You Capture: Summer

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The You Capture challenge this week is: SUMMER. 
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I think these fresh hydrangeas perfectly capture the feeling of summer.  I just keep cutting blooms of of my bushes and replacing the blooms as they die out.  I love having fresh flowers in the house!  I'm going to be sad when the hydrangeas are finished for the season because my coffee table is going to look pretty bare.
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Home Tour - Kitchen

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Back in June my home was on tour over @ Remodelaholic.  I've decided to repost the tour on my own blog, room by room.  The first installment of the tour was my screen porch and can be seen right here.   Today I am sharing my kitchen, back hallway, half bath, and foyer.

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I live in a condo that is almost 5 years old. When I purchased the condo it was framed in and ready for drywall. The floor plan was pretty well set, so I didn't make any changes there, but there was still time for me to select all of the materials and finishes.

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We'll start the tour in the back hall. The garage entry is off of this hallway, so when I come home and open the door, this is what I see.  To the right are the laundry room and half bath; to the left is a large closet.

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The floor is 12" x 12" tiles of natural slate from Daltile. Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Texas Leather AC-3. I used this in the back hall, foyer, and master bath & closet. This is now one of my all-time favorite colors. It's a perfect neutral - not too warm, and not too cool. I especially love how it looks against the white woodwork & wainscoting.

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To the left of the back garage door is a little nook.

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Here's the half bath:

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Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Georgian Brick HC-50.

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Once in the kitchen, the view back down the hall looks like this:

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At the end of the hall is the kitchen. My kitchen, dining room and living room are all one open space. I can see everything from the kitchen.

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The wood floor is bamboo. Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Huntington Beige HC-21.
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The base cabinets are cherry with an espresso stain.  They almost look black in the photos, but they are a very rich, dark brown.  The wall cabinets are maple in a creamy white with a glaze on top.  I matched an off-white paint color (Benjamin Moore; OC-6 Feather Down) to the cabinets for the woodwork and trim for the rest of the house.

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The range I have is this Jennair Dual Oven.  The top portion is a small sized oven and the bottom portion is a full size oven.  I love the option of using just use the top oven if I'm just heating up something small and the ability to cook two things at once at different temperatures is great too.
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.I don't like to keep a lot out on the kitchen counters, but one thing that must stay out is this salt & pepper set I bought in Positano, Italy. 

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The three stools came from Pottery Barn.  I like how the warm honey tone picks up on the same tones in the bamboo floor.
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The tile backsplash is this porcelain tile from Crossville Inc.

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Here's a view to the foyer and the stairs to the lower level:

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That big, blank wall at the back of the foyer has been my nemesis since I moved in.  I can't seem to find anything I like enough (or that is affordable!) to put there.  I'm thinking maybe three large fabric wrapped canvases, but, I'm still not sure.

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The view from the foyer toward the half bath:

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That's it for the kitchen.  Next up on the tour will be my craft room!

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This post is linked to:

Room by Room Party @ Cottage & Vine

Bon Ami Cleaning Product Giveaway

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You might remember back in May when I posted about some of my favorite green cleaning products.  Well, the wonderful people at Bon Ami saw my post and contacted me wondering if they could send me two of their products.  Of course I said yes!  Now, they have generously offered to give two products to one of you!
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Bon Ami recently updated their packaging and website.  Pictured above is the powder cleanser in the old packaging.  The powder cleanser is my old stand by for cleaning my porcelain and stainless steel sinks and bathtub.  It works great!
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Bon Ami has been manufacturing the powder cleanser for over 120 years!  I love that they were green long before green was 'cool'.  All of Bon Ami liquid cleansers are packaged in bottles made from 100% post-consumer recycled (and recyclable) PET.  Read more about their environmental stewardship right here.
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The lucky winner will receive Bon Ami Dish Soap and Bon Ami All Purpose Cleaner. 
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Here is a description of the Dish Soap from the Bon Ami website: "Bon Ami Dish Soap was created with the same emphasis on gentle effectiveness as the original powders. Read through the ingredients – right there on the bottle – and you’ll see there is nothing in the Dish Soap that will harm the environment either inside or outside your home. The all-natural ingredients are tough on greasy dish soils, but gentle on the skin, and will never contain phosphates or chlorine."
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And a description of the All Purpose Cleaner:  "The nonabrasive Bon Ami All-Purpose Cleaner can be used on many surfaces inside and outside the house, from floors and walls to windows and vinyl car seats. Its simple, effective formula works to remove the toughest messes, including oil, pet stains, food spills, and much more.  Like all Bon Ami products, All-Purpose Cleaner works without phosphates or harmful chlorine. The new Bon Ami products walk their talk with recycled and recyclable packaging. The new labels are bold interpretations of the classic red banner and Bon Ami’s famous just-hatched chick."

