Get Glassy

Glass accent pieces can bring a touch of refinement, reflection, color, and class to any space.  When you’re looking for something to fill a void on a shelf or dress up a surface, look into glass options to do the trick.

Glass bottles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors, and they can be found at low cost for high function.  A cluster or line of glass bottles makes for a great statement on a hutch, buffet, or against a backsplash.  To pull double duty, use glass bottles designed to hold beverages, keeping a couple full of drinking water in the fridge to pull out and serve chilled with your meal. 

Canisters are making a resurgence in the kitchen storage market.  Glass canisters, often times with a chalkboard area for easy labeling and relabeling, seem to be topping the ceramic versions.  They make great additions to pantry shelves to house dry baking staples, pasta, coffee, tea bags, and individually wrapped snacks.  Glass canisters can also be useful in the home office to attractively hold small office supplies like pens and markers, binder clips and note pads. 

Glass bowls and platters can stretch out beyond the kitchen and be incorporated into table centerpieces that hold fruit, dried naturals, stones, and candles.  Mini bowls make size-smart compartments in bathroom drawers for hair bands and cotton squares and in desk drawers for paper clips and stamp rolls.    Organize earrings and bracelets on a dresser top accessorized with a few small glass bowls.  Use a narrow glass tray on a bathroom counter with a tier of 3 white, rolled hand towels on top for a little spa touch.   

Votives and other candle holders, including hurricanes and lantern-style décor, are fitting accent pieces throughout the home.  Arrange a square tray of glass votives with tealights for a festive glow.  Line a series of hurricane candle holders down the dining table center for soft, elegant lighting during dinner.  Situate collections of 3 or 5 candle holders together for groupings on a coffee table, end table, or entryway piece. 

Turn glass bud vases into art projects by dipping them in latex paint on slants and angles and using the dried finished products as part of your decorative accessories.  Thin paint and allow it to run down overturned vases, letting the runs create unique works of custom art.

If you want some easy updates for a variety of surfaces that could use a bit of dressing up, get glassy and enjoy the shine. 

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 27th.

    

Hit the Road

If your summer getaway is still ahead of you, you know that the bliss of vacation can be dampened by a hurried attempt to throw everything you might need into suitcases and scurry out the door on schedule.  Here are some tips to smooth that transition and start your relaxing off the very way you intend to enjoy it.

First, give yourself a break.  I know all about the desire to leave the house clean when you’re leaving so it will be that way on your return.  Ideal, yes.  But that’s not always completely feasible.  Do what you can, but focus more on preparing for the trip and leaving with a peaceful state of mind.

Scrutinize your schedule.  Are you planning every minute, or leaving room for spontaneity?  Do you have a “be here at exactly this time” frame of mind, or are you open to being more go with the flow?  Certain things need to be timely: flights, check-ins, reservations, and the like.  But don’t overschedule your downtime for the sake of having a plan.  The more ease of travel and downtime you allow yourself, the more that vacation will feel like you vacated the everyday. 

Write out your packing plan.  Having a visual list to work from helps you narrow down what you need and offers an opportunity to check it off as it is laid out for packing.  Keep those extras to just what you could feasibly need, keeping your load-in-tow to a manageable quantity and weight.  For younger kids, this is a great teachable moment to allow them to follow a list and pick out their own clothes and accessories.  Just leave the packing itself to you as you double check their work.

Pack a go-bag.  Whether you’re catching a plane or are in for a lengthy car ride, consider all the supplies that will come in handy when at the ready.  Tissues, hand wipes, sunblock, mints, chargers, batteries, magazines, travel packs of sugar and liquid creamer for your hotel in-room coffee, and so on are great to have on hand.  Stock up on some travel snacks to avoid those airport or roadside stops involving candy, chips, and cookies.  Have a refillable bottle with you for each person to be able to have water available on the go.  This is especially helpful when you take empty containers through airport security for refills later.  For car trips, pack an activities’ bag for children with portable electronics and movies, new coloring and activity books, colors, and games or puzzles that can all be used on lap boards to keep little hands occupied.  

When you really plan and prep for your trip, it makes leaving that much sweeter so you can hit the road and feel prepared . . . to take it easy.  

