Category Archives: Her Home

Holiday Shopping: Gifts For Your Favorite Couple

Posted on November 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Christmas is 45 days away and Hanukkah is just 20 days away – that lunar candle can really mess up your planning! What does this mean?  It means it’s time to shop!  Have you made your list?  I am making mine.  Holiday season gift giving is always tricky; it should be special, it should be memorable, and it should be sustainable (by which I mean you should not go into debt buying your gifts).  Over the next few weeks I will share my top picks for all kinds of people, in all kinds of price ranges!

Today we’ll start with gifts for the favorite couple in your life.  Truly, I would love any of these gifts, even the funny ones! 
For gifts for a couple I try to look for items that both people can enjoy; great items like the wine-of-the-month club, champagne glasses to toast to their happiness, personalized wall art, and even the Smitten Mittens which I think are just beyond funny.

A personal favorite of mine is the gift of breakfast in bed, the Zabar’s basket is an extra special treat, but the idea behind nearly all of these gifts is that they are to treat both people, and they go a little above and beyond so that the couple in mind can enjoy each other most of all!

Happy Gift Giving!

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Posted in Her Home, Holidays

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Don’t Forget the Centerpiece

Posted on November 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

When entertaining for the holidays, or really any time of the year, your table is never fully dressed without a centerpiece.  The Fall and Winter seasons provide plenty of inspiration for table decor that is special but also simple. 

I first turn to the master of all “good things”, Ms. Martha Stewart, for inspiration:

For a simple everyday table setting how sweet is table with a collection of small sized baskets with seasonal fruits?  Let the fruit double as part of your dessert and you have a two for one special.
via Martha Stewart
 In a continuation of the fruit theme, I love the stately nature of the pillar candles and baskets filled with plump berries and grapes.  The colors sing fall while not being generic or too obviously themed.
via Martha Stewart
 For a crafty decor idea there is nothing easier than this for the mantle: take candle holders/vases that you already own and wrap with pretty paper and secure with a double stick tape.  An illuminated candle inside gives this idea an ever brighter glow.
via Martha Stewart
 I love, love, love this centerpiece.  It is a true centerpiece and worthy of a special dinner or even a fall wedding.  A bundle of wheat twisted and tied with a beautiful silk ribbon compliments the warmth and heart of the season.
via Martha Stewart
Here are some more great centerpiece ideas that I could not resist:
From pottery barn, this is a simple hurricane candle holder wrapped with dried maze and tied with twine.  It probably take no more than minutes to assemble but makes a very pretty visual impact.
Via Pottery Barn

Or you can always order a vibrant, beautiful bouquet of flowers for your table and for around your home:
via FTD
via 1800Flowers
Whatever you do keep it easy, make it reflect you and your home, and make it special with a little extra sparkle.

Happy Friday and have a beautiful weekend!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, fall, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Holidays, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Setting the Table for Family and Friends

Posted on November 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

In my immediate family there are four of us.  Pretty average, nothing anyone would consider “large”.  However, my family doesn’t do holidays with just the four of us.  Holidays with my family include everyone: all the grandparents (I am blessed to have four healthy, amazing grandparents), all of the cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings and children of all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and of course friends that feel like family.  It is not unusual to gather around the table for Passover or Rosh Hoshanah or be spread throughout the house on Thanksgiving with 40 – 50 people.


Not quite this long, but you get the idea
Let me ask you, how do you set a table for 40 – 50 people?  Most people do not own a set of China for 40-50 people, and rarely does the heaviest stock of paper plates hold up to a good Jewish brisket…  
Necessity being the mother of all invention the table would be set  communally; beautiful China would come from an Aunt here, a cousin there, a sister from nearby.  At the end of the day a beautiful table would be set in creams and gold that was worthy of the best crowd and food.
When we got married I registered for plain, everyday white China from Pottery Barn, but now that we have moved and I have more storage in my kitchen and a proper dining room for entertaining the idea of expanding my collection is not lost on me.  Here are some entertaining must haves, for now:

Dazzle Dinnerware by Crate and Barrel

Wood-Slices Dinnerware by West Elm

Vera Wang for Wedgwood “Gilded Weave”

Growing up I would volunteer for table setting duty at my cousin Deborah’s house, and the look and feel of an extra long table, with shining glassware and matching mismatched plates has always stuck with me. The Holidays are special and are meant to be treated with extra care, a little extra sparkle and spent with the most important people.

