Getting Ready for Company

    My in-laws are arriving today for a weekend here in Boston.  And as someone who loves to have house guests and loves to entertain, I thought I'd put together a quick guide to getting ready for company.

{image via Martha Stewart}

Fix something that's broken. 
    You don't want your guest to think that they broke it or worry that you'll think that they broke it.  So if something needs fixing, fix it before they arrive.  
    An example in our house? Our guest bathroom toilet broke.  The previous owners had a plastic toilet seat most likely to make it light and more kid friendly.  Problem was, with repeated use, it started to crack and eventually broke.  So Kevin went to Home Depot and grabbed a new one.  He set out for a slow close porcelain seat, but came up with something even better--a slow close porcelain seat that includes a removable magnetic child's seat.  My husband sure thinks ahead.  One of his many awesome qualities.

 {What? You didn't expect to see a picture of a toilet in this post? Glad I could surprise you!}

Tackle something you've been meaning to do for awhile.
    Impending company is a great motivator to get a couple of projects done that you've been meaning to accomplish for awhile.  
    -reorganize your fridge
    -buy a houseplant
    -hang some art 

{sneak peek of the art project that's still in process--details next week!}

Make their room visitor friendly.
    Put out the correct number of towels.  Stock the bathroom with the essentials--shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a new toothbrush.  Write a chalkboard message or leave a note letting them know to make themselves at home.  

Clean.
    This seems obvious, but think outside the lines.  Dust the blinds, wipe out the refrigerator,  get those nooks and crannies because without fail, you never notice how dirty something is until you have a guest in the house.

Stock up.
    Have plenty of toilet paper in every bathroom so that guests never have to ask for more.  Be mindful of what your guest likes to eat and place it front and center in the cabinet or fridge.  Even better, have snacks and drinks in their room for easy access.  And wine.  Never run out of wine!

Relax.
    Guests will feed off of your vibe.  If you're paranoid and anxious, they'll be anxious.  Be confident in your preparation, and just relax and enjoy your time with them.  After all, they are there to spend time with you, not judge how well-kept your house is.

___________

 

    Today I'm linking up to the Just Because blog hop (link below).  Check it out if you're looking for some more reading material for the day!  Also, follow me on Instagram to keep up with all of my weekend adventures with the in-laws.  We're planning a trip to Martha's Vineyard, the Harpoon Brewery, kayaking, and lots of amazing food!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Rainy Date Night in Boston

    Today marks the start of a new series here on the blog: date night.  Kevin and I try to have a date night at once a week, whether we cook at home or go out on the town.  I will feature what I made/ate, what I wore, beauty tricks--whatever applies.  I'm also excited to use this series to showcase even more recipes as well as restaurants that we frequent here in Boston.  This past weekend we had a very rainy date night at the local restaurant Trade.  Because it was so rainy, pictures are limited in quality in quantity.  On a related note, taking great selfies has never been a talent of mine so please forgive the graininess.


What I wore:

 
Where we went:

What we had:

 {Kevin's whiskey-based drink, my rhubarb daiquiri}

 {Seared sea scallops with daikon, wasabi, ginger and lava beans}

 {Left: Spicy lamb rigatoni; Right: Salmon with rhubarb and eggplant fritters}

{such a great view of the greenway}

    If you're interested in more Boston restaurants and date night ideas, follow my new Pinterest board "Boston Restaurants".

Natural Beauty

    I haven't really mentioned it before, but I believe that part of living a happier, healthier life is making choices in your everyday to live a little cleaner and a little greener.  I am no expert.  There is a quote from Saint Augustine that "Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation."  It's probably true.  Achieving perfect moderation in life is tough.  Between healthy food and fast food, work and family life-- balance is hard.  Some of my favorite recipes to share are those that aren't so healthy for you, but I try to limit my portions and eat healthy whenever I can.  I'm also a make from scratch fanatic.  I think that even less healthy dishes can be balanced by the fact that they don't contain a lot of processed junk.  

    When it comes to cosmetics, I have been slowly switching over some of my beauty products to their more natural, fewer chemical-containing counterparts.  If you're interested in things of this nature, I have gotten a lot out of Jessica Alba's new book The Honest Life.  For those of you who haven't seen it, she has a company that specializes in organic products.  The idea was sparked from the lack of options she came across while preparing for her first baby.  While I haven't fully switched over to all organic everything and realize that claiming "natural" is totally different from a product being "organic," for the purposes of keeping it real on this blog, I can say that I am trying.  And I think becoming more informed is a great start.

