You may recall that IGTBH is now a bona fide one year old – well, time flies and I’d love to pick your brain (in a totally non-gross way) before another year whizzes on by.

You see, you guys are what make this blog fun – your comments always make me all warm and fuzzy and your feedback makes me want to make IGTBH as awesome as it possibly can be.  And how can I know what you guys think if I don’t ask you?

Here’s the deal – I’ve whipped up a super quick, down & dirty survey so that you guys can tell me exactly what you think about IGTBH – what do you like, and what needs some tweaking?  Your constructive criticism will be taken to heart and used to guide this blog towards becoming even more awesome in the next year (I know, you probably didn’t think it was possible for IGTBH to get any gnarlier).

After I get all your comments & put them into action, this is probably what people will be saying about IGTBH:

Or maybe I’m just dreaming.  Whatevs.

Anyhoo . . . pretty please?  I would be thrilled if you’d take a few moments to complete the 2010 It’s Great To Be Home Online Survey (that was the link to the survey, please click on it!).  Of course, fill out what you want, skip what you’d rather not answer.  I will love you forever, and probably mail you a pony.  Thanks!

Let me tell you, once you try homemade pizza you will totally be a die-hard fan forever.  My half always has sausage & jalapeno, and I swear that our pizza tastes exactly like my favorite ones from Campisi’s and I Fratelli – not that I’m biased (ahem).  And on top of being delicious, we can make our pizza from scratch faster than a delivery guy can bring us one, and our pizza is cheaper!  (We calculated it at about $6 per pizza – a total bargain when compared to other gourmet pizzas).

Here’s a quick rundown of how to add a delicious pizza recipe to your arsenal.  It looks a little intimidating but it is seriously easy!!

1.  Gather what you need:

Basic Ingredients { for a 2-person pizza }

~ 1 ball of frozen pizza dough { We use individually packaged frozen dough from Central Market, but any frozen dough will do.  There are all sorts of instructions about letting the dough “proof” and expand, etc., but we ignored all that and just defrosted it in the fridge the night before we wanted to use it.  We are rebels, and it worked out just fine. If you want to make your own, this dough recipe is supposed to be delish. }

~ 2-3 T pizza sauce { we use this one, also from Central Market }

~ 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese { we buy a big bag from Sam’s, divide it into little ziplock bags and freeze most of it }

Toppings { this is what we use, but you could vary the toppings as you like - olives, fresh basil, chicken and artichokes are a few other yummy options }

~ 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage, cooked & drained { make sure any meat you use is cooked before you put it on your pizza }

~ minced, canned jalapenos

~ pepperoni slices { we use the Wilson’s brand, found near the bacon }

~ feta crumbles { for some reason, a few feta crumbles on top of the pizza are totally yummy – but optional, of course! }

Garlic Butter – optional { spread over the crust, you could also for dipping Papa John’s-style }

~ 1-2 T melted butter or margarine

~ 1 clove garlic, minced { we use the jarred garlic – so easy! }

~ 1 t dried oregano

Prep Stuff

~ rolling pin

~ 1/4 cup flour { to prevent dough from sticking }

~ pizza stone or baking sheet

~ basting brush

2.  Get the dough ready. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees (and if you’re using a pizza stone, stick it in the oven to preheat for a few minutes – this will make the crust crispier).  By this point, your dough has already thawed and it ready to be fiddled with.  We’ve found that it’s best to roll out your dough on the pizza stone or baking sheet – otherwise, transferring the floppy dough from the counter to the baking sheet is a serious disaster (or at least it was for us!).

To roll out your dough, dust a thin layer of flour on your baking sheet (if using a hot pizza stone, be careful not to touch it!), plop the dough on the baking sheet, and then dust the top of the dough with a little more flour.  Roll out the dough with your rolling pin until it’s the size and shape that you want (remember that thicker dough will lead to softer pizza).  If you don’t have a rolling pin, just evenly push and pull the dough with your hands, but be careful to keep the thickness of the dough even and not to tear any holes in the dough.

