A New Stew For You

Are you a fan of the pumpkin craze of fall?  Every recipe seems to have a little taste of pumpkin in it around this time.  However, you do not need to settle for just a coffee or beer.  Here is a great pumpkin stew that will be a great addition to your fall recipes.  You can learn more here.

10 New Ways to Re-Upholster Old Furniture

Do you have an old piece of furniture you are trying to figure out what to do with?  We have some great tips on how to take that old furniture and make it something new.  Apartment Therapy guides you through ten tips to make that furniture a great piece for your home.

Nothing perks up an old piece of furniture quite like new upholstery. If you're looking for a chair or sofa that will make a statement, something a little out of the ordinary, take a gander at these 10 creative ways to reupholster old furniture.

1. Cover the back of the chair in a contrasting fabric.

Like Andrea of Wild Chairy, who is the queen of transforming old chairs into stunning new pieces. (The chairs pictured above are available, if you're not feeling like a project yourself.) This is a great way to add a little extra interest to a piece that will be seen from all sides.

2. Cover an old piece in an unexpected pattern.

Like this bold floral from Timorous Beasties...

Or these bold stripes, on a Victorian-style sofa spotted on Young House Love.

3. Punch up an old piece with a brightly colored velvet.

Like this chair, spotted on The Paris Apartment.

4. Consider non-traditional upholstery fabrics, like a serape...

DIY from A Beautiful Mess.

5. ...Or a Pendleton blanket.

This sofa is available from Sit and Read.

Or a cat.

Just kidding, this is more Pendleton upholstery inspiration, from Freunde von Freunden. But of course every chair looks better with a cat on it.

6. Nothing livens up a piece quite like contrasting piping.

We love this blue + orange combo, from Mona Ross Berman Interiors.

7. A Mongolian sheepskin (especially a black one) will add a little edge to a delicately styled piece.

Another great idea from Wild Chairy.

8. Play with different fabrics...

Like velvet + ticking stripes, spotted on Twig Hutchinson.

9. And different textures.

Velvet and leather, spotted on Trendland.

10. If you're feeling really bold, try a pattern-on-pattern look.

Spotted on House to Home. Choosing two patterns in the same color family will keep the look from getting too too wild.

Better Lighting in the Bedroom

Lighting in the bedroom is not the most important thing that people think about.  However, it is just as important as every other room in the home.  Putting laundry away, doing makeup, or getting dressed all require you to be able to see clearly.  Straining your eyes to complete these tasks is not good for your vision.  Here are some great bedroom lighting tips, and you can learn more at Apartment Therapy.

At first glance, the bedroom seems the least important room in the home, in terms of lighting. After all, we're not really working in there much (unless it doubles as an office), and the primary goal of the space is to support sleep— which requires an intentional lack of light.

Once you start thinking about it, though, you realize the lighting needs of a bedroom— from general lighting for putting the laundry away to task lighting for doing your makeup and accent lighting for chilling out of an evening— are pretty complex. A bedroom lighting scheme should be as considered as that of any other room, so read on for a few tips on doing just that.

General

A good even light, cast from a central pendant or from windows (natural light from windows or skylights counts as general lighting!), is important in every space. Even if you don't spend a lot of non-sleeping time in your bedroom, this basic light is what we get dressed by in the winter, clean the room to, and helps us see when natural light is low. However, you probably don't want this space to be too bright, so consider a lower-watt bulb and the all-important dimmer switch.

Task

Unless you have a desk or office space in the bedroom, there is a limit to how much work you'll be doing there. But for those of us who read in bed, a good bedside lamp is a necessity. Don't be restricted to desk-style reading lights; a low-hanging pendant like the one above works, too. Think of the other things you do from day to day— do you apply your makeup or iron your shirts in the bedroom? Both require good, specific lighting. Wall sconces, floor lamps and directional spot lights are your friends.

Accent

In the bedroom, accent lighting is really mood lighting. Whether it's to create a romantic atmosphere or just to support relaxation in the evening, a cosy glow in this room never hurts. It can be achieved through simple dimming of the light sources we've already talked about, or by adding decorative lights like fairy strings, corner up-lighters or candles.

