Nifty Gifties

Did you friend just get engaged? Do you have a shower coming up with no registries? Need a birthday gift idea?

Look no further, my friends! Here is a small list of some great gift ideas for all different budgets!

From Me & Re Design:

Cute monogrammed cups! 

This is PERFECT to give to a couple! My parents received something similar a few years ago, and we still use them today! They have a bunch of colors and designs to choose from.

From Swoozie's: 

Serving Tray - $54

This is good for any kind of gift! Comes in multiple colors, and you can put names OR initials on these!

Monogrammed Wood Wine Stopper
$16.00

Fun for a newly engaged or married couple (or even a single friend - I know I would like this!) Put together a little wine night basket! A great bottle, cute stopper, etc!

From Shutterfly:

Custom Photo Book
Prices Range

Make a photo book of memories, or a recipe book for a new bride! I recently made one of these with recipes from everyone invited to the bachelorette party - each girl had at least 2 pages (facing eachother) dedicated to their recipe and pictures of them with the bride. Keep track of the coupon codes via email and their website - I used 3 codes to bring my price down from $60 to $30 for a 20-page hard-cover book.

From the Left Handed Calligrapher:

Custom Calligraphy Address Stamp
$48.00

Super cute idea for a new couple or a housewarming gift! Check out a great review of these here! 

Enjoy!

The Lake Lamp

As I may have mentioned, we LOVE to go out to the lake on the weekends! We were blessed with a little bit of land, so not only do we go out on the water, but we shoot guns, play croquet, and ride around on a silly golf cart.

We are CLASSY on weekends!

Anyways, this past weekend, we had some family friends out to join us! So in summary, we had my parents, the Crook's, their 4 kids, my brother, his friend, and myself. Talk about a party (and a few intense croquet games)!

Naturally, the boys (all five of them) piled themselves into the golf cart with guns to do who knows what. Unlike normal people who shoot at targets or cans, they bring along an old tin pot...the kind you cook in. What remained of it sat in the yard until the dads decided it was time to throw it away...

Being the junkie I am, I suggested we do something with it. It could maybe make a cool flower arrangement or something...but I never heard about it again...until I got this picture from my mom earlier this week:

Turns out, the Crook's took it home and made this fabulous looking lamp!! Kind of has a good rustic edge to it...doesn't it? (P.S. - love the easy mac in the background...the Crook's are my kind of people!)

I just love finding other junkies out there!! Have any other stories like this one? Share please!!

Today's Pinspiration: Plates

My friends, I bring to you one of my favorite decorating secrets: PLATES!

You can use plates to fancy up any room in your house, not just the kitchen!



Get creative - they don't have to be hung an any specific order...

They don't even need to make a specific shape...

Use white plates to go for more of a classic cottage look

Or colored ones for more of a shabby look

Seriously friends - time to start your plate collection now! It can take months to get the perfect bunch ready to be wall-worthy.

TIP: Hang them in odd numbers! One of the many things you learn when your mom is a fabulous interior decorator (seriously - you can't get much better at decorating than Mama D).

Want to know a secret? These things are EVERYWHERE in the fields of Round Top! People just have piles of plates waiting for you to pick through. 

And just in case you didn't already know...the Round Top Antique Show will be going on Saturday 9/17 through Sunday 10/2...meaning you have about a month to get your trip planned!









A Cookbook with a Cause!

Good morning dear friends! This morning, a post on my Google Reader (if you don't have one, get one) changed my plans for my blogpost today! Sooo be prepared for some "Pinspiration" tomorrow! On to the good stuff...

Head on over to Centsational Girl's blog today to check out this new cookbook that was just released:

This little dandy comes in PDF and hard copy, and costs only $10 (plus shipping if you buy the hard back book). All proceeds of this go straight to the Red Cross. Plus all of the recipes look DELICIOUS! 

I have already purchased TWO of them...no word yet on who the recipient of my extra copy will be...

The ordering process is a little tricky, but persevere my junkies, and you will be rewarded!

Enjoy!



Wine Glasses 101

While thumbing through this month's Traditional Home Magazine (yes, I do subscribe to that), I ran across this handy little article: In Grape Shape, which was an interview with Georg Riedel, who owns the glass company, Riedel Glas Austria. . Basically, our new friend Georg ran us through the different kinds of wine glasses, and why they are used for specific wines.

Being a self-proclaimed "wine-enthusiast" myself, I thought it may be fun to share some of these little factoids with you, in hopes that you will enjoy it as much as I did! If anything, you can now impress your dinner/cocktail hour guests with some of this knowledge. Prepare to take your intimidating factor up a bit!