It doesn’t even matter if you eat take out Chinese on your China, just make it special!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food

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Stuffed Mushrooms for Last Minute Appetizer

Posted on October 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Stuffed Mushrooms are the kind of appetizer that takes no time to make, you’re likely to have all of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry, and they are delightful bite full of flavor.

Stuffed Mushrooms Ingredients:
15 medium Baby Bella Mushrooms (a whole container)
2 tbsps of Olive Oil
1/3 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp of Skim Ricotta Cheese
2 tbsps grated parmesean
2 tsps of italian seasoning
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add chopped basil, or parsley, chopped garlic
First rinse and rub all of the mushrooms and let them dry.  Remove all of the stems and reserve.  Take the stems and chop them to a small chop.  

In a small bowl add all of the seasonings, cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil.  Add to that the chopped mushrooms.

With a fork mix all of the ingredients.  This recipe is sort of the exact opposite of baking; you can swap out other ingredients, you can change the seasoning, want more spice, less spice, no cheese, more veggies, this is a great clean out the pantry in a flash recipe.


Prepare the oven to 400 degrees and put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Turn the mushrooms cavity down and lightly oil the outside of the mushrooms, and sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.  With a small spoon, or of course your fingers, stuff the mushrooms to the top.


Bake for twenty minutes.  Allow to cool, just long enough so that when you pop an entire mushroom in your mouth and it’s not so hot that you have to do that “it’s too hot” dance.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Appetizer, Baking, Christmas, dinner, entertaining, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, New Year's Eve, Snacks

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Valentine’s Day in October

Posted on October 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

I love flowers; the way they brighten up a room, they way they smell, what they symbolize.  But, flowers die.  Ouch, so that was a rough point.  But just because they do doesn’t mean we can’t find inspiration in flowers everyday.

Today’s fashion proves that roses are red, and black, and beige.

There are high fashion options from Valentino and Milly what is not to love about this?

Valentino “Petale-Mini” Leather Tote via Nordstrom
Rose Toe Platform Suede Pump via Bergdorf Goodman
Milly Rose Skirt Dress via Bergdorf Goodman
Okay, head in the clouds and empty wallets, where else can we find rose inspiration?

English Rose Robe via Anthropologie
Torn by Ronny Kobo Lila Rose Print Dress via National Jean Company
daniblack Jasmin Rose Sandal via Endless
How about taking the roses home?

Diptyque Roses Candle via Saks Fifth Avenue
Flowering Twig Pencil via Anthropologie
Deconstructed Rose Pillow via West Elm
Come on you didn’t think we wouldn’t have a rose inspired baking tool? 
Nordick Rose Bundt Pan via Cooking.com
 Or go for the original, the real thing:
Sharing the Love Rose Bouquet via FTD

Wishing you a house full of roses, whether you get them as a gift, or buy them for yourself.  They are a happy, and delightful treat for anyday, Valentine’s or otherwise!

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Posted in Accessories, Decor, Fashion Inspiration, Her Closet, Her Home, Shopping

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At Home in the Wild

Posted on October 12, 2010 | 1 comment

My favorite just for browsing website for home is Horchow; owned by Neiman Marcus it is luxe living from bathroom to backyard.  I’ll be the first to admit there are definitely some items that are over the top, but having an editorial eye will help.  It is like finding a needle in a haystack; in this case a very luxurious haystack.

