Big Changes Heading Our Way

Hello!

Obviously, I have neglected this blog for quite some time. As I've blogged about before, my husband has been serving in the US Navy for the past several years. His enlistment is coming to an end this summer and several months ago we decided that it would be in our best interest to move closer to our families in the midwest.

Instead of working on home projects, for the past few months, I have been furiously job hunting and apartment hunting. It has taken up all of my time, but I'm grateful to say that now, I've accepted a job with a national insurance company that has a large office in Kansas City. It is obviously a very different position than the one I'm in now as an art teacher and I hope that as time goes on I can find the words to eloquently and concisely explain why I am making this career change in later post. For now, I will say that while my decision to change careers was made partly because of job availability, things also happened in my school and district this year that led me rethink education- particularly urban education- as the best long term option for me personally. A cross country move seems like an ideal time to try something new and I am very excited to be challenged in different ways and to diversify my skills. And of course, in this (certainly improved, but still not ideal) economy, I am simply grateful to be working.

Now that my job hunting is over and our apartment hunting is nearing the end (we are awaiting final approval on a great apartment in the Kansas City suburbs), I feel like I can commit to posting more regularly. This blog has always and will always be an open look into my life as it is, so that will change the topics slightly. Obviously, pre-move is not the best time to DIY projects. Rather, many of my posts will focus on the transition- packing, cleaning, organizing, and an open look into the process of making a move with the military, as we are doing. I have already spent a great deal of time looking at other military spouse blogs to gain insight into the process, as it is confusing, lengthy, and involves so much more paperwork than a civilian move. At best, I believe my blog can be a resource and there doesn't seem to be much there for people who are leaving the military life. I would love to publish my experience on this blog to give others in our position insight into the process. However, I will likely continue posting Instagramming in the Kitchen posts in addition to all things move-related and would like to add in some posts on wardrobe and beauty, two areas where I am trying to brush up my skills before entering a corporate workplace. Also, once I am settled in our new place, the DIY and decorating posts will return, as there will be a LOT to do! I also look forward to doing posts about places I love in the KC area.

Thank you for reading through all of that! I'm looking forward to sharing this big life change with you all!

DIY Glittery Heart Door Decor for Valentine's Day

Confession time: I really envy the people out there who have giant front porches to decorate for the holidays. Living in an apartment, the holiday decor options are pretty limited and I long for the day that I can have a wraparound porch to fill up with holiday lights, jack o'lanterns, and seasonal flowers.

However, you still have some options in an apartment and this year, I made a large gold glittery heart for our front door for Valentines Day.  It was so easy and could be done in an afternoon.

First, I started with some scrap cardboard, specifically a leftover package from Christmas presents.  I drew a heart on it with Sharpie (I didn't use a template, but you could if you're more on the perfectionist side).  I then cut it out with scissors.

I used the leftover box scraps as a spray paint area, as our weather has been really gross and snowy lately.  If you're spray painting inside, make sure you protect your work area in some way and obviously, ventilation is crucial.  I sprayed each side of the heart with primer.

Next, I sprayed each side with metallic gold spray paint.  You may have seen the graphic that floats around Pinterest of the best metallic gold spray paint, but if you haven't, it's Rustoleum.  Valspar, Glidden- NO.  Rustoleum Metallic Effects is the absolute best.  I only did one coat of the gold spray paint, as I knew I wanted to cover it with glitter, but if you want a metallic heart or a single color heart, it may be better to do more coats of paint.

Finally, I took a chance on Rustoleum's gold glitter spray paint... mostly because I was really excited to learn that that existed.  It's pretty great, although it's worth noting that it's very similar to glitter hairspray, if any of you ever used that cheer competitions in the late 1990s like I did, in that is flies all over.  You should put newspapers or a tarp down and be ready to have flecks of glitter on your hands, arms, etc.  I only sprayed the front side of the heart to present glitter from getting all over the door (although I'm sure some will be left), but I did three separate coats to really saturate the front of the heart with glitter.

After the last coat of paint dried, I punched a hole in the heart with a basic single hole punch, used some extra ribbon that I had lying around, and threaded that through the hole so that the heart could be hung up.  I hammered a small nail into the top on the interior side of the door.  I looped the ribbon over the nail hung the heart on the outside of the door.

It will only be up for a little bit, as Valentine's Day is tomorrow, but it has been a great brightener each time I've arrived home from work this week.

What are some of the things you do to decorate for holidays?

Instagramming in the Kitchen: Mini Frittatas

Hello!

To start off the week, I wanted to share one of the recipes that I use to make our daily breakfasts for the week.  You've probably seen these before, but mini frittatas made in a muffin tin are the easiest thing to make and they make your weekday mornings a breeze.  I'm someone who HAS to have something to eat and a cup of coffee as soon as I get up, but I don't always have time to cook something from scratch.  Every two weeks, I make a huge batch of these and store them in a resealable container in the fridge so I can just pull two out every morning, throw them in the microwave for one minute, and go.  You can tweak this recipe and add whatever extras you like to your frittatas, I just happen to be partial to ham, peppers, and cheese.

Mini Frittata

Makes approximately 28 mini frittatas

 

Ingredients
2 dozen eggs (we're CostCo people, so I pick up 2 dozen eggs every two weeks just for this purpose)
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
 3/4 cup diced peppers
1/2 cup diced ham
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbsp. of salt
1 tsp. of black pepper
1 tsp. of cayenne pepper (optional- I just love cayenne pepper for the kick and also for the metabolism boost)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Break the eggs in a large bowl and whisk them together.
Add the grated cheese, pepper, ham, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Spray the muffin tin cups with the nonstick spray.
Using a ladle, pour the egg mixture into the muffin tin cups until they are 3/4 of the way full.  They will fluff up in the oven.
Bake for about fifteen minutes, or until the tops of the frittatas are golden brown and don't jiggle.

