DIY: Fur Pom Pom Wreath

This season I’m into faux fur everything. Throw blankets, pillows, and today a DIY wreath! I made this fun and furry wreath with faux fur pom poms that I gathered from two different sources. I started decorating early in the studio to welcome my stepdaughter when she returns home from Spain after Thanksgiving. (She is living in this space until the end of the year).

 

 

This wreath was a fun afternoon project and I love the different colors present. It’s really cute up close, it makes you want to reach out at pet it :)

 

 

 

 

To recreate it, the main supply you’ll need to round up are the faux fur pom poms. I found the smaller packages of gray and dark brown pom poms at Michaels and the larger brown, white, and natural versions here. In addition to the pom poms, you’ll need a 16” foam wreath, hot glue gun, and ribbon (also from Michaels).

 

 

Once you’ve gathered your supplies, all you need to do is tie your ribbon onto the foam wreath form, then start hot gluing the pom poms on piece by piece in a random pattern. It takes about 30 minutes to complete.

 </

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can pick up this sweet little cup of cheer mug at Michaels, it was $5 on sale last weekend and it’s my new favorite. Once eggnog arrives in stores, I’ll be drinking my flavored coffee in it until Christmas :)

 

Weekend Reading

Greetings friends! So much is going on in my world right now, when it rains it pours! I’m working on not one but two kitchen remodels for a local non-profit, and a bathroom as well and there are so many details to consider! It took a few days but I finally have a design plan in place for all three spaces. I also have a few holiday projects in the works, I’ll share those in the weeks to come. Favorite links from the week below!

 

 This post showcases many great examples of round mirrors.

Love this bright and modern family home makeover.

Elevate the look of your cabinets with this toe-kick idea.

Nicely done! This $300 rental kitchen makeover.

How to make your last name plural on holiday cards.

Easy, cheap, and chic: DIY candle menus.

This caramel apple cream cheese spread looks yummy for Thanksgiving day snacking.

I’ve been wearing this faux leather + knit jacket all week. LOVE it!

Ten things people don’t talk about in business but should.

There is plenty of room on the island.

Isn’t this feline’s new living room the best?!

.

Our Table Cookbook Review & Giveaway

I’ve been following Renee Muller for years, and when word got out that she was coming out with a cookbook, I knew it would be something special. You see, Renee doesn’t see food like the rest of us. To her, a table is a canvas, and each dish is another way to paint a beautiful picture. Renee is a food stylist par excellence and her magazines spreads are jaw dropping. I knew the photography would be out of this world, but I was in for even more. In Our Table, Renee invites us to experience the joy of eating memorable meals together, something she cherishes from her upbringing in Lugano, Switzerland. Her recipes are homey, family friendly and diverse. She’s got a little something for everyone – part healthy, part indulgent, some easy and some more complicated. The Chapters span the basics from appetizers and soups/salads to fish/dairy, meat/chicken, snack/sides, breads/cakes/cookies and desserts.

Beautiful photography and a range of mouthwatering recipes wasn’t enough for Renee. So she created a guide with never-before-seen video tutorials of some of her most popular recipes. From “how to stuff cabbage” to “how to cut caramels”, “how to make gnocchi” to “how to braid challah”, these videos are not just visually stunning, they are informative too. (You can watch them here!) You’ll also find a Pesach guide in the book to help you easily adjust many of the recipes and make them holiday approved.

I’ve already tried Renee’s seared tuna cubes over the holidays to rave reviews, but I’m looking forward to trying the broccoli winter salad below, the gnocchi di casa, sugo della nonna (her grandmother’s Italian marinara sauce), Belgian birthday waffles, lattice minute roast, meat manicotti, honey walnut brittle, irresistible toffee, buttery chocolate scones, deconstructed lemon meringue pie (what an awesome idea!) and more!

Of course I can’t do a cookbook review without giving one lucky winner a chance to own this beauty, so…

To enter to a win a copy of Our Table by Renee Muller,

1. Comment on this post and share your most memorable meal or dish.
2. For an extra entry, follow Busy In Brooklyn via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Just be sure to leave a note in the comment letting me know where you follow.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents (for international entries, prize can only be shipped in the U.S.). Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on Monday, November 14th, 2016.

Broccoli Winter Salad with Creamy Onion Dressing
from Our Table by Renee Muller
Reproduced with permission from the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications

1 (14-ounce) bag fresh broccoli, larger florets cut into bite-size pieces
1 (4-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves OR any other lettuce
1 large grapefruit, supremed (see Note)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 avocado, cubed
¼ cup roasted, salted cashews

For the dressing
½ cup oil
½ small onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons honey
¼ cup vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
½ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, spinach, grapefruit, pomegranate seeds, avocado, and cashews.
Prepare the dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a jar. Blend with an immersion blender until creamy. Drizzle over salad right before serving.