As my affinity for animal inspired prints continued I am taking the inspiration home, to my home.  Here are some favorites:
Horchow Leopard Patterned Panels
Horchow Golden Leopard Rug
Horchow Zebra Bench
Horchow Sunflower Zebra Chair
I honestly love, love, love all of these pieces.
The unifying theme is that they are all animal inspired without being realistically animal print.  The leopard is soft gold, the panels are wood and mirrors, the chair is a vibrant, sunny yellow.
The inspiration is all there, but it’s been refined.  It is as if that nail head upholstered chair is sitting in a posh living room and saying to the mirrored armoire and fancy crystal vase, “you can take the girl out of the wild, but you can’t ever take the wild out of the girl”.

I will continue my prowl to find just right wild for our house.  I’ll let you know what I find…  What do you say, would you go wild at home?

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Posted in Decor, Her Home

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Going Bananas for Plantains

Posted on August 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

I love bananas for breakfast, it’s what I ate for breakfast this morning.  Plantains on the other hand are not for breakfast, but equally (if not more delicious).  I am not a food scientist a la Alton Brown but I did a little research so I’ll pass it on so we’ll all know how bananas and plantains are different fruits.  

Plantains are in a green, thick skin, they can’t be eaten raw and are starchy and used as a vegetable, whereas bananas, well you know, yellow, think skin, sweet, good in cereal!

When we had our Latin fiesta night in addition to the watermelon, salsa and Mexican inspired s’mores we also served tostones, or plantain fritters.

Tostones Ingredients:
3 Large Plantains (party of 8)
Vegetable Oil of some variety, we used Canola
Kosher Salt

Open the tostones, you’ll probably need a knife as they don’t break open as easily as a banana.  Cut slices that are about 1 inch long. 


Put oil in a large pan (about an 1/3 inch high) over heat over a medium/high flame.  When the oil is hot enough, not burning or bubbling, but hot enough to react if you flicked some water from your finger tips into the oil, place plantains in slice side down.

Cook plantains for about 2  minutes on each side. 


This is a sensitive time, you’ll want to keep an eye out so you can get a nice rich caramel color on the fried side.  Too light and thetostones will be too starchy, too dark, they might taste like burned sugar.


Set up all of the fried tostones on layers of paper towel to absorb any of the oil that is being released, just like latkes, onion rings, or anything fried you’ll want to mop up the extra oil so you can get right to the flavors of the food.  Stop!  Do not discard the extra oil!


Time to smash!  I suppose if you had kids, which I don’t, this could be a fun thing for them to do with supervision. (This was also a great thing for Mark to do, that’s him!)  Set up a cutting board and grab a can from the cupboard.  Smash!  Smashing the plantains to about a 1/2 inch will be perfect.


The smashed plantains go back in the oil for about 20-30 seconds on each side just to crisp up the sides, and then back on new paper towels.

This is delicious now, and ready to eat.  But to maximize that salty-sweet combination that is so hard to beat grab that Kosher salt and lightly sprinkle over the tostones, then just try not to eat all of them!

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Posted in Appetizer, Easy Recipe, entertaining, Her Kitchen

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Classic, with a Kick

Posted on August 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

Earlier in the week I mentioned our Latin inspired fiesta, and our large menu.  I knew when planning the menu that as always we would have a lot of food, and I wanted to keep everything light, easy to prepare and fun.  So, while I love tres leches and flans, I knew they would work with the rest of our hand held menu, and goal for being outside.

And that was when Mexican S’mores were born.    
 
Of course I originally intended to make my own graham crackers, I even thought about making my own marshmallows, but as you might imagine those plans don’t jive with “easy to prepare”.  So what is more easy to prepare than a box of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows and 2 packets of Lindt Dark Chocolate with a hint of chili?  I’ll tell you what’s easier, just about nothing!  
What I had envisioned was using our grill to gently toast the marshmallows to a lovely golden brown.  Instead it rained all day and the cooking and s’mores making moved inside.  

No fear, these are just as good when they are made in the oven.  

Steps to S’more Success:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Put foil on top of a baking sheet
3. Put marshmallow on top of chocolate square on top of half of a graham cracker
4. Place in oven, with the light on and pace/dance/chat for about 90 seconds because then the marshmallows will be soft and browning.
5. Stack graham cracker half on top.
6. EAT!, and eat again and again.

