Lilliedale

I {heart} Paper

2012-03-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I gave you a little peek and my newest art obsession, and since then I have begun to create a whole paper world for myself. Honestly I'm not sure how it took me so long to get here. It's really pretty perfect for me, and here's why:
1. I'm working on an unbelievably tiny scale, I love tiny! I think that's the same reason I was drawn to jewelry.2. Unlike jewelry fabrication, this is nearly free! Paper is so cheap and I currently have a ridiculous back stock of pretty papers to play with.3. It's tedious, quiet, takes a lot of planning, and uses mostly recycled elements. check ,check,check and check! I love 'em all!
Besides the hunch back I'm developing from hunkering over my work table for hours on end I couldn't be happier with my new found love, and I got a few really exciting projects in the works.

Here is the anniversary gift I made for Jess, It's a line from one of my favorite Sublime songs. I just love how bright and colorful it is, and I can't wait to hang it in our room next to our other cheesy lovey art.

A tiny book page stage awaiting it's cast, which are still in pieces all over my desk

and most recently, two familiar, albeit still faceless little biscuits and one tiny pair of magic toilet paper tube binoculars!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! If you are celebrating Dr.Seuss' birthday, I hope you get to enjoy your green eggs and ham or roast beast, or who pudding or at least a good book! We'll be reading Mcelligot's Pool!

& Paper love

Chocolate soup for two

2012-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I announced to Jess that for our anniversary we would be having chocolate soup. Now if you think for one second that in this home dessert proclamations are not made months in advance, and then eagerly anticipated you'd be wrong, terribly wrong. There are a lot of great recipes out there that call for all sorts of thickening agents such as flour, corn starch or egg yolks but for ours I wanted a simple cream and chocolate mixture. I decided to use flour since I did not want to bother tempering eggs and I was out of corn starch. Feel free to adjust it to your specific needs, or even omit the thickener all together. The result something more than hot chocolate but less than pudding and entirely decadent to the last spoonful. That being said, I'd like to warn you that it probably has about a gazillion calories in it, but you'll savor every last one of them!

Chocolate soup for two4-5 oz. of good quality chocolate bars of your choice chopped ( I chose a 70% dark and a milk)1/2 c. heavy cream1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk1 1/2c. milk1/4 vanilla bean splitpinch of salt2 tsp. flour or corn starch(optional for thickening)10-20 hazelnuts cracked and toasted for topping
for the hazelnut whipped cream:3/4 c. very cold heavy whipping cream1 tbsp. powdered sugar1/2 tsp. pure hazelnut extract
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan combine milk, cream, sweet con milk and vanilla bean split with seeds scraped and added to the milk. Heat over medium flame just until it begins to bubble around the edges (not boiling) Turn off heat, cover and allow to steep for 10-15 min.While the cream mixture is steeping mix up the hazelnut cream by whipping heavy cream and powdered sugar on high. Just as mixture starts to thicken add hazelnut extract and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. (I prefer to over whip my whipped cream for a stiffer texture). Place whipped cream into the fridge until ready to use.Once the cream mixture has steeped return it to medium-high heat, add flour and stir constantly until it is very hot but not boiling and thicker in texture. turn off heat and add chopped chocolate and stir until well combined.Pour into bowls, top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted hazelnut and grated chocolate.Enjoy!

There are so many variations here. you could add any kind of chopped dried fruit, or nuts or coffee or even a little of your favorite liquor. Maybe the best part of this recipe is that you can freeze any leftovers in ice cube trays and blend the chocolatey cubes with a little milk to make the best milk shake ever! The options are dizzying, I'm out of control, I know!

& velvety chocolate soup

I wish you love

2012-02-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

Romantically speaking I could care less about Valentine's Day, but when it comes to the kiddos it's a whole different story. As a child it was one of my favorites with all the hand made paper doodads and candy. I mean really those are still 2 of my favorite things!

This year my wee men and I made cookie pops to pass out at school. The perfect little treat for kiddos, this valentine is a little more work than just taping prepackaged candy to a card but I think it's a whole lot cuter too!

all you need is some sandwich cookies, white chocolate, lollipop sticks and some red food coloring or sprinkles!

Never, ever, before have I said this, but please buy real Oreos! I bought the Newman's organic cookies, and those delicate little boogers crumbled in my hands as I tried to put the sticks in them.

poke your lolli stick into the creme filling and lay on a parchment covered cookie sheet

here's all my cookie pops ready to be enrobed

what you can't see here is the 3 or 7 cookies I threw at my wall in a cookie shattering rage

Melt your chocolate (we used white, it's Orion's favorite) in a glass bowl in 30 second increments in the microwave until its smooth and ready for dipping.

Carefully coat the cookies in the chocolate and return to the parchment covered cookie sheet to cool. Top with sprinkles while the chocolate is still melty, my little helpers did all the sprinkling.

I have no pictures of this since my hands were also coated in chocolate the entire time, oh well you get the idea, right?

Allow pops to cool to room temperature before packaging. We used sandwich bags with the zipper cut of and tied them with some cute red baker's twine. Super easy and super cute!

Enjoy!

I'm off to help out with class parties but before I go I'd like to wish you love and peace and big hugs from your loved ones today and everyday!

remember you are loved!

my paper heart

2012-02-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

It's really no secret that I've been pretty down lately. Chronic health issues start to wear on a girl, and the truth be told I should probably talk to a therapist about all of this. (since I'm sure you are all sick of hearing about it) But no amount of talking will make all my problems disappear, so instead I've turned to the only therapy I'm comfortable with, art. I can sit in the quiet of my mind and create beautiful things, perfect things. Here are a few beautiful and perfect things that I am finding very inspiring right now. Thanks to the all encompassing super powers that are Pinterest I have found many incredible artists to set me dreaming.

All the above images are from my 'Paper Skies' board on Pinterest, except the last one which is mine, I'll show you more in a few days :)

have a great day lovies!

& free therapy

Wash and wear

2012-01-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

Well hello there! I'm back and beginning the new year by finally finishing up all my half done projects. I'm not much for resolutions but I have decided that it is high time I tie up all my loose ends!Just about every room of our home has some tweak that remains to be done whether it's touching up a paint job, adding knobs to furniture, or just some serious organization. There is one really big project we are hoping to finish/open a whole new can of worms on soon. You see, I've shown you my renovated kitchen but I've never shown you the shameful other half.

Yes, yes that is a door with a dryer in front of it, with a hot water heater next to it, with the washer next to that! Glamorous, I know!
Yep, our laundry is in our kitchen, our already ridiculously small kitchen, and it seems that no amount of pathetically dehydrated house plants can make it look any better. I watered those right after I took that picture I swear! Why our laundry is not in our garage, which is conveniently located next to the bedrooms, I could not tell you. My best guess is that the fella that designed this house in the 50's, hated his wife and wanted her to suffer as much as possible with a terrible kitchen and laundry area. But it get's even better (or worse really)...the reason that dryer is in front of a door is because that door used to open up to a rickety 2nd story deck, that was then torn down. Now the door it just opens up to a 12 foot drop to the ground below. With 2 little ones in the house we decided that until we could afford to re-build our deck that it would be a good idea to just block it off all together.So here these have sat since we renovated the kitchen in the hopes of someday moving to their new home in the garage. Not that the garage is a much more glamorous option, but in our tiny little home there is just no room for a real laundry room.

like this one from here, *sigh*

Currently we are in the middle of relocating the laundry out to the garage which is only a few steps down the hall from the bedrooms, and I will finally have a laundry sink (thanks, Honey!)After the washer and dryer are snug in their new home we will be removing that huge beast of a hot water heater and installing a gently used high end on demand water heater we picked up off craigslist a few months ago. The best part about our new hot water heater is that it is installed on the outside of the house. Thus eliminating the need for venting and freeing up loads of space.Next we plan to rebuild the deck just outside the door, and install a fancy new door with a large window panel in it.Since we currently have no pantry in our kitchen the plan is to remove those upper cabinets and build in a large pantry unit. We are also considering just buying a large hutch like piece of furniture and placing it there as a pantry. Honestly it's pretty hard to imagine what I'd like to do with the space so long as those hulking machines are there, but hopefully they'll be settled in to thier new home by hte end of this week. So that's what we have been up to, and will be up to for a while. What have all of you been up to?

& Perkier plant life

Home again, Home again

2012-01-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

We are home from Hawaii and only slightly disgruntled to have to get back to everyday life. Our trip to the big island with my in-laws was wonderful to say the least! I'll spare showing you tons of pictures and only show half a ton. Clearly I really enjoyed the trip, but what makes me the happiest is that the hubs (who never wanted to go to Hawaii) is already ready to go back!
We decided to not take our kids this time and instead had Gramma come and stay with them. Being so far from them was hard but knowing that they were safe and sound with someone who loves them definitely makes it easier. Gramma is the real hero of this story, so thanks again mommma!

While we were there we relaxed on nearly every beach we could find

We took in some sights

This was my favorite sight of all!

We hiked down from here all the way down into the Waipi'o Valley

And played on the black sand beach

we took in a few beautiful waterfalls

My momma-in-law and I searched for shells, beach glass and heart shaped rocks

We played in the beautiful rivers

We took a day trip over to the volcano

Which we pretty much had to do since this guy's a geologist!

(which also meant that we broke the rules and took a few small examples of the different kinds of lava rocks to show the boys, but it's strictly educational so you won't tell right? )

we checked out all the craters

and literally ran through the wet and drippy Thurston Lava Tube!

and then took a moment to meditate on the sea arch at the end of the park road. which was without a doubt my favorite part of the whole trip.

And ended everyday on the beach with a cold drink watching the sunset!

Now that we are home I am having a really hard time getting back to normal life, although I'm overjoyed to have my babies back. Last night was my first shift back to work and it was rough to say the least!

I'm also pretty bummed that I can no longer go to the farmer's market and buy bag loads of tropical fruit.

How awesome are those apple bananas?!

& Big Waves!

Hawaii Bound!

2012-01-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

So long Blogland! I'll be lounging in the sand and sun for the next few days!Love ya!

Via Pinterest

& Umbrella shaded beverages

Let's Catch up

2012-01-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Good morning my friends, I hope the day finds you all doing well. I am happy to say I am finally back to my old self and scheming up all sorts of new projects for me and the Mr. I've decided today would be a great day for all of us to catch up. Our Holidays were pleasant, albeit the same hectic pace that they always are. I am so tired of traveling for the holiday. Each year we alternate whose family we will spend Christmas with and each year I swear that the next one will be spent in our own home. But even I know myself better than that. If we were to stay home we would only wake Christmas morning to find ourselves longing to be nearer to our family. Next year we are to spend the week with my husband's family but in lieu of cramming all four of us into what may be the smallest guest room known to man I have decreed that we will be renting a vacation house of our own for the week. There are so many cute little vacation cabins in their town that we should be able to find a happy compromise between having our own space to build our own traditions and being able to spend quality time with our loved ones.Do any of you spend the holidays away from your own home? Oh how I wish we lived near ANY of our family!
How is everyone's New Year been thus far. I am happy to report that I have not managed to screw mine up yet, so that's good news. Did you know that my wonderful hubs and I will be jetting off for Hawaii in just a few days? Do you also know how utterly depressing it is to be trying on bikinis right after the holidays?! well it is very depressing indeed. Nevertheless my very white thighs and I are bound to have a great time.We have never been anywhere tropical together and I am so super ecstatic, and only a teensy bit nervous about being on an entirely different land mass than my children who will be with Gramma. I am just certain that they will both come down with the flu as we leave or something else that will make me feel like a reptile of a mother for the whole trip.The kids are bummed they were not invited but we've promised to bring back lots of presents.

Speaking of presents here is the little white owl I made Mason for Christmas. He was a big hit and he is now in the honored place of being one of the 5 babies Mason has to have to go to sleep. I also made a kitty for my niece and a frog for my nephew, which I of course forgot to take pictures of. He knew right away that it was the little white owl from his favorite story and is still telling us thank you for it, so I think it was well worth it!
Well, I'm off to get the boys to school then to spend some time on the elliptical undoing all that Christmas Cheer before we jet off this Friday. I hope you all have a great day! & Tan lines!

On Owls and greiving

2011-12-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed, my darling friends, that I've been away for some time. There's a lot I could say but for now I'll just say that I've lost a friend, and very nearly lost another. Death is always a difficult truth to accept, but when someone so young and joyful goes it's a lot harder to fight back the bitterness of one's grief. Needless to say it's been hard to get excited about the holidays, and even harder to get anything done. My heart is heavy and my hands are idle. I am allowing myself to explore this place and patiently I'm awaiting the return to my usual creative exuberance. There is still the joy of the holidays ringing in our home but on a much smaller scale than years past. The hubs and I agreed to simplify our holiday this year by scaling back the amount of gifts we do. A usual holiday tradition for us is to hand-make as many gifts as we can. Currently Mason is obsessed with the book, The Little White Owl, which is adorable story of a friendly little owl.

