You're probably getting tired of hearing about this...

...But tonight is the big night! 

The show, NBC's American Dream Builders, is going to air tonight at 8:00pm, EST.

The whole cast, including judges Nate Berkus, Monica Pederson, and Eddie George, will be live-tweeting during the episode, so follow us on Twitter or catch the commentary on Facebook!

It's bound to be a drama-filled night, so hold onto your hats! 

And don't forget to send me lots of love and shout-outs on your own social-media platforms. I need all the momentum I can get!!!

Find me here:

twitter: @christinasalway
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.salway
instagram: christinasalway

Literally, a re-post. BUT PLEASE READ!

If the blog post below seems familiar, that's because it is! I know it's tacky to re-post, but we're really getting close to Game Day (otherwise known as the premiere of NBC's American Dream Builders this Sunday, March 23rd @ 8:00pm!) and I wanted to beseech you all once more to visit my ZillowDigs postings and send me a little love... While you're there, you can also visit my ZillowProfile page and read the riveting interviews the whole American Dream Builders cast did with the people from Zillow...

Click here for interviews.
Click here for my profile page.
Click here for my project page.

Looking for a little love...

Hey there devoted followers, family, and friends! *

*(Okay-- some of you fall into multiple categories...)

I was just featured on the latest addition to the Zillow.com website-- it's called "Zillow Digs" and essentially, it's a way more accessible, much more "real-budget-oriented" version of Houzz.com, so of course, I'm completely loving it. It doesn't help that they seem to be loving me too, and I'm already getting some rad feedback.

But, you can never get too much internet love (don't quote me on that!) so I was hoping I could solicit all of you wonderful people to zip by the zillow digs website, check out my posted projects, and click the little heart logo (like the one you see on the left) for all of the projects you like... I'm going to keep on adding projects over the next couple of weeks, so it's possible that I'm going to send out this plea again, but don't let that deter you from going there RIGHT NOW.

The more heart clicks, the better, so go wild! 

While you're visiting the zillowdigs website, you guys should totally peruse the rest of the site-- it's an awesome source for loads of design ideas and inspiration-- and maybe it will make you want to jump start your next project! (At which point, call me!)

: )

Thanks again and all my love! You guys are the best...

Walnut furniture, raining from heaven.

Okay. It actually only came from the apartment upstairs, but when we were carrying it down the two flights of steps, it felt a little bit as far away as heaven.

Here's the story-- and try not to get mad-- because it's just unbelievable that this happened, and I pretty much can't believe my good luck.

The gist: About nine months ago, my upstairs neighbor approached me about possibly buying his apartment. I went upstairs, fell in love with it, found out he wanted an astronomical amount of money for it, and promptly let go of that dream. But, I also really liked the solid wood mid-century bedroom set (wide dresser, two bedside tables, high-boy) in the apartment, which had been abandoned by my neighbor's uncle, so I mentioned that I'd be "interested" in taking it off his hands if he wanted me too. Ya know-- as a favor to him. : ) We talked about it at length, but then he had a bunch of crazy medical problems, then I moved to California, then he had more weird medical problems, then I came back from California, then I went back to California... 

You know the story-- life happened and the moment got away from us...

Flash forward nine months-- the apartment has finally sold (much to my chagrin...) and my original neighbor was jonesing to get the mid-century furniture out. After a little logistical negotiation, John and I actually managed to find twenty free minutes when we were going to be in the same place at the same time, and yesterday, we hauled the furniture down to our apartment. The downside to well-made furniture is that it weighs a small ton, but luckily, we weren't going far! It was also no small challenge trying to get the new stuff in and the old stuff out (yes-- my guest room is currently wall-to-wall orange dressers), but completely worth the effort. The pieces are beyond beautiful-- the wood is in gorgeous condition-- it's solid wood with lovely dovetail construction-- honestly the photos don't remotely do them justice. A special thanks to my neighbor for giving me this wonderful furniture. 

It's gone to a good home! 

The countdown is getting pretty intense over here...

We are seriously down to the wire people... 

NBC's "American Dream Builders" airs this coming Sunday, March 23rd, at 8:00pm EST.

Let me be clear: I'm counting on all of you guys to watch American Dream Builders, root for me, and then ideally, social-media the ba-jesus out of the show. Maybe you could tweet something like, "Wow- that Christina Salway sure is talented, gorgeous, AND level-headed. How does she do it?!?!" And when some other vitriol-spewing internet die-hard says dreadful things about me online, you could chime in with a retort like, "Actually, Christina Salway really is very talented, gorgeous, AND level-headed" (as well as humble) and that will put them in their place... 

