S+S chow: neat joes

Who doesn't love a sloppy joe? Seriously. We had a game night last weekend, and these babies were on the menu. They were devoured and enjoyed by all! We stole this one from good ol' Bobby Flay and made a few minor changes (it calls for molasses and we didn't want it too sweet). While this recipe is a bit time consuming, it is TOTALLY worth it. It makes a huge amount and even gives you a double dose of the sauce which could easily be frozen and used the next go-around (cutting the cooking time in half!). We love the flavors in this meal- great kick coupled with a little sweetness, divine. Serve on potato buns, top with some crispy fried onions and you are good as gold! ENJOY!

Ingredients

BBQ Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle puree (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1/4 teaspoon chile de arbol or cayenne
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

Neat Joes:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 pounds ground chuck (80/20)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup small dice red onion
• 1/2 cup small dice celery
• 1/2 cup small dice roasted poblano chile
• 1/2 cup small dice roasted red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup small dice roasted yellow bell pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
• 1 1/4 cups BBQ Sauce, recipe above
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions

For the BBQ Sauce:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

*Transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. Sauce will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator stored in a tightly sealed container.

For the Neat Joes:

Heat the oil over high heat in a large high-sided saute pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add the beef, breaking it up into small pieces using a metal spatula or wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan.

Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the poblano, bell peppers and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ancho powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add the BBQ sauce, 1/4 cup of water and the ketchup, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the mustard, Worcestershire, honey, brown sugar and molasses. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Favorite Room Feature: a'la mode

We first found Shelli a couple months ago, when her home was featured on another blog. It was love at first sight for us. Her style is incredibly thoughtful, yet so effortless. Shelli is a class act and we know you are going to adore her. Thanks Shelli!

Hi Ya'll!  I'm Shelli from a' la mode

 I am so honored that Sadie and Stella asked me to share my favorite room!  

Ironically, my favorite room in my home is actually the very first one that came together.  When we moved from Atlanta to Nashville last year, I had the opportunity to start from scratch in a few on my rooms.  Our old dining room furniture was the wrong scale, so off it went to craigslist, and a new design was born in my head.

My biggest pet peeve is un-useable space. I wanted to take my super formal dining space, and make it into a room that we use often.  Casual, inviting, kid friendly and comfortable.  My first purchase was the farm table, which I bought for a song locally in Nashville! I love the juxtaposition between the casual linen shade and the formal feel to the coffered ceiling.

The best 'deal' in the space was my drum shade.  I bought it in Atlanta out of a clearance bin at this chic shop near our home called Armour and Company.  Since the shade was only $12, I paid an electrician to  convert it into a chandelier for my dining room!  My other love is my beloved Ethiopian cross that I brought back from my travels in Kenya a few years ago.  I love adding history and memories into a space.

I really like to mix up the seating.  These crosshatch chairs were ridiculously inexpensive, and I love how the rattan seats add some texture to the room.  The large photograph above the linen chest is also from my trip to Africa.  Adding an orchid to the room adds some life to the space.  I keep a lot of orchids and fresh flowers in my home, I only wish they could magically appear and never die!

Ooh la la!  bench seating?  Yes please!  Such a great way to maximize seating for your guests and a great way to soften the space with textiles.  This little gem was a local find.  The nailhead trim delights me.  I adore flax linen and use it in almost every room in my home to help create and calm and peaceful color palette.  You'll notice that I used it for the curtain panels as well....on every window in my home....

All sources can be found here

For more peeks into my home, please visit my home tour

www.alamodemaven.com

A VERY BIG thank you to Sadie and Stella for having me today!

xoxo, Shelli

LilyGene Prints Giveaway!

That's right, readers. We are so lucky to be having a giveaway by the fabulous LilyGene. She has so graciously offered to giveaway one of her 8x10 customizable prints to a lucky reader. We absolutely love her personalized state prints. 

Our current location, North Carolina. Heart placement is almost appropriate. 

North Carolina

Our home state throwbacks:

Sadie: Deep in the heart of Texas

Texas

Stella: Missouri. Heart shall be placed on the opposite side of the state. Kansas City here I come. 

Missouri

Some other fun prints by Lily Gene, if you so choose.
How fun would this be in a little kids room? Really fun. That's how fun.

Skeleton

Also darling for a child's room...

