When my dear friend approached me about working with her on the design of her new home, I didn’t hesitate a moment before replying with a resounding, “yes!” We spent months together honing in on my client’s style and talking over details upon details…the newel post on the stairs, just the right engineered wood flooring for 3 kids and maybe a puppy someday, the cream color for the kitchen cabinets, just the right exterior color, and the wallpapers we used. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I’ll write more about each space as we design the interiors, but for now, I’ll leave you all to feast your eyes on these beautiful photos of the finished home.
True confession: I only began drinking coffee regularly 18 months ago. I’m honestly not sure how I lived so long without it, but here’s the story. My Grandpa passed away in August of 2022. He was very dear to me and he was a complete and total coffee lover. He had lots of little fainting spells in the year or two before he passed, and whenever a nurse or doctor would talk to him about how he felt after he’d fainted, they’d ask him if he’d had anything to drink that day. He’d say, “I’ve had my coffee.” And every single time, they’d remind him that he needed to drink actual water. Truth be told, I rarely saw the man drink water unless he was outside working in the yard. He drank coffee all day long and could go straight to sleep after a cup of fully caffeinated coffee. He was obviously a legend. After he entered into Glory, there was a wealth of coffee paraphernalia to part with and my Nana was going to put it all in a garage sale. I bought every single bit of it and I have zero regrets. Once I made my way back home with a new coffee pot and my very own coffee grinder, I bought some coffee beans so that I could make my own half-caff blend. I started making coffee here and there and it soon became one of my favorite morning rituals.
I’m an avid coffee drinker and pour over coffee is my favorite way to drink a cup every morning. This is similar to my porcelain pour over. My sister got me a Bodum tea kettle for Christmas and I use it daily. I’d been wanting a milk frother for quite a while and my sweet kiddos got me this one for my birthday. If I’m in a hurry, this handheld frother is so quick and easy. I use this frother daily to combine my collagen and electrolytes. I grind my own beans and I use this grinder that was my Grandpa’s. If I’m making an entire pot of coffee, I LOVE my Bunn, which was my Grandpa’s preferred coffee pot. It uses a method similar to pour over and it’s so delish. Plus, the carafe keeps coffee warm for hours.
For the actual coffee, I have found that the most robust tasting decaf is the Kona Blend from Fresh Market. For the caffeinated coffee, I love any coffee from Heroes, Just Bee Coffee Bar or the French Vanilla from Fresh Market. I LOVE to add a little syrup and my favorite syrups are from Pink House Alchemy. These syrups are heavenly and make each cup feel so special and just a little fancy. For the milk, I really prefer Fairlife whole milk. It froths better than any other milk I’ve tried. My family and I drink raw milk that we purchase locally, but we go through it so quickly that I prefer to buy Fairlife just for my coffee and let my family have the raw milk. As far as the method I use for making the coffee in a pour over, I use the method from this article.
There is something so peaceful and warm about this morning ritual. I usually drink my coffee after I’ve been awake for about an hour and I often sit down to journal while drinking my coffee. When is your favorite time to drink coffee? I would love to how and why you love coffee, too!
Hi friends! I seem to find myself making new things or learning new things. I’m going to share what I’m making or learning here on the blog on Thursdays. Let’s jump in! This week, I’m making sourdough bread, after a long hiatus! I made my own starter during the pandemic, aptly named Pandoughmic, and he died a sad death when a sweet little house guest accidentally left our deep freezer open. A dear friend who makes the best sourdough shared some starter with me and we are rolling! After feeding the new starter for a week or so, I’ll be making my first loaf tonight. I can’t wait! I have this cookbook and I am a huge fan! It really breaks down the process of how to make sourdough in layman’s terms.
If you guys don’t have Joanna Gaines newest cookbook, please treat yourself!!! It’s beautiful, she uses tons of real food ingredients and the recipes are divine. My favorite so far has been the spinach manicotti with this sauce (that will legit change your life) poured over the top.
Earlier this week, I was chatting with my girls about our weekly menu, which includes sloppy joe sandwiches. The girls interrupted me to ask if I was using my recipe, or my friend Amanda’s recipe. Apparently, the recipe Amanda makes is superior. I mentioned this to Amanda and she volunteered to make them for our family! We had them for dinner and they were delicious. I’m just emerging from two weeks of sickness, so this was a welcome blessing.
Another thing I’ve made this week are morning glory muffins. If you’ve not made these, it’s time. It’s just time. Plus, these are SO easy to make gluten free if you’ve got a gluten sensitive friend or family member who needs these muffins. I’ll leave you with the recipe. Let me know if any of the above is helpful to you! I find that much of what is helpful to me comes as a result of knowledge my friends have shared with me. 🙂
Morning Glory Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
¾ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 cup yogurt
1 cup mashed bananas
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup raisins or craisins
½ cup pineapple tidbits
½ cup chopped walnuts
Combine dry ingredients, stir well. Then add bananas, yogurt and egg. Then add nuts and fruit. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes 18 muffins. Doubles easily, lots of additions work with this!
One of my goals as a Mom has always been to make things magical for my family. I started hanging witch hats and candles from my ceiling during the Fall several years ago and my family loves these whimsical, slightly spooky decorations. You can buy the hats, candles, batteries, hooks for hanging, and clear fishing line I used simply by adding to your cart. Everything I used can be purchased on Amazon, and it all can be hung without damaging your ceilings or walls. One more thing to note is that the candles also come with suctions cups and hooks to adhere them to your windows to use during the Christmas season. Now go make some magic in your home and enjoy!
As a small business owner, referral and repeat business are the biggest compliment to me. So, when a friend of my dear client Amy James (see her beautiful kitchen remodel here) reached out to me to help her with her master bedroom, I was honored. We jumped in with both feet and got cracking on this lovely space.
Salinas Primary Bedroom Before
The Salinas fam lives on a mini-farm with their five kiddos and I had a ball getting to know them. In fact, the youngest Salinas child now regularly sends me video chats. Have I said lately that I love my clients? Because I do! Back to the design work needed…Angela and David Salinas have a nice sized primary bedroom with new furniture and dreamy new windows. They just needed my help in discovering their own personal style for this room. I met with Angela and David and asked them questions about the function of this space, their daily lives within their home and what design styles they prefer. I ended up designing 4 different vision boards and we moved forward with the design.
Angela and I collaborated on this project as we gathered each element of the design. Angela is a talented photographer. She combed through years worth of photographs to find her favorites for the wall arrangement that we hung in the room.
Angela and David also really enjoy original, unique art. The painting above the bed is an original piece that Angela found on Facebook marketplace. We carefully transported it to Hobby Lobby and had it framed. This painting is one of my favorite elements of the entire space.
The sources for this room are varied between Wayfair for the couch, Amazon home for the rug and drapes, Company Store for some of the bedding, Pottery Barn for most of the pillows and other things were gathered along the way as she and I both shopped for this space. We both pored over color choices for the room, and Angela ended up selecting the primary paint color and it is one of my favorites. One of my goals as a designer is to help each client define there own personal style, and I feel like Angela and I really honed in on what she wanted for this space.
I had a ball installing this master bedroom with the help of my precious installer and an amazing electrician. Angela and David were a lot of fun to work with and I truly love how well this space came together.
Holly Bertram Designs 