Feel free to defend my honor and dignity. 

Particularly since I obviously abandoned them both when I went on a reality-tv show. 

Someone's got to defend them! 

Did somebody say bath time?

Knowing that (at least) half of my readers are showing up in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Jules, I really can't help but post more of the babies-in-the-bath series... These babies are already crazy cute, but when you put them together in the bath, they get exponentially more so. I mean, seriously...

It's a little bit out of control. 

A special thanks to the people at Instagram for making my unfinished bathroom look so dreamy in the photo above.
Cheers guys! It's far less ethereal in person...

Pretty much beside myself.

Just one small victory today because things are getting so crazy gearing up to the show's air date (NBC's American Dream Builders, starting this Sunday, March 23rd @ 8:00pm, just in case you forgot!!) : )

I managed to get my utterly fabulous (wildly heavy) Craig's-List-Find mirror up and hanging, and it's pretty much the only thing better than the same mirror, leaning on my desk! I completely love it. It's outlandish, it's outrageous, it's decidedly over-the-top, and most importantly, it's totally doing it for me. I don't know what it is about that mirror, but literally, it makes me *EXCLAIM* when I see it. Now that's love.

Hooray Craig's List! Hooray cheap mirror! Hooray having a gorgeous office two blocks from my apartment!

Movin' on up!

And by that, I mean, "Yes, we're located on the fifth floor of a Brooklyn walk-up. Please swing by for a visit."

Crafty, crafty, crafty.

10-minute weeknight upholstery project victory! 

A last minute project I squeezed in on Sunday night: Julian managed to smear "something icky" on one of the pull-up chairs in our living room, and after a couple of failed attempts at cleaning it, I seized the moment and decided to recover the bugger. (The chair, not the baby.) You can still see the remnants of the stain if you look closely at the photo on the left.

Me vs. that baby...

This was a straight forward, super-easy fix: I happened to have a big piece of this navy-and-white broad stripe, and I was looking for a "right-now" solution, so it was just what the doctor ordered. Literally 10 minutes and one staple-gun session later, my pull-up chair was revitalized and my son's transgressions forgiven.

Until next time... 

Loving upstate antiquing!

A busy weekend upstate is behind us-- lots of visitors and lots of antiquing. One of my favorite ways to spend a weekend, and a complete success on all fronts!

I picked up this tremendous vintage brass-framed mirror at a yard sale for $20.00! That baby is about 30" in diameter, weighs a small ton, and couldn't be more perfect for our bedroom. You've got to love bargain hunting in the Catskills; you pretty much have to try to come home empty-handed. The "new" mirror also inspired me to make a couple of final tweaks in the master bedroom, and things are really shaping up in there. It's hard to believe that a couple of weeks ago, we were still sleeping in a room with bare drywall and screw holes, and now it looks like this. What a relief/transformation! 

Check out the super cute vintage sunburst vases I also discovered this weekend-- 

$5.00 for the pair. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a steal. 

What better way to welcome spring into our home?? 

(Hint, hint...)

Progress in the office!

Tomorrow is finally the day we can start using our IDEA Paint Dry-Erase wall, and I'm beyond excited! I kind of think that I've been mentally stock-piling lists to ensure that I've got plenty of reasons to start writing on the wall first thing tomorrow morning.

Completely awesome. 

In the meantime, I've also been working on finishing up the aesthetic of the office-- it can't just be functional after all. I am an interior designer for pete's sake.

I picked up the gigantic amazing mirror to the left, via Craig's List, and I swear, every time I see the photo, I fall in love with it again. I actually find myself saying, "Holy s-#t! I just completely love that mirror" whenever I see it. At least I'm clearly not suffering from buyer's remorse, eh?

Next steps: Find a phenomenal oriental rug, sew some seat cushions for my fantastic lucite eiffel chairs, and call it a day.

At some point, I've also got to get some work done in there, so I'll have to stop futzing about and just get to it! 

Latest NBC "American Dream Builders" trailer just in-- and it's a doozy!

I think I'll let this one speak for itself...

Bad Parenting, 101.

Rule #1: Don't let your kid climb on the coffee table.

Rule #2: Don't start laughing. 

Rule #3: Don't take photos.

Rule #4: Don't wonder why your kid keeps climbing on tables. 

