little red fox

before and after: stylish dining (set)

Hello and happy pretend winter! It's so wonderful I'm almost afraid to talk about it in case it isn't real--but its been spring-like so far this winter. I believe in magic and unicorns now. This totally reminds me of the ultra-mild New Orleans winters and it's blissing me out. I know it probably means the world is ending but is it bad if I still like it?

On with the show...If you're a reader of this blog then you probably know that I love entertaining. I love planning the menu, I love a thematic cocktail, I love cooking and all kitchen doo-dads and accessories, I love setting the table and dishes and linens and silverware and glasses and mixing and matching all the goodies involved. So when we moved to our new house in September in the Hudson Valley, the very first room I focused on--of my absolutely epic To-Do list for allll my Re-Do projects--was the dining room. I think most people would probably start with a bedroom or a living room and that would make much more sense. But subconsciously I think I felt that if I could have a dinner party--just knowing it was a possibility however unfinished the house was--it would start to feel like a home for me. 

I think I've also mentioned that we were doing this on a Budget Among Budgets. As in, the ideal price was $0. And while I did score a bunch of free stuff on Craigslist and other sources (which you'll be seeing soon), this set was not quite free. But it was close! We got the 8-foot table (including the leaf), a buffet and 6 chairs for $100. We had to drive to the Poconos but let's just label that an adventure and call it a day. One does what one must :)  

Hideous. It's not completely clear from the picture but unlike the table top (because why would you ever want to match the table top to the bottom of the table?), the legs are a light yellow/cream with green edging. (Those are the terrifying chairs in the background, btw.) 

And the buffet. All I knew was it had potential, and it was within our budget. The only two things I could afford to care about!  

C'est voila!

Holes refilled, both pieces completely sanded, both pieces painted 2-3 coats and both pieces polyurethaned (3 coats), hardware replaced, and many days later--our new dining room. 

Both pieces were painted in Benjamin Moore's "Soot." I have to admit, I wasn't expecting the navy aspects of this color. Though I love it--I did expect more of an off-black or charcoal color. I love the calm, moodiness of it. Especially with the light art on the walls and the colorful glassware popping off the darker surface... 

Strangely enough (or perhaps not), the look I have been into is what I'm calling "Victorian Gothic Natural History Museum Vintage Glam." Ahem :) I know, I know, it's a little on the nose...but you can't be anywhere other than where you're at! And here's where I'm at!

Most everything you see was thrifted, or found at an estate sale. Terrarium made by me (whole post to come on those later)...

...vintage juice glasses (which we use for wine) given to me by my parents, cocktail glasses found at a thrift store...

...and a mix of wedding gifts and thrift store finds. 

I started to paint the chairs from the set the same color and reupholster them but not only were they incredibly hard to cover, I could't find any fabric that I liked that was affordable. I still have an idea of what I'd like and one day might get back around to doing them, but for now, we have 4 different mismatched wooden chairs which I quite like, and two incredible cast iron chairs scored for free from a movie set! 

I love these guys. I'd love them if I paid for them! I love them at either end of the dining table but they'll probably one day be replaced by some high back upholstered chairs. Either way they'll always be somewhere in my house. 

 

The lantern (below) is a work in progress as well. I saw a fancy, high-end version on Apartment Therapy and have been slooowly aquiring vintage crocheted doilies to make my version. I deeply, deeply hate track lighting so my plan is to distract your eye away from it somehow (and maybe one day replace it). I'm thinking this lantern isn't quite right for this space but it'll probably work somewhere else in the house once I'm done...

The "bar" as it were is a shelf that we found on the sidewalk in Brooklyn and painted, then added some hardware to hold glasses upside down (what are those called??). The fur box holds table linens. I'm on the lookout for something fun to go on top of it...any ideas welcome!

 

And the centerpiece(s)...

...are constantly evolving and changing but for now its thrifted lace pieces, thrifted mixed glass candlesticks, an amethyst cluster, lotus root flowers in a vintage ball jar, and antlers. The beautiful silver branch candlesticks were a wedding gift--one of my very favorites... 

