Adding Character to Your Powder Room or Guest Bathroom - Mirrors and Vessel Sinks

Hi Everyone!

For today's post I wanted to show you guys how to add character to your bathroom just by changing up a few simple things like your mirror, sink or just your faucet.  

A few of you might remember when I did a sponsored post by a faucet company and they gave me this  beautiful waterfall faucet (and another one to give away to you guys!)

I still love it and I'm hoping the people who won the other faucet send me a picture when they have a chance to update their bathroom ;-)

One thing that can really add personality to a bathroom is your mirror. Have fun with this!! Search the internet or discounted home decor stores to find that one special mirror that fits your personality! 

 Obviously, this type of decorative mirror is best in a guest bathroom as using it as your main mirror might get annoying to just see yourself in tiny little squares. :-)

These next two bathrooms were taken from a Parade of Homes tour.   These bathroom vanities really play up the character in these powder rooms.  I believe that sink is a poured concrete slab.  What a great idea! We had poured concrete kitchen counters for years and loved them.

Photo courtesy of TheFatHydrangea parade of homes 2013

In my own powder/guest bathroom, I knew I wanted a medicine cabinet mirror as that would be the only storage.  I found this piece off eBay and it's been PERFECT for the guest bathroom which is designed in a Tuscan/ Old World feel with layered clay walls and dark distressed wood flooring.  

My Old World Guest Bathroom (click link to see more)

Now when it comes to SINKS, my favorite hands down are the vessel sinks.....the ones that sit slightly recessed or directly on top of the counter.   :-)

Westchester Magazine

Westchester Magazine

I came very close to adding a few vessel sinks in my own Tuscan master bathroom but due to our budget, I had to put that off. 

This is another lovely vessel sink, sliding barn door bathroom I have fallen in love with.  You can pop on over to see an entire post dedicated to Sliding Barn Door uses by clicking the highlighted link. :-)

Photo: Bonin Architects & Associates / Houzz

This is one of my favorite guest bathrooms that I did for a client in the American Clay plaster walls. 

I hope you have been inspired with lots of fun ideas for your future home (or home makeover!) 

Have a great week! :-)

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April Showers Bring May Flowers (and Pickleball Courts!)

Hi Friends!

I hope you all had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. 

I absolutely love this time of year when the flowers start to bloom and the weather warms up.  I just planted flowers in my window boxes and pots.  I'll have to take more pictures once they become fully grown!   

Every year our plan is to add one major addition to our landscape.  Last year we planted large trees in our front yard.  This year we decided to skip adding bark/rock and shrubs to the front and opted for a sports court as our "big ticket" item this year! I happen to LOVE the sport called Pickleball.  It originated in the 60's in Seattle and happens to be the fastest growing sport in America.  Yes, if you google "fastest growing sport" pickleball really is what will come up. :-)  It actually says it is "sweeping the nation".  It's a cross between tennis, ping pong and badminton.  In fact, I just played in a big tournament this weekend and took home 2nd place in the mixed (men/woman) championship.  Final score was 13/15 so it was close.  

With my son cheering me on. :-)

At first we were thinking it might be ready the end of this month but it's probably more likely to be done mid June.  Just as long as it's before the kids get out of school I am thrilled!  My youngest daughter thinks it's a dance floor "as is"......I'm fine with that.  :-) 

Along with a fairly spastic (but incredibly fun) daughter is our spastic Goldendoodle dog Duke.....these set of photos say it all.  :-)  I love the smell of the lilac trees!  It's fun to bundle up the lilacs for inside the house. 

Talking about running, on my jog this morning I couldn't help but take a photo of this lovely front yard (Ya, I know, I'm one of THOSE types of people....attempting to discretely snap photos at anything and everyone!)  I can just imagine how pretty this will look at the end of September!

On that same jogging route I saw this tree - anyone know what it is called?  It is SOOOO pretty!!!

 These were last years flower boxes. (end of season)

This year has a different theme!  Lots of fun. :-)

I can't wait to bring you more pictures of the completed pickleball court and would encourage anyone to try out the sport!  You can play it young or old - which is awesome.......simply awesome. ;-)

*EDIT:  You can go over to the Completed Pickleball Sports Court post to see it all complete, landscape and all :-)

Enjoy your week!

Healthy Individual Chocolate Molten Lava Microwavable Protein Cake.

