Valentine's Day at Zinnias

Tamie is taking orders for Valentines Day flowers, tulips are her speciality. She also has many other great gifts for your Valentine, like Tokyo Milk perfumes, soap and bubble bath (pictured above) great assortment of jewelry, chocolate and great tees arriving the middle of the week.

New Merchandise

We are just back from Market in New York and found some great things for the store. The pillows are great fun, I personally like the ampersand the best.

Slipcovers

Instead of buying new furniture for the living room I decided to slipcover an old couch and chair. I had a very talented lady from Faribault, MN make the slipcovers and she once again did a wonderful job! Here is a link to more work that she has done for me. I love the idea of being able to pull the covers off and throw them in the wash. I decided on a denim fabric so it is very durable and washable. The furniture looks new and refreshed!

Living Room Before and After

Here is where I wish that I would have taken before and after pictures, I had already primed the walls when I took the before shot, so you do not get the full effect. There was pink and blue stripes painted on the walls and stenciling painted within the stripes.

Before and After of Sunroom

The house has a great little sunroom full of windows. This is where I have my computer so I can look out from all directions. The great black and white chair is from Zinnia. Here is the before and after pictures, all this room needed was some paint and few cracks repaired.

Before and After

I am not good at taking before pictures and now I am sorry I was not better about it. This house had stenciling on every wall, it looked as though it had been wallpaper, pink and blue striped walls with flower stenciled in, it was a jungle. The kitchen cupboards were pickled or a pickling stain, which I sanded, primed and painted white. I also replaced the old sheet linoleum kitchen floor with commercial tile, very cheap, durable and fun. I replaced the pink countertops, sink and added a black splash. I want glass in the upper cabinets and of course new window treatments everywhere. Here is what I have done so far, I will keep you updated.

Work done in the Kitchen: New countertops, floor, sink, appliances, paint, backsplash, hardware, and removed a closet door to make room for the fridge.

Update

I recently purchase a fixer-upper home in Blue Earth. I have spent the past several months painting over every surface in my little abode, from base board to ceiling. Picking paint colors can be more of a challenge than painting the room, so my salvation has been this great little book and my old House Beautiful Magazines. House Beautiful has a wonder section in every issue that gives valuable information about paint color. This book covers it all from purple (on of my new favorites) to white, yes I said white, there are many different shades and you want just the right one when you are faced with giving all your woodwork a fresh coat of paint or two. So if you are faced with a major or minor painting project look up past issues of House Beautiful or check out this book.

Hello Again

I know it has been a long time, I could give you all kinds of excuses why I have been so lax but I won't. Happy 2010 to all, hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Zinnias is gearing up for another year of buisness as we will be headed to New York to attend market at the end of the month. Zinnias will be closed on Mondays for the month of January.

Oh So Lovely Christmas Decor

Here is some of the most lovely christmas decor I have seen floating around the net. photos via

Great Things

I love the simple decoration on the outside of this home. I love the joy string light, an idea I am going to use. This clock is amazing, great wall piece and it is available at Zinnias. Photo via

Holiday Open House

Come join us for our Holiday Open House Friday- Sunday. We have great holiday decor, gifts, treats and fresh greens!

Happy Day

Love the work of Linzie Hunter, she is an illustrator and also does some wonderful hand lettering, see more of here work here.

Inspiration Monday

Things that are inspiring me today!

Lets Talk Chilewich

I know I have talked about Chilewich before but I feel the need to go there again. I love my Chilewich rug, it catches everything (mud, dirt, pet hair) and holds on to it until you shack it out. It never looks dirty and you will be amazed when you shack it out as to how much dirt falls out. They also carry gorgeous tabletop items, they carry many different colors and patterns, come in and check it out. Special orders are welcome!

Passion for Texture

I love the texture in these rooms, I also have started to have a thing for purple. I love the rich warm flow.

Good Luck to The Waseca Tennis Team

Good Luck at State. Photo via Mankato Free Press

Looks to Love

Here are a few looks I am liking today, here I go with a white kitchen again. Love the built in bench and dining area, it serves many purposes. Of course you cannot go wrong with large letters on display.photos here

Tokyo Milk

New at Zinnias, Tokyo Milk. Tokyo Milk has the most gorgeous packaging, fragrances, and products. The bubble bath bottles make a great statement and would look beautiful in any bathroom, you will not want to throw the bottle away when it is empty.

Halloween

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday to decorate for. I love black! Here are some great ideas.

Second Anniversay

New Blog

My friend Carisa has a blog site and it is sure to be a hit. Check it out, Hello Little Riley.

