My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them with a penetrating stare.
Then he spoke great words of wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,” said my uncle,
“You must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid,
but you must spit out the air!”
And as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.”
We love to serve our favorite popovers once during our guests stay here at Crabtree Cottage. If you are here for the weekend, you will be sure to have these. Even though we try to offer new twists on our favorite recipes for our repeat customers, we never worry about repeating popovers – over and over again! We have been serving them since we began our B&B. We thought it was a unique breakfast item compared to muffins, coffee cake or scones, although we do love to serve those too! These have become our signature breakfast treat. Some of our guests have never had a popover, some from England compare them to Yorkshire Pudding, others remember them from long ago. This is also our most requested recipe! They are simple to make and make a great impression.Pop over to our facebook page for the recipe.
We call Jeff the Popover King. He makes the popovers each morning and takes great pride in that task!
“Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others. ” Orson Welles
I also love a signature decorating and fashion style. Who doesn’t? When we think of our favorite designers or iconic fashionistas, there is something so inspiring about their unique signature look, or design style. It is like a personal autograph, unique and recognizable. Oh that is so …. Janis! Haha. I was going to say Jackie O, or Frank Lloyd Wright, but I just couldn’t resist!
With our home I have tried to re-create a seaside cottage style that I just adore. My passion for that approach to home décor fits this house perfectly. This house lacked a special character before it underwent our major transformation. By adding exuberant gardens, a picket fence, a seaside color scheme, and lots of love, it became Crabtree Cottage!
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On the inside, I am always trying to create a traditionally comfortable home with a twist! My signature has also been my color scheme. I love color! I express myself through color too. One of my favorite colors has always been navy blue. I have it throughout the entire house in some way or another. I think I would go into a deep depression if I became color blind to the blues!
Next to sharing my popover recipe, I also share the navy color (Benjamin Moore, Hale Navy) in my dining room, our front door and our barn.
During this updating frenzie, I also read the book, “the life-changing magic of tidying up,” by Marie Kondo. This is where the real art of paring down entered the scene. In her book she asks you to look at every single object in your home and ask this question…
I have this on my kitchen chalkboard as a daily reminder. This question made me re-think many of the objects in my house, and even activities in my life. My pile of tag-sale items grew, and the cellar became the dumping ground. Time for a tag-sale!
This picture was for my Tag-Sale/Craigslist advertisement. Isn’t that lovely? Notice the color scheme, it follows me everywhere I go! I am afraid my staging vision, with this lovely preview, went right out the window. It drizzled almost the entire three hours, on that frigid, early October morning. Oh well, I got rid of lots and lots of STUFF!!
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Now, back to my year long home decorating project. I have upped my decorating antics to stay unique and personal.
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This new mirror added just a bit of a modern twist and made the room feel updated!
I thought I could update my living room with the color green (Benjamin Moore, Herb Garden Green). My blue in this room is almost an equal partner, and yet it stands out. Sometimes, I feel like this green is a neutral, and the blue is the dominate color. I love blue and green together ~ perfect for a bright sunny room. I have shared this green numerous times with my guests. It is Herb Garden Green from Benjamin Moore. One couple from England had never seen a green room ~ imagine?? I wrote down the information for them so they could replicate the color.
This is my living room mantel before…classic and traditional.
This is my mantel after…classic and traditional with a new twist! My mother said it was royal and regal looking!
Can you guess what my new strategy is? BLACK! I never did the black thing before! Next, I painted the piano and a candlestick table black ~ I should have done this years ago!
Now there is a subtle statement of black in the living room ~
My mother, my neighbor Sandy, and many other designers, often say that every room needs a little black. My mother has been using black forever on miscellaneous furniture. She even has two black contemporary wing chairs. It is showing up a bit more in the trade magazines, and as always, in more modern décor. In my house it is my new twist!! I am getting inspiration from this tried and true trend, but interpreting it in my way to fit my style, and house. That way I hope it will be a classic touch, without being totally dictated to following a trend.
I am also still doing this updating in my kitchen. How to be in style, yet unique? We started the entire home update a little over a year ago in this space. As the decorators I follow always say, a room evolves and becomes more of itself, over time, not over night. I guess that quote is symbolic when you think about it ~ as we evolve, we also become more of ourselves over time too. Don’t you just love that?
I didn’t intend to go for an industrial look. Of course, this is my version of a modified industrial approach, maybe a bit farmhouse too. I think the wainscoting, white cabinets, and the copper sink are timeless. First, it was the new countertop, and then it just snow balled. Now, I have contracted my favorite carpenter, you know who, for a new table! He is going to use barn boards from the inside of our barn. Of course, Jeff is the master of creativity, so I have no idea what the actual finished table will look like! I wonder if it will be the finishing touch…. Stay tuned…
Thank you for coming by my blog today ~ I hope you come back soon.