Art on a Night Stand

I think I am loving my water color perfume arts too much.

Today I am displaying it on my night stand in our master bedroom.

I don't know why, there is something about these arts that I love very much - it is feminine, soft, pretty and  easy to decor. I think because it is a simple art.

Since I love home decor - wall art is a big part of home decoration and it helps transform a room into a new dimension.  It can hang on the wall or put on a table. And not all arts can have the beautiful effect such as these water color perfume arts. So I still not finish styling and decorating them.

And I am happy that these arts can be purchased at my Etsy store now. (here)

So let's take a look this art on a night stand.

So what do you think? 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

//The Beauty and Elegance of Chanel Perfume & Art//

I have been painting art for almost 20 years now but now I never feel so happy and enjoy painting a bottle of perfume using water color.

I think a bottle of perfume is the most elegance, feminine and prettiest cosmetic a woman could have. I love perfume very much. May be that is why I enjoy painting them. 

Also, this perfume art - when framed and display it right can be a good decor item in your bedroom, powder room or home office or even in a bathroom. The simplicity of this perfume illustration exude elegance and prettiness to any room while  it is easy to decorate with other decor items in the room. And the bold statement of the object (the bottle of perfume itself) plus the painterly water color lines and color speaks volume about the personality of the owner of this art; feminine, beauty and elegance.

I have painted about 17  bottle perfumes and I am going to put them on my Etsy store for sale but I need to get them photograph just right and it is not easy to do that.

Meantime you can view the elegance chanel bottle perfume art I painted recently and displayed with other chanel perfumes a long with the lovely pink ranunculus flower.

 

So what do you think of the water color Chanel perfume art?

And thank you so much for stopping by!

//Flourless Caramel Chocolate Cake//

I made this cake yesterday to bring over to Steven's cousin for Passover gathering last night - and it was a hit. Since there were so many cakes - people took chunks of this cake home with them. And I could not be happier since I have a smaller version of this cake waiting for me at home.

This cake is very easy to make and for chocolate lovers - this cake won't dissappoint you.

This cake is so rich, moist and the caramel mix with the ganache chocolate covered the cake on top are just perfect combination that melts in your mouth. I lessen the amount of sugar by half a cup since I do not want to be so sweet. And the taste just came out right.

So here they are.

::Recipe::

Flourless Caramel Chocolate Cake

~ 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)

~ 1/2 cup unsalted butter

~ 1/2 cup granulated sugar

~ 1/4 teaspoon salt

~ 1 to 2 tespoons espresso powder (I used Medaglia D'Oro)

~ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

~ 3 large eggs

~ 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

For Ganache

~ 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

~ 1/2 cup heavy cream

For Caramel

~ 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

~ 6 tablespoons butter

~ 4 tablespoons milk

1. Prehat the oven to 375 deg F. Lightly grease an 8 or 9" round cake pan then line the bottom with a round of parchment, great that too.

2. In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate and butter together until it completely melted. 

3. Stir in the sugar, salt, espresso powder and vanilla. Add the eggs and using electric  mixer beat briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and mix well.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. The top should have a thin crust and the cake will raised significantly but that's okay since when take it out it from the oven the cake will flatten immediately.

5. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then loosen sides with a think knife. Turn it out onto a serving plate and cool completely.

6. To make the ganache add the chocolate to a small heat proof bowl. Heat the cream until it just starts to simmer. Pour over the chocolate and allow to sit for 3 minutes. Stir until smooth and chocolate is completely melt. Spoon over the cake and allow to set.

7. Make the caramel by heat the brown sugar, butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir often and as soon as it begins to boil remove from heat. Allow to cool down, while still lukewarm spoon over the top and use the back of spoon or a spreader to evenly coat the top of the cake. Some of the ganache will melt and mix into it but that is fine.

8. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

~~~o0O~~~

Happy baking Everyone?

//Living Area & Dining Area Revealed//

It took me exactly a year to finish decorate this room.

The living room and the formal dining area are in one huge room. That is how the previous owner laid out their furniture and I am doing the same as I do not know where else to put the formal dining table. It only make sense to put them together side by side. As shown on these pictures.

We still have not finished with the mantel. And as you can see my husband Steven put the sample tile on both sides of the fire place.

The two Louis chairs got from Wayfair. Before when started decorating this room and in my mind I wanted teal color on the upholstery of the Louis chairs. I thought I could buy a vintage Louis chair frames and change the cover myself. I was searching for the right chairs and could not find any. If they were available when calculated the price it became quite costly plus I have to do an extra work which I never guarantee of the result. There were a teal cover Louis chairs but they were too much for our budget. So these are the best choice for us. And I am happy with them.

Looking at all of pictures of each rooms (like entrance way, dining area, in the living room on top of fire place, and on the credenza) I noticed that all of the art works on the wall were all mine. I created or painted them all.

The three pink art works in the dining area are not painting. They are intaglio. I bought the intaglio from Ebay and glue them on a painted background and double frame them, small and the actual frame.

Living room

Dining area

Credenza

Entrance way

From second floor.

Details

This wooden container box  used for an elderly to put ingredients to chew betel. The small compartments were used to store leaves, and betel called areca nuts other ingredients or even tool. I remember when I was growing up and as a little girl, my family had an older lady as a servant. We called her "Nek Slamet" (nek short for nenek means grandma or older lady and Slamet is the name of her only son). I did not even know her real name. We, my siblings and I used to watch her chewing betel. She would take the leaves put the ingredients in the middle and chewed it or put the bundle between her upper lip and the gum. We thought it was the funniest thing. We did not understand why she did this all the time. Because and  as she chewed the betel her mouth turns orange and red in color. Chewing betel is the same as smoking cigarette or smoking cigars. More info (here and here). Oh about Nek Slamet, I wish I could see her again. What a kind old lady she was. She took care of us like her own children. We did not know or appreciate this then as everyone in my country has servants but now I wish I could hug her and hear her telling stories about our childhood.

So this is an old box that an elder woman used to store her betel stuff inside.

These are wooden puppet or in bahasa Indonesia; wayang. Wayang originally is from Java, Indonesia. These wayangs are used to perform a theatrical and entertain  commoners in Java as a shadow puppet. But these  particular wayangs embellished in an ornate for home decoration.

Before

I think these pictures were taken January 2014. As you can see there are some snow outside. After a long period of renovation we moved in last June. I remember we did not have a kitchen when moved in. Only 2 months later the kitchen finally finished. And will reveal it next time.

Thank you so much for stopping by!