Kitchen Refresh

I think almost everyone can agree that our homes feel so bare when the Christmas decor gets put away. There are a few things in most rooms I'm ready to tweak a little this month. Even though I'm in the middle of remodeling our home office, I stopped and picked up a few things for my kitchen. Luckily, I knew exactly what I wanted and it was easy to make a couple of stops to pick up a few things one afternoon in between looking at paint and wallpaper. My husband's Christmas gift to me was a new coffee machine so naturally I needed a new coffee bar. I tried to put one together with everything I had on hand, but I really needed just a few more things so I wasn't running all over the kitchen to make my coffee in the morning. I am not a morning person!

My husband bought me a Jura that grinds whole beans and makes my espresso, coffee or cappuccino at the touch of a button. I needed a small cup to froth my milk, a place to hide my sweet n'low, a sugar bowl for the people not on a diet (I know nothing about that!) and a place for my stirring spoons.


The Jura really is the star of the show. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this coffee tastes. I've made lattes, coffee, espresso and cappuccinos. The cappuccinos are definitely my favorite. I'm also hoping using 2% milk and a Sweet n' Low will be better than the 280 calories worth of creamer (I measure and die a little) I normally put in my coffee every morning. I realized the reason I was putting so much creamer in my coffee is because the coffee was subpar in my traditional drip coffee to say the least. Keurig was even worse! I can almost drink it black out of this machine. It wasn't me! It was the coffee! Next time you visit Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma try this coffee. They usually give free samples. I know it's expensive, but if you are a coffee connoisseur like me you will have an epiphany...or as Oprah says an aha moment. If you like the coffee buy it at Bed, Bath and Beyond. You can use your 20% off coupon!

I found the two tiered tray on clearance at Homegoods for $18! I can't believe it, but it wasn't even damaged. The coffee gods were smiling down on me that day. It's a very feminine look that I could easily change up if one of the four males in my house complains one day. I decided since it was hidden in a corner of the kitchen it wouldn't be such a big deal. Unsurprisingly, no one even noticed there was a change.

The blue and white pieces are from my china set. The sugar bowl and creamer cup that holds the gold spoons are from Anthropologie. The gold spoons were also a Homegoods find.

I didn't change too much in the rest of the kitchen, but I added fresh flowers and that made a world of difference.

I also added a marble and gold cutting board very similar to the two tiered coffee tray behind the stove. I felt there was a bit too much wood there.

My obligatory shot of Mario. He was not moving from the sofa when I was taking pictures. This is us having a stare down.

New Year, New Project: Home Office Inspiration

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. My favorite part of the holidays aren't the big celebrations, but the quiet evenings by the Christmas tree and fire. It's one of the reasons I still haven't taken down my tree yet. I just love when it lights up at 5 o'clock every evening. My husband said I should just buy a big ficus tree and put lights on it to enjoy all year. I really lol'd at that one! 

The bright side of the holidays being over is that I can focus on the projects I've been putting off the past couple of months, namely the home office. I started planning out the design this summer, but kept changing my mind. I have to admit it was all due to not wanting to spend a lot of money on a room that isn't regularly used or seen by visitors. My first thought was to hire someone to build built-in bookshelves. That's what all legit home offices need, right? 

My biggest inspiration came from a model home in my own neighborhood. When I saw this study I wanted to copy every detail (minus the furniture). The dark gray paneled walls, the bookcases and the sconces were exactly what I had in mind. I would have added filing drawers to the bottom of the bookshelves to be more functional. When I started dissecting the details on the actual cost that's when I realized the millwork was going to be very expensive. My husband and I can DIY the wainscoting, but not the bookshelves. That's when I decided to skip the non-functional shelves and just work on the wainscoting.

Huntington Custom Homes

I've found several examples of beautiful wainscoting. It has made my decision a bit harder. I could go with paneled walls all around the room. We would just paint the walls the same color as the trim so it would be faux. I thought about using wood floor to ceiling, but the cost of materials would be too expensive. I really don't want to redo the baseboards and the crown either.

