NumberNineteen

Master Bath Re-Do (Suggestions Welcome!!!)

 

 

What?  Those photos don't look like a master bath to you?  They look like a room that is smaller than most master closets?  Why, I was just thinking the same thing! 

Well, since it's what I've got (no plans to knock out the back wall of the house, unfortunately), my goal is to take it out of the 80's, brighten it up, and bring it to the cottage-y, vintage vibe that I'm going for throughout the house. We've sort of been putting it off because we want to replace the shower with a bathtub, which is beyond our meager remoldeling abilities.  The time has come & we are planning on getting estimates for the tub!  I can't do exactly what I'd dream of doing, due to space & budget constraints, but this is the general vibe that I'm going for:

 

 

The paint is going to be the same as what is in our bedroom:

 

Behr's "Rejuvinate"on the walls & "Bridal Veil" trim.

We've already purchased a light fixture that is very similar to this:

 

(photo: Restoration Hardware)

And, we also have matching hardware such as towel bars, toilet paper holder, etc.

The tub will most likely be a fiberglass shower/tub insert (the white subway tile will have to wait until the dream house) & I like this shower curtain from Kohls:

We need to replace the vanity cabinet.  I'd love to have a pedastal sink, but we have far too much junk that needs to be out of sight.  This one at the Home Depot is nice, though I'd prefer a white counter:

 

My real dilemma is about the wall 'o mirror that currently exists & the medicine cabinet.  Obviously, both have to go. The question is, do I keep the medicine cabinet where it is?  If not, do we drywall over that space?  Or, take out the cabinet & put in shallow shelves in the little space in the wall that remains? If we do not put a medicine cabinet in that space, we will definitely put one over the sink.  I quite like this one from the Home Depot:

 

Also, I'm not really sure what to put above the toilet.  A towel bar? We will already have one on the wall opposite the toilet, but another might not be a bad idea. I'd love to have someplace to put my makeup that is easily accessible, but not unsightly.

As you can see, I'm really open to & looking for ideas!!! Any suggestions that you have would be welcome!!

Spring Accessories

Oooo, I'm so in the mood to get all spring-y fashion-y, aren't you?  The warmer weather just makes me want to put on a sundress & sit outside at some cafe & drink a margarita...as if that happens often!!! 

I can dress the part of my dream life, even if I'm just wearing my cute clothes on the train to work.  I'm particularly into fun accessories right now...they are so cute & cheap & can make a t-shirt look great. 

I just bought this set from Sam Moon:

Hel-lo Sam Moon, where have you been all of my life???  The CUTEST things, for DIRT CHEAP. In, fact, I'm sort of kicking myself for not getting this:

and this:

Thank you Kelly of Kelly's Korner blog for posting about Sam Moon.  Incidentally, if you haven't ever been over to Kelly's blog, you should visit her.  She is one the of the absolutely loveliest people out there in the blogging world.

Then, there are the shoes....I love love love the trend for cute ballet flats!  Sandals aren't always comfortable for me, so I'm so excited to have a stylish option that goes well with summer dresses & capris.

I just bought these:

From Walmart -- can you believe it?

I'd love to have a pair of black flats with a little embellishment to make them a little more dressy for the office.  I'm in love with these:

But, let's face it, $195 for the Tory Burch originals is not going to happen.

Probably, it will be more like this:

From Target, 24.99.

Crazy About Plates (or, my love of decorating with plates)

Do you seen a trend?  An obsession maybe?  They are everywhere -- 2 of 3 bathrooms, the living room, family room, dining room, kitchen & the guest bedroom.  On the wall, mantle, table & sideboard. Plates everywhere. And, we are not talking about the ones in the cabinets.  There must be some way for me to fit them into the remaining rooms....

My first foray into making plates = decor was in my first apartment.  I saw a picture in a magazine of precious antique plates on someone's mansion wall & thought, "I could totally do that with TJ Maxx plates!" I was 20-something & single, but I was already obsessed with decorating on the cheap.

They are so, so great.  You can pick them up practically anywhere (the best ones that I find are usually at thrift shops or TJ Maxx) for a couple of dollars. They fit into those little spots where nothing else goes.  They add height in vingettes.  And, if you get desperate, you can eat off of them.

My Second Fantasy Wedding

I had SUCH a great time planning our wedding.  Spending hours researching sites, florists, tearing photos out of magazines was like heaven for me.  I still love, 6 1/2 years later,to peruse wedding mags at the checkout & sneak on over to Priscilla of Boston's website every few months. I recently thought of how fun it would be to plan another wedding, this time a little more hip, a little more stylish. 