    
    My focus so far has been getting undesirable things out of my products rather than making sure that what is in my product is from only organic sources.  For example I've tried to stop using items that contain loads of sulfates, parabens, and dyes.  As I get older my skin has become more sensitive and dry, and I don't think that these additives were doing me any favors. 

    Admittedly, I can be a marketing push-over.  These products aren't perfect, but they are the first step that I've made in getting away from harsh chemicals.  Included in my daily routine these days: Mrs Meyer's Clean Day Hand Soap, Bio-Oil (CVS brand), Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser, CoverGirl NatureLuxe Gloss, Bare Minerals Foundation, and Burt's Bees cuticle cream.

    I can't wait to do a more in depth post later on down the road, but for today, I just wanted to share some of my recent purchases and thoughts on the subject.  Happy Friday!

    

*Note that I have received no compensation from any of these brands

Fancy Food for the Bacon Lover

    As promised, I am sharing with you today the rest of my entirely bacon-inspired dinner.  In case you missed it, I gave you dessert first on Tuesday.  For the rest of the meal I created a couple of twists on some old classics. 

    First up, a sage and bacon polenta.

Bacon Sage Polenta Recipe

1 cup corn grits/polenta

3 cups water, or chicken/vegetable stock

4-5 leaves fresh sage, pile leaves, roll then thinly slice -- chiffonade

2 slices cooked bacon, diced
2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

Directions 

In a large, medium to large saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil.  Gradually stir in the corn grits.  Reduce heat to gentle simmer, whisking or stirring frequently to prevent sticking until mixture is thickened (15-20 minutes).  Stir in butter, bacon, sage and additional salt to taste.  Grease a deep bowl or other desired dish, transfer polenta into dish, and let set for 10 minutes.  Invert onto a plate and cut polenta into thick slices.  Serve warm.

 

    Easy Chicken Saltimbocca-Inspired Chicken

Easy Chicken Saltimbocca-Inspired Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
4 fresh sage leaves
2 slices bacon (traditionally pancetta is used here)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 
Directions
Place 2 sage leaves on each piece of chicken then wrap each in 1 slice bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a few tablespoons olive oil. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, and then add to the hot oil. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. 

    Arugula with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Arugula with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Recipe

1 shallot finely diced

2 tbsp rendered bacon fat (reserved from the above recipe

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp dijon mustard 

Freshly ground black pepper

Saute the shallot in bacon fat until softened and translucent.  Whisk in the white wine vinegar, brown, sugar, and mustard until mixture is emulsified.  Add black pepper to taste. Toss a bagful of washed arugula in vinaigrette until just coated and slightly wilted.  Serve immediately.

   
 Ahh bacon dinner.  So delicious. 

Dessert First

    Last month for Kevin's birthday, we had plans to go out to a fancy dinner.  When the marathon events happened, the city was shut down for a day and our reservations had to be canceled.  While our dinner plans paled in comparison to what was going on in the city around us, I still wanted to make Kevin's birthday dinner special and allow us to not be consumed by watching the news all night.  We were on lock down and had to figure out what to make from what we had.  Something we always have?  Bacon.  And what's one thing that my husband (and possibly every man) loves?  Bacon.  So I set out to make a fancy meal of bacon everything, and was pretty pleased with the results.  I'm going to share with you what we had for dessert first.  I made the easiest, most delicious maple bacon ice cream sundae.  

 

Maple Bacon Sundae Recipe
(amounts are approximate--this is supposed to be easy, so just go for it.  Don't get out your measuring cups!)

2 scoops vanilla ice cream
Chocolate syrup
1/4 cup whipped cream (homemade or Cool Whip)
1 tbsp maple syrup
Bacon pieces, to taste

Scoop vanilla ice cream into a bowl.  Drizzle chocolate syrup to taste.  In a second bowl, scoop 1/4 cup whipped cream and mix with 1 tbsp maple syrup.  Top with bacon pieces.  Devour!!


    Have I mentioned that I started having Kevin use a rating scale to determine whether or not he likes a new recipe?  Yeah, this bacon sundae is the very first to get a perfect 10.  I told him that it wasn't really fair considering it was the one thing that I hadn't made from scratch, but honestly he's right.  It was awesome.  Stay tuned later this week for the rest of the amazing bacon meal!