I'd love to one day get a rug for underneath the table but until then--we've had numerous dinners with friends here and it all works beautifully. It gives me such a crazy-good feeling because we re-used and recycled and worked within our limitations, we saved a bunch of money and though it was hard work--multiple coats of both paint and polyurethane isn't as easy as I had hoped!--I absolutely love that feeling of looking at something and knowing I did it, I'm the only one who will have it just like this, and it's personalized in a way nothing mass-produced from a store could ever be. 

That said I am so sick of painting/gluing/stapling things the thought makes me want to start crying. 

Coming up: a successful re-upholstery project! (...Of which there sadly weren't many...live and learn!) Also: pickling! And art! 

 

first things first

The happiest of all happy New Years to You! I hope you had a fun one. I love New Years--perhaps I just have a reasonably low bar for what I expect but I enjoy the turning of one year into another and marking it with yelling and champagne and kisses. Seems right to me. So we had a great one. Small, but fun and great. Perfection. 

And now we are on a cleanse! 21 days long. Perhaps you've heard of it? (We are doing the book version, not the purchased supplement version FYI.) Today: Day 5. Baby steps :)

Being a food-lover, and someone who loves to cook, this one is perfect for me. There are some seriously delicious recipes which I will be sharing with you soon. It's not far from how we normally eat, actually. We're fairly health-minded over here but we also tend to be a bit indulgent, allowing ourselves to eat and drink whatever we wanted, especially the last few months. So its good to hit the restart button every now and then. 

As a thumbnail, we've eliminated all chemicals (ideally), all processed foods, all dairy, all caffeine, all sugar (gasp), all alcohol (sadface). We're still eating some delicious and super nutritious food--including some organic chicken, and lamb and cold-water wild fish (the specifics are kind of exhausting)--so I've yet to be hungry. The only hard part is the emotional one. As in, I want to punch someone for some chocolate. I would have thought wine would have been my weakness but it is, indeed, The Sugar. 

So this is my solution: Hot & Clean Carob & Chocolate Drink and Chocolate Almond Date Balls! (I laughed as I typed that, by the way). It's actually pretty great and I won't go to jail for hitting anybody. 

The recipe for the snack balls (I just keep thinking about that SNL skit) you can find here in that quick little video. I added figs and agave and coconut oil, but otherwise the same. They're delicious and terribly good for your organs and your skin and your brain and your energy levels. 

And! So is the Hot & Clean Drink! I used ground cacao nibs (look for it in health food stores or online like here) which have loads of anti-oxidants (more than blueberries even!), some protein, and most importantly: magnesium. Our bodies don't make it so we have to get it from food and it helps with basically everything including nerve and muscle function but also helps that good mood part of your brain, helps with PMS symptoms (!!), also cholesterol and appetite control, just to name a few. These tiny little cacao nibs are one of the best and most assimilable sources of magnesium around. They are magical little things. 

Here's the ingredients I used:

And here's the recipe:

HOT & CLEAN CAROB AND CHOCOLATE DRINK

mugful of coconut and/or almond milk (I used both)
1 heaping TBS of carob powder
2-3 tsp of raw cacao nib powder
1-2 tsp of agave
dash of pure vanilla extract

• Everything goes in a small pot. Whisk, whisk, whisk til its all combined and warm, almost hot (not boiling). Enjoy your super powers. 

 

Now.

We have lots to catch up on, you and I! While the house is still very much a work-in-progress, some things have finally come together. I was trying to figure out which room to start with but I figured I should start with the rooms I actually started with. Tomorrow I'll begin with the dining room before-and-afters. For now, here's some images of some of my favorite nooks and crannies so far... :)

The Solarium and view of the back yard. 

Antique tea set and the Very Nervous Bird in my work space.

Corner of the buffet, dining room. 

Antique dentistry tools & amethyst in pottery bowl given to me by my mother in law. Vintage Indian side table found at a garage sale. 

Old painting, bird statue on mantle. 

