What do you do when this is how you feel?
You turn to a resourceful friend who can direct you to links like
to help prevent this....
from happening again.
Happy Humpday!
Showing posts with label How Do You. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How Do You. Show all posts
A woman I deeply admire has an amazing set of systems and collections. Among them she has collected enough dishes to feed an army in style. When asked about her approach to collecting so many and keeping a cohesive look she said that when she was in high school her mother told her to pick a color for her dishes,
any color,
and simply stick with it.
Her color is blue. And she has stacks and stacks of beautiful mismatched dishes in all shades of blue.
Inspired I came home, took stock of what I loved and decided to pick a color:
Green.
So hopefully someday someone will admire my collection and ask the same question. It is all about steering our passions into productivity isn't it? Do you have a color for your dishes? Happy Saturday!
We love eating as a family, especially now that Kevin is home more and able to participate. One little conundrum I kept running into however was the fact that Baby Love was still managing to get some food on the tablecloth. And with laundry being in the basement and my FAVORITE thing in the world to do <sarcasm> this made me a little more than annoyed to have to keep switching out the tablecloths.
So....I came up with this solution of using a napkin as his place-mat and letting it hang over the side like so:
Pretty brilliant if I do say so myself! And effective too boot. Hurray for easy fixes!
It is that time of year again, time to battle with the printer. Whether you send a family newsletter, make your own cards, or simply use the demon electronic to print your labels, you know what I am talking about. No matter how skilled you are, how many battles you have won with scores of machines, they will still get you. For me it was custom printing inside the our handmade Christmas cards.
Having done this for years at work and home this seemed like an easy, nap-time appropriate event. Two days later I have remembered a little
---- secret ----
that just saved my holiday spirit and might give yours a boost as well. For some reason my printer has a hard time with unusual sized paper and just defaults, over and over, and over. Now I am sure there is a "quick fix" for this, but trust me, this thing has it in for me. Anyways, while it resists my pleading when I use my own templates, it does however behave brilliantly when other templates are imported. So much like my two year old who hates cheddar but loves Gorgonzola, our printer likes imports. That said I have had FANTASTIC luck using the templates at Gartner Studios. Having used them after purchasing their products in the past this little nugget of information popped into my head right before IT was about to explode.
Over to their site, entered the paper size, selected a wedding invitation with RSVP cards in the same dimensions. Downloaded the template, replaced their blanks with my sentiments, hit print and VOILA! Amazing. Not to mention if you are wanting a basic template for labels, RSVP cards, etc.... it is all there.
There are many pluses to having a house, space for an extra freezer is pretty high up on that list. Growing up this was commonplace for us both. It goes without saying that this is not an option for those living in small spaces, like us. One solution we have come up with is space sharing. It works really well for those trips to Costco, or frozen meals prepared in advance for an event.
Here is how our arrangement works. We have always made friends with our neighbors and have even worked to move friends into our buildings. If you find a good thing, spread the word! Our friends trust us and have loved living in the same building as people they trust. Some of our good friends work long hours and don't have time to cook often. So they let us use their extra freezer space and in return we host meals often at our home. Many times using the items we are storing!
In order for this to work you need to trust those you space share with as you would want to give them a spare set of keys to your space. We have always swapped keys with a few people, making sure we are never locked out of our apartment and guaranteeing peace of mind when you think the stove might be on.
This is a great solution for both. A great reason to share meals, inspire creative dishes for a wider palette and no space is wasted! This idea can be used for a variety of reasons. Have extra closet space not being used? Why not let your friend/neighbor store some coats in the back? In exchange maybe they will lend you extra fridge space before a party. Again, trust these people. But as "city dwellers", as our good friend Cari put it, you learn to create community wherever you live. Whether you are protected by a white picket fence or hallway. And we are very grateful for our little community that are so generous with the extra space they have.
Here is how our arrangement works. We have always made friends with our neighbors and have even worked to move friends into our buildings. If you find a good thing, spread the word! Our friends trust us and have loved living in the same building as people they trust. Some of our good friends work long hours and don't have time to cook often. So they let us use their extra freezer space and in return we host meals often at our home. Many times using the items we are storing!
 |
| Family Dinner |
This is a great solution for both. A great reason to share meals, inspire creative dishes for a wider palette and no space is wasted! This idea can be used for a variety of reasons. Have extra closet space not being used? Why not let your friend/neighbor store some coats in the back? In exchange maybe they will lend you extra fridge space before a party. Again, trust these people. But as "city dwellers", as our good friend Cari put it, you learn to create community wherever you live. Whether you are protected by a white picket fence or hallway. And we are very grateful for our little community that are so generous with the extra space they have.