Another option would be to wallpaper the room in grasscloth and use trim. It would avoid the faux wood look of the walls. The cost of the wallpaper and having to hire someone to hang it made me hesitate on this option. It also seems less like an study and more of a bedroom look. I decided to scrap this one, but I still want to show you the picture because it's so pretty. I may end up with his look in another room!

A third option is to partially panel the room. I could have wainscoting to the ceiling on the main wall behind the desk and then only on the bottom half on the other three walls. The top could be painted and maybe eventually wallpapered by myself. I think I might be able to handle small sections. I just love the shine of grasscloth, but I would also get the paneled study look with this option. I'm leaning towards this idea.

We decided to start hanging the moldings today! I just need to have my coffee and breakfast taco first. We're going with the last option, but we can always go back and add trim to the top of the last three walls if we decide that would look better. 

The next decision is the color of the trim, which will either be white or gray to go with the rest of the house. If we go with white wainscoting the other three walls with be painted gray or have gray wallpaper. If we go with gray wainscoting the walls will be a sand color like in the above photo. The first step is to get the moldings up. If everything goes correctly I'll post progress photos on my Instagram stories!

Merry Christmas!

Jennifer, Jason, Dylan, Ryan and Aidan

....and Mario

Bow Napkin Tutorial

Make your holiday table a little more special by folding your napkins into these adorable bows! 

1. Start by turning your napkin with the corner facing up. I obviously didn't iron these!

2. Fold it in half by bringing the bottom to the top.

3. Fold in small increments all the way up to the top.

4. It will end up in a long strip.

5. Fold the left third of the bow inwards. This will be one of the tails.

6. Fold an equal amount from the right side inwards.

7. Slide a napkin holder to the middle along the tail and the bow section.

8. Tweak the tail. I turned the right tail to the back in this picture.

It's so easy! It doesn't take long at all so if you have a full table of people I promise you won't be folding bows all night long.

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Last Minute Christmas Gifts

If you want to order gifts online and have them delivered before Christmas, it's time to get shopping! I've got ideas for her, him and the home. Here are some of my favorite items I've had my eye on for those last few people on your list.


For Her

I love to give luxury items for Christmas. These YSL lipsticks look as pretty in their packaging as they do on your lips! Gift sets are great because regardless of coloring there's at least one that will look perfect. The rest of them I use for mixing colors. The brown-toned lipstick is great for minimizing pink. I mix my lip colors almost every single day.

Black quilting is a classic! I love these Hunter rain boots, and this handbag is so similar to a certain Chanel one I've had my eye on forever. However, it's beautiful in it's own right. I tried nude one on in the store and was in love with the leather.

These YSL aviators are so hot right now! I love my Ray-Bans, but I really wish I had waited before I bought them since these came out. I can have two pair of aviators, right? Get these before they sell out!

I'm still the only person without one of these pop sockets. I've always wanted one, but just never got around to buying it. I love the pink and black color on this one. It would make a great stocking stuffer!

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For Him

I was on the hunt for cologne recently for my teen aged son. I fell in love with this Tom Ford Noir Extreme. The sales lady took me right over to it when I said I was looking for cologne. She knew what she was doing because out of everything I had smelled over the weekend it was by far my favorite. It was a little too old for my 15 year old, but it would be perfect for an older teen or adult.

Men just love Tumi. I don't get it, but they love it. Most of the luggage is very expensive, but this wallet is under $100.

All men need an electric razor. This Arc5 seems to be the hottest one right now.

The Amazon Echo! Get it for him, but also for you and everyone in the household. You can use it to ask the weather, turn on lights or music. The price point can't be beat either at around $30.

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For the Home

I've done my research on coffee makers recently. I've come up with a favorite. This Saeco is a super automatic (just push a button to grind and brew). What separates this one from other super automatics? It has an integrated milk frother. If you like lattes and cappuccinos, this one will add the perfect amount of milk for you. There's no wand to figure out. The best part is you can remove the milk container and save it in your fridge for the next day. It also makes regular coffee and espresso, which are my husband's favorites.

I am a sucker for anything monogrammed. I love these personalized cutting boards and coffee cups. This candle smells amazing and looks beautiful on any surface. My husband got a set of knives last year after complaining constantly that ours didn't cut well. I have to agree he was right now that I've experienced a really sharp knife.

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