Comfort Food Friday (on Thursday)

Saturday is Independence Day. The Fourth of July. The start of a three-day weekend. (Or maybe the middle--depending on whether you take Friday off or Monday.) It's our most patriotic holiday. And time for one of the most American of activities. A cookout. A picnic in the park. A celebration with family, friends, community, country.

If you pack your picnic basket early, you can go straight to the park after the parade.

And when you unpack that basket, what favorite picnic foods of yours will come out? Burgers and dogs to throw on the grill?

Cold fried chicken homemade last night just for today's occasion?

My favorite picnic food is the perfect side dish for either of those two mains. It reminds me of family cookouts and day trips and potluck get-togethers.

Full disclosure: Not having a photo of my mom's actual potato salad, I borrowed this one from companyscoming.com. But I will say that this is a near perfect visual. (Except for the fancy lettuce underlayment. And the artfully placed egg slices. And the chives. Sorry Mom. Your salad might be plain looking on the outside, but it's beautiful, and delicious, on the inside!)

My mom's potato salad. Creamy and crunchy and seasoned just right so you can eat gobs and gobs of it without being overwhelmed. An old-fashioned mayo and mustard dressing. Regular ol' Idahos--no fancy red-skinned or new potatoes here (Though I'll bet Yukons would make a pretty yummy version. Mom, are you reading this?). Hard-cooked eggs, some chopped celery and onions, a little pickle relish, and just the right amounts of salt and pepper. She's made it exactly the same way for as long as I can remember. And ruined all other potato salads for me. Oh sure, I've dined on delicious variations of this classic side dish in all kinds of restaurants, delis and friends' kitchens. But they're just not the same. They don't come with childhood memories built in. And isn't that what makes a comfort food so comfortable?

Enjoy your holiday! And if you don't already have a favorite picnic food, maybe this will be the weekend you find it.

Top image via www1.american.edu/heintz/postcards.htm

Other food pics via countryliving.com

White House fireworks and parade images via ??? I need to learn to keep better records!

Mirror, Mirror, All On Sale...

Well, not all, but some. And nice ones too!

For some reason, I have been obsessed with mirrors lately. Comes from trying to brighten up my own look and throw some light around, I suppose. Not sure yet whether a mirror will do it, but I'll be considering a couple of these should things go that way.

In my webmail box this morning was a notice that Pottery Barn is having a July 4th Sale. I cruised around their homepage and can't see how long the sale lasts, so you may have to act fast if there's something you like. On the list of new items on sale today, I found these great mirrors and couldn't resist showing them to you because every one of them is good-looking and there's enough variety to suit just about any decorating style and space. I'm not sure yet that I'll be buying, but maybe one of you can benefit from the affordable pricing. And these are only the ones on their "new sale items" list. There are plenty more to see if you're inclined to look around their entire site. But, I'm telling you, stalk their website regularly if you see something you like that's still full price... just about everything goes on sale eventually! (WARNING: Pottery Barn items that are priced with a 99 at the end instead of zeroes--as in $219.99 vs $219.00--are final sales. You can't return the item and you can't even cancel the sale once it's placed. I got a great deal on a rug that way once, but I had been "stalking" it and knew it was exactly what I wanted.)

First up, the Chevron Bone Mirror, pictured above in a pretty, sandy-colored room and below, up close. Besides the beachy home you see here, I can see this mirror in an ethnic-inspired setting surrounded by collections of Asian or African origin. It would look fantastic in a foyer so you can more easily see, and touch, the inlays. $249.99 (reduced from 349.00)

Next is the Basketweave Rattan Mirror. Great texture on that woven frame. Nice over a mantel as pictured below, or, again, in an entry where its tactile qualities would shine. I can also see this one and three others, hung close together, two over two, on a tall wall in a voluminous living or family room. If you like the tropical look of a Barclay Butera beach interior, this is the perfect mirror for you. $299.00 (reduced from $349.00)

The Rustic Elm Floor Mirror makes a statement. Quietly but with strength. Would look great in many interiors from contemporary to country, cottage or industrial. $499.99 + an additional $40 delivery fee because of its large size (reduced from $699.00)

The Concentric Planked Mirror. This one would be more versatile than you might think at first glance. Now, I love red and think of it as a neutral. So I can see this mirror almost anywhere except the most traditional or period-specific spaces, where something more classic or ornate might be appropriate. If you look at it on the website, be sure to view it in the larger window. The variety of colors and textures in the frame make for great interest even though the shape is very simple. $249.00 (reduced from $299.00)

This is the one that's got me walking around my house with a measuring tape in my hand. The Wooden Door Mirror. Love the honey color of the frame and quarter-circle insets in the corners. Imagine it hung horizontally over a sofa or large sideboard in a dining room. Or just prop it up in the corner, as pictured below, and enjoy how pretty it is. The best deal too, I think, at $199.00 + a $20 delivery fee (reduced from $259.00)

Lots of great sales just about everywhere these days if you have a decorating need and a little bit of extra money. So on this Independence Day weekend, whether it's to Pottery Barn or somewhere else, be a good American and go forth and stimulate the economy!