Little wooden dolls "The Newlyweds" made by me.  

Couch and cushions. Middle one (sequins) made by me. 

 

And much more to come, starting tomorrow. But I'd love to leave you with this (and if you follow me on twitter you may have already seen it)--the view from one of our dining room windows just a little bit ago...

Can't even take it. 

Back tomorrow and hope you like navy :)

 

oh how time flies when you're movingandpaintingandupholsteringanddecoratingandlearningandentertainingand...

 

Oh, kids. It has been maybe my longest break heretofore (love that word). I apologize for the lack of explanation. It makes me seem flakier than I would like, I admit.

But. Unlike our slightly overweight kitty Earl whom you see above (a.k.a. Pork Chop, a.k.a. Bubba, a.k.a. The Boiled Ham) I have not been lazing about while a ray of sun hits my belly. In fact--here's a little breakdown of just why I've been so busy:

• We moved! We are still in the country but muchmuchmuch closer to the city--kinda perfect. And I've been focused on filling an entire three bedroom house allllll via thrift stores and second-hand sources (a la Craigslist), thank you very much! 
• And due to not only budget constraints--but also in the spirit of re-use and recycling--I've been teaching myself how to reupholster the second-hand furniture I've acquired. And wow is it hard. I didn't know it would be quite as hard as it. But because of sites like Design*Sponge and Apartment Therapy and the oodles and oodles of inspiration they provide--I've taken tons of ideas and run with them to make my home as pretty as it is in my head and for so much less money than it would have been. Well...tis a work in progress. Much more--sooooo much more to come on this front, by the way. Including lots and lots of 'befores and afters.' Lots of pics! We're talking an entire house via elbow grease and ingenuity, creativity and desperation, people. No small task! 
• I've finally gotten a work space set up in the new house, so I hope to get my Etsy shops up and running here shortly. While I've loved making things for my home, I've missed thinking in terms of Little Red Fox and goodies that go out into the world. No woman is an island. At least not all the time.

But. Clearly our cats are happy so that's one very important accomplishment. I've really appreciated the notes and well-wishes and inquiries into my absence, too, by the way. My apologies for waiting so long to explain. But really looking forward to reconnecting and all that good stuff :)

girl crush: edith holden

 

During one of my last trips to Virginia, I came across my mother-in-law's stash of books related to gardening. She was a landscaper for a time, and more importantly, was president of the Garden Club of Virginia for many years. A few of the books looked really interesting and beautiful, but this one in particular caught my eye. As you can see, it's called 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' and it...its just remarkable, is what it is. Aside from the description on the book flap, nothing--not a word--has been changed. 

On January 1st, 1906, Edith Holden started a journal to carefully record the countryside of Olton, Warwickshire throughout the year... 

Every word was carefully written by hand, and every single picture she painted into the book herself. This was a woman who loved nature...

...and also had the sensitivity of an artist...

I looked up the entry for this time of the year: for August 17th (close enough) she went cycling to Aberfoil. "Very bright, clear day, with wonderfully fine distant views. On the high ridge of hills between Aberfoil and the Trossachs I found the bright scarlet berries of the Bear-berry growing among the heather, and sundew in flower. Found some Gentian beside Loch Vennachar."

 

I can only guess how much time she spent on this and how much this object must have meant to her...and yet she never showed it to anyone. It was found 70 years later in an English country house. Isn't that both sad and amazing? I can't help but think at a time like that--when women weren't expected to work or have careers but keep a home and tend to the needs of others, she quietly and privately poured her heart into something she loved--and was quite good at--and never thought it important or interesting enough to show anyone. Ever.

And yet--over 100 years later a woman who was president of a garden club would be given the gift of her book and then years later her daughter-in-law would find it and obsess over it and stare at it and be filled with such admiration for her talent, and attention to detail and devotion to a project and be so moved by what seems like such a sweet shyness and feel so compelled to write about her on this thing called 'a blog' which happens on a 'computer'...wouldn't she be tickled to know? :)

 

 

More about her here. 

