Since I had to call an electrician to fix whatever went wrong with the GFI in my basement, I decided to have him install the foyer chandelier and a new ceiling fan in my living room.   Now I don’t have to borrow/buy a huge ladder to be able to reach the ceiling, which was my plan when I was going to do it myself.

Ta-da!  The new foyer chandelier:

New Foyer Chandelier

This is what it looked like before:

Ugly Brass Chandelier

Next, I bought the white ceiling fan with the pretty chandelier light kit and had him install it in my living room.  It makes such a big difference, and I love the sparkle:

New Ceiling Fan

Close-up of New Ceiling Fan

Here is a picture of the old brass and oak ceiling fan I had previously:

Old Living Room Fan

Old Living Room

That picture is a waaay “before” picture!  I took that when we were having the hardwood floors installed, which is why the fan is so dusty.  I do clean!  However, when they installed the floors the dust went everywhere.  You can also see the old popcorn spackle ceiling as well as the old living room paint colors.  This place has come a long way.

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In light of the catastrophic failure of a GFI outlet in my basement lab and my laptop’s hard drive crash today, the drink feature will be short and to the point:

Booze & Drugs

Yep, that’s right.  I’ve had that kind of day.  It requires a nice, stiff drink of the hard stuff, maybe a Xanax, and an electrician.  Fine – I’m kidding about the pills, but not about the drink and the electrician. The electrician won’t be here until Friday morning.  Crap.

So, how’s your week going?

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As I tackle small home improvement projects, like updating light fixtures, I always have larger “dream” projects in the back of my mind.  One of my dream projects is to convert the windows in the third-floor bedroom into french doors which open onto an iron Juliet balcony.  You see this feature on many old homes in New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah.

French Doors & Juliet Balcony

I imagine waking up in the morning, throwing those doors open wide, and breathing in the fresh air.

Juliet Balcony, Inside View

My third-floor window has a large arced transom, but I would like the whole thing to open just like in the previous photo.

Upper-Left, 3rd Floor Arched Window

My current bedroom window is the arched window at the very top of the house in this photo.  It has a view of the forest next to our house, which is always alive with birds and butterflies in the morning.

My other big dream project involves replacing the white wood railing on the upper gallery porch with beautiful wrought iron railing – the kind you see on homes in the Garden District of New Orleans:

Gallery Porch w/ Iron Rails

More Ornate Iron Rails

Finally, I really would love to dress up the outside of my house with some lovely working shutters.  While I love the brick exterior and double porches, I feel it would look even lovelier with some shutters.

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Like a crow, I’m drawn to shiny objects.   It’s strange because I’m not really a jewelry person, and I don’t like diamonds when I do buy jewelry.  I like emeralds and colored stones best.  However, when it comes to things for my home, I like sparkle!  In particular, I’m fond of chandeliers.  I one day hope to be like Nita at Mod Vintage Life and become rich in chandeliers. 

So, I was thrilled when my latest purchase from Overstock arrived.  I’m replacing my outdated brass foyer chandelier with this one:

Ooooo - Shiny Glass Balls!

Can I just take the time to say that I love Overstock?  I love to shop there almost as much as I love to shop on eBay or at thrift stores.

At any rate, I spent all of last night putting it together and attaching those wonderful glass balls to the fixture.  I think it’s going to be lovely once I hang it.  That’s the really tricky part, isn’t it?  I have to attach the canopy to a ceiling 20 feet off the foyer floor!  Wish me luck.  I’m hoping the fact that the current chandelier has some sort of coupler about 1/3 of the way up the chain will make this process a little easier.  At least I won’t be wrestling with the canopy cover and wiring with a 20-pound chandelier still attached to it.

And while we are on the topic of crows (sort of), can I say that I really do like them?  I always call them party crows because they seem mischievous, like they’re up to no good, walking beside the road and looking for a beer can and hoping there is still some beer in it.  Yeah, I’m weird that way.  Anyway, I got the latest catalog from Ballard Designs and fell in love with this art:

Crow Canvas

It would be perfect in my living room, and it’s just in time for my favorite holiday, Halloween.  I would leave it up all the time, though.

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I’m still struggling with paint colors for my door, but I’m hooked on green colors at the moment.  I’m now pondering this color:

Greenblack Paint

Close-up of Greenblack on Door

I’m going to get some sample cans of the Rookwood Shutter Green and the Greenblack paint at Sherwin-Williams today.  My door is going to start looking really ghetto because I’m going to paint swatches on it.

What does this have to do with martinis?  Well, to get through this rough period of home improvement, I’ll need something to drink.  As a tribute to my future new door color, I’ll be drinking Sake & Green Tea Martinis. 

Sake & Green Tea Martini

Yes, it’s a little fluorescent, but it’s green.  I’ll take it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 fl. oz. dry sake

1 1/2 fl. oz. premium vodka

1/2 fl. oz. Zen Green Tea Liqueur

Colored sugar or crushed peppercorns for garnish (whichever you prefer)

Chilled Martini Glass

DIRECTIONS:

Rim the glass with either the colored sugar or crushed peppercorns.   Set aside, and fill a cocktail shaker about two-thirds with crushed ice.  Add the liquid ingredients and shake until well-mixed and thoroughly chilled.  Strain into the martini glass and enjoy!