3.  Put on the goodies. Spoon a small amount of pizza sauce in the middle of the dough and spread it around with the back of your spoon – go as close to the edges as you’d like, and this will determine how much crust you have.  Start with a small amount of sauce and add more – you’ll need less than you think (we usually use about 2 – 2.5 large spoonfuls).  Next, sprinkle your pizza with mozzarella cheese and add all of your favorite toppings.  The last step is to brush the crust with your garlic butter mixture using the basting brush.  You don’t have to do this last step but it definitely gives the crust more flavor!

4.  Bake your pizza. Throw your pizza in the 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on it since each oven cooks a little differently).  Your pizza is done when the crust is golden brown & the cheese is melted – then cut it into slices and enjoy it!!

YUM!!  Ready to whip up a pizza?  What toppings are you going to put on it?  Mmmm, I’m already dreaming of our next pizza fest . . .

P.S.  You guys shared some awesome recipes last week – I can’t WAIT to try them out!  In fact, we’re trying Sara S’s lime chicken soft tacos tonight . . . so excited!

It’s pitiful that it’s taken us this long to whip the garage into shape but, then again, this is what our garage looked like when we moved in – pretty much filled to the brim with random things left over from the renovation.  Not pretty!!

Fast forward one year, and our garage still looked like this:

I know, there’s no excuse!!  I’m blaming it partially on being a DIY-er – I hate to get rid of anything that could even possibly be used in some sort of project sometime in the future.  Everything has potential, right?  Of course, the other explanation for the disaster of a garage is that I have a serious problem when it comes to tackling large mounds of junk – I get intimidated and wind up just leaving it there for way too long.  Sad, I know.

After awhile, we kind of stopped trying and would just leave things wherever they happened to fall.

Am I the only one guilty of this?

Anyway, over the weekend I had finally had enough.  The weather was beyond gorgeous and I was suddenly filled with inspiration – I was going to tackle the garage (and luckily my hubby was more than willing to jump in and help).  Here was my plan:

1.  Make piles. We started out with 4 main piles – trash, garage sale, keep in the garage, and take in the house to go through.  The small trash went straight into the garbage can and the bigger stuff went to our side yard to wait for bulk trash pickup.  The garage sale stuff migrated to the side of the garage where it will live until we finally get around to having a garage sale, and the stuff that we needed to go through went into the house.  At that point, all that was left was the stuff that needed to stay in the garage.

As a random aside, we found a box of old wallpaper – remember the fuzzy gold stuff from our entryway and the black & white flocked wallpaper from our bordello-inspired powder room?

Yup, that’s it!  That gave us quite a giggle.

2.  Make smaller piles. The “stay in the garage” stuff was then divided and organized – moving blankets were folded and put in boxes, empty storage containers were stacked, Christmas goodies were piled together, garden hoses were rolled up, etc.

3.  Find places for stuff. We decided to put the smaller things on the shelves to keep them from getting unruly – all the bigger stuff went around the perimeter of the garage.  This might not be the approach that everybody would take, but it works for us because it leaves the middle of the garage open for cars.

4.  Whip out the broom. I was shocked by how much random debris we had in the garage – dirt, leaves, dust, you name it it was in there.  You might want to wear a bandana or something around your nose and mouth so that you don’t breathe all of that nastiness in – I was sneezing and stuffy for the rest of the day, so clearly I should have thought ahead on that one!!

After just a few hours of work, this is how our garage looks now:

You might not see a huge difference, but let me tell ya – now we can actually find things and my car gets to live in the garage instead of the driveway.  I’m a happy camper!!

Of course, there’s still a ton of things that I’d like to do to make the garage even more functional, and maybe even a little attractive.  I’m envisioning a system of wall hooks to hang our real estate stuff, a painted garage floor & a new paint job on the walls & shelving (it has a gross, speckled look now), and maybe even a little work table in that back right-hand corner next to the sink.  We’ll see if another bout of motivation strikes!

What about you guys?  Did you tackle any projects around the house?  And am I the only one that could only fit one car in her two-car garage?

Back in my lawyerly days I was mentored by an awesome attorney, one of the smartest chicks I know.  She recently switched firms and wound up in this glamorous office.

But there is a bright side – her firm actually encourages the lawyers to decorate their offices.  Imagine my delight when I got an email from my former mentor asking for a little design advice!!

