Boot Camp Dinner

Well, this is what I get for whining that I need to lose five pounds. My husband has talked me into doing a week of "boot camp" with him while the kids are away. So, for one week, we will work out every day, and we will eat reasonably healthy. (my usual motto is "everything in moderation", including healthy food and exercise - I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm full. I exercise by running and doing yoga for fun. That's it. And I'm going back to it after a week, for the record.) We did have a great time today at our local arts and farmer's market, and I figure, if I'm going to eat healthy, I want fresh, really good food.  This was tonight's dinner.

This dinner can be made in 15 minutes. That's the great part.

Swordfish

marinate in juice of 1 lime and 2 Tbsp soy sauce while grill heats up.

grill steaks 4 mins each side, brush with marinade.

serve with lime slices.

Spicy Veggies

chop and combine fresh broccoli, corn, yellow squash, zucchini

add torn whole peeled tomatoes from can

add a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes

steam in vegetable broth or water.

Cous Cous

I used boxed Parmesan and garlic cous cous.

so easy, takes 10 minutes.

Dessert Peaches

2 fresh peaches, halved

dot center with butter

fill cavity with honey

(we were able to get local orange blossom honey at the farmer's market: it's amazing)

Place under broiler, 4 in. from heat, about 10-15 mins

Peaches are done when edges turn brown.

So there. I did it. I ate a healthy dinner. It was so good, I have no regrets. Even if I don't lose five pounds.

New Room - part 4 - Beds and Curtains

I was thrilled with the refinishing of the headboards. They took two weeks and a couple trips across town to get, but it was worth it.

I feel like it only takes a few touches to really set a room apart, and I would say for this room, it's the headboards and the pillows. Funny, they were the most reasonably priced elements, too. They just took the most time.

As for the bedding, I knew I wanted white. I ended up buying basic white cotton sheets. I decided to again go with the Shabby Chic collection for the comforter and bed skirt. I think it was a happy mistake that they were out of the twin-sized white dust ruffles. I got the pale pink ones, and I think it turned out even better. The comforter is a very fluffy, ruffly white one with a ruffled sham. I bought body pillows with a turquoise cover for the beds, and Tommy Hilfiger micro fleece blankets for throws. Nothing like a fluffy, white pillow top bed.

I knew all along I wanted monogrammed pillows on the beds, and looked into various places online to order these. I continued to find the cost to be between $30-$100 per pillow. It finally dawned on me that I could take the shams to the local embroidery shop and have it done that way. It was $10 per pillow, and I think it makes the room.

You can see the curtains behind the beds. These are sheers sold individually from the Shabby Chic collection. They have the ability to be bustled using clear rings sewn on the back. It took four panels to cover this large window, two for the valance, and two to hang.

A few hangings for the wall: another unique hook, a drawing of a girl strolling in Paris, and the blue plaque says, "Be your own kind of beautiful".

A small throw rug between the beds for one more touch of color, and that was it. The entire room took only about 2-3 days to throw together, with the exception of the headboards and the monograms. Total cost was about $1500. We did have to buy the two beds and frames ($700), so for decorative items, this entire room was completed for only about $800.

Just for kicks, if I were really going to go all out for a room like this, I would replace the carpet with wood, remove the ceiling fan and replace with an antique white chandelier, paint the walls white, and add picture frame molding from floor to ceiling. Maybe someday.

New Room - Part 3

I always look around the house for what could be re purposed when I decorate a room. In this case, because we were moving the office to a corner in the master bedroom, some items from that area were the first to go. I have had this sturdy white wicker and bamboo dresser for years, got it at a yard sale. I like how it is white, like the headboards, but not too matchy.

The jumbo leaning mirror was also in the master bedroom. It's a perfect full-length for the girls, and takes up a lot of wall space, as well as opening up the room. The lamp was brought in from the bonus room. It came with a set of furniture 2 years ago, and was never used! The Marylin in NYC photo goes with the big city fashion theme, and is also just a great photograph.

Does anyone want to see how the headboards turned out?

New Room - Part 2

 So I set off to put the rest of the girl's room together. I knew I wanted a shared nightstand between the two beds. I have found in the past that nightstands can be surprisingly expensive, and I have often substituted interesting side tables. That idea worked well for this room, as I was wanting a minimalist look anyway. I found this side table at Marshall's, I believe, and I just love the circular cut-out detail. I turned the table sideways between the beds, and I think it looks pretty interesting.