The theme would be hot pink & white....

My dress:

(Dress by Jasmine)

My bouquet:

(weddingchannel.com)

The Bridesmaid Dresses:

(Alfred Angelo)

Their bouquets:

(weddingchannel.com)

The invitations (imagine the background floral in hot pink & the type in black...swoon!):

(Delphine)

At the reception, there would be a candy buffet (though the candy would be all pink, natch):

(theknot.com)

The wedding cake would be this (with an F instead of an M of course):

Photo by my very talented photographer friend, Heather Behlendorf of Captiva Photgraphy .  If you need a wedding/baby/family photographer in the Washington DC area, she is amazing!

The favor (with a pink "F", our last initial):

(marthastewart.com)

The one thing that I'd keep from my first wedding:

He worked out pretty well.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!  As you can see, we have had a fun Easter morning.  Hope discovered her basket bright & early (yawn!  too early for mommy!) and was very excited with what the bunny brought.  Once Mommy & Daddy woke up, we all went outside for Easter photos & Hope's first egg hunt!  She looked so, so sweet in her Easter dress & she had so much fun hunting for the eggs.  She is now napping (! -- so THIS is what it takes to get her to nap!) & I'm sneaking in time for a post.

I've just started to collect decorations for Easter over the past few years. I've found the sweetest bunnies with a vintage vibe & place them around the house during Lent.





The plaque in the last 2 photos is my most recent papercraft/glitter creation! I'm really, really pleased by how it turned out.  I found the vintage postcard image somewhere on the web & the rest are scrapbook materials from my stash.  I found a bunch of papermache "blanks" on crazy cheap clearance in January, so I'm going to try to make a little project for each holiday as they come.

I hope that you are having a wonderful Easter & that you are filled with the spirit of renewal that it brings!

Low Fat Chocolate Cookies

I tried out a low-fat cookie recipe today.  I found it on a list of recipes that I copied from websites awhile ago...I think that this one may have come from a Weight Watchers recipe board.  The low down on these:

They are SUPER simple to make.  Can't get any easier.
They are really moist.
They are cakey, but I made them a little less so by baking them for a shorter time than recommended.

The Recipe:
1 box of cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Devils Food)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup egg substitute

Mix all of the above together & drop by tablespoon fulls onto a cookie sheet (I use a Silpat, so I never think about whether or not to grease the sheet, but I don't think that you need to).  Bake at 350 degrees.  The recipe said to bake for about 10-12 minutes, which results in a cakey cookie.  I baked them for about 6-8 minutes & they were a little more cookie like.

Warning: Any cookie or baked good that is made with applesauce or other fruit puree rather than oil should be frozen within two or three days of baking & defrosted a few at a time or they will get moldly because they are so moist!

I believe that they work out to about 60 calories each & 1 gram of fat.

I think that these would be good with a chocolate, spice or maybe even a lemon cake mix. 

My final review?  They aren't my "real" homemade cookies, but they taste really good!

Coloring Easter Eggs

Hopie G & I colored Easter Eggs together for the first time today.  A good time was had by all. Happy Easter!

Low Fat Living

I recently found out that I have high cholesterol. Not super high, but over 200. With my family history of heart attacks, clogged arteries & high cholesterol, I can't ignore this.  The good news is, my lifestyle hasn't been too, too bad in the past (I don't eat much in the way of fried food, beef, cream & so on), so the adjustment isn't as hard as it might be.

I love sweets & I love to snack, so I had to make some substitutions & quick!  This girl's sweet tooth cannot be denied.  Here is what I've been loving in my new eating habits:

These are also REALLY YUM:

It's not as good as cookies, but it makes a nice sweet snack:

When the chocolate cravings hit hard, I've been going for these:

3 grams of fat vs. 9 grams for the same sized portion of real chocolate. 

If I'm craving a baked good, this the closest thing that I've found to tasting like the real thing:

BUT, let's face it, I MISS THESE:

I LURVE to bake. I LURVE to bake cookies.  All kinds of cookies & chocolate chip are the best.  Sigh....

So, this is where I need your help/suggestions/links!  Send me your best low fat cookie recipes.  I've been on Weight Watchers too many times to count, so I know that these recipes exist, I just don't know which ones are good.  Help me find the way to indulge my LURVE of baking while still keeping true to low fat living!!