Derby Day was always a big day when I was growing up in Darien, Ct. There would be a fancy party at the "club" where gorgeous hats floated above a sea of navy blue blazers.
Of course the drink du jour was the Mint Julep. If you couldn't be in the grandstands, may as well drink as if you were.
So this is how to make a Mint Julep.
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Sprigs of fresh mint
Crushed ice
Early Times Kentucky Whiskey
Silver julep cups
Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes.
Cool and place in a covered container with half a dozen sprigs of fresh mint, refrigerate overnight,
Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of whiskey.
Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup.
Garnish with a sprig or two of fresh mint.
During "the most exciting two minutes in sports" over 120,000 mint juleps will be sold at Churchill Downs.
Funny, how the Kentucky Derby would be a childhood memory, but it is. I do my part in keeping the tradition alive.
I can smell the mint, my mother's Chanel No. 5, and hear strains of My Old Kentucky Home......
HAPPY DERBY DAY!
Many of you are well aware that I am on a WHITE roll. After COLOR on my walls for many years, I am really enjoying the versatility of my White Dove front hall!
During the first hint of spring, I jazzed it up with some pops of color.
Then, just this morning, after days of rain (and more in the forecast) I warmed it up a bit.
Unexpected things ...... why not?
The basket can tote strays from upstairs back where they belong and the scarf just happened to be hanging over the banister. (i wear it all the time, thanks Amy!)
Yes, I have another pillow just like that on my living room sofa, and I know, having the same fabric in two rooms of your home is a decorating faux pas......but knowing me, neither will stay for long.
With White Dove and the fact that I have more pillows than T.J.'s, the possibilities are endless!
Can you believe that I haven't finished my living room yet? My cushionless sofa now has cushions but they haven't been upholstered, even though I've had the fabric for months, and have an upholsterer all lined up. Just put the cushions in the car Melinda and take them to Augusta Upholstery, once and for all!
I will, I promise. I just seem to be more interested in the garden and the porch, and ten other half finished projects, who can blame me?
Since it's raining and I'm playing inside today, thought I'd show you a glimpse of the living room in progress.
I painted the walls White Dove, found a great jute rug at Mardens
for $129.00 (9' by 12') and pillowed up my $419.00 down filled, oh so comfortable, sofa. (Remember the sofa was originally over $4,000.00.) Got that cute little blue ikat
pillow for $7.00 at T.J.'s (regularly $40.00) and my favorite, the fluffy, fluffy, white pillow at Big Lots for $10.00. The geometric pillow is one of four pillows that came with the sofa, so it didn't cost me a cent.
The zebra rug is from Fabulous furs, $74.99 (50% off it's original price) and was meant to be in the "little room," but was so lonely on the hardwood floor it befriended the jute in the living room. Oh, and that's the $75.00 beige linen chair from T.J. Maxx.
It's comfortable, and it's fun.
YOU CAN LIVE WELL,
WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK!
And I thought I had discovered something new.......guess not! I dare say I might just be one of the last to jump on the method Cleaning Products bandwagon ( I might just have to run behind it).
I picked up the method ALL-PURPOSE natural surface cleaner, and method DISH SOAP at Target this past weekend and have become a convert. I am thinking I paid $2.62 a bottle, that number keeps popping into my mind, but I could be wrong. There's a first time for everything.
Biodegradable, tough on stains, with non-toxic, plant-based powergreen technology, these babies work!
Decision time....method has five extremely well done fragrances, cucumber, clementine, lavender, pink grapefruit and ginger yuze. No lavender or ginger yuze for me. Lavender reminds me of sheets and what the heck is yuze, anyway??
A little spritz here, a little spritz there, by the time I selected cucumber the next shopper down the aisle might easily imagine herself sipping Champagne in Provence or a Seabreeze in Palm Beach.
Now, if they could only capture the scent of a very fine cab, I'd be right at home (and it would even match the little beets in my tiled backsplash)!!
BE GOOD TO YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORLD!
How many of you are on Pinterest? Geesh, it seems to be the newest form of computer addiction.
I like Pinterest a lot. It allows me to look for different designs and recipes, clothes, and just about anything else I so desire! It's like flipping through a magazine. Make a Board, Pin to it, and you have begun your adventure in electronic scrapbooking.
My boards are sparse, and few and far between, sort of just getting the hang of it. All in all, Pinterest is a great resource and loads of fun.
Because someone Pinned a multi-strand pearl necklace on their Style Board, I decided I needed one (mmmmm, this could be a problem with Pinterest). I immediately Repinned it and went looking for a similar necklace on the internet.(I love chunky necklaces, I think they are youthful, the chunkier the better as far as I'm concerned.) Don't even ask about the gold linked belt I wrapped three times around my neck one night.
I found just what I was looking for on Etsy. Pinterest, Etsy, no wonder I never get anything done around here!
Deciding I didn't really need the pearls, I didn't order them, but Pinned them to my Style Board.
Within minutes they were being Repinned again and again and again and again! Pinterest is a great way for Etsy Shops to strutt their stuff. These came from WOWTHATSBEAUTIFUL.
Unbeknownst to me, Douglas ordered them for my birthday, making me very, very happy! Because they were a present, I won't mention the price. Let's just say my husband got off pretty easy this year!
GO AHEAD,
TAKE A LOOK AT MY BOARDS
ON
Do you ever get tired of looking at the same old thing in the same old place? I do, quite frequently. Today it was the kitchen, it needed some sprucing up. The baker's rack was full of mail and glasses and keys and duct tape and who knows what, it needed some T.L.C.
I guarantee that the rectangular baking dish will be filled with mail in no time!
Next the original kitchen cabinet. When we bought the house 10 years ago, there were no cabinets as we know them.
Hobie sleeps in front of this and there are always dog cookies and empty orange dry cans and cabernet bottles on this lovely old piece, not today.
I just added this little table and lamp, great place to throw your keys as you come in the back door (don't want to be throwing those messy keys into a casserole dish on the baker's rack).
That's the back door, off the porch. The back staircase is right there and that's the dining room in the distance. The back little entry gets way to much use, just look at the floor. Time to call the refinishing man.
Won't Doug be surprised when he gets home and can't find his mail, his glasses, his cell phone charger and his coffee change? It's all in a basket in the bottom of the pantry, he can deal with it.
I was so happy with my refreshed kitchen I put a chicken in the oven (manager's special, $3.00 off). I never buy a whole chicken, we don't really like the dark meat but I know someone who does.......bark, bark!
A few little changes,
make the whole room seem new!
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