Keeping Fresh Cut Flowers In Your Home

Do you love the smell of flowers in your home?  We do! However, we find that keeping flowers alive for more than a day or two can be challenging. Apartment Therapy has put together some great tips on how to keep your flowers alive and smelling great longer.  This will save you from buying new arrangements every few days, which will also save you money!  Keep reading to learn more!


If you've been reading Apartment Therapy for a while, you know we're big advocates of keeping fresh flowers in your home. Here are a few more tips for making them last, whether they're freshly picked or a favorite flower that you buy all the time.

1. Put freshly picked flowers in water immediately and leave them for at least 5 hours before arranging them, a process calling conditioning.

2. If your flowers come from your garden and not from the florist, make your own preservative, like this one from One Good thing by Jillee.

3. Alternatively, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water and stir. The vinegar will help prevent the growth of bacteria.

4. If you have a favorite flower you use often, look online for a flower-specific tips. For example, hydrangeas last longer if you gently smash the end of each stem and immerse them in ice water before arranging. Hollow-stemmed flowers like delphiniums do well if you turn the flowers upside down, fill the stems with water, and seal them with a wet cotton ball before arranging. Poppies, and other flowers that ooze sap, last longer if you first immerse the bottom 2 inches of their stems in boiling water for 10 seconds.

5. Have a gunky, narrow-necked vase that's hard to clean? Try this tip from Real Simple: fill it with crushed shells from hardboiled eggs, a drop of dishwashing soap, and warm water, and swirl. Rinse thoroughly with hot water, and the next arrangement you put in will last a bit longer.

Pancakes for Dessert

Do you love pancakes?  They are a favorite breakfast food for many people, but that is all they are a breakfast food.  However, now you can have pancakes for dessert!  This is not just a simple oh just put a different topping on them.  This amazing Pancake Torte is what breakfast lovers will die for.  Keep reading for the recipe and you can learn more at Good Housekeeping.



We gave a modern update to an original recipe from a 1968 issue of Good Housekeeping.

SERVES: 8 to 10

FOR THE PANCAKE:
• 8 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• Cooking spray, for skillet

FOR THE RHUBARB SPREAD:
• 1 pound rhubarb, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

FOR THE FILLING:
• 1 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 2 to 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, grated

1. Make the pancakes: In a large bowl, with mixer on med. speed, beat 8 egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg yolk mixture, alternately with milk and butter. Cover and refrigerate batter 1 hour.

3. In a large bowl, with mixer on medium-high speed beat 8 egg whites and pinch of salt until soft peaks form, then carefully fold into pancake batter.

4. Generously coat 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on med. Add 1 cup pancake batter, tilting skillet to coat evenly. Cook 3 minutes or until edges set and underside is golden brown. Carefully flip over with large offset spatula or pancake turner; cook 2 minutes or until bottom is golden brown. Transfer to waxed paper to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Pancakes can be made and frozen up to 1 month ahead (thaw at room temperature 1 hour before using.)

5. Make the rhubarb filling: In saucepot, bring rhubarb, sugar and water to simmering on med. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 20 more minutes. Strain mixture over med. bowl, pressing down on solids to release their liquid. Save liquid/syrup for another use. Transfer rhubarb spread to small bowl.

6. Prepare the filling: In a large bowl with mixer on medium speed, beat ricotta, 1/4 cup sugar, egg yolk and lemon peel until smooth; set aside.

7. In a clean large bowl with mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until froth. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating meringue well after each addition, then continue beating until stiff peaks form.

8. Preheat oven to 450˚F. Place 1 pancake on lightly greased cookie sheet or oven-safe cake plate and top with half of the ricotta mixture. Top with another pancake; spread with half of the rhubarb spread. Top with another pancake; sprinkle with half of the grated chocolate. Continue this way, using all fillings and 3 more pancakes, then top with seventh pancake to complete torte.

9. Cover top and sides of torte with meringue. Use back of spoon to pull up points on meringue to make attractive top. Bake about 3 minutes or golden and toasted in places. Cut into slices to serve.

10 Temporary and Removable Products for Apartments

Decorating your apartment can be tough when you can not paint or change the walls.  However, there are great products that are temporary that add color and style to your home.  These products can all be removed once you move out, and they will not cause any damage.  Keep reading to learn about these products, and you can check out Apartment Therapy for more great tips.