According to my Losin' It app, which I love, by the way, these mini frittatas (made with the ingredients listed) are 108 calories each.  I have two every morning and they keep me satisfied for about five hours.

This Week at Boy Meets Girl Meets Home

Hello!

Today I'm beginning a new series on the blog today.  I love to see bits of other blogger's live through photos- the kinds of real moments that you aren't necessarily going to write a full post on.  Every week, I'll be featuring some photos from my week that show day to day life here.

I'm working on two new paintings- one for our gallery wall and one for my friend's home.  I began those this week by gessoing over some old canvases to prime them.

We had a great dinner on Tuesday.  I'm still adjusting the recipe a little bit and should be posting it in the Instagramming in the Kitchen series in a few weeks.  I'm trying to add more Paleo meals into our diet; this dinner of roast beef, carrots, and sweet potatoes is a great way to do that. 

This week, the Southeast got quite a bit more snow than normal.  We were hit with over eight inches of it in Norfolk, which shut down the city for two days.

We took loads of snowy walks with Wicket, who loved jumping in the big drifts.  Here's one of the holly bushes that borders our apartment building covered in snow.

While life was pretty much back to normal in Norfolk on Friday, Jon and I still had work cancelled that day, and we loved sleeping in with our sweet Wicket, who never says no to hitting the snooze.

Instagramming in the Kitchen: Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

Hello!

This past week, I had a professional development day with the rest of the fine arts department of Norfolk Public Schools.  Art professional development is always pretty fantastic.  We spend a few hours in a studio workshop, take a long potluck lunch, and then spend a few hours listening to a guest artist, often local, talk about their work.  That potluck lunch, though, always intimidates me.  Art people tend to make really great food, I have noticed.  In the past, I've usually contributed bags of chips or fruit trays.  This year, however, I decided to go big and make something for the dessert table.

I found this recipe, Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars on Two Peas and Their Pod. I followed their recipe for the chocolate chip batter exactly, but instead of using the caramel pieces they called for, I made my own thick caramel filling.  I happened to have all the ingredients for homemade caramel on hand, and I looooooooove to make caramel and have a hot spoonful of it. 

To my happiness, when I went to grab my Gladware container at the end of the lunch, all of the bars were gone- not even a crumb left!  It's definitely a great, rich dessert that you can make ahead- as they need to be refrigerated- and then bring to a party.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Batter
Ingredients can be found here

Caramel Filling
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of salted butter
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
Fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a large 11 x 7 baking pan (I used a deep glass Pyrex dish). 
2. Mix the chocolate chip cookie bar batter according to the recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod. 
3. Pour half the batter into the greased baking pan.  I used a spatula to flatten the dough to an even, 1/4" layer.  
4. While you could use any kind of melted caramel for the inner caramel layer, I love the creaminess of fresh homemade caramel.  To make this, I first melted the butter into the sweetened condensed milk in a deep pot on low heat.  You want to use a much deeper pot than what you need to hold the liquid, as it will boil and bubble considerably.  Stir the mixture while the butter melts.
5. After the butter has melted into the sweetened condensed milk, add the sugar and bring the heat up to high.  The trick with caramel is to stir constantly and get prepared to stand there and stir for a while.  Have your phone handy, have a beer nearby, whatever will help that do go by quickly.  
6. Once the mixture reaches a rolling, foamy boil, bring the heat down to medium and allow it to simmer, again stirring constantly.  Stir until the mixture is an amber color and feels "thickened".  You can always test caramel by letting a few droplets of the mixture drip into a glass of cold water- it should harden in the cold water.  This process takes anywhere from 12-20 minutes.
7. When the mixture has thickened, pour it over the chocolate chip batter and sprinkle lightly with the fleur de sel.
8. Add the rest of the chocolate chip batter over the caramel.  I scooped tablespoon sized balls of dough out the mixing bowl and spread these out evenly over the caramel.  Keep in mind that you want about a 1/4" of pan at the top, as the caramel will bubble up while it is in the oven.  Don't overfill the pan.
9. Bake for 30 minutes.  The top cookie layer should be golden brown.  The bars will look at bit puffy, not unlike a souffle, when you pull it out, but it will sink down as it cools.  
10. I allowed the bars to first cool at room temperature, then put them in the refrigerator until I was ready to cut them.  The caramel layer is very thick and creamy, so cooling is essential to getting them to cut into pretty squares.  

I hope you try and love these!  They are incredibly rich and delicious.

Zhushing and Reorganizing For Free

Hello!

This week, Norfolk got some snow (maybe three inches?) and some very cold temperatures.  I grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago, where that kind of snowfall happens from November until March.  In southeast Virginia, though, that is an extreme, and my district gave us two snow days.  I spent one of these snow days deep cleaning our apartment and beginning to work on one of my home resolutions fro 2014: beautiful organization.

I started with the living room.  We have several basic three shelf wire shelves (you can find them at Home Depot or Lowes).  Two of these have a home in our kitchen, where their utilitarian appearance works well.  However, this one didn't really match with the rest of the living room, but it's the perfect size and height for that area. 

I had been thinking of making a basic slipcover for the wire shelf and my day off seemed like a great time to start.  I have a pretty big stockpile of fabric and though that this basic muslin would do well.  To make this simple, no sew slipcover, I draped the fabric over the table, letting one end touch the floor in the back.  I then cut the end that was draped over the front so that the fabric just touched the floor, with no puddling.   Next, I folded the top ends on either side, just as if I was wrapping a present.  I used simple straight pins to hold the fabric in place.

It's a simple, temporary solution that makes that table blend in much better. 