Linking up this recipe at:  
http://www.letsgetbananas.com/
http://blissfullymiller.blogspot.com/
http://mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/ 
http://kitchenmeetsgirl.com/

Involved in a Cover Up

    Maybe I've been watching too much Scandal, but I couldn't help but get caught up in a cover-up operation myself.  Ok, so it was nothing crazy, but it was definitely time to address a huge eyesore in our condo that I had to see every time I walked into our master bedroom. 

     
    A huge breaker box was really not in the design, so we needed a plan to cover it up.  We may be a little behind the times, but we are still smitten with subway art here in this household.  Even though they were big back in 2011 and here we are two years later, I find that there is something so timeless about them, and I think that's really important when choosing art that you are going to see on a daily basis.  

    I searched Pinterest on a hunt for the best and simplest tutorial.  The one that suited our needs the best was found here by Lemonade Makin' Mama.  It basically involves building a wooden box and adhering a large blueprint style piece of paper to it.  We followed it almost to the letter, so I won't re-hash it here for you.  I do have a few notes and tips though: 

    First of all, Kevin is way better at formatting than I am.  I get really frustrated when I can't get something centered or words get cut off, so this job was relegated to him.  We chose some of our favorite neighborhoods or areas in Boston and a few different fonts and Kevin drafted this up in Word.  He fixed up the dimension settings before saving it as a PDF for submitting to Staples to print up for us.  

    I went along with the tutorial and used Elmer's Spray Adhesive to adhere the paper to the wood.  I'm glad that I did because I think Mod Podge would have caused a lot of unwanted rippling.  This step might be completely different should you choose to use a canvas as your base instead of building a wooden box.  In fact, that was my original plan.  I've seen some awesome tutorials for creating canvas style prints on Pinterest that would work equally as well I'm sure.  It just didn't work in our case because we needed a super custom size.

    Full disclosure, we didn't stay under $10 like the tutorial that we used.  Wood can be pricey!  But we did stay pretty close to the budget.  Also, I didn't have any Mod Podge of all things so I had to add that in as an expense.  It wasn't used in the tutorial that we followed, but I used the Matte Mod Podge to sort of seal my work afterwards.  It did cause some rippling which terrified me (starting over didn't sound like fun), but once the Mod Podge dried on the surface, I flipped the whole thing over to flatten out overnight and it worked like a charm!  Here it is before it was hung.

    

 

{A close-up of the distressing that I did.  I love that you can see the nailhead from the box construction through the paper.  That was a happy accident!}

 

    
    Kevin used some hooks above the breaker box to hang the wooden frame.  You can actually see them in the before pictures up top.  We needed to still be able to access the breaker box for obvious reasons so this hook system has offered easy access so far.

    Have you covered up an eyesore in your house recently?  
    Or better yet, did anyone watch the Scandal season finale last night?  I'm obsessed. 

    I will be linking this project to the following:

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Lauren vs French Onion Soup: The Rematch

    Although I'm just starting out here at The Tea Party and I may still be feeling out which direction things may take, I have told myself that I will always keep it real.  Which is why I'm sharing with you my biggest kitchen failure to date. 

    About two months after Kevin and I were married, I was still in "playing house" mode and decided to make one of his favorite dishes: French Onion Soup.  To be honest, it has never been one of my favorite soups, but I was determined.  I found a recipe out of a cookbook that was given to us as a wedding gift and got to work.  Before I served it, I just remember thinking "French onion soup isn't supposed to be clear is it?"  Fail.

    Two years later I was ready to take on the challenge again.  I found a recipe in one of my favorite magazines Food Network Magazine.  Yes, I am aware that all of these recipes can be found for free online, but there is something about seeing the pictures in print that is just so much more appealing to me.  I saw a recipe for French Onion Soup with Short Ribs and I knew that I had found my redemption recipe.  Having already tried my hand at braising short ribs with this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, I knew that how much flavor they would add, and at the very least, my soup wouldn't turn out clear.  

 

    Braising is one of the most amazing forms of cooking meat.  Everything cooks down and melds and it's awesome.  Trust me when I say that the picture above is not a good representation of all of the deliciousness that you are in for.  The "after braising" shot is just kind of brown.  Here's the final product!

 

    The recipe can be found here on the Food Network website, and I will let you in on the modifications that I made:
  
First, it is imperative to remove as much fat from the short ribs as possible before adding them to the broth.  The fattiness is part of what gives them so much flavor, but a greasy soup really won't appeal to anyone.  

Secondly, I only had cooking sherry but not sherry vinegar.  At the vinegar step I added just a splash of white vinegar.  I didn't notice a huge difference so whether or not it matters is questionable.  I just really wasn't willing to ruin hours worth of work by adding something strange and irreversible right at the end.  