I Heart My Baby

Bicycle

Some other new products from LilyGene that we are DYING for. Truly.
Look at these personalized postcards that have just hit the streets. How adorable are these? I would die if someone sent me one of these. Ok, maybe not die but I would really, really love it.

Illinois Postcard

Love this canvas scroll. I happen to have the most perfect brick wall to place it on...hmmmm. 

Canvas Bus Scroll

TO ENTER:

1. You must be a follower of S+S {if you already are, fantastic!}, please comment and let us know that you would like to enter in the giveaway, and what you would choose if you won!

2. For an additional entry, like Sadie + Stella on Facebook,  and Sadie + Stella on Twitter, come back and comment here letting us know.

This giveaway ends Tuesday, May 24th.

Monday Musings: Wowwie Wall Art

It is Monday! We hope you all had a fabulous weekend. We definitely did. Filled with lots of antiquing (you will see the finds), cooking (you will see the recipe) and R&R.

We both have had different kinds of impacting wall art on the brain, as of late. No matter what the space or lay out, this can be a sometimes tricky accessory to arrive on. As you all know, we cannot get enough of a gallery wall, but there are also times a space calls for a different design. We are currently loving the look of many uniform pictures lined perfectly up in a square like formation. Kind of gives the illusion of a gallery but really it represents one large picture from afar. This sort of wall illusion is going to be arriving in one of our spaces verrrrryyyy soon. Stay tuned. We cannot wait to share! Until then...here are our musings on this glorious Monday morning.

For the colorful and eclectic:
This picture alone is serving as the inspiration for the space. These pictures are obviously not the exact ones that will be utilized, but you get the idea. You readers are so creative, you see our vision.

Its a different take on the gallery wall. A more uniformed theme and gives the appearance of one large piece of art work, without the large price tag!

This reminds me of the vintage Barbie pictures featured here on our Nell Hills recap. Loving the mismatched elements in the space. For some reason, it brings unity. 

{domino mag}

For the relaxed and the subdued:
We love the feel of this casual, coastal room. The likeness of the shell prints gives the illusion of one large image.

{decor pad}

DIY Style, aka S+S Style:

Is this not amazing? The amazing Krista over at Kiki's list, made this unbelievable recreation of a current product at Ballard Designs. Frankly, we like hers more! Because it was made by her. Duh!

{kiki's list}

Exciting week ahead my dears. We have a giveaway on the horizon for you all! No, we cannot tell you what it is yet. It is a surprise! More to come. 

S+S at home

If you checked out our post on Kristy's blog you might have seen some new pictures of our homes! We haven't posted too many pictures of our personal spaces but decided it's about time! Today we want to share two spaces we've been working on.

This is Stella's entryway. It is adorned with many different knick knacks that were purchased from our go to's (Home Goods, Stein Mart, local thrift stores). For such a small place, this area took some time to complete. Things would be purchased and arranged, and just wasn't cutting it. We finally are happy with the end result! 
To start, the table was purchased at a Home Goods here in Winston. I had my eye on this table for some time, and finally bit the bullet and bought it. It has the perfect shape and size for this awkward space. The yellow quatrefoil urn was a recent purchase from Nell Hills. This was somewhat the focal point for the design. If something was placed and didn't look quite right with the urn, it got the boot. Next, the deer head tray, was a purchase from Stein Mart. When we originally bought it, it was in a rust color. It was quite blah. We decided to spray paint it with some chrome paint to add some punch. The lampshade, as featured here on blah to aha, was obviously recovered with some fab fabric.

The garden stool was a purchase last year from Big Lots for $20. Unreal. It really pains us that we cant get our hands on more of these. What a steal. The yellow umbrella holder was a find at Marshalls. I had been looking for an umbrella holder for some time, and Lindsay (Sadie's Mom) scouted this adorable one for me.

On to Sadie's living room. This is one of my favorite spaces. It is so warm and inviting and has so many thoughtful elements. Many of the pieces found in this room, much like the entryway, were great finds at our favorite spots: Home Goods and local antique stores. The industrial chic tables were found at a local antique store, as well as, the gorgeous lamp placed on top of it.

This room has lots of projects on the horizon. The upholstered chair that you see is almost to completion. We cannot wait to show you the big reveal! Also, the console table is being prepped to paint. We haven't decided on an exact color but we are thinking a shade of green, distressed, OF COURSE! The gallery wall, also seen here, includes items from many different shopping excursions.