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I believe this is more painful than actually watching paint dry.  You can’t just decide on a color, oh no!  For example, if you like green, you have to sort through all the varying values and undertones: blue-green, gray-green, black-green. It’s a maddening process.  I’ve been playing with Sherwin-Williams’ painting tool and driving myself insane.  This is what my door looks like right now.  The peeling finish aside, I’m not really crazy about the wood tone.  I would like some contrast with the door.

My Shabby-but-NOT-Chic Door

Here are some of the color choices I’m playing with thus far.  This first one is nothing too special, just a regular black, maybe leaning a bit towards the charcoal side of black. It’s so hard to tell with these online color tools!

Tricorn Black

Next, I decided to try a black and green hue:

Black Emerald

Hmmmm — maybe that’s too dark?  I definitely want to stay away from the hunter green color that was popular in the 80s!  Maybe this lighter color…

Ripe Olive

I wonder what a blue-green would look like?

Rookwood Sash Green

Well, it’s definitely funky.  Maybe if I tone it down a little…

Rookwood Shutter Green

At this rate, I will NEVER decide.

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In blog-land it’s easy to look at other people’s beautiful homes and projects and think, “Wow, I wish my home were that pretty/perfect/updated!”  Today, I’m going to bust that myth wide open by showing you two ugly things at my home.

Ugly Thing 1:

Ugly Brass Chandelier

Yep, that’s right; I still have a horribly dated early-1990s brass chandelier in my foyer.  It’s the original fixture that the previous owners selected when they built the house in 1993.  Thus, I’ve been living with this thing for 12 years.  I’ve tried to dress it up with pretty shades, but it’s still an ugly brass chandelier.  The main reason I haven’t done anything to it is because it’s connected 20 feet off the ground.  Even taking it down to paint it would be a pain in the rear!  I am going to replace it, though.  On top of it being ugly shiny brass, I’ve always felt it’s a little too big for my small foyer.  I want something smaller.

Ugly Thing 2:

Peeling Front Door

This one is really embarrassing, and it’s right there for the whole world to see.  The old fiberglass door is peeling, and I have no idea of what I want to do with it.  I would love to replace it, but new doors are extremely expensive.  I’m not sure I if I want to strip it and re-stain it or just paint it.  I’m leaning towards painting it, but I have no idea of what color to paint it.  I’ve thought about painting it black, but then I thought that might seem too dreary and dark.  So, it’s remained like this for the past year or so.  Maybe the people who helped Nita pick her house’s paint color can offer me some suggestions.

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Yesterday the Mister and I played hooky to see the 4:00pm showing of Inception at the IMAX in downtown Raleigh.  It’s a great movie, with one plot flaw.  If I had the ability to share dreams with people and control them, any dream with Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy would be rated NC-17.  I’m just saying…they are HOT!    Cillian Murphy’s eyes alone make me swoon.

Cillian Murphy

And Ken Watanabe has such an intense gaze that you feel like he’s reading your mind.  For me, it’s all about the eyes.  Can you tell?

Ken Watanabe

Of course, Joseph Gorden-Levitt isn’t too shabby, either.  There is one scene in the movie where he’s standing at just the right angle in his well-tailored trousers, and he has the most divine butt EVER.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Today

But I struggle with finding him hot because I remember him as the young kid on Third Rock from the Sun:

Joseph Gorden-Levitt (L) on "3rd Rock"

My inappropriate musings aside, the movie really is phenomenal, especially on the IMAX: a real visual treat.  It was worth playing hooky from work, and not just for all the handsome eye candy.  I thought the whole thing was well done, start to finish.

However, it’s a long movie, and we didn’t leave the IMAX until about 7:00pm.  We were really hungry by then, but I didn’t want to go home and cook an elaborate meal.  I must have been channeling Amber over at Eat, DINK and Be Merry because my answer for dinner last night was a frittata.  I went for a large frittata instead of the cute mini-frittatas Amber made, though:

Asparagus Pancetta Frittata

The great thing about a frittata is that it’s ideal for a pantry-raid type of meal.  I happened to have some fresh asparagus spears, lemons, pancetta, and a wedge of Parmesan cheese in my fridge last night.  That’s what I dumped into my frittata, and boy, was it delicious.  It’s also very filling.  Don’t let the size of it fool you; that is more than enough food for two people for dinner!  You can add anything, but I think the lemon zest adds some necessary acidity to balance the saltiness of the pancetta and Parmesan.  Tomatoes would probably work, too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. of pancetta, diced

8 fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1/2″ pieces

4 Tbsp. of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided into 3 Tbsp. and 1 Tbsp. portions

1/4 tsp. fresh lemon zest

5 eggs

2 Tbsp. milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together the eggs, milk, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and 3 Tbsp. of the grated Parmesan.  Set aside.  Preheat the broiler in your oven.

