Say goodbye to Winter Blah's

With the wintery craziness we are experiencing I am actively searching for ways to elevate the moods.  One way is to switch up your breakfast to something fancy and fun.  Most of us do the grab and go with something easy like yogurt.  BUT what if you gave yourself 15 extra minutes in the morning to enjoy this with a steaming cup of coffee.  You could grill the Ciabatta the night before and then just spread on the ricotta, blueberries, honey and mint.  Sounds delightful.

Buttered Popcorn Cupcakes

Do you want to do something a little special for dessert while watching the Oscar's on Sunday night?  Well nothing says movies like buttered popcorn and nothing says chic dessert more than Buttered Popcorn Cupcakes.  What a fun little treat to mark the occasion.  What will Beautiful Mess think of next?

Cheesy and Easy

It looks like the cold weather is not done with us yet so if you have a busy week coming up and want something super easy without sacrificing taste? Then this Pork Guiso Verde is for you.  It takes about 10 minutes to prep and then you throw all ingredients in a slow cooker and the results were amazing.  A couple of side notes...I mixed the meat cubes with the spices before putting it in the pot, I used fat free cream cheese and it was still creamy and whole wheat tortilla chips added a nice crunch.  Also, it has some heat so if you don't like spicy than cut back on the green chilies.  Don't skimp on the cilantro it gives it a fresh taste that brings it home.  This dish is easy, inexpensive and really good!

Boudoir Lamp Revamp

I've recently started to attend estate sales.  It's a little wacky...people wise, adrenaline inducing, and I feel a little odd pilfering other people's stuff.  However, I never expected to love the heart racing feeling as they open the doors and everyone tears in like they are on an episode of The Grocery Game.  My main interest is Mid Century Modern which is coincidentally most other people's as well...so game on.

Let's start by saying that I've never owned or purchased, let alone refurbished, something that is 80 years old.  But I saw a little Boudoir lamp on a dusty shelf that had a combo of a milk glass base and a hobnail body that I couldn't resist.  I suspect at one point it also had a hobnail lamp shade that somehow met an unfortunate incident. 

This post is about the journey of a lovely little lamp that cost me $3 and started its life somewhere between the 1920's and 30's according to the fact that it had a cloth cord.  Also, almost everything in the house was from the same era...I'm quick like that.

This is what the shelf looked like where I grabbed it from.  I also wanted that green lamp and desk lamp but both were snatched moments before I could get to them.  I'm telling you this is no joke.

When we plugged it in, suprisingly it still worked, but wouldn't be safe due to the frayed cloth cord.  So my husband took it apart piece by piece in about 3 minutes.

After some intense cleaning we purchased a new socket set and electrical cord from Home Depot.  We also painted those three rings you see at the top with brass spray paint due to the fact they were so rusty they wouldn't clean up nicely.  Then reassembly began using tips from this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcUst55t5s) and about 10 minutes and a few curse words later my husband had it reassembled. It really sounds like rewiring a lamp would be a major undertaking but it was actually quite easy!

I purchased a new lamp shade and with all the parts we spent about $30.  But it was a very gratifying project and now we have a little piece of history on our bedside table.

Link Love

CasaSugar
Cool way to store your sunglasses.

Damn Delicious
Caprese Tomato Soup

The Graphics Fairy
Piece of wood plus cloche=awesome place for succulents

Lakyn  + Judah
Smore's donuts

Asian Cucumber Salad

Lately my sides have been getting a little stale.  I tend to lean towards roasted brussel sprouts, green beans and cauliflower.  When I saw this Asian Cucumber Salad it looked refreshing and easy.  It actually looks like a summer dish but I bet the vinegary combo would be delicious with wintery roasted meats.

The Apricot Hamantini

I'm thinking of hosting a brunch over the next couple of weekends and I was putting together a menu when I ran across this.  The Apricot Hamantini from Busy in Brooklyn.  When serving brunch I like to serve a sweet and a savory cocktail.  The Bloody Mary/Ceasar is a no-brainer but I always struggle a little with the sweet drink.  I'm going to give this a go and serve it in a short water glass with the cookies on the rim.  I think it will pair nicely with a rich egg dish and vinegary salad dressing.

DIY Projects

I am somewhat of a DIY poser.  I like a lot of DIY ideas and can appreciate the sheer genius in them, as well as, the cost efficiency.  However, I don't have a lot of space and I am pretty mechanically disinclined.  However, the posing stops now.  I've decided to give myself 4 months for 4 projects that interest me.  Wanna jump on the bandwagon?  Here is a few concepts I like.

Copper Dipped Vases

New Dog Beds for Rosie and Ruby

This Designer Knock Off Velvet Heart Pillow

A Gold Leaf Puppy Canvas (I'm going to do mine really small-ha!)

Snack Time

I thought I would write about something a little healthier than cake.  If you're like me you get a craving for a little something sweet about twice a day.  Well how about grabbing a vitamin C packed orange that just happens to have a little chocolate in the mix.  Check out these amazing looking chocolate dipped blood oranges.  They used white chocolate I would imagine to counter balance the tartness of the orange but you could use dark or milk if you prefer.

Link Love

A Feast for the Eyes
Coconut and lemon bread with salted honey!

Home Stories
Love this photo book.  I think it is for commercial use but why not fill it with fun black and white memories?

Crooks and Nannies
Great table.

Savoring the Thyme
Italian Shrimp Antipasto