He has already worn his copy out!

Via buttonbirddesigns

When I saw this little Owlie at button bird designs I just knew that I would have to make an all white one for my little buddy, so that's what I'm doing today.

What gifts do you like to make by hand for your loved ones?

& health to all of you

Lilliedale Shop

2011-11-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends, I am enjoying the peace and serenity of a very foggy morning here on the coast and I wanted to share a few things with you...

Lilliedale will now be offering items for sale through Etsy. I know, I know I'm about 3 years late to the party, but better late than never, right?... Today I'm working on new listings for my Esty shop and will soon set up a link on my sidebar, somewhere over there-------------------------------------------------------->If any of you are Etsy sellers I'd love to hear your most valuable advice, so please tell me all about your experiences.
It is only Monday, and already my week has had it's up's and down's. I am busily creating a few custom orders(Yay!) and am trying out a new medication for my Crohn's that so far makes me feel pretty icky(boo!). We were lucky to have my husband's parents in town this past weekend and my mother-in-law and I got to spend an entire child free day shopping all the thrift and antique shops here in town. I have definitely been struck by the holiday bug and have all sorts of great ideas to share with all of you in the coming weeks.
To celebrate the opening of my new Etsy shop I will be doing a giveaway to be announced later this week, so stick around to find out more on that.

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend, it sure was sunny and warm here which has since been replaced but a cold autumn fog!

on the new horizon

No pretty pictures, just gratitude

2011-11-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

Today is veteran's day, and unfortunately my veteran has to work. It's not fair really, I think all service men and women should get it off it as a national holiday, I mean school children and bankers get it off and they didn't even have to go through basic training. But you know, those vets they don't really complain about having to work their holiday. After all that's what they do right, they work so the rest of us can go on with our daily lives.

There are quite a few veteran's in my life, some went around the world to serve and some never left the states. Some went into the service to expand their future and some had no choice, leaving their homes to fight in a war they may or may not believe in.
Some may be marching in a fading parade today,or reminiscing with fellow vets over a pint in their sleeveless BDU's.Some may be alone with their terrifying memories of jungles, deserts and other far away lands.Some may even just go about their regular day with hardly a thought for the time they gave.
What ever your experience was in the service, I hope you feel appreciated today and everyday for your willingness to give. I am grateful for you, all of you.
on earth, please.

A busy little bird

2011-11-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

I have been zipping around my studio for the past few weeks and despite this ridiculous head cold that we all have, I am slowly making progress on my winter collection for my boutique. This year I have a few fun new partners that will be doing the boutique with me so at least I don't feel as stressed out as I did last year. Much like last year I am planning on listing whatever is left after the boutique sale on Etsy. Yeah, except there was nothing left after my sale last year, not that I'm complaining. :) Never you fear my dear, this year I am making a lot more loot!
Also, I will do custom orders on pretty much anything your little heart desires. So if you see something you'd love to have just email me and we can work it all out.This year is still all about re-imagining used goods into beautiful new items. I am focusing on a few of my favorite things in particular this year nature, typography, and Glitter!Here's just a peek at what these mitts are cranking out this year

Well I'm off to sip some tea, layer some more paint in my hair and make some more creations!

Have a beautiful day!

& pretty birds

Left over, not left out!

2011-11-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

We always have leftovers, it's a sickness really because If we do not have leftovers I feels as though I did not prepare enough food. In this house we cook about 3 nights a week and feed off our leftovers the other 4 days. So If we eat all of a meal that means we have nothing for the next few days. Now before you feel sorry for my hubby and kids I suppose I should tell you that I usually remix the leftovers into an entirely new dish, so it's not as they are eating the same thing day after day. Also, much like any good restaurant, I usually have some sort of leftover soup or stew in the fridge for a quick meal. So often on leftover nights you have a choice of a a main dish or soup. Today (rather than fold laundry and finish painting my chest of drawers like I should) I want to talk about 2 very delicious leftovers I have in the fridge Aacheesy bechamel sauce and some whipped acorn squash. The bechamel is left over from some cheesey cauliflower, and the whipped squash is from last night when we had a mini thanksgiving dinner. Tonight I'm going to combine them with some delicious noodles and make Acorn Squash Mac'n Cheese.Now I know what you're thinking, and yes I do have a decided bias towards all foods rich and comforting this time of year. This is the season where I let loose and really enjoy cooking. It's finally cool enough to want to run the oven and I'm gonna make up for those few months when it wasn't!
Savory Whipped Acorn Squash

1 or 2 acorn squash1/2 c. Milk2 Tbsp. Butter1/2 tsp Garlic Salt1/2 tsp Cumin powderSalt & pepper to tasteI'm starting with the whipped squash we had for dinner last night, which is not only tasty but also pretty darn healthy. I bought these locally grown organic squash for $1 each, can't beat that! Slice it in half and remove the seeds. Then you may either wrap the 2 halves tightly in plastic wrap and microwave until soft or place the 2 halves cut side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until soft. For this I chose to bake my squash as I already had my oven going for the bird. Once the squash is soft scrape it into a bowl add a little hot milk, cold butter, salt, pepper, and garlic salt and cumin powder beat on high until smooth like mashed potatos.I used about 1/2 milk and 2 tbsp butter. Now enjoy your whipped squash but be sure to save some for the Mac'n Cheese!
Acorn Squash Mac'n Cheese

1 lb.Good quality pasta rigitoni, elbow or penneLeftover whipped Squashbechamel sauceextra cheese to sprinkle on topbread crumbs (optional, but I like panko)
For the cheesy bechamel:3 tbsp.Unbleached flour3 tbsp. Butter2 c. Milk 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped1 clove of garlic chopped finely1/2 c. grated cheese of your choice (I used sharp cheddar)1/4 tsp. smoked paprikaSalt & Pepper to taste

To make the bechamel you first make a light roux by browning the flour and butter in a sauce pan. It takes only a few minutes to reach a nice golden brown that helps enrich the flavor of the sauce.

Then toss in the onions and garlic and cook just until they have softened.

Next add in milk and allow to simmer of a few minutes.

The flour will cause the sauce to thicken. Add in cheese and spices and stir to combine.

Lastly add the cooked squash and stir until it is combined. cook the sauce just long enough to get it hot

Remove from heat and pour onto boiled pasta.

Spoon pasta into baking dish and sprinkle lightly with cheese and bread crumbs. Rather than bake an already cooked and hot pasta dish I like to just put it under the broiler for a few minutes.

Remove from Hot oven and enjoy!

I served my Mac'n cheese with some yummy sauteed kale and the kiddos gobbled it all up! In fact I'm not sure they even knew that there was squash in it at all so this might be good if you have veggie squeamish little ones. What recipes do you enjoy adding autumnal ingredients to? I'd love to try a few of your favorite fall foods, so feel free to share.

& Cheesy Sauce

Please take my card

2011-11-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today I'm thinking about our Christmas card.Yes, yes it is only the 3rd day in November, and Yes it does seem pretty kooky to be planning Christmas before we've even finished eating all our Halloween candy, but hey, it's who I am. Every year I hunt and search for the perfect Christmas card. Something that best represents our little family to all of our friends and loved ones. I am not alone in this and I know that many of you probably also spend hours on your holiday card. This year I am using Tiny Prints for my holiday cards. I love how their website makes it simple to narrow your search and to keep a list of your favorite designs. While I have not decided which will actually be the one I will share a few of my favorites...
My criteria for our card is as follows:1. Must say Peace on it somewhere (Ya know, that's kinda my thing!)2. It must be unique, I don't want it on Gramma's mantle with others that are the same!3. Since we only put photos of the boys on it it must represent where they are in life, no stodgy card for my rowdy little ones!4. It must be something frame-able, As I frame one every year and display them in consecutive order in our home

I like this one because lot's of pictures means less stress over getting 1 perfect shot

This one has the whimsy I love and it would go well with a B&W photo

I love the saying on this one and I especially love the shape, I know a few grandparents who would love to hang this on their tree!
In the end I think that card will have to depend on the picture I will have of the boys. I am sorta procrastinating taking the boys holiday photos as someone here has their very first wiggly tooth and I am hoping to capture his toothless grin in this years brotherly photo.
Tiny prints has lots of gift options as well, like the always loved photo books which come in a large variety of sizes from 5x7 all the way up to 12x12

This year I am thinking of giving the boys each a small 5x7 book of them! It would be sweet to include some of their artwork, handwriting and their favorite photos of themselves

or I may make one of these photo canvases for my hubby, Since he already has a photo book!
Head on over to Tiny Prints to glance at just a few of their options and I'm sure you'll find a card, a photo book or a canvas that screams you!
And for all my blogging friends you can go here to sign up to feature tiny prints and receive 50 free cards! I did this last year and had the cutest cards to show for it.

is having your Holiday card finished before thanksgiving!

The Cowboy and the Lego Man

2011-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all enjoying your Halloween. We are back from candy collecting and are all snuggled up with our favorite halloween movies and bellies full of sweets. Speaking of sweets here are a few highlights of mine...

This year My oldest decided he wanted to be Lego Luke Skywalker

So, 1 Costco sized red vines container and a cardboard box later we had a pretty good Luke, complete with black glove covering the hand Darth hacked off!

My little Lego Jedi was pretty popular, he even won a costume contest

Then there was my little cowpoke. His exact words were "I wanna be a cowboy with a rope!"

We had a blast at our annual Halloween party

We decorated cupcakes, read some spooky stories and played a lot!

Then we carved our pumpkins, making sure to save the seeds so we could roast them and make a delicious snack

luckily, daddy was able to help

then it was finally time to go trick or treating

and get some "CANDY" !!!

Happy Halloween from our home to yours! I hope everyone is enjoying a safe and sugary sweet night!

pass the candy

Fairly Magical

2011-10-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

As you know last year I was Ms. Mirriam A.Webster the Diction-Fairy for Halloween.

You can go here for more information

This year I shared my tutorial and am happy to say that I have had loads of people copy me! I have received so many sweet emails from all sorts of people thanking me for the idea. A few crafty people have even won costume contests! Here are a few adorable fairies that were sweet enough to send along a pic. I love to see how each person has made it their own by adding special little touches!

From Devin & Kathy

From Dukes and Duchesses

From My friend Katie who made all 3!

From Jessica in Louisville, KY

This year I hope to see a whole army of book fairies out and about but so far I'm still the only one in my area. I wore my costume to the school carnival on Friday and then to work Saturday night, I know I'm a crazy lady! While waiting tables in a paper tutu and wings wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done it certainly was fun to see peoples reactions. My Favorite was the guy who just couldn't understand and kept calling me a newspaper!

If you are also a Literary Fairy this year please send me a pic, I'd love to add it to these!

Happy Halloween and watch out for paper cuts!

& Popcorn balls!

It just keeps getting better

2011-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I have never in my life felt as loved as I do on this my 27th birthday. As I ease into my late twenties it's hard not to notice how much more comfortable I am with myself than I once was. As far as birthdays go, this year had to be the best one yet.

A few days before my boys made me some new Halloween decorations

thanks boys!

My sweet husband took me out to my very favorite Creperie (after dropping the boys at school). Oh that giant hot chocolate was AMAZING, le sigh!

We came home from breakfast to find that my sweet daddy had sent me some beautiful flowers, Thanks Daddy!

Then Jess got to work finishing making my little decorative shelf over my baking area in the kitchen. It looks kinda jumbled now but once I paint it all a creamy white it will look perfect

My friend and neighbor brought me a warm apple pie, you know you have some seriously awesome friends when they bring you pie! I was more than happy to have them and a few other friends/neighbors over for cheesecake and pie later. It is so nice to live in the same neighborhood with 3 of my very good friends!

Tonight I'm going out to dinner with another one of my favorite girls and a few of my co workers. I'm gonna wear these, my other gift from that wonderful hubby.

Today my mom and I have to get to work getting ready for our kiddo Halloween party on Friday. I also have to finish making someones Lego Luke Skywalker costume.

I hope you all have a great day!

of leftover pie for breakfast

Stencil the day away

2011-10-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week despite not feeling all together well I decided to paint my bathroom. Well, not just paint but stencil my bathroom. I love painting a bathroom because in the course of a day or two you can completely change an entire room. Inspired by Emily's office over at Jones Design Co. I decided I would paint all my troubles away and make my bathroom a little more interesting too.

First I painted the top half of the walls with

Restoration Hardware Silver Sage

I love this color and I got a gallon for $4 when our RH (which was the original RH) went out of business a while back. I was happy about the price but sad to see the original RH close :(

Then I made my cardboard stencil and began tracing my pattern on the walls

Thank goodness I had NPR and Pandora to keep me entertained!

Next with my favorite shade of white

Ace Royal in New canvas

I began painting over my penciled design with a 1/4" paint brush

Several sessions and some pretty serious hand deformations later and I had gone all around the room

The lower half of the walls are now painted white and awaiting trim to separate the 2 colors

Now I could have used a real stencil and my lines would be perfect but I much prefer the hand painted look even if it does get a little wonky in a few places. In this pic you can see a sample of the trim I want to put all around the room. The trim is a job for the Mr. and I've been warned that it is a low priority so it may be a while before he gets around to it.

