Sunday Supper...Goat Cheese Tart from Balthazar

It's been a whirlwind around Providence the past few weeks...

Last weekend I was in New York for my birthday...

I can't tell you how much fun we had...the most fabulous food EVER!!!!...

But my very favorite was the Goat Cheese Tart at Balthazar...

If you get to New York...you just have to go there!!!

You just can't imagine how good this is...Click here for the recipe.

We've been decorating for Christmas at our house this weekend...I know it's a bit early...but when you do what we do....you do it when you can...

Will share pictures this week.

It's your turn.  Let's talk!

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To inquire about our design services either in home or online...click here.

To visit our online store...click here.

Thank-You...Arkansas

We're still here!!!!!

Just like many of you...Fall always pushes us into high gear.

Everyone is wanting to get ready for the holidays.  That hasn't left much time for blogging.

We were recently voted one of Arkansas's Best Top 11 Interior Design Professionals...

Wow!

Thanks so much to our clients and the At Home readers who voted for us. We are honored to be among such a talented group.

At Home in Arkansas now has a digital issue online...Click here to learn more about all of the designers and also read more about designer's secrets of style...

It's fun to look back...Our work was the feature story on the cover in November 2010.

 Click here to view the digital adition.

Our work was featured again in the November 2011 issue.

 Click here to view that digital addition.

It's your turn. Let's talk!

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To follow us on Pinterest...click here...

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To inquire about our design services either in home or online...click here.

Memory Lane...

Today we are thinking back...

Way back to when we first started blogging...

How we felt?..What was it like starting out?...

This is really taking us down memory lane...

Like many bloggers, our first introduction to blogs was through Joni Webb of Cote De Texas...

We had a fascination with Houston designer Pam Pierce's work and so I googled to see if she might have a website (at that time she did not)...the search lead us to Cote de Texas... we immediately fell hook, line, and sinker into the world of design blogs...

Pam Pierce now has a website and is still a constant source of inspiration for us...

That was a little over 3 years ago... It may sound ridiculous, but it's true...our professional world has completely changed as a result of blogging...We are exposed daily to the best of the best in interior design...

Bloggers search high and low for the ultimate in design inspiration...Does your designer or decorator blog?...If not, how much innovation and new ideas are they being exposed to?

As much as we appreciate the inspiration from others and the forum to share our own ideas, it's the friendships we have forged that really enrich our lives and encourage us to keep doing what we do...

We think back...it's friends like...

Debra with Acquired Objects....is the sole proprietor of a company called

Oreillers~

Antique European Decorative Pillows and Textiles

Specializing in 15th - 18th Century European Textiles

Debra will tell you that I was one of her very first commenters when she started her blog and over time we have developed a mutual admiration for one another...She has an amazing antique textiles business...You should get to know her if you don't already...We follow each other, we email, talk on the phone...Debra has even purchased things from our online store for her Studio and garden...Debra is our friend...

Debra with 5th and State...

It was probably 3 years ago, Debra did a post about antique firebacks and their many uses..I went out to my front porch with my pajamas on and took a picture to send her of the fireback that we had installed in the stone by the front door. She amended her post and added my image..

That was the start of a wonderful friendship...Debra is so talented. She has three shops in the Chicago area where she not only does interior design but is a fabulous landscape architect as well...she redesigned my gardens...

We keep talking about it and it hasn't happened yet...but we will meet face to face... Sister and I are dying to join Debra on one of her guided tours of European gardens and antiques in either France or England...we love each other... We are friends...

Sam Hoffer with My Carolina Kitchen...Sam is a writer and food contributor and shares  the most amazing recipes...

She has done guest posts for us and her calm and gentle spirit are a constant encouragement to us...we follow each other on facebook and keep up through our blogs...Sam is our friend...

Sharon with Roses and Rust from Cape Town, South Africa...yes, I said South Africa...We share a passion for European design. She does some of the most beautiful posts...

We email sometimes but wish she lived next door, so we could chat for hours...Sharon is our friend...

We met Monika Clawson with The Splendid Willow not long after we started blogging...We both participated in a virtual Soiree with 41 other bloggers that was part of The Shiny Pebble Design Challenge that began at midnight and  lasted well into the wee hours of the morning...

Monika is a Swede living in Seattle...she is a fabulous designer...

Monika has an amazing online store Splendid Avenue,  filled with unique and exclusive items that she is bringing to the US...

We email, talk on the phone, encourage one another, and exchange ideas...I love her accent...Monika is our friend.

Julie and Danni are new friends of ours with T & G Interiors...We share a similar design aesthetic and have really benefited from our conversations back and forth via email...

