In two days a board a plane to Salt Lake City for Altitude Design Summit. The hardest part about this whole experience for me so far has been figuring out what to wear. I will spend 4 days soaking up as much information as I can, making as many connections as I can, and I will do it wearing as much sparkle and sass as I can.
Read MoreI keep these cork trivets handy in my kitchen to protect our butcher block counters. Cork insulates and protects against moisture, and is a natural, neutral addition to wood surfaces. I thought it would be fun to give a few of them a little Scandinavian personality to leave on the coffee table as over sized coasters. I used my Lotta Jansdotter stencil set. You can pick one up at most bookstores or at Amazon, or you could always make your own stencil using poster board and an Xacto knife. Use acrylic paint and a hard, flat topped blotting brush to stamp the design. I found the cork trivets at IKEA by the check stand (3 to a pack).
Read MoreI love tamales. They are so delicious, but so darn bad for you. Most often the masa is cut with a significant amount of lard, or in some recipes shortening to create the dough for steaming. Our family made tamales this way over the holidays using fresh crab from Tomales Bay and man were they decadent! I've been looking for a way to health them up for an everyday meal without losing any of that tenderness and sweet corn brought out with the extra fat. After a little brainstorming, coconut oil sounded like a good plan, but still, not so great for you, then it occured to me to try applesauce, and what do you know, it worked. I roasted butternut squash and mashed it with some chipotle peppers/sauce to create a sweet and smokey filling. Vegan and dairy free if prepared using the vegetable stock. Here's the recipe and tutorial:
Read MoreIn case you missed it, I'm heading back to get a degree in Interior Design. It's funny how people change over time. My first time in college I majored in psychology, but by my senior year it was pretty apparent to me that I should have pursued design. Now it's time to make it happen.
Read MoreI have been working on our new master bedroom in fits and spurts for the last 3 months. As it is a place to retreat at night, I sometimes forget to do much more than make the bed when I wake up, before heading out into the living space of our home. A while back I found some campaign chests at a thrift store that were in good structural condition, but lacking in any personality (scraped faded black factory paint). I'd been looking for large bedside tables with storage, as our room is cavernous with vaulted ceilings and more square footage than all of the bedrooms in our previous home combined. I'm a small house kind of girl, so our expansion has thrown me for a loop. After considerable hemming and hawing about whether to purchase them (they were a deal) and what color to paint them, I pulled the trigger, choosing a Benjamin Moore's Graystone, with just a bit more green in it than the wall color, Sparrow, and in the same hue as our pale gray bedding. Now that they are all finished I am wondering what took me so long.
Read MoreMake + Haus is the new name and online home for the blog Poppy Haus. Established in 2011, the blog archive now contains hundreds of original design projects and whole food recipes, many featured on the likes of Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart, Design*Sponge, Curbly, and Epicurious.