Hi Friends!

I have not posted a recipe on here in a long time so I thought I better start baking!

Like most my recipes, I try to add a healthy spin to the common dessert but when it turns out looking like this.........even those who don't normally bake "healthy" desserts won't mind.

I have to say, this is a CRAZY tasting chocolate treat that can be baked in a single serving in the microwave  - what more can you ask for!

Did I mention that each ONE serving is under 300 calories AND full of protein! (a whopping 27.5 grams) A 4 oz chicken breast has 36 grams. 

OK, I'll stop tempting you with pictures and give you guys the recipe. :-)

Molten Lava Chocolate Protein Cake

1/4 c. oat flour (just blended up oatmeal)

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 

22 grams (usually one scoop) Chocolate Whey Protein

NuNatruals Stevia Powder or Stevia drops to taste (if using packets try 2)

dash of salt

1/4 c No Sugar Applesauce

1/4 c egg whites (from a carton is easy)

1 Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt

1/4 tsp vanilla

16 mini chocolate chips (either put IN the mixture or save for the top)

spray coconut oil in jar or mug

(for those that are adventurous - try adding a tbsp of chia seeds or coconut flakes and letting it sit a bit - DELICIOUS!)

Each microwave will be different but if I want it cake like I cook it for 90 seconds, if you want it like molten lava (which I MUCH prefer) cook around 60 seconds.  Watch that it doesn't overflow though!

Nutritional Information - 1 serving

Protein: 27.6 grams

Carbs: 32.1

Fat: 5.4

Fiber: 2.8

Calories: 283

This is cooked only 60 seconds....ahhh, I want to eat this right now! :-)

Since I am talking about healthy but yummy food, one of the benefits of blogging is that companies will send samples of their food/products for me to try.  I just got a stack of  D'vida protein smoothie mixes.  I tried Pina Colada and Strawberry Banana so far - Super Yummy! ;-)

Off Amazon you can get free shipping and 15% off regular pricing - just click the link!

D'Vita Smoothies

Let me know if you try the molten lava cake and leave me a comment!  Even if you mix it up and try a variation.  I'd love to hear about it. 

ENJOY!!

See full disclosure policy regarding Amazon links

Unique Thrift Store Treasures to Accessorize Your Home

Hello Friends ~

Some of you that have been around a while know I have a slight addiction to thrift store shopping.  As of lately, I've been trying to work on this and NOT tempt myself with the treasure hunt only because I do not need any more "things".  But just the other day, I found myself pulled into my favorite thrift store and found a few fun treasures.

I'll admit, I'm not positive what this is, but I'm hoping it's a teapot. (at least that is what I'm calling it) :-) I absolutely love anything with a rustic pottery look that has a great patina.

I have collected so many things like this that my china hutch is FULL of unique thrift store finds.

This is just one section of my hutch......everything you see there was from a thrift store for pennies!  The teapot cost me $1.00

I'm also a fan of anything carved out of dark wood.  This bowl was full of wooden fruit that I added to a different wicker bowl......being that the fruit was the exact same color as the bowl did nothing for me so I emptied it out and collected some pine cones from my back yard.  

The pine cones had a bit of aged white on them that made it pop from the brown of the wood.  I'm not sure if I'll leave it in the center of my table but for now I really like it.  Being that the bowl is so low and not distracting, we could even leave it on the table while we eat. 

This piece was a whopping $2.50  :-)

When I first saw this next item I thought it was very unique, maybe a pumpkin or some sort of flower bowl.  It was made of cast iron so it was VERY heavy and felt like great quality.  My thought was I could use it for a quaint chocolate dish if I ever had company over.  

As I purchased this beautiful white "thing" the lady said, "oh that is a very pretty garlic roaster shaped as a garlic."  WHAAAT?  A garlic roaster?  I wanted to put chocolate in it!  How can I put chocolate in a garlic dish? (so funny!) I mean chocolate covered ginger is one yummy thing, but I just don't think any chocolate fan would go for dishing out chocolate out of a garlic roaster (OK, we know that's not true.....any chocoholic would probably not care WHERE the chocolate came from!) 