Great Rugs

Great rug from Dash and Albert called Tortola Ticking Woven Cotton. Love the green door, delightful! Photo via

Congratulations

There is a new queen in town! Have a great Homecoming weekend! photo

Great Potatoes

Wanted to share a couple recipes that you can try over the weekend. My friend Kara is a great cook, so enjoy! Photo

Roasted Cream Potatoes with Garlic

2lbs potates, diced in 1" cubes (about 6 cups) I use Yukon gold

1 c. heavy cream

3 lg garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/2 c parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Butter shallow 2 qt baking dish. Bake on middle shelf for about 45 mins - until potatoes are tender and cream has evaporated.

New Potatoes and Fresh Spinach Bake

6 new potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs - I am assuming they mean the big red potatoes, I use the smaller ones and about 2 lbs)

1 red pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese (I use 2 cups of the 6 cheese Italian bagged shredded cheese by Kraft)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 oz. fresh spinach

3/4 c. chicken stock/broth

Preheat oven to 350. Use a buttered (or cooking spray) 9x13 pan. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes, then put the 1/2 of the bell pepper on, and then 1/2 of the cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Layer all of the spinach on top. Repeat potato, bell pepper and cheese layers. Season with salt and pepper. Pour broth evenly over potato mixture. Bake, uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is golden, about 1 hour. I found it best to wait and put the last layer of cheese after 30 minutes of baking. I have doubled the recipe (because the leftovers are so good) and bake in 11x15 pan. But when I do this, I have found that a 6 oz pkg of baby spinach is enought and I think I only use 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of potatoes and about 3 cups of cheese.

Inspiration

Here is what is inspiring me today.Great poster! More here.
Fun, love it, I would love to wear a dress like that.
A path like no other.
White and bright, cheerful spaces.

Good-bye to Summer

It is officially the last day of summer and I like many am sad to see it end. The weather has been very summer like these last weeks which made me forget that summer was nearly over. I miss summer already, there are so many things to love about summer:

• Long days, when the sun doesn't go down until the early evening hours.
• When it is still steamy at 10:00 pm.
• The green landscape
• Flip flops
• Having the kids around
• Smell of fresh cut grass
• Bright sunshine day after day.
• Sound of the crickets, frogs or what ever it is making those sweet sounds, in the late days of summer.
• Feeling warm, if you live in Minnesota you know what I mean.
• Summer foods, sweet corn, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, raspberries and fresh beets.

Hope everyone had a great summer and is looking forward to fall. photo via here

Villa Nova Fabrics

I am in awe over the gorgeous wallpapers and fabrics from Villa Nova. I love the shears and the textured fabrics, take a look at there website here.

Flowers by Zinnias

I promised to share more photos of flowers we arranged for the wedding of Tony and Shelly and here they are, thanks again to Tara! Tara Bjerke Photography

Keri Herer's Photography

Beautiful photography by Keri Herer, I love the dark background and the illustration combined with a photo. She is also a child-baby photographer, check out more of her work here.

Round

Brilliant! I love the identity system for Studio Propeller, a company that specializes in projects that promote the growth of Australian design scene. Check out more of work from Round here.

New Venture

Just wanted to show you the latest venture at Zinnias. Tony and Shelly's photos were taken by Tara Bjerke Photography and flowers were done by Zinnias. I hope to share more photos of the wedding flowers with you in the next few days. Thanks Tara!

Jas Design Build

Came across this company, Jas Design Build on a blog, not sure what blog exactly, but I started searching to find more. That is when I found this website and quickly contacted Jas Design Build to see if I could share their wonderful work with you. Their built-ins are amazing, beautiful work!

Nakamol Jewlery

Arriving soon, jewlery form Nakamol, bracelets and rings.

Papaya Art

More from Papaya, we have added cards and more wall art. You really need to see these in person, they are so beautiful! Papaya has also added work from well know artist Sabrina Ward Harrison, check out her wonderful website here.

Built

New at Zinnias, Built lunch bags, wine totes and bags. There products are wonderful, very durable, they are washable and stain resistant. Great gift idea!

Great Spaces

I love the magazine Living Etc. and here are some great spaces and ideas. I love the shelves in the grey room, if you had a handy person in your family they could easily make those shelves. I need the big gold frame hanging in my kitchen, I have a habit of throwing out things that I shouldn't because I hate clutter. I love the curved wall in the home office, and the bright green counter, wow!

Hello

I am back, I found myself getting blogger blahhhhs. Well that is my excuse and here are a few things that I have found inspirational since I have been away.