Home Sweet Hanna: May 2011

May 26, 2011

Sleek and Simple

“Life is not complex.

We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.”

— Oscar Wilde

More thoughts on the bathroom renovation....
Since it is such a small space and we are keeping the retro back and white tile we should stick to simple and serene styling - like these beauties below....

Serene and Spa Like - House Beautiful

HGTV - love the ink blue walls, tiled floor, and white mirrors

House Beautiful - pedestal sink - sconces are a nice touch

Ina Garten's NYC a pied a terre - House Beautiful (notice the marble and pedestal sink)

Of course part of me is dieing to try some wallpaper, crazy colors, and funky accents - think Andy/Kate Spade's stripes I mentioned here. It is the bathroom....and I do not wan to take it too seriously - Oscar Wilde right and the simple thing is the right thing in this case? thoughts?

May 24, 2011

Bathing Beauty

Well not yet - but we have met with a contractor and have plans to give our downstairs full (but tiny) bathroom a face lift...

Current bathroom pics -

Ugh - yucky floor, 1970s toilet, and that gorgeous orange caulk

My personal pet peeve - these faux legs the previous owners added to the sink

The 1950s black and white tile and tub

Due to the way homes were built in the 50s - to tear out the tile (attached to the sheet rock) and gut the bathroom would be a huge undertaking and boohoo bucks...so we have decided to keep the retro feel but add a few modern touches while staying within our budget...

The Plan:
1) Tile the floor (we are leaning towards white marble - it's a small space so we can splurge a little)

White Grecian Marble

2) New Toilet

The Kohler Wellworth - sure to be more efficient that the current groovy 70s model

3) Pedestal Sink (needs to be under 18" - yes this bathroom is tiny)

St Thomas Junior Pedestal Sink

Delta Faucet - Lahara Chrome

4) New Lighting and Mirror - still looking but thinking Black finishes to complement the black and white retro wall/bathtub tiling

These are the fundamental changes that Briguy has agreed to - of course I'm going to want to schnaze up the space with wallpaper, paint, window treatments, bathmats, etc

Details/Inspiration Images to come...

May 20, 2011

Peanut...Peanut Butter...and George

Last weekend Home Sweet Hanna made a batch of Peanut Butter and Jelly bars for dinner in Churchill with The Whit, Jen, and Whit's "Fella" (as my dad would say)...Loved meeting Jon....and these bars were a huge hit (thanks for the inspiration Ina Garten)....

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (We are a Peter Pan house)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) jam (we opted for Strawberry)
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped (left over from JD/Lauren's wedding bag - thank you!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Yummm - they taste like a really rich peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Since this week got crazy and I only got one post in - figured I'd make it a two parter with a little George update...he loves peanut butter so consider this the jelly of this post...

George is over 60lbs...big boy! We love having him in our lives. Lately he has avoided being neutered (twice), had a play date with Jake and Huck, learned to fetch (our "chuck it" is getting serious use), and started shedding like an old angora sweater...there is black hair all over the kitchen...but we do not mind...

A few recent pics of the Georgers...

Can I have some peanut butter?

George's ferret...his favorite toy (well loved - missing his eyes and almost headless)

ice cube snack time

Our little guy is growing up so fast!

May 13, 2011

Dancing on the (patterned) ceiling

**Sorry for double posting this. Blogger has been having site-wide technical difficulties and all of yesterday's posts and comments were lost. boo**
In the words of the great Lionel Richie "Oh What A Feeling...When We're Dancing On The Ceiling" - here are a few ceilings The Hanna House would love to cut a rug on...

Jenna Lyons Gorgeous Nursery - Domino

Red and White Stenciling - High Gloss

Black and White Checked - House Beautiful

Green and White Gingham - House Beautiful

Jenna Lyons inspired nursery - Revival

May 6, 2011

Home Sweet Hanna - All Stitched Up

Check out the gorgeous handy work of Boupha Inskeep -

Such a thoughtful birthday present - I love how Boupha used different fabric patterns to make Home Sweet Hanna come to life - and who can resist that George silhouette....Love them and can't wait to find a special place to display them in our home!

May 4, 2011

Celebrity Cook Book Mania?

Has anyone else noticed that it has become trendy for celebrities to release cook books....this morning I saw Sheryl Crow on a morning show touting her book....kind of a cheesy title if you ask me...but hey..."it can't be that bad?!?" (guess I'll be singing that song all day - haha)