We cannot get enough of moss balls. We thing they have such a quirky, colorful way about them. We both have them in our homes. Also, a picture of Lindsay (Sadie's mom and her beautiful Grandma).

We think this is so creative. Love the addition of the frame on top of the polyresin initials. It gives the illusion of a shadowbox.

A close up picture of the upholstered chair that we have almost completed. Get ready for the reveal. You will be amazed. It has been a lot of hard work, but is so worth the pay off.

We hope you enjoyed our homes! More to come soon!

S+S chow: the Savannah Fizz

Dear readers, let us introduce you to the Savannah Fizz. This drink was born on our recent trip to Savannah {who would've guessed!}. It's pretty much gin and tonic but we changed a few things. We think it is the most refreshing and delicious drink in the universe, for real. Try it, you will see!

The Savannah Fizz

2 oz. Gin

5 oz. Club Soda or Tonic Water

Splash of sweetened lime Juice {we like Rose's}

Splash of lemon Juice

Fresh Lime Wedge for Garnish

On another note, we just celebrated Lindsay's {Stella's mom} birthday!! Angel food cake with homemade whipped cream, berries and a glass of Prosecco, heaven. A birthday soiree is on the horizon. We hope your weekend is filled with nothing but loveliness! 

Oh, and seriously, try the Savannah Fizz, you will not be disappointed, cross our hearts!

Before the Paparazzi at Hyphen Interiors

Sorry for the repeat! As you all know...Blogger is having serious issues. We will repost from yesterday as the posts have plummeted into the black abyss.

We are honored to be participating in Hyphen Interiors' 'Before the Paparazzi' series today! Be sure to check us out, here!

And don't miss all of the other talented bloggers involved in the series!

May 5 – Andrea at Oakridge Revival
May 19 – Elsa at Casa Greer
May 26 – Denise at Pink Postcard
June 2 – Danielle at Danielle Oakey Interiors
June 8 - Cassie at Hi Sugarplum

Favorite Room Feature: Bower Power

If you all have not checked Katie out over at Bower Power, we suggest in doing so. We absolutely love her rustic chic style and her son's nursery is the nursery heard 'round the world. It is absolutely to die for and it could not be a better time to be featuring it since we have been doing a lot of nursery/kid's rooms as of late. We know you will enjoy it! Take it away Katie!

A big ole fat virtual hug to Lindsay and Lindsay for including me in their favorite room feature (oh and for being two amazing and inspirational bloggers!). I am honored to be included and welcomed here at Sadie + Stella. Thanks girls.
Let me tell you a little about one of my favorite rooms...my son's old nursery.

In a former life, this room was used as an office but with a tike on the way, we needed to rework the look and function of the space. Afterall, it was to welcome the newest family member but first needed a complete overhaul. Buh-bye power cords, printers, and pinboards!

We also said adieu to the nautical decor that adorned the walls.

And I couldn't say that I exactly missed the clutter that fell on every available surface.

After the transformation, we brought in a rocker, toy and book storage, and boyish woods motif.

It all began with the idea of creating a space that evoked that serene cabin-in-the-woods feeling. We love enjoying the great beauty of nature and we knew that if our son was anything like us, he would appreciate us bringing the outdoors in. The first spark of inspiration was the wood accent wall that we made of cast off pallets. The texture and rough masculinity that it brings to the room was just the starting point we needed.

Over the crib we hung a deer head that brings a chic twist to the space and as a rustic counterpart, a homemade sign states the name of the creek that ran behind our home.


The changing table is actually a buffet that we decided would be the perfect piece for future use. All we did was add a changing pad and all the diapering supplies. Above the changing table, the gallery wall and mirror are not only decoration but a great way to amuse a baby.

The best part about the white frames is that they are versatile enough to switch up artwork regularly.

My favorite purchased piece in the nursery is the oversized drumshaded light fixture. It makes the whole room feel finished and polished.

Sentimental pieces were placed on shelves (to keep them safe from grubby little hands & clumsy sleep-deprived mothers).

In the end, we were so happy to bring our son home to a space created just for him. And I think he liked it too...he even said so. Well, sortof. At least that is how I interpreted the two minutes of baby talk dribble that he babbled when he entered the room.

