Monday, July 22, 2013

More Glass Jars Please!

 
 
 
  
Yes, it's true, I have a thing for glass jars...can't get enough of them!  At beginning of the year, I was in the market for some new ones.  I already had the ones you see above which you can get from most stores - Target or Ikea to name a few.  The glass jars you see, again, above, are on my kitchen counter storing milk bones and such.  But for my small pantry I needed some smaller ones to store the rest of our dry goods - oatmeal, rice and pasta that we never eat.  Though when food is stored in glass jars it become a work of art and so much more organized.  Don't you think?  
 
 


I spotted these in Martha...love all the different shapes that she used.  Look how organized!





And then in the January issue of Real Simple I spotted these glass jars.  It looks like they came from Crate and Barrel and Bed Bath and Beyond.  I ended up getting these jars from the Container Store You know what?  What a decision!!!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Found it...Ree Drummond's Restaurant Style Salsa



I just bought my last jar of salsa thanks to Ree Drummond - See"Easy Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas" .  I was surfing around her website and stumbled across her version of restaurant style salsa.  She uses cans of tomatoes which I always try to keep in stock.  For Ree's recipe click here!  I try to watch The Pioneer Women every Saturday and Sunday and it's not always just to see that cute little basset hound Charlie.  He does bring back memories though!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Planning My Trip to the Southern Living 2013 Idea House




What a great surprise!  The other night while surfing around Southern Living's website I discovered that the  2013 Idea House had just recently opened.  Funny, after I posted about the 2012 Idea house in Senoia, Ga.see "A Truly Impeccable Farmhouse in Senoia"  I was wondering when and where the 2013 Idea house would  be.  And here it is, in Nasvhille, Tennessee, my old stomping ground. Oh, the stories I could tell after living there for three plus years.  Anyway, here are a few of my favorites: 



 
 
 
The house is a southern Farmhouse decorated by Phoebe Howard. Of course,  I Love the all the rustic elements mixed with new furnishings.
 
 
 

 
Here's the kitchen.
 
 
 
 
I just love how the white china pops in the green!
 

 
Love the casual vibe of the dining room and all that natural light!
 
 
 

 
Love the study!  I just picked a very similar green for Hubby's office--more on that later!
 
 

 
The study in that pretty green.
 


Love the laundry room too!  There's the sink I want!  Do you notice the tiles on the wall?

To see more great pictures and an informative video tour click here. I'm planning my trip, and, you know what, it's  been a while since I've been to Nashville. See  "Goodbye Nashville".

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Summer Style Dilemma!

Well, we're way into summer and I’m making do with most of my things that I have purchased from the last couple of years. My style,  which I should probably explain first, is easy, simple and comfortable. Basically, no neon, no polka-dots, and no flowers.  My good friend Jill, who just opened a clothing shop (think Anthropology), calls me Charlotte. Basically, she thinks I’m boring, but I take it as a complement! Another thing that most people don’t know about me is I hate to shop, I actually despise it!  One of the reasons is because I'm short, and kind of  hippie, and I need a good petite department. So you can see, shopping is a challenge!

Here’s my daily uniform agenda - all basic things--no big events to speak of!

Work – Business-casual for me--either a skirt or dress in the summer months

Running errands –Just can’t leave my house in a holy t-shirt after my daily jog.

Lunch with girlfriends –Atlanta is not LA or New York, but close enough!

Date Night with Hubby – Which is usually just cheap Mexican food.

A few summer concerts and movies

Before leaving for vacation this past May I made my Spring/Summer list and it went a little something like this:
  1. Dresses – Shirt/shift and sheath – We’ll talk!
  2. Skirts – A line – No more pencil skirts for me please! I feel like Mrs. Tudball
  3. Jeans White/colored – I did purchase these colored ankle jeans from Talbots in green which I thought I would love with navy blue. They don’t look all that great on me. As for the white I’m about to give up and make do with last years that have a dot of red wine on them...so frustrated
  4. Shorts – I just bought my first pair in years at the Gap "The boyfriend roll-up shorts"
  5. Tunics /blouses – We’ll Talk!
  6. T-shirts – J.Crew –Bought a few of the linen in different colors and love them
 




7. Cardigans/Pullovers --- Just order Bean’s French Sailor’s Shirts in Navy/Cream & Gray Heather/cream.  Still waiting on package.
 




8.  Jackets – Military Jacket –We’ll talk!
9.  Totes /Clutches and More - We’ll talk!
10. Shooz – We’ll talk!

Now, I'm glad I didn't find much...Ahhhh the summer sales!!!  Oppps I have a Yes concert this coming Sunday and they are playing with the Symphony.  Better get shopping!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Rooms on my Mind!

