Category: At Home

Mexican Coffee

At least, that’s what I call it…

For a twist on your morning cup of mud, add a dash of cinnamon and the tiniest dash of chili powder to your grounds before brewing!

I do this in a regular drip Mr Coffee (this guy gets reserved for special occasions–that is, moments when we can actually sit around and monitor the stove), so you should be able to achieve it in whatever coffee maker you use. I always add milk to my coffee, so I hadn’t thought of it but… Doug said this isn’t his favorite flavor black. He prefers Mexican coffee with milk in it! Make yourself a latte and enjoy your summer morning!

No photos because it’s still brewing. Just got caught up in the moment and had to blog about it ;)

Hotel Style at Home

Well, as you learned yesterday (via La Route Libre… my neglected travel blog), over the weekend we stayed at the Moonrise Hotel in Saint Louis. While booking it (and snagging the stay two nights, get one night free deal) I was fully aware that this would probably be the nicest hotel I would ever stay in. Unless I land a sweet job that sends me around the world for work.

Due to its contemporary and modern nature, all the furnishings were extremely up-to-date (although they could have toned down the faux bois veneer on drawers, lobby features, etc). The bed was seriously the most comfortable thing I have ever slept on. We considered strapping it to the top of the truck and heading for the hills.

The room made me think more about ways to make my home more “hotelly.” You can see my ruminations below. 

  • I have got to get my paws on a settee like the one in photo one. Is that what it’s called? Or a chaise? Either way, sitting on it to watch TV made me feel very cosmopolitan, indeed :)
  • The art above were quirky “photobooth” -esque shots of old timey people posing on a giant moon. There were two more of these in our room and more everywhere in the hotel. I thought they were cute and quirky, lending a fun and different aspect on the “moon” theme.

  • The mirror would be “easy” to DIY (I put easy in quotations because the theory is easy but in practice might be harder). Just cut a piece of MDF into a cute exaggerated frame and attach it to an existing frame–unify by painting the whole thing one color.

  • Statement pieces like this lamp made me swoon. If only stuff like this was more affordable.
Have you taken any decorating ideas from hotels? Or written down a list of what not to do–like the Moonrise’s carpet, maybe? Ick! 

 

Finding your Sense of Design

Today it hit me right in the face. Pinterest is great for collecting cute pictures, funny sayings, etc. but I was revisiting some older pins on my boards and I noticed a few things. By looking at things I pinned a few months ago up through today, it’s fun and easy to get a grasp on an over-arching personal style.

For example, a theme I see running through my “personal environment” board is yellow, yellow, yellow. Even though I am tempted to jump on the shades-of-gray interior (paint) bandwagon, I seem to keep coming back to yellow, especially tones like my current living room. I don’t know how else to describe it other than that it’s calming and exciting at the same time. I’m also crazy about the pops of blue like you can glimpse in some pins below.

Below you can see some of my newer pins, in which yellow is clearly a recurring theme–my goal is for the next place we live in to have a cohesive color plan to be carried throughout the whole house/apartment. These two boards working together should give me a jumping-off place, and allow me to organize my thoughts on the subject before diving in, roller in hand.

Clearly, whenever we move I’m not going to buy all new stuff. But I feel like curating my style in this way helps me identify what I like so I don’t set out shopping without a plan, new possibilities to try out with my existing stuff, inspirations to DIY, and some statement-makers to save my pennies for (who knew curtains were so expensive?!).

  • Do you decorate with a plan or allow your room to evolve over time? I think I fell into the latter, but I’m trying to plan more these days. 
  • Requesting an invite from pinterest takes time, but if you want an account, comment here with your e-mail and I will send you one!!