I added several items to the table to organize our "on our way out the door" essentials.  After looking through our place for some items to use for organizing, I found an apothecary jar for Wick's dog treats and bones, a silver tray for gloves and scarves, and an antique tobacco tin for dog baggies.  Right now, I'm storing summer hats on the shelves the slipcover hides, and I figure that when the temperatures shift, I can swap the scarves out for sunglasses.  I pulled some decorating elements, including two photographs and a brass rabbit, to add some pretty to the table as well. 

I'm loving that area of our living room right now.  If I could, I would do something about those awful cable cords, but those are an unfortunate reality of living in an apartment that was built in the 1920s.

Another aspect of living in a historic building that really affects us is the lack of closet space.  Walk in closets just didn't exist in that time.  We have a small closet in each bedroom, a hall closet, and a linen closet.  I use the linen closet to store my jeans, workout clothes, and sweaters, in addition to basic household items.  However, it was a disaster, as you can see below. 

I took some cloth covered bins that I had bought at Target a few years ago to organize a desk space in our old apartment and repurposed them to hold my workout clothes and sweaters.  I also rearranged some of the items, moving my fabric collection to our spare bedroom, putting holiday decorations in the hall closet that we tend to leave shut, and making a separate shelf area for extra towels and laundry.  So far, it has helped with daily life so much to have that space more organized. 

Lastly, I tackled my bedside table.  My bedside table tends to accumulate so much stuff- lotions, books, pens, cups of coffee, contact cases, glasses... I could go on for a while.  I decided to take a giant silver bowl that I had just hanging out in the pantry and use it to hold all of my random items to give the bedside table a more contained look.  I also use this porcelain hand my husband found in a vintage store last summer to organize rings and bracelets and decided to bring it over to my bedside table to free up some space on our dresser.

I hope to keep sharing my efforts to organize our space and life a little more beautifully.  What are some of the things you do to organize?

New Items on Juvel Lera!

Hello! For the past few weeks, I have been working around the clock to create new jewelry pieces for my Etsy shop, Juvel Lera. I finally finished editing the pictures and creating new listings and you can now see them here!

While there are lots of fun new colors of previous items, the biggest change is that now you can buy bracelet sets.  I love to layer my Juvel Lera bracelets in a large group with other pieces to create an arm party.  A single bracelet retails for $5, but if you buy the set of four, you will only pay $15, so you get that fourth bracelet for free! 

Check out the new pieces and let me know what you think!

My Thoughts on The Perfectly Imperfect Home and My Resolutions for My Home in 2014

Hello and happy new year!

Over the holiday season, I took my school's winter break as a much needed break from almost everything.  I laid on the couch and watched seasons of television with my husband, played with my sweet puppy, went to visit my parents and brothers in Chicago, and caught (somewhat) up on the stack of books that had piled up next to my bed. 

One of these books was The Perfectly Imperfect Home, a decorating tome written by Deborah Needleman, the founding author of Domino magazine.  Domino magazine was out on stands when I was in high school and college, prior to when I began to develop a strong interest in turning my house into a home.  When I first began to think about adding personality to my home, my friend, Cate, introduced me to her collection of issues of Domino, as well as the Domino book published after the magazine ended, which Needleman also had a great hand in. 

The Perfectly Imperfect Home goes well with the tips and rooms found in Domino, but I love the emphasis in the newer book on living in your home.  So many rooms and homes look beautiful in photographs, but have no trace of the life that occurs within the rooms.  They look like the rooms at the Biltmore, an estate my husband and I visited this summer, perfectly preserved and untouched with meals, guests, animals, and any other trace of life.  Needleman emphasizes thinking about your rooms as they will be used.  Perhaps my favorite pieces of advice is that if party guests rearrange your furniture for conversing, to pay attention to that and keep that layout. 

With the new year in mind, I decided to make some resolutions for my home this year going along with the spirit of The Perfectly Imperfect Home. My goals for my home this year include:

1) Layering with textiles: There is a wonderful chapter on "cozifying" that emphasizes how layers of textiles bring a sense of warmth to rooms, making you want to curl up and stay awhile.  Obviously, when you're in the early stages of putting together rooms, the focus is more on finding those "good bones"- essential pieces in great condition with classic frames that will last you for years.  I've been fortunate to find many of these items and have a good foundation laid in every room of our apartment.  Now, I would love to focus on finding rugs, blankets, and pillows that, while not essential, add to the overall experience of those rooms.

2) Glamming things up: Many of the images I find myself pinning of interiors are beautiful, over the top, feminine glamour rooms.  This is not realistic for myself, as it is not realistic for many people who live with a man or a pet.  I can't have fringe, velvet, floral, gold, white everything.  However, I believe that there are places where I can add a fabulous item here and there to satisfy this craving.  Needleman mentions in her book how the contrast of a glamorous chandelier against a rustic table brings contrast, which can ultimately enhance your appreciation and bring focus to the items individually.  This would not happen as easily if every item in the room fell into a them

3) Organizing beautifully: Another aspect of this book that I love is that Needleman doesn't skip over crucial elements of home design like organization.  Although our home consists of just two people and a dog and is not filled with children, we still have to think about how we organize elements of life to have an easy flow on work days and to manage our chaos.  Needleman brings up ideas for organizing items like remote controls, mail, kitchen utensils, bathroom necessities, etc. in beautiful jars, boxes, baskets, and bins, but never encourages sacrificing function for aesthetics.  I love the realism of that and want to challenge myself to find those "containing items" this year.

I hope this post has inspired you to check out some of Deborah Needleman's work if you have not already!  She is such an inspiring woman and offers advice that is so beneficial to those of us that want beauty and function in the same home.  Check out The Perfectly Imperfect Home and let me know if you have any resolutions for your home in the coming year.  I would love to hear about them!

I'm Back with 9 Tips for Your First Craft Fair

Hello!

