Thanks, Susan for hosting it. Be sure to visit Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch. If you click on the logo above, you can see entries from other Metamorphosis Monday participants.
My husband and I enjoy going away for romantic weekends at a B&B in Maine.Inspired by our visits there, I wanted to give our bedroom a similar romantic feel. The walls in our bedroom were in good shape. They were painted a deep sage green. To soften the color a bit, I applied a lighter glaze over the paint, giving it a marbled effect. A textured border was added to the top of the walls. I applied an umber glaze over it, in an effort to give it the appearance of carved ivory moulding.
One of the things I love about staying at our favorite B&B is the plush beds! For our bedroom, I found this plush Croscill bedding set, embroidered with roses and vines online at Home Decorating Company for 50% off retail.It came with two lush, quilted pillow shams, a comforter and a dust ruffle. I also bought the two matching accent pillows.
In the summer, I replace the bedspread with a lightweight, matelasse coverlet, and then I fold the bedspread at the foot of the bed, as pictured below.
Under the comforter, I fitted the mattress with a cushioned mattress pad and 400 thread count sateen sheets.
A coronet canopy hangs above our bed.I made it using a piece of jigsawed plywood as a mounting board. I found a set of inexpensive silk dupioni drapes and valance on and used Velcro to attach them to the mounting board. That way, they can easily be removed for cleaning.
I found our headboard a local secondhand shop. I wish I had remembered to take a "before" photo, as it didn't look like this originally. However, when I first saw it, I fell in love with its shape.I wanted to give it an antique feel, so I added a wood appliqué and gave it a coat of paint with an aged, crackle finish. Although we didn't have a fireplace in our bedroom, I just had to have one!The mantel is a true trash-to-treasure project. It was a local auction win for under $50.00.It used to be an ugly green with faux brick, but it had good bones. I refinished it by painting it and applying tile to the surround. I also applied inexpensive corbels and a wooden appliqué to the front.The Dimplex electric fireplace insert was also an find.It truly adds the ambience of a real fire,It turns on with the touch of a button and has a built-in heater.Best of all, there's no messy soot to clean up.
This chandelier was another steal at $25.00.I added some crystal roping and shades. I made the shades using embroidered vine fabric, beaded trim and ribbon rose appliqués I found on .
I wanted a dressing table, so I made one by covering a secondhand end table with fabric. I found this ornate mirror at HomeGoods to hang above it.
Our television is concealed in this French country armoire.I found the armoire at a local unfinished furniture store and gave it an aged finish. The Aubusson needlepoint rug was another find.
We really enjoy our master bedroom retreat. It is a restful place to get away from it all at the end of the day.
I have fond childhood memories of enjoying my grandmother’s homemade sweetbread. She would wake up at 5:00 AM to make it. Years ago, I decided to carry on my grandmother’s tradition of making sweetbread, although I must admit I don’t wake up quite that early to make it.
Unfortunately, my grandmother didn’t write down her sweetbread recipe. After experimenting with recipes over the years, this is the closest I have come to her recipe.
Ingredients:
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1 cup sugar
½ cup very warm water
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup milk
1 stick butter
4 eggs
7-7½ cups unbleached flour
Directions:
Sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into ½ cup of very warm water. Stir well until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for about 10 minutes to proof. It should double in size and be bubbly.
Heat the remaining sugar, salt, milk and butter in a saucepan, stirring occasionally until butter has melted. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool until its lukewarm.
Beat eggs in a small bowl until frothy. Remove 2 tbsp. of the egg mixture for brushing on the loaves before baking.
Using an electric mixer, add the beaten egg mixture and yeast mixture to the milk mixture. Add 3 cups of the flour until the batter is smooth.
Using a large spoon, add enough of the remaining flour (4-4 ½ cups) to the mixing bowl to make a soft dough.
Turn dough onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough should be soft.
Place the dough in a large buttered bowl. Turn the dough so that the butter is on both sides. Cover the bowl with a clean, dish towel dampened with hot water. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for 1-1 ½ hours until it doubles in size.
Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface; let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half and shape into two round loaves; place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove loaves from oven and brush with reserved beaten egg. Return loaves to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Cool loaves on a wire rack. Once the loaves have cooled they should be wrapped before storing.
