Making a Grand Entrance (and my love for Pinterest!)

One of my recent blog posts, What I Adore about A Door, talks about first impressions and how the facade of your home, including the front door, is the very fist thing your guests will see when they walk up to your house.  

So what happens once they walk through that fabulous front door of yours?  Well...the second first impression which is the entryway!  

I have recently been inspired by so much on Pinterest (my newest obsession) and below are some of my favorite Pinterest finds on the Entry....Enjoy and don't forget to follow my boards including my entry board where you will find these photos below (and a few more on there as well!) 

I love this floor, the artwork, the shape of the room....It's all so fabulous!

Great use of geometrics and stripes..

Beautiful grand entry.  Love that door and the natural materials in the home!

Great floor and furniture.  It looks like it's been there for years!

Such a welcoming space...

Very neutral but has a huge impact

Green. Lacquer. Walls!  Enough said!

One of my favorite entry halls....so magical!

I would love to hang out here...

Great flooring, wallpaper and use of furniture and accessories....

Happy Pinning!

Sandy

Memorial Day Memories

Growing up in Hot Springs, Arkansas is the best....


Some of my best childhood memories are of my Mom getting us three girls ready for the big summer campout on Lake Quachita every summer.  I now realize that this was not her cup of tea, she much preferred a hotel and room service, but she put her all in it and we girls thought it was fantastic.

When my two sons came along, I was determined that they would have these same experiences of fishing, skiing and camp fire cookouts.  So many times we would pack it up and find a great camping area with my sister Ila and her husband Mike.  They were wonderful to be with and the boys loved it!!

Then I met Denny and my camping experiences changed..................quite a bit!!  It seemed that his style of camping was more in line with my Mom's ideas. He had a wonderful Houseboat on Lake Quachita and he loved to take me and the boys for fun filled weekends.  There is quite a bit to be said for playing in the sun and water all day and then coming in to showers and beds at night.  So, we were quickly spoiled.

I could go on for days about all our adventures ( I'll save some for later ) but one of our first big outings with Denny was Memorial Day and he, Rich and Chris all decided that the party would be better with chili dogs.  I wanted to make it as special as possible so I found this old recipe for hot dog chili and have made it every Memorial Day since!!

We added chips, slaw, crispy pickles and  lots of hot sauce to round out the menu.  And I made a fun dessert of cake batter cooked in small ice cream cones and then added their favorite icings and sprinkles.  

The best part of the chili dog sauce is it gets better every day so make it up early and enjoy the party!!

Sandy's "Sugar Daddy" Chili Dogs

Serves 16 to 18

Take two pounds of lean ground beef and put it in a heavy dutch oven with two quarts of water.  Simmer this and break it up.. you can use a potato masher if you want.  When it has lost its color then add the following:

4 onions, minced

4 Tbs chili powder (I always add lots more of this)

1 tsp crushed red pepper (I always add more )

1 tsp salt

1 tsp allspice

1 Tbs Lea and Perrins

1 tsp garlic (I always add more)

1 tsp cinnamon

4 tsp cumin

1  1/2 tsp vinegar

8 oz tomato paste (I add a little more)

Mix well and simmer on low for about 3 hours.  Stirring often. It takes a while for the flavors to mingle so don't get discouraged and then adjust by adding more of what you want.

I let this rest and cool off and then with my hand blender  I puree it to a smoother consistency.

This made the best chili dogs that evening and we had enjoyed an incredible day of fun that when we finished eating and cleaning up it was almost time to get our drinks and climb up on top of the boat for our ring side seat of the fantastic fireworks display that Mountain Harbor puts on every year.  The day, the night, nothing could have been more perfect ..we were all so content and happy.

The fireworks party died down and I realized that the boys weren't to be found so I went downstairs and found my two beautiful guys busily building another chili dog!! 

They said they just had to have one more Sugar Daddy Dog!  You see that was the name of the boat..The Sugar Daddy.  And you know what ?? That boat really was a Sugar Daddy to all of us.  It was our bonding time that will last a lifetime.


Happy Memorial Day weekend to all!


Sandy

Wallpaper Madness!

As you already know...I love my job!  I get so excited when a new product comes in and when I get to place it in a home!  One of my favorite things right now is wallpaper!  It's a trend that is back and boy am I excited! 

Now we aren't talking about kitten borders anymore!  I'm talking about large scaled, flocked, and textured masterpieces!

  

This was a fun post for me because I got to drool over so many wonderful papers!  Below are my favorites... Enjoy!

Amazing space and use of a grasscloth paper!  By Twist Interior Design

Morrocan Grasscloth by Phillip Jeffries

Mother of Pearl Wallpaper by Maya Romanoff  (fabulous room by the way!!!)

Rajapur Wallpaper by Cole and Son  

I love everything about this wallpaper!  Wonderful scale, rich colors!!!

Very Unique Map Wallpaper!!! 

A Twitter in Winter by Schumacher Such a fun use of a laundry room!

Kravet Wallcovering W312-313 (I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!!)

I think I have this "covered"!!!  Let me know your thoughts and your favorites!

Sandy 

Memorable Bananas Foster turns into an ASID award!

You just can't have too much Bananas Foster........or can you ?

When my two sons were growing up and in their early teens they both worked at the well known Lake Hamilton restaurant, South Shore.

South Shore Restaurant was the place for fine dining and fun. Situated on the banks of Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark .  It was a big white house that had been transistioned into the restaurant.

The older son, Rich, was a bus boy and he loved meeting all the famous jockeys and celebrities that dined and partied there...but it was my younger son, Chris, that really loved South Shore.  He had a summer of being the grill master at the Dock Cafe which was on the property and a real party with live bands and people coming by boat.

He would grill for a while then jump in the lake to cool off.  He thought this was heaven plus he got to eat their great food.  One of his favorites was their Bananas Foster.