I have to apologize for my lengthy absence on this blog.  Obviously, Halloween kicks off the holiday season for everyone and it is a busy time of year.  However, for me, November included preparing jewelry for my first craft fair ever, my husband undergoing surgery, and Thanksgiving... along with everyday normal life and full time job teaching.  I'm breathing a sigh of relief and giving myself an extra glass of wine now that I've come out of that for a bit... just in time for Christmas craziness.

Earlier, this year, I wrote about setting up my Etsy shop, Juvel Lera.This was a big step for me, but it was also part of larger dream to become more of a "teaching artist" rather than an "art teacher".   I hope to share more of this process and my entrepreneurial arts journey with you as things continue.  Another important part of that larger dream was to put myself out there in real life, not just online.  I applied to a local craft fair, the Selden Handmade Fair.  This is a very cool event that happens in Norfolk every winter, along with many other local holiday-timed craft fairs.  It focuses on indie crafts and art.  I applied for this back in September and was overjoyed to be find out in mid October that I was accepted. 

However, after that initial excitement subsided, I was hit with the staggering realization that I had absolutely no idea how to set up a booth at a craft fair and now had to make more jewelry than just the sample available on my Etsy page.  I actually had to stock a large table.  The level of production that I went up to led to a lot of pre-winter hibernation in my apartment, lots of chores being piled up, a lack of blogging, loads of quick fix dinners like EasyMac, undereye circle, and reduced endurance from a lack of running.  And blogging took a huge step to the backburner.

All of that said, the Handmade Fair was an amazing experience.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had.  I fulfilled a desire to push myself and was rewarded with people actually liking my work enough to buy it.  I made a small profit on the weekend, thanks in a large part to the support I had from some amazing friends who came out to visit and purchase holiday gifts.  And while the weekend was positive and there are aspects of the event that went well, there are also things that I would adjust in hindsight.  Putting these together, I've written a list of tips for all of the aspiring artisans out there.

1. Determine if the event is realistically worth your time and effort.  This particular fair took place on Friday and Saturday.  I had business on Friday night and all day Saturday, but made NO sales on Friday afternoon.  While I had lots of time to make jewelry on Friday morning and afternoon, in retrospect, I would not have set up until 5 PM during the work week.  If everyone you know is going to be at work during the hours, chances are the foot traffic will be low, and you could wind up just hanging out.  Similarly, I was lucky to be at a well publicized event with a great deal of foot traffic.  I would not choose to do something off the beaten path or under the radar unless the booth fee was LOW.
2. Don't compare yourself to seasoned vendors.  There were some amazing artists in the booths around me, so much so that it was intimidating.  The booth next to me was run by a husband and wife woodcarver team who have a little over a year of experience under their belts.  During the fair, they frequently came up to me, asking what my sales numbers were and how I was doing.  This was veiled with concern and friendship, but it was still a competitive interaction, and one that got under my skin on the first night.  I would love to take back all of the self consciousness I began to feel that night; it sucked the energy out of me.  I'm a big believer in the phrase, "Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle." and should have reminded myself of that frequently.  Just stepping out there is an achievement in and of itself.
3. That said, be as professional as possible.  I spent a lot of time researching booths on Pinterest to find a display idea that I liked- one that was rustic, chic, and elegant.  Craft fairs can sometimes have a bad reputation for being housewifey rather than business savvy.  Figure out an aesthetic for your booth and make sure you present it.  Also, keep yourself stocked with business cards, gift wrap (tons of it), change, and consider picking up a card swiper.  With the amount of options out there (Square, GoPayment, Paypal) and popularity of using a debit or credit card rather than cash, you're kidding yourself if you think it isn't a smart business strategy.  The majority of my sales were done on my Square, and I highly recommend it.
4. Be active and enthusiastic.  As I said before, the self consciousness I felt on the first night got to me.  I began to sit down at my booth more and had less fervor in my interactions with passersby.  On the second day, I approached things with a "fresh slate" mindset and kept up the enthusiasm.  I stood up for most of the time, working on necklaces, and greeted as many people as I could.  You will be amazed at the difference just standing up makes.  It makes you look more active.  Does anyone want to give money to someone who looks like they're just hanging out?  No.  People want to support someone who is friendly, warm, and working their ass off.  Look like that's you, even if you don't feel it.  
5. Take care of you.  My desire to create and create and create inventory led to many 2 AM bedtimes and 5:30 AM wake up calls the week of the fair.  On the first day, I was sleep deprived in the extreme, and I know that it impacted my interactions and mood.  After that first day, I was exhausted, and actually went to sleep while guests were over at my apartment, falling asleep in my day clothes and leaving my husband to entertain and clean up.  The second day, I felt a hundred times better... because I had actually taken car of my own basic needs the night before.
6. Diversify your inventory.  I brought loads and loads of bracelets and necklaces.  I didn't even think about the possibility of selling Christmas related items... like ornaments.  Looking back, all I can think of is what a huge hole that was in my potential sales.  A metalwork jeweler had made ornaments that fit her nautical aesthetic, the glassblower had made ornaments, and the woodworkers had made ornaments (they shared with me that the ornaments made up the bulk of their sales for the weekend).  After talking about the weekend with a colleague on Monday, she suggested that my beadwork would lend itself to making wine charms.  I think it's a great idea to diversify my inventory.  In hindsight, my booth was extremely specific and that likely hurt my financial outcome.
7. Similarly, have a large spread of stuff prepared WAY in advance.  I applied for the craft fair on a whim, thinking maybe I would get in and maybe I wouldn't, and I didn't ramp up production until I found out.  Filling a 6 foot table is harder than you think, and some people will push the "8' by 10' square of floor space" to the fullest, bringing in custom shelving.  You want to look like you're selling more than just your extra personal stuff.  The week of the fair, I called my father in a panic, hoping for some "we believe in you" comfort.  When I mentioned how much jewelry I was making, he replied with, "Well, unless you're famous, no one wants to buy the last of anything from you, so I would make more stuff."  Harsh, but true.  
8. Don't expect people to get what you do.  Advertise it.  I make all of my ceramic beads by hand.  It's why the jewelry is special, I think.  However, I was shocked at how many people, and how many informed artistic people, assumed that I bought mass produced beads and just strung them.  The reality is that plenty of people do that.  Customers immediately warmed up when I told them that all the beads were made by hand and could show them my fingerprints on some of the jewelry.  By day two, I had made some quick signs advertising "handmade beads".  Before the next fair I do (whenever that is), I will probably make some cooler looking, custom signage to inform passersby. 
9. Finally, just do it.  If you want to pursue a venture, try it.  Do your thing.  Seize the day.  Lean in.  Follow your dreams.  Don't just hang out on the couch watching Bravo and Pinteresting photos of work other people have done in the pursuit their dreams.  Nothing is going to go perfectly, but it's worth it.  That's all super corny, but totally true.   

