A table for Four or More.

We are very excited around here because we can finally fit around a decent sized table. Lately I have been scouring craigslist and I found this vintage beauty for free!

Ok I admit it its not that pretty, but it was free. In fact it was quite larger than I anticipated. I got it home and started to sand it down on the back porch, I was thinking it would take me a few weeks to finish. Then my husband put the rush on it and wanted to know if it would be usable within four days. I had purchased some stain for it already and made him help me finish sanding it. Lets just say he was less than thrilled.

I used a water based all in one stain/finish. It took me a long time to decide on what to use because I had tough requirements. First I wanted it to look antique (because it is) and then I didn't want a lot of fumes in my house. I had to finish it inside because we don't have a garage. I had asked a sales clerk to help me find the products with the least VOCs. I ended up with the water based. Lets just say that I am lucky I have a painting degree because this finish was not to be applied with a rag. I had to delicately and speedily paint it on. It dried super fast and it had the potential to be super blotchy.Needless to say it was harder than I expected and did not come out as perfect as I would have liked. Nonetheless the finished table is wonderful, still has a vintage quality about it, and best of all can fit our plates and our food. A much needed improvement from all of the previous teeny tiny tables we have been using our entire married lives. Horray for dinner parties.
And in the end my husband was thrilled too.

Creme Fraiche

I guess I cant deny it, Ive got a sweet tooth. Most days I am daydreaming of the next baked good I am going to make. I cant tell you how many times I have imagined the perfect cookies in my cookie jar. The sad thing is that when it comes down to it I really don't like making cookies, I don't like all of the batches. I usually start out imagining cookies but end up with a cake.


This was what I made yesterday. I got going with some white bread and then just kept my apron on and made a cake. I tried some thing new and it was heavenly, yellow cake with creme fraiche frosting. I loved how pretty it was, but the taste was good too.

The frosting was really easy and it added a new flavor, mostly a soft whipped creme but with a little zing.

Creme Fraiche Frosting:
1 C Organic Whipping Creme
8 Oz Organic Sour Creme
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Whip all together until it makes soft peaks, makes enough to do the sides and top of a two layer cake ( I like it quite thick, I only made 1 layer of cake and it was just enough).

And of course I couldn't resist sharing just a little of the yummy goodness with my little bubbie.

Recycling at its Best

Yesterday I came home from the grocery store and unloaded all of my items. I threw all of the bags on the kitchen floor and they kept catching my eye. I had a ton of them and I either had to throw them all away or do something with them. Normally I keep them and reuse them as lunch bags or garbage bags but lately I have started to use real garbage bags and they have been piling up in my laundry room. I hate throwing them away for some weird reason, even though I am not that into the "Green" movement. Well as I kept walking past them in my kitchen I kept thinking there was something beautiful about them and if I could only tap into what exactly it was I could do something with my excessive amount. I decided to make a wreath out of them.


It was fairly easy, I tied them all around a wire shaped into a circle. Then after they were all tied I gave it a hair cut. Snip Snip and about a half hour later, ta da.

If any of you have a bunch of unused grocery bags laying around I could help you make one too. I think It would be especially beautiful in white, or better yet that blue that Wall Mart used to use.

My Little Striped Man.

While I mostly want to do some catch up on projects and decorating, most of you want to see something else...While he is feeling a little under the weather I thought I would make good use of it and dress him in "relaxing" clothes that he doesn't get to wear much especially since it is getting cooler out. I love all the stripes and I do have to say that striped socks are some of my favorite things (thanks grandma!)
This almost captures how life is feeling for him right now, a little stuffy on top




and a little dizzy down low (as his walking legs are still a bit silly).


All in all a good sport even though he was ready for nap.

If you wait long enough...

For a very long time now I have wanted to hide our tv and electronics. We had it all in our bedroom for the longest time and I really found it an eyesore. I did love it when people would come over and comment oh how we didn't have a tv in our living room and how different it felt. I had moved the tv into the living room after we had our baby. Our bedroom felt better but my living room had lost its charm. I started looking for an entertainment center with doors. The catch was that it had to be made out of real wood and it had to be affordable. I knew deep down that if I waited long enough it would come to me. Many months later I found just what I was looking for at Goodwill for only $10! I couldn't believe it, the only catch was that it was missing the top doors. I bought it and painted it and fixed it up a little and had to save up for the doors and hardware. I finally got it all finished and it was really exiting to me to hide everything away. The best part is that my husband was a little grumbly about the top doors the whole time, he kept telling me not to worry about them because it looked great the way it was, well he confessed yesterday that as much as he hated to admit it the doors were really great. And they are.

Growing Up

Guess who conquered his arch enemy today. I was looking at a book while he was eating and I looked up totally expecting to see a mess and instead saw this...
Yup, you guessed it he conquered the spoon. It has been taunting him for many months now. What a guy.

Tis the Season for Pie

So on Sunday our little family went for an walk in the afternoon sun. We found a trail through some public fields and there were blackberry bushes everywhere. Needless to say I got a hankering to make pie. The funny thing is that I love to make pie. The fist summer I was married I swear I made a pie out of every fresh fruit possible. This is the funny part, I only like to eat one or two pieces, mostly i just like the process and beauty of pie making. I think it is the sculptural aspect. My poor husband probably gained all of his excess weight that summer eating all of those pies.I also always have a little bit of pie crust left over and I hate wasting food. So I made these little cutouts...Then I filled them with a dollop of homemade blackberry jam and pinched them up into cute little squares.After they cooked for 25 minutes we ate them up. Yum!

So Long

So long dear futon. I have been thinking about selling her for a long time now. She just wasn't that comfortable for sitting on, which was her primary function. Although I do have to say she was amazing for sleeping, either in folded position or laying down as a bed. I was a bit sad to see her go. I spent almost 3 weeks sanding and re-finishing her about 5 years ago. Since then she has seen me through a lot, roommates, fiance, new husband, pregnancy and first baby. I sure hope she is off to a good new home.

On to the new me and my new living room, stay tuned to see what kind of trouble i have gotten myself into.

The Plunge

Much to the happiness of my family and friends, and much to the dismay of my husband I finally took the plunge (for the second time) into blog land. I guess I will be telling the world all about the silly little things we do around here and my big daydreams.