Country Meets the Beach

What do you do when you move from the city with a cute house decorated with antiques, quilts, and country decor and move to the beach?

I have spent years collecting things and creating my style. I can't just up and change everything to the "beach" look.

I stopped at an awesome store today called Kathleen's Kottage. They have an advertisement in our local paper that they have finger starfish for $1.00. That is a bargain and I wanted lots of them to do some decorating so I took a trip over there today. I am in love with her store!

I took this picture below just for The Nester. Look at all those windows, doors, and shutters, girl! I thought of you when I saw them and grabbed my camera and took this picture just for you. :0)

Anyway, back to the Country Meets the Beach... I have placed starfish around my home just to get a feel for it. I am going to somehow incorporate country with beach. I'll share more in future posts of how that is coming along.

I even broke down and bought this sign for the porch. I am going to change the ribbon to something different, maybe wire, but I had to get it because the arrow is pointing the right direction to the beach for us!

More posts soon of how I am "embracing the beach". By the way, I am still working on front porch ideas and keeping the ideas in my Sparkbook!

Be Inspired -Karol :0)

My Sparkbook

I have completed my Sparkbook! Did you make one? Were you inspired to make one anyway?

Before I tackle my front entryway/porch project I decided to make my Sparkbook so I could collect all my ideas and inspirations in it.

I purchased a nice sketch book in plain black. I really liked the black and white polka dot one that HOME Made Simple had, but I decided on a plain one that I could embellish myself. I also decided to use paper tabs instead of fabric swatches since I don't have any fabric here to use.

I opted for Martha Stewart's pretty paper tented place cards. They were perfect in size and they had a blank spot for the label. Because they are cardstock and folded, they make extra sturdy tabs.

I then added some scrapbook paper embellishments and "Karol's Sparkbook" as the title along with "2008". Just incase I decide to make one next year.

Be Inspired, make a Sparkbook! -Karol

Country Home

The new issue of Country Home is out. The cover is absolutely beautiful. It just makes me glad Spring is just around the corner.

Well, actually, I can't complain. Where I live it pretty much stays in the 50's & 60's during the winter, except for an occasional cold snap.

So, anyway, this issue has some very nice Valentines decorating and gift making ideas. There's a story on a quilt dealer and her quilt collection, a section on tools cooks love, a special section on the ultimate mudroom set up. I wish I actually had a mudroom.

Also, if you go to their website, they have some nice online bonus stuff you can check out that is not in their magazine issue.

If you like magazines for their inspiring pictures of rooms, this magazine is a must! It is one of my all-time favorite magazines.

Be Inspired! -Karol

Sparkbook!

Forget about the Pot Roast I was going to share about! I'll save that for some other time.

I just received my email update from HOME Made Simple. I just love this idea! It is more than a planner. It is a book of inspirations. I love it!

In drawing graphics, I have begun making an idea board in PSP. I will begin with colors "swatches" and maybe photographs of things I want to draw. This keeps me inspired as I am drawing.

HOME Made Simple has done just this with a journal. It is called a Sparkbook. Here's what they have to say about it:

There are so many things that we experience, read or hear about in our daily lives that “spark” inspiration. We make promises to ourselves to remember these little details but as we get busy it’s easy to move on and forget, even with the best of intentions. What if you had a useful planning tool as your designated place to store and organize all those “sparks” of inspiration?

Isn't that great?! Click on the picture or HERE to go to HOME Made Simple's site and read more about starting your Sparkbook. I am starting one this week!

Be Inspired! -Karol

Front Doors

I love front doors. I think the front door to a home is very important. It welcomes visitors before we open the door to ask them in.

I remember when my husband and I bought our home in Jacksonville. It was a light grey stucco home with white trim. The front door has an alcove and the door was painted a flat grey just a shade darker than the house. The first time my friend Janet came over she said, "you have to paint your front door red!" I loved her idea. I went to Lowe's and bought "Safety Red" high gloss paint and took off the plain silver door knob and lock, sanded the door and painted it bright red. I then changed out the door knob with a nicer brass handle and lock set. I had always wanted a door handle like that. It changed the whole look of our home.

