Tasty Tuesday...?

I must apologize for the lack of "Mer's Monday Munchies" as I had a wonderful change of plans! I was supposed to fly up this Friday to Kansas City to see the boyfried, but we decided Monday afternoon to bump my flight to that evening...I packed and was on the plane 2 hours later! Gotta love the spontenaity in a relationship, right?! So here's a quick and fun recipe that is great for a couple to make together in the kitchen!

Easy Egg Rolls

(www.food.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 1/2 lb. lean ground pork


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• 1/2 medium onion, minced


• 2 green oniones, thinly chopped


• 5 cups coleslaw blend


• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger


• 1 tablespoon soy sauce


• salt and pepper to taste


• egg roll wrappers (I bought mine at HEB - the were near the vegetables/usually near the prepackaged fruit, salads, etc.)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet.


2. Saute garlic and onion until tender.


3. Saute pork until brown.


4. Add coleslaaw blend and stir-fry on high heat for about 5 minutes.


5. Remove from head and add seasonings, and salt and pepper to taste.


6. To Assemble: (1) Place 2 tablespoon filling near corner closest towards you. (2) Then fold over left and right sides. (3) Dampen edges of the corner that is away from you and finish rolling.


7. Deep fry at 350 degrees, until golden brown (these will fry VERY quickly!)


8. Drain on paper towels and ENJOY!

Want to know a Etsy bitsy secret?

We all know that you can find some pretty great deals on Ebay , Craigslist and Amazon, but if you haven’t checked out Etsy…Etsy about time (ok, enough poor attempts at making puns.)!

Etsy is a social commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads, wire, jewelry making tools and much more. The vintage items on the site have only one rule to follow: they must be 20 years or older. These items range from old boots and ice skates, to dresses, hats and scarves. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee of $.20. It has been compared to "a crafty cross between Amazon and eBay", and to "your grandma's basement". (Source: Wikipedia)

One of my favorite shops to look at is from Kelly Galvin Robson at High Street Market. Through her Etsy shop, she sells fabulous vintage home goods from silver-plated serving trays to whimsical bookends.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/highstreetmarket

I’ve been obsessed with the Laura Ashley (yes, the maker of the flowery prints of the 80s) Tilbury Lapis Ikat fabric in blue.

From the movie, A Single Man...

Featured in Lonny Magazine's premier issue.

I found these pillows that would work perfect on my couch in the living room…but at $160 a pop, no gracias. So I did I search on Etsy and found a similar one without the jute fringe at a much more reasonable price!

Not on a teacher's salary! ~ $160

DEAL! ~ $35

There are a TON of great deals on decorative pillows on Etsy! These would add great style to any room!

Beautiful Decorative Pillow Cover Trellis Pattern (20x20) ~ $40

Beautiful Decorative Pillow Cover Suzani Pattern (16x16) ~ $35

Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis in Navy 18x18 pillow cover ~ $75

handprinted muted union jack crown cushion ~ $44

If you have outgrown the vintage liquor posters of the college days, try a search for paintings of still life, landscapes, and animals, on Etsy. Here are some of the results I found doing a recent search.

What a great addition to the kitchen or breakfast nook! ~ $68

This painting of Aspen trees in Autumn will add a pop of color to any room ~ $154.95

A simple and beautiful watercolor ~ $25

How cute would this pair look in a nursery? ~ $20

This artist has fun paintings of animals in hats...LOVE IT!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere...

Maybe it’s all the Mad Men reruns that I've been watching to gear up for the new season that have conjured up my romanticized images of a formal cocktail hour, where the drinks were as stiff as the petticoats the women wore under their dresses…

…Or maybe I just like to drink.

Whatever the reason, this post brings me to my latest home accessory desire: the bar cart. Most of us have matured from the days of proudly displaying empty handles of liquor atop the cabinets in our college apartments and drinking alcoholic concoctions with names like “Pink Panty Dropper” poured from giant orange Gatorade coolers or “Trash Can Punch” which was served out of…well, you get the picture.

There is something grown-up and sophisticated about having a bar cart in your home. You can elegantly display your variety of spirits without looking like you are prepping for a frat party (and yes, I used the word “spirits” – I’m a lady!) Even a bottle of Boone’s Farm would look dressed up on a bar cart! The bar cart is also a great item if you are limited on storage space (like me!) and can be used to hold not only bottles and stemware but also books, trinkets, and whatever else you can think of!

Many of the carts I have come across are antique serving carts (also tea carts) or are vintage-inspired and most came with high price. (I prefer to spend money on the booze.)

Below are some of the bar carts that I have added to my “Hmmmm, Maybe One Day List”:

Duncan Bar Cart (Restoration Hardware) - $383.99

Tori Mellott for Domino

Campaign Bar Cart (Restoration Hardware)

No Longer Available (why not!?)

domino's editor deborah needleman's bar cart featured in Lonny Mag

Connaught Polished Nickel Bar Cart (Amazon.com) - $999.91

Faux bamboo bar (1stdibs.com) - $5,500 {France 1960}

Chantry Bar Cart (Martha Stuart) - Price upon request

So the other day, when there were NOT random thunderstorms, I headed to one of my favorite areas in Houston: Montrose! Nestled between the tattoo parlors and thrift stores are some great little antique stores on Westheimer. Not finding anything I couldn’t live without and the Houston summer heat really turning up I decided to go into one last store, Pride and Joy. This store specializes in bars and had a lot of English and French inspired bars and a good selection of mid-century ones too – all too big for my place! But in they back I came across this little gem, a little rusty, a little price tag, but HUGE potential! I paid the owner and took home my new project!

