Garden Stools...are these really necessary?

     You all have seen these in every store possible from the high end hoity toity stores (does anyone actually say hoity toity anymore...anyone?  Well we're bringing it back like sexy Justin T style people) to Target and TJ Maxx, but I keep asking myself, do I even like them?  Are they a completely unnecessary superfluous accessory to just sit around, take up space, and collect dust like those silly poufs you see people buy that, let's face it, are ne-hev-ah gonna get used.  These are the questions that keep me up at night...actually no, Big D's snoring keeps me up at night, but those garden stool questions are lingering there somewhere.

Garden Stools are everywhere...which makes me not like them almost immediately...
Yes they are colorful, tie into the whole indigo theme, but wouldn't you rather have a coffee table here?  I mean wouldn't you??
Or here...Yes, they look nice, but I'm thinking I would rather have a couple of great baskets filled with old quilts that I actually use...
Pretty, adds a little chinoiserie element to the whole thing, but I personally would rather have a chair to sit in whilst putting on my makeup...
Here it's, well it's just silly, I mean they are just parked in front of the coffee table waiting for me to trip over them 800 times a day, and then there are two more pointless stools in front of the fireplace waiting for what?...who?...and why?
Contemporary Family Room by Little Rock Interior Designer Tobi Fairley Interior Design

Another example of a ridiculous use of a garden stool...Yeah, this isn't working for me at all, that lamp is going to topple over in about five seconds...

OK, maybe...maybe for outside, because these little things could at least hold a cocktail and a magazine...



And maybe in a bath beside a bath tub to hold a towel...and the colors do tie everything together quite nicely...
And this one is just kinda cute...I actually like it, it has a little bit of personality, along with that hilarious oil portrait of the poodle/bichon/maltese...whatever, yet somehow this works for me!



One Kings Lane beach finds and updates on Beach Cheeky...

     It's a crazy time of year at Chez Cheeky with school coming to a close, graduation, banquets, and ceremony after ceremony for my kiddos.  I find myself getting so sad at any given moment because soon my baby girl will be off to college!  I am over the moon for her, but I find myself noticing and clinging to all her last times and soon to be last times.  The last time I will go prom dress shopping with her.  The last time I will run something up to the high school that she has forgotten.  The last time I will see her dance on a stage.  The last time she frantically runs out of the house late for school.  Each and every last time is so incredibly bittersweet!
     The craziness continues over at Beach Cheeky where soon I will go check out the progress in person.  The building continues, and I get so excited whenever more pictures are sent my way.

Here is the latest progress...This will be the front door!
Downstairs master bedroom window...
Pool decking and our view from the pool...

I have no idea what this is, maybe the bath/mudrrom area?

The area in the back will be our breakfast nook overlooking the water!  This may be my favorite feature, because those are one of those things you always want and dream of, but only older houses seem to have them...that and dumb waiters...I want one of those too!

And have you all checked out One Kings Lane today?  They have some pretty cute things I wouldn't mind placing in Beach Cheeky...

Love this Manhattan Swivel Chair...

And these great slipcovered couches...



Love the colors in the Evette Ottoman, and great price for $549.00...

Or the Langston Coffee Table...

How great would this be in the kitchen?


This jute floor lamp for $275.00



The Debbie Chair


Love it all!

Beach Cheeky is ready to go!

     It's been a long time coming with lots of planning, pinning, phone calls, and emails, but Beach Cheeky is officially no longer just an empty lot!  We just received the first pictures of the progress of the house, and well, it's all very exciting!

Look sand, and a wee little palm tree that isn't ours!!!  Love this view!!

 Lake views...
Back area of the house where the porch will be...

This will be the pool out back, not big, but enough to get in and cool off after being in the salt and sand all day...

I can't wait!

Heartbroken for Boston...