Although she really wanted fun colors like hot pink, lime green and orange, she worried that such vibrant colors might be too much for a law office – so she requested a variety of options, some including the fun colors and others with more traditional “office” colors like warm reds, greens and tans.  Keeping a “traditional but not stuffy” design scheme in mind, her only other requests were for a lamp, some artwork and new, matching in/out boxes.

Design Quickies don’t usually include 10 options – not gonna lie, I got a little carried away!!  If you have the strength, check out the different goodies I whipped up for her:

Option 1: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, artwork 5, artwork 6, frames, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available - try this or this instead).

The artwork in this design is a more affordable, somewhat DIY version of a very popular set of art from Crate & Barrel, as well as Ballard Designs.

{ You’ll notice that these floating shelves make an appearance in each design – they are super long and will look awesome on that long wall by the bookcase.  I would stagger them so that the upper shelf extends over the bookcase a bit, and the lower shelf is scooted to the left (towards the door) at least two feet.  That way there will be room to lean diplomas, add a narrow vase, personal photos, a book, etc. }

Option 2: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, frames, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 3: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock – try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

{ This print is a steal as compared to an almost identical print from Ballard Designs. }

Option 4:  artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available- try this or this instead).

Option 5: bull dog artwork, basset hound artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

{ Disclaimer: I definitely didn’t expect her to pick this option, but when I came across these quirky prints I just had to concoct a little design with them in honor of her bull dog and beagle pups. }

Option 6: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 7: artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 8: artwork, lamp (base & shade sold separately), shelves, trays.

{ The Bed Bath & Beyond artwork is a an affordable alternative to the Z Gallerie piece. }

Option 9: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 10: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock- try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

Whew!  Still with me after all that?  If you were redecorating your office, which option would you choose?  And speaking of offices, what’s your office situation?  Do you work from home, from a cube, from a corner office?  Or maybe your office days are behind you?  Do tell!!

Click here to snag a little design advice of your very own.

{ For you curious folks, that’s sausage/jalapeno on my half and sausage/pepperoni on the hubby’s half. }

Last night, however, we decided to take a little break from our pizza obsession and try this out for dinner – it was pretty delish!  But even though we branched out a bit last night, we’ve definitely been stuck in a food rut, switching between lasagna rollups, pizza, pizza, pizza, Liz & Jason’s Faux Chinese Food, pantry chili and more pizza.  I’m feeling the need to add some new recipes to my repertoire, you know?

So here’s the deal – I’m begging, PLEADING for you guys to help me out of this rut by sharing some of your favorite recipes with me.  Pretty please?!?  With a cherry on top?  Or, for you savory/cheesy girls (I’m with ya), pretty please with a Dorito on top?

{ Apparently an entire cargo container of Doritos washed up on a beach in North Carolina a few years ago.  Yeah, it’s my dream, too.  Image from here. }

It would be beyond awesome if you’d link to your fave recipes in the Comments – they can be your recipes or someone else’s, I won’t judge if you don’t cook.  And if they’re totally unhealthy and happen to feature large quantities of cheese?  Even better!!  And thanks – my husband will be eternally grateful for your help.  :)

Having lived with and decorated an apartment with my older sister during law school, one of my favorite stories from this issue was about Antonia and Victoria Thompson – two wildly talented sisters with very different design aesthetics.

{ Here’s another great thing about Lonny – you don’t have to be a professional designer to be on the cover of the magazine.  Cheers to that! }

After living in Manhattan their entire lives, the sisters decided to take the plunge and buy their first apartments.  Their real estate searches led them far and wide, but they ultimately purchased separate apartments . . . in the same building . . . on the same floor . . . with the same layout!

With an artist mother and extensive travels, it’s no wonder both sisters developed an eye for design.  Antonia, the younger of the two sisters, tends to be more impulsive in her decorating, setting out without a master plan and picking up pieces she loves as she goes along – the result is an eclectic, lived-in look with a somewhat masculine edge.  Victoria, on the other hand, takes a more meticulous approach to designing, identifying her key pieces and building a design plan around them for a look that is tailored yet youthful.

