Design Star

So I always enjoy watching Design Star on HGTV and just kinda forgot about it this year! Luckily it is available on on demand so I watched the first two episodes. In the first episode my favorite spaces were Danielle and Luca's. I love love love the room! The beautiful gray blue color, the molding used on the walls to create architectural detail and the contemporary furniture.

I also love how Brittany created interest on the wall in a bedroom by adding fretwork. She had a carpenter cut out the pieces from mdf, painted them white and adhered them to the wall. It really makes an impact!

In the second episode it was the white box challenge! The catch this year was the white rooms were in the middle of Union Station, a very busy train station in LA! They had to purchase everything at a home and garden store so creativity was a must!

I love the chain link chandelier Brittany made!

Bex had some very cool creative ideas. She took this copper disk and painted a silhouette on it, then embellished it with hot gluing pennies around it. She also created interest by cutting PVC pipes and grouping them together. 

Rachel's room really impressed me with her use of patterns. I loved the graphic wall she created. I cannot believe she did that by hand and it turned out so perfect! Unfortunately this photos doesn't show the room as well as it appeared on tv. I also loved her fashionable drawing, so cute!

Danielle wants again showed how good of a designer she is. So far she is my favorite! She took inspiration from a photo of her mother to create this awesome graphic on the wall! She also completely transformed the sofa! This also doesn't show as well in the photo as it did on tv. I have to agree with the judges though, that horrible torchiere really needed to be pulled!

All photos from hgtv.com

Have you been watching design star this season? Are there any other design shows your recommend? I really want to start watching more of them! Hope you all enjoy your weekend! 

Colorful, geometric wonder wall

One of my good friends is getting married in a month and I can't hardly wait! She asked me to be her maid of honor and I was so delighted! I recently visited her in Corvallis and went over some wedding details. Today, I was perusing a Martha Stewart Wedding magazine and found a very cool geometric wall. I think this would be cool to do in a lot of different places; retail shops, parties, offices, or even your home! Its a great, inexpensive statement piece. 

This simple project just involves cutting and folding paper! For detailed instructions visit Martha Stewart.

Recipe Review: Stir Fry

 I found this great recipe from AllRecipes.com I love that this recipe incorporates vegetables, I have been working on eating better and having more vegetables and fruits (if you know me you know I am very picky and not so healthy of an eater).

First take a look in your fridge and pantry for ingredients and then take a trip to the store for the remaining items:

½ cup chicken broth

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup white wine or additional chicken broth (I used broth)

2 garlic cloves minced

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (I found fresh ginger root for 99 cents at Grocery Outlet)

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¾ pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips

4 teaspoons canola oil

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups julienned carrots

2 cups shredded Chinese or napa cabbage

1 cup fresh or frozen snow peas cut into 1 inch pieces

A handful of scallions

6 ounces spaghetti or chow mien noodles

2 teaspoons cornstarch

After gathering all the ingredients together, combine the first seven ingredients to make your marinade. Set aside ¾ cup of this mix for later.

Put the chicken (in strips or chunks) in a large ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Mix the marinade so it coats all pieces. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After a half an hour, remove the bag and pour out the marinade. Add the chicken to a large nonstick skillet or wok with 2 teaspoons of oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Stir fry the broccoli and carrots in the remaining oil for 6 minutes. I broke the broccoli into really small pieces to help it mix in a little better. Add cabbage and peas and continue cooking for three minutes longer or until the veggies or crisp tender. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to directions. I used chow mien and cooked for 3 minutes then drained.

Combine cornstarch and remaining marinade you set aside, stir until smooth. Add to the vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. After draining pasta, pour into vegetable mixture and stir. Add some chopped scallions if you like. Return chicken to the pan, stir and heat until warm.

 The meal was delicious! I loved the marinade. The vegetables were a bit hard to swallow though, but at least I got a few nutrients J Also, I enjoyed using my new vintage apron from Sur la Table! Isn’t it adorable?

 I hope you enjoyed this recipe review! Any new recipes you have tried lately? 

Quick and easy pork loins

Are you ready for a very easy and healthy dinner? I hadn't had pork in a while and remember always enjoying barbecued pork when I was younger so I asked my mom what she did to season it and it was so simple: garlic powder and Lawry's seasoning salt! So I bought three small organic pork loins. Pork is a bit expensive but the difference between organic and non organic was very minimal so it was easy to make the right choice! I sprinkled on some garlic powder, Lawry's seasoning salt and a bit of pepper around all the edges of the meat. I then barbecued it on medium heat until it was seared on one side, flipped it and seared the other side, then I cut into it to make sure it was done since I don't have a thermometer. The best part of pork is it has very low fat in it! I served it with a side of salad and garlic cheese bread! I didn't take a photo as I didn't intend on blogging about it, but I thought I would share this easy meal for those looking for dinner in a pinch! 

photo credit