Decorating Your Foyer

There are so many different ways to decorate your foyer.  Whether you have a grand entrance or a small one,  you can make it look beautiful and welcoming with a few simple ideas.  Here are a few ideasphotos for you to try out in your own home.

Make is simple by using furniture you may already have in your home, add a lamp, pictures, artwork, a rug, and change out or move accessories and objects you already own.  Have fun with it!

Enjoy your day!

Kim

Inexpensive Art

I subscribe to Houzz which is a website where you can find a ton of home interior pictures to use as ideas for your home.  This week they had a post on affordable art for your home, but really only gave you a sneak peak to some of the artists.  Here are a few of my favorites that I found on etsy.com. 

The first is by an artist named Hadley Hutton

The rest of these are by Canadian artist, Janet Hill.  Her art has a vintage feel to it to that I love.

 Have a great Wednesday!
Kim

Queen Elizabeth Cake

As some of you may know, I love to bake.  Most of what I bake is based on what I'm craving that day, or what I can use from my cupboards so that I don't have to run out to the grocery store to pick up ingredients. Well, this week I was craving a Queen Elizabeth Cake.  Not in honor of the Royal visit, but because it has dates in it and a yummy coconut topping.  It's super moist, easy, and just simply delicious.  There are a number of recipes out there on the net, but my aunt gave me this one, and I love it.

You can make this in a square 8X8 pan, or if you want to be a little fancier, make it in a pie plate and cut it in wedges when guests come over.  Hope you like it!

Ingredients

1 cup boiling water
1 cup chopped dates
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
 

Topping

5 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup coconut

Cake Method:

 
Chop dates in place in a bowl, sprinkle with the baking soda, and pour 1 cup of boiling water over top. Cool and stir occasionally.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined. Add the flour,salt,and baking powder and mix well. Gradually add in the date mixture and nuts. 

Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Check the cake at the 35 minute mark as you don’t want to over bake it. The cake will be dark brown. Remove from the oven and prepare your topping. Turn on the broiler in your oven.

Topping Method:

Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Pour over hot cake and broil for a minute or two until bubbly. Watch it closely, you don’t want to over cook this either.

Remove and let cool.

Have a great weekend!

Kim

Beautiful Garden Design

I stumbled upon Arne Maynard's Garden Design website and had to share some of the images.  Most of these gardens are in Britain as that is where he does most of his work. They are simply beautiful, romantic, and fairy-tale like.  Enjoy!

Have a great day!
Kim

Cottage Style Bedrooms

Ahh, finally summer has arrived, and thoughts of cottage life are swimming in my head.  Ok, so we don't have a cottage, but someday I hope we will.  In that cottage I would like a crisp, clean, cozy looking bedroom that when you walk in, you just can't wait to crawl into bed.  Maybe something like these bedrooms:

source

via House Beautiful

Sweet dreams! 

Kim