Overall the room is much brighter and much more fun! I'll post a few more pics after I get the whole room cleaned up and back together.

I hope you all have a great fall weekend!

& crisp fall mornings

Enjoy the ride

2011-10-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hello all my lovely friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours had a few ups and downs, but overall it was a surprisingly productive weekend around here. Although I'm currently battling an intense flare up with my Crohn's, I was finally able to get around to hanging up these little jewels in my dining room.

Now before you think I might have a little problem let me remind you that I work at a restaurant and that's where most of these corks are from.

These letters couldn't be easier to make! I simply cut the basic letter shape out of thick cardstock then hot glued my corks to the cardboard. The finished letters are about 10 inches high and are able to either stand on their own or be hung on the wall. They do, however, take forever to make! Then again maybe that's just because I'm a perfectionist and have to find just the right cork for each spot.

Hopefully I will have some finished photos of the dining room to share soon but I have a few other things to wrap up first, like this darn flare up!

& plentiful corks

Life is what you make it {pt.2}

2011-10-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I showed you the beginnings of our diy chandelier project here. After finishing gluing, rewiring, and painting I am finally finished! Believe me when I tell you that there is no more dangerous thing to do than make a ball out of very delicate wood veneer and then leave it lying around 2 little boys for a few days. Perhaps I was a little over zealous when I had my husband take down our old chandelier well before I was ready to hang the new one. A few dimly lit days later we got it all hung up and I'm in love!
so again, we went from this

through all this

to this!

It still needs a bit of tweaking,

I'm not loving the bulbs but they were the only ones my local Ace had.

I think I'd like to order some round edison style bulbs for it...and a dimmer!

I love the shadows the rings cast on the ceiling at night

now I just have the rest of my dining room to finish!

So what do you think?

Tomorrow I am hoping to start my Frightful Feasts countdown to Halloween

I have all of the boys favorites plus a few new spooky recipes to share

& Pumpkin Spice!

Italiano Eggs Benedict

2011-10-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

Mine started off kinda rough, my car was broken into by someone while in my driveway, I got in a fight with a complete stranger (thanks blogland!) and I had to make an emergency trip to pick up my youngest from my mom's house a few hours away because he was sick.

Yeah, pretty crappy start to the weekend!

but it got better

and it keeps getting better

I thought I'd share this recipe for my new favorite twist on the classic Benedict.This was a dish My husband and I found at a cute little Italian cafe in Long Beach. As soon as I tried it I knew I would have to make this for our next Saturday Family Breakfast. I am happy to say that it is easier to make than the usual benedict with that temperamental hollandaise.

Italiano Eggs Benedict

Good quality rustic bread (I used a sourdough baguette) but focaccia is good too!

1-2 slices provolone cheese per serving

1-2 slices prosciutto (crisped under the broiler)

2 poached eggs per serving

1/2 tbsp. pesto per serving

Toast bread, layer on cheese and place under broiler until melted. Then place prosciutto and poached eggs top with pesto sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy!

I hope everyone has a beautiful day, I'll be at work all day serving breakfast and dancing to the live jazz band!

& crispy prosciutto

A Winning Book

2011-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

I just found out that I won a giveaway from Chelsea over at Room to Inspire
Chelsea is a super-duper sweet blogger who has loads of great ideas & recipesIf you haven't already checked out her blog make sure you pop on over and say Hi!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
& happy days!

First Things First!

2011-10-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Masked Chicken is obviously excited!

Happy October 1st everyone! we are all getting ready to head out (in the rain) to go to our town's annual Apple Harvest festival! Hopefully later today I'll be able to get my Halloween Decorations up before I head out to work, but until then here's a peek at what our home looked like last year all decked out. I hope everyone has a great day!

& Beguiling Foul

Green Beans with Garlic Dill Butter

2011-09-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been trying to find new way to prepare our fresh green beans. There are about a million other ways to prepare them and personally I'm a big fan of oven roasted, but oven roasted takes time and makes a mess. Here is a delicious lite mess way to make some pretty fantastic green beans. They come out a delicious mix of crispy and tender and I only wish that I had more green beans so I could make it again tomorrow!

Green Beans With Garlic Dill Butter

fresh green beans

1-2 cloves chopped fresh garlic

1/4 tsp dried Dill

1-2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

*this is by no means an exact recipe. I love Butter & Garlic so I use lots, use less if you'd like : )

Add butter and green beans to a heavy bottomed skillet. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until the green beans are starting to brown slightly. Toss the green beans around to coat with butter completely and allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes with the lid slightly tilted so some of the steam can escape. add garlic, dried dill, salt and pepper and allow to cook just until the garlic starts to brown.

Remove from heat and Enjoy!

pass the beans!

Book Fairy Costume

2011-09-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Last year I decided I was going to be a diction-fairy for Halloween. I had been making book page wreaths for my winter boutique and this just kinda evolved out of hours spent with a glue gun and rolled book pages. If you have made a book page wreath the this should be pretty simple. If you haven't made a book page wreath then it's still pretty easy just with a bit more reading. Rather than make a new one, I'm just breaking down how I made it last year so if it gets confusing just let me know!
Book Page TutuFirst take a scrap of fabric 3-4 inches wide and cut it to just a few inches longer than what you want the waist to be. You want just a few inches of overlap to make it easier to put on and so there is no gap in the back.

Next lay the strip of fabric out flat and begin gluing on the rolled papers in rows along your strip. I started with the bottom row and went up so the pages with lay out nicely.

For each rolled up section of paper I used 2-3 pages together because dictionary pages are so thin.

To make the paper rolls I like to do a mix of actually rolling the pages into cones/tubes

and mixing in a few more free formed paper rolls. Like this S shaped roll

Make sure after you roll the pages that you fold the end before gluing so the rolls spring out like a tutu and not just lay flat.

To glue the roll down you will apply glue only to the folded part of the roll and then stick it down to the strip.

Continue rolling and gluing until the entire strip of fabric is covered except for a few inches at the end. I did 3 layers of rolled papers but for fuller tutu you could continue to add layers.

here's the 1st/ bottom layer

2nd /middle layer and you can see the top layer folded over to the side

and here's the finished tutu. Once I had the top layer all glued down I went along the top edge and trimmed along the strip of fabric so I would have a nice straight edge. I like the raw edge look of it this way but this year I might go back and add some ribbon along the top edge to make for a more finished look.

At the end you could either attach the tutu with safety pins or fold the ends over and add a cute ribbon to tie the tutu with. Last year I did saftey pins and they worked out fine, this year I want to go back and add the ties to make it easier to take on and off. Also if you are making this for a child you would want to maybe do the ties so there is no fear of poking with the pins.

Dictionary Fairy Wings

First you remove the entire cover from the dictionary.

I wanted fairly rigid wings that would not flap around as I walked so I took a piece of scrap wire from my garage ( you could use a wire hanger) and bent it slightly then hot glued it to the inside of my wings.

next to cover the wire and add some interest I glued several fanned out pages to the inside of the cover.

Near the top of the center binding I punched 2 holes and strung a large rubber band through to use as straps to wear the wings. You could certainly use ribbon here and even leave the ends long so they flutter behind you as you walk. I think that is what I'll be doing for this year!

here's what you can see of the rubber band as you wear the wings. The large rubber band made for a very comfortable fit last year but honestly I'm not sure where this gigantic band came from.

This year I will be wearing this again but I am hoping to go back and re-vamp it a little and maybe even make myself a paper corset or paper wig to wear with it. What ever I do, I promise I will not wait until the last second!

Hope this tutorial is inspirational for all the amazing things you can do with paper! All together this costume cost me only about 10 hot glue sticks, 1 thrift store dictionary (50 cents) and about 2 hours to put it all together.

If you decide to make an outfit please share your photos!

& paper cuts

The depot

2011-09-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well... I was hoping to get my tutorial up for the book fairy costume but someone's daddy was given an entire box of Thomas the Train stuff from a coworker.

Needless to say, pretty much everyone was entirely too busy building tracks and driving trains this weekend to get much else done!
Honestly, there must be at least a half mile of track running through my house. The excited squeals and giggles out of my little guys definitely makes hardly being able to walk around worth it!
Well I better run, my train is here! I'll be back tomorrow with the book fairy tutu how to, phew that's a tongue twister!

& railroad crossings!

Falling beautifully

2011-09-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you look out your window and realize that the world we live in really is magic. This morning while getting dressed I looked out the window to see a fallen leaf perfectly captured by a spiderweb string.

The leaf magically danced and spun in the wind hanging by a single silken thread.

These are the moments that cannot be staged or made by anyone other than the supreme perfectionist, nature.

Completely random congruity is the only explanation.

Floating perfectly at eye level as I feverishly snapped photos. Then the breeze picked up, and then just as effortlessly as it apparated the string broke and the leaf drifted slowly to the ground.

There is something inexplicably mystical to behold such a fleeting miracle.Nature is the ultimate installation artist!

go outside and enjoy!

Life is what you make it {pt.1}

2011-09-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

So why not make as much of your life as you can? When we began remodeling our first and current home we decided to use as many re-purposed items as possible and to hand make as much of it as possible. So far I'd say we've really done great rethinking traditional products on new applications. We have made our own light fixtures, counter tops, floors,cabinets, furniture, and so much more.For nearly 3 years I have wanted to diy a chandelier for our dining room. Believe me when I say that the current one isn't really as bad as it could be but it has just never fit in the style of our home and certainly doesn't make a statement. I have been looking for one of those ugly old 80"s light fixtures for about 2 years and just last week we were able to get one off craigslist. Seriously, I waited 2 years for this...

Yep, 2 years! I know, I know it looks like it needs to go back from whence it came but after removing the ummm...interesting glass shade I was left with this...

It's a little better anyhow! More importantly, it has loads of potential. There are so many many things I could do with it from here but I've had my heart set on 1 light fixture and 1 light fixture only for ages...

Something between this and this, both over a grand, and both from restoration hardware. I had seen a few other bloggers make similar chandeliers using laminate edge banding so off I went to the hardware store and bought 65 ft of adhesive backed oak veneer edging.

Because the veneer is so thin and because I did not want to have to look at the bumpy surface of the adhesive I decided to iron 2 strips back to back in order to have a sturdier and better looking hoops. But, in order to have nice smooth round hoops I needed to iron them together in the circular shape and size they needed to be. Just ironing them together on a flat surface makes it so they cannot bend with out the inner strip buckling. I could find lots of things the same size as I wanted my hoops but none of them would be able to withstand the heat from my iron. Lucky for me my man is a homebrewer so out to the garage I went to drag back his giant 10 gallon keg. All I had to do was lay the strips back to back and secure them with tape to the keg. After the first one it only took me about 20 minutes to do the other 5 hoops.

Carefully I ironed the strips together without joining the ends (so I could remove them from said keg). Once removed, I double checked the circumference of my hoops and secured the ends, turning them into rings.

As I mad the rings I would configure the piece to make sure they fit properly

The final piece will be similar to this, but with a lamp inside...I think

After lightly sanding the edges of the rings I prepped the lamp and the rings for paint. Initially I had planned on staining the rings a dark brown and painting the lamp black but after really thinking about it I decided to paint the entire thing black.

Today I will finish the painting and see if I can get the whole thing put together without an extra set of hands. We are also re-staining our deck this weekend so the Mr. has sworn off any of my projects until the deck is finished. I am hoping to have it up by next week so I can include it into my Halloween decorating, we'll see!

Speaking of Halloween, My Diction-fairy costume from last year has been getting a lot of love on Pinterest so I thought I'd show all of you how you can make your own. with just a glue gun and an old dictionary you can fashion a super cute and unique costume so make sure you come back for that.

Is dining under good light!

Ruffle Skirt

2011-09-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

We are home from our trip to Long Beach and our stay on the Queen Mary. While it will take me a few days to edit all the photos of the traditional Cambodian wedding we attended I thought I'd show you the skirt I made for the first day of the ceremony. I made the skirt by using this tutorial from No Big Dill for the cutesy coastal skirt. The only difference is that I decided not to add in an elastic waistband as recommended in her tutorial. The fabric is so nice and stretchy that I decided it would be more comfortable and have a better silhouette if there were no waistband.

The bow of the Queen Mary makes for a perfect photo shoot of my pale gams!

I ordered my fabric from Rufflefabric.com for $20 a yard. I purchased 2 yards but really you only use 1 so in total the skirt only cost me $20! I received so many complements, however my favorite comment by far was when a Cambodian woman walking by the ceremony told me I looked like a very fancy princess, but my skirt should be a different color. When I told her I made it this way she said "it very pretty, next time you make different color, okay?" then she kept walking. You might think I'd be offended but it was totally worth the laugh!