I hope that this post is inspiring and helpful for you if you've been thinking about putting your art out there.  On that note, now that the craziness has subsided a bit (just a bit, I have now applied to be consigned at a local boutique... because I'm a glutton for work), I hope to be back with more (likely holiday themed) DIY home projects.  Enjoy your weekend!

Instagramming in the Kitchen: Raspberry Rolls with Homemade Whipped Cream

This weekend, I was in the mood to make a really indulgent brunch.  However, both nights, my husband and I stayed out way too late, so I needed to make something that super easy and quick.  I pinned a lot of complicated brunch/breakfast recipes in the hopes of tackling them, but after sleeping in until 10:30 on Sunday morning, I took this recipe as an inspiration to create my own easy recipe for raspberry sweet rolls.  I did luxe them up with some homemade whipped cream, though, which is tooooootally worth A) the calories and B) the four minutes it takes to make it.

Raspberry Rolls with Homemade Whipped Cream (serves 2 or 3)

Ingredients
Rolls

• 1 package of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• Raspberry jam to taste
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Flour for prepping your work surface

Whipped Cream

• 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 cup of heavy cream

Directions
First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan with some nonstick spray.  Prep your work surface (I used my cutting board) with a sprinkling of flour.  Roll the Crescent Roll dough out into a rectangle.  I used my finger to smudge the precut triangle lines together.  Spread the jam on the dough rectangle.  I wouldn't say I put a thin layer on, but you don't need to overfill it.  Afterwards, you should roll the dough up into a spiral or a tube shape.  Then, slice the dough spiral into small, 1 1/2 inch chunks.   Place these chunks side by side, spiral up, in the loaf pan.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown on top.

While the rolls are baking, combine the powdered sugar and heavy cream with an electric mixer on high.  Beat until the cream is thick, fluffy, and forms peaks.

Serve the rolls hot, topped with the whipped cream.

Things I Love About My Home: My Pup (5 Reasons a Dog Is the Best Thing for Your Home)

If you've read any of my DIY posts, you'|ve probably seen my sweet puppy, Wicket.  She's not really a puppy anymore; she's a year old.  Since my husband and I got her when she was eight weeks old, though, it's hard for me to not see her as the little five pound ball of fluff that entered our life last January. She also hasn't calmed down a bit, either, so she's still my zooming ball of fluff... even though she weighs fifteen pounds now.

Taking on the responsibility of a dog at a young age was a big leap for us, but my husband and I both grew up in dog families and the reality was that even though we had each other and had an apartment that we loved in a neighborhood that we loved... it would never feel like home without a dog to us.  We found our sweet girl on Craigslist (A military family had just gotten her and then got orders to Korea a few weeks later.  They wanted to find a home for her before their children got more attached.) and have been happier and happier ever since.  Don't get me wrong; Wicket is a normal dog who begs for human food (especially expensive things like lox and sushi... she's fancy like that) and a normal dog who has accidents and a normal dog who wants attention when I have to work... but she is still the best thing we ever brought into our home.

With that in mind, here are the five reasons a dog is the best thing for your home:

1. You will get tons more exercise.  I liked to work out before I had my dog, but I absolutely get more exercise now that we have her.  Wick isn't a dog that needs tons of long walks or runs (she's a Shih Tzu), but I still walk her many times throughout the day, usually a mile or so.  I run around the apartment with her because she loves to play chase and race her up the stairs to our walk up.  That doesn't add up to a crazy killer body, but it does add a lot more serotonin to my brain and our walk up stairs haven't caused me to be out of breath in months.
2. You get in touch with your neighborhood and neighbors.  Having a dog forces you to be out and about.  Luckily, I live in a dog friendly neighborhood, where many businesses put out bowl of water or allow dogs inside and TONS of people have dogs.  I have met so many more people in our neighborhood than I would if I didn't have a dog.  I would never have a reason to be outside so often and I wouldn't stop to talk to so many people.  
3. You see your partner in a new way.  There is nothing like watching your partner love and care for something.  It melts my heart to see my husband carry around our teeny dog, to see him play with her, and to see him light up when he sees her when he comes in from work.  I see him a totally new light now that we both take care of her and I appreciate him so much more.  She has strengthened our relationship so much.
4. You prioritize fun more.  Wick has interrupted the writing of this post two times to play already.  My normal life before having a dog was working, having dinner with my husband, working out, and working on side projects (DIY, art, or continuing my work from the school day).  I come from a family that really prioritizes work and it's a daily struggle for me to stop finding things that need doing.  However, because I have my dog and she is so high energy, there are times when I just have to shut the laptop, put the grading away, or put the paintbrush down and chase my dog around or wrestle with her for toys.  It's so much more healthy than working constantly.
5. It's healthy for it to not just be about you.  Everyday that I stay late at work, I think about the time that I'm missing with my dog.  Extra errands that I take on often become a question of, "Is this necessary?  Because I could be walking my dog..."  It amazes me how many extra little things get filtered out by that.  I don't really need to go window shop at the mall, I don't really need to stop at Starbucks for a coffee, I don't really have to drive all the way to Virginia Beach just for a trip to Whole Foods.  What I do need to do is get home to my dog, my husband, and our friends.  It's so much less about me and the things that I like and so much more about my relationships with others and this animal that I'm responsible for, and that is absolutely better for me.