 

this chicken was a long time coming

  

 

As I mentioned last post--no camera. Sad face. So until we replace it, pics here will be done with my trusty *new* iPhone. Patience, please. I'm hoping Santa will bring me a fancy new camera this year...but I'm thinking these look pretty good for a camera phone, no? 

So this summer--Mr. Wood had been gone for 10 weeks all told and me and the kitty boys missed him terribly. But as of just the other night, all have been reunited! We finally arrived back home here together, and it was such a relief. One big, happy, 3/4 furry family! (Mr. Wood is half Italian :)

What you see here was our (quickly thrown together) celebratory dinner. During which Mr. Wood announced to me that it was a new staple. And indeed, it was an easy thing to throw together: relatively healthy and super-duper yummy. There's a crunch from the flour-dredged, sauteed chicken, and the peppery, grassy pile of arugula on top is dressed with a bright and tangy lemon-dijon dressing that soaks the chicken underneath. Wonderful. And took about 15 minutes beginning to end. 

What is it, you ask? Well, I don't know exactly. It's a combination of two different recipes: one is based on a fried version of this I used to get at the french bistro around the corner from our apartment in Brooklyn, combined with this one from Ina. So it's essentially a healthier version of a combination of the two. Make sense? 

Let's call it "Bright and Healthy Lemon Dijon Chicken"

Here's what you do: 

 

BRIGHT AND HEALTHY LEMON DIJON CHICKEN
(serves 2, with extra dressing left over)

Chicken:
two boneless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/4" thickness*
2 cups (or 2 handfuls) fresh arugula
1/4 cup spelt flour (regular white flour can be substituted if necessary)
1/4 cup almond or pecan flour* 
3-4 TBS olive oil for sauteeing 
3/4 TBS garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne (or less, to taste)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Lemon Dijon Dressing:
juice of two lemons
2 tsp dijon
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil 

1. Pound the chicken: place the chicken breasts in a large ziploc bag one at a time and, using a meat tenderizer or a mallet or hammer, pound the chicken until they are a uniform thickness, around 1/4". Doing this not only tenderizes them, but also means they require much less cooking time, making this a quick meal!

2. Make the dressing: in a bowl, mix the lemon juice and dijon together. Then in a very slow stream, whisk the olive oil into the lemon mixture. This will emulsify the oil into the dressing so that they don't separate. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Make the flour mixture and cook the chicken: we used a pyrex baking dish, so using something comparable shape-wise, mix the flours and spices together with a fork until blended well. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. As the oil heats up, dredge the chicken through the flour mixture on both sides. Once the skillet is hot, pop the chicken in and cook, about 3 minutes each side, or until golden brown, turning and rearranging if necessary. 

4. Arrange the plates: on each plate, layer a chicken breast, a cup (or handful) of arugula, then drizzle as much of the dressing over the top as desired. Commece face-burial. 

 

Plus! A side dish of fresh garden tomatoes and basil, drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper! So wonderful to have Mr. Wood home...

 
 

 

 

back from the dead!

Hello, friends!

A more responsible blogger would have written an explanatory note before the hiatus but...ahem. By way of an apology, I am offering up one of the most exciting, gorgeous images I've seen in forever. (Thank you to Ernestine for pointing me to it here!)

By way of an explanation, I will just say my multiple trips down South to Virginia to visit Mr. Wood, then back here, then back down to Nashville to see my sister, then back to Virginia, then...you get the picture. Or maybe you don't--because somewhere in there I lost my camera AND my iPhone stopped taking pictures. And so now you get the picture. I miss my camera. It was old, but I knew it and it worked. 

So that's my story. I was very touched by the sweet emails and messages I got from some of you inquiring into my well-being. I'm alive and well! Very well, in fact. As per ususal, I'm amidst another reevaluation of priorities and goals and who am I and what do I want...all that good stuff that makes you more who you are and ever-so-slightly more clear-eyed. I'm excited to share some of it--some of it is art-related, some shifting in my creative aesthetic, some related to our location...lots of changes in store! And I love me some change! And I very much look forward to hearing more from you. 

