabbyChicCottage has these little teatowels with handpainted birds on a branch. The cherry on top? They're flour sack material.

This towel from artgoodies has a block printed nest with eggs. I know this would be a lovely addition to my kitchen, though I wouldn't have the heart to use it for the messier tasks. The Pottery Barn theme extends beyond the feathers and eggs and goes to bird cages. The piece immediately above is a gigantic three-gable birdhouse.

This bamboo birdcage from pinguim would make a lovely addition to your home with all of its architectural interest.

This vintage birdcage from lisabretrostyle2 has great form, and look at the door!

As always, Pottery Barn provides inspiration and Etsy offers handmade and vintage alternatives. I find that whatever the decor trends may be, Etsy sellers are already at the bleeding edge of the trends in creative decor. The image above is a bulletin board from Pottery Barn. Is anyone else reminded of the coffee sack inspiration boards from designsmayamade? I would be remiss if I didn't mention that she also currently has several birds for sale. As I said, handmade at the forefront!