Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Our Beach Getaway

This may come to many of you as a surprise (I know it surprised me), but we had our own little beach trip this weekend.  Not quite the beach most of you picture in your minds, but it was only a couple hours from our little Denver home and was a great, short Memorial Day road trip.

It's not often that you can be on a sandy beach and look out into the white, snowcapped mountains.
I didn't realize it was going to have a nice sandy beach like this, so I was really excited that we had Charlotte since she'd never been on a beach before.  She loved it!



Love the chopped off ear look.

The waves and wind weren't cooperating, so we weren't able to take out the canoe.  But, we definitely found a great little beach getaway in Colorado of all places!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

WWYD

So, I've recently heard about a "Green" House that HGTV built in one of Denver's newer neighborhoods, Stapleton.  I feel like I was living under a rock, since this is the first I've heard of it- considering it's built and being given away in just a few weeks.  But, when I did check it out online, I started to think about what I we would do if we were SO lucky to win this fab house.  I mean, if you know my husband, you know that he's very level headed, and not one to do anything too crazy- especially when it comes to money and living within our means.  And, honestly, I'm that way too- but we're talking about an AMAZING house.

So you want to see it?  Here are some of my favorite rooms/ parts of the house:






More details here:  http://www.hgtv.com/green-home/index.html

One room that I would change, without a doubt:
I mean, more power to you if you could deal with this room-o-pink, but I'm just not a pink person, especially if you're talking hot pink carpet, walls, ceilings and linens.  I'm getting a headache just looking at this picture.

My first reaction was- I'd sell it and put the money towards our dream house, in our dream neighborhood, with all the things we love (which would probably include a lot of the furniture and fixtures from this place).  But then I thought, wouldn't it be easier to just move into a place that's already amazing!?

So, what would you do if you won this place?

I'll keep you all posted on the giveaway- I'd say our chances are PRETTY slim :)  But, a girl can dream, right?

Monday, May 16, 2011

Brighten my Morning

After lots of procrastination, I finally put the final touches on our china cabinet yesterday.  This has been quite a long project- not that it should have been, but turned out that way.  You may remember it from an old post, or maybe from before the big dining room paint took place:


Now, however, it's a huge pop of color that is sure to keep our mornings bright:

Before the door was added



With the door finally added 

Cute purple and gold handle.

I must say, I'm completely shocked at how much I LOVE the color of this piece.  When it was in our garage being painted, I was sure it was too pastel and sunshiny- but, placing it against the warm, gray backdrop in the dining room totally transformed it.  (Note to self: Never doubt my Mom's color suggestions) It is sure to wake me up every morning.

When we originally bought the piece, a large piece of glass filled in the bottom opening in the door, however that only lasted the first few days of our kitchen remodel, when something fell into the glass and completely smashed it.  So, rather than replacing the glass, I decided to take a stab at a linen painting technique and adding it to the door.  I'm not completely sold on it, and wouldn't be surprised if I bring the paint out once more to cover it up soon.  For know, I'm just going to enjoy having another project marked off my to-do list!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Wine Finale

Our wine class has come to an end (well it did two weeks ago).  So, I thought I'd share some info from our final lesson: wine pairing.  This is probably the most important part of the class, so it's too bad it couldn't have been part of a few more lessons, but lots of great stuff learned none the less!

Believe it or not, the old combo of chocolate and champagne is terrible!  They are completely different bodies- one light and highly acidic the other rich and heavy- it makes the chocolate taste sour!  Next anniversary, try chocolate and a ruby port instead.

So, what to do with the bubbly?  

Marilyn had it right in "7 Year Itch" when she combined the two: Champagne and potato chips.  The acid in the wine cuts through the oil from the potatoes, plus the starch of the spud draws your attention the sparkling wine's bubbly trait.

Now for meat and wine combinations:

Oaked Chardonnay + Alfredo sauce= delish (just think they both have buttery, creamy flavors)
Smoked Ham (or smoked meat, bbq) + Shiraz= yummy (sorry a little late on the Easter wine o' choice)
Pinot Noir + Big Juicy Steak= Not so great (all you would taste is the heavy steak, and the Pinot would be a waste)
Pinot Noir + Chicken or Pork Chops= Bingo
That leftover Big Juicy Steak + Cabernet Sauvignon= Party in your mouth (probably the most obvious, but you need a full bodied match for these two rich selections)

Hopefully this will help with your next dinner party.  Our mission to learn about wines was a complete success.  I looked so forward to Thursday every week for months, and it's come to a bittersweet end.  While I'll miss seeing all their beautiful faces every week, it will be nice to have our nights back to relax, catch up on reading and enjoy the warm summer nights that are quickly approaching.

Hope you all enjoyed my insight and were able to try a few of the bottles I suggested.  I never plan to study wines any more than I did the last few months, but it's so fun to try new bottles- and I'll no longer be the gal that plays it safe with the same old brand of Shiraz.