Bright and Bold Menu Chalkboard.

Matt and I are so lucky to have neighbors who feed us. Chris is a darn great chef, and we've had the luxury of tasting a bit of his own Italian roots through the meals he cooks at weekly "family dinners". Since we moved here to Colorado, Chris and Lauren have opened their home and have invited us to partake in conversation and laughs over home cooked meals, charades, and stories about our weeks. We've gotten to meet their friends and have a bit of quality "family" time. Its lovely.

When Chris and Lauren asked me to help them come up with art or a gallery wall to put up on the blank space in their well-loved and heart-of-the-home kitchen, we decided that a menu board was a was a must. Thanks to the scrap furniture store, they found this large frame for dirt cheap, which I painted with my favorite shade of red (left-over from past projects). Chris then cut out a piece of scrap fiber board which I painted with chalk board paint (again, left over). A little adhesive, and voila! The chalkboard menu is so large and the PERFECT addition to the space and the people who live there. I loved how Chris even had me come over last night to write the first official menu as he was cooking--and of course, the last touch was a signature from the chef. Do you spend time with friends over meals each week? 

Grenadine with a side of Baroque.

I found this frame at Ross in the clearance pile. It cost $2 and perhaps nobody wanted it because it is a bold design combined with a bold gold. I was drawn to the shape and liked that the photo part was square.  I think my favorite part is the strand-of-pearl like trim around the photo square. That, and it reminded me of a pineapple at the top.

The gold on this frame did not make me want to sing, SO, I browsed my color options at home. BEHR's Grenadine is what I used. A pop of red is always good in my book. I applied the paint with a foam brush while watching Downton Abbey and thinking in a British accent (that last part is optional, however, painting a Baroque styled frame like this did feel fitting). Because the the paint was sample size, the finish of the frame turned out matte. I would have liked it glossy, but I wanted to make use of what I already had.

This may not be the official photo for the frame. I have a long outstanding list of prints to go through to find the perfect one. I want to place a square photo in the middle with some glass trim around it so it has that "floating" feel. I also considered putting cork behind the frame and making it a tiny note board for the kitchen. Frame for now, endless possibilities for the future.

At the Spanish Steps, Rome, last summer.