With only 1 seam the skirt could not have been any easier to make! The best part is that it is not only very comfortable fabric but you can also just wad it up and stuff it in your suitcase, so it is even perfect for traveling! Since I have fabric left over I'm thinking about making a few big ruffly pillows for our bed. And speaking of our bed I'm headed back to it to decompress from 4 very busy and culturally overstimulating days of music, food, incense, city driving, and ceremony!

& Pink Ruffles!

2011-09-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Before we head out of town for a few days I thought I'd show you my September arrangement for my diy'd pottery barn shelves. As I have said many times I love to re-arrange my junk according to the seasons. I do not have much clutter in my home so I really like to use these shelves to display my treasures. I'll probably decorate for Halloween here in a week or two so this arrangement is very temporary...Yay Halloween!

via Pinterest

The cork "C" and the painting on the bottom are both inspired by pintrest pictures. The little nest painting was the outcome of my doodling with paint rather than art journaling the other day. I love how the colors of the paintings just blend right in with all my other items. The fall always makes me feel like nesting so I thought I'd translate that literally into my September display. I also fashioned a few little nests out of spanish moss from the dollar store and placed those in mini apple crates. In other places around our home I have hung fall wreaths and placed baskets of blankets and pillows. What things are you beginning to rearrange in your home as our days get shorter and our nights get cooler?

Well I better run, I have so much to do before we leave. I'll be back soon with pictures to share!

& pumpkin spice candles!

Falling into autumn

2011-09-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Although September is usually our warmest month here in Humboldt county, I cannot help but look forward to autumn. I love how things always seem to settle back down from the hectic summer pace. We are all still struggling to get used to our new school schedules and my youngest, Mason, is still having a hard time being away from mommy and going to Montessori 2 days a week. Luckily, Orion loves his new school, and at only 104 students he is getting to know all his school mates pretty fast. We are leaving Wednesday to head to southern California to be part of a 3 day traditional Cambodian wedding. While I am definitely not looking forward to driving to the other end of the state for the second time in a month I am so happy for our dear friends and cannot wait to share in their celebration. I have never been to a Cambodian wedding and am really looking forward to all of it. We will be staying on the Queen Mary which neither my husband or I have ever done.Summer is certainly coming to a close and there are still many things left undone on our bucket list. While we got to do so many fun things it seems the small things managed to get away from us, I feel guilty for not getting around playing board games and certainly for not volunteering. Perhaps, We will have to devote our last few weeks of summer to those 6 undone things.

Yep, still a lot to do!

We have been working feverishly in our yard and last few weekends and that wonderful hubby of mine removed the (and I'm not kidding you) 30 ft. tall bush in our back yard. This bush was not only taller than our house it was also the entire length of it and about 10ft. wide! What was once planted to provide a little privacy was already ridiculously over grown when we bought our home almost 3 years ago. 3 years of procrastination later we have gained back about a third of our yard!

It looks small in this pic but really it is about 10 ft. by 24 ft!

Removing the mammoth hedge was really just the first step, now there is an entire side of our home (that of course faces the street) that has been neglected all this time. It's not pretty! So now the plan for the reclaimed space is to build a woodshed, a taller and more private fence, and maybe even a dedicated chicken yard.

Anyone else tackle a very overwhelming can of worms lately?

& pardon my naked house!

Mamma's little bento!

2011-09-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wanna know a secret...? I hate Ziploc bags! Yep I can't stand them, I mean I keep a few in my house because some things are just zip necessary, but overall any single use packaging really angers me. Wanna know something else, I also dislike paper towels! I refuse to but them and my husband loves them so he makes special trips to the store just to buy paper towels, it's pretty comical really.That's why when I was planning our upcoming school year I decided that all school lunches coming from this house would be waste free. Last year I made a few attempts to keep Orion's lunches waste free but the tupperware I was sending with him never seemed to make it back home in his lunchbox.

After a lot of internet researching I decided that the best bento lunch system for us would be Laptop lunches. The box was a good size and seemed to be well made, plus the individual sealing containers meant that I could send messy stuff along too. The thing I didn't like about laptop lunches was the price tag $40 plus dollars for plastic, Yikes! Luckily for me I was able to find a brand spankin' new one on ebay for half the price. The system even comes with the cutest little fork and spoon and a "users guide" which is mostly about living a waste free and organic lifestyle. Maybe the best part of the whole thing is that Orion loves it and feels really special as he is the kid at school who has the coolest lunch, maybe that's why he is eating all of it, I dunno. Either way I am getting to express my love and creativity by packing an ecologically sensible lunch which is also super healthy, Jackpot!
We are just wrapping up our first week of bento lunches and I couldn't be more excited to tell you that the boy who hardly ever ate his lunch last year has brought home an empty lunch box every day! (well, except for the 1 bite of something he saves for his little brother, seriously, how sweet is that?)While it does take a bit longer to pack his lunch I am finding that I really enjoy trying to make each lunch special. There are so many great resources for bento ideas but I have found that the laptop lunches Menu library page offers all sort of great seasonal ideas.
Here's what was on the menu this week:

Monday

Star quesadillas, Black bean salsa, tortilla chips, mixed fruit & banana chips

Tuesday

Peanut butter banana wraps, grapes, cottage cheese w/ strawberries, cheese pac-man w/ cucumber ghosties & pretzels

Wednesday

pb&j, egg man, strangely long tomatoes, an aussie apple* and a V-8 (the boy loves V-8!)

Someone may have forgotten to put the lid back onto his cottage cheese after eating so his regular bento box was in the wash but no worries glad ware works fine for bento-ing too!

Thursday

Mini salami & cheese sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, grapes, banana, pretzels & black berry yogurt with a few frozen blackberries thrown in to keep it cold

Friday

The other half of that cheese and salami sandwich from thursday, dried cranberries, asain rice cracker mix, tomato and cucumber salad w/ black sesame seeds, a banana and 2 frosted molasses cookies

* The aussie apple is a super cool way of sending a cut up apple to school with no baggie. Simply cut the apple into 4 pieces, put them back onto the core and place a clean rubber band around the belly of the apple. The apple stays fresh and crunchy until it's time to eat.

I hope this inspires a few of you to try out a less waste lifestyle for your little ones lunches. Next friday I'll show a few of the everyday items I use as tools for crafting a fun lunch!

is a cheesy pac-man!

I love school!

2011-08-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

The anti-boring antipasta!

I hope everyone else is having as great of day as we are!

The boy is back and has proclaimed his love for the 1st grade!

& googly eyed eggs!

First day of school

2011-08-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special day! Today is not only the First day of school but it is also Mason's 3rd Birthday!

I'm so excited for both of my little gentlemen! I hope everyone else is enjoying their first few weeks of school!

& Cupcakey kisses!

A Grand Vacation and a busy weekend

2011-08-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm Baaaack! We are finally home from our 2 week vacation to Arizona! To make the most of the last of our summer vacation, my mom, the boys, and I packed our bags and headed to my Aunt & Uncle's sunny home in Williams, AZ. We got to see the Grand Canyon, a cowboy gunfight, live black bears up close and so much more! I'm so happy to be back! There is nothing like a trip to hot and dry climate to really make you appreciate living on the foggy coast of California! Plus being in the desert with no internet and even worse cell phone reception does a lot to break one of their media addiction.

the cowboy and the train conductor! waiting for our bus ride into the park

bear wrassiling!

I take them all the way to the grand canyon and their favorite part is the bus rides around the park!

Go figure!

Cutest engineer ever!

Taking in the early morning view at the Grand Canyon!

And what did my dreamboat husband do with all that time to himself...?

Install my solartube skylights of course! thanks honey for crossing almost everything off your honey-do list!
With both Mason's 3rd Birthday and School starting on Monday we certainly cut it close and have a very busy weekend ahead of us but we sure had a blast! Orion will be starting 1st grade at the brand new charter school in town and we are both very excited to see what's in store for the coming school year. Be back soon with some back to school fun!
& happy road trips!

Shut the front door...

2011-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Last week while driving up to my house I decided I'd had enough. My deep red door was bringing me down and had to go. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a classic red door, but I was just tired of seeing red everytime I walked through my door.

The door had been painted by the previous owners and could have used a few more coats when they did it. Combine that with the fact that it was dingy and scratched up it was neigh time for a fresh coat. So out came the swatches and the strange looks from the neighbors as I sat on the curb staring at my front door covered in little squares of color.

In the end I went with Bennie Moore's Mountain Laurel.

Here's my handy tip for keeping the rim of your paint can tidy while you paint

Then you can just dip and wipe on the band instead of the edge!

2 coats later I had a fresh and fun new door. I need to do a bit of plant trimming/re-arranging out here, but the color sure is fun!

I love the way the color goes with the greige walls and charcoal trim, plus it really makes the hardware pop.

Honestly the color did look a bit darker on the paint chip and I would have liked to have it be a bit darker but

I am really happy with the color as it is. I was a bit worried what my older neighbors would say, but just a few days ago I got a phone call from one of them just to tell me how much they loved the new color! You know you live in a ~~boring~~ quiet neighborhood when your door is the topic of neighborly conversation!

& Picky Neighbors!

2011-08-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks! I apologize for not being around much but first grade is looming just around the corner and I have been trying to pack in as much fun as possible before school starts. When last we left off this momma was checking activities off our summer bucket list like crazy. we have just a few left and after we go camping this weekend will be almost done, and with almost a month to spare! here's a few things that have been going on the last few weeks...

I finally got around to putting chicken wire into this old window frame so the boys have there own place to hang their treasures. There room is slowly coming along, now I'm just looking for dresser.

We need a new dresser because this guy is officially potty trained! I cannnot get over how much easier it is the 2nd time! We no longer need the giant dresser/changing table so I'm looking for something that will fit better. please ignore the slipcoverless sofa and toy strewn living space in the background :)

I have been on a "make it myself " kick and have been making all my own jam, cottage cheese, butter, bread, root beer and so on. I usually prefer to make rather than buy but I've recently attempted things I've never tried before, like butter!

I found this blog called The Italian Dish, where the author has an amazing recipe for really fast, really delicious bread dough with out kneading! Although skeptical, I decided to give it a chance and can honestly say that it will forever change the way I make my dough. You seriously mix up the dough and put it in the fridge, then just take it out and bake it when you want fresh bread. I have now made everything from beautiful crusty loaves, to pizza, to cinnamon rolls and not one of them took longer than a few minutes! Honestly it almost makes me angry when I think of tall the time I've spent kneading and trying to make a perfect dough when this is sooo easy!

Farmer's market pizza, recipe to follow in a few days

Cranberry pecan cinnamon rolls

Well, I'm off to pack up for our camping trip. 4 days of tubing, s'mores, swimming, and sleeping under the stars with our very best friends! Hopefully I'll be able to get some good family portraits while we are on the river, fingers crossed!

& Smokey campfires!

2011-07-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to find an adventure, so off we went to breakfast, Costco and then the zoo!

Adventure was had by all,and then so were naps.Now we are eagerly awaiting for our handsome daddy to get home...so we can attack him with water guns!
Have a great weekend!

& loaded water pistols!

Quick fix-Sloppy Flo's

2011-07-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yep, Flo's as in Florintine!

While I am a huge fan of the traditional Jo, I made this twist on one of our favorites out of necessity. The spinach in our yard was overgrown, the burger buns we had left over and needed to be used, the minor amount of spaghetti sauce was too little for pasta and the mushrooms were about to gang up on me.

So whats a girl to do?

toss them all in a pan and cook up some very quick and tasty...

Sloppy Flo's:

15-20 mushrooms quartered

1/3 red bell diced

1/2 yellow or red onion diced

1 clove garlic chopped

Spinach (as much as you want, I used lots!)

2/3 c. Spaghetti sauce

1 tbsp.olive oil

salt/pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

4 burger buns

Sautee mushrooms in olive oil until lightly browned. Add onions & peppers and cook until soft. add garlic, salt, Italian seasoning & pepper, stir to combine. Add spinach and cover stirring occasionally until spinach is cooked down. Add sauce and Parmesan cook until melty and delicious!

Serve on toasted burger buns, and Enjoy!

& Parmesan nibbles!

Tuesday 10- Momma Peace

2011-07-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my boys went fishing, which meant that I had the whole house to myself all weekend. While I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's, it is so nice to have some quiet solitude for a few days to help you appreciate what you havve.
This weeks Tuesday 10 are my momma time highlights from the weekend...

{ten}

Getting to unveil my NEW BLOG DESIGN! Thanks so much to Kim at 733 Designs for doing such a great job at putting my style into a design and doing it so quickly!

{nine}

Cleaning my house on Firday and having it stay that way until the boys got back Sunday afternoon (exactly 5 minutes after they got back)

{eight}

I love you Steve Martin, what a great summer read!

{seven}

These ultra fab gold heels I bought myself, and then when dancing in!

Seriously, I danced my butt off in these and my feet were still happy at the end of the night!

{six}

Saint John and the Sinners

A fun local band, who did an all Fleetwood Mac night!

And the lead singer Christina is 6 months preggo and as cute as can be!