     The past two days have just been so sad, and I feel like the entire nation is gobbled up in PSTD from the horrible events of the Boston Marathon, when we have yet to recover from the devastation in New Town.  My friend Connie was running at mile 25.5 when the blasts went off, mayhem broke out, and like many others frantically searched for her family.  By happenstance I happened to be in Boston over the weekend looking at schools for my daughter.  It was the first time I had ever been to Boston, and it's easy to see why people love that historic city.  Saturday afternoon we walked along the St. Charles River and made our way to the Back Bay area of Boston to have lunch, and shopped up and down Newbury Street, only a block or two away from the horrible events from Monday.


The atmosphere was so festive boys were dressed as dancing burgers outside, hilarious...
We left with great memories of this beautiful city and its people...leaving with a chapeaux from the cutest hat shop I have ever seen, Coornin Bros.
Now more than ever, I can't wait to get back to that wonderful city. 

Rainy days, chilly temps, and the most perfect pasta...

     Today in Dallas we are having the kind of day that makes you want to stay in and nest, snuggle with your pups, curl up to the fire with a glass of great Pinot, and eat some major comfort food...

Turn on Bravo, pour a glass of vino, and get ready to make your muffin happy, because this pasta is worth the 5 miles you will have to run tomorrow!  The pasta du jour is from Giada De Laurentiis, who let's face it makes a pretty amazing tortellini, and she also makes the best Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel Sauce...for real people.  It is like a decadent fancy schmancy mac and cheese situation.  Oh, and it's got a hot mess of butter and cheese in it so really, it's kind of a no brainer...

Bechamel Sauce
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 and 2 T all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
Fresh nutmeg (Giada uses a pinch, I used more like 1/2 tsp, cuz it's sooooo good in there)
Sea salt (OK I used Kosher)
White pepper (which I didn't have so whatev on that spice, not a deal breaker)
1 cup fontina cheese grated (grate more than this because if you are like me you will eat half of it while you're cooking
Thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned (Giada says 1/2 pound, I think this is a wee too much)
1 pound dry rigatoni
3 T unsalted butter

Topping for Rigatoni
OK this is where I went all rogue and did my own thing.  
Panko bread crumbs-1/2-3/4 cup
Parmesan cheese (the good stuff please, none of that shaker nonsense)-1/2 cupish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Get ready to make your once pretty kitchen a mess of pots and pans, spoons, whisks, and ingredients...because that is how the magic happens people...

Get yourself organized right from the beginning...it helps with the mess that is soon to follow!
Begin by crisping up your prosciutto (Giada just puts in the prosciutto without crisping it up, but I like the consistency better cooking it a bit)

Bechamel Sauce
In a 2 quart saucepan melt one stick of butter...yummy..
Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes, make sure to stir!
Add 1 quart of milk gradually and continue to whisk until sauce is smooth and creamy.  Simmer until it is think enough (while stirring!) to coat the back of spoon...took me 7 minutes on a gas stove, could take about 10 though...
Remove from heat and add in fontina, nutmeg, prosciutto and season with salt and white pepper (well at least I did the salt)

In a large pot bring to boil 6 quarts of water.  Add a good amount of salt and rigatoni for 5-7 minutes, undercooking it because it will go into the oven for a time and nobody wants overcooked rigatoni...

Grease a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish and poor the cooked pasta and sauce into the dish and mix.

Mix together panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.  Poor over pasta and add 3 T of butter chipped over the top of the crumb mixture.  You can add a bit more fontina on top too...hey, I mean go for it!
Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden...and delish!
And ta da...
Snuggle up by the fire and watch Rachel Zoe,  and eat a plateful of yumminess... 

Let's all take a trip to the beach!

     Who wants to go to the beach?  There is an adorable little village a few miles up the road from Beach Cheeky called Rosemary Beach with award winning architecture, fab food finds, and a community designed around keeping the natural topography of the land in mind while allowing everything to be connect by pedestrian pathways and boardwalks.  It looks like a little bit of Europe on 30 A...

Rosemary Beach...




The homes are primarily stucco in all different colors...

 Great restaurants and shops...


And there are ton's of homes to rent from all different price points.  This three bedroom home which sleeps 11 is called Providence on the Green  and the house is so beach fabulous!

via Anthology Destinations



Via Artisan Homes and Aaron Snow Photography

Don't you want to go?