Catching my eye

Just wanted to stop in and share a few things that have caught my eye lately...

1) Hudson Bay Knit Blanket Tutorial, by The Purl Bee

Via The Purl Bee

2) Coconut Curry Peanut Soup Recipe, by Pink Basil

 

Via Pink Basil

3) A new Kate Spade satchel that I may or may not have bought myself as a half birthday present (What, you guys don't celebrate half birthdays?)

Via Zappos Couture

A new recipe

As Anna mentioned, you should check out our new "good reads" page, because it is full of blogs we want to share with you. One of those blogs is The Wednesday Chef. Luisa (the Wednesday Chef) tested out a delicious recipe from the cookbook Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. She made an artichoke tart with goat cheese and Greek yogurt instead of cream and butter. The crust is made of polenta instead of wheat flour. I took one look at the recipe and had to make that night. It is light and healthy, but filling and creamy. I highly recommend it.

The Friday Find: Vintage Book DIY

Photos and tutorial via Design*Sponge

What a cool way to take an old book and turn it into a useful organizer for your modern gadgets. Find the tutorial and more photos here.

Bench - complete!

Remember this weekend project? Chloe reminded me that I never showed you all a final picture of the bench in action. So here are two photos of the bench at the end of the bed storing too many books and newspapers. It's definitely serving its purpose.

I hope you all have a nice relaxing weekend before a week full of too much food. Do you have any plans? Are you preparing for Thanksgiving? Any good recipes you want to share? xo

Weekend project recap

I have been looking for a new bench for our bedroom for a while now. West Elm and Pottery Barn sell some beauties, but you have to shell out $200-$400. I needed something in the near-free price range. Thus, Ben and I took a trip to Home Depot to build our own.

We were clearly beginners at the hardware store - not knowing which wood, screws, or wood stain to buy. But we swallowed our pride and recruited the help of Mr. Mike in the orange apron. He showed us the ropes and now we'd like to share some tips with you!

Tip #1) If you don't own a saw, plan ahead and make sure you have someone at the store cut the wood for you. We wanted a bench that was about 3 feet in length to fit in our pint-sized apartment. After lugging home five bags of goods on the Metro, Ben was off to work on the bottom part of the bench.

Tip #2) Buy pre-made legs. They are about $3.50 each at the hardware store and when you're painting your bench outside in front of your apartment you get lots of compliments like "those are beautiful legs you've got."

3) Paint outside. Whether you have wood stain or paint, do not paint inside. The fumes will make you go brain dead. But don't sit as close to the street as I did. That is also dangerous.

4) Use push pins (or thumb tacs) to turn your bench right side up when the legs are still wet. Ben and I started staining the bottom of the bench before the top. That meant that we had already painted the legs of the bench. To prevent the legs of the bench from sticking to the newspaper that we laid on the ground, we stuck push pins in the bottom of the legs, lifting the legs an extra inch in the air. Although you can't see the push pins in the picture below, the bench is very happy to not be stuck to the trash bag.

Tip #5) When nothing else will remove the wood stain on your hands, nail polish remover will! It was a life saver when I super glued my fingers together last year, and it was a life saver once again this past weekend when the sticky wood stain wouldn't come off of our fingers. Thank you, nail polish remover.

Stay tuned for a pic of the final product in use!

The Final Countdown

As I mentioned a few months ago, I'm going to be an aunt.   Very soon, in fact - my sister is due TODAY!  As you might expect, things have been a little baby-crazy around here.  It's been especially fun picking up cute toys and imagining a little baby playing with them in just a few weeks!  Here are a few things we've gotten for the littlest member of the family.

Meet Marvin the Lion, the baby's first stuffed animal. (I bought this a week after I found out my sister was pregnant!)

via jellycat.com 

The cutest book of baby haikus:

via haikutwobytwo.com

A DIY mobile (inspired by this one):

via land of nod

A home-sewn blanket:

What are your favorite gifts for new babies?

Summer Snacks

Throwing together my breakfast this morning, I stumbled upon a seriously yummy combination.  It's also pretty much the easiest breakfast ever: fill a bowl with cherries and add a dollop of ricotta on the side.  Dip the cherries in the ricotta and pop 'em in your mouth.  Top it off with a creamy iced coffee and you've got breakfast perfection!

Now my mind is racing with other cherry-ricotta recipes...maybe these scones with cherries instead of raspberries?

Also on the docket today: doing something with this pile of garlic scapes.

I'm thinking pesto...any suggestions?

The Friday Find

We posted a while ago about one way to brighten up an old lampshade; here's a new idea!  Laura at Enjoying the Simple Things came up with a way to use paint stir sticks (which are almost always FREE, by the way!) to create a unique, super easy-to-make lampshade.  This was the final result:

via Enjoying the Simple Things

It has a very cottage-y feel.  I think it would look cute in a screened-in porch or rustic-style kitchen!  

Hope you have a great weekend.  I have two birthdays, an anniversary, and a friend's return from Kenya to celebrate as well as a baby shower to plan....not to mention exams to study for next week.  Eek!

