Things are really comin’ along!
Living room curtains hung (after several set backs like running out of hooks and a wiggly screw). We are still missing a bit more artwork on the walls, but think this is how our formal living room is gonna look.
Except this wall is getting IKEA bookcases! That’s why the room looks a little front heavy.
Another room that’s pretty much done – sans a painting or two – is the master/upstairs bath
I like the nautical look of hooks more than towel racks…and towel racks are much harder to put a towel on…so I’m so happy with my rose flower Anthro towel hooks!
And our Bed, Bath and Beyond hand towel holder (all of the décor fixtures were falling out when we moved in so we patched the holes and started over)
The bathroom closet used to be a mustard yellow with lots of scuffs
So Justin and I painted the shelves (him) and back (me!) to give it a nice white brightness (we skipped the tippy top part because it was hard to reach)
MUCH better!
Matt and I spent hours out shopping today. We bought two of these racks for the basement closets
And a couch!!! It should be here in a week or so – I cannot wait! The TV area (in the dark spot behind Matt above) is only filled with a chair for television and movie watching currently. The new couch is huge and fluffy!
When we got back home at 5, I was starving and had a puffin snack. Mmm puffins!
Then put together one of those “I have an eggplant and a can of beans” kind of dinners.
It turned out quite good!
Eggplant Coconut Curry
This is one of those great “throw everything in a pot” dishes that turns into a flavorful stoup. It’s easy to mix and match flavors based on what you have on hand. Garnish with plain yogurt, coconut and salty peanuts or cashews.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, cubed
- 1 can garbanzos, drained
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 cup cooked millet (I used leftovers or you could cook fresh)
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1/3 cup dried prunes (or raisins or apricots – key!)
- 1 tsp garam masala (or a generous pinch of cinnamon)
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 4 glugs Liquid Smoke (optional)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
Method
- Heat pot to medium high.
- Add oil and brown eggplant for 5 minutes. Add water to slightly steam if necessary.
- Add garlic.
- Add beans + coconut milk + millet + prunes + spices and stir.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes…or until you feel like eating!
After dinner we hung more pictures and screwed up one hook hanging project. I swear drilling holes is the hardest part of basic home projects. Even with anchors, an experienced hand and a good drill, we still hit hard parts – literally!
Time to face plant into my bed!
{ 91 comments… read them below or add one }
Your new place is looking absolutely amazing!
Everything looks amazing! Seriously I am loving the blue
I loooove the blue you chose for the living room! So comfy and inviting!!!
Everything looks amazing! I especially love the bathroom. It looks so light and airy.
I really like the look! It looks open and fresh. Nice hooks!
I want to face-plant in my bed as well….but I did not clean and decorate a house today. Hehe.
Kath your house is beautiful!!! Between the decor, colors, lighting, and the photography of it all…it’s Pottery Barn catalog worthy!
If the blogging gig doesn’t work out or the bakery gig, you could style rooms and photograph them…seriously
you have a talent for it!
Throw together bean meals…I made one of those + planned leftovers this weekend.
Drilling…sucks. It’s hard and usually over-head and the ole arms just…ache!
Great job, love the blue bathroom…and towel hooks! I can tell that’s hours/days of work!! Rest and relax your new home looks very cozy, thanks for sharing it with us.
Oh wow Kath! I’ve been away from my computer for the past 3 days but I’m catching up on the house posts now and yours looks like it’s popped off the pages of BH&G!! I LOVE the living room – all the patterns and colours go so well together. I just spent my weekend moving my mum into her new house and like you, she has no couch yet so we spent our Saturday evening watching a dvd on 2 rather uncomfortable patio chairs. Sounds like you guys have had a very productive weekend!
Your house looks great! I am actually a design student so I love seeing how people decorate. I know this advice is unsolicited and I hope you dont find it rude, but I would really suggest changing the table in the living room. Your furniture is plush and more traditional and the table is very cold and modern looking. The scale is also a bit off with your armchairs. I think a great traditional coffee table – maybe even something shabby chic looking in a whitewash – would really pull the room together nicely!
Completely agree with Jackie!
The table is a $30 from IKEA…and our coffee table before that was two IKEA $5 stools….so yeah, it’s hard for me to spend money on a coffee table
I agree though, this is more of a temporary solution. I wanted something round and modern and this one fit the bill for cheap. Once we get more settled in and finish buying the essentials, I’ll start looking for a better one.
Thanks for the respectful advice!
“Even with anchors, an experienced hand and a good drill, we still hit hard parts – literally!”
TWSS?
Sorry. I work with 13 year olds for a living. Their sense of humor is very much rubbing off on me. ; )
In other news, LOVE your bathroom floors!
I was thinking that the whole time I wrote it..
HA!! I thought the same thing…….
and I can’t blame it on 13 year olds
The natural light is awesome in your home, perfect for your blogging needs. I made a similar coconut curry the other night which came out awesome. Coconut milk is so luxurious, and filling!
