Monthly Archives: August 2014
Bedroom Design: 5 Ways to Make your Bedroom Feel Luxurious
Post by Tracy Kaler.
Want luxury in your bedroom? Creating extravagance in your sleep space isn’t as hard as you might think. Try these five things and you’ll feel like a star in your boudoir in no time.
Make your bed a focal point
No matter how plain or ornate, the bed itself can be the focal point in a space and add to the luxury. Place the bed on the most inviting wall for the layout of your room (walking into the foot of the bed is best). Always make your bed and fluff the pillows, no matter what time you rise.
Use down
Unless you’re allergic, down is the ultimate luxurious item in any bedroom. Start with a feather bed (on top of your mattress and under your sheets) for the ultimate comfort. And no bed is complete with down pillows, so you get that cushy feeling every time you turn in.
Buy high thread count sheets
Purchase the highest thread count you can afford. Always go for 100 percent cotton and never synthetics. Your will thank yourself when you hit the hay and when you awake.
Arrange fresh flowers
Fresh flowers or greenery is a nice added touch and inexpensive. A small bedside arrangement of roses or wildflowers adds color and will make you feel like a king or queen.
Add fragrance or fresh air
If your home is in the country, fresh air is a must and will awaken your senses every morning, If you’re a city dweller and need to keep windows closed to block noise, add soothing lavender for scent. Use a diffuser, place lavender sachets in your pillowcases, or spray lavender on your bedclothes and bedding. Lavender treats insomnia and will relax you, even after the most stressful day.
Breakfast in Bed – Mom’s Deviled Eggs
Post by: Alison Hein.
You can’t eat deviled eggs for breakfast? Wow. Someone should have told me that a long time ago. Mom taught me to make these when I was just knee-high to a grasshopper (that’s a saying, right?), and they’re still one of my absolute summertime favorites.
We’ve made deviled eggs before on this blog. Not Mom’s cozy comfort food, but the more sophisticated Ebbitt Room Deviled Eggs (http://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/6243). Mom knew what she was about long before “five ingredient” dishes came around, and kept it really easy adding only mustard (she preferred Gulden’s), mayo and paprika. “Deviling” in the kitchen refers to the addition of a hot or spicy ingredient, in this case, mustard. The term first appeared in print in 1786, the association made between condiments like mustard or cayenne pepper and the fires of Hades.
While Mom’s eggs called for only a couple of simple staples (and really aren’t all that fiery), I learned on Wikipedia that people around the world commonly use the following ingredients in their deviled eggs: tartar sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pickles, relish, vinegar, olives, pimentos, onion, caviar, cream, capers and sour cream. They may use spices like chipotle, turmeric, poppy seed, thyme, and cilantro, and toppings including caviar, anchovies, bacon, shrimp and herring!
French people use pepper and parsley; Germans prefer anchovies, cheese and capers; and Hungarians add milk-soaked bread, parsley and sour cream, then bake them and serve them with a side of French fries! (Look for these exciting recipes here in the future!)
So, it’s summertime. People around the globe are making crazy eggs. And I’m grabbing a cup of coffee, one of Mom’s chilled eggs, and partaking in the devil of a breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
8 eggs
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons paprika
Preparation
Place eggs in a small heavy saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat and continue to cook eggs for 10 minutes, until hard-boiled. Cool and peel.
Carefully slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove cooked yolks and add to small bowl, setting whites aside. Mash the yolks finely with the back of a fork (or use a fine-mesh sieve for a very smooth filling). Stir in mayonnaise and mustard until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon or pipe filling into reserved whites, mounding yolk mixture in each half-egg. Sprinkle generously with paprika. Place in refrigerator and chill until ready to serve.
Makes 16 deviled eggs.
