upcycled / bottles to container garden

Have you noticed an influx of gardening DIYs recently? Terrariums, hanging gardens and upcycled container gardens seem to be popping up everywhere. If you've read decor-eat before you know I am obsessed with terrariums, but I am also really into the idea of upcycling where you turn waste materials or used products into something with a new purpose. 

This upcycle project has been my favorite I've seen so far because it solves a problem I'm having with my current plants. The projects uses old inverted bottles that actually water your plants as they need it. With CT and I living in different cities, there are definitely weekends where my plants go unwatered. Just this weekend, I came home to a near death basil plant that I am shocked perked back up after water (it was that bad). These containers are a perfect solve for herbs, which I love to have on hand for cooking in my kitchen.

Steps here on Design Sponge. 

friday's fancies / how to sport horizontal stripes

Happy Friday everyone! I don't know about you but it's been a really slow start to Spring this year in NYC, and I am really looking forward to a weekend of warm weather. This week's Friday's Fancies is all about stripes, which I happen to be loving right now. I think Pink Peonies is doing stripes best mixing the pattern with other prints. How cute are these outfits??

Stripes are one of those prints you should choose carefully to flatter your body type mostly when it comes to horizontal stripes. Most fashion savvy shoppers know that horizontal stripes make you look wider while vertical stripes make you look smaller. For apple shapes (larger top than bottom) go for the striped shorts on the left for pear shapes (larger bottom than top) go for the shirt on the right.

shorts | top

Don't wanna mess with vertical stripes? They are super cute as shoes!

hump day home makeover / staining & sealing from apprentice extrovert

I first started Hump Day Home Makeover in 2012 when I was moving into a new apartment and needed inspiration for decorating my new place. I love eclectic décor, and think decorating is best when you collect pieces over a period of time rather than picking up everything at once. So, the idea around Hump Day Home Makeover was to keep my decorating momentum going and share home inspiration every Wednesday along with the pieces you need to make that look happen in your home.

This week’s Hump Day Home Makeover, features a DIY project from one of my favorite blogs, The Apprentice Extrovert. I’m not sure when or how I found Courtney’s blog, but it one of my daily reads thanks to its consistent flow of talented vintage furniture before and afters. Like me, Courtney has been in the process of revamping her home and has been sharing her progress along the way. Last week, she participated in my DIY miss to marvelous link up, and shared this awesome before and after of a provincial table. While it's clearly not a DIY miss, she learned a lot about how to stain and steel a dining room table correctly that will help other DIYers get it right in their first try.

Before:

After:

The finished product looks amazing, and she has some great tips for other DIYers looking to stain and seal a table correctly. Check it out on her blog here.

Want to be featured in next week's Hump Day Home Makeover? It's easy to link up...just write a post about your inspirations or project. You could be featured in next week's Hump Day Home Makeover!

Arugula, Pears + Candied Walnut Salad

Growing up my mom was always the cook, so on Mother's Day I love to cook her dinner for a change. This year, I tried out a new salad recipe using pears, arugula, parmesan cheese, candied walnuts and a simple vinaigrette with salt and pepper. I was a little nervous that the flavors wouldn't mix, but it turned out to be delicious and a new favorite!

Ingredients

1 package arugula

1/2 cup candied walnuts (recipe below)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tbsp scallions

2 pears*

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon

*I also learned how to tell if a pear if ripe or not. Have you ever wondered how to tell? You test the area around the stem of the pear and if it gives the pear is ripe.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15-20 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins max

One of the skills that is most important to refine when cooking is how long each piece of a meal will take, so you can time everything to be ready at once. To plan this side dish with a main dish cook the candied walnuts first, and then lay them to the side while cooking the main dish.

Candied Walnuts Recipe: I referenced Simply Recipes's Candied Walnuts Recipe, and reduced the recipe ingredient amounts for 1/2 cup of walnuts. You will need 2/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup walnut halves. I didn't use salt since it would already be in the dressing.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, lay walnuts on a baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes. Pour sugar into a saucepan with walnuts close by. You need to be sure they are close because the process is really quick and you'll have to be careful not to burn the sugar. Stir sugar until it melts and as soon as the mixture is amber in color add the walnuts and stir. Once all walnuts are coated (will be a matter of stirs), remove the walnuts and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Make sure to break the walnuts apart before the sugar cools. Set aide and cook.

Next, peel and cut the pears into cubes (about 5 mins), and thinly chop the scallions into small pieces. Hand squeeze the lemon into a small bowl and remove the seeds. Once the main dish was ready, add arugula, pears, candied walnuts and scallions to a large salad bowl. Then use a fruit peeler to add shaved thin pieces of parmesan. Next, drizzle olive oil, lemon juice and add salt and pepper. Toss and serve.

a new brunch favorite / boulton & watt

With there being a new and different restaurant pretty much every 10 steps you take in the city, I have to give Boulton & Watt credit for grabbing my attention when I walked by. The LES Gastropub's industrial design is cozy yet hip and exudes energy with the open air seating.

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At the top of my list of brunch favorites is the sautéed spinach, house-made chorizo and pork sausage, with siracha hollandaise. This is seriously the best benedict I've ever had (beating our Jane's and Friend of a Farmer's crab cake benedicts).

The cauliflower souffle and mixed greens are another favorite.

