Tuesday Tips: Beautiful Bathroom Spruces, Part IX

Image via Desire to Inspire

How is your bathroom sprucing up? If you’ve been following our Tuesday Tips lately, hopefully you’re bathrooms are becoming an oasis of calm and beauty in this necessary room.

• How fun are these bathroom hooks for towels or robes? Just one more place to personalize your space.
• If you’re doing a bit more than just the cosmetic spruce in your bathroom, the ultimate dream in my bathroom world would be heated floors. Can you imagine that torturous moment of stepping off the bathmat turning into the pure heaven of a warm smooth surface? Well, I’m going to dream for a few more years, but it’s on my list!
• Up until now, we’ve practically ignored one whole sensory experience in the powder room – sound! Unless you count running water, our bathrooms have been surprisingly quiet. Until now, that is. Invest in a pretty battery-powered radio for the bathroom. I can just imagine waking the day to my favorite jams, or settling in for the evening with strains from the classical station. (A practical bonus, I don’t know about y’all, but somehow the interior placement of the bathroom has always been our “emergency plan” room for bad weather. Having a radio is essential for listening to the latest news when storms are heading your way, so now, it’s one less thing you have to grab when gathering up the family in the middle of the night. While you’re at it, tuck a few extra batteries in a drawer. You’ve already got towels and a first aid kit, right? You’re practically stocked for the season right there!)

New Urban Cowboy

If you’re looking for an interesting documentary to watch this weekend, check out New Urban Cowboy: Toward a New Pedestrianism. Artist and founder of the New Pedestrian movement Michael Arth moved to DeLand, Florida where he began to purchase and design homes and businesses in the historic “garden district” that had fallen into disrepair. His labors for a renaissance of the formerly run-down area turned into a new way to build towns. Work opportunities based an a pedestrian model brought new life into this urban village.

With a renewed focus on community, and a decreased dependence on our automobiles, the new pedestrian movement is a model I can get behind! What a fascinating look at a hopeful vision for the future.

Tuesday Tips: Beautiful Bathroom Spruces, Part VIII

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• While I’m a Southern girl in love with color, something about the bathroom has to be neutral and fresh to me. My secret when it comes to towels? Cream for me, sand-colored for “his,” and white for the guest bathroom. They can all mix-and-match beautifully. And, if they happen to discontinue one certain brand when you need to replenish your stock, you can always go with various hues in the same family – from off white to cream to sand, they’ll always look deliberate and chic.
• But when it comes to my washcloths, I’ll only use black. I learned this little tip from Garance. Between lipstick and mascara, a girl can never keep a light colored washcloth looking anything other than dingy. What Southern lady doesn’t put on some color? So, keep it chic and go with black.
• You can just really never have too many bath linens, can you? I love giving monogrammed robes, hand towels, bath mats, or other linen as gifts. Wanting to make a special homemade gift for a June bride — how about this pattern for a sweet bath wrap?
• Remember our little trick to show your loved ones how warmly you feel about them? What if you could have the luxury of a warm towel everyday? How about installing a towel warmer to indulge? These would do the job!

New Urbanism: A Southern Revolution

I am a big fan of old houses. There’s nothing like the charm of a great old neighborhood with large, shady trees, sidewalks, and neighbors close enough to know each other.

But I’m also a fan of new houses — with enough closet space, modern electrical wiring, and  energy effecient design.

Gladly, developers are taking note and including all the wonderful elements of those beloved established neighborhoods in new communities.

This movement is called “new urbanism.”  I’ve posted before about Cordova The Town in Tennessee, one of the first examples of tactical urban development in the 1990′s. And the most popular example is probably Celebration, Florida, but these communities are popping up all over the South.

Hallmarks of new urbanism include sidewalks and homes close to the streets, so that neighbors can easily interact with each other. They often offer parks, shopping, and schools right in the neighborhoods themselves, bringing individual families into real community.

This model of sustainable efforts is the answer to surburban sprawl that was so popular in the last century, and the south is leading the way. After all, it comes natural to us. When it comes to knowing our neighbors, bringing over an apple pie or watching the kids for an hour or two — that’s our Southern hospitality specialty.

Food Friday: Melons

I adore melons. I’ve often remarked in heaven, I plan on eating nothing but cantaloupe and watermelon (ok, and maybe a croissant or two, just for balance). When they are ripe and sweet, there is nothing better.

A favorite since ancient times, and remarkably fantastic for your health and skin, there’s just no excuse not to indulge in a big bowl of melon each morning for brunch, or even as a sweet treat as dessert.

But they are fraught with questions for me… how do I pick the best one? How best to slice it? Is eating an entire melon by myself in one sitting too much?

Here are a few helps to get us all enjoying this summer delicacy.