In an oven-safe 8″ non-stick skillet over medium heat, saute the pancetta and asparagus until the pancetta is crisp and the asparagus crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes.  Turn the heat to low and pour the egg mixture into the pan. Stir gently to evenly distribute the ingredients, then cover and cook until the bottom has set and is lightly browned, about 9 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle the remaining 1 Tbsp. of Parmesan on the top of the frittata.  Put the frittata under the broiler until the top is set, about 1 minute.  Let it cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before sliding it out of the pan and onto a cutting board.  Cut into 4 wedges, serve, and enjoy.

Bon Appétit!

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I’m so very honored to have the One Lovely Blog Award bestowed upon me!

One Lovely Blog Award

I’m even more thrilled that it came from Nita at Mod Vintage Life.  I fell in love with her blog, her house, her chandeliers, and her weenies when I first stumbled across it during some random blog surfing.  Seriously!  Just look at the button, with the weenies wagging their tails:

How can you see that button and not want to click it?  Go ahead; click it! You won’t be sorry.

So, now I’m supposed to share seven things you might not know about me.  I have no idea of how interesting these seven things are to anyone but me, but here goes:

1.  I am a huge nerd and a scientist by training.  I got my B.S. in Chemistry & Physics and my Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemical Physics.  I also married a nerd, and when we get old we’re going to be a couple of childfree, old nerds doing nerdy things, like mixing cocktails with liquid nitrogen, and loving it.

Me & The Mister When We're Old

2. I grew up in the sticks, on a farm, with a garden which provided all of our food as well as pigs, chickens, and GOATS!  Despite my academic credentials, I really am just a simple country girl who still loves those things.  It’s probably why I was drawn to my house, which is in what is still predominantly a farming community outside of Raleigh, NC.

Goats - Friendly But Pushy

3.  Not only did I grow up in the country in rural Georgia, but I was an only child.  As such, I developed a rapport with all kinds of critters at an early age.  I’m still drawn to all types of critters, even ones most people would despise.  For example, I’ve just spent the better part of the past two weeks live-trapping mice in my house and relocating them 10 miles away to an abandoned farm.  I’m a total sucker when it comes to critters.

Live Trapping Mice - FUN!

4. I am 25% Cherokee.  My maternal grandfather was 100% Cherokee, registered with the Eastern Band of Cherokee in the Qualla Boundary in NC.  This surprises a lot of people because I do not look Cherokee in the least!  I got my Dad’s and maternal Grandmother’s Irish coloring: red hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin, freckles.  I am recessive gene woman.  It’s not fair. I wanted the bronze skin, dark eyes, dark hair, and cool widow’s peak my Grandfather and mother have.

My Cherokee Grandfather

5.  I have lived in several states: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, California, Illinois, and North Carolina.  I liked Illinois the least.  Chicago was too bitch-ass cold for me, and I couldn’t get back to the South fast enough.  Some people love snow, but I hate it.  Thus, I doubt I will move anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line ever again.

Cloud Gate Sculpture, Millennium Park - Chicago

6.  Despite my love of the South, I would really love to live abroad.  I am keen on the idea of moving to a lovely old home on the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia.  I imagine myself renovating a stone cottage and becoming a truffle farmer.  Did you know that most of the world’s truffles come from Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula?  Well, now you do. 

17th Century Croatian Stone House

7.  I am a bourbon snob.  My current favorite sipping bourbon is Parker’s Heritage 27-year bourbon from Heaven Hill, but a close second is Eagle Rare 17 from Buffalo Trace.  My favorite mixing bourbon is Woodford Reserve.  I make all of my mint juleps, sidecars, and manhattans with Woodford.  You can see all of the aforementioned bourbons (and more) sitting on my whiskey bar in my house.  I took the photos above the bar when I visited Woodford Reserve distillery in Lexington, KY last fall.

Childfree Chic's Whiskey Bar

Is that enough minutia about me?  I hope so, because now I’m passing the award to these other bloggers.  It’s time for them to answer some questions.

Amber @ Eat, DINK, and Be Merry

Kinga & Joseph @ Blueloom

Tammy @ The View from Here

Sarah @ Five Camels

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Every time I hit the farmer’s market I see a bounty of blueberries.  I love them raw, but I often can’t eat them fast enough.  So, I freeze a few, and I use the remainder in a blueberry mojito:

Blueberry Mojito

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 1/2 oz light rum

- 1/4 oz fresh lime juice

- 8 mint leaves

- 8 fresh blueberries

- 1 tsp sugar

- Club soda

- Tall Collins Glass

Garnish: lime slice and mint sprig

DIRECTIONS:

Muddle mint leaves with the sugar in a Collins glass. Add light rum and lime juice to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Pour into the Collins glass. Drop in the blueberries and club soda. Garnish with a lime slice and mint sprig.

Cheers!

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