{ Living / Dining }

Many of the key elements of each sister’s space are the same – pattern (particularly zebra), splashes of turquoise, glass-topped coffee tables, furniture arrangement, upholstered stools (in zebra!) in front of the fireplace, and bold artwork.

{ Powder Room }

However, their tastes quickly diverge as Antonia prefers what the article’s author, Shawn Gauthier, describes as a “Parisian sensibility married to a chic eclecticism” while Victoria gravitates toward a “1950s Palm Beach vibe infused with a classic, mid-century vision”.

{ Kitchen }

This difference in design sensibilities is striking when their renovated kitchens are compared side by side.  Antonia’s is a picture of function and utility, from the hanging pots and butcher block countertop to the commercial-sized refrigerator – reminiscent of Parisian kitchens and industrial chic.  Victoria, on the other hand, injects a bit of glamour into her hard-working kitchen with penny tile and turquoise cabinet interiors.

{ Bedroom }

Both sisters designed soothing bedrooms, but Victoria’s is feminine and somewhat traditional while Antonia’s leans a bit more eclectic and muted.

{ Home Office }

From the floor plan above, it appears that both sisters have chosen to use their somewhat awkward dining areas as home offices – a great use of space as their living rooms are more than large enough to accommodate dining tables.

{ Bookcase }

Both sisters chose to paint the backs of their bookcases, a trend that really serves to highlight the styling of the shelves.  {Check out Averill’s great post on this subject for more discussion & gorgeous inspiration pics.}

{ Living Room }

Ottomans upholstered in zebra fabric?  Yes please!  These are girls after my own heart with their love of zebra and turquoise.

So what do you guys think?  They both created unique spaces that are filled with personality and special touches.  Do you have a favorite?

To see full-sized images of each sister’s apartment, click here for Antonia and here for Victoria.  All images originally from Lonny Magazine.

]]> http://itsgreattobehome.net/2010/03/01/a-tale-of-two-designer-sisters/feed/ 7 http://itsgreattobehome.net/2010/02/26/grownup-doodles/ http://itsgreattobehome.net/2010/02/26/grownup-doodles/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:10:50 +0000 Liz http://itsgreattobehome.net/?p=6750 Our den isn’t totally finished yet (will it ever be?), but we’ve gotten to the point now where the den definitely feels like home, and like a reflection of us.

Bringing in bold turquoise and orange through placemat pillows and glass floats added splashes of my favorite thing – color!!  But what finally made the space feel like a real home was hanging our new art series on the far wall – a wall that was formerly sooooo blank and boring.

I whipped up those babies one night after getting a little inspiration from the chalkboard in this living room by Margot Austin.

Wanna make some for yourself?  Here’s how to do it:

1.  Round up the goods. You may already have most of the necessary supplies on hand, like I did.  Here’s what you need.

~ frames w/ mats, the number and color that you want (I used 3 of this frame from Ikea)

~ paint for your background color (I used my free paint)

~ a foam brush

~ a paint pen (I used a white one with a chisel tip)

~ a ruler

~ painter’s tape

2.  Do the prep work. Remove the mats and backing from the frames, and set the frames aside.  For this project, you’re going to use the smooth side of the particle board backing as your paint surface (you could cut down art paper or cardboard to use instead, but I think it makes more sense to just use what you already have on hand).  Use your foam brush and background paint to paint the smooth side of the particle board.  You will probably need several coats of paint (I needed 2), and let the boards dry between each coat.

3.  Bust out the ruler. I wanted each line of scribbles to look uniform, so I ran a line of painter’s tape around each side of the boards and then marked out the height of each of my scribbles and the space between each line of the scribbles.  To do this, I used the width of my ruler as the height of each scribble, and the width of the painter’s tape as the distance between each line of scribbles.  (Note: don’t put painter’s tape on the mat – it will tear away little pieces of the mat and look terrible.)

4.  The fun part! Here’s where you get to channel your inner child and start scribbling.  You might want to try out a few practice scribbles before you actually start painting on your “canvas” – you want to try to keep each scribble the same size and height so that everything looks very graphic instead of messy.

5.  Enjoy! This has to be the easiest art projects ever, but it’s also one of my favorites.  It was a lot of fun to do, and I think the finished product looks so awesome – fun and graphic and a bit whimsical.