1. Wallpaper Lining: Audrey from This Little Street swears by this product, and uses it as a liner on the wall, before applying a second layer of decorative wallpaper. She says it smooths out any uneven surface, and is strippable when you move out. It also seems like a good solution when you want to use regular non-removable wallpaper, but can't in a rental.

2. Double-sided Carpet Tape: Use this adhesive tape to hold down temporary flooring (as Daniel tried with rubber sheets in his kitchen, above), or for carpet tiles, stair treads. There's also a product called Hold-It Adhesive specifically for rugs on hard floors.

→ Temporary But Effective: 5 Ideas for Hiding or Minimizing an Ugly Floor

3. Peel and Stick Tile Sheets: I spotted these at Home Depot, and thought they looked interesting — especially the white subway and hex designs. You can install them over other tile and, when it's time to take them down, you aim a hairdryer in their direction, and the heat helps pry them off. There are tons of reviews over on the website, so read those first to see if they are right for you.

4. Window Film: You can be as plain or as decorative as you want to be with static cling or adhesive film for privacy and decoration. Basics are available atLowe's and Amazon, and more decorative versions can be found at theScandinavian Design Center and Emma Jeffs.

→ 15 Modern Window Films

5. Self Adhesive Floor Underlayment: Elastilon is an elastic pad you can use as a base for temporary floors —including hardwood and vinyl, without the need for nails or glue. It also muffles sound. Whether or not you want to invest in temporary floors is another topic, but if you do, this seems worth some further investigation.

6. Command Wall Hooks: If you aren't familiar with these, you should be. Inexpensive and strong, they are a great way to hang artwork and mirrors, without damaging the wall or leaving holes.

7. Removable Contact Paper: There are all sorts of contact paper and shelf liners out there, but this one lets you turn any surface into a chalkboard. Use it as a sheet, or cut out shapes as wall decals, and reposition if needed.

→ Five Ways to Customize Kitchen Cabinets with Colored Contact Paper

8. Tile Tattoos: Temporary decals are for unsightly or boring tiles, designed specifically for kitchens and bathrooms. They come as solids, or decorative patterns. You can buy standard sizes, from places like Etsy, or order custom sizes through 2Jane. There's also Beautiful Wall Decals and Spin Collective for the Brits.

9. Washi Tape: And for smaller jobs, don't forget the little Japanese marvel that is washi tape. It's inexpensive and bold, and totally fun. Use it to dress up furniture, your walls, or anything else you can think up. And it peels off in no time.

→ 10 Bright Ideas for Decorating With Washi Tape

10. Temporary Wallpaper: We've written about removable wallpaper before as a way to get in on the fun, without the frustration that comes with stripping it off later. Popular sources are Spoonflower (which you can also customize with your own design, and get just the amount you need), Betapet, Hygge and West, andTempaper. It's also great for kids rooms.

Save Time on Homemade Meals

You are busy with work, exercise, and seeing your friends. This means that making homemade meals sometimes ends up last on the to do list. However, we have some great recipes for quick homemade meals!


These make ahead meals do not need to be time consuming or complicated. It can just take a few hours of your weekend, and you can have meals for the entire week. It will take minutes to reheat them when you are running from work to an event at night. You can learn more here.



We know, spending time now to save some later sounds great, but when are you supposed to come up with the minutes or hours required to to make extra meals for your freezer? You can make double when preparing meals and then freeze the extras, or schedule a weekend afternoon when you can devote a few hours to cooking several different dishes. Either way, let the food cool down before you freeze it.

What types of dishes work best for freezing and reheating? Read on for 10 great possibilities.

SAFE THAWING

Out of the three options for thawing your frozen meals (refrigerator, using cold water or in the microwave), using the fridge is the safest in terms of preventing the accumulation of bacteria, but it could take a day or two to fully defrost your meal.

10: Homemade Soup

Nothing warms you up on a chilly night like soup, and when you make and freeze your own, you can avoid all the sodium and preservatives that are in conventional canned offerings. Broth-based soups are ideal for freezing. Creamy soups and those with potatoes don't hold up in the freezer as well because they get watery when thawed. Pasta can get doughy in the freezer, so if the recipe calls for it, add it after you reheat the meal.

After making the meal, keep bacteria at bay by cooling it quickly. Put the soup in a bowl and let it sit in shallow ice water (stir it a few times while it chills). After it's cooled, toss it in the freezer, where it'll keep for two to three months.Lasagna is easy to freeze and heats up well.