On a more pedestrian note: I have a great french-bistro-based chicken recipe we kinda made up the other night--delicious. That'll be here tomorrow :)

As always, thank you for checking in and reading...

lemon quinoa

This tart and savory dish is one of those things we eat a few times a month around here. I really, really love it. It was inspired by one of my favorite recipes of my mom's which is a lemon fettucini. The fettucini is equally delicious as a side dish or an entree, and the same is true with the quinoa version. I made a few changes when coming up with my quinoa interpretation--for example, the fettucini has parmesan and we just found it wasn't as necessary with the quinoa. But of course you could always add it in if you wanted.

LEMON QUINOA
(serves 4 as a side dish)

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth or water
3-4 scallions, chopped
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan, combine the quinoa and either the broth or the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, uncovered about 10 minutes until the quinoa is cooked. You'll know it's done when the grain is more transparent, and the outside sort of "spirals" out from the germ.

2. Meanwhile, in a mixing (or the serving) bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest. Add the cooked quinoa, and stir in the rest of the ingredients, salting and peppering to taste. Can be served warm or at room temperature (or eaten cold out of the fridge).

Also:

• This dish is so versatile and can handle all kinds of additions: toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds; chopped asparagus or snow peas; chick peas or shredded chicken; or over spinach or arugula. 
• The first time I made it was as a side dish with some grilled chicken and it was a wonderful combination. 
• Keeps great and makes a fab lunch the day after. 
• Its actually a protein--more info here--but also very fiber-rich and relatively low in calories. Definitely one of the super foods!

 

  

a delectable shrimp & scallion stirfry

 

The delicious fruits of our labor have begun to come in! You can't see me but I'm squealing and jumping up and down and clapping!  This is the first meal made using the veggies from our garden. I just can't get over that it actually works! That you plant seeds and in a minute, real things like radishes and snow peas and celery start to really happen. Mind-blowing. And of course, it tastes worlds away from what you get at the grocery store. 

I saw this recipe a few months back and have thought about it a bunch since then. Finally, with these sweet little scallions ready to go, the timing was perfect--and it was utterly. Scrumptious. I know I say this every time but it is going to be my new go-to when I wonder what to cook for dinner. Light, so satisfying, healthy and would make great leftovers (which is why next time I'm going to quadruple the batch). It also cooked up super-fast, so it's a good idea to get everything chopped and ready to go. It took about 5 minutes, all told so you have to love that. 

I made a few changes to Martha's recipe:

• I added some chopped asparagus since there were a few left in the garden. It was a good move. Not necessary, but delish. 
• I doubled the garlic. Can't get enough. 
• I added 1-2 TBS of soy sauce at the end and I kinda think that made it. 

This summer has been a busy one for me so far--thus my absences from 'round these parts. Mr. Wood has started training for a new job that is keeping him in Virginia for a couple of months, so I'm here for kitty and garden duties, as well as auditions, and making frequent trips down south to be with him. Lots of comings and goings but I'm taking all my (hand) sewing and art projects on the train trips, and working on all my re-imaginings of thrifted goodies. A few of which I'm pretty excited about! 

But tomorrow: a recipe for what is truly a staple around here--Lemon Quinoa. It's one of my favorite things in the world. And soooooo good for you...so see you then! 

 

little red sailor

 

The Project: 

Well this one started out as a casual, everyday jacket, and I guess it still is, but with a 30s-sailor-blouse-vibe. Just the usual :)

The Process:

This is another made from a thrifted garment. In a thrift store, my eyes are always peeled for anything red. It's hard to pick my favorite color, but it is certainly one of my favorite colors and it is also certainly part of this seasonal color scheme :)

So I spied this dress (that of course I forgot to photograph beforehand but looked a little something like this):

 

It's hard to draw, but the bottom 12" is a matching red chiffon, which I hoped I could use to my advantage.

