Dream Home - Crystal's California Home

Today's Dream Home for is for my blogger friend Crystal who wanted something in Laguna Beach or the Hollywood Hills. I was so happy to tackle this one after suffering through the cold and snow that's been on top of us recently. As soon as I got this request I knew I had to turn to trusty Sotheby's, as they would certainly not let me down on this hunt.

Now, of course searching "California, United States" turned up over 1,600 results so I wanted to narrow my search to something that I thought would really fit with Crystal, and in the areas she had asked for. After quite a bit of searching I found this gem, and hopefully it fits the bill of "Dream Home" for Crystal.

Though I'm not a huge fan of the furnishings of this home from the posting (easily fixed when you move in), I do love the neutral colour scheme which would literally give you a blank slate to work with upon your move in date. Check out these main living areas...

There's definitely more than enough room to work with in these areas... but I was particularly a fan of this sun room when I saw it...

I'm also loving the big bright kitchen area... the some seriously fantastic views. Imagine having your morning tea / coffee from here...

Once again, I was not by any means, blown away by the furniture or decor choices made in the master bedroom. However, it would also be a blank slate once everything was moved out, and it seems a good size and nice and bright. I love that wall of windows with the shutters, the pitched ceiling and the fire place (but I'd probably lose the mirrors). Lovely!

What really got me about the property was the outdoor area. Okay, it may not be near the water... and it may not even have a pool - but don't tell me the views aren't gorgeous and you wouldn't love hosting your friends here. Seriously... love it!

Crystal.. I hope this is what you are looking for. I know that you could definitely add your own touch to this home... and then invite me over to hang out in all of that great outdoor space! :)

Where are you dreaming of living or vacationing? Is there a specific location or style of home you can't stop thinking about? Shoot me an email or leave me a comment and let me know what you're looking for, and I'll be happy to hunt it down for you.

Cookin' it in the Kitchen with B

At least every other week Kerry and I try to eat a vegetarian meal mainly to change up the menu but it's an added bonus that it's also a healthy choice.


It's been rare to find a vegitarian recipe for me that not only tastes good but is also filling. Well I stumbled upon this recipe through cookinglight.com and it instantly became one of our favorites.

Chipotle Bean Burritos


Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (I sub'd in homemade chili sauce)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained
3 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
6 (10-inch) reduced-fat flour tortillas (such as Mission)
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
6 tablespoons light sour cream

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

2. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.


Nutritional Information
Calories:361
Fat:10.3g (sat 3.8g,mono 3.1g,poly 2g)
Protein:16.8g
Carbohydrate:52.2g
Fiber:11.4g
Cholesterol:19mg
Iron:3.3mg
Sodium:735mg
Calcium:395mg


We also omitted the sour cream and the recipe was still delicious.

It's a great recipe if you're looking for something quick and tasty... and it IS pregnant lady approved!

Happy Heart Day

Let me be honest for a moment... I have never been a fan of Valentines' Day, and view it largely as a commercial holiday. For that reason, B and I have never celebrated it - as I prefer to tell him and show him I love him everyday. It's actually usually a lot nicer to get a little surprise of our love for one another, rather than on a scheduled day. However, I just wanted to spread a little love to you, my readers, today! So Happy Heart Day! However you celebrate I hope that it's a fabulous and special day for all of you. You make my day, and you are the reason I keep coming back to write! So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

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And don't forget to treat yourselves and those you love! :)

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Yup... just like any normal girl, I think that the best part of Valentine's Day has to be all of the yummy treats and chocolate. So maybe I'll just have to let myself indulge a little today! Hope you do too!

Fancy Friday Love

HAPPY FRIDAY Lovelies! So glad I survived this week... but I must say, I think it may have had a little something to do with all of these fancy things that I stumbled across...

Upon seeing this image on Monday morning on this is glamorous... I immediately decided that summer must return this instant, and that I would like to go back to Paris. Obviously neither are happening right now, but a girl can dream, no?

You may remember a while ago I did a little post on Night Owl Paper Goods. Well, they have some new stuff out and I am absolutely in love with their newest little critter plushies. I'd love this little red fox, Adora, in our nursery. Sweet, no?

They have all kinds of cuties like meerkats, owls and lemurs as well! Seriously adorable... you have to go check 'em out!