9: Lasagna

The key to easily freezing this comfort food favorite is to line your baking pan with aluminum foil before preparing thelasagna, making sure the foil extends a few inches over the sides of the pan. Add a little extra sauce so the dish doesn't dry out during the freezing process. Once it's made, let it cool, and then put the pan directly in the freezer. When the lasagna becomes firm, wrap it in the foil and freeze the entire package. It'll keep in the freezer for three months.

COLD CONTAINERS

When freezing food, be sure to use containers that are specially made for the freezer. Freezer-ready containers, freezer bags, plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil will all help keep moisture and its resulting ice crystals at bay.

8: Casseroles

With a few exceptions, casseroles lend themselves well to freezing. So what works and what doesn't? Dishes made with canned soups are great, freezer-ready meals that reheat so well many people swear they're better the second time around. However, dishes made with milk sauces don't work on ice because milk tends to separate or curdle when frozen. Also, potato-rich meals like hash brown casserole aren't ideal because, as we mentioned earlier, potatoes don't freeze well.

Whatever kind of casserole you decide to freeze, it'll keep for three to four months. Divide it into individual portions before freezing so you can reheat it in appropriately sized servings, and the smaller pieces will thaw more quickly.


7: Sloppy Joes

Sloppy joes are a kid favorite that don't get as much credit in the adult world as they should. Of course, you can help remedy that by making a batch for dinner and another for the freezer. Your kids will applaud the promise of future joes, and you'll also look forward to another messy meal.

Just make a big batch of sloppy joe meat, eat what you want, and let the rest cool. Place the meat into one or more freezer-safe containers, leaving a half-inch or so of room at the top for it to expand during the freezing process. It'll keep for two to three months in the freezer.

6: Baked Chicken Breasts

Chicken is an incredibly versatile meat, and it also freezes well. Baked chicken breasts are particularly easy to make and reheat. All you need to do is add whatever seasonings you like to the breasts and put them in the oven. Once they're done cooking, let them cool; then place them in a freezer-safe container, making sure they remain flat and not stacked. They'll keep in the freezer for two to three months.


5: Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is one of those building-block meats that can be the start of many great dishes. You can add pulled pork to any number of meals, but sometimes it's best to just pour on some of your favorite barbecue sauce and slide it between a few slices of bread or just eat it on its own. To get pulled pork to the perfect level of tender goodness, you need to cook it for several hours. Use your slow cooker, or, if you're going to be home for a while, make a big batch and let it bake in the oven while you do other things around the house.

To freeze it, put 1-cup portions into resealable bags, making sure to add some broth to keep the meat from drying out. Then squeeze out the extra air and store flat.

4: Meatloaf

Meatloaf is another comfort dish that freezes well. Be sure to let it cool completely and wrap it tightly in foil to prevent freezer burn. Another fun option is to make meatloaf muffins, which are the perfect size for individual portions. A cooked meat dish like meatloaf will stay good in the freezer for two to three months.

3: Enchiladas

Regular taco night can get tiresome, so liven up your Mexican meals with enchiladas. You can even mix it up a bit by using different kinds of meat. Try beef or pork, or -- if you're looking for something a little leaner -- try chicken or turkey. This casserole-type dish also works well as a vegetarian meal if you replace the meat with beans. It'll keep in the freezer for about three months.

BUT WHAT ABOUT BACTERIA?

Be sure to cook your previously-frozen food thoroughly to kill off unwanted bacteria.
2: Chili

Much like soup, chili is another slow-cooking dish that you can make in big batches and freeze in smaller portions. Before you put it in the freezer though, use the ice bath technique we discussed for soups so it can cool down before you freeze it. Once it's properly cooled, spoon it into sturdy containers and leave 1/4- to 1/2-inch room at the top to allow the liquid to expand when it freezes. It'll keep for two to three months.

1: Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed bell peppers are the perfect food to freeze and reheat. You can buy the peppers while they're in season, prepare the meal, and then freeze them for later. Use a beef-based filling or go for an entirelyvegetarian meal and stuff them with vegetables and cheese. To freeze, cool them after cooking and place in a freezer-safe plastic container. For best results, don't stack the peppers on top of each other. They'll keep in the freezer for about 3 months.