 

It's going to be really fun watching their business grow..Julie and Danni are our friends...

John Kelsey and Sally Wilson the dynamic married couple that also partner in the business

Wilson Kelsey Design...

These guys have phenomenal talent...

 

John's design insight is unsurpassed...You need to get to know him, he's a wealth of knowledge...John and Sally are our friends...

Kristie Franklin with La Reportiste is a true and loyal friend...although we have never met face to face...I can tell you she has a heart of gold...She's also creative and sells her hand-made creations in her Etsy Shop...

Kris doesn't always blog about design, but often about issues that concern her...she never misses one of our posts...she is our friend...

Renae Moore with Moore Designs is one of the few blogging buddies that we have actually met...Her husband had a temporary assignment with his job that brought him to Little Rock for several weeks.  Renae came to see him and we had lunch and she came to my home and visited Fabulous Finds...Renae is delightful...and very talented...she loves working with fabrics...

 

We keep in touch and are always available to each other for advice...Sister gave her some tips when Renae hit a snag on a paint project...Renae is our friend...

Carla Aston of Carla Aston Designed, formerly Design in The Woods...Carla is another person that we would enjoy sitting and discussing this business with for hours and hours...she probably wouldn't have the time though, because her business is growing by leaps and bounds...she has an incredible new site that you need to visit if you haven't already...

Carla is a very professional designer and a an important thought leader in our industry...she is  definitely an asset to the design community...

Carla is our friend...

We could go on and on and on...we have lots of friends in the Design Blog world...WAY, WAY too many to mention here...I know this has been a long post so I hope you haven't dozed off already...

Thanks for indulging us in our little trip down memory lane..

We appreciate each and every follower...we care about every single friend...and we get excited to see what the future holds for all of us...

It's your turn. Let's talk!

And please join other bloggers as they share tales of friendships made and partnerships formed through out the Design Blog World..

Click here to see those posts...

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To follow us on Pinterest...click here...

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To inquire about our design services either in home or online...click here.

Sunday Supper...Cheesey Green Chili and Potato Chowder

Don't you just love soup weather?...It's finally here.

We start with chili on Halloween and then it's a good soup every chance we get...

Tonight, it's Cheesey Green Chili and Potato Chowder.

The recipe is from Eat Live Run...Yum!...Speaking of Yum...you might want to check my Recipe board out on Pinterest...I've pinned some amazing recipes...Click here.

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers

 1 large yellow onion, small diced

1 green bell pepper, small diced

3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 stalks celery, small diced

3 slices bacon

2 tsp minced garlic

1 quart chicken broth

2 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese {plus additional for serving}

thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

First, fire roast the peppers. To do this, place poblano peppers right over the flame on your burner if you have a gas stove. Flip occasionally until every inch of the pepper is charred. If you don’t have a gas stove, place peppers underneath the broiler on a lined sheet tray {also flipping occasionally} until charred. Once charred all around, immediately remove peppers from heat and zip up in a plastic zip-loc bag. Let sit for 20 minutes then remove charred skin with the back of a knife and roughly chop up peppers.

While your peppers are cooling, fry the bacon in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. Fry until crispy then remove bacon from the pot and drain on pepper towels. Keep grease in the pot! Add your onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery to the hot grease. Saute for about six minutes over medium heat until veggies are just tender.

Add cubed potatoes to the pot, as well as the poblano peppers, and toss well so everything is combined. Pour in chicken broth and add the salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 35 minutes until potatoes are very tender {be sure to “test” with a fork or knife…nothing worse than biting into an uncooked potato!}.

Add milk and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together so that no flour clumps remain and bring back to a simmer. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off heat completely and add cheese to the pot. Stir well so cheese melts. Serve immediately with crumbled bacon, sliced green onions and additional cheese.

Thanks Jenna with Eat Live Run for such an amazing recipe.

The table is all set...

What's for dinner at your house?

It's your tun.  Let's talk!

To see my recipe board on Pinterest click here.

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Visit Us Today At T & G Interiors

We are both humbled and excited to have to been featured on two fabulous blogs this week.

Today Julie and Danni of T&G Interiors have not only featured our design work...but asked us to share some tips that you might find interesting about blogging and building your business...

Click here to see the post.

And if you missed our interview with Carla Aston yesterday on building a boutique business...

click here to read that post...

Two completely different interviews... Wow! Can we just say thank-you?...We truly appreciate and love the generosity of these women.

Please be sure and visit their blogs.

It's your turn.  Let's talk!

To follow our blog...click here.

To follow us on Pinterest...click here...

To follow us on Facebook ...Click here.

To inquire about our design services either in home or online...click here.