One of the projects we worked on in our week absence was the addition of a table and chairs for baby love. We had been looking online, at consignment sales, craigslist, you name it we searched there. Being that our budget is squeaky tight we really didn't want to spend more than $30 on this addition. After much debate we made the trek to Ikea where we found our little lifesavers on accident and THE table and chairs.
Note: we did let it air out on our deck so the house didn't smell like fumes. Use your judgement on this aspect and don't keep it inside if it is still stinky.
Priced at $19.99 they fit our criteria for cost and were smaller than some of the other ensembles. After Abbey's pregnant self tested out the chairs they were approved for adult use as well. And from Drab and Sterile they were transformed to a pretty Fab little set. If we do say so ourselves.
Want to do it yourself? Here is what we did with a few tips and tricks included free of charge. <wink>
~We found a vintage map that we loved on this wonderful website with all sorts of vintage maps and animal prints.
~After saving the image to our computer we opened it with our favorite photo program of the moment, Picasa. In this program you can make the image into a poster and it will allow you to split the image, which we did, into four pieces.
~Then we printed the four pieces onto normal paper, having the image bleed over to the edge.
~Using Modge Podge
we quickly smothered the backs of the pieces of paper, lined them up and adhered them to the surface. We knew it would be almost impossible to keep it wrinkle free and loved the distressed look wrinkles can add to a finished project. So we pressed some of them out and embraced other sections that became very wrinkled.
we quickly smothered the backs of the pieces of paper, lined them up and adhered them to the surface. We knew it would be almost impossible to keep it wrinkle free and loved the distressed look wrinkles can add to a finished project. So we pressed some of them out and embraced other sections that became very wrinkled. ~Using a large paint brush we spread Modge Podge all over the top surface as well, even the surrounding sections that didn't have the map on them which ensured that the surface was level at the end of the project. Over two days we applied multiple layers, giving a great seal and gloss to the table top. At the end we realized, UH OH. Any wetness, aka spilled water cups from snack time, would make the surface sticky. We searched online, thank you google, and found many recommendations for using a spray adhesive,Krylon's Matte Finish 1311
, which we had on hand. After three layers of this the tabletop was sealed and ready for use.
all over the top surface as well, even the surrounding sections that didn't have the map on them which ensured that the surface was level at the end of the project. Over two days we applied multiple layers, giving a great seal and gloss to the table top. At the end we realized, UH OH. Any wetness, aka spilled water cups from snack time, would make the surface sticky. We searched online, thank you google, and found many recommendations for using a spray adhesive,Krylon's Matte Finish 1311, which we had on hand. After three layers of this the tabletop was sealed and ready for use. 
Shopping at chain stores is a bit of a chore when you live in the heart of the city. I carefully bundle my trips and try to make them as efficient as possible. As a by-product we have also found that I spend less. Surprising I know, but there aren't many opportunities for me to wander Target's aisles and pick up all of those irresistible little things I just know I "need". Or at least will at some point in the next 6 months. The downside is I have to be very aware and active when the things we actually do need go on sale. To do this I have subscribed to some wonderful blogs and websites that carefully advertise sales and codes at stores such as Target, Old Navy, Gap, etc...Today I just have to make you aware of one going on at this very moment at Old Navy.
I haven't shopped at Old Navy since 2006. Seriously. Not because I have anything against the store, but I haven't been near one or motivated to drive out to a location since then. Well in the past couple of weeks I have now made two trips. I blogged about it on my best friend and my fashion blog here, so pop over and take a peek. I wanted to add that even if you don't have the coupon, they accepted the code that I read to them from the coupon! Crazy to say the least. And if you are trying to think of a reason to make a trip I would offer that you can find MANY baby items for less than $3. And very cute little outfits. So if you are like me, and have a plethora of baby showers in your future, pop over and save yourself some money. You will thank me!
I haven't shopped at Old Navy since 2006. Seriously. Not because I have anything against the store, but I haven't been near one or motivated to drive out to a location since then. Well in the past couple of weeks I have now made two trips. I blogged about it on my best friend and my fashion blog here, so pop over and take a peek. I wanted to add that even if you don't have the coupon, they accepted the code that I read to them from the coupon! Crazy to say the least. And if you are trying to think of a reason to make a trip I would offer that you can find MANY baby items for less than $3. And very cute little outfits. So if you are like me, and have a plethora of baby showers in your future, pop over and save yourself some money. You will thank me!
 |
| Diaper Cake Steph and I made for a recent baby shower. |