Though I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day, thought I would sneak in a little love related item... from Kate Spade of course. I love the idea of the Love Notes Pendant Necklace. I love that the gold plated envelope opens to reveal a small hidden engraving... a great way to carry around sweet words from your love!

Rhiannon shared this to-die-for wedding on her blog on Wednesday and I instantly fell in love with every single itty bit part of it. You absolutely must go over to her blog and indulge in every single dreamy and beautiful photo. Absolute perfection!

I am so in love with the use of reclaimed wood in this space!! I found it on fabulous k, but it's all the work of Erin. It cozies up the space, and I've always adored the texture of reclaimed wood. 

B and I talk constantly about adding a reclaimed piece of timber above the gas fireplace in our basement as a mantle. It's on that list of thing thing to do... and maybe one day we will actually get around to it. 

Also, my luck continued this week as I won the Wire Home Furnishings giveaway that Wendy had hosted, as well as four tickets to the National Home Show here in Toronto thanks to Staci! (Sorry for hogging all the blog giveaway wins!)

This weekend I plan on catching up with some girlfriends, as well as catching up on some homework, blogs, blogging... and emails! I apologize if you have emailed me recently and not heard back. This week has been a killer and I've had next to no energy when I've arrived home in the evenings. I know I had also promised the reveal of our front entry renovation... but that was just another thing that got pushed to the back burner, so you can expect that post to come next week. For now, enjoy your weekend... and I hope that it's warming up where you are too (we're finally ready to come out of the freezing cold temps we've had recently. My fingers are staying firmly crossed that the weathermen are right!)

Perfectly Imperfect - Jessica's Walls

Happy Thursday! Today Jessica from Decor Adventures is here to share what's Perfectly Imperfect in her home. I came to know Jessica through blogging, and her blog is full of all kinds of goodies! Jessica moved into her home last year and was married in September. Her and her new hubby are now working hard to make their house a home and she's always sharing great DIY projects - so be sure to check out her little space in the blogosphere!

Hello all, I'm Jessica from Decor Adventures.  When Kerry invited me to participate in Perfectly Imperfect I thought ~ Well that will be easy, I have tons of spaces in the works at my place and none are perfect! But then I thought ~ Oh no, I have so many imperfect parts of my house - which one do I pick?

Turns out it was really easy to choose. My walls are perfectly imperfect.

How fabulous are walls, right? You can paint them, hang things on them, decorate them. Our walls need all of the above!

At 9 feet high and 20+ feet long in our rooms, some walls are plaster, some drywall, some are covered in a variety of other surfaces including painted over wallpaper, like the lower half of our front foyer, on the far right in the photo. See the texture? I think it's pretty. They're not all like this though :-)







We moved into our home about 8 months ago.  It was built in 1900 and for walls that are 111 years old, they are in really good shape.  Most of the walls are plaster, which can be tricky, dusty, or smooth like a baby's butt when its done right. And thankfully much of ours is.

While most of our rooms are decorating projects in the works, we're working with our imperfect walls.


Sadly we don't have much hung up yet.  Most of the walls and ceilings {if you can believe it} are also covered in wallpaper. Thankfully that wallpaper has been painted :-) Yep, we have painted over wallpaper on plaster. Glamorous right?  Here are some of those wallpaper patterns we've found underneath.







I've only stripped a little of it off. Wallpaper over plaster in older homes can be a blessing because it protects the walls. Plus who wants to be scraping off that stuff overhead? No way!


Here is some raw plaster in our side hallway where I recently did strip some.







Some of the walls are covered in paneling or half covered like in the side foyer, currently being redone {including the light fixtures}.

Our basement is currently getting a makeover. It has paneling on the bottom half of the walls. This is my craft and furniture project area.

Our living room is painted over wallpaper. New couches just the other week - woo hoo!

In the kitchen you'll see bead board, drywall and tile. Yes, a threesome wall covered room! We realize the left over tile {by the refrigerator} is probably from a lack of funds, shall we say, when the kitchen was previously renovated. We do plan to take that tile down some day.

As of now, some of our walls are striped, like the guest room.
 




And our bedroom is a nice calming shade of gray-blue.
 

There's much more to be done to our walls. For now they're perfect for us. Come visit if you want to see what we do to them, I'd love to have you!


Thanks to Kerry for allowing me to visit!

