Tuesday, January 31, 2012

In The Kitchen... Broccoli Stir Fry

This "In the Kitchen" recipe is something I make nearly every week - it's delicious, healthy and super fast to make! Here's what you'll need:


- lotsa broccoli
- your choice of mushroom (or leave it out if no likey)
- grated ginger - I prefer a lot of ginger, like 3 tablespoons but it's to taste
- finely chopped garlic (I use 4 cloves)
- scallions
- any other veggie you like! I threw some spinach in this one at the end
- 2 cups of cooked sushi rice
- cashews
- sesame seeds
- soy sauce
- hoisin sauce
- olive oil
- toasted sesame oil
- siracha hot sauce

Whew.... OK, it looks like a lot of ingredients but if you like to cook Asian food you should have a lot of these items as staples in your pantry. Usually I just have to run out and buy the veggies because we have everything else.

Anyway:

- Saute the garlic and ginger in a little olive oil & simmer for a couple minutes on medium heat.
- Throw in your mushrooms to the mix:


- cook them down for a couple of minutes
- then throw in the broccoli and add a 1/4 cup of water to help steam the broccoli.

(sorry for bad pics again! but i finally found my camera so better pics to come!)

- At this point you should throw in some splashes of soy sauce, a tablespoon of hoisin sauce and throw in the chopped scallions.
- cook all that just a little - you still want the broccoli somewhat crunchy
- then you get out a big bowl, fill it with some sushi rice then load up this tastiness on top!
- next, drizzle a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil on top the dish, garnish with sesame seeds, handful of cashews, and drizzle the siracha hot sauce on top



And enjoy!! It's SO good! I also like this recipe because you can add so much to it. Either more veggies or beef or chicken. Leftovers are even great the next day.

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Body Shots...

Came across this image via my lover, Pinterest:

image via Rue Magazine

And my eye went straight to that body target.

Why hello, lover....


I need you in my home. Preferably a little tattered with tons of bullet holes....

Told y'all I was in my "masculine" mode!  ;)


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Mr. Futon Is In!...

Just wanted to share some pics of the futon that came in! I never thought I'd say this but I love my futon!

** Sorry for yet again crap photos - I can't for the life of my find my camera!!?!**


I will be making a white duck slipcover so if it gets dirty I can just wash it. The fabric is a faux leather that can easily wipe off any dirt too. For now it's in the room next to our bedroom...


So the furnished rentals mainly going to be white, camel, little black... I'm really drawn to my masculine room inspirations these days.... Here's one of my favorites from Pinterest:

I LOVE the colors here... and it's not at all girly...



But then this is how psychitzophrenic I am:

Love this look too!

I think a compromise is something like this:


That my friends is why I'm keeping the big items neutral... so my crazy ass can change out pillows, accessories as my brain shifts from girly to manly!! Do y'all suffer from the same disease!?


Monday, January 23, 2012

In The Kitchen...Quinoa Patties

I luvs me some Pinterest and just wanted to share with y'all one of my new favorite recipes! Quinoa patties - recipe HERE.

Here's how I made them tonight:


On a bed of organic mixed greens, local tomatoes, grated Parmesan cheese, oil & vinegar dressing - and fried them up in coconut oil. Let me tell ya - it was YUM!! (full disclosure - I probably ate 8 patties they were so tasty! but 8 would've looked rather piggy for the sake of the picture!) 

I also read a reviewer say they eat them in the morning with some maple syrup. (another full disclosure - I tried this after my dinner and it was also delicious!! Oink! Oink!) 

This is a great thing to make ahead of time and heat up when you're running late. They are a great source of protein and super yummy!! Let me know if you make them and how you serve them!



Saturday, January 21, 2012

Futon Is Ordered!... YES I said FUTON!

Never would I think #1 I'd order a FUTON and #2 I'd be excited about it. We all know they are hideous creatures that belong in college apartments... but sometimes a broke girl needs a stylish one to complete her furnished rental!

