My Shiny New Toy

Isn't she lovely???  My very own Moroccan pouf was delivered to the office last week, but due to a business trip to the "D" (aka Detroit) and quite a few late nights at the office, I haven't had a chance to enjoy her much yet.

The online reviews were only so-so, but I don't believe the other reviewers know what a Moroccan pouf is supposed to be.  This one is fabulous, and it brings a little Nate into my life.  (It's from the Nate Berkus line at HSN.)  She goes well with a glass of Layer Cake Malbec and HGTV on the DVR around 11 p.m.... that I do know.

Switching It Up with Two Yards - Part 2

As I posted yesterday, I bought two yards of Anna Marie Horner home decor fabric on etsy.com a few weeks ago in hopes of adding punches of color to the living room... on a dime (errr... $30).

In addition to the pillows, I finally found a "pop" for the Shirden family secretary unit. I promise, no family heirlooms were damaged during this project.  (I can't say the same for my fingers.) 

All I did was carefully measure and cut cardboard to fit the backs of all three shelves and cut fabric to cover each one. 

After taping the fabric to the cardboard inserts, I just popped them in!  Easy, peasy! I did try to line up the fabric so the design would look consistent, but I just eye-balled it. I'm tired on Sunday afternoons, what can I say?

How did I do? 

Switching It Up with Two Yards - Part 1

Can I spice things up with just two yards of home dec fabric??  When I moved in, I started with a very neutral palette in the main living space with the plan to add in colors over time as fabrics and pieces that I love come into my life.  I own now, so there’s no rush, right?

Sure, but I have very little patience and a very small budget to match.  To patch things up, I decided to spend about $30 on two yards of fun, high-quality home decorating fabric.  

My last apartment was very bright and bold, centered around the Anna Marie Horner quilt I made.  (It lives in the guest room now.)  I wanted to tone the colors down a bit for my grown-up condo, but I did find my way back to Anna Marie Horner again.  This time one of her home dec fabric collections stole my heart and my $30 budget.  I started with two pillows and the remaining yardage will show up in a few more unexpected places later this week.  

I’m loving the navy and ultimately would like to add a navy and white rug when I can afford it.  Teal is also really hot right now and blends in well with the neutral palette.  To stretch the two yards out a bit, I used a white backing on the larger pillow, leaving plenty of fabric for my next project.  How have you stretched a tiny decorating budget into value-size?  

Sunday Night Recipe Night

I like to make a nice meal on Sundays.  Well, I like the IDEA of it and am trying to get back into the habit.  Tonight I made Lemony Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp.  You can check out the easy recipe at Gourmet Magazine.  Yes, it's as good as it looks: 

What they don't tell you is that you'll have to clean up a mess like this: