FRIDAY'S FIVE

ONE - A sweet friend tagged me in this article. Of course I loved it. 

TWO - I bought my first fiddle fig plant (tree?) at the grocery store last week for $10. I know they're risky, so I've been reading up on how to care for them. Do you have one?

THREE - I just downloaded this book. Lots of people talking about it. Last week Jenna Bush Hager mentioned it on The Today Show.

FOUR - An Instagram account to follow, and a her beautiful blog full of doable home decorating ideas.

Image The Painted Hive

FIVE - Some cute ideas for the 4th in this older BuzzFeed article.

Talk to you next week!

Kathryn

THE HOTEL MONTELEONE (NEW ORLEANS)

If you're following me on Instagram, you'll remember that my son and I went to New Orleans on a field trip with his AP Language class back in January.

It was such a great trip. His teacher, Mr. Ray, did a fabulous job of making sure we took full advantage of every minute we were there. When we got home, it was all we talked about for days. I'm pretty sure it made my husband slightly jealous. So earlier in the summer when my son was vacationing with his girlfriend's family, we took our own trip to the Big Easy.

I took lots of pictures and hope to show them to you eventually, but today I'm just sharing the hotel we stayed in. The historic Hotel Monteleone.

It was purchased by Antonio Monteleone in 1886. It has undergone five major expansions and is one of the few family-owned hotels in the nation.

From the moment we walked in, I was in love. This is the foyer. This rose arrangement was stunning.

We checked in behind the clock around 12:30 AM. Unfortunately, our train was over four hours late leaving. We should have been there around 8 PM.

The chandeliers were beautiful. To say it was ornate is a bit of an understatement. Gold trimmed much of the ceiling

Here is one sitting area in the lobby. You can see the gold trim around the light fixture in the ceiling a bit better in the second picture.

Another spot in the lobby.

Some of the prettiest mirrors were hung throughout. This was an alcove in the downstairs area.

And here is the one in our room.

Our room was on the smaller side, but it was perfect for the two of us. 

The view stepping off the elevator.

Those were all snapped with my cell phone when I had minute, so the quality isn't the best.

But here's a great seven minute video with all the historical background and other views of the hotel if you'd like to see more of this lovely place nestled in the middle of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Kathryn

A SUNDAY THOUGHT

I'm a worrier.

Not because I've had a life of sadness and despair--my life has been anything but. I've been lucky to have the best parents who are still very much a part of my life and wonderful in-laws. I have a loving husband and happy, healthy kids who are turning into to well-adjusted, successful adults.

Don't get me wrong--I've known sorrow and I've known pain, and one day "when I can find the time to write my mind like I want it to read", I'll tell you about it. But in general, I've had an ordinary, normal life.

So why do I worry so much about the "what ifs?"

As I've gotten older, I find myself worried about all the things that might go wrong with my health; I think every pain is related to some undetected cancer. Every time my heart races, I expect to wind up in an ambulance having a heart attack. And what if something happens to my husband? Who will help me with my technology questions or see movies with me or help me find my keys when my memory starts to slip?

We worry ourselves sick about our kids from the minute they take their first breath. I used to think once they were grown, all the worrying would just come to a halt. Hate to tell you, faithful blog reader, the worries just change. You have an entire new set of worries when they are older.

What if they flunk out of college? What if they don't get jobs? What if they marry the wrong person? What if they make bad financial decisions? The list goes on and on.

All that makes me wonder what's wrong with me. I know who holds the future.

But, alas, I'm human.

That's all it can be. I don't think it means my faith is weak, as some would probably say. It just means this world is a crazy place and sometimes it can shake our faith. Because let's face it--we want to control it all, and we just can't. And what we can't control, stresses us out!

I'd never really stopped to consider the cause of all that worrying, why it came to be in the first place, but then this book, Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado, kept showing up in my Instagram feed as part of an advertisement.

Affiliate Link

I decided there might be a reason the ad wouldn't leave me alone, so I bought it. I'm about half way through it, and it's been enlightening. Lots to think about and really good reminders that we are not in this chaos alone. 

If you worry like me, you might find this book helpful as well. 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 

by prayer and petition, 

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

I hope today is a good day!