Why a futon you may ask? Because I need this rental to potentially sleep 4. Sleeping 4 = MORE MONEY Honey BooBoo Child! Take a second and watch her and you'll know what I'm talkin' about:


I digress...

Here's what my futon looks like:


I'm making sure anything that goes in this apartment will easily go with the rest of the house - So that I can switch around things and when we're ready to live in the whole house everything will make sense together.  White, black, camel, golds with pops of color is what I'm talkin' about!

One of these bad boys will go on both sides of the sofa - but with white shades. We carry these lamps at work and I LOVE them!! They are great for houses with high ceilings - they stand 80" tall. Very dramatic.


Below is an idea of what I will be doing - this is a condo we finished a couple months ago.


The rug will be the sisal in my living room and I'm moving 2 marble tables over as the coffee tables. I guess it's a good thing I have been collecting more furniture than my house can fit!


Friday, January 20, 2012

Current State of Bedroom & Sewed Pillows Yo!!...

Just wanted to share some camera phone snapshots of the current state of our bedroom! I moved in the 2 brass cubes as nightstands and the 2 lamps I got from the hotel liquidation sale. Total cost for lamps and tables comes to a glorious $40!! HOLLA!

(oh and that weird sheet behind the right lamp is actually covering up our broken gas heater! It's HIDEOUS so I got all gangsta and covered that boy with a SHEET! And bed's not really made but whatever you get the idea!!)


Sometimes I like an eclectic mix and match of lamps and nightstands but I'm in a symmetry mood these days. I remember in design school all my rooms had to have some symmetry... it just feels better to me. Plus I think my boss is rubbing off on me. A lot of the bedrooms we do have matching nightstands and lamps.


The two big pillows I sewed a couple of months ago and the pink one I sewed last night. These pictures don't show the finished pink pillow - I wrapped it around the pillow just to see if I liked it the other day and snapped some pics. These pillows may stay here or move over to the furnished rental I'm doing... I'll wait and see!


Above is my creepy "dead people over the fireplace" wall! The painting is from an estate sale and reminds me of floating faces/ghosts... weird but I love it. Above it is a picture of The Hubs' great grandmother we recently inherited. At first I found it really creepy but I think it looks cool over the painting! I like how it showcases the height of the ceilings.

(yeah, those are our clothes on either side of the fireplace - this is not our permanent bedroom and we have NO closets in this old ass house so these is our closets for now!)


Above is the camel hide I laid down in here to protect the inlayed floor until it gets sealed...and I really like it in here!

So there ya have it - Boo's ever changing house! Oh, design question: thoughts on the color of the lamps?? Might spray them white... you know I love me some spray paint! Let me know!







Monday, January 16, 2012

Unexpected Inspiration...

I love when inspiration comes from unexpected places... with this past weekend wearing my mostly black & gold (Saints inspired) costume jewelry I'm loving the colors and textures on my closet door! 


The black, gold, crystal, turquoise, white bone, black tassel fringe, wood... I could design a whole space around my necklaces! 

Don't you love when you get inspired when you least expect it?!



Friday, January 13, 2012

Boo's Getting' Crafty!....


New Orleanians love to costume. No, it's not just a Mardi Gras thing, it's a year round any excuse to wear something crazy kinda thing. So, in honor of the Saints going to the Super Bowl (you gotta believe!) I've started making some Saints Halos and Tiny Top Hats!! 

Granted, I should've made these at the beginning of the season but it's better late than never right!? Here's what I've been crafting:


Aren't they adorable!? It adds just the right amount of "bling" when tailgating! 

Here they are on my beautiful model:






They are fun to make and they've been selling pretty fast so I'm excited!! I plan on making Mardi Gras ones too. Message me if you'd like one!!


The Saints are in the playoffs and Boo is getting' crafty!! WHO DAT!



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Cool Light Fixture...