I love this recipe! I have 2 eggplants in the fridge that are almost a week old b/c I’ve had no inspiration to do anything with them. Dinner tomorrow night!
Aahhh! Your place looks wonderful! And I love your hardwood floors in the bathroom. Normally I shy away from carpet or hardwood flooring in the bathroom for fear of mold/mildew/rot, but maybe there’s a trick to keeping hardwood in the bathroom gorgeous? I’m going to have to research that. Now you’ve got me coveting hardwood flooring!
Your house is looking BEAUTIFUL! Everything comes together so nicely. I wish I could go and sit in your living room, it looks so clean and comfortable.
Your new home looks great! It has a very light and airy feel to it. I also love that you painted the doors white. At my old house, our doors were the same 70′s looking brown- my mom hated them!
I also can’t wait to buy a giant bookcase for all my books. I have dreams about organizing my books by genre and author (nerd alert). Thanks for sharing your home with us! I can’t wait to have my own space someday.
Check this out…http://tinyurl.com/4xjqgtt My dream is a floor to ceiling book case with a ladder!
That’s awesome! I love how their tagline is “Tools for Serious Readers.”
Your house is really coming together! I bet your living room will look great with some big bookshelves on that empty wall.
Wow it looks gorgeous already!! I can’t believe you’ve only been there for a week– definitely looks homey!!
Can’t wait to see the new couch!
ahhh that dinner looks so good! definitely going into my google docs recipe list! And great job in the house, such good natural light too!
Could your home BE anymore perfect! (Chandler voice from Friends!)
Beautiful Kath! ……Dinner looks quite nice too!
I just LOVE the idea of adding prunes to your eggplant/bean curry dish. They are so yummy and it seems like the flavors would really compliment each other here. I’m going to have to give this one a try! Garlic gold, though? What is that?
It’s a roasted garlic oil that also comes as crunchies. Read more here: http://garlicgold.com/
Everything looks so clean and refreshing!
what a beautiful home! y’all deserve it!!
I love your living room! It looks like it’s right out of a magazine.
I wish I were capable of creating things like “i have an eggplant and a can of beans” type of dishes! That really does look awesome (LOVE the peanut addition!).
Also – the house really looks incredible. Seriously, when I finally make the decision to buy, I will be emailing you for your interior design advice!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the blue walls!
i love how BRIGHT your house is, kath! one of my sticking points before we purchased our current home was plenty of windows with natural light. i really think it changes the whole feel of the house.
What else could you use instead of cooked millet? And would it be in the same proportion? Thanks!
Rice, amaranth, small pasta, and yes, same amount
loving all the bright blue
Where’d you get the white racks? And do tell if they’re any good. We live in an older house with small closets so I’ve tried to build one in the basement but every garment rack I buy is terrible and falls apart. These look nice and have an area for folded stuff. Yay for new house!
they’re from Lowes and they’re great. Just like the stainless ones
The new decorations look like something out of a magazine. Just fabulous! Nice job!
You guys sure are working hard. The new place looks great. I never had a basement until I moved to the mid west for grad school, about 6 years ago. I am now back in Texas and I SO miss the extra storage and hang out space a basement provides. Homes don’t have basements in Texas
I love the hooks for the towels! That is something I want to do in the future – so much easier to use and to keep tidy-looking.
Everything looks fabulous! That recipe sounds easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Really love the colours you’ve chosen. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the house come together.
Your napkins match your wall paint! Pretty!
Ah, it looks great! LOVING the colors you chose & the cool quirkiness of your furnitures’ patterns…my kinda house.
Also, I’ve seen you mention liquid smoke a lot (like in that recipe up there). What exactly IS liquid smoke??
It’s like a liquid (water?!) infused with smoked flavor – kind of like vanilla extract but a bit less intense so you can use more.
I love how everything is shaping up! It all looks SO very cozy!
Hi,
Last week I got your granola from Open Sky, first let me say delish! You planning on having more granola? I am loving the C’ville Granola! I can see why you put it on so many things. I keep grabbing handfuls of it, and now it’s almost gone!
Maybe in the future – but not in the near one. I agree, it’s incredible!
I understand, thats allot of work, especially with all the orders you get! Maybe you could have an awesome bundle package at Thanksgiving or Christmas time? That would make a great gift, at least for me!
i’m so jealous of your wood floors in the bathroom – makes such a difference
The house is looking great! I love those complete wing-it meals…they always turn out surprisingly good!
I LOVE your bright, with dark accents, color pallet. SO gorgeous!
Your home is looking fabulous! You are such a decorating pro! Loving the colors and the striped couch!
I love your living room!! The “mismatched” furniture pieces all fit perfectly together to make it a great look.