Secret project commencing!

I don't know if you guys remember at this point, but at the beginning of last week I mentioned that we were tackling a secret project in my office... Well-- things got a little hairy with the old work/baby/taking-over-the-world/staying-alive to-do list, and we weren't able to get the project rolling until this morning, but now we're through the worst of it, and better for it!

The gist: We ordered an IDEA PAINT dry erase paint kit, and we're turning a considerable amount of our office wall-space into one big dry erase board. (We got the IDEA PAINT PRO KIT because I'm not f#!king around, but they also sell a less expensive, equally awesome version for home use.)

Do I look like I'm f#!king around?!? Okay, maybe a little. 

I am going to be the most organized, list-makin'-fool you've ever met. I'm beyond stoked! 

Check out their website to get the low-down. Basically it's a four-step process:
1.) Prime the wall.
2.) Lightly sand the wall.
3.) Paint the wall with IDEA paint.
4.) Wait a week for it to cure, and then go to town.

So far, step #4 is proving to be the most challenging. Waiting is not my strongest skill. Some of you may know this. 

Luckily IDEA Paint provided me with this sizable reminder,
so every time I'm tempted to start drawing on the walls, I'll PUT DOWN THE MARKER. 

We painted both sides of the office door too, so we can leave messages to ourselves (don't forget your keys!) as well as leave messages for our new office suite-mates (did you take my toilet paper!?!?)

Loving every minute of it! Thanks IDEA PAINT!! 

Looking for a little love...

Hey there devoted followers, family, and friends! *

*(Okay-- some of you fall into multiple categories...)

I was just featured on the latest addition to the Zillow.com website-- it's called "Zillow Digs" and essentially, it's a way more accessible, much more "real-budget-oriented" version of Houzz.com, so of course, I'm completely loving it. It doesn't help that they seem to be loving me too, and I'm already getting some rad feedback.

But, you can never get too much internet love (don't quote me on that!) so I was hoping I could solicit all of you wonderful people to zip by the zillow digs website, check out my posted projects, and click the little heart logo (like the one you see on the left) for all of the projects you like... I'm going to keep on adding projects over the next couple of weeks, so it's possible that I'm going to send out this plea again, but don't let that deter you from going there RIGHT NOW.

The more heart clicks, the better, so go wild! 

While you're visiting the zillowdigs website, you guys should totally peruse the rest of the site-- it's an awesome source for loads of design ideas and inspiration-- and maybe it will make you want to jump start your next project! (At which point, call me!)

: )

Thanks again and all my love! You guys are the best...

Slow mornin' on the farm...

For the first time in weeks (months?), neither John nor I have any pressing things to do over the weekend. No baby showers, no visitors, no must-do renovation projects-- there is nothing that absolutely has to be accomplished this weekend. (Okay. I'm crossing my fingers that we'll get around to taking down our christmas lights. Yes. I did just say that. And yes. It is March. Don't judge.) That said- nothing, not even christmas lights- are on my super-high priority list. This weekend, we're just going to relax...

Awesome. 

So after relishing the little lie-in that John granted me*, I came downstairs, refreshed and ready to bake! I just recently reintroduced Jules to the biscotti and it was a total hit, so I figured I'd make my gold-standard, Martha Stewart's Almond Biscotti. Those babies are delicious everytime-- easy to make, no butter-- what's not to love?

Except for one major catch-- I quickly realized I didn't have any almonds! Thwarted. The prospect of turning my impromptu baking session into a much more time consuming trip into town for groceries seemed utterly unappealing.


Enter GOOGLE. Got to love it. After surveying my pantry, I found that I had a surprisingly large stash of pecans, and about 1-cup of walnuts. I did the old "walnuts-biscotti" google search and discovered that 1-cup of walnuts wasn't gonna hack it, but "pecans-biscotti" proved fruitful, and I decided on a batch of Better Homes & Gardens Maple-Pecan Biscotti.

This recipe was super easy, quick to churn out, and a total winner with men and babies alike.

Maple-Pecan Biscotti

Ingredients

1/3

cup butter, softened

1/2

cup granulated sugar

2

teaspoons baking powder

2

eggs

1/4

cup maple syrup

1/2

teaspoon vanilla

2 3/4

cups all-purpose flour

1

cup toasted chopped pecans

1/3

cup finely chopped pecans

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and the 1 cup toasted chopped pecans.
2. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
3. Lightly grease a cookie sheet; set aside.
4. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch-long loaf. Place 4 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten loaves slightly. Sprinkle with the 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans; press into tops of loaves. Flatten loaves to about 3 inches wide.
5. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool loaves on cookie sheet or a wire rack for 1 hour. Transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Turn slices over; bake for 8 to 10 minutes more or until dry and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 24 cookies.