{five}

Sipping my morning coffee in the warm sunshine as my chickens peck feverishly at my painted toenails. I guess they think bright red toenails look like delicious bugs!

{four}

Having my honey send me adorable pictures from their fishing trip

{three}

Watching a chick flick without anyone picking on me, and cyring without feeling silly!

{two}

Not cooking 1 single meal the whole time!

{one}

Not coming home to an empty house after work on Sunday!

Being covered in hugs and kisses and getting to hear all about papa's boat!

What do you do when you have the house all to yourself?

Also, I want to wish my momma a very very happy birthday today! I wish I could be there to make you dinner and watch a Giants game with you!

Peace and cute shoes!

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Via

Water fight, Bike Ride, fireworks & BBQ with friends.

Today is gonna be a good day!

Wishing all of you a happy and safe 4th!

Peace & water pistols!

2011-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning my lovely friends, How is everyone today?

I'm certainly doing better, now that I've gotten in contact with a blog designer and will soon have a fancy schmancy new blog!

Our weather has been gorgeous the last few days and I am so energized by it that I'm tackling all sorts of projects.

Yesterday I started sanding this desk I got for free from my neighbor

yeah it certainly does not look like much now but it's sturdy and will work out great for the boys room. which reminds me as soon as I get the mountain of donation toys and clothing dealt with I'll finally show you the room.

All with the help of my trusty bat wielding sidekick!

I cannot wait to get my house back in order since I decided to clean out every closet and re arrange all my furniture this last week.

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th! I cannot believe Jess and I BOTH have the day off. we'll be BBQing on the back deck all day and I cannot wait!

Peace & Primer in my hair!

Oh the mess and Mayhem

2011-06-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

So this morning I decided that my blog needed a new look...cut to me practically in tears as I royally mess up my blog!
Ugggghhh!
Can anyone recommend a good blog designer that can get me a nice not messed up blog, like yesterday?
I've found a few but they are all currently busy
That's what I get for trying to add a menu bar, which should be a lot easier to do then it apparently is.
I'm looking at you Blogger!
Okay I swear this Hissy Fit is over but you're gonna have to bear with my less than stellar blog for at least a few days.

Peace get off your huffy bike!

Remodelaholic

2011-06-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody, I'm being Featured over at Remodelaholic today!

I'm so happy that Cassity invited me over for the day, I hope you stop by too!

Peace & New Friends!

Sweet Wine Slushies

2011-06-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

I love a good slushy, but the strangely neon corn syrup concoctions that sit mixing perpetually in convenience stores give me the creeps. Plus sometimes a girl wants a more complex flavor than blue suspiciousberry.
That's where my unwavering love for my Cuisinart ice cream maker comes in.
And just in case you do not own an ice cream maker my beloved little churner is on sale with coupon at costco as we speak!

Yes, my ice cream maker and I shall someday conquer the world, but for now I'm happy being the cool mom that makes homemade frozen treats for the neighborhood kids.

Today, however I made myself a slushy, a decidedly grown-up one with only 2 ingredients.

Nothing is safe from becoming a cold delicious treat in my home, after all I am the one who made bacon cookies a few months ago, mmmm...bacon ice cream

Anyways, today I simply poured a cup and a half of red wine and 1 can of squirt into my ice cream maker and then flipped the switch

15 minutes later I had a perfect slushified wine cooler!

Luckly my ice cream maker came with 2 crocks so I can make the hubby and I a batch of these and then make a more kid friendly batch for the little ones.

Peace and Brain Freeze!

Tuesday 10 - Comfort Foods

2011-06-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ive decided to start participating in the "Tuesday 10" parties over at Under the Table and Dreaming, and because it's one of those days around that time of the month I'm going to share all of my favorite comfort foods. I found most of the images on Pinterest and now I'm going to have to cook about half of them, thanks a lot pinterest!

{10} Fried Okra- If you think you don't like Okra then let me make you a batch, mine is never slimy!

(from wanderingairstream.com)

{9} Greek yogurt- This is a good recipe for homemade too

(from Salad-in-a-jar.com)

{8} Beer Batter fish- I prefer Halibut

(From thecomfortofcooking.com)

{7} Chocolate anything! But this mousse looks To. Die. For.

(from cafefrenando.com)

{6} Fizzy Water- My beer brewing husband keeps a keg full of carbonated tap water made up just for me, and I drink a lot of it!

(from pinterest)

{5} Cheese! I might as well change my name to Wallace cause I'm crackers for the stuff!

(from Hautedesign.com)

{4} Doughnut Muffins, recipe here

(from me, lilliedale)

{3} Earl grey Latte (London Fog) Even Orion has me make him a decaf one! maybe with a doughnut muffin...

(From pinterest)

{2} Hot Sauerkraut with sausages. Thanks to my intestinal issues I can only eat this every once in a while but that makes it all the more comforting

(from simplyrecipes.com)

{1} Creamy Polenta with Fried eggs. This is my absolute favorite thing to eat in the entire world! I probably have this 2-3 times a week.

(from simplybreakfast.blogspot.com)

Well that's my 10, now I gotta run, I'm starving! Next week I'll post about something other than food, I swear!

Peace pass the salt!

Our Summer Bucket List

2011-06-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned that our family sat down and made a list of all the things we wanted to do this summer. I have seen a few really cute "bucket lists" out there on pinterest and I just knew I was going to have to make my own.
I started with this old flower picture form Ikea that a friend gave to me a while back.

All I did was remove the flower poster and paint the frame a nice dark blue. Then I flipped the flower picture (which I actually think is pretty cute) over and made my design on the back.
Using my silhouette and a few different fonts I cut out the lettering and glued them in place.
I wanted to be able to use this for a few years so I replaced the glass of the picture and just wrote our list on the glass with a dry erase marker. It would probably look a lot swankier if I used my silhouette to cut out the list too but then it would not be re-usable year after year, unless we do the same thing every year. Plus maybe next year I'll be able to get my oldest to write the list and then it will be that much cuter!

I was able to make this with just items I already had so it cost me nada, which I always love! The boys are already excited to get started checking things off the list, and so am I!
I am happy to say that we are currently visiting grandparents so I'll get to check that off as soon as we get back home.

Peace and prettier posters!

Our First weekend of Summer

2011-06-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Friday was Orion's last day of kindergarten and I wanted his first weekend of summer vacation to be really fun and special. We packed so much into 3 short days and I still worked 2 full shifts at work, really I'm not sure how we did it, but boy did we have a blast!

Friday I spent all day detailing and washing Jess's truck for his father's day gift and the boys helped out. Now that may not sound like much of a gift but the inside of his truck had not been detailed in over 7 years and the outside had not been washed in maybe 2 years. As I have said before he is a hydrologist/geologist so he spends all day getting dirty and driving on dirt roads. It was a lot of work but he was so surprised when he got home that it was well worth it. Even if I did almost blow up the shop vac cleaning all the junk out of his truck cab.

Friday Night we had a family BBQ on the deck with yummy kabobs, watermelon and a few of these which I definitly deserved after all that cleaning!

Lemoncello Coolers

While we ate we wrote our summer bucket list which everyone contributed to...More on that tomorrow...

Then we set up the tent in the backyard and filled it with nearly every pillow and blanket in the house. Once it was finally dark we watched the graduation fireworks from the high school down the street while we ate strawberry shortcake with berries from our garden. There must be a fireworks specialist that works at the high school because they have real fireworks for all their football games,graduation, and other events. It's strange to me but hey at least we get to watch them from our house!

Saturday morning I made a huge breakfast of French toast and linguica and eggs. Then we all got ready and headed out to the river for the afternoon.

Even though the water is still too cold to swim in we had a blast watching our dog fetch her stick out of the rapids about a hundred times, and skipping stones, and looking for neat rocks

and eating chips!

For father's day we made breakfast in bed for Jess (which the boys ate most of) and then I was off to work.

I am so glad that the weather has finally cleared up, summer is much more fun when It's not raining!

I hope you all had a great weekend too and I'll be back soon to show you what I turned our handwritten bucket list into.

Peace remember your sunblock!

IF your Happy and You know it...

2011-06-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Thank a teacher! I know I am!

I was going to make Orion's teacher a gift anyhow but then I read the unbelievably sweet note she sent home for him about how special and wonderful he is (it made me cry!)

So then I knew I really had to make something special just for her...

I altered this canvas tote bag that I bought for $1.00 at Michael's by sewing the bottom corners flat. Then I added a little turquoise flower I made and stitched a real pearl into the center.

Next I cut out the phrase " If you're happy and You know it thank a teacher" using my new silhouette and some freezer paper. I simply ironed the freezer paper to the bag and painted the phrase.Then peeled the freezer paper off and filled my bag with some nice organic hand soap, and organic lotion, and a chocolate bar.

Orion and I each made a card ( I cried while filling mine out, I know I'm silly!) and I tucked the cards into the bag.

Today is the last day of school which they call "Dance Day" All the kids, teachers, and parents dance their booty's off on the playground and each class even practices a special dance to preform in front of everyone else. Orion's class is doing the "Boogie Walk," seriously, how cute is that?

We are off to our very last day of kindergarten, Hooray Summer!

Peace don't laugh at my dance skills!

Finally Summer!

2011-06-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Today I am packing up to tag along on Orion's kindergarten picnic. There are only 2 days of kindergarten left and boy am I going to be glad to have my boy home during the day. I think I may be more excited for summer than he is!

It feels like it's been ages since I've last posted and I guess it has been. Since our anniversary last Friday I have been battling a very bad flare up. It looks like my mission to live a non medicated life with Crohn's/Colitis is not working out. When I left off with my GI doctor I was about to start treatment via monthly IV infusions and weekly at home injections of some pretty scary medications. I freaked out at the idea of such heavy treatment and told my doctor I'd be back when I was sure there was no other option. I have been a wreck all week and even while I type this am tearing up with the sheer frustration of not being able in control of my own body. Despite my frustration and exhaustion I have to admit that it is time for me to go back. I know that's kind of a lot to drop on a lifestyle blog but the fact is that it is part of my lifestyle.
In other less depressing news our weather has been gorgeous we have really been enjoying our yard. Yesterday I watched my best pals kiddos and we played "Mrs. Wolf" and "Simon Says" for hours in the yard. I have to say babysitting is a lot better when we are all outside!
Well I'm off to picnic with the soon to be 1st graders. I've got a basket packed with games, snacks and sunscreen and we are going to have a great day!

Peace and Picnics!

DIY Copper Countertops

2011-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in this post a few days ago and this post from a long time ago we fabricated and installed our copper counter tops ourselves. Before ordering our supplies I frequented this garden web forum. It is a long thread but if you are really considering copper surfacesI suggest you read it. There are a few really great tutorials on there and the last one is pretty much the way we did it.
The whole process is very similar to applying a regular laminate. Basically you are just taking this very thin sheet of copper and laminating it to a stronger base.
As I said previously we used 16oz copper roofing material instead of the recommended 20oz sheeting. We were just very careful not to dent or bend it and it worked out fine. we transported it from the supplier to ourhome sandwiched flat between 2 sheets of plywood instead or the recommended method or rolling it up, cause that's just stupid!

We started by removing all the previous plywood all the way down to the cabinets because the exsisting counter was not level and the plywood had extensive water damage. If your surface is level and in good condition you can just lay the mdf right on top of it. I have heard of people laying the copper on top of laminate but I do not recommend it because the glue is designed to soak into the mdf which it obviously could not do on laminate.

Next we cut sheets of 1/2" plywood and screwed it to the the top of the base cabinets. On top of the plywood we placed the sheets of 3/4" mdf. At the corner of the L shape we used miter bolts in holes we routered out from underneath to join the 2 sections securely.

something like this

To secure the mdf to the plywood we applied construction adhesive in between the plywood layer and the mdf layer and then screwed them together from underneath (ie, inside the cabinets up into the plywood and mdf) But we did not do this until after the copper had been applied, so that we could easily slide the entire unit out to clamp the front edge. confusing I know but stick with me.

For the edges we screwed oak boards into the mdf and plywood before applying the copper sheeting. Mdf is relatively soft and will dent easier than oak will. This is a pretty standard way of doing edges when applying regular laminate. After screwing the oak boards to the sides we then filled and sanded the holes perfectly smooth so they would not show under the thin layer of copper.

We decided to apply the copper to the sides before putting the top on to avoid having the seam on top. If you have access to or would like to make a sheet metal brake then you can just bend it to a 90 angle and glue it down. I however did not want a rounded edge, but there are a few tutorials around if that's the way you want to go.

We cut strips from our large sheets of copper with a dremel in our garage. This step takes forever but makes a perfect cut without warping the copper as shears would. Simply lay the sheet out with a board underneath to elevate it a bit. then mark your line, put goggles on, and patiently cut along your line. Cut your strip about a quarter inch wider than you need so it can be filed down to fit perfectly after it is put in place.

Prep your surfaces by lightly sanding the back of the copper and cleaning both the oak edge and the copper with rubbing alcohol.