I’m diggin the color scheme! Best of luck with the rest of the moving process.
lovin’ the crisp blue & white
Looks lovely, so calm and relaxing! I can absolutely not WAIT until we own our own home and I can paint until my heart’s content!
Such soothing/calming colors! We are about to rennovate our place and I cannot wait to choose the colors/furniture etc!
To be honest, I’m not that sure about the blue in the formal lounge, maybe it’ll grow on me – especially when it’s all finished! But then at least you guys can choose colours, I’d take forever! I love the colour in the bathroom though, and the hooks are awesome.
Living room looks amazing! So excited for you to get your new couch! And, I’m def going to try the recipe.
Wow it looks really great! You’re so motivated to get it done – I think I’d still be sitting on the floor surrounded by boxes!
Everything’s really coming together!! And your new place looks like it’s out of a magazine.
It looks great Kath! That is a beautiful color for the bathroom.
It’s embarrassing how much I like prunes. I’ve put them in salads but never thought to put them in a hot dish. This looks mighty tasty!
Your living room looks straight out of a decorating magazine!
Everything looks smashing, Kath!
As a suggestion, don’t rush to buy artwork – wait until you find something unique, something you absolutely love. The room looks plenty finished without it – take some time to enjoy the beauty of those serene robin’s egg blue walls for the time being; when you come across a work of art/print speaks to you loudly, that’s the one for you. I am always glad when I take my time with this aspect of decorating, and usually discover my wall decor at art fairs, and out-of-the way, non-generic shops.
Good advice!!
But we already have all the artwork – just collected from 2 houses + family members so it’s all waiting to be hung. I am getting our honeymoon “starry nights over a vineyard” painting framed to be specially placed on the living room walls
(It’s the only real art we’ve ever bought)
Oh, that last one should be a pretty center stage painting for that room!
Can I live in your gorgeous house and eat your beautiful food?
lol and devour your mouth watering baked goods?
I love your striped couch! And I think that wall will look great lined with bookcases. We moved in to our place almost 2 months ago. In the beginning, we were machines…we got so much done! Then our energy kind of…fizzled. Our house is only half done. We need to get back on the ball!
Your house is beautiful! I just love the color choices you made and the furniture matches perfectly. It really looks like something from a magazine.
Love the look of your “formal” living room, so bright and inviting! Your house really does need to be in BH&G or on HGTV! Your TV area sounds like the perfect place to hang out and relax. Bright white sounds much better than mustard yellow with lots of scuffs, although last week I painted a white hallway a more neutral yellowish-beige/brown to cover up scuffs and kids’ fingerprints. The cooler weather is a great time for “throw everything in a pot” type meals. I combined a leftover veggie potato hash and broccoli, potato cheese soup to make an even better dish. And to think that as a child I had to have everything “plain” and didn’t even like the different parts of my meal to touch, now I eat everything mixed up!
Looks like the new house is really coming along! It looks great!!
Your house is coming along nicely! I really like how it looks. It’s so clean and elegant. Your house should be featured in a magazine!
The place is really coming together! I am in love with it… I love my house but it totally makes me want to go house hunting a move, hehe.
I am so impressed with your throw together meals! My throw together meals are always cereal!
I need you to come do my new condo when you’re done with your house! You have such a great eye–I don’t even know where to start! :/
Fabulous! So funky, yet classy
Love the new place! Great colors!! I am going to make a dinner very similar to this tonight because I too have an eggplant and a can of beans
Coming out fantastic!
the lighting and backdrop in your new house looks GREAT for food photography!
Your house seriously looks amazing! I love how open everything is and how the natural light flows in. And the floors are so pretty!
You are seriously impressive- I’ve been in my house for almost a year now and you’ve done more in a week than I’ve done in 10 months! I need to get inspired!
I love the way you decorated your living room! It is so cozy!
And the Anthropologie rose flower hooks add a nice touch to the bathroom as well!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
What a beautiful blue! I love the modern/vintage combo style of the furniture. And I know this sounds weird, but your bathroom is beautiful
Adorable. Clearly I am a stalker because I love looking inside people’s homes to see how they paint and decorate. I love all the colors!
The floors in your house are beautiful! I especially love the ones in the bathroom. They look so rich. It goes so well with the white trim.
Can’t wait to see that comfy couch! It’s coming along so beautifully!
Your living room looks beautiful! I would love to kick back on the couch in there
How exciting to be working on YOUR home!! I love it. I can’t wait to be in your shoes some day.
Your living room is adorable and I can’t wait to see it with the bookshelves.
Yummy dinner. Nice n’ simple and pretty. Your house looks amazing; yeaa!!! I wanna come visit.
xo
Miss u
i fell in love with curry in a bad way during my 2 week stay in the U.K. I will definitely need to give this dish a try!
omg you house is so cute it makes me want to puke.
puke in the best way possible of course.
it is looking so good!! i love new houses and decorating so i feel like i am living vicariously through you!