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.

The Saturday Find - morning granola

Today we have "The Saturday Find" instead of "The Friday Find." Why? Because I was giving these jars of granola away as gifts and I didn't want to ruin the surprise!

This past week I made a huge batch of this delicious granola. It came out crunchy and chewy and sweet (and even a little salty, mmm) - everything you'd hope granola would be. It served as a yummy, affordable gift for a few great people. So far, it is the best granola recipe I have found out there on the world wide web.

 

For those who want to make this granola, the recipe suggests stirring the granola every ten minutes, but I would suggest every twenty minutes. That way you get bigger clusters. If you like crunchier granola, I also suggest turning the heat up to 325 for the last ten minutes of baking.

Enjoy! And have a very relaxing weekend :)

The Friday Find

Are you still buying endless plastic bags? Then you clearly haven't heard of Snack Taxis (or Liz's favorite Lunchskins). My sister gave me some recently and I am never going back to plastic bags.  (Coincidentally, she also gave me this book about the downsides of using plastic...even more reason to use a snack taxi!)  Aside from being very cute and coming in lots of great colors, sizes and patterns, you can simply throw them in the wash when they get dirty.  They are eco- and budget-friendly. Check out their website here.

via Snack Taxi

And for the steal: For the next two days, pay $15 for $30 worth of reusable snack/lunch bags via Groupon here.

Happy Friday! Have a lovely weekend. xo

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!

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!

The Friday Find

I'm feeling the need to be particularly thrifty this week. Why, you may ask?

1) I have been spending entirely too much money on securing an apartment for the upcoming year.

2) I am spending a pretty penny on a July vacation in Honduras with my cousins. (Side note: It is so worth it.)

3) The vaccines to travel to Honduras are PRICEY! Not to mention, I haven't had chicken pox, so I had to get that vaccine too. Let me tell you - it is definitely more cost effective to have chicken pox as a kid than to get the vaccine as an adult.

So this week there is not much money left over for furniture shopping for the new apt. Thus, I will show you how to re-paint an old, dilapidated dresser and make it shiny and new for just over $50.

1) Have a friend like Rachel with an old dresser. Rent a Zipcar and pick it up from her ($8).

(The other drawers did come with it,
I had just pulled them out already)

2) Visit your local hardware store. I like Logan Hardware. If you are a female, you will have a particularly fun time at the hardware store because all of a sudden, the male workers become oddly friendly. Hilary tells me this is the "female in a hardware store" experience. Anyways, purchase 3 sheets of sandpaper, a paint brush or roller, a can of primer, and a can of paint in the color of choice (I stuck with black). They will give you the tool to open the paint can and the stirrers for free. (Unless that is only part of the "female in a hardware store" experience.) (About $25)

Primed dresser

3) Visit Lee Valley Tools online and purchase new brass drawer pulls. While shipping is not included, these drawer pulls are a steal at less than $2.50 each. (About $25)

Sanded, primed,
two coats of black paint, new ring pulls

And voila! You have a new dresser. Happy Friday!

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!

Friday Find (er...Saturday Steal?)

Happy weekend!  Sorry about the late post this week.  Liz has been swamped at work and I've been getting ready for school, which starts a week from today...eek!  Speaking of school, this week's Friday Find is about the new Amazon.com book buy-back program.

 If you buy a textbook from Amazon, they will send you an email around the end of the semester with a buy-back estimate.  I sold my books back for just $10 less than I bought them, which I consider a deal!  Plus, Amazon pays for shipping.  All you have to do is print a label, package the book up, and send it with UPS.  Totally worth it!

Hope you're having a relaxing weekend.  xoxo

The Friday Find

Priceless.

Image via Kate Middleton for the Win

The Friday Find

So recently I was digging around my house in Massachusetts and I discovered a sheepskin - small, old, but remarkably, in good condition. I brought it to DC and have been LOVING it at the end of my bed.

But there are many cute ways to make use of an old sheepskin. You could try it as a rug in a big space...

Image via Decor4u.com

Or as a rug under a small chair or couch...

Image via Apartment Therapy

Or even turn it into a comfy plush cover for a chair...

Image via Jessica Swift

Or you could find someone to use it in this way :)

Then I did some snooping...

And it turns out that sheepskin rugs are all over Craigslist and Ebay! I found a $19 faux sheepskin on DC's craigslist, and a genuine sheepskin on Ebay for $26. Not too shabby.

Happy Friday!

The Friday Find

Yahoo!  It's officially iced coffee season, something I dream about all winter.  Although I would love to have the luxury of indulging in a delicious iced coffee at Coffee by Design every morning before work, the extra $2.50 per day (or more in DC! Portland is cheap) can really add up.  Last summer I discovered that homemade iced coffee can be just as delicious as what's available at the local coffee shop.  Here are some tips:

1. Make a strong batch of coffee in the evening and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  This way, it is nice and cold for your commute to work. 

2. Keep some coffee ice cubes in the freezer so your iced coffee won't dilute as the ice melts.  This ice cube tray would be a cute addition, too!

3.  Put coffee and cubes in this cup (featured on last week's Friday Find) to get the full coffee shop effect.  Add some half and half and get your caffeine fix!

via seriouseats.com

Any other tips we should know? 


