Paint Trends: Black

I've seen a lot of charcoal gray and black paint lately...

From Apartment Therapy.

From the Ralph Lauren Paint site.

From the Domino Design Project.

My Clutter

Below are some photos of my clutter. I've pulled everything out and I am beginning to sort through it all. What I've realized is that my decorating issues go beyond my knick knacks. I've got some good core pieces, like my sofa and lounge chair. I also have some nice pieces that fit the style I want, like the Nambe vase. Unfortunately, I need to rethink everything else.
Yikes.

Italian plates and other ceramics from around the house.

The day-glow owl sculpture.

A Nambe vase we received as a wedding gift.

Miscellaneous items ranging from garage sale finds to the silver boat my in-laws brought chocolate in for our engagement party.

Reformation of a Maximalist?

My inner maximalist has spent the last few years duking it out with my inner minimalist. The result is a home full of clean-lined furniture and pristinely empty walls, but cluttered with collections of mismatched art, plants and ceramics that overwhelm every end table and and shelf in the house.

What is a maximalist? I think, mostly, it's a word I made up. What I mean it to mean is a person who decorates with clutter. Maxilmalism can be done well (think full-wall collections of art, perfectly arranged mounds of throw pillows, the Royal Tenenbaums). But apparently not by me.

For years, I've been struggling to create a serene, eclectic and elegant home, something like this fabulous minimalist pad I saw today at Apartment Therapy Chicago (see photo to the left).


But at the same time, I am drawn to the colorful and comfortably full look of rooms like this one from the Domino Magazine site (see image to the right).

The decor resulting from my internal decorating delima is neither minimalist nor eclectically homey. I've always thought the solution was to get more things or different things; that a new sofa would make it work, or new curtains, or more art for the walls...But more stuff isn't the fix.

The problem is that my stuff isn't meant to go together like the collections I see in magazine rooms. Not even close. My stuff includes everything from Day of the Dead ceramic statues to vintage Italian plates featuring post-modern horse heads. I have art deco vases, a day-glow enameled wall sculpture featuring owls, an iron-embellished coffee table hand-made by my grandfather, and the list goes on.

Needless to say, I have personal attachments to most of these disparate items. Sure I can get rid of some things (maybe those owls), but how do I decorate with the rest, balancing my enjoyment of the stuff I love with the aesthetics of my home? I want a home that looks great, not an impersonal style-shrine ripped from a catalog.

So I've decided to go home tonight and have it out with my clutter demons. I am going to get rid of some things and regroup. Once I see what I'm left with, maybe I can find a solution. Wish me luck.

Acrylic Tub Refinishing Really Works

Replacing an old tub is expensive and time-consuming. Taking out the tub usually requires re-tiling the tub-surround as well. All that expense is fine if you are improving a home you own, but what if you rent, or your budget is small?

My mother recently hired an acrylic refinishing company to redo the bathtub in a rental property they own. I went by to check it out yesterday, and it looks amazing! For under $300, they have a like-new white tub where there used to be a chipped pink one (photo from site, not my mom's project). The refinisher I queried said that the acrylic coating comes in tons of colors, though the site only shows white. They also do tile and counter tops.

The only question in my mind is how the finish will fare over time. There are limitations on how it can be cleaned (i.e. no harsh scrubs), which worries me a little. If I decide to give it a try on our 1950's tub, I'll let you know what I think.

Amazing Teak Bench for Bath or Entryway

Domino features a deal on this beautiful teak bench in their February issue. I think it was a steal at $387, but you can get it for $348.30 by entering DOMINO207 at check out.

The magazine shows the bench as a part of an amazing pared-down bathroom based on Donald Judd's concrete art installations (p. 52). I could also see it on a front porch or in the backyard.

Red Lentil Soup for a Slushy Day

This is my absolute favorite soup. I first tried it at a beach resort in South Turkey. It was 12 am and my husband and I were starving, and this soup was all the resort kitchen had available at the pool-side bar. We each got a steaming bowl with a hunk of fresh bread. It was delicious.

Red Lentil Soup

1/2 pound dry red lentils
2 tablespoons butter
2 small white onions, chopped
4 cups water
Salt, pepper, and Cayenne pepper, to taste
4 cups plain canned chicken broth
1 cup milk

In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until just melted. Add chopped onion, salt and pepper. Saute for five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add lentils and 4 cups of water to the pan. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes and then cover and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Most of the water will be absorbed by the lentils. Add additional water 1/4 cup at a time, if necessary.

