Our Views

I don't think I'll ever get tired of these beautiful views we see from the park. The weekend just isn't a weekend without at least one stroll around the neighborhood and through the park. This weekend was no exception. We got in a long walk on Saturday and a short one on Sunday. Sunday's walk required a sweater since the weather turned cooler which made me very happy!

Sunday night as Chip and I ate dinner I glanced outside and saw the most beautiful sunset. I stood up, picked up Lydia from the pack-n-play, and scurried down the front walk to our front yard. Chip followed me, and I know he thought I was a little nutty. With Lydia in my arms I pointed at the view and said "sky", "sunset", "blue", "pink", "pretty", magnificent, lovely, amazing! She pointed and laughed, and we spun backwards and forwards in the cool autumn air.

Moments like that make life so full! It's October! My favorite month! And it is cool outside and leaves are slowly falling now (falling more quickly soon). I can sit with a cup of hot tea while it rains and wear sweaters when it is sunny. So happy.

"Blue Medallions" Rug

Here it is! The finished living room. It took me a while to decide on a rug, but I think I made a good choice. I first saw this rug on the Copy Cat Chic blog, and I instantly thought it would be a good fit for my room. I shopped around some more, but finally settled on it.

I think it turned out great! And Walle loves it! He was so happy to have some carpeting back down on the floor. Kitties don't like laying around on hardwood.

Live-in Room

In the daylight. I promised photos of the living room, and here they are! I have very little to do before this room is done. 1) The rug I purchased from Horchow is on its way and 2) at some point I want a lamp for the buffet.

Views from the front entry:

  

And from the dining room.

Vintage wine bottle is from Interior Spaces in Jackson.

Bowl is a Keith Stewart original.

Table is from the outlet in Jackson.

Curtains by Restoration Hardware.

Mirrored occasional table is from Wisteria.

And of course the chair is Mallory by DwellStudio from SummerHouse in Ridgeland.

Vase and goblets by Ron Dale of Oxford.

Original art by Sarah Robertson of Germantown.

Coffee table and TV table are both from the outlet in Jackson.

Japanese paper mache tray from the Antique Mall of the South in Ridgeland.

Sea Urchin lamp is from Horchow.

Shell planter is from Sugar Magnolia in Oxford.

Buffet is from The Antique Shops of Jackson. 

And out of all of this, the only furniture that is new are the chairs. My in-laws gave us the sofa. Other new items I added are the sea urchin lamp, pillow covers and fireplace screen from Pottery Barn Outlet, and the curtains. Everything else was pulled from what we already had. I'm so happy about how it has all come together.

Meet Mallory

Why does unpacking always take so much longer than you think it will? On Saturday afternoon I tackled unpacking the heaps of stuff that we'd shoved into the office. I started sorting through it all around 3 pm, and I didn't finish until almost 11 pm. Then, this morning, I found two more heaps of mail and documents that needed sorting through. I can now say that I have a home office that is clean and organized, and I only have one bin of stuff left that needs to be put away. I feel so accomplished! 

Anyway, that's not the point of this post! I started this post to show a little peek into my living room. The living room is the room we started decorating first. Before we even moved in Chip's parents promised to give us a great sectional sofa, and I started placing furniture in my mind around that. That's about the time I decided I needed a pair of chairs for this spot in my living room, and I fell in love with the Mallory Chair at DwellStudio.

On Christmas Eve Eve, Chip and I were hitting up the Everyday Gourmet in the Township in Ridgeland to buy provisions for a family wine and cheese happy hour. That's when I spotted the chairs -- MY chairs, the Mallory chairs that I had been drooling over online -- inside SummerHouse. Of course, I went in so I could sit in them and drool over them some more, this time in real life. Then the unheard of happened. They were on SALE. For about $250 less EACH from the online price. Chip took one look at me and knew that I would be buying them. 

I can't tell you how happy I am with these chairs. They fit the room perfectly. I'm currently sitting in the one on the right, blogging while we watch the NY Giants game. 

We only have a couple things left before this room is done - a rug, a lamp for the side table, and a lamp shade for the buffet lamp. All were purchased online last night and are on their way! I can't wait to show everyone the finished product! In daylight!

My New House

I feel like I've been in a constant state of flux over the past few months, but I can finally say... I am settled. Almost as soon as we moved back to Oxford we began thinking about expanding our house or moving to a larger house. Specifically, one with a garage and a little more storage. We met with an architect to look at plans for an expansion, and also started looking at houses with a realtor. Then, we fell in love. With a modern-looking house built in 1975. In a neighborhood with big trees and a one acre lot. And a pool. :) For those of you who know me and know my style, I'm a solid Anglophile. I love everything English and England, like cottages and cottage gardens and David Austin roses. For me to fall I love with a house in the modern style (with a pool, no doubt, if you've heard my rants about the last pool) is a little unlike me. But, the house is fantastic.



This photo is from the house listing from the summer. I really love the landscaping in the front. I have two (or three?) Japanese maples. I've always wanted a Japanese maple, but I never wanted to spend the money to put one in. I'm so excited that I have them! I have azaleas that bloom in the spring and fall (I saw them in bloom this fall). I have camellias by the front door, and sweet olives on the front walk. I can dig that. My absolute favorite space, though, is the kitchen. I love, love, love cooking in here.















The kitchen and the living room are really the only two spaces that we have "finished" decorating. I say "finished" with quotes, because really, decorating is never DONE. I'm excited about sharing the rest of the house, but we still have work to do. I'm really excited about sharing the living room! More to come...

