Attack of the giant peppers!

I just picked this monster Anaheim pepper from our garden. You know you're jealous.

In other culinary news, I used fresh corn from the farmers' market to make corn muffins. They turned out pretty well, though I think I'll definitely make the next batch a little sweeter.
We also have enough basil to feed an army, so if you are in need of delicious fresh basil, just give me a holler.

Colors

At the top of my very expertly made graphic (Ha!) are the paint colors we have used in the house so far (all Benjamin Moore). The bottom two are samples I bought but haven't used anywhere yet. Winter Wheat is in the living room--the color I don't really care for. I'm thinking of replacing it with Jade Garden. This is a bold move, and I'm afraid I'm not brave enough. My other thought was to replace it with Simply White--the safe choice--and just let the mustard yellow sofa stand out against the blank slate. This is a choice that won't be made for a while because there are so many other, more pressing jobs to do. These many jobs will be addressed in an upcoming post. I've been working on it for a while because it's a long, long list.

Ikea does it again

Ikea has produced a new color for the Ringskar faucet--black. And I love it.

Likes

This shower curtain from Anthropologie would look beautiful with my soon-to-be-restored tub.

The AJ Floor Lamp at DWR, designed by Arne Jacobsen. The price is so high I can't even type it. At the DWR sidewalk sale, they knocked a couple hundred dollars off, and it was still way too much. But it is beautiful.

Also at DWR, this limited-edition Eames Hang-It-All in walnut is just making me swoon. It costs more than the original (which is multi-colored), but it's so sleek and perfect I'd pay extra.

These tea canisters, found at the MoMA Store, are fabulous. So bright and minimalist. And a canister, which has two compartments, is just $20. This is the only one of my likes I can actually afford.

Precious

I dream of my house and yard looking this perfectly perfect.

DWR sidewalk sale

The Design Within Reach in Adams Morgan is closing. Sad news, but good news in the short term because they're selling most of the items in the store at pretty good discounts. Even with price cuts, most of their furniture is out of our reach (oh, what an obvious pun), but this pendant light was not.


Say hello to the E27. Originally $99, we got it for $30. It's much bigger than it looks in the picture. It's quite beautiful, actually. Now I'm wishing we'd gotten two.

The many gifts of the garden

Our garden is not elaborate or high maintenance. We killed the strawberry plants long ago, so we accidentally eliminated the plants that demanded the most of us. We are left with rosemary, mint, and basil that grow like crazy, especially after a good rain. I can forget to water them for a few days, and it makes no difference. They just keep growing.


The garden also offers some wonderful surprises. For instance, the pepper plant that yielded no peppers for months suddenly has two.


And out of nowhere, a rose bush is growing in the backyard, with a single rose to brighten my day.

Baby steps

Thanks to Keith's tedious work peeling layers of paint off the baseboards, I was able to paint a few of them. They went from this

to this.


The paint is Benjamin Moore Simply White in a semi-gloss finish. I would have to say it looks pretty good.

An even more tedious job is trying to get the rust off the feet for the clawfoot tub. Here's my progress.

Still rusty, but less so. I hope this is worth it.

Unproductive

Not much is getting done around here. Even the blog design looks sad right now. I'm working on it. In the meantime, a lovely kitchen/dining room: