Archive for December 2013

Christmas Party With Family!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, I wanted to share with y'all a few pictures of our family's get together. My mom has incredible taste and style and i wanted to capture all of that and put it up on here for everyone to see.

Enjoy!
My Fiance and my baby boy!
My son Ethan.
Ethan and Mommy opening presents!
My parents dog Chuey!

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Etsy Shop Now Open

Hello Everyone and thank you all so much for your support. I am pleased to announce that our Etsy shop is now open online and the pices featured on this blog are officially for sale! :)

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Etsy Shop Grand Openng!

Monday, December 23, 2013

So the countdown has begun. In T minus 29 hours will be the grand opening of our official Etsy shop. Gosh it feels like this moment has taken a lifetime but now that it's close I'm having a ton of mixed emotions and anxiety. Will they like my designs? Will I be able o sell a piece within the first day? week? or month? As a new business owner and a mother it's hard to find a balance. But all that hard work is finally starting to pay off!. Enough with the babble, I want to share a little more what to expect at CloverLeaf---you know clear up some questions and such. I love to work on antiques but is all the furniture "antique". No. in fact, most the pieces i am putting on the shop are not antiques. I am always partial to french provincial,shabby chic, beach cottage, patina ect. But i want my followers to know that CloverLeaf will not be limited tojust those styles. I also offer customized pieces---meaning if you have a particular look you want and have not been able to find, I will work with you one on one and find out what specific color, finish, stencil, and piece that you want and design it specifically to your taste, whether it's Aunt Sally's armoir or your kitchen cabinets (That's right. Local only.)If you can dream it, I can paint it.

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Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Ingredients Beef Short Ribs 1 1/2 Cup Red wine (some you would drink!) Steak Seasoning Olive Oil 2 cloves of Garlic Salt Pepper 3 Whole Carrots peeled and roughly chopped 1/2 a Red Onion Chicken Boullion (I use K'norrs) Dutch Oven
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook time 2 hours. Rinse and pat dry short ribs.
Rub short ribs with a generous amount of steak seasoning and salt an pepper.
In dutch oven pour olive oil to coat bottom and put on Medium high heat add garlic let cook for one minute and sear short ribs on both sides at 3 min.
Add carrots and onions and 1 1/2 cup of red wine then put dutch oven in the oven and let cook for and hour and a half with the lid on.
take the lid off dutch oven and let it cook for half an hour.

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Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Monday, December 16, 2013

This recipe is super easy and it is a favorite in my house. Sometimes I am in the mood for Chinese without all the MSG or additives that are mostly added with major Chinese chains, so here is a very fresh and healthy version for you. :)

Ingrediants 1 1/2 lbs of Ground Chicken 1/2 cup sliced Shitake Mushrooms (or any kind will work) 3 cloves of Garlic 2 Tbsp of Rice Wine Vinegar 5 Tbsp of Sesame Oil (divided) 1Tbsp of Olive Oil 5 Tbsp of Soy Sauce (divided) 1/2 Red Bell Pepper (diced) 1 /4 cup chopped Scallions (divided) 1 tsp of grated and chopped fresh Ginger (Powdered works too)\ 1tsp of orange zest 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce 2 Tbsp of Siracha Sauce (optional) 1/4 Chopped peanuts 1 head of Boston Bibb Lettuce (Romaine and Iceburg will work too) Salt and Pepper (to taste) In a bowl add Ground chicken, 3Tbsp of Sesame oil, 5 Tbsp Soy Sauce, 2 Tbsp rice wine Vinegar and a dash of Pepper. Mix well, let marinate 30 min.
In a Wok on high heat add your Olive Oil and Remaining Sesame Oil, brown the marinated chicken until it's fully cooked. Then add Garlic and Ginger, cook for one minute.
Stir for 2 min, then add Hoisin Sauce and Siracha, making sure everything is coated. Top with other half of Scallions. Serve with rinsed and dry lettuce.

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Whimsical Vanity

Friday, December 13, 2013

Hello All! Hope everyone is enjoying this time of year, as we get closer to the Christmas holidays! I know with the shop opening in just days I have not had time to get into the Christmas spirit...but I promise to do a Christmas themed wreath tutorial for you all really soon so be sure to look for that!.
While trying to pick pieces of furniture to redo I came across a very cute vintage vanity. It was in poor condition but it had personality and I could not beat the price!. Since she was real wood i knew with sanding and some patching of the veneer I could make her like new. So after the repairs I decided i was going to use a layered look using French Linen and Old white (Annie Sloan) I put down French Linen first then went over it with Old white. I wanted the gray to show thru in some areas so i used short brush strokes. Using Graphite i did a lot of stenciling...And that is as far as i had done for today, and i must say it came out even better than i expected! I bought some glass knobs and will be doing some waxing tomorrow and prob put some bling on it!But i still have to buy a new mirror to put on her because the other one looks real beat up. So be sure to look for pics of my whimsical vanity when its complete. Update*** So the vanity is mostly finished and i must say it's by far my favorite piece. I just need to get a new mirror for it and it will be complete! and yes I took more pics

