Atlanta Market Find: Home, James!

I'm not sure which I liked more, the name of the store or the products they sell but Home, James! left an impression on me after AmericasMart in Atlanta last weekend.  Based in the Hamptons and Dallas, Home James! has some great dishes and linens.  The prices are high-end but their products have a really chic look that I love.

Knitted Scarf

I finally finished this frilly knitted scarf for a friend of mine as a belated Christmas present.  This tutu yarn was awesome and made a really cool scarf.  It is shorter than a normal scarf so I bought a vintage owl pin to hook it together.  I think it turned out pretty well but the pictures don't really show how cool the yarn is.  I do love the little owl.

Everywhere I Look: Designer Allegra Hicks

 Maybe it is because Designer Allegra Hicks has a new book out...

 ...or maybe it is because of my recent love of West Elm for which she designed these pillows and duvet covers...

...or maybe because I spend most of my free time looking at fabric these days for my new window coverings and furniture reupholstery...

but I swear she is everywhere!  Don't get me wrong, I love her fresh take on earthy-looking prints in fresh color combinations.  I might just have to get that book.

Product Love: Illume Candles

One of my most favorite products at AmericasMart in Atlanta last weekend was finding Illume's Boho Candle Jars.  So many candles smell divine and have long burn times and they may have cool packaging on the outside but rarely are the actual glass holders as pretty as this.  And they were some of the most affordably priced candles we saw.  And can I mention again how good they smell?!  Any girl would be lucky to get one of these as a birthday gift, housewarming present or hostess thank you.

And they gave us free samples which made me love them even more!!

The boho candles jars were part of their new collection but they have every kind imaginable to choose from.
See all of the options on the Illume site.

 

How To: Counter Remnants as Fireplace Hearth

As part of our continuing basement "renovation" of the new house, we decided it was time for the fireplace to have an update. Here's how it looked after the handyman ripped the brass cover off:

Yeah, not too pretty of a sight.  At first we thought about having someone come tile the entire fireplace.  We went to pick out some tile but I wasn't sure I was going to like how it looked even with my idea of white marble tile with a dark gray grout.  Plus, we would have had to purchase the materials and pay someone for the installation (I don't think our DIY skills are that great yet...despite what the hubs would tell you).

We did a search for stonemasons around and came up empty handed as far as options.  I kept saying I wanted white marble with some dark gray in it to match the color we chose to paint the paneling.  Then my husband had the idea of searching for a countertop remnant since he could picture what I was looking for on a counter.  We headed to USA Marble and Granite in Fairfax, VA.  Not only was the selection great, it was kind of fun rooting through a warehouse of remnants to find just what we were looking for.

After searching...

and searching...

we decided on one that was just right for us:

For $280 (WELL over half of what tiling and labor would have cost us), they cut the stone, beveled three of the four edges (we left the fourth one flat so it would sit flush against the fireplace), and polished the stone.

All that was left was the install.  The floor in the basement was tile.  We knew we wanted to carpet it but we had to get this stone down first so that the carpet guys could work around this.  We bought QuickSet cement and a trowel at the handware store.  Then we laid the stone down at the fireplace hearth where we wanted it to go and traced around the edges with a pencil.  We used an old bucket and mixed it with water and used the trowel to even everything back.  We set the stone back on top and voila!  We have a new (and much improved) fireplace hearth.  I've got lots more work to do in the basement and certainly need to decorate the fireplace more (and get a screen) but here's what it looks like now:

Here's a close up of how they tacked the carpet underneath the new hearth so that everything is flush.

Close up of the beautiful gray marbling in the stone:

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Beef and Vegetable Soup

My grandmother, MawMaw, was the queen of vegetables.  If she were still here and cooking those veggies for me everyday, I'm quite sure I could live as a vegetarian.  They were just so good.  But when she only had a small amount of different types of vegetables leftover, she would make vegetable soup.  She had one of those old stoves that had a place for the pot to fit down into the top of the oven and she'd let it simmer all day long.

I took a cue from her to use up some of my different leftovers I had in my fridge - hence the name, Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup.  You could modify this soup to use whatever you have on hand.  Some other additions besides what I used below might include corn, lima beans, tomatoes, broccoli, and peas.

What You'll Need:
1 pound stew beef (you could also use chicken, ground beef, or go solo-veggies)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 zucchini squash, diced
1 cup green beans
5 medium russet potatoes, diced
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
2 32 ounce containers of beef broth
1 cup red wine
salt and pepper to taste

What You'll Do:
Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Brown onion and beef together.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Add garlic, carrots and celery and continue to brown for about five more minutes.  Add potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, and green beans.  Season again with salt and pepper.  Stir in beef broth.  Let simmer for about 2 hours until all of the veggies are softened.  Add in the red wine and simmer for another 20 minutes.  Do a taste test and add additional salt and pepper if needed.

Adorned Abode Etsy: New Baby Hats Added

I've added a few more baby hats to my Etsy site today.  If you need a baby gift or need something for your own little one, do consider my hand-knit hats!  I also take special orders.