Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Firenze, mi amor

So, there's another craft project that I finished on Saturday but haven't shown you yet.


It involves a set of black and white photograph postcards that I found in an amazing Florentine paper shop back when I was gallivanting and reading books instead of working and reading blogs about houses/cooking/gardening. (Wow, that sounds harsh. You know I love my life now, too, right?!) I knew I wanted to save them for something special, so I've kept them safely tucked away for almost four years.

The project:

I started with 10 white 5x7 frames from IKEA, which not only required mats for the 4x6 postcards but also posed an additional challenge: they have no glass plates to hold the photos in place. So, my cousin Genevieve and I pulled a selection of patterned papers and picked out five - in various shades/patterns of red, aqua, black and cream - that matched the existing colors in the room where I planned to hang them. (I also didn't want papers that would distract too much from the photos, and we were lucky enough to find some).

Then, we made custom mats for each postcard. Each paper pattern was used twice - one for each side of the windows, since the set would be split into two arrangements of five frames each.


We attached the postcards to the mats using old-fashioned black photo corners. This not only allowed me to preserve the postcards (as in, keep them safe from tape and glue) but also added an important visual element to tie the frames back to the rest of the room.

(Side note: you'll notice that I didn't make full 5x7 mats out of the patterned papers. Two reasons: 1. Some of the best elements of the patterns were scattered throughout the papers, and the only way to capture the right colors was to construct mats out of strips. 2. I wanted to save paper, and full mats really weren't necessary.)

And, the finished product!


Seeing these photos of Firenze every morning when I first wake up is an excellent way to start the day, I've learned. Having them in matching frames only makes my heart happier.

So what do you think? I'm still playing around with the arrangement, and have a few more plans in mind for the surrounding wall space. But share your thoughts! And have any of you ever made custom mats? Anything I should do differently next time? Do tell...

Sunday, June 27, 2010

creative space

Sometimes you just feel like making something. (Or, if you're like me, a million somethings). You buy the supplies and you daydream about what it will look like when it's done.

But then, you don't have enough room to spread out and work. Or you fill your weekend with other plans. Or you get started, and then you get stuck and you don't have anyone to help you figure out what to do next, so you give up.

That's why this picture makes me so happy:


Saturday marked the first of what I hope is many, many crafting days at the farmhouse. In fact, it's something I had in mind from the very beginning of the house hunt. I fell in love with this basement from the get-go because it just had that creative space feeling.

So I invited some friends over and we put it to use. We set up an extra work table next to the desk, and Kristen and Danica brought a sewing machine...

... Onyx was here to keep us company (and remind me how much I want a dog, even though that's about the last thing I can handle right now). He had his paws in everything.

Jen and I did some serious spray painting out in the garage (you might recognize the carpet remnant from the basement "before" photos). She had some great baskets that needed a fresh coat of paint, and I was working on an assortment of frames.

Watch for these to show up in the house soon...

Kristen's project: a sewing machine cover (from this awesome book)

Danica + an old t-shirt + a bag of lace pieces from MN Fashion Week's annual garage sale

Genevieve's new earrings

Hope you'll join us next time!

Friday, June 25, 2010

flash flood



This was my street about three hours ago. The power had just gone out, and it had only been raining for 10 or 15 minutes. I had just been lighting the candles on my porch, getting ready to watch the storm...



That was when I saw the water start rising in the street. By the time I made it out there with my camera, the water was over the curb and halfway up my shins.


The good news: no water in the basement, and no fallen trees. I'd gotten the car in the garage just minutes before the hail (that's a whole other story - but let's just say, it would have been a lot easier with another set of hands. An electric garage door opener is now much higher on my priority list.)

Some of my neighbors weren't so lucky:


The tree is also blocking one of the main roads between my house and the freeway. Which explains why my street has been a lot busier than usual tonight - although, I hear the freeway was flooded, too, so maybe it's just as well that people couldn't get to it.

All in all, a pretty exciting evening here. I got to meet a lot of my neighbors when we were all out looking at the tree and cleaning up fallen branches in our own yards. The power was out for about three hours, so I've been enjoying the late evening breeze on my front porch, watching bugs on the ceiling in the flickering candlelight and listening to the last drops of rain.


Kind of awesome, actually.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

someone's trash = my new favorite things

I've had major success recently finding antiques at some local thrift/occasional stores:


Not only did I find an almost-complete set of dishes (white! with a basket weave pattern!) for only $10...

But I also convinced them to sell me the awesome black thing they were using to hang tablecloths on display. Turns out it is the side of an old crib.

And more importantly, perfect for hanging scarves on the awkward small wall between my closet and my bedroom door:



Let me tell you - I've been on the hunt for the perfect scarf hanger for about a year now. For a while I was picturing an old ladder, until I realized that wood slivers and rusty nails definitely do not mix with silk and cashmere scarves, carefully handpicked from market stalls worldwide and carried home in my arms. True story. So, the search continued. And I'm happy to report that my drilling and nailing efforts have so far kept it on the wall!

I also found some amazing glass and wood lamps a few weekends back. They've been sitting on the bedroom floor, looking forlorn while I dealt with more important things like haunted washers and dryers and backyard bbq's. But when I made my giant IKEA trip last weekend (more on that later), I found some lampshades for the forlorn lamps. And, coincidentally, some nightstands for them to sit on.