When our son comes home during the holidays, we always have a sweetbread bake-off! When it’s baking, its delicious smell travels throughout the house! It tastes great toasted and spread with a little butter or margarine for breakfast.
Sweetbread also makes a great gift! Just wrap it and place it in a decorative basket.
This is my 1st time participating in Foodie Friday, hosted by Gollum. I have been enjoying Gollum's blog, http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com. I am a native New Englander, and nothing says summer quite to me like a shore dinner! It typically consists of boiled lobster, steamers, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes and onions, with clam broth and drawn butter for dipping. It is served with New England style clam chowder, or "chowda", as we say here in New England.
A shore dinner is easy to make and is delicious! It's much less expensive to make at home than it is to order it out at a restaurant.
Ingredients:
1-2 lb. lobsters (1 per person)
steamers (soft-shelled clams, approx. 1 lb. per person)
potatoes
1-2 large onions
1 bottle of beer
crushed red pepper flakes
corn-on-the-cob
1 fresh lemon
Directions:
Assemble the ingredients, along with two large stock pots. Add water to one pot, as well as half of the bottle of beer and sprinkle with crushed pepper. Cover and let it come to a boil. This will be the lobster pot.
Wash the potatoes, peel the onions, wash them, cut them in quarters and add both to the bottom of the first pot. Cover with water, the remaining half of the beer and sprinkle with crushed pepper. While this is cooking, husk and wash the corn and add to the top of the pot, once it has boiled for 5 minutes. After adding the corn, allow the pot to boil an additional five minutes. Rinse the clams really well using a metal colander until there is no sand draining from the colander. Place the colander directly on top of the corn in the pot and continue to boil until the clams are open.
Add the lobsters to the boiling pot of water, head first, and continue to let them boil until they are bright red in color. Drain everything in both pots, reserving some of the liquid from the clam pot for broth. Arrange all the food on on a large platter and garnish with lemon wedges. Fill cups with clam broth and drawn butter for dipping.
New England Style Clam Chowder
Ingredients:
3-4 lb. soft-shelled clams
3 slices turkey bacon sliced into 1/2-inch strips
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/8 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
In a large stockpot bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Thoroughly rinse the clams, add them to the pot, cover it , and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and stir the clams with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook 5 minutes longer until the clams are open.
Transfer the clams to a large bowl and strain the broth twice through a mesh strainer into another large bowl, in an effort to strain out all of the sand. When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and chop them into 1/4-inch pieces. Set the clams and broth aside.
Cook the turkey bacon in a large heavy pot over medium heat until crisp. Do not drain. Add the 4 tablespoons butter, onions, and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaves; cook on low for about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and reserved clam broth and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender,. Remove from the heat, stir in the clams and cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with oyster crackers.
How to Eat Lobster
Make sure you have lobster crackers or nutcrackers, cocktail forks, melted butter and plenty of napkins handy.
Twist off the claws. Crack each claw with a nutcracker and remove the meat.
Remove the tail flippers from the lobster and then separate the tailpiece from the body by arching itsback until it cracks open. Use a cocktail fork to remove the meat from the tailpiece.
The small claws are excellent for eating and may be sucked out like sipping through a straw.
Open the remaining part of the body by cracking it sideways. Use a cocktail fork to remove the meat.
Dip the lobster meat in the melted butter and enjoy!
We frequently visit Cape Cod during the summer, and a visit there was the inspiration for this shore wreath. It was simple and inexpensive to make.
I used a twig wreath as a base for my shore wreath. Yard sales are a great place to find them. I have found some that were decorated. I just carefully remove the decorations and give them a good cleaning before reusing them.
The shells were collected on a Cape Cod beach, so they were free. I wasn't able to find any starfish on the beach, so I bought a small bag of them at the Christmas Tree Shop for under $2.00.
Here's the directions for making this shore wreath:
Tools:
hot glue gun
scissors
Supplies:
dried white statice
silk stems with foliage
assorted shells
starfish
twig wreath
a piece of fishnet
Directions:
Plug in the hot glue gun to heat.
Remove the tags from the stems and twig wreath.
Cut the silk stems, arrange them to your liking, then glue them onto the wreath using the hot glue gun.
Cut the dried statice, arrange it to your liking and glue it onto the wreath using the hot glue gun.
Arrange the shells and starfish on the wreath, then glue them onto the wreath.