New curtains

I have had sage green curtains for three or four years, and by now I am so sick of them. Green is not my color. Thus, they are staying in my old house while I move to my new house :) And a few weeks ago I treated myself to some nice fabric to make new curtains.

Robert Allen Cats Cradle (a navy blue color)

 
These simple curtains were pretty easy to make, but they're nothing fancy. In fact, I can't believe than anyone would be willing to pay $225 for them. I'll let you know how they look in their new home!

Happy hump day. Hope it's not too unbearable for you.

The Friday Find

Happy Friday!  It's been a beautiful but long week in Portland, and it's not nearly over yet - four hours of class await me this afternoon followed by a Basic Life Support class tomorrow morning.  I thought I'd stop in to talk about the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure."  Or maybe "what's old is new again."  When Andy and I moved into our apartment, we didn't have much furniture.  Luckily, his parents have what could be an entire antique shop/flea market in their attic!  When we were in the market for a coffee table, they generously offered us an old lobster trap, similar to this one:

Living in Maine, it's not uncommon at all to see these repurposed as coffee tables.  After living with it as-is for a few months, I decided that I could make it a little more useful.  I ripped out the netting, sanded it down, nailed a few loose pieces into place, and wiped it clean.  Now it doubles as a coffee table and very handy board game storage.  Here's a pic: 

It's not my ideal coffee table, but it works for now.  Have a happy weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to show your dad some love on Sunday!

Home Improvement

Today was very exciting for two reasons: it was my first day of nursing school (!!!), and we FINALLY put the finishing touches one some of the home improvement things we've been doing around our apartment.  This weekend, my dad built us a L-shaped desk that is very simple and exactly what we have been needing for our very small workspace.  Here are some pics (no before pictures, unfortunately, and sorry about iPhone pics!):

We gave the desk (which is a simple but nice looking birch plywood) a few coats of semi-gloss poly.  I thought it would take forever to dry, but we were able to put three coats of this water-based coating on in one day.

Here is Andy's gear-filled side of the room.  I ordered the rug at West Elm and it was SO cheap compared to every other rug I've seen of similar quality.  Plus, I love the cheery color!  It's bright and summery and contrasts nicely with the grey walls.   

Here's my sad corner of the room...a few pictures and my medical terminology cheat sheet.  I'm still looking for a cheap but comfy desk chair.  Suggestions?!

Since I have only been working part time the last two weeks but haven't been in school, I was able to cross some other things off my to-do list, including this.  I'll have more to share later on this week!

The Friday Find

Apologies that this is so late. Blogger was down. Not only could we not post, but we couldn't see any of your awesome comments from days past. Needless to say, it's been a rough day. TGIF, for reals.

But today's Friday Find is really awesome. Worth the several hour wait. And it's brought to you by Design Mom. She turned regular, outdated ties into trendy skinny ties. Andy and Ben, don't be surprised if you end up with some of these because Anna and I are ready to roll up our sleeves and get crackin - errr...sewing.

You can find the tutorial here. Five ties cost her a whopping $5. Compare that to $30-$60 for one store-bought skinny tie. This is a total steal. And I love how they came out.

If you mail me your old tie maybe, just maybe, I will mail you back a skinny one :)

Photo via Design Mom

Happy weekend!

Baby blanket project

Since my sister shared her exciting news recently, I thought I would share a project I've been working on for her - a baby blanket!  I used this pattern - it is really more of a play mat, but I liked it because aside from being warm and snuggly, it can be taken on picnics, tucked into a stroller, or spread on the floor with toys.  Here are some pictures of the work in progress:

After I had the play mat sewn together in it's basic form, I basted it to keep the layers in place while I quilted it.  I used this tutorial since I had no idea what I was doing, and it was very helpful!

Once it was completely basted, I marked the fabric with tiny dots where I would embroider tiny X's.  I used this ruler (SO HANDY!) to make sure the dots were evenly spaced.

Then, I embroidered a small X on each of the pencil-marked dots.  This means the other side has tiny knots on it, but I decided that's okay since they don't compromise how comfy the blanket is.

Finally, I trimmed the blanket with this (bottom right) fabric.  It made the whole blanket much more exciting to look at, and was still gender neutral.

Since I am sewing the trim on by hand, I'm not quite finished yet.  I'll post pics of the final product in a few days. :) 

 

Advice

Do you all read Joy the Baker? I learned about her from Ben's mom. Joy the Baker is a MASTER in the kitchen. I'm sure that every recipe she posts is amazing, but my absolute favorites are her Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries and her Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread. UNREAL.

Turns out, she gives good, hilarious advice as well. Here is her advice for turning 21 (but I think it's good advice for anyone).

Some highlights:

"If your button up shirt is bulging at the boobs...wear another shirt."

"Chill out on the Facebook. Seriously. It's not real life."

"Look people in the eye and listen when they speak. Seriously. It's a nice touch. It's the opposite of Facebook."

I have taken Joy's lesson #4 to heart this year: "Learn how to sew something. Anything."

Here are two new throw pillow covers I made this weekend.

