paigerushing - Tumblr blog

[paigerushing]

Jetty I y

[paigerushing]

in order to create a flow between our indoor and outdoor spaces, we’re converting 11 feet of windows to doors and joining the dining room with the backyard. tomorrow i’m meeting with a door salesman to discuss some options, and, as you can imagine, i’m pretty excited!

i love the unified spaces--and their portals--below.

factory-style steel french doors…

(via ???)

another metal door (because i just can’t help myself)…

(via portella steel doors and windows)

a sleek portal: the bifold doors simply fold and fade away…

(via lift up thy neighbor)

a more traditional wall of bifold doors…

(via marvin windows and doors)

massive black statement doors (can be replicated with exterior doors)…

(via apartment therapy via roman and williams)

double french doors…

(via desire to inspire via amy neunsinger)

sliding french patio doors…

(via better homes and gardens)

paneless french doors and side windows: a contemporary spin on a traditional entry…

(via bella mancini design)

i’m not sure which we will chose… what do you think?

[paigerushing]

Oscar Niemeyer’s vision great & small: Palace of Dawn on the right; my dresser in the left.

[paigerushing]

i love our dresser, but I dream of brasilia's door chest.

I wake up to echos of Niemeyer’s work every day. My dresser is based on lines from Brasilia. #RIPNiemeyer

[paigerushing]

(via sf girl by bay)

i really love black herringbone.

we're installing a new kitchen floor--i wonder if laying the new wood in a herringbone pattern would define the space in a cool way--or if it would just make the space feel chaotic...

in other flooring news: we (and by we i actually mean a pretty cool dude) patched our hardwood floors a few weeks ago! though the holes made the space feel open and airy--especially if you wanted to throw, say, a lego or your brother down into the basement. obviously, we rushings were living on borrowed, injury-free time. 

our floor guy sealed, but did not refinish, the new wood. it's looks kinda wonky now, but i believe it was the right decision. we have more projects coming down the pipeline on our main level and we'll have the entire floor refinished at once so that everything matches perfectly...

plus we spy with our little eyes another wall that needs to go... gonna have to dust off my demo man again!

[paigerushing]

harper spotted this owl ($9.99) at our favorite thrift store recently. she fell in love immediately and refused to be separated from her ceramic friend. not even for a purse.

gotta say, my girl h knows what she's talking about! we may paint him--she will insist on pink or purple, while turquoise or white will get my vote. for now, though, he roosts happily in the dining room in all his faux bois glory. which is kinda growing on me...

[paigerushing]

ok, maybe he didn’t. but perhaps he should have…

the jury appointed to remedy our mantle-less and seemingly naked fireplace reached a unanimous decision as soon as it spied this exhibit: a reclaimed beam simply hung with nearly invisible J brackets.

(via greige design via new england home)

the asymmetrical placement of the fireplace above matches our own (below) making it really easy to envision a similar design in our home. and while i love the texture of our brick surround, which i painted white a year ago, i wonder if we shouldn’t kick around the idea of incorporating wainscoting also. it’s such a polished look…

as fate would have it, two hand-hewn 7”x7”x10’ oak beams rescued from a 100-year-old barn popped up on craigslist. josh was traveling for work, but the kids and i hitched the trailer anyway and scooped them up as fast as we could!

aren’t they gorgeous?! for now the massive beams await their brackets in the safety of my living room—which is officially a disaster btw—to be hung above the fireplace. i couldn’t find similar brackets online; so, i reached out to a couple of local metal smiths. here’s our first rough drawing of the hangers.

what do you think? we’re pretty excited around these parts!

the mantle has been relegated to the back burner for a few weeks while my kids are transformed into hobbits for halloween 2012. seems like we’re always juggling projects!

[paigerushing]

omg, omg, OMG!

(via sweet paul magazine, spring 2010)

against all odds* i made these amazing pancakes this morning. don't be intimidated by the scratch batter--it goes together quickly and you can definitely taste the difference. the ricotta doesn't add flavor, but the texture is heavenly. and the bananas swimming in syrup are incredible--in fact, i'd add another banana next time. my crew gobbled them up shockingly fast!