Max made her way into this shot. The room itself is very difficult to photograph due to the large window that back-lights the entire space. It's a beautiful effect in the room, but it doesn't make for great photography.

Next, I decided to put a coat rack into the room. I have one in my bathroom, and I love it for design and practicality. This one was nice and tall, and I noticed that the girls naturally began to use it to hang various items, so that's a good thing.

Also here is one of the pieces of wall art I found for the room. I know it's a little pre-fab, but time is an issue, so not everything in the room could be wonderfully original. Besides, the picture tied in the wall color, the turquoise and the dark brown. By now, based on the items I had collected for the room, I decided on a cosmopolitan-fashion theme. I found these wall decals on the clearance rack in Target, and the "London" sign had been in the room when it was our office.

That's the London and NYC skylines above the closets. Certainly they don't scream "little girl's room!", but that's just the way a room puts itself together. You can see the towel-hook between the doors. I happened to find this distressed hook with a glass knob and it was a nice touch. As for the giant tassel, I tend to just throw tassels on things. Knobs, banisters, vases...I just like it. Next up, dressers, mirrors and curtains.

A New Room for the Girls - part 1

I was so excited for the opportunity to do a girl's room for my two step-daughters. We decided to downsize and merge the office into our bedroom in order to give the girls their own space. I have always wanted to do the side-by-side twin bed arrangement, so that was my starting point.  I always default to white, especially in a bedroom, and my step-daughter requested either light blue or light green as well. I love the "Tiffany box" or "robin's egg" blue, and I like that it was a little more unconventional than pink. So I set out to find some white beds and bedding and one decorative piece to build around.

I found this blue vase at a discount store, and thought it was the right color and a perfect accent for the nightstand. The silk roses were found on the clearance rack at Kirkland's. 

As for the beds, I knew they would be the focal point of the room. I found a lady who refinishes furniture, and set out to find two matching beds or headboards that could be distressed in white. Enter good old Craigslist.

I found these antique circa 1940's headboards on a week-old Craigslist ad. They were still available, and I trekked across Jacksonville to pick them up. They were more beautiful than the pictures portrayed, and extremely heavy.

After I dropped off the headboards to be refinished in white, I had a better idea in my head of the direction I wanted to take the entire room. Time to shop the stores and the house for everything else. More on that coming up.

The Best Tasting Healthy Thing I Know How to Make

This is my Chicken Stir-Fry recipe. It has been perfected over the years with trial and error, and it is always a big hit. I just realized how healthy this dish is, with the exception of the sodium. I also just broke down and bought a rice-cooker. I will say, it really does make better rice than I could ever make on the stove. I resisted because I hate storing large kitchen gadgets, but I think this one is worth the trouble.

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
Soy Sauce
Cornstarch
Ginger (dried)
water
sugar
salad oil
any combination of:
carrots
onion
zucchini
snow peas

cooked rice

Cube chicken and slice carrots, onions and zucchini. The thicker you slice the vegetables, the longer the cooking time. At this point, heat your wok to medium.

Mix with cubed chicken: 2 Tbsp. soy, 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1/2 tsp ginger. Toss well. Double this amount if using closer to 2 lbs of chicken. Any more than that and your ingredients will not fit in a standard wok. I really push it as it is cooking for 4-6 people in 1 wok. Stir fry needs room to be, well,... stirred. You really cannot mess up the measurements on this recipe. Just guesstimate. I promise, it will turn out fine.

In a small bowl, mix 6 Tbsp soy, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp. cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp salad oil in wok. Add chicken. Stir fry until browned, but not fully cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok and add carrots and onions to wok. Cook until onions become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add zucchini and snow peas. Cook 2-5 minutes more.

Return chicken to wok. Whisk soy mix in small bowl (cornstarch will settle to the bottom), and add to wok.

Cook until mixture thickens. Serve with rice.

I made this particular meal without carrots, only because I ran out. Once the actual cooking begins, this meal takes only about 15 minutes to make. The work is actually cutting the chicken and veggies, which I recommend doing with jazz music, your honey and a glass of wine. Also, I've learned to use foil or wax paper to lay out cut veggies and chicken. No need to dirty every bowl in your kitchen.