I hope this post relates to things you love about having a dog or inspires you to think more about adding an animal to your family.  What do you love about your pets?

A DIY Industrial Rustic Table Part 2: The Tutorial

Yesterday, I shared the story behind the creation of my industrial rustic table here, including all of the ups and downs along the way.  Today, I am sharing a tutorial for how to make it, without all those ups and downs.

Materials:

• Vintage sewing table legs, detached from the treadle (I found mine on eBay for around $45 plus shipping.  Find similar ones here.)
• 4 pine boards, 6 feet long, 12 inches wide, 1 inch in thickness.
• 1 package of wood screws, 1 1/2 inches long
• 4 carriage bolts, 5/16 inches in diameter, 2 1/2 inches long (the size specifications here are to my tabletop thickness and the openings in the table legs for bolts.  Modify this as needed for your table)
• 3 steel threaded rods, 5/16 inches in diameter, 70 inches long (I wrote about my difficulties with threaded rod in the previous post.  In my search, I only found the steel threaded rod in very short and very long sizes.  I cut the rods down to size myself and that was much easier than I anticipated.  Another important note: while I am partial to Home Depot because of the great customer service at the store in my area, they do not carry steel threaded rod.  They carry steel plated zinc threaded rod and zinc threaded rod.  DO NOT use this.  It bends over time and creates an unstable piece of furniture.  However, Lowes carries steel threaded rod in a variety of lengths and diameters.)
• 16 hex nuts, 5/16 inches in diameter
• Minwax Wood Stain (I used Jacobean, as I love the dark tones in it)
• Minwax Polyurethane Satin or Semigloss, oil based
• Wood glue (I prefer Liquid Nails brands of glue)
• Sandpaper
• A solvent for cleaning your paintbrush (I prefer Murphy's Oil Soap, but you can use turpentine, linseed oil, or even dishwashing soap)
• Black or oil rubbed bronze spray paint

Tools:

• Cordless drill (make sure you pick up larger drill bits if you need them.  I had to pick up a 5/16 drill bit to create holes large enough to accommodate the larger bolts.)
• Hammer
• High quality paint brush (for the wood stain)
• Paint roller (I used foam rollers; I find they give a smoother finish with paint and with sealant)
• Paint tray
• Hack saw with steel blades
• Metal file
• A rag (old is fine, it just needs to be clean)
• Tarp or plastic drop cloth
• Pliers
• Adjustable wrench

The Process:
Step 1: Do some research.  As I said in Part 1, some of my difficulty stemmed from not having an exact tutorial for what I wanted to do.  However, I did pull from some fabulous tutorials for DIY dining/kitchen tables.  Here are the ones I found most useful as I was planning and building my table: Apartment Therapy: How to make a sewing machine dining table, A Beautiful Mess: Elsie's DIY Dining Room Table, Stylizimo: New trendy dining table in 1-2-3!, and Apartment Therapy: Gregory's project, the stereo cabinet, house of stain #5.

Step 2: Make a sketch and plan.  I find that drawing my idea out helps me to visualize what will work best for me.

Step 3: Pick up any materials and tools that you need.  For my table, I used three pine boards for the tabletop.  The fourth pine board I had cut in half (Home Depot and Lowes will both give you a few cuts for free.  For a renter with limited tools, like me, this is extremely helpful.) and I used those two halves to connect the three tabletop boards together.  The supporting boards need to be long enough to reach all the tabletop boards, so if you are planning a wider or skinnier table, you should adjust the size of the supporting boards accordingly.  Another materials note: you can use any type of wood for this table.  I chose pine because I love how "knott-y" it is; I thought that that texture would be especially pretty with the dark stain (and it's a very affordable wood).

Step 4: Prepare the tabletop and glue the support boards down.  Choose which side of the board you want to the be on the top and which directions those boards should go.  Then, lay all the boards down on the floor exactly as you want them to be in the finished table (nice, neat, all together), with the top side down.  Next, take the two half boards and spread wood glue all over them (I made a zig zag pattern) and place those boards across all three tabletop boards.  I placed mine diagonally to give the tabletop boards more support.  Place some heavy objects on top of those "support boards" to press the boards together while the wood glue dries.  I don't know that the weight of a puppy, as shown, really helps... but it didn't hurt the process.

Step 5) Attach the support boards to the tabletop using a drill and wood screws.  After the wood glue has dried fully (I let it dry overnight), use a cordless drill and wood screws to fully connect the support boards to the tabletop.  I went a little crazy with the  drilling and placed a screw about every inch or inch and a half.  I did this on the underside of the table, because I did not want those screws to show on the tabletop.  I chose 1 1/2 inch long screws specifically so that they could attach both boards (each board is 1 inch in thickness), but wouldn't break through the top.