We recently had a party on our tropical deck. I wanted to serve a meal in keeping with the tropical theme. After comparing a few recipes I found online, I concocted my own version of Tropical Chicken Kabobs and Caribbean Rice. I received many compliments on this healthy meal, which, if I do say so myself, was delicious. I will definitely make it again. Here are the recipes:
Tropical Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients:
1/2 fresh lime
6 chicken breast halves
1 lg. green pepper Pepper
1 lg. red bell pepper
1 lg. yellow sweet pepper
1 papaya, peeled
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup Lawry's Hawaiian Marinade
1/2 cup Caribbean jerk marinade, any brand
Directions:
Cut chicken into cubes. Mix both marinades and the juice from 1/2 a lime in a bowl. Add chicken cubes and allow to marinate overnight.
Cut papaya, pineapples, and peppers into bite-sized pieces. Alternate chicken, pepper, papaya, and pineapple on 6 (12") skewers. Reserve marinade from chicken.
Brush filled skewers with remaining marinade.
Coat grill rack with cooking oil spray. Cook skewers on a medium-hot grill for 15-20 minutes or till done, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade.
Caribbean Rice
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup onion, minced
3 cups Jasmine rice
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 firm ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan and add coconut. Cook, stirring constantly until very lightly browned
Add minced onion. Continue cooking and stirring 1 minute longer.
Add rice, stir to coat.
Add broth and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat to low.
Simmer 25 to 30 minutes until rice is tender.
While rice is cooking, in a separate saucepan, combine orange juice, ginger and corn starch. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens.
Remove rice from heat; stir in orange sauce, mango, and pineapple chunks.
I was tired of the look of our deck. We've had it the same way for a couple of years, and I wanted to give it a fun, new style. My inspiration came while visiting Florida last March. My family and I had the pleasure of dining at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurant in Orlando. We loved the fun, tropical décor in the restaurant and felt it would be the perfect theme for our deck.
Before beginning the deck redo, I thought about how our deck functions. It is used for entertaining, relaxing, cooking and eating. I am pleased with the functionality of the current furniture layout. However, I wished it was a little more private, after a new home was built on the vacant lot diagonally behind our house. I found some wonderful bamboo fencing on to use to enclose the deck. Not only does this solve our privacy problem, it is the perfect backdrop for our tropical island retreat.
Also, because the deck faces south, it gets quite a bit of sun. As a result, it typically needs restaining it every 2 -3 years. I was hoping to find a solution to minimize the frequency of this. I was able to affordably order an outdoor rug made to fit the size of the deck. It is constructed of a material similar to astroturf, so it's very durable and can withstand the elements. It is also low maintenance; it can be easily cleaned with a garden hose. I chose a wheat color to resemble beach sand.
Our patio furniture, which was purchased two seasons ago, is still in great shape. It just needed some cleaning and a coat of teak oil. I also removed the lightweight canvas umbrella cover and ran it through the washing machine with some Simple Green all purpose cleaner. The chaise and chair cushions also needed some attention. The fabric was somewhat moldy, so I removed it, exposing the foam cushion inserts. I washed the inserts by hand in a solution of Simple Green cleaner and water and let them air dry in the sun. I found some fabulous tropical outdoor fabric on to use to recover the cushions.
The clear patio lights from last year are still in good working condition, so I was able to reuse them. After my husband and I attached the bamboo fence to the deck railing with a staple gun, I installed the patio lights along the top of the fence all the way around the deck.Two battery-operated paper lanterns were attached to the inside of the umbrella, along with a shell mobile that we used last year.
With the background materials, furniture and lighting in place, it was time to accessorize. I found some fun tropical signs on and several large starfish at the Christmas Tree Shop. A metal parrot was found at iparty. I attached the signs, parrot and starfish to the bamboo fence with some jute twine.
A yucca tree is the perfect tropical greenery to soften the space. I repurposed a weathered, bamboo placemat, wrapping it around the pot and securing it with jute twine. A second bamboo placement was used to top the tray table. Both support the tropical island feel.
We are enjoying our tropical deck. It's wonderfully relaxing, functions well and creates such a fun atmosphere for entertaining! We recently hosted a couple of parties on our new deck and received many compliments regarding the tropical island décor. We joke about it being more like Margaritaville meets Gilligan's Island!
If you're in the area, come on over for a glass of lemonade!
1/2 cup flour