Bright Idea

I've seen this a few times now and think it's an idea worth sharing: a fixture that makes it possible to replace a recessed can light with a pendant. You can easily update your lighting in a matter of minutes. All by yourself. Without the cost, or mess, of hiring a pro. Following, are the three I've seen in retail catalogs (that of course also have websites).

Ballard Designs offers this first version (below). If the recessed lights you want to replace are two or three in a straight line over a focal area like an island or down a hallway, this option would be an attractive way to add softer, more flattering light than is sometimes produced by overhead spots. The converter itself, with cord attached, is sold separately and is designed to accept any of Ballard's 10", 12" or 14" Drum or Empire shades. One of the product lines Ballard is best known for is their selection of fashionable, affordable shades for lamps of all styles and sizes. Provided your can fixture is in the right spot for this type of shade, you'll get a pretty, custom look for not a lot of cash.



Another catalog, Plow and Hearth, offers a glass pendant that's better-suited for wet areas than a fabric shade would be, such as over a kitchen or bar sink or bathroom vanity. And, like the fabric shades above, these would also look good two or three at a time over a peninsula or island that currently has cans over it. This fixture and its shade are sold as one unit and there are three shade finish choices: amber, alabaster or frosted ribbed glass. Just as easy to install as the Ballard option. In the photo below you can see it has the same screw-in style adapter and a dark ceiling canopy that matches the cord and covers the can.



The third option I've seen comes from a company called Improvements. Same screw-in installation as the previous examples. The selection I show here is more contemporary in appearance with chrome fittings and canopy. The flexible cord appears to be a silver color as well. Teardrop-shaped Italian glass shades are available in white or amber. There are a few other shade style options on their website and a fun feature that allows you to see "before" and "after" views of spaces that are given this simple lighting makeover.

All fixtures shown here come with cords that can be adjusted to a drop length of approximately 8 to 48 inches. Depending on which you choose, they accept bulbs of either 75 or 100 watts. And they're all super-affordable. Individual fixtures range in price from around $40 to $50, and at least one of the retailers offers a "buy two" price break. To complete their fixtures, Ballard's shades in the appropriate sizes are priced in the $30 to $50 range.

If you have a spot in your home that could benefit from a quick-fix like this one, take a look at ballarddesigns.com, plowandhearth.com or thecanconverter.com. It doesn't cost anything to look and barely more than that to buy!

No! Not that kind of vice!

Shelter magazines. Friends and family will agree, they're my vice of choice. An incurable habit. The thing I spend so much time and money on, I don't even want to think about how much time and money it would all add up to. But, see, there's this: I don't smoke anything. I don't drink much of anything. (Although, if you hand me a margarita, I will drink it. And the next one. And the next one. So it's a good thing I don't live in a Mexican restaurant.) I don't own too many shoes. I don't collect coats or expensive handbags. What I do own, hoard, subscribe to in embarrassing numbers are shelter magazines. Not surprising I suppose, considering my current profession. They're actually a necessity. Now. But this vice? This addiction? It goes way back. Before design school. Before home-ownership. Back to when Architectural Digest was a to-the-trade publication. What are my favorites, you ask? (I'm pretty sure I heard someone ask) Well, let's see. Until a few months ago, I would have said my all-time personal fave was Cottage Living.

Thanks to my hoarding tendencies, I have every issue!

But this crazy economy has caused too many great magazines, like that relatively new one, to close.* Not enough people spending their money on home decor and improvements to support the advertisers who supported the publishers. So even more senior, well-respected industry favorites like Domino, Country Home, House & Garden, and Home are gone now too.

Two kind of quirky titles I purchased at the newsstand more times than not, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion and Martha Stewart's younger, hipper spin-off Blueprint, were a lot of fun but they too are no more.


Yes, some of my favorites remain. Veranda, Elle Decor, California Home+Design and Southern Accents top that list.

And I wouldn't know what to do without the range of inspiration I find in Traditional Home, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home and Western Interiors.

Recently, I even crossed the border and found a couple of fine replacements for some of what was lost. They're doing the job quite nicely too.