This is the ONLY adhesive I would use, it's worth the money, cleans up with water, is VOC free and has a long working time. You can order it several places but I purchased mine and a glue roller here.

Follow the directions on the glue and apply glue to the back of the copper and oak edge and tape into place.

(See how the entire thing is scooted out a bit so we can clamp to the back edge. later we glued and screwed the mdf to the plywood.)

It is best to have a few sets of hands to quickly clamp the edge. The glue allows quite a bit of working time, but I do recommend cleaning up any that squeezes out with a damp towel while it is still wet. As you can tell we used A LOT of clamps, the more the better! We placed another board over the copper before clamping so they would not mar the copper.

Allow the edges to dry overnight before removing the clamps. Once dry, file and sand the top edge flush with the mdf layer. The copper top will go over this so it is important that it is perfectly flat and smooth.

Next we cut the sheets to just a bit larger than what we wanted our finished size to be.We used the factory edge of the copper for the front and placed our cut edge in the back, this is only important if you are doing a "L" shape or long span and have to have a seam on the top. Ideally you want to mate the 2 factory edges together to make a perfect seam.

Notice in the picture above that we had already cut out the sink hole out of the mdf sub-layer. Do this, but wait to cut the sink hole in the copper until after it is glued down.

Prep the back of the copper and the top of the mdf by lightly sanding the copper and cleaning both with rubbing alcohol. We had an "L" shape so we chose to lay 1 segment at a time.

Apply the glue with a roller CAFEFULLY and lay down the copper. Smooth out all air bubbles and cover with another sheet of mdf. You will do this so that the pressure from the clamps is evenly distributed and that the clamps do not mar the surface.

Here is a general idea of how it should be laid out so that the seam will be on the edge and not on the top. Pretty snazzy sketch huh?

This ridiculous picture is because we figured that the more weight and pressure we applied the less air bubbles we might get. So we placed just about every portable heavy object in our home on top of the mdf. It worked too because there are no air pockets under the copper. Also we did not apply too much weight on top of where the sink would be to avoid denting the copper that had no mdf underneath it.

After allowing the glue to dry overnight we removed the clamps, scooted the whole shebang back and into place and glued and screwed it to the plywood layer from underneath as I discussed earlier.

Next, file and sand so that the edge appears to be 1 solid piece. As I have mentioned before I'm a jeweler/ fabricator so this went fast and easy for me. Mostly you just need to make sure that the edges feel smooth and that there is no gap between the top layer and the edge, If there is then you can squish in some just for copper epoxy putty.

I purchased mine at Ace hardware and followed the manufactures instructions for use. this is also what we used to fill the seam on the top of the counter. I simply smooshed it into the clean crack, waited for it to dry then sanded it flush.

here is what the finished edge looks like

See how it looks like 1 solid piece rather than 2 sheets butted together.

Here is the only outside corner. It looks like the corner is sharp but is is not at all sharp, it actually slightly rounded at the point. also notice the bit of oxidation on the bottom, it can easily be cleaned off with a scrubby.

Here is the only inside corner that also lines up with the only top seam. The white in the crack is a but of oxidation that I scrubbed off after I snapped this pic.

In the end we are definitely happy with how we did the counter top but we had to do a lot of figuring and problem solving to make the other methods we had seen work best for our space. If you should choose to install a similar surface you will probably have to do a lot of your own adjusting to make it work for you.

It has been just over a year and I am happy to say that our counter still is scratch/ dent free with the exception of 1 small dent that came with the copper sheet. We have no air bubbles and still love the way it looks is our home.

If you have any additional questions feel free to ask, I'm always glad to share and help.

Peace and a penny for your thoughts!

I'm a celebrity! or at least my mom thinks I am...

2011-06-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Earlier today while I was out and about finishing up a few details for tomorrow, which will mark 5 years of wedded bliss for us I received an email that I was going to be featured over at Apartment Therapy. Turns out that I'm not the only one totally gaga over my cake carrier lamp. You can go Here to read the feature if you want to

Or you can read my original post about my little lamp here

Now with my "I feel so special" smile I'm gonna go frost my mini wedding cake for tomorrow, hopefully at least half of the chocolate ganache frosting will make it onto the cake and not be completely devoured by the boys and I!

Peace and smiley faces

The usual ramblings

2011-06-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I said I'd post my tutorial today on the copper counter tops but yesterday my husband surprised me with one of these...

I know I'm kinda late to the party but I have wanted one f.o.r.e.v.e.r! My sweet but very practical husband just could not get on board with what he called a "knife wielding printer" As much as I'd love to lock myself in my ma'am cave and see what this baby can do I have another baby to tend to. My little one is supremely grumpy today, I dunno maybe he's cutting a molar, but either way my mommy duty comes first.

Also I will be baking my special dark chocolate and orange mini wedding cake today for our 5th anniversary tomorrow.

Grumpy babes and delicious cakes aside, I will try try try to get that tutorial up today...well see

Peace of Cake!

Adventures in budget renovations- Copper Counter tops

2011-06-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday I have had A LOT of emails recently about my counter tops. So today I wanted to share a little bit about them, the up and the downs.
We did our counters all by ourselves, but I am a Jeweler/metal worker who already has all the tools and loads of experience working with metal. Not that you have to be a metal worker to do this but knowing a lot about working with copper made this project a lot easier for us.

I chose Copper counter tops because of their unique warmth and beauty. I'm just not the granite kind of gal, I hate cleaning tile grout, and we wanted a higher end finish than laminate. My husband and I had always admired the copper counters at one of our favorite coffee shops so we decided to look into copper. I started researching, and reading forums, and calling every metal supplier in my county. Here is a list of everything I feel is important to know about copper as a kitchen surface. If you still feel like it's the right choice for you then stick around for my tutorial.

Copper has a "living" finish, which means that it is constantly oxidizing. Anything that comes in contact with the surface will leave it's mark. This gives the counter a mottled depth and lots of interest, it also looks kind of grungy. I love it but I also have to remove everything from the counter, scrub it down with a sponge and soapy water, and spray a light wax on it 1-2 times a week.

Here it is before I scrub and polish it, notice the "verdigris" green spots from water drops. The spots will come right off but see the ring from a glass over in the right corner, that will not polish out unless you use a heavier polish.

Here is that same spot after it has been cleaned and polished, it's really not much different except now it is shiny and the spots are gone, but all the residual marks are still there

Here is the same polished spot but shot from a different angle, see how clean and shiny it is despite that mottled surface marks

You can seal the tops but most clear coats will just scratch and peel off in the heavy use areas.

Copper is a soft metal so it may scratch and dent easily. Mine is still dent and scratch free but I am very careful not to drop things on it, drag things across it, etc..

If you do get a scratch you can sand it out but depending on the gauge (thickness) of the metal you may wear down the surface.

Copper has anti-microbial properties, which you can read more about here, which is great for a kitchen

Copper is currently much more expensive that it has ever been. For (2) 3x5 sheets of 16oz copper we paid almost $500! This was for industrial grade copper, which means that it may not be scratch/dent free.I purchased mine from a roofing company, and the man who sold it to me told me I could not make a decent surface with it (which I just took as a challenge) and he tried very hard to talk me out of using 16oz copper.

Ideally for a surface you would use 20 oz. Copper. All I could get a hold of was 16 oz. and my counter turned out flawless but it wasn't easy. Basically what it means it that for every square foot there is 16 oz (or 1lb.) of copper, this makes it about a 24 gauge. It is thin enough to bend with your hands but too thick to cut nicely with tin snips.

We laminated our copper to mdf using a specialized glue called TC-20. This is the most important part and is what makes your surface feel solid. We chose to use 3/4" mdf over 1/2" plywood for the under layers of the counter. Stay tuned for a tutorial. We ordered the glue from this company, it is not expensive but you do have to order it and wait for it to come so order more than you think you need. you could use epoxy or contruction adhesive but this product is by far the easiest to work with. It is VOC free, cleans up with water, and is relatively cheap.

If you have an L shape or corner of length longer than the sheet in your kitchen you will have to consider how you will resolve the seam. You can have the seam braised but it may warp the the sheets and make it impossible to glue down. We chose to make our seam by laying 2 perfectly straight edges up against each other and then fill the crack with a copper epoxy. Yes you can see the seam, no it does not bother me. Truthfully I hardly even notice it, and the epoxy is holding up really well. To me it was much more important that my surface be perfectly flat and fully glued to the mdf than having an invisible seam.

Here is the seam the day we layed the copper onto the MDF.

Notice how "new penny" the surface looks

here is that same seam today, it is noticeable but just barely.

Notice how "old penny" it looks now

When you first lay the copper it will be bright and shiny like a new penny, it will quickly turn to old penny. If you do not like the way an old penny looks then this is not the surface for you. It will never stay bright and shiny and perfect looking. It is very important to understand this. If you are not sure how you would feel about it go down to the hardware store and buy a small sheet of copper from the K&S stand. Take the little sheet home wash it with soap and a scrubby and set it out in your kitchen, maybe near your sink. Rub your hands on it, put a slice of lemon on it, get it wet and do a few experiments to see how it oxidizes in your home. If after a few weeks you still like it then go for it!

There are a lot of products you can use to clean and wax your counter tops. I tried all of them. For the first 6 months I tried something different nearly every week. To get your surface back to the bright shiny raw state it was when you laid it take half a lemon dip it in salt and rub it on the surface. It will eat away the oxidation instantly. You can then rinse it with water and bam it's brand new again. this is good to do if you get a mark that you really don't like, I do not recommended that you do this more than twice a year. If you do not wax the metal it will darken within a day or so. If you do wax it it will still darken just much slower.

I do not like to use heavy wax like a car wax because it leaves a buildup that you then have to scrub off, yuck! I like to clean the surface with a warm soapy sponge then I towel dry it and apply a light multi-surface wax.

This one said it could be used on wood, granite, or stainless so I figured Copper was somewhere in between those.

I have said it a few times and I feel like I need to say it again. Copper counter tops are not for everyone! I love them and I am okay with cleaning them constantly but there are still days when I feel like we should have gone a different way. I have had a lot of really nice complements on them but I have also had a lot of negative ones, including a few from a real estate agent about the resale value of installing copper surfaces :(

This was one of our splurges in our kitchen. It is a high end finish for a reason, we were able to DIY them for about a third of the cost of having them installed but it was a ton of work and stress and problem solving.

I hope that answers a lot of your questions, and feel free to keep asking. I will try to get the tutorial up tomorrow so come on back if they are still a surface you'd be interested in.

Peace and pennies from heaven!

Art Journaling

2011-06-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Art journaling is something that has always been a dear to me. Even during adolescence while most other girls were gushing into their diaries I was keeping a sketch book. I suppose that's why when I was in art school I never minded that most teachers required that you keep an art journal. Not only is art journaling a very cleansing and relaxing habit but it also helps develop ideas. Many of my jewelry pieces were designs I had quickly doodled into my journal. Now I find that art journaling helps me take a little time for myself, a little time to be creative on a more personal level.
Here are a few beautiful pages done by other artists. There are so many ways to be creative, but art journaling has to be one of my favorites. This non-pretentious art form only requires a pencil and paper, so grab one and let your beautiful creativity flow!

via

This week I am feeling very emotionally raw having spent the weekend at a memorial for a someone who was very dear to my heart. I have had a lot of emails recently about my copper counter tops and I hope to be back soon with a closer look at how I did then. For now; however, I need to take a little time with my art journal. Have a beautiful day!

Peace & pencil shavings!

Spice Glazed Pecans

2011-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got around to cleaning out the closet in the boy's room. It was about a year ago when I first painted and switched their room with the guest room. It has seriously taken me the entire year to get all my junk out of their closet. Today I got up, drank an entire pot of coffee, and tackled the closet. After it was all cleaned out I decided that it needed a fresh coat so I took out my roller and painted it a nice dusty tan. It feels good to finally be finishing the boys room, and I can't wait to share some pics with all of you...soon!

In the meantime I thought I'd share my favorite salad with you. I made a big bowl of this yesterday to take to the BBQ we went to and it was a hit. The combination of Feta, dried cranberries and pecans has to be one of my favorite flavors ever! All the greens in the salad are straight out of our garden and aside from a few strawberries this is the first harvest we had so far...Homegrown organic spring mix? Yes please!

Usually I just lightly toast the chopped pecans in a pan but this time I thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit so while the pecans were toasting I tossed in a few extra ingredients and came up with a simple and delicious recipe for spice glazed pecans. They are not completely candied but do have a lot of extra flavor!

Spice Glazed Pecans

1 1/2 -2 C. Chopped Pecans

1 tbsp butter

1 heaping Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice

1-2 dashes Cayenne pepper

pinch salt

Add chopped pecans to heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and cook until nuts are toasted and the sugar is bubbly and melted. Spread pecans out on a sheet of parchment and lightly sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper, toss to coat evenly and allow to cool. Store in air tight container and enjoy on salads, in popcorn, or just by the handful.