NOTE: A supremed citrus fruit is one that supplies the flesh of the fruit only, no membranes, no pith, only perfect segments that will add a touch of elegance to your salad. It requires a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself doing it quite often. Start by trimming off the stem end of the fruit, including about 1/4-inch of flesh, using a small sharp knife. Repeat with other end. Arrange fruit to sit flat on a work surface. Following the contour of the fruit, slice away the peel and white pith from top to bottom. You want to make sure the flesh is visible and you are left with no white pith. Working over a bowl or sink, hold the fruit in one hand. With your other hand, cut alongside one membrane and then alongside the adjacent membrane, releasing the supreme. Carefully transfer segments to a bowl. Repeat until all supremes are removed. Now you will be able to taste the fruit only, with no bitterness whatsoever. I find that even my pickiest eater will enjoy an otherwise daunting grapefruit, if served this way. Try it.

Kaas Potjes (cheese pockets)
from Our Table by Renee Muller
Reproduced with permission from the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications

For the Dough
14 ounces (3½ sticks) butter OR margarine, softened
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the filling
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (not whipped), softened
5 Tablespoons (⅔ stick) butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, on medium speed, combine softened butter, eggs, and yolks; beat until butter is broken down a bit, about 2 minutes. Add sugar; continue to mix. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Mix until a nice, soft dough forms. (Dough might seem sticky, but that’s OK, once it’s chilled it will be more manageable.) Divide the dough into 3 parts. Place each part into a separate resealable plastic bag; refrigerate, preferably for a few hours or overnight.

Prepare the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine all filling ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare standard or mini muffin pans.

Using a box grater, grate one piece of well-chilled dough onto a plate. If the dough hasn’t chilled enough, place it into the freezer for a bit. Refrigerate grated dough until ready to use.
Remove remaining dough from the fridge. Working with one piece at a time, roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut rounds with a 3½-inch round cookie cutter or glass. Place rounds into a muffin tin, pushing down and pressing sides to cover all sides. Fill each with a heaping tablespoon of filling.

Place 1-2 tablespoons grated dough over each cheese pocket (be generous; this is what makes the pockets pretty), pressing down gently to attach them to the cheese filling.
Bake cheese pockets, 25-30 minutes, until golden. Let cool; dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Post a comment

Article Source: Our Table Cookbook Review & Giveaway

Holiday Cards from Minted (Giveaway)

Greetings everyone! Now that November is here, it’s not too early to get started on your to-do list for the holidays, especially the ones that take a little planning. Holiday cards fall into that category so now is the time to begin considering which one you’ll send this year.

Good news though, there’s a fabulous variety to choose from over at Minted this season. Minted has always been a go-to source for art for me, and for holiday cards too. I had some fun earlier this week trying out a family photo on cards with their “Find it Fast” option, you simply upload your photo(s) and can scroll through dozens of cards at a time with your photo automatically inserted into the templates, it made narrowing down the choice for my holiday card SO easy since I could check out several options all at once!

One thing I’ve always loved about Minted is how they offer so many styles of holiday cards from modern to classic, but always with a fresh approach. The reason their cards are so appealing is because they partner with many creative independent artists, so you’re sure to find one that’s perfect for expressing goodwill this season.

 

 

 

There are so many new unique holiday photo cards to choose from, some of my favorites are the foil pressed and letterpress cards.

 

 

You get free matching envelopes, and to save time you can add recipient and sender addressing. New this year are coordinating custom stamps and an address book service.

 

 

Keep in mind Minted also has an amazing selection of photo art, which makes it easy to give a meaningful snapshot as a gift to a family member or friend you’ve shared a special memory with this year.

 

 

Today Minted is giving away three $100 online shop credits, just in time for the holidays!

Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. USA and Canada only.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Note, you can shop for your holiday cards today and get 15% off with the code CHEER. Once you’ve ordered you can pat yourself on the back that you have one of the big things on your holiday list checked off early! (Discount code expires November 7th.)

BH Family Room | Progress and Our New Flooring

Hello! Today, I wanted to share a progress report on the BH Family Room and share the flooring we installed. We teamed up with Floor & Decor on our flooring and tile projects for this space. You can read about our store visit, our selections, and all the befores here.

So…

We have floors! We have floors!! Did I say WE HAVE FLOORS?!!

The biggest time-sucker of this project is now finished! Now we are flying!

Given the square footage of this project, installing the flooring was the most time-consuming of all the DIY jobs we are tackling. We got them done though and are thrilled with the results!

Here’s the space before the flooring…

And after…

Such a major improvement already, right?!!