Step 6) Sand, stain, and seal the underside of the table.  Lay down a tarp or plastic drop cloth and position the newly stable tabletop on it.  This will prevent any staining of your floor.  I sanded down the boards thoroughly, especially the support boards and edges, which are more likely to come into contact with hands and knees.  You should follow the instructions of your specific stain.  The one must I have to pass on is the recommendation to use a high quality brush.  With painting, you don't need to worry about this as much, but with stain, it definitely matters.  I spread the stain on quickly, allowed it to penetrate the wood for about twenty minutes (I wanted a dark stain, so if you're working with something lighter, like a honey color, you may not want to leave it on as long.), then rubbed off the excess with a clean rag.  Make sure you do this thoroughly, as any drips that are left get really sticky.  Also, make sure to check that nothing dripped between the boards and if anything has, wipe off that excess as well.  Clean your brush thoroughly after you finish to maintain it's softness and suppleness. 

Step 7) Determine the position of the legs, mark the holes for the bolts, and drill the holes.  The table legs I used had two spots for bolts on the top.  Some other legs may have more spots for these, and I would recommend attaching bolts in every spot you can.  The more stable the better.  I positioned the legs as if I were attaching them and used a Sharpie to mark where I should drill a hole for each bolt.  These bolts should go through the support boards and the tabletop boards for maximum stability. Make sure that the two legs are going to be attached parallel to each other; they must be parallel because you have to put the steel threaded rods through the legs..  Then, ask someone to help you by holding the tabletop up, to prevent you from drilling into the floor.  Use your cordless drill and a large drill bit (I used a 5/16 drill bit) to drill the holes for the bolts.

Step 8) Attach the legs to the tabletop using carriage bolts.  Have that helpful individual keep holding the tabletop while you push a carriage bolt into each hole.  You may need a hammer to really pound the bolts in; I did.  Next, slide the table legs onto those bolts and add a hex nut to the end of the bolt (on the underside of the tabletop.  Twist the bolts as tightly as you can with your hands, then use an adjustable wrench to twist them on further (you may need to hold the edge of the bolt with pliers to make sure that the nut is turning rather than the bolt).  Pay attention to the top side of the tabletop while you're doing this; it is possible to begin to sink the bolts into the wood if you're using a soft wood like pine.  You want to make sure these don't go too far into the wood.

Step 9) Insert the threaded rods for additional support.  If your table legs are like mine, you can probably wobble them considerably.  My table legs had three holes for the original iron rods to go through.  Before you put the steel rods through the holes, twist two hex nuts onto the threaded rod until they are approximately in the middle.  Slide the rod in one hole, then in the other (you may need to twist the nuts a bit to get this to happen).  Add another hex nut to the end of each rod (so essentially, you have one nut to border each side of the each table leg on each rod.  These lock the legs into place.).  If you, like me, will need to cut the rods down, make the process easier on yourself by pushing the rods far more to one side of the table than the other, so you only have to cut one end off, not both).  Twist the nuts as much as you can on either side of the table leg and then use the wrench to twist these as much as you can (the rods may bend a bit in the middle, stop when this begins to happen and the legs are straight up and down, perpendicular to the tabletop).  Repeat this for each rod.

Step 10) Cut the steel rods and file them down.  Use your hacksaw to cut the long end of the steel rod down.  This sounds like it will take forever and I put this step off forever.... but for realsies, it takes about ten minutes and is so easy.  I recommend putting a towel or something down under the rods to catch as much of the metal shavings as you can.  These ends are going to be sharp, so immediately file the ends with a metal file.  Be a little obsessive and file all around.  Check it for sharpness with your own hands.  It's so likely that someone's knee or ankle (or  your pets) could brush against these and you don't want anyone getting cut.  Immediately after filing, shake the towel out into a trash can, and then vacuum the floor around it to get all the metal shavings up so you don't cut your foot later on.

Step 11) Turn the table over, sand the top and edges, stain the top and edges, and seal them.  Have that friendly individual help you yet again to turn the table right side up.  If your table is big, like mine is, you need help.  Don't be a hero.  Then, thoroughly sand the tabletop and edges.  Run your hand over the top and edges to make sure it is smooth and won't give you or anyone else splinters.  As you can tell, I'd rather be the victim of metal or wood splinters than someone else.  I'm a good hostess and good with the tweezers.  Stain the top and edges of your table, again working quickly to ensure even application.  Let it penetrate the wood for about twenty minutes, rub off the excess, and then seal with some polyurethane.  I did a second coat of poly on the tabletop.  The reason I chose to seal the wood was to protect the tabletop as much as possible; it gets a ton of wear and tear.  Let the poly dry overnight.

Step 12) Spray paint the steel rods.  This isn't necessary, but I was bothered by the mismatch of the steel against the ironwork.  I carefully spray painted the steel rods, using a piece of paper to catch the extra spray.  If you have a garage or an outdoor space for this, I would recommend it.  If you, like me, don't have access to this, make sure you keep the area ventilated.

Step 13) Doublecheck your stability.  My table will wobble about an inch in either direction if it is pushed.  However, it should be no more unstable than that.  It should not wobble when you lean on it with your elbows while sitting and you should feel confident that it can withstand normal wear and tear.  If needed, tighten the nuts up more. 

Step 14) Enjoy your table!  We use our for meals, as a workspace, and as a central place for friends to gather.  While this table was a lot of work and was not exactly cheap to make, it was significantly less expensive than a new table made of similar materials, and it is a unique, industrial, rustic piece that gives new life to something old.

If you attempt this table or this tutorial inspires to you create a beautiful piece of furniture, I would love to hear about it!

A DIY Industrial Rustic Table Part 1: The Story

Hello!

I m so, so, so excited to finally share this DIY with you.  It is without a doubt the most complicated one I have ever made and has had more stumbling blocks than any other project I have eve undertaken.  I wanted to make sure that I had a foolproof tutorial before posting, but I have spent some time thinking about how to best present it.  When you spend such a long amount of time on something, you want to share the whole process: the ups and downs, the inspiration, the splinters, the stained hands... I can't just write a clean cut tutorial on something that has meant a LOT to me.  Today, I'm sharing Part I: the story of the table.  Tomorrow, I will be posting Part II: the tutorial on how to make it.

