Kitty Deschanel

There are a million decisions to make when designing and building a new home, from the pitch of the roof to the teensiest light bulb. Rather than try to choose between our favorite styles, we've mixed them all. Amazingly, the different tiles, colors, and materials have actually worked together to become one cohesive design. Thank goodness! Guest Suite Bathroom Our "rustic" style bathroom Rustic GLAM by the time it's finished. We continued the flooring right up the wall. To the right of the brick is the shower. See? Rustic...glam! I have the cutest chipmunk artwork to hang behind this tub. You'll be able to simultaneously bathe and bask in the chipmunky cuteness. Update: We're moved in and I just LOVE my little chipmunk. He's not on the wall though because Sexy Nerd is afraid of damaging the brick. Perhaps we can hang wires from the ceiling and attach my artwork to them. It's not the craziest idea I've ever h

Cake mix for breakfast? Check out my 2-ingredient Cake Mix Pancakes . Cake mix custard! Here is a quick and easy and SO GOOD no-bake dessert recipe that can be made ahead of time for your 4th of July get together. You'll need a Vitamix, Blendtec, or other high-powered blender. A quality food processor, such as the Breville Sous Chef, can also work. Cake Mix Custard Vitamix Recipe Serves 6 or one sugar-addicted blogger and her husband 16 oz milk (Feel free to use whatever kind you have on hand. I've even mixed nonfat milk with coconut milk to great results.) 6 egg yolks (Feeling fancy? Save the egg whites to top your custards with meringue and torch them, Baked Alaska-style. Ooh, and then sprinkle with fresh chocolate shavings. Or rainbow sprinkles for a birthday cake custard variation! Folding crushed Oreos into the finished custard would be delicious too - the options are endless.) 1/4 C white sugar 1/4 C brown sugar 8 oz cake mix (Approximately 1/2 a box)(I

We've finally broken ground on our dream home ! Can you believe it? (You can follow our construction progress here , along with lots of construction drama - the neighbors building their fence on our property, discovering we'd placed our house on a bunch of expensive rocks, our concrete footings being destroyed by a freak hail storm, etc.) Even more surprising than finally building the house we've dreamed of for years, we actually managed to work a good chunk of our ridiculous wish list into the actual design. *Update* Construction is finished! It took longer than expected and cost more too (that's how construction works, right?), but we are finally living in our mountain dream home and it's even better than I'd hoped! Here is a photo of our new kitchen and living room.  Our Dream Home Believe it or not, our budget was meager. Really! My husband built the coffee table from an olive trunk and did the thin brick backsplash himself. Eventually, he's

This is a Father's Day re-post, full of fun and yummy ideas for your own Father's Day get together. Enjoy! We played host at an impromptu Father's Day party yesterday for my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. You might remember seeing my dad and brother mentioned on my site before. They're a little bit awkward . Our kitchen, almost ready to party. (Not shown: A pre-photo shoving frenzy of knick-knacks anywhere and everywhere out of sight. I can never find anything after I "clean" the house.) Sexy Nerd gathered some flowers from our backyard, eventually. Every time company is coming over, without fail, he lounges around lazily while I frantically cook/clean/decorate/panic. I get mad at him, he's bewildered with no idea what's wrong, then he finally, FINALLY helps get things ready. It's our own little party tradition. The half wall dividing our living and dining rooms served as a convenient beverage station. But som