Since we just spent some time and money waterproofing our basement before we started this project, we wanted piece of mind with our new flooring. After looking at options on our trip to Floor & Decor, we selected NuCore flooring. Many things about this choice appealed to us.

Why we chose NuCore flooring:

• 100% waterproof (perfect for basements, bathrooms, and kitchens)

• You can install it over almost any surface

• Has the warmth and feel of real wood

• Easy to install plank flooring with minimal tools required

When I say minimal tools required…I really mean it! Basically, we used a tape measure and a sharp blade and that is it!!

It took so long only because we had so many things to cut around. The straight runs went pretty fast. To make the cuts, we just had to score the planks with the blade and they snap to make a perfect cut. Other than that, the single planks just snap together. Pretty darn easy!

My only extra advice is to spring for some knee pads because your knees without them will be a-hurting!

Here’s some shots of the overalls and you can see what a huge difference having the floors down makes already.

As you can see, we still have a way to go. This week we taking down the old trim and wood work to prepare for the new walls and ceiling. D is also wiring up the new electrical.

Next week, the drywall installers are here and they will be giving us new walls and a ceiling. Big changes are happening and I can’t wait to update you again!

Our next project, once the electrical and walls are finished, is to give our fireplace a facelift…

Honestly, despite all that is left to do, the flooring is such a welcomed sight! I am so happy with our choice because it is so warm underfoot. The perfect choice for basement spaces.

That’s the progress fit to share so far on our #BHfamroom. I’ll be updating again soon once the walls, ceiling, and lighting is finished up.

I like showing you these in progress updates because I think it helps bring realism to what will be a very dramatic before and after. You get to see the process before the space is perfectly lit and styled.

Just like most of you, we are working on this space around our daytime jobs, our weeknight ritual of rushing around to ball games and getting homework done, and weekends full of places to be. Any progress is pretty beautiful to me.

Other than that, we are plugging away and will update you again soon on our #BHfamroom!

If you interested in the NuCore flooring we installed, I’d check out Floor & Decor for more finishes and a video on it.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Floor & Decor. The opinions and text are all mine.

Follow

FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST

Visit Kristin Cadwallader | B @ H’s profile on Pinterest.

Article Source: BH Family Room | Progress and Our New Flooring

Smaller Doses of Black in the Kitchen

The holidays are here! Now that Halloween has passed, the topics all around the blog world will be dominated by holiday themed ideas. Get ready! I’m feeling the Christmas spirit already and can’t wait for the decorating to begin. I was out of the country last November, traveling in New Zealand and Australia, which left little time for decorating and celebrating so I’m feeling the excitement early this year. I’ll be sharing DIY projects and ideas throughout the month in anticipation of the holiday season but before I jump in I wanted to share about a kitchen remodel I’m working on right now.

As I’ve done many times in the past, this year I’ve partnered again with a local non-profit called the Committee on the Shelterless to give a kitchen used for transitional housing a makeover. I’m rushing to get it ready for move in before 2017. I have a plan in place and I’ve lined up sponsors for the project and I’ll be sharing the makeover in December. It’s a kitchen with white cabinets that thankfully are in great shape but the rest of the kitchen is getting a fresh look. With white cabinets, I look for ways to keep a kitchen timeless and for this project I’m using black in small doses as an accent.

White kitchens are here to stay, and one way to give them a touch of classic black without painting cabinets or replacing tile is by introducing it in smaller doses.

Light Fixtures

You can’t go wrong with black or oil rubbed bronze lights, they add drama when suspended in a mostly white space.

 

rejuvenation

 

 kashaya co interiors

Black Pulls & Knobs

Instead of nickel or brass, opt for shiny black knobs or sleek black pulls to add that touch of black to an all white kitchen. (I love how Dino and Heidi did this in their kitchen too.)

 

rikki snyder photography

 

 

one small room

 

Black Faucets

Black looks striking with a white porcelain sink and it’s perfectly fine to pair a black faucet with a stainless sink too.

 

becki owens

 

love grows wild

Shelf Brackets

If you’ve removed upper cabinets to make your kitchen more airy and replaced them with open shelving, black support brackets also provide that touch of black in a mostly white kitchen (I love that b&w art used above too!)

 

stacey branford via houzz

 

better homes and gardens

Black Countertops

Honed black granite, soapstone, and quartz are all available in black and when installed as a countertop against a sea of white cabinets, they will introduce dramatic contrast to a kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The nice thing about a black/white/nickel or brass palette is the space will never go out of style and you can introduce any colors with your accessories (cookware, towels, flowers, etc.).

 

postcard from paris

 

better homes and gardens

I’m excited to reveal the kitchen for COTS next month, you can catch a glimpse of the “before” here.