P.S.  Here's smitten kitchen's take on iced coffee.  We trust her, too. :)

The Friday Find

Have you guys heard of the new TLC show Extreme Couponing? It is totally nutso. These people clip coupons and end up spending $7 on $1,200 grocery bills. They find $3 coupons on $2 items and actually MAKE MONEY at the grocery store. Watch video clips here.

Anna and I are not those people. But we do buy reusable stuff to put our food in. Because it's cute and it saves you cash in the long run. These are our top picks.

Reusable Sandwich Bag by Lunch Skins

Reusable Iced Coffee Cup by Starbucks

Silicone Cupcake Liners

Glass Containers and Lids by Pyrex

Happy Friday!

The Friday Find

I love stripes. Striped shirts, striped fabric, striped rugs, you name it. But why are they SO expensive?

Here are my favorite striped picks. For CHEAP!

Ikea fabric, $7.99/yd

Forever 21 long-sleeve T, $10.90

Target jersey scarf, $12.99

The Friday Find

Everyone has their own opinion on buying plane tickets: You should use Kayak, or Orbitz, or Expedia; you should buy your tickets on Tuesdays or Wednesdays because that's when it's cheapest. You should take a Friday or a Monday off of work so that you don't get hit with high weekend flight prices.

Well, damn it, that takes a lot of effort.

Low-budget fliers, there is a better way: yapta.com. I only learned about this site yesterday from my friend Lisa. And it is AWESOME. They will track your flight and alert you when the price drops, so that you can get it for less. And if you bought the ticket when it was a little pricey, and the price later drops, they'll start the process for you to get a refund! Seriously! How cool?

P.S. Cherry blossoms are making their way out in DC!! Happy weekend!

The Friday Find

Like everyone else, we've been glued to the news on Japan since last week's earthquake and tsunami, so for today's Friday Find we thought we'd share one way to help.  Until 1 p.m. TODAY, livingsocial will be matching your $5 donation to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund. 

Anyone can do it!  So far, they've raised almost $1.5 million for the cause.  Click here to make a donation now!

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.

The Friday Find

Target flats. Inexpensive and surprisingly well-made. (I'm not saying they're crafted from the finest Italian leather, but you get the point. I can tell you that mine have lasted for years!) The ones below range in price from just $20-$25! If you skip your morning latte for just 3-4 days you could own a pair of these!! Or, more likely, if you accidentally buy an expensive dress and feel the need to somehow compensate, these may be your solution :)

Imitation Jack Rogers for 1/5 of the price. Niiiiice.

(Images via Target)

Happy, happy Friday xo

The Friday Find

Ahhhh, Friday.  If the weather where you are is anywhere near as bad as it is here (read: snow, sleet, ice, cold, wind...the usual) you, like me, may be looking forward to curling up with a good glass of wine tonight and watching the white stuff pile up from the warmth of your couch.  That's where this week's Friday Find comes in:

This Carmenere was discovered recently by my dad (a wine lover) and he has been raving about it.  The best part - it retails for just $6.99 a bottle (or $5.99 per bottle if you buy a case of 24). Keep an eye out for it in your local market!

The Friday Find

Today's Friday Find is delicious. And with a few friends and and a bottle of wine, it should only cost you $4-$6 each. Thus, it made the cut for an inexpensive and awesome find.

(Also, my friend Rachel really really wanted me to post this recipe, and considering it's her birthday tomorrow, how could I resist? Happy birthday Rach! We love ya!)

Lemon Goat Cheese Veggie Pizza (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

I made this pizza last week with a few friends. We started off with Smitten Kitchen's lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza recipe, but decided we weren't in the mood for loads of zucchini. We quickly learned, however, that this pizza is ROCKIN as long as it has that key element of lemony goat cheese. Throw on whatever veggies you'd like. We sauteed some mushrooms, threw on some red peppers and yellow zucchini, and opened up a delicious bottle of red wine.

The mix of lemon juice and goat cheese on this pizza is truly awesome. Go eat some.

The Friday Find

Even though we are broke post-grads living in a rather unfortunate economy, Liz and I still make an effort to make our homes as cozy and nice as possible.  This week's Friday Find is all about craigslist, our go-to for cheap furniture.  Even though it takes some patience to sort through some of the junk, you can also find some great pieces for pretty cheap.  They might need some TLC along the way, too, but that's okay.  (We've done our share of DIY home-improvement, which we will post about in the warmer, more project-friendly months to come). 
I've been looking for a desk recently, and this one caught my eye.  $150 seems a bit pricey, but considering a brand new desk could cost upwards of $300 and this desk has a particularly unique look, I think it's a pretty good deal.

Liz found this awesome table on DC's craigslist.  The picture surely doesn't do it justice, but for just $120 (four chairs included!) that is a steal!

Even when I'm not looking for anything in particular, I like to check craigslist regularly just to make sure I'm not missing out on something amazing. :)

P.S. For more about reupholstering furniture, check out Little Green Notebook.  She does it all herself!

P.P.S.  It's almost Valentine's Day...If you're looking for something tasty to make for someone you love (yourself included!), I would highly suggest going here or here.