spice up your life

May 16, 2013

Psssst – it’s me. I’ve been a bad, bad blogger guys – I’m so sorry. We’ve just been overwhelmed with projects big and small around our new home (including building our own garage! What?!) that I’ve been neglecting my blogger duties. Well, I’m back at the helm, and ready to talk spices. Or Spice Girls. (Puhlease… I love me some Spiceworld!)

See, I have a spice storage dilemma. At our old house, I stashed my ever-growing collection of spice jars and bottles in a cabinet above the stove. The cabinet was fairly shallow, so it was easy to see everything and grab whatever I needed. Sadly, that isn’t the case at our new house – all of the cabinets are tall and deep, and they have pull-out drawers. I could store my spices on one of the drawers, but a) It would be a waste of space, since there cabinets are so tall and spice jars  are, what, 4″ tall?; and b) I keep envisioning glass jars tipping over and shattering on the kitchen floor every time I pulled out the spice drawer.

But the flip side of having tall cabinets? I can hang a spice rack inside one of the cabinet doors. One of the cabinets is 40″ high – the perfect height for a spice rack. So last night I was all, “I’ma order a $20 spice rack off Amazon and get this job done.” Amazon had pretty slim pickings, though. After browsing through 10 pages of search results, I could found a handful of shelves that were tall enough or had enough space, and even those were pretty plain, bordering on ugly.

So I’ve made the executive decision to buy a vintage or handmade spice rack from Etsy, or make one myself.

Shanty2Chic wrote a detailed post on crafting your own spice rack.

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But it’s a little plain. I’m in love with this spice rack framed with crown molding:

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Photo by James Carriere via House Beautiful

I might even take it to the next level by painting it a fresh color – I love the look of this distressed blue/mint shelf:

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Via Maria’s Farmhouse

If I were made of money (or if I had an all-expenses-paid spree at Pottery Barn) I’d order this rustic mahogany cubby organizer and mount it on the kitchen wall.  I adore the hand-painted numbers on each cubby.

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Via Pottery Barn

So that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’ll keep you guys posted on the outcome of our Spice Storage Dilemma (duh-duh-dun).

How do you store your spices? Any tips or ideas?

Posted in GREEN HOME | Tagged , | 8 Comments

i’ve got the blues

May 7, 2013

Being a homeowner is easy – said no one, ever. Mortgage payments aside, there are way too many important, long-term decisions to be made, if you ask me. For example: should we tile a kitchen backsplash? Should we use trendy subway tiles, or a colorful mosaic, or is no one going to like backsplashes when we sell our house? Do we buy light-colored wood furniture, dark wood, or neither? I’m about to pass out from all of the decisions that have been made in the last couple weeks.

The biggest jam I’m in is regarding colors. I’ve already painted every inch of the living room and master bedroom (photos soon, I promise!). But I can’t commit to any color for the guest bedroom. Since the other rooms are fairly neutral, I’ve been floating the idea of painting the guest bedroom something bright – when Dara’s working from home, it’ll be a happy place for him to crank work out, and when my family and old friends are visiting, it’ll be a cheerful place for them to stay.

Right now, the room is this awful yellowish greenish beige – the previous owner hired painters to repaint the entire house that same beige, and the more I paint over it, the more I despise and it and can’t wait to rid the house of any trace of beige. For reference, here’s a few photos of the room in its current state:

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And here’s a photo of the hallway, so you can really get a sense of the offending color:

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The furthest I’ve gotten is a massive “Guest Bedroom Inspiration” board on Pinterest. It’s impossible to narrow down all of the different color choices, though. I’ve considered painting the room a soft pink:

design-sweet-or-sexy-bedroom

But Dara would so not be down with a pink room under his roof. I’ll wait until we start thinking about nurseries one day before I argue that one.

I’ve thought about designing a clean white room, with colorful accents in the bedding and decor:

accent

But that really doesn’t do much justice for our pretty white woodwork. Also, I think white is a little modern for our 1920s bungalow.

So the search continued. I was fully committed to a tan and white room for a hot second. Doesn’t that pairing look so fresh and clean?

cozy-cottage-style-bedrooms

But the tan is too close to the interior of our current house, and it also is no fun. Remember rule #1? Add some color up in here.

So I think I’ve narrowed down the field to blues and greens. I could be convinced to paint the room navy or emerald, but I’m leaning towards something lighter and softer. How dreamy are these spaces? Nap-a-licious, I tell you.

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So, what’s your take? Should I paint the guest bedroom a shade of blue-green? Or do you have other ideas? I would love your thoughts!

