Christmas decor 2010

The halls are decked at the Howarth household.

Kitchen revamp take 2

Kitchen table and chairs





Painted the cabinets off white and then use a glaze to give them the distressed look.









Backing to the upper cabinets...what do you think? leave it painted white or add a little touch of color with the stripes?

kitchen gets a new do

Well, I've wanted to re-do the kitchen for a long time, and since I had about 3 days this week free...I decided to have at it. Now all I need are some new counter tops :)

Kitchen before: so dull and boring ;)



Kitchen after: primed, painted and gloss finished

dumplins

Asian dumplings: ground turkey, napa cabbage (boiled 5-7 mins and chopped), ground ginger, green onion, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, pepper (no salt needed due to the sodium in the soy sauce) Combine all ingredients in a bowl: Place your won ton wrappers on a cutting board: Use 2 spoons to put about a tablespoon of mixture on each wrapper: Use your finger to wipe a bit of water along the edges of each wrapper to help them stick together to seal the dumpling, then seal all the edges to create a small, beautiful, yummy meat package:
Here is a video of me creating the meaty package:

There are 2 methods of cooking that we use to cook the dumplings: steaming and frying
Steaming: Frying: Just so he doesn't feel left out...here is the ONE dumpling (if you can even call it that) that Jason put together. It's so ugly that it's almost cute.
Finished product, voila!

2 mantels become a king sized head board

I must start by saying I couldn't find my camera earlier and therefore I did a horrible job documenting the process of creating this headboard. Also, I must give credit where credit is due Jason's Valentine's day gift to me was to be of service for whatever project I requested, so he helped my quite a bit with this project. Here is the finished product:



Purchased on Craigslist for $100: 2 fireplace mantels taken out of a farmhouse in southern TN. --> please excuse the broken lamp there is a missing bolt, and I haven't relplaced it yet

New "crazy bright" front door

Let me start by saying...I do think the door color is a little bright :) I'm not going to try and blame this on the fact that this is not the color I chose...because it is...but I do NOW think that a shade darker might have been a little more pleasing to the eyes. Hopefully it won't horrify any of the neighbors...or even worse have any of them call the home owners association on us...Because a part of me likes that it's bright and crazy.

Here is the door at Christmas time:

After: I obviously painted the door and the glass door hardware (trying to slowly but surely get rid of the gold accents in the house)

Here is a close up of the handle in the new brushed bronze color:

I also made a lovely wreath to accessorize the very bright door. total cost $6.00

Started with a pre-made grapevine wreath from Joann's for $3.99

Added zebra print, hemp, red, and blue polk-a-dotted ribbons (all that I already had except the zebra print from Joann's for $1.00) and made a large bow - attached with wire

Close up of the bow:

I added the paper mache letter "H" and painted it the with the same paint color that the door used to be (for nostalgia purposes)

Accessorizing the very bright door

From the walkway:

2 snow days + the weekend = more projects in the kitchen and living room

2 snow days...Hooray! It's been snowing in Nashville on and off for 3 days now. So...school was cancelled for 2 days, and I haven't left the house much at all. This resulted in quite a few decorating projects in the kitchen and living room.

Painting over the fire place: $40 TJ Maxx

all the picture frames on the mantle: $3-10 from Target, TJ Maxx, Joann's, Michael's

2 orange ceramic tea light holders: $2 TJ Maxx clearance

Green candle: free - gift

God Bless our Home sign: free - gift

Fireplace sreen: $25 Smith and Hawken at Target (50% off after the cold season)

3 wooden ducks: $7/each TJ Maxx clearance

Distressed white wooden bucket: $5 TJ Maxx clearance

Close up of the pictures and orange ceramic rose tea light holders

Painting over wing back chairs (matches painting over fireplace): $40 TJ Maxx

3 picture frames (with wedding pictures): $10 Michael's

2 wing back chairs: $50 ($25 each) Craig's list + $15/yard fabric to recover the chairs that were teal polyester :)

Green love seat: $75 Fabric store in Murfreesboro (sold by owner's daughter)

Window coffee table: $100 Craig's list

Throw pillows (10 total): $60 Crate and Barrel (day after Christmas sale)

Green throw blanket: $15 TJ Maxx

Curtains: sewn by ME - fabric $4/yard

Basket for magazines: ?? I bought it when I worked @ William's Sonoma 4 years ago

Door mat: $4 Ross

3 hurricanes on the coffee table: free - gift from mom - Southern Living at HOME (filled with small rocks and green candles from Target - total $6)

Antique round side table: $50 Ray Hines in Murfreesboro, TN

Fake flowers in mason jar (on top of side table): $2.50 Joann's

Bench: $150 TJ Maxx

2 framed pictures: $30 each Arts and Craft Fair in Dallas, TX 2001

Door mat: $4 Ross

Cross: free - gift from mom :)

picture album: free?? - Engagement gift from Jason

Candle and "moss" holders: $12 each Pottery Barn

Small wooden table (containing picture albums): $80 TJ Maxx

Wedding vows painting: $60 Sara Mincy's blog

Window curtains: sewn by ME - Approx. $10

Kitchen table and 4 chairs: $350 Craig's list

Pedestal on kitchen table: free - gift from mom - Southern Living at HOME

Fake artichokes on pedestal: $7 Target

4 chargers: ?? I bought them when I worked for Williams Sonoma 4 years ago

4 blue seat cushions: $4/each Ross

White wooden hutch: $350 Craig's list

2 large picture frames: $30 Ray Hines

Wine bottle basket: ?? I bought it when I worked for Williams Sonoma 4 years ago

Framed picture: picture - free, frame $10 Michael's

Window curtains: sewn by ME - Approx. $10

Clock: $15 Bed Bath and Beyond

Basket (holding cookbooks): ?? Bought this when I worked at Williams Sonoma 4 years ago

Tray on counter top: free - gift from mom - Canton, TX flea market

Wine refrigerator: $100 Craig's list

Fleur de lis: $2.50 Hobby Lobby

Candle holder: $5 Target

Lamp: $21 TJ Maxx -(lamp shade: I wrapped in the same curtain fabric)

Back door wreath: Approx. $5, made by ME (torn strips of fabric, a metal clothes hanger, wooden letter H from Joann's, a piece of blue ribbon)