I think other delicious flavors would include those Ghirardelli squares with a little mint, caramel or peanut butter filling – the options are endless and the results are deliciously fun!

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Posted in Dessert, Easy Recipe, entertaining, Seasonal, summer

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Fresh Salsa, almost like Vacation

Posted on August 19, 2010 | 4 comments

This past weekend we had friends over for linner, late lunch/early dinner.  Since we were prepping the food, and they were supplying the drinks, I got started on planning out a themed menu.  The weekend before I  reminisced about the amazing food we ate on our honeymoon to Mexico, and so the theme developed on it’s own, we’d be doing a Latin inspired meal.

We served up salsa fresca, chunky guacamole, mango coconut fish and pulled pork tacos, roasted tomatillos, out of this world tostones, cilantro rice and garlicky black beans, watermelon and lemon, and Mexican s’mores.

The Salsa was a huge hit, and it turns out it is actually America’s most popular condiment – who knew?!  
 
Ingredients:
3 cups of Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 cup of Red Onion
1/2 cup of White Onion
1/4 cup of Cilantro
1 Jalapeno, with seeds removed and sliced
The Juice of 1 Lime
A sprinkle of salt to taste

I think salsa is a dish where you sort of know what you like.  Want more onions? Throw in more onions.  Hate cilantro?  Skip it.  

One tip I practiced was something I learned from Chef Rick Bayless, which was to wash the onion in a bit of cold water to reduce their bite.  I guess if you wanted that onion-y bite you could skip that too.

Here is a trick that we created out of necessity, and it worked like a charm: we didn’t want soupy salsa.  So as the tomatoes were being chopped they were dropped into a colander so that the extra tomato juice could drain out.  

Then all the ingredients go into one big bowl, and they get to know each other, they mingle, they dance and then they meet a chip and fall in love. No chips?  Yikes!  Also amazing with rice and beans, over grilled chicken or eggs.

If you have a bounty of summer tomatoes, this is a simple, low calorie way to use them up, and transport yourself to a beach vacation getaway. 

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Posted in Appetizer, Easy Recipe, entertaining, healthy, Her Kitchen, Snacks, summer

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New Vintage for an Old Home

Posted on August 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

This weekend we  went on a home filling “road trip”.  We drove out of DC to Leesburg, VA to visit the famed Old Lucketts Store, purveyors of the vintage and hip.  Settled on a large piece of land there is a main house that is open 7-days a week and on the first weekend of the month they host a Design House Event.  Both “homes” feature antique, salvaged, and made to look antique home furniture, decor, and accessories.  I am a sucker for the accessories and knick-knacks.


This weekend was a design house weekend and as I kept exclaiming to Mark I loved each room more than the one before it – which is to say, my love kept growing and growing.  
A few styles ran through out the house, there were some breezy, rooms with “by-the-sea” cottage inspired accessories and colors, some with brilliant colors and swaths of bright fabrics, and others still with a more sophisticated and romantic finish balanced with masculine, dark furniture.
Image from Lucketts Blog
Image from Lucketts Blog
Image from Lucketts Blog
It’s hard to explain how I could have loved  each room, as on the surface their styles were each so different.  However, their unifying theme was that they were all “just right” without being perfect.  Rarely did more than two pieces match, and often the accessories challenged and enhanced instead of just filling space, and most of all each room gave the feeling that there was a story behind each piece, and that is what I love.  There was no one-stop-shop feel of going to a catalog and ordering everything on the page and being done with the house. 

On this trip we picked up a nailhead leather chair, that perfectly fit the bill for what Mark wanted for the living room, and a possibly antique iron soap dish.  Pictures of the chair later, but since I am sure you are dying to see a soap dish, ta da!

Fancy Iron Soap Dish – personal photo
The design house also inspired us to find some vintage/old world oversized maps for our walls, and a coffee/occasional table to pair with our new chairs!  This is definitely a work in progress as I think any truly great home should be.

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Posted in Decor, Her Home

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