Golden Style Book

Kris and I stopped by our new house today to get an estimate for our blinds and shutters. I hadn't been to the house in a few weeks, and there has been some great progress! We got a new garage door, alarm system, landscaping and cabinets. Although we still have a long way to go, I am starting to be able to envision the final product. This month's House Beautiful gave me some fabulous ideas for summer decorating. Krista Ewart's beach cottage designs that were featured in House Beautiful are so unique and fun...there is something so refreshing about bright pinks, greens and interesting patterns!

This outdoor space is so inviting. I love the contrast of the white outdoor furniture and the bright patterns and colors.


This room is so beach chic...love all the vibrant colors!


I love everything about this room; the white paint, exposed ceiling beams. built in shelves, gorgeous fireplace, the list could go on! This room has so many fresh colors and patterns with out going overboard and making the room look busy. I also adore all the flower arrangements. I wish I could transplant this room to my house!

My mother-in-law, Terri, has been putting together a cook book of everyone's favorite recipes. The recipe that I immediately thought of was Katie Lee Joel's pulled pork.

The pulled pork is PERFECT for a big party or entertaining. I make it for football parties or entertaining a group of friends and family as it serves 10 to 12. It is super easy and delicious! Here is the recipe below:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
• 5 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
• 10 to 12 soft hamburger-style buns

In a small bowl, mix chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. Rub the spice mixture on all sides of pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Cut pork butt in half; place in a slow cooker and add water. Set on low heat and cook for 10 hours. Transfer from slow cooker to a roasting pan and shred with two forks, removing any large pieces of fat. Pour the broth into a heatproof pitcher or large fat separator, and skim off the fat.
Put the pork back into the slow cooker. Combine the barbecue sauce and 3 cups of the skimmed broth. Stir into pork and cook 2 hours. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pork from the slow cooker. Place the meat on a serving platter or on individual buns. Serve the remaining sauce alongside.

I wanted to share some fabulous new pieces for our house that I found on Etsy this week. I am always so impressed by the incredible artists and business owners that are on Etsy; so much talent!

One of the walls in our new kitchen has a larger open space so I wanted something fun to hang there. Well, I absolutely love cupcakes (as evidenced by our cupcake cake at our wedding!). So I found this awesome print that is a take on the old WWII phrase Keep Calm and Carry On. This print says "Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake"! So perfect for my very A-type personality...it will help remind me to stay calm, and eat my favorite dessert! The KeepCalm boutique is an incredible collection of fun and witty Keep Calm posters. My poster is in a light "icing blue"which matches the color scheme for the house perfectly!

I also found this incredible vintage Florida map from StoriesDivinations on Etsy. This Etsy seller has a huge collection of vintage maps from all over the world. I can't wait to frame our Florida map and add it to the house...once our walls are done...one step at a time! :)

In April of this year, Kris and I bought our first house together! It was one of the most exciting moments in our lives together; it was our chance to start something totally fresh together...no more her furniture vs his furniture, his house vs her apartment...everything would be just ours.

Well it took us about 6 months to actually find a house that was perfect. I think we must have seen about 70 houses! We were starting to get so frustrated with the house hunting process that we thought would be so easy, when we found our perfect house! Well, it will be perfect :) We stumbled upon our home as we were driving in our new neighborhood and saw the sign for an open house. It was meant to be because two months later we were home owners!

The people that lived in our house before us had not updated anything since 1973 when the house was built, so we have a LOT of remodeling to do. I am so blessed that my husband and his family own a construction company so they have been taking the lead on the remodel. So far all of the demo has been done...basically everything in the house was gutted so now it looks super bare. But it is so nice not to have orange shag carpet and neon paint on the walls!

Because Kris is handling the construction side of things I get to work on the design! Yay! I am so excited to have this blank slate to work with but honestly, it is really intimating too! I thought my ability to style fashion would translate so easily to interior design, but it is a lot harder than I thought! Luckily my fabulous mother in law is an interior designer and was on hand to give me great advice. She suggested that I start to go through magazines and pictures of home design ideas and compile my favorite pictures. This has been so much fun and helped me to hone in on my personal style aesthetic which I am calling Shabby Chic (more chic than shabby) Beach! Here are some of my design inspirations so far...

I love this Beach Cottage look. So serene and calming. The chandelier is so unique and I also love the way so many pictures are used.


This room is so perfectly arranged. I love the symmetry of the windows, chairs and couches. The fire place is pretty much amazing too!


This is so seaside luxury! Love the old vintage touches mixed with the beach accessories. The glass domes are gorgeous and I can never pass up oversized shells!


This is such a fun serving area! I love the six pictures on the wall and the rich colors mixed with the light creamy colors and flowers. I love these blue prints from Pottery Barn to add some color!

I literally fell in love with this kitchen by KraftMaid as soon as I saw it! It is so whimsical, fresh and clean. My favorite part though is the incredible mother of pearl backsplash. It adds so much to the room!


I found this amazing kitchen by Angie Hranowsky on the La Dolce Vita Blog. The mother of pearl tiles are to die for. So Beach Chic!
We will be posting pictures of the renovation as we go....we are hoping to be done by the end of August! Wish us luck! xoxo Meggan