What's Blooming Now

I missed the official Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on March 15... I always seem to... But I do have wonderful things blooming in my garden.

Carolina jessamine...

Daffodils... a 2009 Christmas present from my grandmother.
Sweet olive... I love sweet olive. The fragrance is amazing coming from such a tiny flower.
Pansies...
And a peeping tom... hehe.
Also, the blog isn't the only thing around here that has gotten an update. We got the house painted. Here is a before photo from January... before the paint and before I cut back roses and lantana.
And here's an after photo.
Yep, its yellow. It is Sherwin Williams Cupola Yellow (SW7692). I have mixed feelings about it. I really did not like the peachy, pinky stucco before. My plan was to keep the color in the neutral zone but lean towards the yellow side of the color spectrum... I don't think I exactly accomplished that with this color.

On one hand I say, "Damn, that's bright..." and on the other hand I say, "Of course it looks bright now when the lawn and perennials are dormant and drab looking!" Maybe once I have some hot pink knockout roses, bright yellow, orange, and pink lantanas, purple irises, and pretty white and yellow shasta daisies blooming it won't look quite so bright. Ha, am I kidding myself?

Opinions, please?! Be honest. I neither love or hate this color, and since we really only have two walls with this paint on it (front and back) it would be easy to change. Nevertheless, I am waiting until everything greens up to make my final decision.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Valentine's Day. It seems like it is everyone's least favorite holiday. This year we "celebrated" a day early by cooking a delicious meal, drinking some of our favorite wines, and watching the Grammy's together. Not super romantic but just our style.
Ah, this Kosta Browne Pinot is so amazing. Koplen Vineyard. Yummmmy.

Chip put these lamb chops on the grill. I used this Mario Batali recipe that I LOVE. So easy. Lamb from Madison county and rosemary from the backyard. I served it with crunchy baked fennel and honey-ginger carrots. But really, the wine was the star of this show...

When it comes down to it, Chip shows his love for me every morning when I wake up to a steaming cappucino in my favorite mug. I show my love for him by making healthy weeknight meals. They both feed the body and soul. Sounds kinda lame, but its true. Having a meal at home at a fully set table by candlelight is pretty nice, though.


I've been a crappy blogger lately. Not sure why. I am hoping that spring will get me in the spirit. Bring it on!

More Birthday Dinner Photos

Things got pretty crazy at my house after work yesterday. Chip came back from Louisiana with lots of beer. He assembled the cheese plate, and I cooked rice, heated up the chicken tikka masala, made saag paneer, and rolled out naan dough. When the first guests showed up, I was very close to having dinner finished. Chip poured me a glass of Riesling, and the birthday celebration began. I grilled naan on the grill pan and placed the completed dishes in the oven to keep warm.

I don't have photos of the finished dishes, but we do have yummy leftovers, and I plan to take some photos tonight. I did take some photos of the dining room after I set the table yesterday. I am proud of the way everything came together.

Homemade Paneer (Indian Cheese)

Maybe I am crazy -- I don't know. I've finalized the menu for Chip's Indian birthday feast. So, here goes...

Appetizer/Cheese Plate: Roquefort, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Savannah Bee Tupelo honey with raw honeycomb, red Bartlett pears, toasted walnuts, crackers.

Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer, basmati rice, Naan

Dessert: German Chocolate cake (purchased at Crazy Cat Bakers) decorated with candy corn and candles (by me)

Today, I made the paneer for the saag paneer and the chicken tikka. I've heard you can buy paneer at the Indian grocery store or maybe Fresh Market, but I didn't feel like driving all the way out there. The recipe did not look that difficult, so I gave it a try.

First, I had to heat one gallon of whole milk to a boil.

Milk very quickly boils over if you aren't watching it, so I had to watch it like a hawk and stir it to keep the bottom from scorching. As soon as the milk came to a boil, I took it off the heat and added 1/4 cup of white vinegar. The curds (solids) immediately began to separate from the whey (liquids).I let it cool for a few minutes while I lined a colander with cheesecloth. I actually couldn't find cheesecloth at Kroger, but Chip found some in the paint aisle at Home Depot.

I placed the cheesecloth-lined colander in the sink and slowly poured in the hot curds and whey, making sure the whey did not pool in the bottom of the sink.I lightly salted the top of the cheese curds, wrapped them in the excess cloth, and let them sit in the sink for about an hour while they cooled and drained.
Later, I placed another heavy pot on top of the cheese and put two 10-pound weights in it. This helped press out all of the whey so that I had a firm cheese that could be cubed.

I let the cheese drain under the press for about 4 hours. I think with the 20-pounds I had on top of it, 4 hours was a bit too long. The cheese was firmer than I would have liked it to be.Unfortunately, this is the point at which I forgot to continue to take photos. To finish the cheese, I cubed it, sauteed it in a little bit of canola oil, and let it drain and cool on a paper towel. Now my beautiful homemade paneer is in the refrigerator, just waiting to be eaten in some yummy saag on Wednesday night.

I also marinated and grilled the chicken for the Chicken Tikka Masala last night. Our house smelled amazing as it grilled on the grill pan.

Yum!!

Chip has band practice tonight, so I'll be busy cooking and getting ready for the party. Tonight, I am making the masala sauce for the Chicken Tikka Masala and making and refrigerating the bread dough for the naan. More photos to come!