I was a bit bummed (as I have no intentions of roasting my own garlic) but the fact that it cost me $1.50 I was alright.  (and it still might become a chocolate dish.) :-)  

It's just fun to keep your eye out for unique treasures that don't cost a lot.  Maybe I just need to go into business shopping for OTHERS so they can fill their own hutches for under 10 bucks :-)

My Decorating Trip to New Hampshire - A Few Fun Before and Afters.

Hi everyone!

I had a fantastic weekend helping my friend decorate her home.  They are having the new sofas delivered on Wednesday so I can't put up complete before and after pictures until they arrive but I can show you  guys a few pictures.  One of my favorites is their cute nook we turned into a little garden cove :-)

When I arrived I immediately put my friend to work spray painting her mirrors and shiny brass lamps :-)

Here is another sneak peak at the end results :-)  We even recruited a neighbor to chop down part of his birch tree so we could add some birch logs to our project.  I adore birch logs, you can see an entire decorating with birch log post by clicking over to it.

How to Decorate with Birch Logs

What you can do with Birch Logs

I love this little vignette on top of the console table her husband made.

We hung lots of pictures, a few mirrors, drapes and a clock.  Phew, I think I needed another 24 hours to get everything done I wanted to do though!

Oh, I'll add another fun before and after picture.....this is the backside of the kitchen cabinets.....we just cleared it out and made it simple - I LOVE it!  Her husband is an amazing photographer so we had fun finding places to hang his pictures.

You can see all the accessories we bought for this house on my post Create the Look You Always Wanted with Great Accessories.

Alright! Till next time  - Enjoy the weekend my friends.

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Create the Look You Always Wanted With Great Accessory Purchases.

Hello Friends!

As this post goes out I am actually on the East Coast (I live on the West Coast) helping a friend completely accessorize her home.  How fun is that? :-)

Having accessorizing on my mind, I thought it would be fun to show you different accessory vignettes and inspirations.  I created a list with my friend of some BASIC home decor accessories that REALLY add a designers touch to your home.  These are actual things she ordered off Amazon that will hopefully arrive by the time I'm there :-)  

First thing to do if you want to create a designer look in your own home is come up with a inspirational picture or create a mood board of a bunch of your favorite looks. A mood board is a type of collage consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. 

These were some of my friends inspirational pictures:

After discussing the options together,  these are some of the things she bought:

1.) A pair of wall sconces

(GREAT for on either side of any art piece or mirror!  She just got these in and said they were beautiful!!)


                                                   Hammered Mirror Wall Sconce - Set of 2

These were one of my favorites! I might just have to find a spot to put these in my own home!

Uttermost Joselyn Small Wall Sconces 6 x 6 x 18" (Set of 2), Bronze

2) A set of pillar candles

(These go so well on ANY mantel area or table top - make sure and get the varying heights!)

                               Carved Wooden Candle Holder in Different Sizes Set of 3

3) Large wall clock

(It's hard to go wrong with a wall clock, you can find a spot for this type of thing anywhere!)

                                                 IMAX Large Wall Clock with Pendulum

4) Greenery

(Buy large for the corner of the room and small for all your table tops. I can not stress enough how much greenery adds to a room!)

                            Silk Decor Preserved Boxwood Ball Topiary, 8.2-Inch, Green

5.) Wall Decor 

(My friend also purchased a mirror at a great price at an antique shop. We will be spraying the frame Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze as right now the color doesn't fit it - SUCH an easy fix!)

                                  Metal Wall Decor With Six Round Shaped Plates by Benzara

IMAX Casa Medallion Tiles, Set of 4

Extras

A comfy throw and pillows

(This is perfect to add some layering on a sofa.....layering really adds that designer touch)

                Home Rich Brown Fringed Chenille Throw Blanket Soft & Cozy Warm Chocolate

                          Pillow Perfect Linen/Red French Postale Rectangular Throw Pillow

Fun accessories

(Department stores like Homegoods, TJ Maxx and Ross always have these type of things at great prices too)
                                                  Set of 2 Rattan/Metal Lidded Boxes

                                                Large Old World Camping Candle Lantern

I mentioned to my friend she really needed a console table (as that is where a lot of these accessories belong!) and a few weeks later, she sends me a photo of a console table her husband just built for her.  Um.....OK!!   (AMAZING.....her husband is like a magic genie!)  :-)

So there  you have it - what I am up to this weekend!  I'll be sure and take lots of pictures and show you guys the final before and afters.  :-)  It will be fun.