downton abbey is all over gorgeous there is a funny little fact about me that you may not know, i'm an anglophile! my husband is quite entertained by this notion, since i'm a third generation japanese american who would love to live in a house decorated like a jane austin movie! so, of course, we are watching downton abbey. since we no longer get cable tv, we are streaming it off amazon and so we are season behind everyone. so my apologies if i'm a little behind ... continue reading...
Family Room Futon Slipcover
the family room project continues... as you all know, i'm in the middle of redoing our family room. it was an empty and unused space that is slowly transforming into a room that we all hang out in. when we bought the house the walls in the family room were a mossy green color and now they are tan with molding and furniture white. i was recently trying to figure out what to do with our green futon, since it didn't quite fit in with our new decor. i thought i would have to hire ... continue reading...
Asian Salad Dressing
easy homemade salad dressing my husband will not eat a salad without this homemade salad dressing. it is the easiest dressing to make and only has four ingredients. i always have to have it on hand and luckily i always have the ingredients on hand too. i got the recipe from a church cookbook and it compliments a chinese chicken salad that is yummy too. since summer weather is upon us, we are making more salads for dinner. i hope you enjoy this recipe and it goes well with a salad that has ... continue reading...
My Latest Living Room Inspirations
rooms that inspire me... don't you adore this room?! i found it on houzz and i love the light blue and grey accents and it's light and airy feel. i would like this type of style in my house. so yes, i'm starting to rethink our living room colors and possibly our furniture too. i'm always redecorating our home, and probably my family thinks i'm crazy. when we remodeled a couple years ago, i had chosen all the paint colors for our four rooms and our painter did ... continue reading...
Decorating with Antique Bottles
antique bottles are a huge part of our home decor! my husband grew up in new england and as a boy he would tromp around in the woods looking for old homesteads. he would find what was left of an old cellar hole and then he would search for the homestead's spot that would house their trash. he would find old tins and of course old bottles! most of the bottles we own are ones that he unearthed from the soil. he recently, visited his parents and found some of his bottles that we ... continue reading...
Family Room Update
the family room overhaul continues! i wish i could say that our family room project is complete, but i'm still tweaking all my decor. i guess if i was done with all my decorating, then i would have very little to blog about. so here is my latest update! the wall closest to my little office area was in desperate need of some decor. i hung my white board project (here is the link to my blog post: white board) up as well as my chevron initial, j. but some blank ... continue reading...
Make Your Own Granola
yummy granola... i've been on a mission to find a good granola recipe. i've tried a few and finally my niece shared one of their family favorites. i like this recipe (first appeared in usa weekend 2006) since it offers some fun options depending on your taste. the granola is crisp and crumbly which i like. i added a few changes which the recipe appears to encourage! one of the things i add is dark chocolate. last summer while we were vacationing in france, we bought some ... continue reading...
Seattle’s Glassybaby Candle Holders
the most amazing glass candle holders so about the time we moved from to san francisco, a seattle company started to make these hand blown glass candle holders. they really aren't like any other candle holders, they are so vibrant with colors and the glass is so beautiful. they are great little treasures and make nice gifts. the company, glassybaby is incredible and they are committed to donate 10% of the revenue from each candle holder to organizations dedicated to healing. ... continue reading...
Tour of a Beautiful Home in Michigan
dreamy home i just recently joined instagram and i've been so busy making friends on this social media platform that my husband thinks i've lost it. ok, maybe i spend a little too much time on my phone. :o) anyway, i'm now connected to a wonderful community of people who share their homes ideas, their latest crafts, decor, and recipes, etc. i have been so inspired by my instagram friends that as a result i'm investing more time into my blog. this past week, i ... continue reading...
Liebster Award
I have been graciously nominated the Liebster award by Sarah from Little Red Brickhouse. I'm so honored that she nominated me for this award, I can't thank her enough! If you have a moment, check out her link above, you won't be disappointed with her wonderful home decor ideas. I hope you find out a little bit more about me through this award! I actually had fun answering these questions and I hope you have fun reading my responses. Here’s a little background info about the ... continue reading...