Turn the burner off and allow lentils and onions to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or good blender and blend until perfectly smooth and set aside. Be sure not to leave any whole lentils or onion pieces in the sauce pan. I have a small food processor, so I blend a few cups at a time and transfer to a large bowl.

Return the empty saucepan to the burner over medium heat. Add 4 cups of broth to the pan and heat for several minutes. Add the lentil puree and Cayenne pepper to the pan and whisk until combined. Start with 1/2 or less of Cayenne. The soup will get spicier as it cooks. Continue to cook over medium heat until heated through, stirring frequently. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Add milk and cook a few more minutes, until heated through.

Serve the soup with the juice of a lemon wedge squeezed into each bowl and a piece of soft French bread.

The soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to seven days. It tends to separate out, with the bean puree settling to the bottom of the container. Simply stir before heating.

If you live in Dallas, you can find red lentils in the bulk section of Sprouts. I have also seen them with the dried beans in Central Market. If you live in North Dallas, Shine's Mediterranean stocks them with their dried goods.

Snow Bound

You've probably heard about the winter weather that is blasting the Southwest, so I probably don't need to mention that Dallas is getting a little snow and sleet. Of course, in Dallas, a little snow and sleet means a paralyzed city. Most of the schools and offices are closed, including my office.

Luckily, I spent the weekend in NYC which had great weather and was amazing. I had never been (I know, it's terrible). We got held up at the airport Monday night for about 8 hours, so I am just now getting to my computer for the week. Hopefully being house-bound will give me time to get caught up on my magazines, blogs, and Web surfing.

FYI - LaGuardia has mice after 10 pm. They're kind of cute and certainly entertaining if you've had nothing to do but read tabloids for 6 hours straight.

Arabesque: My Long Delayed Review

I truly enjoyed reading Arabesque. The cookbook covers the cuisines of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon, with an introduction and overview of each country's culinary traditions. While I am most familiar with Turkish cuisine, I noticed distinctive overlaps in both ingredients and even food names, especially between Turkey and Lebanon.

All of the Turkish recipes that I would hope to see were included, except for my favorite lentil soup. I was especially pleased to see a recipe for cigarette borek (filo dough filled with cheese and Italian parsley, rolled into a long, thin tube, and fried). I was also interested to find a recipe for veiled rice with chicken. It's a rice dish baked in a puff-pastry shell and it's delicious. These are both dishes that are hard to prepare and therefor often passed over in Turkish cookbooks.

I haven't delved as deeply into the Lebanese and Moroccan recipes as I would like to. To be honest, I am a terribly slow reader and I started in the Turkish section. From what I have read, the recipes are thorough and easy to follow. In the past, I have run into problems with the preparation instructions of my Turkish cookbooks, likely due to translation issues.

I would recommend this book for an adventurous chef or a food junkie. Even if you don't plan to prepare these recipes, the history of the cuisines and the photos are worth the read.

Horse Image Obsession

I continue to be drawn to images of horses, which I see a lot more often these days (hooray!). I saw this card from Greenwich Letterpress (cards from $3 - $16) on Design*Sponge and thought how wonderful it would be to have a room full of small, framed horse prints in traditional styles.

Now I just need to find those prints. Did I mention they need to be cheap?

I'd appreciate tips if you've seen something like this around. :)

Tips for Rescuing Stale Artisan Bread

If your household is anything like ours, there's just no way you can eat an entire loaf of French bread in one night, no matter how delicious. Of course, we all know that once that bread sits on the counter overnight it will never taste as fresh again. If you leave it in it's paper bag, the cut-end gets stale. If you wrap it in a plastic bag, the crust gets soft.

You can use a day old loaf for making breadcrumbs, French toast, or Turkish toast, but what if you just want a plain slice of bread? Thankfully, Not Martha has compiled a list of tips for getting that loaf back to tasty.

In addition, I have my own trick for freshening a loaf of bread that has gone stale all the way through (i.e. it's hard as a rock). Simply wrap the loaf in wet paper towels and pop into the microwave on a low heat setting for 15 - 30 seconds. The moisture from the paper towels should soften the loaf up. You can then toast it in the oven to get a crisp crust.

Calphalon Santoku Cutlery Set $29.95 at Cooking.com

Cooking.com has this pair of knives marked down from $70 to $29.95.

Via The Bargainist.

Recipe: Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

I love pumpkin bread and tend to eat it all year round. This is a recipe that I improvised out of necessity, using a Cooking Light recipe for pumpkin raisin muffins as a base. After I began the recipe, I realized that I had no raisins, but I did have a bag of frozen blueberries. I accommodated the additional moisture contained in the berries by reducing the amount of brown sugar, corn syrup, and oil. The original recipe contained 202 calories and 5.1 grams of fat per muffin. These should be a bit lighter.