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 20th.

Something on a Stick

For those who like their summer dishes to be served with the comforts of home, a dash of simplicity, and a little flair for the creative, try your hand at a seasonal favorite with some twists: something on a stick.

The classic kebab usually consists of a cube of red meat layered with chunks of summer veggies, and they are quite tasty right off the grill.  But you can also branch out to serving other foods on a stick, which offer a neat presentation, portion control, and easy quantity planning.  Kebabs, skewers, or food sticks or picks – whatever you call them, they come in long and short lengths, and some are a little dressier with decorative accents on the not-sharp end.  You can find options at your local party store, grocery store, and online.  So what can you spear?

To serve a little Italian bite without the oven heating up your kitchen, try layering thin folded slices of pepperoni and genoa salami with a cherry tomato, a mini ball of mozzarella cheese, and sprig of basil for “pizza” on a short food stick.  For a Mediterranean take, use grape tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, and cucumber wedges.    

Make cheeseburger kebabs with squares of toasted bread, a cube of cooked hamburger patty, some tomato, a folded spinach leaf, and a cube of cheese.  Layer a short stack of torn pieces of butter lettuce with cherry tomatoes and strips of bacon cut down to size for a BLT or any other sandwich variety with layered breads, pitas, or wraps with your choice of meats, cheeses, and veggies.  

Fruit kebabs are a healthy side for any summer plate.  Use cubes and wedges of berries and melons to make colorful, sweet desserts.  Layer sections of banana with a smear of peanut butter, a wedge of sliced bread, and a little jelly.  Make a “strawberry shortcake” stick with layers of angel food cake cubes, fresh strawberries, and frozen dollops of whipped topping.  Leave them on a parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer until you’re ready to serve.  Serve a “slice” of cake by cubing cake pieces and spreading a layer of icing between each piece.  Top it off with a little scoop of icing with sprinkles or nut pieces.   

When you choose foods that are already great (or famous) together that are not going to crumble or fall apart, you have the makings of some pretty tasty layers for something on a stick that will continue to please, bite after delicious summer bite.  No forks required.    

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 13th.

Summer Fun: Play. Eat. Go.

Free time may abound this time of year, but what to do with it can prove more elusive.  Many families have some mental pictures of what an ideal summer would entail, but all too often they start back to school wondering where the summer - and its opportunities for more fun - went.  Here are some ideas to put those heads together and round out the season chalk full of memories.

“What do you want to do?” can be as repetitive as “what do you want for dinner?”  Trying to come up with activities on the spot can lack planning and prep time to actually pull an idea off.  Instead, have a brainstorming session to line out many, many ideas that could be feasible.  I like the idea I came across of using three mason jars individually labeled “Activities and Games,” “Let’s Eat,” and “Oh, the Places We Will Go.”  Divvy up strips of blank paper to every family member and ask them to come up with activities, recipes to try, and travel ideas, and then write them down and drop them in the appropriate jar.  Activities can include things around the house to around town, a new game to buy, or something to try.  Recipes can be fun ideas to make for a meal, dessert, party, or something crafty that doubles as an activity and a treat.  Travel can include a trip to the beach, a local museum, or a weekend trip out of town.  Take turns presenting ideas in one big reveal session, or periodically draw out an idea as you prep for a grocery run or a to-do-this-week idea. 

Often, it is the old school, stereotypical summer things that can make the best memories.  You don’t have to overthink it in order to come up with something fun to do.  Going for snow cones, making your own popsicles or play dough, having a water balloon fight, rolling out a water slide in the yard, eating watermelon by the wedge, making from-scratch batches of lemonade, and spending an afternoon at the pool always gets rave reviews.  And it’s not just the younger kids that get a kick out of the simple activities.  Whatever age group you are tailoring your time for, make the effort to make spending time together the top priority.

Whatever you spend the next several weeks doing, keep a record.  Take a camera along with you to record silly moments, funny stories, and every part of that “fun in the sun” feeling so you cement those memories for you and your kids.  It could be a diary in pictures of how you enjoyed this summer to the max. 

Stay in or go out – either way, you can have a blast doing something versus letting the carefree days of summer slip by without investing in them as time well spent with the ones you love.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 6th.