18"x18" throw pillow cover, Marimekko fabric

12"x20" throw pillow cover, Marimekko fabric

Go find some good advice in Joy's post too. Have a good week!

Teeny tiny hat

Ben had a shirt...

And it looked so soft and cozy.

Looked like it would better suit my coworker's future baby boy.

Pattern via Prudent Baby

So that's what happened to it :)

The Friday Find: Power Breakfast

This week's Friday Find comes in the form of a healthy and cheap-to-make power breakfast.  This is my family's granola recipe, and what I love about it (aside from it being really yummy) is that there are endless variations.

via Diary of a Locavore

5 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup oat bran

1 cup All Bran or Kashi GoLean

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup mild olive oil

2 teaspoons real vanilla

That's the recipe in its most basic form.  I like to add a heaping cup of dried cranberries or raisins, and chopped dates are yummy in it, too.  I also usually add unsweetened dried coconut for a little extra flavor.  If I ever feel like I'm in a granola rut, I find that browsing through the bulk food aisle at Whole Foods is great inspiration for new ingredients. 

*Don't sweat it if you don't have all of the ingredients listed here.  Aside from the oats, almost everything in the recipe can be substituted with something else that you have kicking around your cupboards.

Sunday Sewing

I spent most of this rainy Sunday sewing. And I am super excited to show you the finished product: A dinosaur toiletry bag made with this pattern from Prudent Baby. It has soft flannel fabric on the outside and a waterproof green vinyl on the inside.

More details for those who may want to make this: While the original pattern calls for an oilcloth interior, I found a remnant of vinyl for $3 at a fabric store in Virginia, so I decided to go with that. Worked like a charm, and the interior is still waterproof. I also made this bag slightly smaller than the one in the original pattern (as recommended by Prudent Baby, using a 14" zipper and fabric squares of 14" x 12").

Next I'd like to try making this bag with a fun oilcloth, like this camera pattern oilcloth.

Enjoy the rest of your lazy Sunday :)

Fabricworm!

So I just received an old Singer sewing machine (circa 1988-1992) from my mom. It looks a whole lot like this:

(Via Craftster.org)

While I am super excited to make copious amounts of place mats and pillowcases, I live in DC, and there is only one lonely fabric store in this whole city. Ridiculous! And it is totally overpriced/I do not need Prada fabric to make an apron.

Thus, I turn to Fabricworm.com, the best place on earth the internet to get fabric. Awesome oilcloths, imported Japanese fabrics (including these elephants and apples!), and sales galore. They've got some of the best patterns around. Go take a look :)

Happy almost Friday xo!

The Perfect Homemade Bread

Even though I love to cook, bake, and eat, there is one food that has always seemed like too much of a pain in the butt to make myself: bread.  I don't have a KitchenAid mixer or a bread machine, so kneading a ball of dough for 15 to 20 minutes is usually at the very bottom of the list of things I want to do on any given day.  Luckily, my sister recently introduced me to The Easiest Bread Ever (read: you only have to pay attention to it for about five minutes).  It's delicious, too--my boyfriend has proclaimed it the "best bread in the world" and we have eaten almost the entire loaf since I made it on Saturday (if you saw the size of it, you would find this quite alarming).

(Photo by Elspeth)

Rather than post the recipe here, I thought I'd just send you over to my sister's blog to see for yourself.  The Easiest Bread Ever can be found here.  Don't be fooled by the name, though--if you don't like rye bread, you can substitute the rye flour with whole wheat flour (like I did).  Finally, if you don't have a broiler pan in your oven, you can fill a casserole with a few inches of water and put it on the lowest shelf of the oven, a few levels below the bread.

Before you run over there, though, here's a more formal introduction to Elspeth's blog.  She started Diary of a Locavore when she graduated from Middlebury and moved to the (very sparsely populated) Outer Cape to live with her now-husband.  Every Monday and Thursday, Elspeth writes about healthy, seasonal, local food and posts a yummy recipe.  These are some of my favorites:

Portuguese Kale Soup...I make this twice a week.  I'm not joking.

The Hay Wedding Cupcakes

Farro Salad with Feta, Squash and Red Onion

The Best Cornbread Ever

You can also hear her radio show, the Local Food Report, here.

Hi Elspeth!  I love you!

Simple Sewing

Happy Sunday!  What have you been up to this weekend?  We've been having lazy mornings and productive afternoons in Portland.  I rediscovered my love of Grey's Anatomy, after a three year hiatus, and am getting wrapped up in the drama once more.  I've also justified my multiple-episode-mornings by convincing myself that watching medical dramas is one way of preparing to one day be a clinician myself (heh heh).  

Aside from catching up on the Izzie-George drama of Season 6, I also had a chance to take my brand new sewing machine for a test run.  I got this model for Christmas, and so far it is awesome!  My first project is a set of napkins (I'm starting slow here), and I've been using my all-time favorite sewing book for guidance:  Simple Sewing, by Lotta Jansdotter.  

All of her patterns are quick and easy, but also very cute and functional.  I love this gardening tote!