I thought a good starting point would be this pattern:

 

The one on the far right,"E" specifically. The dress was a lighter rayon, so I was just hoping the drapey effect would work with this pattern since I didn't want to deal with making a lining. 

I cut out the front and back pieces first and then used the chiffon part to make the ends of the sleeves.

Aaaaand the remainder of the chiffon seemed perfectly sized to make a little impromptu sailor collar! 

Aaaaand then--the remaining fabric became the little ties/plackets/sashes in the front for the buttons! Vintage buttons, found here in NYC...

Well-used and well-loved that shapeless, thrifted, red dress :) 

 

 

a polka dot story, pt. 2

A few months back during one of my thrifting trips, I purchased 3 different pieces of clothing that were all black with ivory polka dots. One was the pair of pants made into the shorts I showed you yesterday, and in addition to the pants I also picked up 2 dresses in similar fabrics. Of course I neglected to get pictures of the dresses before I cut them up, but basically they were rayon dresses from the 80s and looked something like this: 

 

 

 

The Project(s):

A long skirt with a contrasting waistband; a bathing suit strap; a hat; a top; aaaand a 'necklace'... 

The Process: 

1) The Skirt

I detached the top from the bottom of the second dress and knew immediately I wanted to keep it a long skirt. I used this pattern (another one from the 80s!) for the hip area, the pleats, waistband and closure (the one on the far right, specifically):

 

The pattern pictures are almost the best part. You gotta give me credit for the vision :) I've used it before (which I'll show you at a later date) and I was really happy with the fit. I didn't have enough of the original fabric from the dress, but as it often happens--necessity being the mother of invention, etc--having to find another fabric ended up kind of making it for me. I cut up a section of the first dress (which had been sewn in panels), used some interfacing, a button I had on hand and a waistband was made for a very basic maxi-skirt!

 

Which brings me to the next project out of that first dress...

2) The Bathing Suit Strap

But to show this one, I have to start with this first...

The Inspiration:

Have you seen the swimsuits at Anthropologie?? They're a little bit heartbreaking. Especially this one which I'd wear as a top basically every day. And I can only imagine what they look like in person. I had to get a new bathing suit for our upcoming vacation (and wanted a one-piece for the first time in my life!) but also knew I couldn't afford $200. Once again, I had to get creative. Luckily, I found this one at Target.com. It was similar enough...and for the price, it kinda had to be right.

When it arrived, there were two problems. One--it was black and white. I don't like black and white. I like black and ivory. It might seem small but to me--literally night and day. 

The other problem was the strap which you can kinda see on the third little tiny picture. The line was flattering, but it being so thin was too different from what I originally wanted. 

So. I took the suit and soaked it in a tea bath (which I learned from my days of working in the costume shop in college). A tea bath is basically what it sounds like--a giant pot of tea in which the garment soaks and becomes "antiqued" in color. I think I used 8 or 9 tea bags in a stock pot half-full of boiling water for this one. 

And the belt from that second thrifted 80s dress? ...is now the proper strap for the suit :)

I think they look pretty similar now, don't you? 

3) The Top

When I originally detached the top from the bottom of the second dress, I wanted to keep the top. And I was really happy with the fit BUT even though I am quite short-waisted, the top was still super short. I toyed with the idea of adding a band of some sort to the bottom to lengthen it an inch or two, but I realized that if I created darts and kind of curved the bottom in a bit, that would help. So that's what I did and it worked. Two darts at the bottom of the bust, and slight taking in at the side seams. Still short--but I like it! 

And I love that it goes with everything! (In my particular summer wardrobe, anyway :)

And my brilliant strategy--where I show you all my wardrobe items separately (as I've been doing) and then BAM! show you the 8 million various ways they all go together...is coming very soon. Very few things excite me more than a well-edited, thoughtful, efficiently designed seasonal wardrobe, (including shoes and accessories). It is my goal every year, twice a year. Don't always get there, but I think I did this year. (!!!!!) It literally makes my heart beat fast. 

A Polka Dot Story, pt 3 coming next...