It was the first thing I did to our home when we moved in. We met several neighbors because of our red door. Everyone loved it. Our neighbor Kent even painted his door red next. It really made a difference. It began my goal of making our home cozy and inviting. It was also the beginning of my love of red and having touches of it in our home. Red, to me, feels cozy and warm.

Now that I don't live there and I live in a totally different world, I am leaning more towards earth tones and pastels. More of the seaside/coastal colors. Clean, crisp, yet still warm and cozy.

Next week I am going to work on the front doors and entry/porch to our rental home here in Seagrove Beach. It's very plain. I don't want to do too much since this is not our home, but I want it to be inviting. Even if just for our family to feel welcome when we come home.

I'll share some before and after photos when I have it done.

I have been taking a lot of photos as I take bike rides in this beautiful area. I am fascinated with the front doors of homes. I'll share a few below that I have stopped to take a photo of. When I get enough collected I will create a flick'r slide show of them.

Tomorrow I will share about Pot Roast! Do you ever take the time to make a pot roast in your crock pot or oven? It is so easy, little mess to clean up, and it tastes so good.

Be Inspired! -Karol

Pizza

I made pizza for dinner tonight. It's just the kids and me and I wanted something easy. I always make my own pizzas. I never order out and I don't buy frozen pizzas (eeks).

I'm going to share some very easy ideas to make great homemade pizzas that your family will LOVE!

A lot of the time I make the crust. I use a simple recipe in one of my cookbooks. I don't have my cookbooks here at this house, so ....Click HERE for a great pizza crust recipe. Tonight I used pre-made crusts. They work great, too. You can even buy whole wheat pre-made crusts now, they taste great.

One pizza had the works (aka whatever I had available). First I added pizza sauce, around the edge of the crust I brushed on pesto sauce -this makes the crust taste so good! You can then sprinkle parmesan cheese on, it will stick to the pesto and make the crust even more tasty. Next I added cheddar and mozzarella cheese and then the toppings; pepperoni, bell pepper slices, onion slices, mushroom slices, black olives, bacon, and a little more cheese, then I topped it off with some Italian seasoning.

The second pizza I spread alfredo sauce on the crust, pesto around the edge of the crust, and canned spinach (drained), then topped it with mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning.

I baked them in the oven at 450 for approx. 15-20 minutes and they were ready.

Here's a couple of additional ideas:

• 
  When making your own crust, shape dough 1" larger than pan or baking stone. Unwrap mozzarella cheese sticks and place around inside edge and roll extra dough over crust and press down to seal cheese sticks inside dough for cheese stuffed crusts!
• 
  Substitute 1/2 of flour with whole wheat flour for a healthier crust.

Karol

New HGTV Dream Home Giveaway has started!

Do you have a dream home? Is there one you pass by that you imagine living in? Seen one in a magazine? I live in a beautiful place and there are "dream homes" everywhere. I find my new dream home every so often and I arrange them on my list of the top few.


Honestly I am content with where I am and the home that I live in, but it's nice to dream too.


Here's the first dream home I found here. It's in Blue Mountain Beach in a quaint woodsy community called Forest Lakes. I love the angles the architect created all over this home. I love the colors, the porches (there are three total), the tin roof, the gorgeous windows and the inside is incredible. The price? $1,300,000.00

Here's another in Water Color that is my favorite. It has gas lanterns on the porch and massive interior doors, a gourmet kitchen, wooden beams in the kitchen, it really is my favorite on the inside. Price? $1,750,000.00

Below is another beautiful beach home I took a picture of on my Saturday afternoon bike ride...





So, now that I've got you thinking of dream homes, head on over to www.hgtv.com and enter to win their beach home in the Florida Keys!

Good luck! -Karol