This recipe seems pretty adaptable so if you want more sugar or less pepper feel free to play around with it. I think it would also be good if you added curry instead of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!

I like to enjoy this salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette but it is delicious with any dressing!

Peace pass the salad!

My Girls Moved Out

2011-05-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Before I zip out of here to go to a BBQ I thought I'd show you what my honored veteran got to do this weekend. (I know I'm a slave driver, lol!)

It's been a few weeks since we've brought our tiny chickies home and I bet you've been wondering what they have been up to... which is mostly just pooping and shredding their newspaper.
Yep, the time has come and although I love them dearly they need to get OUT!

Jess and Orion went to work building the peckplex we designed based on a few "chicken coop" internet searches. Basically it is a nesting box upstairs with a little free space downstairs. While the lovely ladies will spend most of their time out and about in the backyard we needed a home that they would be safe in we we leave town. Also, until they are big enough to stick up for themselves they will have to stay safely out of reach of our cats and dog, unless someone is outside with them.

and today we moved the ladies into their palatial new digs. This is not the final location of the chicken house as we have to do a little yard re-arranging. Soon the house will be up against the fence with a fresh coat of stain and maybe even a few flowers planted around it.

they seemed to settle right in to their new home and I think they are very happy to finally be out of their tiny cardboard box!

Getting the hang of their stairs took a little while but they seem to have it down now.

I can't wait until I can go out and collect their fresh brown eggs!

Also for those of you who don't already know, this weekend Humboldt county celebrated it's 43rd Kinetic Grand Championship race. I was lucky enough to be amidst all the fun and chaos at work this weekend where I waited on Giraffes, fairy princess and the like. If you want to know a little more about it go Here and check out one of the the Northcoast's most eccentric and celebrated festivities!

Peace remember all those who have given to this nation today and always!

M is for

2011-05-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Via pintrest

M has to be one of my absolute favorite letters. Not only do I like the way it looks but I love the way it sounds. Like when I hear my little one say "Momma will you snuggle me?"

Yep, I like that letter M, and snuggling with my Masie

So that's what were doing today

Cause there's no M's in laundry, or cleaning, or decorating

but there are lots of M's in Momma & Masie

Peace is rocking a baby

Fresh Watermelon lemonade and a Very Happy Birthday

2011-05-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all my lovely friends, I hope you are all having as great of a day as I am.
Today is Orion's birthday, and in our family we like to make birthdays a big event. The day is usually filled with all of the birthee's favorite treats and activities. Here are a few photos from his party we had on Saturday. we had such a blast and having the party at a gymnastics studio really worked out great!

Watermelon Lemonade

For a special birhtday treat I made up some special Watermelon lemonade to go with our dinner.

1 small seedless watermelon (or half a big one)
3 lemons
Grenadine syrup (optional)
sugar to taste

Remove watermelon rind and cut into chunks. Place melon in blender and puree. Add lemon juice and strain into pitcher. Add about 2 tbsp Grenadine and sugar to taste. Serve well chilled over ice or frozen watermelon chunks.

Watermelon cocktails

2 parts Watermelon lemonade
1 part Gin, vodka, or rum (optional)
2 parts soda water
Lemon slice
Mint leaves
Ice

In large pitcher mix Juice, alcohol, and soda water. Stir and over Ice into glasses and garnish with Lemon slice and fresh mint leaves. Enjoy! You can also mash some mint into the lemonade for a Mojito-ish twist!

Peace and smiling children!

The Best Gal in the Business

2011-05-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

These, my latest addition to what is becoming a very large terrarium collection were made for me by the best gal in the biz. Can you guess who she is...?

Okay I'll give you a hint, I am also blaming her for the rain/hail that is going on outside my window today.

Yep, these beauties were found for me in a junk heap deep in the redwoods.

I am just so happy that sweet man of mine saw these while doing his typical (kinda boring) Hydrologist thing at work and carried them all the way back just for me.

I mean really, old junk glass + stuff growing inside + free = happy dance!

I'll take these over a dozen roses anyday!

All I had to do was take a long toothbrush and scrub the sides a little,

and then poke in a few agate and quartz pebbles of course!

So thanks Mother Nature, for the lovely gift. Nobody does it like you do!

Now I'm off to start baking, cooking and wrapping for a certain handsome boy's 6th birthday tomorrow.

6!I cannot believe it!

Soon he will be 26 I'm sure I will still be in awe of how quickly time passes.

Yesterday I asked him what he would like for his birthday dinner and he instantly replied "Cabbage!"

Really cabbage?

I offered we go out for Teppanyaki, or as he calls it Ninja Chef's, but he wants cabbage and I'm not gonna argue with a birthday boy!

Mossy Green Peace!

Feel Like Bacon Love...

2011-05-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Oh is that not how you sing that song, so it's just me? oh well...

Tonight I am attending a going away party for 2 of my coworkers and I really wanted to bring something to wow them. I have become known for the baked goods I usually bring so I was feeling like I needed to step it up a little...So I made these

A bacony revision of my favorite Saltine cracker toffee treats. Yes bacon, because bacon is the food of the gods and it plays nice with anything. Now don't get me wrong, these can be made minus the pork, but why oh why would you want them that way? (unless of course you are a vegetarian)

Bacon Pecan Toffee

2 packs graham crackers
1 stick butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
8-10 slices of cooked bacon crumbled
1 tsp. good Vanilla extract
1/4 c reserved bacon drippings (yeah that's not a typo!)
1/4 c. chopped good quality dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and lay out graham crackers in a single flat layer. I like to break the crackers in half.
Place butter brown sugar and bacon drippings in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla, peacns and crumbled bacon pieces.
Pour or spoon mixture over crackers and attempt to spread, it's hard to spread so don't get too worried about it.
Place pan in oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until the toffee is bubbly. Remove from oven and carefully slide the parchment off the hot jelly roll pan onto a flat surface to cool. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate and cool.

Once the cookies are cooled you may either cut or break them into individual pieces. Store in the refrigerator and stay away from your scale for a few days. Enjoy

Linking up to Tuesday Night Supper Club over at Fudge Ripple, come on over and join the party too!

Peace and bacon grease!

Cake Carrier Lamp

2011-05-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted about my cake carrier lamp I made for my guest room/ studio space. Today I thought I'd show you how I put it all together. Actually it was alarmingly easy ( I say alarming because most of the time my hair brained schemes are a lot more work)

I found my cake carrier for FREE at a yard sale but I have seen similar things on thrift shops and most certainly ebay.

As badly as I wanted to turn this into a lamp I had a big problem, the inside of the cake carrier is also bright yellow and when I placed it over an exsisting lamp the light it put out could only be described as "Bug Light" yellow, not what I had in mind for a bedside reading lamp. Husband said I should paint the inside, (NO way!) the bright yellow is the best part! I had to come up with another option, so I decided to try making a lamp with 2 lampshades, an inner white one, and my beloved cake carrier top.

Initial I wanted to find a lamp base at a thrift store but I was having trouble finding something that would work for the size of the cake carrier

So I caved and bought this new one on clearance at Target, totally not my style but hey it was only $8!

First thing I did was remove the, ummm...graphic print pattern from the shade as my kitty looked wistfully out the window.

Her name is Meetu, because her personality as a little sister cat is "Me Too!"

Whoa, tangent!

Anyways, because the shade was 10" tall and I needed it to be 6" I removed the vinyl, cut a 4" strip off and hot glued the vinyl shade back onto the wire lamp shade things.

Then I covered the rebuilt lampshade in a light white fabric

I painted the base of the lamp with the perfectly matching yellow spray paint I already had. How lucky is that?!

then with just a few glue dots i adheared the top of the cake carrier to the top of the lamp shade, clicked on the light and fell in love!

Here you can see the white shade underneath the top of the cake carrier.

since I did not alter the actual carrier I can always dismantle my lamp and still have a vintage cake carrier to use.

And over at Serendipity Chic Designs

Bright Yellow Peace!

Fresh eggs

2011-05-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Love comes in many shapes and sizes, the shape I'm referring today is an egg shaped love.

I grew up with chickens and fresh eggs so the last few hen-less years have made me yearn for that familiar backyard squawking.

Although we live on a small lot it is fully fenced and definitely enough bug riddled territory for our new ladies

Of course they will have to live inside with us for a few weeks until they are big enough to be transfered to their pen

what? what? tiny chicken butt!

we got 4 in all, one for each of us

I let the boys each name one...

Jess and I picked Margot and Lucy...

Orion named his Zip...

and Mason chose the best name...Eggz (with a "Z" he says!)

Mason and Eggz

Smooches for Eggz!

Sorry I've been gone so long, but I'm back, and with pine shavings in my hair!

Peace and Peeps!

Easter Brunch

2011-04-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

I hope the sun shines brightly on you and your families as you celebrate your Holiday

Our Easter Brunch this year is a scrambled eggs with emmantalier cheese and green onions, Greman pancake with Kahlua caramel sauce and fresh fruit!

What are you having?

Peace and Jellybeans!

What a week!

2011-04-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

My new porch came in the mail yesterday, I'm so excited!
We have been wanting to build a covered porch or pergola or something since we moved in but currently we are up to our eyeballs in projects and it's just not an option right now. So what's a girl to do? I ordered myself a new porch off Amazon. something like this...

Via

Well it's kinda a porch... well okay, it's a huge shade sail but it will take my currently overly exposed deck and make it a comfortable shady wonderland. Long story short it was less than a $100 and it will cover the back deck and it has a 10 year warranty. I was told by my darling yet fed up husband that I was not allowed any more projects and a covered porch is definitely a project, but this as simple as installing hardware and tightening ropes.

Because when you look like this your not allowed to play out in the sun for too long before you crazy mommy makes you seek shelter form the sun.
That's right, with the exception of trips to the river or pool I completely refuse to put sunblock on my kids! Yep I'm crazy I know, but neither of them has ever had a sunburn!

Tangets aside, I am very excited to get it all hung up, I'm also pushing for a hammock but that idea has been shot down, the nerve!

We are still yet to get dirt into our raised beds, so there they sit looking like empty coffins in my backyard, beckoning to my children to climb in and use them as all sorts of imaginary race cars, ships, and airplanes.
Apparently 1/2 c.Yard of organic soil is hard to find in these parts, which means we get to buy 13 bags of soil at about $10 bucks each! Ouch!

Next week is the boys spring break and they are going to Camp Gramma's for the week. I hope to get a lot of projects done to make up for my lack of creativity this past few weeks. So check back, I promise I'll actually do something interesting at some point!

Well that's about it for the random and mundane news report, have a great day everyone! I can finally breath through my nose and have stopped sneezing constantly so things are really looking up for me.

Peace and cold tea on the porch!

Living within your means

2011-04-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

With the approach of Earth Day there is a lot of chatter about living a "greener" life. Not only is it a benefit for the planet but in many ways a benefit to your wallet. My husband and I have always tried to live responsibly and reduce our impact.
Over the years I have come to find that the biggest difference in attempting a greener life is to also attempt to live within our means and be content with what we have.
Not having the money to buy "New" means buying used. Nearly every project in our home renovation has used materials we purchased off craigslist or at the Resale Lumber store. During our kitchen renovation we searched for creative materials to use not only for their price factor but so our home would exude creativity.

Here is a list of the things I think help one feel happier in the home you are in. Sort of a "Bloom where you're planted" kind of mentality:

Trends are expensive-decorate your home with things you love and forget what's "in"or "not in"
Make better use of what you already have- Paint, paper &mod podge are all cheap and relatively reversible when you get sick of them
Buy used only when it makes sense- when we renovated our kitchen we chose a used fridge but a new dishwasher, generally speaking people are harder on their dishwashers than anything else in the kitchen.
Try to come up with creative materials- Our kitchen knobs and lighting together cost us well under $100 and we constantly get comments on how great they. We have something to be proud of and we saved loads of moolah!

When using creative materials do loads of research- Before choosing to do brown paper bag floors I spent weeks reading about other peoples experiences, mistakes, pros and cons then I made a large sample of it before deciding whether or not to do it. In the end I knew what my risks were and how to avoid catastrophe, which would just cost more money and time in the long run. P.S. it the best flooring ever in my opinion!
If you have out door space, work with it- For me, learning how to keep a yard has been one of the best experiences as a homeowner. Before I took the time to learn, all I had outside was wasted space and chores. Now I am rapidly becoming a true gardener, with a nice yard and fresh organic produce! It is such a great way to connect with nature and have something to be proud of. I have a few projects coming up on that soon!
It never hurts to ask- We have had many people give us very nice things for free or next to nothing just because we asked. Swallow your pride and ask your neighbor if you may have that desk they are throwing out or if you may take a clipping of their prized hydrangea. Most people enjoy being generous and I have had more than a few craigslist finds end up cost less or even being free because I brought them a jar of homemade blueberry jam. I have also taken donations to my local thrift stores and asked them if I could trade them for things I'd been eyeing in the shop. Like I said it never hurts to ask!
Use less of nearly everything- In our home we use cloth napkins and dishtowels, sure I keep a few paper goods on hand but rarely use them. When you do laundry all the time anyways whats a few extra napkins to fold.
Make Friends!- If you want to have a happier life make friends with everyone, you never know what might come of it. If you and a friend are both planning building or renovation projects you can work together and even go in together on materials. Most materials are cheaper when purchased in larger quantities and work can be done faster with the help. Both our neighbors and us are planning on re-staining our decks, together we can share a 5 gallon bucket of stain, application pads and a pressure washer rental and save over $100!
Love where you are!- By far the most important! Yes it would be nice to have everything you dream of but pining away for them just wastes your time. I want a tropical vacation on some far away sandy shore but I'd be just as happy with a day here on the river, splashing with my boys.