My idea for this table first began with this image: 

I pinned it ages ago.  I have this love for anything industrial, and I've always found the construction of old sewing tables beautiful.  There's just something about a curving, feminine shape in the form of very masculine iron that strikes that perfect combination of soft and tough.  These old sewing tables have turned up at auctions I have gone to and at thrift stores I frequent time and time again, but often, they're still in that table form. I have no idea how to begin disassembling all that ironwork and would never want to get in over my head so deep.

I keep a saved search on my eBay app for "vintage industrial".  I love almost anything with that tagline, be it signage, furniture, or containers, but I noticed after a while that these sewing tables showed up ALL.  THE.  TIME.  Often, the listings were even just for the legs of the table, already disassembled from the gears and treadle.  It just made the project too tempting; my first roadblock disappeared.  I began watching the listings and eventually managed to snag a pair of Singer legs for a low price and reasonable shipping. 

Those table legs shipped fast and they spent a long time (over a month, actually) just sitting in my dining room looking pretty.  At the time, my dining table was a cheap Craigslist purchase that was meant to fill a need rather than be an investment.  I finally made the choice to sell that table (again on the CL) to force myself to tackle the project of building a new dining room table using the sewing machine legs.  Sometimes I need an extreme amount of motivation.  It's a flaw.  I'm living with it.

I consulted tons of online tutorials.  There was no exact tutorial for what I wanted to do, so I improvised and combined as much of the knowledge from the table building tutorials I found online as I could.  I sketched out a detailed plan and went to the hardware store with my friend, Erin, to buy all of the lumber, bolts, and stain that I needed.  I bought four long beams and bought additional small beams for underlying support.  I drilled all the boards together with the help of my sweet puppy, Wicket, and then excitedly began staining the underside of the boards.

However, as soon as I came to the part of attaching the legs of the table, I began to hit roadblocks.  First, when drilling holes through the boards in order to create an opening for a bolt, I drilled a hole in my wood floor (hopefully it can be refilled so I can get our security deposit back!).  Then, I attached the legs to the tabletop, but as soon as I flipped the table over (with the help of Erin and Kat!), the legs immediately slid outwards and rested diagonally rather than vertically.  HUGE PROBLEM.  They didn't break off, thank goodness, but the table appeared ready to collapse at any minute.  I looked closely at the legs and noticed that they had three holes where some kind of pipes or rods had originally been used to help distribute pressure evenly, locking the legs in place and preventing this problem. 

Immediately, I went to Home Depot to find a solution.  The helpful salesman directed me towards threaded rod.  I bought zinc rod in the right length, as well as some hex nuts to hold the legs in place.  These worked... kind of... they held the legs more upright.... but zinc is pretty bendy.  While initially the table felt sturdy, after I had finished sanding and staining the top and using it a few times, it began to become more rickety.  My husband, Jon, was very apprehensive, but I insisted that as long as I continued to adjust the tightness of the hex nuts, it should stay pretty stable.  And he loves me, so he let it go.  That being said, we had this conversation in June, so since I didn't post about the table once during the summer, I clearly had my own misgivings despite my protests to the contrary.

I spent time researching other options, but was unable to find steel threaded rod precut to the length that I needed.... turns out that stuff either comes in a really short length or a really long length, and I didn't need any more than six feet (the length of my table).  They do make shorter round steel rods, but after I discussed this with a sweet salesman at Home Depot (who, I kid you not, spent 45 minutes walking through the hardware aisle in an attempt to help me problem solve), realized that nothing could attach well enough onto that to hold the legs in place.  At this point, I started thinking about unbolting the legs and taking them to a welder to see I could just have iron rods welded in place, but that potential cost of that dissuaded me.

Finally, some friends came to visit us in September for Labor Day weekend, and while my Jon and his best friend, Brent, were hanging out in the dining room, the table shifted dramatically (allegedly, it nearly collapsed on their feet and would have if they had not caught it). Jon was pretty frustrated and chose the moment to put his foot down dramatically and told me that we had to figure out a solution or we had to find a new table.  Not unlike the earlier scenario I inflicted on myself of selling my dining table to force myself to build, I now had the motivation to find a solution.  Also, knowing that my husband had reached this point of frustration with the table gave me the courage to express my doubts and frustrations about the table to him.  I didn't want to give up; I loved those table legs and was now really passionate about the idea of upcycling those legs and using something so old in a new piece of furniture, but I couldn't find a way to make it work.  After I poured my heart out to Jon about the project gone wrong, he brought up the possibility of buying the absurdly long steel threaded rod and just cutting it.

It was so simple; I should have asked that question earlier, but I didn't think it was possible.  In my mind, that was something that happens in a factory with large machinery.  If I had had the courage to share my doubts about the project with my husband, an avionics tech who is familiar with all kinds of materials and machinery that I am not, this problem would have been solved so much sooner.  Excited, I asked him to take a serious look at the table and see what else I was missing.  He noticed that I could also increase the size of the bolts I was using to attach the table top to the legs to decrease any of the wobbling.

After picking up steel threaded rod, reattaching the table with the thicker bolts, and then cutting the steel bolts down to size, I'm happy to report that the table no longer wobbles or looks like it's on the verge of collapse, and it's held up for over a month like this.  This DIY taught me so much about perseverance and about humility- I've always been the type to insist that I can do things on my own, but asking for my husband's input was the best choice I made.  I still got to do all of the work and take credit for everything (cutting through steel is surprisingly easy!), but I don't know all the answers to everything. 

Tomorrow, I'll be posting a step by step tutorial for building the table, complete with a shopping list and loads of pictures.  I hope you'll stop back by and check that out now that you have made it through this long story of a DIY that very nearly became a "Nailed It!" style failure.  I'm so proud that it didn't.