*as i was mixing the batter, ethan ran in and announced "this is an emergency!" spencer rounded the corner moments later...

fortunately, spencer's injury was nothing a popsicle on the porch, the companionship of his siblings and sweet paul (a little later) couldn't fix... :)

[paigerushing]

(via sweet paul magazine, fall 2012)

if you haven't already, pamper yourself and leaf through the gorgeously shot pages of sweet paul magazine's fall issue. actually, any of his issues will do. trust. me. on. this.

here's a sampling of what you've been missing:

tomorrow morning's breakfast...

(via sweet paul magazine, spring 2010)

and these just need to get in my belly as soon as possible...

(via sweet paul magazine, holiday 2010)

thyme-roasted chicken with pears (via sweet paul magazine, fall 2011)

salted caramel & chocolate tart (via sweet paul magazine, fall 2012)

it seems a cruel betrayal to pick only four dishes for this post when i've spent the last 24 hours drooling over all of them. thank you, paul. will you be my friend? come nosh with me. i promise not to wash the dishes until well after our party...

have you made any of sweet paul's recipes? if so, which ones? are any of his culinary dreams calling your name--which, in particular, would you like to try?

[paigerushing]

crossing the delaware memorial bridge and listening to justin jones on our way to boston. good times…

[paigerushing]

because you've always wondered what the hole is for...

[paigerushing]

i know, i know, more shameless bragging... i just can't help myself. you should see him in his skivvies with a hammer drill...

Being the Bridge

A blue-eyed Marine from Texas, Josh Rushing faced fire when he left his post as military spokesman to help found Al Jazeera English in hopes of connecting two vastly different cultures. Seven years later, was his choice worth it?

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001,...

[paigerushing]

it's nearly impossible to ignore the call of nielsen's frozen custard. ethan, spencer and harper have adopted a strict non-resistance policy.

(josh really doesn't handle these types of sticky situations well.)

[paigerushing]

last week josh and i baked these delectable pastries for our crew.

(via smitten kitchen)

homemade mini nutella pop tarts adapted from smitten kitchen’s adaptation of king arthur flour’s recipe yields an adorable batch of roughly thirteen 2″ x 3″ rectangles

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk 1 jar of nutella

1. whisk together flour, sugar and salt.

2. work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. if you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

3. whisk one egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

4. divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle. you can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days. if the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes.

5. place one piece on a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick.

6. repeat with the second piece of dough. set trimmings aside.*

7. using a ruler cut each piece of dough into 2”x3” rectangles with a butter knife.

(composite of smitten kitchen images)

8. gently lay half the rectangles on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

9. crack the second egg and brush it over the entire surface of each rectangle on the baking sheet, creating the “inside” of each tart. the egg will help “glue” the lid on.

10. place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, trying to maintain a bare 1/4-inch perimeter of dough around the nutella.

11. place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. reinforce the seams with the tines of a fork all around the rectangle’s edges. repeat with remaining tarts.

12. prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork so the steam can escape lest the tarts become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. brush the top of each pop tart with egg.

13. refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while your oven heats to 350°F. {full disclosure: i didn’t do this and i didn’t really notice any difference. we were simply too excited to wait…}

14. remove tarts form the fridge and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes until they’re a light golden brown.

15. generously spread nutella (like so, below) on the top of each tart.

16. try not to bite your fingers as you choke these down. ;)

note: smitten kitchen offers many different flavor options if nutella just isn’t your thing…

reviews:

*charming tip from king arthur: sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar. these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. while the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.

[paigerushing]

The ZIGZAG hunty, the ZIGZAG!!!

zigzag makes me happy... :)

[paigerushing]

OMG you muuuuuuust stencil/stain the hardwood floors!!!!!! Since I can't, you must do it for the good of us all!! PLEASE!!!

i know, right?! which do you prefer: the zigzag or the rug? i also dug this chunky diagonal pattern too: http://pinterest.com/pin/222224562834061339

[paigerushing]

Hey there - I like your blog! Hope you don't mind if I use some of your content for my blog.

be my guest! just be sure to source it properly--most of the content on my site is the creative work of others and i've tried really hard to acknowledge their contributions. i always love a good mention too. :)