So now that you’ve seen what we’re rockin’ out at our house, what’s hanging on your walls?  Are you photograph-type people, or do you prefer framed art?  Or maybe it’s a collection of your kid’s cutest doodles?  Spill the beans!

FYI – I hung these art panels on the wood paneling the same way I did here.

This post is shared with The DIY Show Off, Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch, Cottage Instincts, Making the World Cuter, Twice Remembered, The Girl Creative, and A Soft Place to Land.

Can you imagine looking up at these ceilings every day?

{ Barry Dixon }

{ Barry Dixon }

{ Barry Dixon }

{ unknown }

{ Phoebe Howard }

{ Sherrill Canet }

Yeah, I think I could get used to that.  Maybe one day I’ll get it into gear and spiff up my ceilings (although they could never be anything close to these stunners).  What about you guys – are your ceilings plain white, or gussied up?  Do you like the look of fancy ceilings?

Here are a few of my faves:

{ Angie Hranowsky }

{ Brooke Giannetti }

{ Huntley & Co. }

{ Vanessa de Vargas }

{ Elizabeth Dinkel }

{ Palmer Weiss }

{ Margot Austin }

{ Bonesteel Trout Hall }

I don’t think I can pick a favorite.  What about you?

Guess what?  I’ve revamped the Inspiration page so that you can find what you’re looking for in a jiffy.  Check out the changes here.

Let me introduce you to my new friend – lasagna rollups.

If you’ve met one before, you surely remember its gooey deliciousness, handy single-servingness (yes, I made that up), and awesome freezability.  Ahhh, freezability – every girl’s best friend.  I got this recipe from this lovely lady, and I know you’ll love it!

Here’s how you can get your hands on one (or 10):

1.  Be prepared. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 and start boiling a ginormous pot of water (the lasagna noodles are really long).  Once the water is boiling, boil 1 box of lasagna noodles according to the package directions.  Once the noodles are done, take them out of the water with tongs and lay them on a pre-greased cookie sheet (if they overlap, drizzle them with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking).  While all this is going on, cook and drain a 1/2 pound of ground beef for the filling.

2..  Assemble the goods.

~ 1 box of lasagna noodles – see above (we like the whole wheat ones – and they’re pretty tasty)

~ 1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained  – see above

~ 6 T parmesan cheese

~ 3 C ricotta cheese (feel free to go low-fat on this)

~ 1 C frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed

~ 12 oz. package shredded mozzarella (set some aside to sprinkle on top)

~ 4 eggs (we use Egg Beaters)

~ 1 1/2 t salt

~ 1/4 t pepper

~ 1/2 t dried oregano

~ 1 jar marinara sauce

~ a little bit of olive oil to grease the pan and noodles

3.  Assemble the filling. Grab a big bowl and mix everything together, except for the lasagna noodles, marinara sauce and the olive oil.

4.  Roll along. This is the messy part.  Take each noodle 1 by 1 and fill them up with the filling.  Typically, about 3 spoonfuls will be the right amount.  Place the filling at one end of the noodle and then roll it up. {If you want to freeze the rollups, this is the point where you would wrap each rollup in waxed paper and put it in a ziplock bag to freeze.  Later, when you’re ready to eat them, just take them directly from the freezer and follow Step 5.}

5.  Cook those bad boys. Spread a little of the marinara sauce on the bottom of your greased baking dish, then line up the rollups inside the dish.  Cover the rollups with marinara sauce and then sprinkle the entire dish with your reserved mozzarella cheese (you can add a little parmesan, too, if you want).  Cover with tinfoil and stick the dish in your 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.  If you want your cheese browned, remove the tinfoil and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

I love these guys even more than traditional lasagna because you don’t have to cook a giant casserole and eat leftovers for the rest of your life – freezing them is so convenient!!  Jason and I polished off our last frozen ones the other day and the pictures from this post are of the ones we (and by “we“, I mean he) made last night to replace them (we made a double batch and froze the other ones – and don’t worry, we haven’t even come close to finishing the first batch . . . yet).

I hope you love’em – let me know if you try them out!!  What’s your favorite go-to, easy meal?

This post is shared with A Soft Place to Land and Tip Junkie.