Tufted Beauties

If you like eclectic home decor you have probably viewed the online Lonny magazine. If not, visit as soon as possible please. It is so inspiring. The current issue has a feature showcasing the work of designer Angie Hranowsky. She is amazing. Her story is also inspiring to me because she was not trained as an interior designer when she got her start. She decorated her own home and everyone who saw it thought she was a decorator for a living.  Metropolitan Home featured her house and soon she became one of the most sought-after decorators in South Carolina.

This photograph of Angie's work in this month's issue of Lonny reinforced my love of all sofas tufted. Seriously, I love!

Look at that beautifully layered room and that gorgeous sofa.

So I started my own hunt for my imaginary living room with my matching imaginary large budget. Tufted sofas seem to be hot right now as it appears most furniture design sites carry a line of the sofas.

Here is a beautifully unique deep sapphire leather sofa from Anthropologie. The price however might be beyond even what my imaginary budget allows but imagine what a statement it would make in a room. 

This lovely linen number is from Restoration Hardware. Swoon. So pretty. So at a loss of words.

Here is a pretty little settee from West Elm. West Elm really has been killing it design wise lately.Compared to the previous pieces this clean-lined settee is affordable. 

Great design is not out of reach for those who can not or chose not to spend thousands on a single piece of furniture. By now you probably know of my love of craigslist. What a great place to find vintage pieces that add so much visual interest to a room. Here is a lovely blue velvet tufted settee found today on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Craigslist. How beautiful is that. Maybe our next apartment should have two living rooms because I just finished decorating ours but I love this piece.

Enjoy your weekend and be inspired by the beauty around you.

Strawberries for Stella

Last night we went to visit our new niece Stella Joy at home for the first time. Luke has been obsessing over her since Wednesday when she was born. It has not been uncommon for me to hear, "I wonder what Stella is doing right now", or "can you believe how cute Stella is?". Well I wanted to bring a little something over and hadn't planned ahead enough to have grocery shopped for a meal. What did I decide to bring? Strawberry summer cake. The recipe is from one of my favorite food bloggers, Smitten Kitchen. Click on the link to get her recipe and admire her beautiful writing. It turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to make it again with whatever fruit looks the best at the farmers market this summer. It really is a great base recipe and SO easy to make. Take it from me, baking and I don't get along so great. Here is a picture of how my cake turned out.

Summer goodness.

This morning I went for a walk around Lake Calhoun with my mother-in-law. It is the place to be in the twin cities on the weekend and now I know that Monday mornings are hopping too. It was a good start to this hot and humid day we will be having. I came back hungry and craving something cool. Ever since last Sunday, I have been craving black bean and corn salsa. We had an impromptu dinner party for 12 or so friends and I think this dip was a bigger hit than the main dish. That was awesome but it meant no leftovers for me. Since I had all the ingredients on hand here goes:

Mix together a can of drained black beans, a can of drained corn, 1/4 of a finely diced red onion, and one diced red pepper.

Next mix together the tasty ingredients that give this salsa some flavor. Add the juice of one lime, a dash of sea salt, 1 Tbs red wine vinegar, 1 tsp of olive oil, and some cumin and chili powder. Sorry I didn't measure the amounts of the spices out. I just give it a healthy shake and measure it by taste.

Mix the deliciousness up. I chopped up a green onion and sprinkled it on top for a little extra color.

Serve the dip with tortilla chips. My family makes this into a salad by adding green peppers and cooked couscous. It is perfect for summer. 

Enjoy friends.