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Coffee Table Redo

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Hello again!, such a busy day. I wanted to take the time to show you my latest project. I decided to go a little out of the norm, for me anyway. I want Cloverleaf to have a little something for everyone's unique taste and decided to go for something a bit...Modern. Now those who know me very well know that i stay far out of the "modern spectrum". But, I had to try out a look that i think has been gaining popularity, I'm talking...Metallic. So I opted for a french style coffee table with clean lines and a modern flair---But could not resist antiquing up the sides...which i thought added a nice charm while holding on to the sleek look.

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End Table Makeover

Monday, December 9, 2013

So here are the end tables I made over. They were in good shape but had a lot of superficial damage, so I decided to mix together some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® in Louis Blue, Paris Grey and Old White. Threw on some small stenciling and decided to put some bling on it using Swarvoski
Chrystals and used a dry brushing technique to add the patina white wash and viola! I must say i am very happy how these turned out, the pictures don't do it justice.
Love the weathered limed look :)

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Work in Progress

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Hello All! as you know i m in the process of opening my shop on Etsy and wanted to give my followers a sneak peek into what to expect in my shop. Consider it an early Christmas present :)

BEFORE These tables have definately seen better days... but no worries i had plans for them and wanted to brighten them up a bit.
Don't mind the wet spots in the middle I had to correct some minor set backs... but i love the custom color blue and the small stenciling. :)
Well that's all you get guys be sure to check out my shop to see how these puppies turned out as they are still incomplete!

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Southern Fried Buffalo Wings

That's right you read that correctly, this is a fusion between southern style chicken and Buffalo wings...an odd mixture it may sound but I assure you these two go together like Danny and Sandy. I got the idea from a few years of living in Buffalo and my love for all things southern food. So next time you host that tailgating party be sure you throw these on your menu and be prepared to bring plenty! Serving about 30 wings Southern Fried Buffalo Wings Brine
1 cup Water 1/4 cup Salt 1/4 cup Sugar 4 Tbsp Vinegar wash and drain chicken wings set aside, mix water, salt, sugar, and vinegar in a large bowl put in wings make sure they are fully submerged and let marinate for 24 hours. Dredge
1 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour 4 Tbsp Black pepper 3 Tbsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt 4 Tbsp Goya Sazonador total seasoning 4 Tbsp Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb Seasoning 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder 2 Tbsp Onion Powder 1/4 cup of Italian Style Bread crumbs 2 Tbsp of Poultry Seasoning 2 Tbsp Of Thyme 2 Tbsp of Sage Other Ingredients 1/2 cup of Milk (In a separate container) 1 1/2 cup Rice Flour ( In a separate container) Measurements may seem like a lot but i always make extra dredge depending on how many wings you fry. Buffalo Sauce
1 1/2 stick of Butter 1/2 cup of Hot sauce (I prefer Texas Pete) 3 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
Oil for frying (I use Canola Oil) In a large bowl Mix together all of Dredge Ingredients, set aside. Place Milk and Rice Flour in two separate containers. Fill frying pan less than halfway with Oil, and put on high setting. bread the chicken in Dredge and then in Milk and then in the Rice Flour repeat until all wings are breaded. Fry wings in batches a few at a time, cook until golden brown (10-12 min) until all wings are fried.
For Buffalo Sauce melt butter and mix the hot sauce, Worcestershire and Garlic in a bowl, set aside
Put wings in a large container and add buffalo sauce and serve

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WELCOME!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thank you for stopping by CloverLeaf! My name is Kai and I would like to take the time out to introduce myself and to let you know that this blog is very new and still under construction and a lot of things will be added on a daily basis. About me? hmmmm let see, where to begin!? well CloverLeaf is a reclaimed and re purposed furniture and home decor shop and these creations will be available to you on my Etsy shop in 6 days! Eeeeek. so much to do so little time to do it...focus Kai. Breathe. Lol. Like I said I am new to blogging and also a new business owner and I don't know what the heck I'm doing---But I do know my craft, and I love re-finishing furniture and I love food and cooking, and I also love writing and getting to know people. So if by chance you are reading this stop for a while...pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine and indulge an old woman. Who knows? you may pop in from time to time and say hi, or share with me a good story (I love to laugh) or give me much needed advice. whatever happens happens. But please comment and introduce yourself. I'm just a southern gal who likes to create pieces of art to share with the world! :)

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