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry or bread flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon corn syrup or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, plus the whites of 2 large eggs (for a denser muffin, you can use 2 large eggs instead)
1 cup frozen blueberries
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick, 12-muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, oil, corn syrup, vanilla and eggs. Mix with a whisk until combined.

Toss frozen blueberries in flour mixture and form a well in the center. Pour pumpkin mixture into the well. Stir until just combined. Spoon into muffin tin.

Bake until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean (about 20 minutes).

Jonathan Adler for $35

The Shop Better Here blog found this Jonathan Adler set at a local Bed, Bath and Beyond for $34.99! The graphic dinnerware set includes 11" dinner plates, 8" salad/dessert plates, 6" soup/cereal bowls, and mugs. Hurry, because SBH says there were only about 15 sets left!

Bed Bath & Beyond, 9100 N Central Expy, Dallas, 214-750-3604

Winter Sale at William Sonoma: Up to 60% Off

William Sonoma is having a Winter sale with up to 60% off select items, including this Stag Tureen, formerly $179, now $119.99.

If you're not on a crash diet, their Sephra Chocolate Fountain is now $38.99.

Subdivided: My Review

I watched Dean Terry's documentary, "Subdivided," last night. The film took a look at the effect of urban sprawl on society, focusing on the East Dallas neighborhood of Little Forrest Hills, which maintains an amazing sense of community in a world where most of us never even speak to our neighbors.

The film made some excellent points about the negative aspects of our sprawling cities, like isolation from our friends and neighbors, increased commutes, and increased frustration. According to Terry, every 10 minutes we add to our commute decreases time spent in social activities like family dinners and parties by 10%.

Unfortunately, instead of exploring solutions to these problems that could be implemented by city planners, neighborhood associations, or residents, Terry spent too much of the documentary interviewing zealously anti-suburban Little Forrest Hills residents about the ills of Plano, which I felt took away some of the film's credibility. Overall, I would recommend catching the documentary when it re-airs, even though that's going to be this Saturday at 3 am.

Subdivided: Documentary on Urban Sprawl Airs Tonight

Dean Terry's documentary "Subdivided," which focuses on suburban sprawl, isolation, and community, airs tonight at 8 pm on the Dallas PBS station, KERA. The film features footage of Dallas, as Terry is a professor at UTD. According to the D Home blog, Robert Wilonsky at the Observer, called the documentary, "absolutely beautiful."

Recipe: Turkish Toast with Egg, Dill and Feta

This is a very simple recipe that I have been served for lunch and that I have made as breakfast and as a light dinner. It's basically a Turkish take on a savory French Toast.

Ingredients:

4 1-inch thick slices of French bread
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup mild feta (use French feta if available), crumbled
2 tablespoons mozzarella, shredded
Cooking spray or butter

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. At the same time, pre-heat a non-stick skillet on medium-low to medium heat.

Combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and 1.5 tablespoons of the chopped dill in a large measuring cup and whisk lightly with a fork. Pour the egg mixture into a shallow dish.

Coat the heated skillet with cooking spray or butter. Dredge each piece of bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat, and place into the skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until bread is golden brown on both sides.

Transfer the bread slices to a small baking dish. Top each slice with 1 tablespoon crumbled feta, 1/2 tablespoon shredded mozzarella, and a pinch of the reserved chopped dill. Place into a baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and cheese is brown.

Wood Rug from West Elm

Wood block rug made of ebony, $599.99 for the 8'x10' at West Elm. A great solution for a carpeted or concrete floor that you don't want to spend the money to redo with hardwood.

2007 Trends: Terrariums

I ran across this post about terrariums on Design*Sponge. Of course, it takes seeing something more than a few times before it really grabs my attention and I have seen tidbits about terrariums in more than a few design magazines over the past few months and I expect to see more in the coming months. I would guess that terrariums are the new succulents.

If you want to throw together a quick terrarium, try these hurricane candle holders and alabaster bases from West Elm. I saw them in the store during the after Christmas sale and really thought they were meant for plants. They have a vent at the top of the dome that will keep moisture in while allowing the air to circulate.

Glass Hurricanes $49-$69
Alabaster Slab, free but shipping is $12-$24

Kim Family Benefit

An auction of fine art and craft items benefiting the family of James Kim will begin January 3rd on eBay. Get a sneak peak at items, including this fairy take suitcase, on the Kim Family Benefit site. Bidding ends January 7th.