02/15/13

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Friday Favorites

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Hey there! It's Friday! Annnd it was just so beautiful here on the NJ Shore today! The sun was shining and the temp was beyond pleasant for the middle of February. And speaking of mid Feb...How was your Valentine's Day? Aaron and I had the most deeelish dinner! We had a great time cooking and baking together and were so so pleased with the outcome of everything...Grilled balsamic skirt steak, roasted grape tomatoes with green onions, and parmesan polenta. Every bite was one to be savored. We have a feeling will be making Polenta quite often. It's so simple to make and it's so basic that it's pretty much peasant food...but all it takes are some fabulous additional ingredients to take it to a whole new level. It was a perfect meal. And our dessert was scrumptious! I had baked a Perfect Chocolate Cake just days ago so we wanted something totally different... something more "yellow" ha! We went with cream cheese brownies...which are not brownies at all...more like a blondie. Oh my goodness gracious were they yummy! On Vday we had a late lunch of Chicken Tortilla Soup so we weren't ready to even start dinner till 7 ish. And the timing worked out perfectly. We actually did the dessert baking first and let it cool while we started the main course. Everything came together without a hitch. And the late start worked out fine because just as we were sitting down with our beautiful meals one of our fave shows, Elementary was starting. Ohh we love that show! Aren't Lucy Liu and Johnny Lee so so good together?! He's such a brat sometimes that we laugh out loud. We really aren't big tv people but we always tune in to Elementary. Oh and gosh, well of course The Walking Dead as well. But that's a whole other experience. That is so much bigger than mere "TV Watching".

So yes, Valentine's Day was really nice over here. And we have a new meal to add to our routine. Too good to limit it to only special occasions.

So now, lets get to the Friday favorites...

The above settee is truly adorable. I love the color! And I'm kinda into furniture thats on the smaller size. Must be so so many years of smaller living spaces.

And this hello pillow cover just makes me happy. Simple and perfect. I think I really really need it on my couch!

Ohh I could die! This adoooorable little doggie plaque has me grinning big. Yes it's a little strange...a bit like a deer head...but I think the message is clear enough. No one would think that you're a puppy hunter. This is more of a tribute bust.

They've got a few breeds available for my fellow pup lovers: Chihuahua, Jack Russell, Westie, and a Pug!

These rings by Michu Coquette are so pretty and dreamy. I love accessories that are the equivalent of carrying around your visual inspirations. I think I'd paint way more flowers if I was always looking down at one of these beauties on my hand. And these are just the tip of the iceberg as far as Michu Coquette go. I dare you to take a peek at the shop.

I'm a bundle up kinda gal in the winter months, but I really hope to be in this Flutter On dress come springtime. It's in my basic black and white color palette and the vintage cut is adorbs!

Ok, thanks so much for stopping by! I think it's time for me to serve up some of those blondies...version 2.0

xo, Jenny

Affordable Decorating Ideas

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Here are some clever decorating ideas to freshen up your beach house
without blowing the budget!

1. Give it a lick paint.

Breathe new life into a tired or unwanted piece of furniture by giving it a lick

of paint in white or a splash of colour.

2. Give an outdated lamp a top-down makeover.

A stylish white drum shade can modernise any old lamp base.

3. The $2 secret to beautifully stocked bookshelves:

Scour thrift stores, garage sales and op shops for hardbacks

for a fraction of the cost of a new book

then arrange them by color for extra pizzazz.

4. Empty frames offer endless potential.

It's easy to score these castoffs at junk shops for next to nothing.

A coat of paint and an interesting display and suddenly they become a showpiece!

5. Group dime-a-dozen accessories for major impact.

A single item won't have much 'wow factor'

but a whole collection of similar ones makes a big statement.

6. Shop vintage and second hand.
Think outside the square and hunt around for vintage pieces, antique bargains and second hand dealers for pre-loved furniture with character than can be
painted, refinished, reupholstered and re-vamped!

7. Art doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Buy cheap posters from Ikea and frame them up stylishly in white box frames or recycled frames. One step better, make your own artwork - I make shell collages for a fraction of the cost of what I can buy them for.

8. The frugal fix for homely floors? Paint.

Getting in a professional or even sanding and polishing floorboards on your own is an expensive exercise. As a cheaper alternative, simply clean floors then apply a few coats of a self-priming, cheap white floor paint ... and volia!

9. Expand your seating options.

Even affordable dining-room chairs become exorbitant, once you calculate how many you need to surround a table. Use mis-matched furniture and paint them in 'beachy' colours.