*If you don't have children, you can't fully understand what it means to sleep until 9:00am without the cacophony of dogs and children waking you up intermittently. Sleeping in is like receiving 1,000 early birthday presents. It is one of the truest gestures of love. Thanks John! 

Exciting Updates from NBC's American Dream Builders Show!

Latest updates on the American Dream Builders front--- they've just released new trailers and photos on the NBC website, so definitely swing by and geek out on all the funny footage and high-tension trailers!

Don't mind my squinty face--
this NYC-gal wasn't cut out for the California sun! : ) 

We're building dreams guys! 

Inspiration from the New York Times...

Just caught this article in the New York Times, and I'm digging this family's method for coping with babies & art. Now that I've got one (babies, not art) I'm familiar with the overwhelming temptation to move everything out of reach, lock every cabinet, get rid of every sharp corner, and pack up every precious trinket. I kind of love that this family has taken completely the opposite approach-- the "Are you kidding me?" attitude-- albeit it's probably more effective with their 8-year old than my 18-month old, but he'll grow into it, right?

And as long as nothing too fragile breaks in the meantime, everyone's happy!

Trying something new (and delicious) tonight!

In the true spirit of the original After-Dinner Design blog, I'm returning to my roots and blogging about cooking too. Because, let's be honest, I don't have enough sh-#@ on my plate, so I'm also going to try to keep things gourmet around here too.

Sleep is for the weak. 

This evening we've got friends coming for dinner, and I thought I'd try something new. In particular, I had the hankering for a tried-but-true "starch-on-starch", and for some reason thought that putting cauliflower on a baguette with some fresh ricotta cheese was the way to make it happen.

I bought the ingredients at the grocery, and then just crossed my fingers that I would rustle up a recipe online. Well-- evidently I'm not the only imbecile who wants to eat my cauliflower on a toasty, because this is what I found-- and it's what I'm making! (Albeit, with a couple of small alterations...)

Hello toasty. 

Ingredients
1 French Baguette, sliced and toasted 
1 Head of Cauliflower, broken apart and roasted with 2 TB Olive Oil
5 OZ Ricotta Cheese
1/4 Cup Golden Raisins
1/4 Cup Capers 
Salt & Pepper to taste 

While everything is roasting and toasting mix together 5 ounces of ricotta cheese, ¼ cup of capers and ¼ cup golden raisins. Once the cauliflower is roasted to your liking, drop it into the cheese mixture, if some of the olive oil falls in too, I won’t be mad. Combine.

Now place a heaping spoon (tea or table) of the cauliflower goodness onto your toasted baguette.

And Devour. 

Just in case you want a closer look...

Okay. You probably don't, but I'm trying to get better at self-promotion, so...

READ IT! 

A major shout-out from my alma-mater, Hampshire College!

CHECK US OUT! 

I just saw this rad piece in the latest Hampshire College newsletter-- by the looks of things, Hampshire alum have been BUSY lately!!! 

Most spectacularly-- Lupita Nyong-- also an Hampshire Alum-- who won an OSCAR last night. 

Yes, you read correctly. I said AN OSCAR. 

What did you do yesterday?!? I know I didn't win an oscar, that's for sure. I'd say she's making the rest of us look like we're resting on our laurels, but I'm doing my best to keep up with my NBC appearance. : )

NICE JOB ALL AROUND FOLKS! 

Hunting for more lucite chairs for my office!

The downside of buying two fabulous vintage lucite "eiffel" chairs is that they're more than a little difficult to match. 

Albeit, this may seem like an obvious statement (!!), but not one that I'd considered when I purchased the initial two lucite chairs for my office. As soon as I had my first office visitor, it became resoundingly apparent that two chairs were definitely NOT going to cut it. But this also meant that I needed to find something that matched or complemented my existing chairs, and that didn't seem like it was going to be an easy task.

With that on my mind, imagine how surprised I was when I found these perfect matches on Amazon!!

Granted, these ones are $185.00 per chair, so there's pretty much no chance I'm going to shell out for those, but it gives me hope that I can find something that will work. : ) 

It's all about knowing where to look!