A Pinterest Inspired Purchase: Moroccan Poufs

After pinning this image, I realized that our living room needed a couple of Moroccan poufs not only as extra seating, but as an ethnic accent in the space.  By buying them unstuffed, money was saved on both the shipping and the actual poufs.  I filled them with extra blankets and towels that were taking up too much linen closet space.  I love the way the leather color and stitched design look with our rug and woodwork.  Take a look:

Off The Counter: Post Holiday Salad

This week's Off The Counter features 3 of my favorite salad ingredients:  fennel, citrus and kalamata olives.  Combining them results in a refreshingly light salad that splendidly balances hearty winter meals.  Using locally harvested honey and fresh pressed olive oil (both Christmas presents given to us by Alex's West coast cousins), I created a dressing that's both mildly sweet and acidic.  Ingredients and instructions below:

Ingredients:

Blood oranges, grapefruit, fennel, kalamata olives, fresh squeezed blood orange juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

Thinly slice the fennel, peeled grapefruit and blood orange.  Arrange them on a platter and toss a handful of olives on top.  In a bowl, add olive oil and fresh squeezed blood orange juice.  Whisk in honey to desired sweetness.  Drizzle on top of salad, add salt and pepper to taste.

Many thanks to VK and AK for sharing some of nature's finest gifts with us this season.

What are your favorite salad ingredients?

'Til Monday: 5 Friday Favorites

Images: 1./2./3./4./5.

Quick Fix: Guest Bathroom Facelift

With gray cabinets, antiquated sinks, outdated tile and bland hardware our guest bathroom was in need of a quick fix.  After whitewashing the green bathroom walls and grey cabinetry, I found inspiration in this colorful runner .  It prompted me to do something a bit different and fun with the hardware.  I decided not to coordinate the knobs but rather to replace them with different colors and patterns.   Thanks to Anthropologie's amazing collection of hardware  (and our helpful twins) the 18+ drawers and cabinets now sport a brand new look.  The bathroom has gone from drab and outdated to bright and somewhat "current".

My parents arrive this Thursday for a visit.  It will be the first time they'll see our new home, and our welcoming and updated guest bath.  I think I'm becoming a convert to more colorful spaces...

Botanical Inspiration: Massive Manzanita Branch

On an exploratory family hike in Briones Regional Park, we came across a fallen manzanita branch.  Being a scavenger by nature,  I convinced  Alex to pull the massive branch out of the brush so we could break it into smaller limbs and bring it home.  With the kids' help, we carried enough manzanita bounty to fill the back of our van.  Having just taken down the big branch over our mantle,  this discovery was very timely indeed.  The smooth, mahogany colored bark looks great against our brick hearth.  Take a look at our latest find:

Do you enjoy scavenging in nature, too?  If so, tell me about your favorite souvenir from the great outdoors.