Cabernet Sauvignon:

Merlot:

Pinot Noir:



Chardonnay:

Pinot Grigio:

Sauvignon Blanc:

Red Wines:

The large bowl shape offers a wider mouth, and more exposure to the air. Larger bowls are particularly good for the more complex reds like Pinot Noir. FYI - the larger bowls have the most surface exposure to the air (aeration is VERY important for red wine). The narrowing "tulip" tips allow for you to swirl your wine like a pro while not spilling a bit!

The narrower glasses, like those for Merlot and Cab direct the scent straight to the nose.

White Wines:

It is not as important to aerate white wine. For this reason, most white wine glasses have a narrower bowl. The only exception for this is Chardonnay, which is typically more robust than other lighter whites. The "oaky" Chards call for the larger bowls, while the lighter, "non-oaked" ones are good in the narrower glasses. 

Now go forth and host a wine party with your new knowledge! Don't forget to invite me :)

Today's "Pinspiration": Mirrors!

I just love the idea of decorating with mirrors! They make rooms look bigger, and can add a little bit of bling to a room!

No longer must you restrict your mirrors to the powder room! Whether they are the standard framed mirrors or sunburst ones...they can be perfect in any room!

Here are a few of my favorites from Pinterest this week:





Inspired yet?

These are some great examples of using mirrors in every room - living room, entryhall, bedroom and bathroom!

My favorite part about mirrors is that most of them are so easy to DIY! They are all over the fields in Round Top, and you can always re-paint an old frame to make it pop! 

Have a great weekend my friends!







Friday Flowers!

Another beautiful bunch of flowers from Central Market! 3 bunches for $12 this time - perfection!

I just love having fresh flowers in my room...I feel like it looks incomplete without them!

Only problem is, I have no clue what kind of flowers they are!! Anyone want to help a fellow junkie out?? There are three types of flowers in there: the pink ones, the light pink ones, and a green one that is kind of shaped like a beehive with white blooms!

Got any ideas? Fill me in with your comments!

Chicken, Feta & Basil Pita Pizza

I just realized that I have not given you guys a good recipe in a while! Considering how much I actually do cook for myself, this is kind of shocking.

But I have been traveling wayyy too much in the past few weeks, and I hadn't actually been to the grocery store in forever! 

This one is kind of an experiment I did last night based upon something I tried while I was in Nashville. This is basically a slightly healthier version of a build your own pizza, so all of the ingredient quantities are up to you! This is super easy, quick, and yummy! Definitely worth a try!

Ingredients:

- 2 Pieces of Whole Grain Pita Bread

- Organic Pizza Sauce

- 1/2 Chicken Breast, cubed

- Fresh Basil Leaves

- Feta Cheese, crumbled

- Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the cubed chicken in a pan with some EVOO and salt/pepper until the chicken is golden brown.

Put all of the ingredients, in the order listed above, on the pita bread. The cheese goes on last, as it will act like a "glue" to keep everything else on there.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.



Enjoy!!

Nashville Inspiration

Finally! Back to Dallas, and home for at least a few weeks without any traveling (I hope!). This weekend was spent in Nashville with my lovely high school friend/college roommate, Jessica!

I had never been there before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how pretty Nashville is! I loved the rolling hills, lush trees and cute old wooden houses!

We spent Saturday afternoon in Downtown Franklin, which was so fun! It is basically a Main Street, lined with cute little restaurants and shops. While most of them are a bit overpriced, they had some great ideas in them that I know you, my resourceful junkie reader, can do on your own!

I think that this DIY tray is adorable! I don't know why I never thought of this idea before...

They were asking for over $100 for this...but if you spray paint a thick frame and put a mirror in it, it could be soooo much thriftier! Definitely a project I plan on trying at some point!

I LOVE this chandelier idea for a little girl's room! All they used were silver trays, spoons and teacups!

Here it is closer up:

It would probably take a little trial and error, but with one trip to Round Top and a few hours of work, I bet this wouldn't be too bad of a little DIY project!



Maybe it's just the several years I spend my summers in Florida collecting seashells, but I LOVE the idea of decorating a house with them! You can use them in a traditional, modern, or shabby room, and they are always a unique and pretty addition! Bowls of sand dollars, vases filled with shells, a huge piece of coral as a centerpiece...the possibilities are endless!

They were asking for about $80 for a piece of coral here...but go to Florida or Mexico, and you can get them for a few dollars! Don't have time for a trip? Head to an estate sale or antique shop- they are everywhere! 

Did you find any junkie inspiration this weekend?? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section!