Just came across this clever idea for a light fixture - a balloon!! Why didn't I think of this?!


I'd love to use these in a nursery/kids room!


Found them HERE.


Friday, January 6, 2012

It's Carnival Time!

Today, being Twelfth Night (after Christmas) marks the beginning of CARNIVAL TIME! While most people around the country have the let down buzz from Christmas and New Years, in New Orleans those holidays just gear us up for carnival season! Plus today officially marks the first day to buy king cakes for the season!


Mardi Gras time in New Orleans is a magical, indescribable six weeks that has nothing to do with class, money, race and everything to do with eating, drinking and being with family and friends. Most out of towners don't realize how family oriented Mardi Gras is. I digress...

Since my blog mainly focuses on art and design, I'll skip my tourism rant and get down to my Mardi Gras costume!! The Hubs and I watched Immortals a while back and I LOVED the costume design. (Horrible acting but stunning visuals and great costume design)

So, I'm thinking about doing an abstract way more elaborate version of Mickey Rourke's character. Here's some images that are getting my creative juices going:


I'm going to paper mache or use plaster of paris to make my mask and form horns on the top as well. I'm definitely going to gold leaf the horns and possibly the whole mask... undecided yet.


And make a capelet similar to below:


And also add in a little Tina Turner from Mad Max in there:

So it's like a "End of the World Meets Greek God" type of thing happening here... it is 2012 after all! Hopefully we can get a group together on this one - it's always better to costume in groups - you get way more attention!

So, the countdown for costume is ON!! I have about 45 days left on the clock to get this bad boy ready! Can't wait to share the process!

Click HERE to read last year's recap of Mardi Gras.


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Highlights From NYC!

We just got back from our 10 day trip visiting family and friends in New York City! After living there for 9 years and this being the first time back in the two years since we moved, it felt like I had never left and yet at the same like I was a tourist?!

The pace of New Orleans compared to NYC is like night and day! I think I've acclimated maybe too much to the laid back lifestyle down here?? I used to love the energy in NY, now I'm just over it! (I think being older and out of shape may have something to do with it too!)

Needless to say we had a wonderful time and it was great catching up with family and friends!

Here are some highlights thanks to my camera phone...

FABRIC STORES!! My favorite is Mood (more for fabric for fashion than upholstery but still fun!)


Lady Gaga windows at Barneys...


The whole room above was made of synthetic hair!!

I liked this quote...


Galleries in Chelsea...

I'm really bad and didn't get any of the artists names!! Sorry!

The artist below I'm pretty sure was Japanese and the detail in her work is amazing!! And the graphical elements are almost like a textile designer... I bet she could make some cool fabrics!



See what I mean?! Look at this detail on her hair!! So many designs within designs...


 These paintings were fun... I like the idea of the words becoming an image - in this case a smile.



This "painting" is actually done with embroidery thread!! SO COOL!


And of course we had to EAT while we were there! These are some of our go to spots...

Honey dipped fried chicken at Amy Ruth's in Harlem- hellllsss yeaaahhh!

Grilled corn at Cafe Habana in SOHO... so delicious!

Freeman's Alley in the Lower East Side is one of my favorites for the interior design - every little detail is perfection! You feel like you've stepped back in time... Even the locks to the restrooms are from the late 1800's! (the food is amazing too but I can never stop staring at the decor!) 



Mamoun's Falafel on MacDougal in the West Village is The Hubs' go to spot. It's a TINY little storefront with the yummiest and cheapest gyros, falafels, baklava, etc.


 I love this detail of a church on the Upper West Side...

And inside the church I loved the idea of such a simple tree - the origami birds from large at the bottom to small at top - it almost looks like they are flying away.


I have some other random things to share from the trip but those can be separate posts - let's just say we found an awesomely designed restaurant inside ABC Carpet & Home - theme being under the sea meets art deco!? Strange but AWESOME!


Boo here, signing out with a corny shot of me and The Hubs up in NYC!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!