The mimosas are made with fresh orange juice and only $5 which is a nice treat from the usual $14 price at other places.

I also loved the cheddar grits and CT was obsessed with his braised short rib benedict.

I went the other night for drinks and discovered a new affordable great wine - Alta Vista Classic Malbec. Malbecs are a great choice of red wine when you're out if you want an affordable red with big taste. I loved this wine because it was jammy and juicy at first with a tannic finish.

friday's fancies / weekend wear

It's always hard to pack for a weekend trip to a place with a different climate than your home. I can never remember exactly what the degrees feels like and what should be worn then. Lucky for me, New York and Atlanta have exactly the same weather right now, so I'm taking my go to weekend outfit with me. This is my ideal weekend day outfit for Farmer's Markets, antiquing, and lunch on a patio (Bone Garden here I come!).

AG Jeans | Michael Kors Watch | Earrings - sold out; similar 1 & 2 | Leopard Print Shoes - sold out; similar | Bow Detail Sweater | Arrowhead Necklace

This weekend also happens to be my birthday, and I'm a full believer in a new birthday outfit being mandatory. I have been saving the dress I got from Pinky Otto and am hoping the weather is just right for the three quarter length sleeves!

recipe / watermelon caprese salad

You know how they say your tastebuds change as you get older?? It's true. I used to hate watermelon, and it has quickly become one of my favorite fruits just like that. With watermelons in season and the weather warming up, I wanted to take a stab at switching up a antipasta classic using watermelon instead of tomatoes in your typical caprese salad.

The watermelon brings a sweet factor to the salad making it a nice treat for an appetizer or dessert.

I bought half a watermelon and cut it myself. This is so I could get the perfect circles for my base. I washed the watermelon, basil and cut the mozzarella into thing slices. Make sure you cut the watermelon thinly as well. Both should be about 1/2 an inch. Cut in line with the rind to remove it from the watermelon slices. Find a glass cup (I used wine glasses) to use like a cookie cutter for the watermelon. This will ensure you get perfect circles (use extras for center or a snack the next day!). Add cheese, basil and drizzle with balsamic, olive oil and salt.

hump day home makeover / diy miss to marvelous link up

Have you ever started a DIY project, gotten half way through and realized it wasn't going to work out the way you wanted? Or, even worse finished the project and hated it? As a serial DIY-er, I've had my fair share of projects gone wrong. And as a blogger, get even more bummed out when it doesn't turn out well and I have nothing to share with you all. Which made me think, why don't we share them? This week's Hump Day Home Makeover, I'm kicking off a new link up for those of you who want to join me in sharing DIY projects gone wrong & what you learned or gone wrong and turned right through a whole new idea. Link up here or scroll down!

For my latest DIY endeavor, I took a stab at adding wallpaper to cover the white tracks of my elfa shelves. It was a total miss. I think the pattern is wrong for the place. So here's what I did. I took my picture frame, the foam board used for the backing of the bookshelf and the decorative paper and turned them into a new tray for my bar. The green wood grain printed paper goes a lot better in this instance, and I love how the greens and pinks complement each other.

I have a new obsession with pink peonies. Here's the bouquet I put together, but I have no idea what the other flowers are. The man who owns the shop below my apartment talked me out of the flowers I wanted to buy and into these.

IKEA cabinet (dicontinued); similar | Mint Painting (homemade) | Pitcher (One Kings Lane); similar | Antler | Slate Bottle Tags | Picture Frame Used As Tray | Wine Glasses | Champagne Glasses | Rug

Have a DIY miss you made marvelous or a tip from a miss you want to share?! It's easy to link up...just write a post about your project with what you learned or how you made it right. You could be featured in next week's Hump Day Home Makeover!

friday's fancies / how do you floral?

This week's Friday's Fancies is all about May flowers! I really love how far florals have come in the fashion world making a jump from frumpy to chic. Zara is currently my favorite store for modern floral prints. They feel a bit edgier than other florals and still keep bright colors in the mix. I have also really been loving floral dresses mixed with army jackets like I saw on A Bit of Sass, but agree with Long Distance Loving that on the Friday before Derby its gotta be a Derby outfit.

1 (similar one here) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

In true Louisville fashion, I'm sure my mom will be cooking up her mint juleps today getting ready for the Derby tomorrow. Growing up in Louisville, shes a true believer in a mint julep tasting better when you make it the day before. See her recipe here.

throwback thursday / costa rica

Do you have an escape plan? 

With today being Throwback Thursday and the Anthropologie's new summer catalog showing up on my desk with a dress that channels Costa Rica, I'm reminiscing about CT and my trip to Domincal last year.  One of CT's college buddies did a stint in spring break planning and put together an incredible vacation for about 10 of us to a villa in the town. It was a much needed week of enjoying the outdoors and ignoring the world of laptops and cellphones. To the point that we now have a running joke when either of us are having a bad day the response is always "Ready to go to Costa Rica?"

And how could we not when this was our view every morning?

Costa Rica turned out to be one of our favorite places due to the laid back life style, friendly locals, fresh food, and did I mention the views?! Here's a look at the villa we rented from Domincal Vacations.

We also hired a local chef to cook for the group, which turned out to be cheaper than going out to eat, and the food was awesome! Homemade ceviche and spring rolls were at the top of my favorites list.

See more from our trip here.