One each from Canada and the U.K.

But the one I'm most grateful for, the one I've read continuously since high school, is still going strong. Better Homes & Gardens. Thank goodness (and Meredith Publications) it's remained so popular. Ok, maybe not "popular" like a celebrity or the homecoming queen. It's not known for being the most stylish or artful or cutting-edge. But it's real. And it's comfortable. Like your oldest and dearest friend who would never make you feel dumb for not knowing what a fauteuil** is. Reading BH&G doesn't feel as much like homework as some of the other titles I use for research and inspiration. Even so, since the closure of so many, this magazine has really stepped it up design-wise. Take a look at these images from recent issues:

Pretty great, right? I think so. And where else can you find inspired decorating, region-appropriate gardening guidelines, parenting advice, health and beauty tips and ten recipes for potato salad all in the same issue? I don't know. I don't need to know. Because I have my old friend BH&G. And all of her little sister "special interest" publications like "Decorating" and "Beautiful Interiors". Curled up on the sofa with a stack of BH&G's to page through feels the same to me as watching a favorite old movie for the fifteenth time. Cozy, comfy, reassuring, familiar. So I guess I'll call this old friend my "new" favorite.


Left to right, top to bottom: covers from 1926, 1958, 1973 and 2009

Tubbs and Crockett image from my own personal stash of memorabilia. (kidding)

*If you are a design blogger or have been reading design blogs for more than a few months, you know that the subject of "dead magazines" has been discussed everywhere by everyone. But I'm new here. And I'm still not completely over the fact that I won't find the current issue of Domino or Country Home or Cottage Living (!) in my mail box this week. Or ever. And that makes me sad. So give me a break. Thanks.

** A fauteuil is a fancy French armchair of the Louis XVI era, very similar to the more commonly familiar bergere but much more difficult to pronounce. Five different vowels in one eight-letter word?!

NOTE: After writing and scheduling this post, I learned that Western Interiors was also closed a couple of months ago. Bummer. But no longer shocking. Also a bummer.

In my mailbox

A new Williams-Sonoma Home catalog arrived this week. I love everything about this full-page pic of their Farmhouse Collection. (below) I've always liked the collected look of upholstered host chairs with completely different wood side chairs and these ticking striped wingbacks are quite nice. A little small in scale perhaps next to that chunky farm table and tall ladder-back chairs, but I'm okay with that. Not everyone has the space for a big fat armchair at the head of the table so this is a way to get a similar look without over-stuffing the room. The large botanicals over the sideboard are a dramatic take on a traditional look. The vegetable-dyed Peshawar rug adds beautiful, subtle warmth and texture with a minimum of pattern. The remaining accessories here support the Italian countryside look that's been so popular of late. Like I said, I love every bit of it.

Also in a ticking stripe, the Chelsea wing chair is a staple of Williams-Sonoma's upholstered furniture collection. She's available in many fabrics, leathers, and your choice of polished nickle or antique brass nailheads. Blue ticking is so perfect for Summer decorating and this chair would be appropriate whether your look is farmhouse, like the previous pic, beach house, or as part of a more eclectic mix as shown here in the catalog.


More pretty. A mirror from the Hampstead Bedroom Collection. No rules would be broken though if you chose to use it in an entry, a dining room or even over your bathroom vanity. Solid woods are turned and finished to mimic bamboo. Nicely proportioned and I love the criss-cross corners. However, I'd prefer to see it paired with something not so "matchy" as this dresser from the same collection. It should be allowed to stand on its own.


A beautiful dresser that might just steal the show from any mirror hung over it is this one from the Capri Collection. Solid cherry and tulip woods are stained and hand-rubbed. The pretty tapered legs, antiqued brass pulls and other nice details give it the look of a piece you might have inherited from a fashionable aunt. That it could easily move from bedroom to dining room to entry hall makes it a worthwhile investment.


Finally, here's my attempt to stand up for coral. Love it or hate it, there certainly has been a lot of it around. In reds, oranges, deep blues and aquas for the most part. This embroidered pillow, (reminiscent of Waverly's classic coral prints, don't you think?), in white wool chain-stitch on khaki-colored cotton, brings a little bit of beach to your home without a hint of garishness or kitsch. At $79.99, (reduced from $118), it's an affordable way to add this trend to your decor without breaking the bank. Or looking too trendy. And because it's more subtle than it's boldly patterned and brightly colored counterparts, it will play well with the pillows you already have and you could almost certainly keep it around into the fall. Then bring it out again next year to get another Summer's-worth of under-the-sea style.



All images via wshome.com and catalog