Pom Pom Yarn Flowers
yarn pom pom yarn flowers are popping up in our house! i recently joined instagram and a gal who i'm following was making these cute yarn pom poms. i can't remember who it was that was making them, but i do remember how cute her photos were. if you go onto etsy, you can find a bouquet of five for $15 plus shipping. so, i thought i would try making them and add a quick spot of color to my bedroom. i found it fun to pick from all the yarn colors available, the color ... continue reading...
Make Your Own Dry Erase Board
we all are acquainted with these generic dry erase boards. they are pretty straight forward and quite boring. well, i wanted something different for our family room. i was researching all the different types of solutions and even came across a type of dry erase paint. well, my family helped me in this department since they were all writing on my glass tabletop! so, when i saw the better homes and garden project of making a dry erase board with glass, i totally felt stupid not ... continue reading...
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
addicting peanut butter cookies! these peanut butter cookies only have five ingredients and are incredibly easy to make and yummy! if you are like me, you'll probably always have the ingredients in your pantry so, they have become my go to cookies! i'm always asking my kids to make them since they are so simple to make. the added bonus is that they have no wheat flour in them and so my daughter (who is on a gluten free diet) can have them as a treat. i did try substituting the egg with ... continue reading...
My Current Decorating Inspirations
interior design research about three years ago, we tackled a pretty big home project. we remodeled our kitchen, living room, dining room, and family room. we tore out walls and took the kitchen and dining room areas down to the wood framework. it was a long, messy and costly project, but the results were wonderful and we are so enjoying our new living space. at the end of the remodel we ran out of steam and money so the two other bathrooms and laundry room remodels would ... continue reading...
How to Care for Phalaenopsis Orchids
photo source: Pottery Barn you can have success with phalaenopsis orchids my first experience with orchids was when my friend kindly gave me one as a thank you for taking care of her betta fish. yes, i know what you are thinking... i have fish sat! i must confess, i was actually more intimidated by the orchid than by taking care of her fish. let's just say the fish survived and the orchid not so much! so, the reason my orchid didn't do well is that i really didn't know how to ... continue reading...
Family Room Project
still working on this family room project! i'm not quite sure how long i've been working on this project, but it feels like i'm finally making some progress. i recently tackled my drapes dilemma. i don't know about you, but it takes me a while to research and decide on almost all my decor in our home. i'm the queen of returns! so the other day, i was shopping at ikea and happened to spy a great deal! they had the merete (canvas) drapes on sale for $19.00 ... continue reading...
Our Wedding Anniversary!
still crazy after all these years... this week, my husband and i celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary! yes, i know what you're thinking, we were like 11 years old when we got married, which would make us a realistic age of 39! :o) we did get married pretty young and i think it is amazing that our relationship is still strong and actually getting stronger with the years. a few of our friends have asked us what are some the key factors that have kept our marriage ... continue reading...
Reusable Bags
using reusable bags are good for the environment! my husband cracks up at how obsessive i can be about different things. and one of the things that i have taken to heart is my reusable bags collection. i have quite a few cloth, oil cloth, nylon and even canvas bags. every time i shop at the container store i check out their latest cool bags. i love that there are so many fun and colorful designs to choose from! most bags are self contained and collapse to a ... continue reading...
Finding the Right Chair
finding the right chair on this blog, i usually post my final decorating solution and you don't get to see my all my attempts to find the perfect piece of furniture or accessory. so i thought it might be nice to share with you my latest project from beginning to end. so, i have this wonderful little spot in my master bedroom that in the winter gets a nice blast of sunshine. i've always imagined this spot to be a wonderful place to sit and relax and be creatively ... continue reading...
Paris Cupcakes
vegan and gluten free cupcakes! this weekend, my daughter had an old friend visiting from seattle. so, this morning they wanted to make cupcakes and i had a moment where i wondered if they should since it was going to be a hot day and i didn't think we should heat up the house. but, quickly i realized baking would be the perfect activity for these preteen girls! my daughter has a dream to own a cupcake shop and have all her corgis at work... she is always talking about ... continue reading...
Succulents
everything is coming up succulents! succulents are taking over the nurseries these days. my sister-in-law was in love with them some 28 years ago, and who knew that they would become so popular. i recently noticed their beauty and i'm totally obsessed with these wonderful treasures. their various shades of greens are so subtle and soothing to the eye and i find they kind of take my breathe away. a week ago, we stayed at a beach house in big sur california and the ... continue reading...