Alright, enough of that, it's time for me to live what I'm preaching and go paint my new closet organizer (in lieu of a walk in closet) then go snuggle with my little one!

Peace and sweet peas!

German Pancakes

2011-04-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Crunchy, fluffy, and super easy German pancakes have stolen my heart!

I can't help feeling like this will become a regular request for Saturday Family Breakfast

German Pancakes:

1c. Flour

1c. Milk

1/4 c. Butter

6 eggs lightly beaten

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 tsp. Almond extract

2 tbsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Raspberry sauce:

1/2 bag good quality frozen raspberries

1/4 c. Sugar (adjust to tartness of berries)

1/2 tbsp. butter

pinch of salt

Place in a microwave safe bowl and heat 1-2 minutes of until sugar is melted. stir and drizzle over finished pancakes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in 13x9 baking dish or divide and melt in 2 pie pans.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, milk, eggs, extracts, sugar and nutmeg and whisk until smooth. Pour batter into buttery pans and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

When the cakes come out they should be browned and puffy, mine have buttery pools in the center of them, YUM!

Dust with powdered sugar, cut into slices, drizzle with raspberry sauce and devour!

This is an easy and impressive dish to make for guests. Batter may even be made the night before.

serves 4-6

Next week I think I will try a savory version of this. I'm thinking prosciutto, green onions, and cheese!

Peace and poofy pancakes!

Family Time

2011-04-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

We've been...

Swinging on the swing...

with our friends...

playing in the "Jungle"...

catching up with our cousins...

being sweet for gramma and nonno...

cheezing it up for the camera...

smiling and laughing...

pretending to be scary monsters...

smiling coyly...

getting in trouble for making mischief...

snuggling...

and just relaxing with our family.

Although bittersweet, we had a wonderful time with our family and managed to see just about every relative.

My husband's grandmother had a very joyous memorial with more smiles than tears, which is what she wanted.

Best of all our boys we practically perfect angels!

We are happy to be home again but as always, it was hard to leave. :(

See you all soon with a few new things!

P.S. Can you believe the feet on the left are 1 1/2 years older than the feet on the right!

That's Orion and his younger cousin Colter's piggies!

Peace and long car trips!

Frangelico Creme Brulee

2011-04-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

One of the many benefits to working in a restaurant is that you learn all the little foodie tricks. One of my favorite things we serve is a Frangelico flavored creme brulee. Now if you do not drink or just don't feel like shelling out for Frangelico Hazelnut flavored Liquor then you can certainly use Hazelnut extract or even Hazelnut flavored coffee syrup.

1 quart half & half (traditionally it calls for heavy cream but 1/2 & 1/2 works fine, for 1/2 the calories!)

8 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar (divided)

1 shot frangelico

1/2 vanilla bean split and scraped (optional but delicious!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Bring the 1/2 & 1/2 and vanilla bean just to a boil in a medium sauce pan over med-hight heat. Once cream begins to boil remove from heat, cover with a lid and set aside for a few minutes

Whisk egg yolks and 1/2c. sugar until just lightened in color. Whisking like a mad woman temper the eggs by adding just a little of the hot cream at a time. I usually take a 1/3 measuring cup and add it 1 scoop at a time until well incorporated. Once all the cream has been whisked in add frangelico and divide the mixture between 6 ramekins.

Place ramekins in a larger cake pan and fill pan with boiling water half way up the ramekins. Transfer carefully to oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the custards are set but still wiggly in the center.

divide the leftover sugar between the 6 ramekins and caramelize with torch.

*If you do not have a torch- melt the sugar in saucepan until caramelized and pour over the top of each custard.

these may be made ahead of time but they are always best fresh!

Grab a spoon, crack the candy top, and enjoy! enjoy! enjoy!

***

We are headed out of town for a few days to celebrate the life of my husbands grandmother with our family and loved ones. No matter the age it is always hard to lose a loved one, but it is an opportunity for our very distant family to come together and share our love for such a beautiful person.

I'll be back in a few days...

Peace let someone know you love them today!

My French Country dream

2011-04-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Okay this is something I rarely do, but given my recent day dreaming of moving the family to Europe (which may actually happen in a few years) I just had to share this with you.

maybe you've seen it and I'm just late to the party, but go and look again imagine yourself clipping billowy blooms from your beautiful french garden.

Or hearing the crunch of the gravel under your guests tires as they drive through your front gate

Cooking an impossibly fresh meal while your children run around in the gardens just outside

Antiquing at local fairs and binging home baskets brimming with hand monogrammed linens

Or just simply looking out your bedroom window across the cool misty fields each morning

All photos by Sharon Santoni at

My French Country Home

And I'm just warning you to make sure you've already showered or picked your children up from school before you spend the next 2 hours lost in Normandy with Sharon!

Peace Honey can we move to France?

Make a Pillow without measuring

2011-04-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today I made this beautiful floral pillow, without even measuring!

wanna know how...?

I used a placemat!

I love placemats, but with 2 little boys I never use cloth ones, cause I'd be washing them after each use!

I found these a while back on clearance at target and fell in love with the print. I also bought the coordinating napkins, which will either become large square pillows or basket liners.

Now because these palcemats have a backing you could just snip a little hole and fill it with pillow fluff and be done but I wanted these to match with the rest of my pillows so I chose to back them with my favorite tan ticking from Jo-ann's fabric.

So here's how you do it with out measuring, because sometimes placemats are just a little crooked and it's just a lot easier this way.

Lay the placemat on top of your ironed backing fabric wrong sides together. Leaving about an inch all the way around, cut out your backing

Fold backing fabric over the top of the placemat and lightly iron to mark where your seam will be. Lift up the edge of the placemat and fold it back then fold the backing over itself and iron a nice crease. repeat on the other 3 sides, and don't forget to fold the corners to 45 degree angles.

with all your edges creased your backing should be the same exact size as your placemat and all ready to sew.

Sew about 1/2" in from the edge to make a flanged pillow leaving a hole the size of your hand at the bottom to fill the pillow. Fill with desired pillow fluff and sew the hole closed either by hand or carefully on your sewing machine (like I do).

toss the pillow on the couch you and enjoy!

Peace and clearance placemats!

Quick Tote Refashion

2011-04-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Heres a quick little spring tote I whipped up during Mason's nap

You can make a few too! All you need is:

a canvas tote mine is approx 15"x15"

Similar sized scrap of fabric

thread

and a few cute buttons

I found these canvas totes at Michael's for $1 each a while back. I picked a few up figuring that saving me the time of sewing them together and making handles was worth a dollar alone.

First you iron out your tote

With bag inside out, line the side seams up in the center of your tote and iron flat, like so

Hard to explain, easy to do! : )

both corners of the bottom of the bag should be stacked

Draw a line across the corners. I did a 4" line which will make the bottom of my bag 4". If you want the bottom to be wider make a longer line at the corner.

Sew along pencil lines on each corner. You should end up with something like this

Turn bag right side out and set aside. If you do not want to line your tote then you may skip the next few steps.

If you plan on adding a flower or other goodies to the outside of you bag sew them on now before adding the liner.

For the lining cut a piece of fabric to the width size as the tote. fold in half at bottom. My piece was 15"x 32" before I folded it in half. Fold the top edges over and press then fold over again and press to make a nice top seam. If you want to add pockets to the inside of the bag sew them on before sewing the sides of the bag. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of that.

Stitch sides together but leave the top alone for now

repeat the same corner technique as with the tote to make a 4" bottom to the liner

place the liner in your bag wrong sides together and top stitch the 2 together

Just like that you bag will be finished

I wanted to add a little extra ruffle, so I sewed 2 strips and added them to the tops of the handles

Ruffling is super easy just stitch your strip of fabric with very loose tension. I backstitch just a bit at the very beginning to make ruffling easier.

To ruffle the strip simply pull 1 of the 2 strings until desired ruffles are achieved!

I only added 1 pocket to the inside of my bag, but I did add a bit of ruffle to it :)

And just like that you take a $1 canvas tote and make a fabulous spring shopper

I use this fantastic tutorial to make my flowers, but beware, you'll be addicted and everything in your home will be covered in fabric flowers!

Peace is in the bag!

Ivy League

2011-04-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning friends, How was everyone's weekend?

Mine was fantastic! It was glorious energizing sunshine the entire time and we got so much done around here.

As I've said a million times this is our first home, we are still learning as we go.
This weekend, for instance, We learned that you should not wait 2 1/2 years before trimming the ivy that grows on your back fence.

Here it is friday morning.

It is so beautifully green and I truly love it but it is also nearly 12 feet high on a 6 foot fence! We live on a hillside and have a wonderful view of the river valley below us, or at least I think we do, it has been years since we've actually seen it!

I was able to trim about 10 feet of fence line before the my electric hedge trimmers refused to cut the 2" and larger ivy vines. This is where I called my husband and asked him to bring his chainsaw home from work.

Here is the same fence Saturday morning, back to it's original 6' height.

After being showered with angry spiders and snail guts for longer than I'd care to be we finally had our view back. Did you know that overgrown ivy is apparently quite the ecosystem? I have never had so many species of spiders climb out of my sweatshirt sleeves or my hair in my life!

(Okay, I promise I'll stop with the spiders now, i'm still a little heebied jeebied!)

Now I know the fence looks really ugly now but in a month the entire thing will be green and covered in leaves again. Plus I won't have to worry about losing one of the children in there anymore.

The other thing I learned this weekend is that if your husband somehow gets a piece of chewed gum all over the inside of your washer and dryer(!!!!) he is sufficiently guilt stricken at the sight of you scrubbing it out to build you the raised garden beds you have been begging for.

"See honey raised beds would be really nice here, plus it will be safer for the kids" I said batting my eyes and pretending my shoulder hurt from scrubbing the dryer.

Now, I know my yard is really ugly but in my defense it has been raining for 3 months straight, and I have been hiding inside

a pile of cedar fence boards later...

And you I have 2 almost finished new planter boxes.

In our very small yard all we have room for is a small garden. For us this is the best use of space plus the plants will be able to get warmer than usual during our cool summers.

We still need to add the trim boards along the top and fill them with dirt, but alas, we ran out of daylight.

I'm not sure if I plan to stain or oil them as they are boxes to grow our vegetables in and there is really no point in planting organic plants in organic soil if you are planning on letting a chemical stain seep through into your plants. well see...

So what lessons did you learn this weekend? Are you eagerly planting you garden in anticipation of the years first tomato? Did your spouse do something stupid and then build you something great to make up for it?

Peace and piles of spider infested ivy!

Lilliedale

I {heart} Paper

Chocolate soup for two

I wish you love

my paper heart

Wash and wear

Home again, Home again

Hawaii Bound!

Let's Catch up

On Owls and greiving

Lilliedale Shop

No pretty pictures, just gratitude

A busy little bird

Left over, not left out!

Please take my card

The Cowboy and the Lego Man

Fairly Magical

It just keeps getting better

Stencil the day away

Enjoy the ride

Life is what you make it {pt.2}

Italiano Eggs Benedict

A Winning Book

First Things First!

Green Beans with Garlic Dill Butter

Book Fairy Costume

The depot

Falling beautifully

Life is what you make it {pt.1}

Ruffle Skirt

Falling into autumn

Mamma's little bento!

I love school!

First day of school

A Grand Vacation and a busy weekend

Shut the front door...

Quick fix-Sloppy Flo's

Tuesday 10- Momma Peace

Happy Fourth!

Oh the mess and Mayhem

*Remodelaholic*

Sweet Wine Slushies

Tuesday 10 - Comfort Foods

Our Summer Bucket List

Our First weekend of Summer

IF your Happy and You know it...

Finally Summer!

DIY Copper Countertops

I'm a celebrity! or at least my mom thinks I am...

The usual ramblings

Adventures in budget renovations- Copper Counter tops

Art Journaling

Spice Glazed Pecans

My Girls Moved Out

M is for

Fresh Watermelon lemonade and a Very Happy Birthday

The Best Gal in the Business

Feel Like Bacon Love...

Cake Carrier Lamp

Fresh eggs

Easter Brunch

What a week!

Living within your means

German Pancakes

Family Time

Frangelico Creme Brulee

My French Country dream

Make a Pillow without measuring

Quick Tote Refashion

Ivy League

Remodelaholic