BBQ Chicken Pizza..

           ....with a few jalapenos and red onions....so yummy!

 

 

 

I discovered the recipe on this woman's cooking channel.  If you are a visual learner like me then she might be your new best friend. I did make a slight change to her recipe and used smoked gouda instead of smoked mozzarella, my deli counter was out. I think the smoked gouda made the pizza have this delicious creaminess and I have no plans of ever trying the smoked mozzarella. I held back on jalapenos all over the pizza because usually my hubby does not love that much heat. He said, after trying a bite of mine that next time we should put jalapenos all over. They really add something to the dish.  Let me know if you try this or any of her other recipes out, I plan on devouring many of her dishes in the near future.

 

  And in case you are curious, no my children did not eat this. I made a separate cheese pizza for them, I was in no mood for a food battle on this night.

A mini-house tour: Emily O'Donnell

 Going along with my love for peeking into the places people call home, I asked my oldest sister Emily if she would share with us a few glimpses into her new home. Emily and her family recently ( a few weeks ago recently) sold all of their furniture and belongings-packed up and moved from Naperville Illinois to Brisbane Australia. It kills me on many levels to not be able to see Emily and enter her home. Emily is one of the most welcoming and hospitable people I know so having her as a sister and living nearby was a forever win. Every time I entered her home I would find inspiration in her decorative touches and curbside finds. When she moved she gave me a few pieces from her house and they will be forever treasures to me. Since her move I have been dying to see what transformations this new house of hers has undergone at the hand of my creative Emily. I was not disappointed.  Here are a few thoughts from her on this new place.

 

I've decided I love small spaces--it has it's limitations of course, but it fosters coziness, it forces me maintain some sense of order, and it makes it easier to parent. I know where my kids are, what they're doing, who is provoking who, who needs time alone, etc. 

When we arrived in our furnished rental home in Australia there was a small dining table, some small artwork on the walks that I disliked, a large brown couch, a great coffee table and a large sisal rug. Within a week, the chairs on the dining table were falling apart, we were all tripping on the couch, and our family of 6 didn't have enough space to all sit in this main room--our family/dining room. So we moved (almost) everything downstairs and started fresh.

 

 

 

A few weeks later, inspired by some items on my kitchen windowsill ( read Emily's blog post on this here), and in particular a ring, my room is decked out with thrifted finds. Everything is second-hand and I love it. The silky oak wardrobe is our visual anchor, along with the bookcase filled with the only things we brought from the States, my husband's books. 

 

 

The white walls of our rental home keep it light, so that allows me to have fun with colors--I'm currently loving greens, golds, browns, greys with a bit of blue. Does that remind you of maps? Me too. We cut up an old atlas with spaces where family & friends are living and put them in thrifted frames. Voila--a wall is filled.

Thrifted pillows have helped me tie the colors of my room together. The angled mint leather couch opened up the space to allow for more seating. 

Pushing our new large dining table up against the wall, beneath the window, captured beautiful light, made more space in our room and, for some reason, made us feel like we were eating out for dinner each night.

Our long table has room for a runner, little flower arrangements and candles. We have set the table every night for dinner, and try to remember to light the candles. It makes it so much more special. It gets dark here by 5pm, so we light up the table and we all know that is the place to be.

A quirky edition was this framed statue head--I planned to put a different picture in, but ended up grabbing a dry erase marker and writing our dinner menu on it, along with notes for the day, and the kids now use it for pictures or whatever strikes their fancy. It's fun.

I found this gnarly branch on the sidewalk in front of our neighbours' house and grabbed it. Instant art! I love it.

I'm partial to amateur oil paintings--they're cheap and I just pick the ones with colors that I'm drawn too. 

Can you see why I love this space? Come visit and we'll share a cup of tea and sit & chat.

 

 Happy Saturday! And thanks Emily, love you!

Kiddos

:My babes:

 

 

 

The Front Porch

 To me every part of your house says something about you. Your yard might say, "I don't like to do yard work." or "I was born with fertilizer in one hand and a shovel in the other." It might say, "I make a lot of money and pay someone to every thing for me." No matter what, there is something silently being communicated. I enjoy few things in life more than discovering who people are and what makes them tick. If I ever have the pleasure of being inside your home know I am (often subconsciously) taking mental notes that will later surface in my brain when I am putting together the picture of who you are. A house gives so many ways to read someone. I should clarify that I am not making some hierarchy of judgment on your style, your cleanliness, your taste....no, no, I welcome all homes in their idiosyncrasies with open arms. I love how people are so different and therefore I love how homes are all so different. It is truly captivating to me.

  When Nate and I were first married we had a Sunday afternoon tradition of getting coffee at Einstein's and driving through neighborhood after neighborhood. I would imagine what the people were like living inside of all of those different houses we would pass. We would point out which caught our attention and why. I discovered much about my own tastes and preferences as well as Nate's and think it still offers me insight into both of us.

 Marge Gieser died of cancer. She was a woman with such beauty, creativity and life pouring from her that it is hard to try to explain any part of who she is to you. If you have met her, you get it. Anyway-Marge was speaking to a group of us on the subject of decorating. I took note upon note as I devoured her every brilliant insight and still use much of her wisdom in my own styling. One thing she said that day particularity stuck with me. In her straight-forward, no nonsense style she said, "I love when I see houses with blankets and toys laid all over the yard, it tells me people are really living there." Really living there. Really living. Really not consumed by the need to pick up every piece of evidence that children live there. Really not worried about blankets in the front yard because they were far too caught up in the delight of the day. Really living there.

I am not entirely sure why I shared that story, especially since I am the person that runs herself ragged picking up the toys and blankets in the front yard....but maybe that is precisely why I shared that story. Marge's words often push me to let go of some of my fist-clenchers and really live. Anyhow, after all of that we arrive at my front porch. I find pleasure from walking in and out of my front door because of the pieces that can be found there. They remind me of Michigan vacations digging for driftwood in the cold water, friends who give beautiful treasures away because they are moving, my Salvation Army find that has broken and been repurposed and Nate's love for our marble top table. I relish walking past it all because it is communicating so much about me. It feels like home, just as it should.

A little more structure coming your way

   Lately I find myself needing a little more inspiration when it comes to blogging. I so admire and enjoy when bloggers give new content and images day after day. It can be hard work to think through what would be enjoyable to share when my window of time varies so much day to day. (not to mention my motivation) I could fill post upon post with images of my babes but I know that probably gets old to some of you and offers me very little in the creative realm, which is one of the reasons I started blogging forever ago. Therefore, I have decided a little bit of structure might be just what I need. (This from the woman who is about to have her forth child...ha!!)  My new plan focuses on different areas of personal interest depending on the day. Hold not my feet to the fire if things get a little hairy every now and then for I am a fickle person when it comes to starting projects....all or nothing depending on the day.

 Here is my current plan.....fingers crossed it will happen.

 

 

Mondays:Make-up/ Nails

Tuesday: Nothing

Wednesday: Current Favorites

Thursday: Creating/Home Décor

Friday: Kiddos

Saturday: Wild Card ( I need a little freedom!)

Sunday: Cooking/Food/ Drinks