• A ripe melon should give slightly when pressing your finger to the skin. Take a sniff. The smell should be slightly sweet, and if all else fails, go with mom’s old trick of picking the heaviest melon in the bin. The theory is, the heavier the melon, the juicier it is.
• If you can’t find a ripe melon at the store, no need to bring it home. Melons won’t continue to ripen after picking, so if it isn’t picked at the height of perfection, sadly, it never will.
• Melons will store well in the refrigerator for several days, but a sliced melon will pick up other food odors easily, so wrap it in plastic bags or in an airtight container.
• Bring your melon, as with any fruit, to room tempurature about 30 minutes before serving to bring out the flavor.
• Even though you don’t eat the skin, it’s still important to wash thouroughly, since melons are grown on the ground and can easily pick up contaminants. Don’t transfer those nasties from the skin to your knife to the fruit.
• Get all those seeds out in one scoop — an ice cream scoop, that is! The large scoop is perfect for removing the center seeds.
• But if you’re not going to eat the entire melon right away, leave the seeds in the half you’re saving for later. They will help keep it moist.
• Summer is the season, but I’ll have to admit my only qualm with melons is how hard they are to slice and prepare. Practice and a little expert help are all you need. Take a look at this video for a genius new way on how to get to the sweet fruit a little easier.

So much, from sweet to savory pairs well with melon. Here are a few of our favorite flavor pairings.

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Curry
• Fennel
• Ginger
• Mint
• Tarragon
• Salt
• Black or white pepper
• Chile peppers, powder, and sauce
• Sugars: white or brown
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Macadamias
• Pecans
• Pistachios
• Prosciutto
• Milk and cream
• Apricots
• Blackberries
• Cherries
• Grapefruit
• Lemon juice
• Mango
• Tomatoes
• Red Onions
• Goat Cheese
• Yogurt
• Vinegars: Balsamic, rice, or sherry
• Champagne

From well-known canteloupe, honeydew, or watermelon, to Persian or Santa Claus varieties, there are many melons to choose from. Which is your favorite?

Tuesday Tips: Beautiful Bathroom Spruces, Part VII

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Today, we continue our desire for the perfect bathroom. We hope these, and our previous tips, help you achieve your beautiful bathroom.

• Let’s talk about towels, shall we? While I love a regular bath towel size for most days, when it comes time to step out of a relaxing soak in the tub, nothing matches a six-foot bath sheet, does it?
• Want to really show your loved ones how special they are? As soon as your honey or little ones hop into the bath, stick their towel in the dryer for 5 minutes and return it just as they are about to emerge. What better to come out of a relaxing shower to than a warm, fluffy towel? Maybe they’ll return the favor someday!
• Washclothes, loofahs, bath brushes – we all have our favorite cleaning agent. But for those of us that can’t get enough of the coast, what about keeping a basket of sea sponges near the bath for sloughing away the day. The feel unbelievably soft, and remind us of our favorite place to take a soak – the ocean!
• When it comes to storage, I am a fan of the old-fashioned medicine cabinet. Not only does it keep all those essentials such as sunscreen, deodorant, make-up brushes, and q-tips near-at-hand, but it also hides away behind a handy mirror in wall to keep your products dry, fresh, and out of sight. If you can find a three-sided mirror, not only does this allow maximum space, but you can also turn out both sides to get good hair views and full face light. Double duty function!
• Back to my favorite antique stores this weekend — if your bathroom space allows, seek out a small chair to stack extra towels on. Or if you’re tastes are more modern, this Louis Ghost Chair would hold up well to the moisture of the bath. Provide a sweet space to give yourself a pedicure and relax while the polish is drying. We’ve spent so much time making our bathrooms pretty, why rush out, dear readers?

Country Jukebox Playlist

Tomorrow, I’m heading to one of my favorite southern cities, Birmingham, to see my college roommate. So I needed a little Southern road trip music. Usually I leave the territory of country music to Mr. SIT, but I’m always in the mood for a little classic country when I drive. Inspired by one of my favorite podcasts, Dr. Russell Moore’s The Cross and the Jukebox, I picked a few of his suggested tunes to get my drive started off right.

I thought I’d share my picks so that you can sing along on your summer vacation. Here they are…

1. “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash

2. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones

3. “Highway 20 Ride” by the Zac Brown Band

4. “American Pie” by Don McLean

5. “That’s What I Love About Sunday” by Craig Morgan

6. “Lay You Down” by Conway Twitty

7. “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood

8. “Long Time Gone,” by the Dixie Chicks

9. “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash

10. “A Boy Named Sue,” by Johnny Cash

11. “Beer for My Horses,” by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson

12. “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” by Bob Dylan

13. “Okie from Muskogee,” by Merle Haggard

14. “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams

15. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynrd

16. “(We’re Not) The Jet Set” by George Jones and Tammy Wynette

17. “Red Ragtop” by Tim McGraw

18. “Reasons Why I Cheat” by Randy Travis

19. “A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Jimmy Buffett

20. “It Wasn’t His Child” by Trisha Yearwood

Where in the South are you going this summer? And what are your favorite tunes to bring along?