I have some tweaking to do in our kitchen area that opens up to our den.  These are the pics on my mind!
 
 
 
 
House & Home - I already have blue in white in my den...I'm thinking of adding molding similar to this.
 
 
 
Tory Burch - I've always loved this room wrapped in French doors.  I've even spotted a vintage wicker table like the one above...I almost bought it. 
 
 
 
 
Living - Our kitchen area opens into our den which needs some tweaking.  Love this!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Southern Living- I still have white subway tile left over from Nashville--see My Budget Friendly Kitchen.  I have enough to do my kitchen here in Atlanta and it's on Frank's list!
 
 
 
 
Southern Living - I love rooms with lots of windows!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Easy rotisserie chicken enchiladas!

Friday "Entertaining and Simply Delicious Recipes"

I thought Friday would never get here. I'm just sitting here at home waiting for the electrician to come so I can have some lighting in my bedroom. I should be organizing or cleaning something, but, oh well.  So  I have a few minutes to write about these easy rotisserie chicken enchiladas that I just recently discovered.

A few weeks ago my friend Carol from work had me and my friend  Colleen over to her house for a little ladies' lunch.  As soon as I arrived, Carol asked me while sipping her  Margarita (alcohol free mind you)  "that I hope you don't mind but I'm  doing chicken enchiladas".  My response, "Mind...are you kidding?"  I had been looking here and there, but not too hard, for an easy chicken enchiladas recipe. Also, in the summer months I like to do more Mexican dishes.

So I  immediately told Carol that I had been looking for an easy chicken enchiladas recip,e but I don't think she believed me.   I was very excited to hear what she had cooked up.  Carol pulled out this recipe card that she said she picked up at Publix.  Wait a minute...Publix that's where I do my grocery shopping every Monday.  Then she added, you basically just pick up a rotisserie chicken.  Wait a another minute here...Guess who picks up a rotisserie chicken every Monday?  And then, she said, the rest of  the ingredients were are on the recipe card that you can pick up when you walk into the store.  "It doesn't get much easier then that!" And I complete agree!!


 


    
Now I need to find an easy salsa recipe. A few weeks ago,  I picked up Paul Newman's which is good; I buy alot of  his products, but with tomato season here upon us, oh, there is just something so dreadfully wrong about that!  Don't you agree? 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Thank You Sis!!!

 
Wednesday "Girl Stuff"
 
This summer is really not going as I expected. I had such high hopes and  beautiful visions:
 
7: 00 A.M.Hubby delivers a  perfect cup of  frothed coffee
7:15 A.M. I hit the road for my daily jog
8:00 A.M. Swoon Ellie around the block for her daily exercise which only only takes 15 to 20 minutes depending on her mood and the heat
8:20 A.M.  Shower and blow dry my hair without shorting a fuse in our master bedroom
9:15 A.M.  Pop by Starbucks for my daily non fat short blonde Misto
9:25 A.M. Arrive at work able to put  my bag away  before telephone rings
12:00 P.M.  Have my daily lunch of low fat cottage cheese and tomatoes without any interruptions
4:30 P.M.  Do a little shopping for Summer clothes and Shooz that I'm still missing (See I Need Shooz)
 
6:15 P.M. Pick Ellie up from Doggie daycare and hope she's not the last doggie left
6:30 P.M. Arrive home to a beautiful landscaped yard with no limbs down, no weeds, and no overgrown hydrangeas that are not where they should be (See Hubbies in the Garden)
 
8:15 P.M. Enjoy a glass of white wine with Hubby (White for the summer)
8:20 P.M. Count all the lightening bugs outside my beautiful landscaped yard
8:30 P.M. Dine Al fresco style !
9:00 P.M. Blog my heart away!
10:00 P.M. Let Ellie out one last time for the evening and Night Night we go...
 
Though, with all this terrible rain and with Ellie's arthritis, with Hubby's touch up to his lasik that he just had done two weeks ago, and his 60+ hour work week, needless to say, I have not done or bought too many girl things.
 
 





 

 
 
But this past Saturday late in the afternoon the FedEx delivery guy arrived at my house.  I had just finished hand mopping my floors, so  I made Hubby answer the door.  Could not bear to  let the FedEx guy see me.  Hubby come bouncing up the stairs with a box.  Of course, I knew who it was from!  Thank You Sis! This goes on the list with the little red swim suit that you gave to me for my birthday...Oh, How many years ago was that?