Thanks so much Jessica for giving us this little peak into your home! It's always fun discovering the little imperfections of older homes that give it "character". You two have certainly been working hard on your little casa, and I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeves next. I also must say I love how cute and sunny your kitchen is... even if it does have three different wall coverings in such a small space! :)

Come back next Thursday to see who's going to share their own perfectly imperfect space!

Cookin' it in the Kitchen with B

Lately I have been struggling to find inspiration for dinner, and having a pregnant woman in the house does not always make it easy on me. It seems like I have cooked chicken 100 different ways and in order to change things up I turned to 'the other white meat'. When I put this little number together for dinner the other night, it was a winner for both of us. 

Asparagus-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe


4 Servings
Prep: 20 min. 
Grill: 20 min.


Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, seasoned salt and poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pork tenderloin (1 pound)
7 to 10 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed


Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the seasonings; set aside. Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of pork tenderloin to within 1/2 in. of bottom. Open so meat lies flat; cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Flatten to 1/4-in. thickness.
rub 1/2 teaspoon seasoning mix over inside of tenderloin.
In a large nonstick skillet, bring water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and cook for 2 minutes. Drain asparagus and immediately place in ice water; drain and pat dry. Place asparagus lengthwise over tenderloin.


Fold meat over asparagus and secure with kitchen string. Rub remaining seasoning over meat. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, turning occasionally. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.


I used metal pins instead of string to hold the pork together, I also increased the amount of cayenne but the next time I make it I will increase the seasoning slightly and use a heaping 1/4 of a teaspoon instead of flattening off the spoon. Kerry really enjoyed it as did I and I didnt have the motivation to whip up a side dish so I went with a fresh slice of garlic toast made from a Kaiser Bun with margarine and a dusting of garlic powder and a pinch of parseley and oregano then tossed it under the broiler for a min or two.


Since my grill is currently buried in snow I used my cast iron skillet to sear all sides of the tenderloin and then put it in the over for 25mins at 400*.

Fancy Appliances

This post has been a long time coming... seeing as we attended this show quite some time ago. Last month, B and I were invited to attend an event showcasing what's new in appliances from both Frigidaire and Electrolux. It took place at the airport Hilton hotel here in Toronto, and let me tell you - we learned a lot! 


When we arrived we met up with a rep who took us through the different appliances, and the first thing we looked at were the induction cooktops. My favourite part about the induction cooktop was the no scratch easy clean surface they come with. B and I have an electric glass stove top (though we hope to buy gas in the future), and we find that food always gets stuck and burns onto the surface, making it hard to clean. With induction cooktops, the only part that will heat up is the part underneath your pot or pan, due to magnets, this means any spilled food or boil overs won't burn onto your stove.

When it came to stoves and ovens, a very cool technology that is coming down the line was the built in thermometer. Based on the price point you buy, the features of these thermometers differ. My favourite had to be the "automatic stop" feature. Based on what you are cooking (i.e. pork, chicken, beef, etc.) you put in your information like the finished temp, and when your food is ready the oven will automatically turn off. Perfect for a Thanksgiving turkey, no? No need to continuously open and close the stove to check on the turkey (aside from basting), and if you need to run out quickly no need to worry about the turkey over cooking. Brilliant!

I've also decided that I want... no NEED one of their steam washer and dryer pairs. Unlike most appliance companies who only have steam coming from the top, Frigidaire and Electoloux have steam coming from the bottom. Think about it, smart right, considering hot air rises. (Oh... and how great is this blue colour?... Would look fantastic in our laundry room!)

Are you someone who still loves the traditional top load washer? Well, that's been addressed with some new technologies. By removing the agitator in top loading washers, there is more tub room, and less wear and tear on you clothing. Big bonus, right?

I was a big fan of the "real stainless steel" that they use on their appliances - you can really see the difference in how it stands up to finger prints and smudges. 

A few other things that I really loved? This Electrolux stove was definitely right up there. Gas (which is definitely what B and I plan to buy when we replace our own), and loved that piece that fits your wok. Gorgeous.

I was also a big fan of the custom look of both of these stoves below, also from Electrolux.

It was a great show and we both learned a lot checking out all of the different appliances at different price points, and a lot of the new technologies coming down the line. It gave us both a good case of appliance envy though. I would've gladly taken home anything in the show room there!

I got a great little grab bag with some nice little items to give away... so keep an eye out for an upcoming product review and giveaway! I can't wait to share (now that I'm over 100 followers!). 

Are there any appliances that you're lusting after as of late?