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To enter:
- Winner must live in the United States (sorry to all my Canadian and international readers!)
- You may leave up to 3 separate comments.
- First comment: Just leave me a comment saying that you would like to win.
- Second comment:  Are you a follower of 33 shades of Green?  Leave me a comment saying that you are!  Or, become a new follower and leave a comment.
- Third comment:  Post this giveaway somewhere on your blog or write a post about it.
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I'll pick a winner sometime on Wednesday, August 11th.
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Thanks for entering!

Summer in the Mitten

Lake Michigan from the pier @ Holland State Park, Holland, MI

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Michigan (The Mitten State) in the summer is a wonderful place to be.  We Michiganders wait patiently all winter for the glorious days of summer.

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Summer in The Mitten means:  Days spent enjoying the beauty of Lake Michigan.  I feel blessed to live only 30 minutes from the Big Lake.  The beauty of the Great Lakes never ceases to amaze me.

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Grand Haven State Park, Grand Haven, MI

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The pier @ Grand Haven

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Taking a dip: World's Cutest Brother, Me, Baby Sister

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Summer in The Mitten means:  Beautiful flowers all around.  I have three huge hydrangea bushes and I love cutting the massive blooms to bring inside.

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I'm also loving my zinnias which just started to bloom this week.  These are from the Seeds from Italy that I started indoors this spring.

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Summer in The Mitten means:  Golf.  Lots and lots of golf.  We love golf in my family.  I've played pretty much my whole life and usually play 2-3 times a week in the summer.

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World's Cutest Brother taking a shot.

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My brother is a lefty (like me, but I play golf right handed) and he has a great swing.  He hits the ball much further than I ever could at 9!  This summer he said to me:  "I wish Dad had taught you how to play golf left handed so that we could share clubs!"  Me too, E, me too.

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My Dad watching my brother tee off.

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Summer in The Mitten means:  Fresh produce making its way into every meal.  What could be better?

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First harvest of my tomatoes.

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caprese + spinach salad

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Fresh Michigan blueberries

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Summer in The Mitten means:  Riding bikes. . .

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. . .on the bike trail. . .

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Blurry picture because I was riding my bike while taking pictures - not something I would recommend!

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. . .to the ice cream shop for Hudsonville Ice Cream - made in Michigan!

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I hope you are enjoying summer as much as I am!

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Weekend Kitchen: Tomato, Brie, and Basil Pasta

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In an attempt to keep up with my ever growing supply of fresh basil, I made this pasta dish for dinner the other night.  I thought it was good and it was probably the quickest pasta dish I have ever made!  I used whole grain pasta, but if I make this dish again I think I would use regular pasta; I thought the whole grain made the overall dish a little dry.
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*Recipe came from the July 2010 issue of Sunset Magazine in their Fast & Fresh section.  It was submitted by reader Colleen Clark of Loveland, Co.  No, I don't live in the West, but I really like Sunset magazine! 
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Ingredients:
- 12 oz. orecchiette or shell pasta
- 4 oz. brie cheese, sliced
- two large tomatoes chopped (or 1 qt. cherry tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, sliced
- salt & pepper to taste
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Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
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Can you believe how easy that was?
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I served this with mixed greens drizzled with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. 

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I'm linking up with Alicia over at A Beautiful Mess.

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I've also linked up with Michael at Foodie Friday.