Kathryn

RECOVERING A CUSHIONED STOOL

I finally had time to finish up the accent stool I bought a couple of months ago for $15 at an antique store. If you missed that post, you can catch up by clicking here. I originally planned to use the stool in my closet, but it turned out so cute, there is no way I can let it hide in there.

This is the fabric I ended up using. If you want to see the others I was considering, go here. I bought a yard of it months ago when I came across it at the fabric store. I had no idea what I would use it for; I just thought it was pretty.

Here's a quick reminder of what the stool looked like before. It was outdated, and I'd love to know what was once used to cover the staples. Just a reminder, I sanded off the flowers and painted the base a couple of months ago.

Here's how I gave it new life.

I draped the fabric over the stool and positioned it so that the best part of the pattern was showing.

I then cut the fabric, making sure to leave plenty to work with on each side--or so I thought. I confess: I had to cut it twice. (I cut it too small the first time.)

Once I was sure the size was correct, I used a small staple gun to secure the fabric. I started on the back side of the stool, pulling and tugging the fabric to make sure it was taut, stapling as I went. At the corners, I just folded the fabric over. In case you're wondering how I lined up the staples so well, there is a bit of a ridge where the cushion rests against the wood. I made sure to press the head of the staple gun to the lip of the ridge with each pull of the trigger.

Once I was confident I hadn't missed any spots and everything looked secure, I cut off the excess fabric. I used the space again between the cushion and the wood as my guide.

I had originally thought I wanted to use silver nail heads to cover the staples. So, I headed to Lowe's and bought several boxes. They were $1.34 a box.

That was a NO go! I couldn't even hammer them in.

On to PLAN B.

I went to the fabric store and picked out a trim that I could glue on. (Glue and trim = $11.41)

It's been years since I've worked with fabric glue. I'd forgotten how easy it is to use. Unlike super glue or hot glue, it doesn't dry immediately, and you can adjust your fabric as you need to for a few minutes.

I started applying the trim on the back and worked my way around.

It took more glue than I expected; I used all of one bottle and about half of another. Even if I happened to put too much glue on the trim, it was easy to spread or even wipe off, and it dried clear.

All done...

I'll let you know where it ends up. Rest assured though, it will not be in a closet!

Kathryn

FRIDAY'S FIVE

Happy Friday to you!

1. I love a skirted table. They look great in any room! Lots of ideas and inspiration in this article I found on Pinterest.

.

2. A gorgeous home renovation in New Orleans. (My husband and I took the train down for a long weekend this month. I'm going to tell you about it soon.)

3. Guess who has another book coming out? House Beautiful shares some sneak peaks here.

4. This might just be the perfect white t-shirt for summer from Old Navy. I've been wearing mine with jeans and turquoise colored earrings every time I leave the house. I'm digging all the ruffles this season.

 

5. My newest gadget making my chores easier. Have y'all ever used these? I should have bought them years ago!

Affiliate Link

Have a great weekend!

Kathryn

LEMON CHICKEN PICCATA

I've never made Chicken Piccata before. It sounded too complicated. But when I came across this recipe on Cassie Sugarplum's blog, I knew I could do it. There weren't a ton of ingredients, and it sounded pretty easy to put together.

It turned out great! I'm definitely a fan. The best part--it didn't take forever to make. Now I have a new, quick and delicious recipe for weeknights during the school year.

It's way too good to keep to myself...

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked pasta (I used linguine) 

4 - 6 chicken breast cutlets

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup All-purpose flour

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of chicken stock or broth (I used broth)

2 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup of capers

chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
• Salt and pepper the chicken to taste and flour both sides of the breasts or cutlets. 
• Saute chicken on both sides until thoroughly cooked. 
• Remove from skillet and set aside.

• Leave the chicken juices in the skillet and add the broth, heavy cream, lemon juice, and capers. 
• Bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat and simmer until sauce starts to thicken. This took longer than I thought it would. I probably let it simmer around 15 minutes (maybe longer), stirring occasionally.

• When the sauce begins to thicken, put the chicken back in and simmer a few more minutes. 
• Spoon the sauce over the cutlets.

• Serve over the pasta and get ready for lots of compliments!

If you aren't serving a crowd, you probably won't need the full pound of pasta. We had plenty left over.

Enjoy!!

Kathryn