Inspiration photos: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Posted in UNCATEGORIZED | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

the renovators

May 1, 2013

Sorry for my absence… I’ve been busy fixing up our NEW HOME! That’s right… Dara and I are moving! We’re in the process of scouting out renters for our current house (after a difficult decision regarding the real estate market) and fixing up our new digs. Guys, I couldn’t be more excited about our new neighborhood. We’re within walking distance of bars, restaurants, parks, a running trail, a grocery store…Does it get any better? I’ve always wanted to be able to walk to the grocery store. Watch me now proceed to gain 50 pounds…

Our new house is a 1920s bunaglow in a historic neighborhood of Houston. It has all of the charm of an old house – glass doorknobs, crown molding and lots of built-ins. But it still needs some more lovin’. Our to-do list is pages long – is it weird that we’re excited to bring out the power tools and spend our free time spackling and sanding?

The house is – wait for it – 950 square feet. I’ve lived in apartments bigger than that. It’s a new concept for us, living in a small space – but it will be a great thing from a sustainability standpoint, and it’s the perfect little lovenest for two newlyweds. Plus, there’s plenty of room in the back to add on, when we’re ready for little ones.

Enough rambling… let me give you a tour of the house. Keep in mind, these are photos from the previous owners, so things are changing rapidly as we repaint and restore and move our stuff inside.

The house has an open floor plan, with a large living room/dining room that leads into the kitchen.

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My favorite part about the living room is the French doors which open out onto a deck. Sunlight and fresh air – check!

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I don’t have a great photo of the kitchen, but this gives you an idea – there are glass-front cabinets and all-white appliances, and there’s a window above the sink with some shelves for plants. As soon as we have time to get to the plant store, I’m scooping up some basil and rosemary to start a little herb window garden.

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The master bedroom is a little smaller than our old bedroom, and the closet is a fraction of the size of our dreamy walk-in, but there’s plenty of sunlight and a view of the backyard.

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The house has just one bathroom, which honestly is going to be the hardest adjustment for us. We got pretty spoiled, living with 3.5 bathrooms. But this will (hopefully!) be good training for our new life as renovation extraordinaires – we plan to take out the bathtub, tile the room, and install a glass-walled shower. Ambitious much? :)

House6

The guest bedroom is the same size as the master bedroom, so there should be plenty of space for a guest bed and a little office nook.

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The best part of the house isn’t the house – it’s the rest of the property. There’s a screened-in porch built onto the back of the house, and a deck with a hot tub for 8.

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So, that’s our new little home in a nutshell. I’ll pop in as much as I can to share some photos and updates over the next couple weeks as we finish the long/awful process of moving.

So, what do you think? Are we crazy for downsizing to a house that’s less than 1000 square feet?

 

Posted in UNCATEGORIZED | 16 Comments

recycled glass pitcher giveaway winner!

April 24, 2013

Congrats to Sharon, the lucky winner of our Are Naturals recycled glass pitcher giveaway! Check your email – I’ll be in touch shortly!

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Today, I’m a quarter-century old. That’s right – the big two-five. Pretty young in the big scheme of things, yet just old enough that I’m starting to wonder if I’m on the right track in life, and whether I should start saving more for retirement. In celebration of my birthday, I am excited to announce a giveaway!

Dara and I chose Are Naturals for our wedding registry after falling in love with their beautiful kitchenware and linens made from sustainable materials. I mean, how beautiful is this bed-side water bottle and glass set? You’d never guess it, but it’s hand-blown from recycled windshield glass by Colombian artisans.

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Source

And our towels, made from 30% organic cotton and 70% bamboo viscose, are incredibly soft and silky.

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Source 

They even have a lot of cute novelty items that I’ve been coveting, like these heart-shaped measuring spoons.

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Source

And today, in honor of my birthday, I’m giving away this pretty recycled glass tilted pitcher from Are Naturals. Summer is right around the corner, and I can’t wait for the summer BBQs and picnics to begin. Instead of handing out disposable bottles and cans to your fellow party-goers, why not mix up some sangria or margaritas and serve in a sweet little hand-blown pitcher?

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I’ll choose a winner in one week, so enter to win by midnight on April 24th! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted in GREEN HOME | Tagged | 31 Comments

recycling beyond bottles and cans

April 23, 2013

Okay, I’m always pretty smitten with Design Sponge‘s features of sleek interiors and colorful dwellings. I’m amazed by all of the creativity out there – if our house ever looked half as cool as any of the homes featured on Design Sponge, I’d be forever happy.

Every so often the editors behind Design Sponge post content related to the environment and sustainability, and their most recent post on recycling was too good not to share. Do you know where to recycle plastic bags, defunct phone chargers, CDs, mattress filler, and bubble wrap? If not, check out their feature on how to recycle “all the things” beyond paper, bottles, and cans.

Recycling

 

Posted in GREEN LIFE | Tagged | 1 Comment