Decorating your room 101

If you are able to paint your walls...PAINT.  Do not settle for plain, white walls!

First thing to do is set your color palette.  An easy way to do this is to find a picture or painting you like.

 This is hanging on the wall with the vaulted ceiling in our family room.  We keep this room very casual because it's where we live.  We watch TV, go out to the pool, etc.  Note the possibilities here in the painting.  Lots of red, peach, yellow, cream, etc.  Our family room has 2 sky lights, French doors and 2 huge windows so we get a lot of light.  Using the of the painting, we chose something very light and sunny for the wall color. You may not be able to see it from the picture, but it is like the inside of a peach.

Next, pick your furniture.  You don't have to go out and buy new furniture.  Furniture covers are not as tacky as they used to be.  You can get a furniture to cover just about any type of sofa or chair.  If you can't find one in a store, you can make one!  We selected dark brown sofa and love seat (which later proved to not be such a wise choice with a white dog).

We have not yet gotten all of our throw pillows.  The brown ones are what came with the sofa.  Not a particular fan of them, but they will do until I find some I like.  Here is where you can really play with color.  You can choose any of the colors from the painting.  You can also mix and match textures and fabrics.  The only caution is to not have a bold pattern against another bold pattern.  Play with bold and subtle patterns and stay within your pallete.

We have a recliner that closely resembles and feels like a marshmallow.  It's one of the most comfortable chairs I have sat in.  Anyway, it is a muted green but it still goes in the whole color scheme.  You can see that the color in the chair is similar to the color in the flower stems on the painting.  We tied the chair in with the furniture with a throw pillow.  

There ya go...not so bad, right?  A lot of stores like Lowe's and Home Depot have computer programs where you can look at the color on a wall before you buy the paint.  If you are still not sure, bring home a small amount, paint it on a wall and live with it for a few days.  If you love it, you know that's the one.  If not, you have not totally committed to a horrible color...and you are not a huge expense!

How to make an egg sandwich

My son does not like scrambled eggs very much.  He does, however, LOVE egg sandwiches.  In an effort to teach him how to make them himself (he is 1 month shy of 18), I had him take pictures of each step while I made the sandwiches.  I thought I would share them with all of you...

Step 1 (and this is the most important)...get everything you need to make the sandwiches.  This is true anytime you will be cooking, baking, etc.  If you watch cooking shows, they call it mise en place (everything in it's place).  You don't want your egg to burn while you are looking for the cheese.

 Step 2:  Put a frying pan over medium heat.  Then, add some butter or margarine of your choice.  You do not need very much...just enough to cover the pan.

Step 3:  Place buns of your choosing into the melted butter and allow the buns to toast (insert 17-year-old snickers about toasted buns).

 Step 4:  Once the buns are toasted, place them on a plate or napkin.  Since my son loves cheese as much as I love peanut butter (which is a borderline intervention-worthy problem), I add a slice of cheese to the bottom part of the bun now.  The heat from the toasting will help to melt the cheese a bit.

Step 5:  Now, you are ready to tackle the egg.  Don't panic!  It's easy.  Keep your pan over the medium heat.  You don't want your egg to burn.  Add a touch more butter/margarine.

Step 6:  Crack the egg and put it right in the middle of the butter puddle.  Let the egg cook until it's firm on the bottom and then use your butter knife to open the yolk.

Step 7:  Time to flip the egg.  Take your spatula and quickly slide it under the egg.  Lift the spatula and flip the egg.  It's OK if it's not perfect, it's going inside the bun.  Allow the egg to cook until the yolk is firm to your preference.  Add a slice of cheese to the top and allow to melt.

 

Step 8:  With the spatula, lift the egg/cheese combo onto your toasted buns and ENJOY!