So then I had to learn how to fix the antique lamps. It's actually pretty easy, I learned, so long as the wiring is intact. All I needed was a little WD-40, new lightbulbs, and some hardware for the lampshades and on/off switches.


I wish it had been more complicated - and therefore, exciting - but really, getting the lamps fixed up couldn't have been easier.


And just in time, too. The observant among you will notice some new bedding in these photos, and it's true - I finally got my new mattress and am no longer sleeping in the polka-dotted guest bedroom. Hooray!

But for those photos, my friends, you will have to wait. Just a little bit longer. This girl has some cleaning to do before she shows off the new room :)

xoxox
LG

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

drill baby drill


I've always had a love-hate relationship with Father's Day. I love my dad, but he's notoriously difficult to shop for. So it can be stressful.

But I have a new reason to adore this Hallmark holiday: hardware store sales.

Every thing a girl could want for her new home seems to be on sale this weekend.

Case in point, my new drill:


And never fear, I got a nifty drill bit and driver set, too.

All on sale.

You betcha.

So this year, my Father's Day gift is learning how to do all the fix-it-up stuff around my house... so my dad won't have to do it when he comes to visit. Pretty good present, huh?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Saturday, June 12, 2010

the preservation of rhubarb


Once upon a time, way back at the end of high school, my friends decided that I was probably going to become a jammer. That is, a jam lady.

I never quite knew where they came up with this idea, but either I was destined to be a lady who makes jam or I just liked the name after they christened me as such. Because now their prediction has come true.

I have made my first jar of jam. Let's be honest, they're really preserves, which aren't as fancy (or complicated) as jam.

But I get to eat the stuff on toast in the morning, and scoop it out of a Ball jar. So I'm thinking it counts.

And now I'm going to share the love - sort of. I can't give you all a taste of my delicious homemade rhubarb preserves (unless you come over to my house really really soon) but I will show you how I did it. Because it is seriously easier than pie. Color me shocked.

~ Rhubarb Preserves ~
from Atlanta Kitchens (an amazing cookbook, pictured above)

pick some rhubarb from your garden, preferably with peonies

wash & admire

chop into little pieces and freeze

on the big day, grab a cooking kettle and your frozen rhubarb

find some nice lemons and sugar

you'll need about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
tip: microwave the lemons for 10-20 seconds, then roll them on a cutting board to make them easier to juice

add about a cup of sugar (more depending on how much rhubarb you have, and how sour it is)

mix in the lemon juice

bring everything to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes...

...or until it looks like this! the rhubarb pieces should mostly fall apart, but a few big pieces are okay

ready for loving.

so, has anyone else made jam? I'm ready to hear your tips! I think I'm addicted to this.

xoxo LG

machines on strike

I'm not sure how I killed the washing machine. Really. It just stopped working after I opened the door to add something. I thought maybe I could fix it by unplugging it... but apparently, what works for laptops and wireless routers does not exactly work for washing machines (even fancy new-ish ones).

btw this is not what you want to be doing on a saturday night before a birthday party.

oh and did I mention the dryer also up and quit? it, too, was working just fine...


I'm hoping my neighbors just think I'm hilarious, rather than weird, when I do things like hang laundry in the backyard and play country music all afternoon through my outdoor speakers.

;)

- LG

PS: this all happened last weekend. but since I don't have internet OR a washer/dryer right now, this is what you get. both repairmen are coming today. so.excited.

Monday, June 7, 2010

V is for victory garden


The garden is in! The victory garden, that is. Not only because it will be a victory if it makes it through the summer, but because I have this daydream that during WWII, the person who lived in my house (whoever that was) had a victory garden too. Not that I need a garden to compensate for government rationing or anything.

It's just a nerdy WWII history thing I've always wanted to do. Maybe it's the cool posters - or Molly, the American Girl doll. Who knows. But now I have one!

So what's in this victory garden of mine, you ask?
Well.
  • sixteen cherry tomato plants
  • fifteen beefsteak tomato plants
  • one heirloom tomato plant (japanese black trifele)
  • six broccoli plants
  • six cauliflower plants
  • six basil plants
  • green beans
  • zucchini
  • cilantro
To join the edibles already there:
  • spearmint
  • rhubarb
  • raspberries
It rained on and off throughout the afternoon, but we didn't mind. That's right - we. I had some great help in the form of my friends Dan and Taylor. They helped me do neat things like move heavy planters from one side of the yard to another, shovel out extra mulch and build my compost bin.

But I know what you really want to see are the photos. So I'll stop jabbering:

baby heirloom tomato plant

patio section: before

fence section: before

dirt! and worms, if you look close

patio section, after taking out the yucky plastic tarps and rocks and weeds

cleaning out the fence section


my little tomato seedlings that have been growing in my mudroom since Easter

zucchini



putting together the compost bin was easier than I thought it would be


ta-da!

the one and only time I will be hanging out in the compost bin (but the worm will stay)

patio section - after (cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and basil)

fence section - after (zucchini, beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes)

Needless to say I'm so excited for everything to grow! I get hungry just thinking about all these yummy things...

- LG