Lastly, there aren't many reviews on the website yet, but the ones that are there are mixed.  The so-so ones are really just about the amount of time it takes to make this.  I don't really understand how people can see how much time a meal takes, decide to make it anyway, and then complain when it takes the printed amount of time.  Yes, this meal is a lengthy process but it's mostly hands-off.  And most importantly, it makes your kitchen smell divine!  It's ideal for a dinner party or a casual night in.

Haute Couture to Home: Punk Rock Style

    So the Met Gala took place this week and as usual, the fashion was awesome!  Some of my favorites?  Sarah Jessica Parker and Taylor Swift.

  

(Photos via People.com)

    

    I couldn't help but think about how fashion trends always seem to weave their way into the home decor arena as well.  From florals to graphic patterns to pastels we've seen it all before.  This year's Met Gala Theme was Punk: From Chaos to Couture.  Punk isn't really my style but I was interested to see if I could find some punk inspired items that might add something different to my home.  Below are some of the standout themes from the Met Gala.

{Top row: via People.com; Bottom: planter from Urban Outfitters, tray from ZGallerie, pillow from West Elm}

     

    Strangely this ended up in a very neutral yet glam direction, but I love these pieces.  And just so that there is no confusion, punk can be very colorful too.  Check out these looks that Gwyneth Paltrow and Kristen Stewart rocked.  While the amount of punk inspiration here is kind of minimal, the colors are off the charts!  I love the idea of adding a pop of color to a neutral color palette and these two colors are so girly and beautiful.

 {Photos via People.com}

    

    Have you ever let fashion trends inspire your home decor?  

    Happy Friday everyone!

Pinterest Challenge

    I am beyond excited to that I have a project to share with you as part of the Spring Pinterest Challenge put on by Sherry from Young House Love, Katie from Bower Power, Emily from Sparkle Meets Pop, and Renee from Red Bird Blue.  The Pinterest Challenge is a one created by Katie Bower to get us to stop pinning and start doing...and then start pinning again.  Oh, the vicious cycle!

 

    This isn't the first time I've created something that I've been inspired by on Pinterest, but this is the first time that I have blogged about it, so pinch me because I'm really excited! The search for the perfect project was an easy one.  I had a side table sitting in our living room that I recently purchased from Home Goods (or "The Goods" as I lovingly call that heavenly place).  We needed one desperately, as we have no space for a coffee table and needed a place to put our drinks and snacks while watching our endless amounts of DVR.  The table met all the physical requirements that we needed, but unfortunately it was in a shade of blue that didn't really coordinate with anything else in the room.  I knew that I wanted to paint it, but I also knew that we needed something on top because we're not really the best about using coasters and I didn't want to paint the table only to mess up the finish with water marks.

 

    Enter my inspiration from Allison of Dream a Little Bigger.  She had a dinged up table that she loved but just needed a little fixing.  So she corked the top!

 

    

    I loved this solution for us.  It would prevent water marks and eliminate the need for coasters.  So I bought a roll of cork at Michael's and a $2 can of clearance spray paint at Joann's and got to work.  This wasn't my first spray paint project, but I definitely learned a couple of big lessons during this one:

1) Primer really is your friend.  

2) Always have more spray paint than you think you need.

    Now in this case, I really had no excuse to for the fact that I ran out of spray paint.  I mean, there were several cans of white spray paint on sale for $1.97 at Joann's and I walked out with one?!  Perhaps the fact that they lock it up there makes me feel like I should buy only responsible amounts at a time?  Thank goodness I already owned white primer that matched so I was able to squeak by with the two together.  In all honesty, I should have primed first like a smart DIYer would have done, but in the heat of the moment I just got excited and started spraying without really thinking.  Plus, I was saving my primer for a big summer project I have lined up!  But it would have saved me some major time in this case.

    Anyway, back to the how-to.  I am blessed with an extremely handy husband who's way more into details than I am when it comes to things like this, so it was his job to cut the cork into the perfect hexagon to fit atop the table.  He first cut some brown craft paper to size to serve as a template for the cork.

      
    He got out the good old X-acto knife and got to work.  Then I used some Krazy Glue and spray adhesive to attach the cork to the table.  See my super-professional system of weighing down the edges to ensure good adhesion?

 

   

    Here's a close-up of the finished cork top.

 

     And here it is in action!

     It was so simple that I kind of want to try it on something else now.  Thanks for stopping by!