Monday, May 30, 2016

O Beautiful For Spacious Skies...



O beautiful for heroes proved 
In liberating strife. 
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life! 

America! America! 

- Katherine Lee Bates

We are so grateful for all those who have sacrificed their lives for our beautiful country and freedom. Wishing you all a safe Memorial Day!



Saturday, May 28, 2016

Peonies in Dining Room and a Sale



Although we don't have anything new to share today we do have some new spaces to share soon and we are also about to FINALLY tackle our master bathroom. For today though we just wanted to pop in with the pictures of some peonies in our dining room and to say we hope you all have a lovely weekend. We are also having a sale on our chalk art (if you scroll down to the bottom there is more info).















We hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Source List:

Wall Color - Dove White by Benjamin Moore in Eggshell Finish
Trim Color - Simply White by Benjamin Moore in Semi-gloss Finish
Door Color - Mopboard Black by Benjamin Moore in Semi-gloss Finish
Beadboard Wallpaper - Allen and Roth from Lowe's
Artwork - Courage in Bloom from Deann Art
Wood Bookcase with Glass Doors - Wayfair
Chandelier - Savvy in Williamsburg, VA (can also be found here)
Farmhouse Table - I made it using this plan from Ana White's site. Stained with Rustoleum's Weathered Gray and Minwax's Provincial
Blue Planter Centerpiece - Chaplin Large Planter from Birch Lane
Wingback Chairs - Birch Lane
Pillows - Birch Lane 
Upholstered Side Chairs - World Market 
Side Chairs - Joss and Main 
Navy Corduroy Pillows with Gold RL symbol - HomeGoods
Sideboard - Found at an antique shop in SC almost ten years ago, recently painted the same Mopboard Black as the doors
Bust - Gift
Lamps - HomeGoods
Mirror - Joss and Main
Rug - Joss and Main
Draperies - IKEA Aina Panels in gray
Curtain Rods - Lowe's
Blinds - Lowe's (have since been discontinued)
Clock - Savvy Home and Garden about 5 years ago
Small Wood and Marble Cakestand - Russo Cake Stand from Birch Lane
Two black and white prints - gift
Botanical Print - Birch Lane
Artwork in Hallway - gift from family
Runner on Stairs - RugsUSA






*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links.  

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes with Pirouettes - Progressive Dinner



Welcome! Today we are so excited to be joining four other bloggers for something completely different - a progressive dinner - five bloggers, five homes, five courses!

First, here is the menu:


Didn't the main course over at Kelley Nan's look delicious?!?  Now it's time for dessert in our home. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. We are serving Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes with Pirouettes.




You can make them in a mini bundt pan like we did for this one:

Or in just a regular cupcake pan and then place them in some cute little wrappers or cups. We love the  flavor the hazelnut frosting adds and the pirouettes are a fun little touch that make a basic cupcake seem a little more "fancy". 







Personally, I love water with my dessert, by my husband often drinks coffee with his so we had both water goblets (with a pitcher of water on the side table next to the sofa) as well as coffee. 









Here is the recipe. It is nice and easy! 

Cupcakes:

For the cupcake just use your favorite cupcake mix and follow the directions. Once the cupcakes have cooled it's time for the frosting.

Frosting:

1 cup of butter, softened by not melted
1 cup hazelnut spread 
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tsp. heavy cream (if you don't have any you can use milk)

First beat the butter and hazelnut spread together then add vanilla. After that mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add cream as necessary until you get the right consistency. Then we scooped the frosting into a pastry bag and starting frosting each cupcake. This is an old photo from a rosette cake post we did almost four years ago (ahhh - that seems crazy!) but we still use these exact same tools (although we've gone through several packages of pastry bags in the last several years and I have a couple of different tips I play around with). 


You can find the Tip Coupler here, the #1M tip here and the disposable bags here

Then just frost each cupcake. We added a few sprinkles. I used these Williams-Sonoma sprinkles that I just use when I am making stuff for special occasions. We have lots of other fun and more colorful (and much less expensive - ha!) sprinkles that the girls use when they are baking. 

Then we just topped them off with some of these hazelnut pirouettes to dress them up just a bit more. I cut each one in half and just used a half of one per cupcake.



And that's it! Nice and Easy!


Thank you so much for joining us! Now it is time to head on over for the last course - after dinner drinks on Sarah, from Our Vintage Farmhouse's, gorgeous porch


And if you missed any of the courses be sure to check them all out:

Dessert  with Dear Lillie (Us)


And here is the Source List for our room:

Wall Color - Midsummer Night in Matte by Benjamin Moore
Trim Color - Simply White in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Door Color - Mopboard Black in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Pillows on Sofa - HomeGoods
Chocolate Pillow on Chair - HomeGoods
Knit Pillow on Chair - Soft Surroundings
Ottoman - We Made It Using the Same Method as Here
Plaid Throw - HomeGoods
Gold Mirrored Tray - HomeGoods
Books Stacked Next to Chairs - Gifts from Family Members 
Mirror and demilune painting above Fireplace - passed down from family members
Grand Plaza Print - Arhaus
Gold Side Table - HomeGoods
Wood Side Table - Joss and Main
Books on Table - miscellaneous gifts
Trophy Urns - The Arrow's Nest
Little Tiny Vase on Table  - Was a candle from Target that we now use as a vase
Lamp on Table - HomeGoods
Golfer - HomeGoods
Gold Frame - Gift 
Standing Lamp - Consignment Shop Find years ago
Rug - Joss and Main/Wayfair
Drapery Panels - Ritva Panels from IKEA
Frames and Mirror on Gallery Wall - Michael's
Books on Shelves - Passed on down or gifted from family members
Large White Book - Blurb photo albums
Small White Books - Chatbook photo albums
Dog Bookends - Birch Lane
Airplane - Gift years ago 

And Source List for the Serving Pieces:
Chocolate Cups and Saucers - L.A. Burdick Chocolates








*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links.  

Friday, May 20, 2016

Deann Art in Jamie and Josh's Entry



A couple of weeks ago we shared the new Deann Art canvas that we added to our dining room and today we are excited to share a new piece of hers that we added to Jamie and Josh's entryway. We absolutely LOVE her work. Each piece is so stunning - I love the colors and the flow of each work of art. This piece is called "Love Deep".  She has become my favorite artist and I can't wait to add more pieces of hers to our home. She has so many beautiful creations. 


I love the rich colors.





And if you are wondering where the Minted artwork that was in here went - not to worry -it is in their family room and looks perfect there! 






Source List:

Trim and Door Color - Existing when they moved in so not sure
Chair - HomeGoods several years ago 
Books - miscellaneous 
Copper Urn - Antique  
Dresser - Antique Shop
Mirror -Antique shop
Moss Ball - White Home Collection similar here
Books - passed down from family
Silhouette - Antique
Light Fixture - Existing
Boots - Jamie's



I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links.  Painting provided by Deann Art in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own.