S+S E-Design: Coral + Navy

So last week we posted lots of inspiration regarding the color scheme: coral and navy. Today we are posting the actual inspiration board for this ah-mazing e-design that we are currently working on. Our thought regarding this design scheme was to give it a beachy yet glam feel. Equipped with mercury glass, gold accents and of course coral and navy accessories!

We decided to incorporate the greyish antiqued wood and neutral trimmings into the tufted ottoman. This shade of wood has been very popular as of late, and we see why. This will give the room the ultimate beachy feel but still brings glammy elements with the shape of the legs, the intricacy of the design and the sophisticated tufting. Also, to carry the neutrals in the room we are bringing a stark white settee into the mix. You cannot go wrong with a white couch, AS LONG AS you Scotchguard the heck out of it. Massively. We just love the blank canvas it brings and any navy or coral throw would be perfect the perfect addition to the settee.

An amazing navy and white tribal print rug adds just the right amount of other world charm to the room. We chose a geo-print navy and white lamp base to add a fun print to the space. Also, on the list for navy, a navy garden stool. What room is complete without a garden stool, I ask you? There is not a room. That is the answer. Whoever said navy is a masculine color, is dead wrong. Dead.

On to the coral accessories. Coral, coral? Oh yes. Definitely. I also purchased this for my Mom for Mother's Day. It is what she asked for! Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. As they say. Anyway, Coral, Coral pillows and coral chevron pillows will be the perfect accent to our settee. We also thought these adorable coral varied size jars would be the perfect knick knack added to a table. Love! So feminine and fab.

On to the wall art. We love the mirrored/mercury glass bird prints. They have such a luxurious touch with the trim and also a natural touch with the actual art. Beachy/glam all in one. To top it all off we finished the room off with a unique detailed framed mirror. The gold touch brings it all together!

We hope you all enjoyed! If any of you are interested in S+S E-Design, email us for details and prices.

Monday Musings: Walls of Grasscloth

We have totally been obsessing over grasscloth walls lately! It seems that all shades, purposes and textures have been popping up in the design world and we cannot get enough. There is a certain living room design that we are currently working on that we decided to incorporate the lush texture of the grasscloth on the wall ( Be patient folks, you will see it this week! It may or may not incorporate some coral and some navy. I guess you will have to wait and see) .

I do not know if any of you have had the pleasure of removing grasscloth wallpaper from a wall before, but it is definitely not a task for the weak. I once owned a home that had literally 5 layers of wallpaper to remove before we could get to the actual wall. One of these layers happened to be grasscloth. After World War III ensuing between me and the grasscloth wallpaper, I was convinced I would never, ever again willingly enter into the world of grasscloth. Today, I stand corrected. And for those of you who are wondering who won in the battle of Me vs Grasscloth? I won.

From powder rooms to kitchens, no room seems off limits for this design staple. It adds a certain richness and luxury to an area and we are not thinking about stripping this wall covering from any wall. Well anytime soon that is.

This hue of gray/green is absolutely to die for in this dining room. The accessories are obviously lush but that the texture of the walls completely sets it over the top. The added pop of punchy blue vases are alright in our book.

{Suzanne Kasler}

We could almost see this certain variety of grasscloth in a small powder room, even with that mirror. Absolutely love this in a bedroom and would have never thought to use it in a bedroom. Such delicate and feminine touches really subdue the organic texture of the walls. 

{Design by Color}

This may come as a surprise to you all but we are in love with this shade of grasscloth. TURQUOISE!! What is not to like? The chandelier? Oh. My. Love it. Want it. Need it. 

Love the juxtaposition of the natural elements of the wall and the glammy glam accessories. We all love an x-bench and anything mercury glass related. This gets an A+.

On to the blue/gray family of grasscloth walls. Regal Beagle my friends. The lamps. The bedding.  The headboard. The furniture.

Navy blue grasscloth dining room. Normally people love to judge a combination of black and navy but this could not be more on point. This chandelier is so old world along with the beautiful marble table.

{decor pad}

Kitchen grasscloth? Never seen it before and we want to keep seeing this look repeated! Again with the gorgeous chandeliers!! Loving the femininity of this kitchen. 

{style at home}

Busy week here. The amazing Katie from Bower Power will be guest posting for Favorite Room Feature, and we will be guest posting over with Kristy at Hyphen Interiors with her new series: Before the Paparazzi. Stay tuned for a client design board this week. We hope you have a fabulous Monday!