Chia Pet is fun as it ever was

Chia pudding is a big deal now, but I wonder if these influencers remember the Chia Pet. I got some chia seeds and have been playing with them in salads, on peanut butter and in drinks. Results vary.

But I did remember I had a three-legged chia ram as garden décor. It’s been in the family for decades. He grew a nice chia coat and went returned to guard the garden. Good times!

Chia looked great in the kitchen. Now here are some books that will inspire you to create the kitchens, gardens and homes of your dreams:

“The Vintage Farmhouse Garden” - A silo bar in the back yard might be nice. Maybe I’ll adorn the dining room lighting with evergreen and ribbon next Christmas. Now, that garland fashioned from vases and ribbon I can do. Rhonda Kaiser attended Texas A&M University, found her flower expertise in Bishop, Texas and became a Master Gardener. Then she and her husband bought a farm. Now Kaiser is the “Southern Home and Farm” expert and she should be proud of her new book. A rose arch, petrified wood water feature and raised beds are some visuals that make you want to go dig in the garden. She shares how to work with plants, make botanical candles by pressing flowers into pillar candles, guides you to entertaining and color schemes and throws in some recipes I aim to grow enough product to make Easy and Authentic Jalapeno Salsa by boiling peppers and blending them with avocado oil and salt. That’s what I need.

 “Slow Style Home” – Find your style, add. Houseplants are handy… Display something from your heritage… You get it. Like the slow food movement, slow style considers the time involved developing the right stuff as kind of the point of it all. Maybe it means you’re never done, and I like that, too. Zandra Zuraw offers great tips throughout this book showing exactly what she means and how your “old” stuff can be considered in a new light as you continue to define your style. I love some pages that allow you to test your vignette skills. This justifies my own “style mash up.”

“California Beach House Luxury” – Disco balls – plural – in the kitchen? Breeganjane had me there. I’m into graffiti and rock-climbing walls for a boy’s bedroom and a beaded book nook for me. Pet snake? Your family do you all, Breeganjane. You don’t have to live on the coast to enjoy clean lines and gold fixtures. But who wouldn’t mind planning décor for your rooftop sitting area?

“Embracing Southern Homes” – Color can open up a room, décor size matters and calm and luxury are ideal bedroom themes. Some of this is instinct, but Eric Ross can guide homeowners toward grand scales in this book. He shares how the jobs described benefitted his clients and the photos enhance his description. Sometimes we haven’t even asked ourselves how we came to choose the furnishings we’ve lived with for decades. Here’s a revelation. Decorating requires math. But this one was easy. Strive for the amount of seating in living areas that would accommodate the number of people your home sleeps. Now, you’re ready to entertain in your Southern home.

“Iconic Rooms: Kips Bay New York Decorator Show House at 50” – I got an education and a back-in-time flashback to animal print rugs, fabric-heavy drapes, torch lamps and twiggy branches. Before perusing this coffee table book, I was not aware of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club or the fierce competition to design a showcase to benefit its cause. Comments from decorators and photos of these spreads are inspiring as the décor changes over time. I’d live in any of these. Funny to us down here in neighborhoods, as elegant as these NYC interiors are, there are still views of neighboring brick buildings right outside the windows.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who thinks a Pet Rock could contribute to any home’s nostalgic décor. What’s your best decorating tip? Share with her via panews@panews.com