They knew he was crazy about it so they invited him to the big kitchen to see how to make it so he could have it any time he wanted. One night he decided that when he got off work he was going to come straight home and make us a batch.

Chris called about 9 and said he would be home shortly and that he was going to prepare the dessert for us and was bringing everything he would need...that I didn't need to do a thing  because he wanted it to be a treat for me.  Well, I am all in for treats so I stayed out of the kitchen as he had requested and was driven crazy by the yummy sugary goodness that was coming from that kitchen.  I could just invision what the kitchen would look like when he finished but it would all be worth it..not only a wonderful treat but his opportunity to create something special for us.

It was taking longer than I imagined and our tummies were rumbling. Finally, he announced that we could come to the table.  We walked up to a table with the biggest bowls of beautiful creamy vanilla ice cream covered in decadent smelling bananas.. we devoured it and Chris had more than one bowl but he told us not to worry there was plenty left over.  I asked him how many servings he made and he quickly replied " Just the regular recipe they use at South Shore ". Well, I knew right then that we were going to be meals on wheels the next day delivering to family and friends.  You see the regular recipe is for 75 people !!!

He still loves bananas (and so do his kids ) and we still laugh when we think of Bananas Foster and below is one of my favorite recipes: 

Banana's Foster 

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 bananas peeled and halved, cut lengthwise
• 1/4 cup dark rum

Directions

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add brown sugar and stir together. Add the bananas and cook until caramelized over medium-high heat. Pour in the rum and catch a flame off of the gas stove or a BBQ lighter. Stand back when ignited and flambe. Be careful; a flame will shoot up above the pan. Let flame die down. Serve over  vanilla ice cream and/or a slice of pound cake.  

We eventually bought the restaurant and turned it into our home.  I won my first ASID award for the transformation from restaurant into residence and guess what....

We hosted Chris and Amys  rehearsal dinner down at the area that had been the Dock Cafe and the next night we hosted Chris and Amy for their wedding reception. 

He went from swimming grill master, champion dessert maker to husband and father and he does them all beautifully. Tell me I'm not lucky!!


Sandy 

Outdoor Dining

For those of you reading my blog posts, it's probably no surprise to you that I am a sucker when it comes to the outdoors and then when you add the aesthetics of a beautiful surrounding combined with good food I'm in love! 

One of my favorite things to design is the "second kitchen" outside or the "second dining room".  Below are some of my most recent sources of inspiration!  Enjoy!

I love everything about this space!  WOW!

What a beautiful intimate area to entertain?

I love the natural stone and the color of the walls!  

This has more of an industrial appeal.  I love the "diner" feel!

Beautiful! 

The has such a warm, Tuscan appeal! 

I love the slate juxtaposed with the soft woods...

I love large round tables!  This whole area works! 

Very beautiful...I like the mix of chairs and the entire setting..

AMAZING table! 

Now...off to get some outdoor cooking done!

Sandy 

"It's Time to get the Pool ready, Dear!"

Yep, that's what I start hearing about this time of the year from our little ones.  They get so excited when the weather begins to warm up and they know that after all of their soccer games are played it will be about time to hang around the pool.

We have a fun tradition that gets the kids involved and they have so much fun being together making everything beautiful.  The girls love to plant the colorful flowers in the big clay pots that Big Da (Denny ) has prepared with soil and the boys  have a great time watering the plants..............and anyone else around!!

We usually plan an afternoon to do the plants, arrange the furniture and pull out the cushions and of course we all want to be rewarded for our hard work and what better way than with "Big Da's" grilled chicken.  This has been a favorite of our two sons forever and it is so wonderful to see their kids loving it too.  I have to tell you Big Da loves the accolades too!

The menu of Big Da's Grilled Chicken is rounded out with a few favorites like mac 'n cheese for the kids and my unreal green tomato and vidalia onion au gratin, grilled garlic bread, and thick sticks of grilled yellow squash.  Dessert goes on the grill too.  pineapple is their favorite.

Big Da's Chicken

Denny believes that food should taste like what it is so he doesn't go in for lots of rubs and seasonings...he keeps it simple.  He uses a paint brush to add a little vegetable oil then sprinkles it well with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

He gets his charcoal grill hot and then he sears the chicken halves on both sides till they look almost charred.  This is to keep in all the juices.  He then sets it on the side, closes it up and joins in the fun of planting while the chicken soaks up all the smokey goodness.  Right at the end he will use his brush again to coat the chicken in his favorite sauce and then let it sit on the slow fire for another 10 to 15 min.  This is some of the best chicken you will ever eat!!

 The Real Deal 

You know how to make mac n cheese and grill squash bread and pineapple so I will go straight to my Green Tomato and Vidalia Onion Au Gratin

This combination is so good you will make it all summer long.

Get out your colorful yellow, orange or red crockery casserole dish for this!

 I love this Vintage Orange Enamel Dish that you can get on Etsy right now! 

Tomato and Vidalia Onion Au Gratin

Grab 4 large green tomatoes and 3 large vidalia onions.

Slice both of these in about fairly thick slices (1/2 ")

Spray the casserole with Pam and lay down one layer of the tomatoes.

Gently season with salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and grated cheese (it is equally good with mozzarella or cheddar).

Layer the onion, season as you did the tomatoes and then continue till the top of the casserole. 


Drizzle a good olive oil over the top, add more cheese and then dust with Panko bread crumbs.. bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for about 35 to 40 minutes till heated well and browned on top.

Get ready for rave reviews from kids and adults. This also makes a great pot luck dish or gift for someone who has not been well. 

Now we have a good start on making the pool look beautiful, the kids have worked and played well and "Big Da" has done it again. Yep, those are great memories.


Until Next Time!


Sandy