The first thing I had to do was wait for it to randomly stop raining! Next I had to prep the cart by sanding off the rusty parts and it turns out I sanded part of the brass finish as well revealing that the cart was made out of aluminum. I knew it wasn’t solid brass because it was as light as a feather! No worries though…

First coat of paint was the primer: Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch – Ultra Cover. (Oh yeah, and I taped up the wheels with painters tape too.)

After letting it dry for about 30 minutes I spray painted the cart with Rust-Oleum – Gold Rush Metallic. At the time I had it in my head that I didn’t want the cart to be too brassy or shiny, so that’s why I went with this color.

After it was painted I felt it was actually too dull and that I did want something with more luster, so I went back to Home Depot and bought Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic – Metallic Brass. This paint has a bright reflective finish. Painted over the gold and it came out great!

Besides stocking up on bottles, here are a few items I would LOVE to add to my new bar cart!

And now I'm going to don some pearls and a big cocktail ring and head to Spec's! Cheers! Salud! Prost! Sláinte!

Old Fashioned Cocktail

The Old-fashioned is a classic whiskey cocktail that has been served since around 1880 at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky and is (disputedly) the first drink referred to as a cocktail. It is the perfect ideal of what a cocktail should contain: a spirit, a sweet, a bitter, a sour and water. Typically, the Old-fashioned is made with bourbon, however you can experiment with other types of whiskey for an equally excellent drink. Have a light old-fashioned with Canadian whiskey or one that's more sour with a Tennessee whiskey. Club soda is often used to top off this drink, but this is not a traditional method. (Source: http://cocktails.about.com/od/atozcocktailrecipes/r/old_fshned_cktl.htm)

Yield: 1 Drink

Ingredients:

• 1 sugar cube
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 orange slices
• 3 oz bourbon
• maraschino cherry for garnish

Preparation:

1. Place the sugar cube at the bottom of an old-fashioned glass.
2. Saturate the cube with the bitters.
3. Add one orange slice.
4. Muddle these ingredients.
5. Fill the glass with ice cubes.
6. Add the bourbon.
7. Stir well.
8. Garnish with a second orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

As most of you know I love to cook!

So here's my idea...start sharing some of my favorite recipes and culinary attempts (and possible disasters) in a new weekly post called,

Mer's Monday Munchies!

This first recipe is in honor of my dad's birthday (today!). I inherited a lot of things from my father: green eyes, sense of humor, creativity, horrible singing voice, the ability to misspell everything (this is a Welsh gene, along with the inability to carry a tune) and most notably, a BIG sweet tooth! One sweet we both indulge in is cookies! I hope you enjoy this easy and classic cookie recipe as much as my dad and I do!

Best-Ever Snickerdoodles

(Makes about 35 4-in. cookies)

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups all-purpose white flower

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar, combined with 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, for topping

Directions

1.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.

2.) In a large bow, thoroughly stir together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, if using; set aside.

3.) In another large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar, and corn syrup until well blended and smooth.

4.) Beat in half of the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Stir in the remaining flour mixture until evenly incorporated.

5.) Let the dough stand for 5 to 10 minutes, or until firmed up slightly.

6.) Put the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a shallow bowl.

7.) Roll portions of the dough into generous 1 1/2 inch balls with lightly greased hands (the dough will be soft). Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 2 3/4 inched apart. Using your hand, slightly pat down the tops of the balls.

8.) Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 8-11 minutes, or until just light golden brown at the edges. (You can reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning.)

9.) Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.

*Let backing sheets cool between batches to keep the cookies from spreading too much.

(Recipe courtesy of "The American Cookie Book")

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

As the header states this blog is about diet home decorating and no, this is not a form of interior decorating that helps you lose weight (even though we all know that there are 'fat' and 'skinny' mirrors!). Diet decorating is about spending less and still getting great style, but remember cheap does not always mean chic!

The sunburst mirror is a design element that is very popular right now. I am a huge fan of this mirror because it can work with any type of decor and adds a touch of glamour, but doesn't overpower. There are some fabulous ones out there, many WAY out of my price range!

These range from $300 - $500.

Wisteria

Amazon.com

Mecox

I REALLY wanted one of these mirrors to put in my bedroom over my new headboard, but placed it on my mental wish list due to the high prices I found. However, little did I realize, I had one sitting in my home already! For a while I had a sunburst/sunflower mirror I bought from Pier 1 ($40) that was placed over my mantel, but was never excited about the finish; however, I was content with it, so there it sat....until...I stumbled upon this mirror revamp project from the blog, High Street Market! So of course I took the mirror down and headed to Michael's craft store to get the supplies...here's how it went down:

THE BEFORE...

The faux antique finish...

Folk Art craft paint: Metallic Champagne

Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Pain: Gold

- Mixed equal parts of both paints and applied 2 coats to the mirror.

THE AFTER....ooooh...ahhhhh....

Close-up

Loved how it turned out and really works well in my bedroom!

- DIET DECORATING DEALS -

WAL-MART

(Who knew Wal-Mart was so chic?)

These were all found at www.walmart.com and ranged from $109.80 - $354.60

TARGET

(walk in to buy 1 thing, always come out with more!)

Found this mirror (left) today for $49.99 and with a coat of gold paint - gorgeous!

The mirror on the right is made of wood and was on eBay for $360!