Saturday, May 28, 2011

Featured At Young and Crafty!

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I woke up today to sunshine but still COLD temperatures. I'm a little disappointed with Mother Nature...I want Summer!

Anyway, one thing that did make me feel all warm inside was seeing that Young and Crafty featured my Simple DIY Art! What a nice surprise to open my blog reading list and see a picture of my birdies on canvas :)


Thanks, Hannah!

If you haven't already checked out Young and Crafty, run, don't walk over and see what you've been missing!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Newest Craigslist Purchase

Hey all! This is just a quick post to show you my latest Craigslist find...


$20! Can you believe it? Well, it does kind of smell like cat pee so I'll be giving it a fresh coat of paint, a new cushion and upholstery...this piece has made me decide it is time to start a small makeover of my daughter's room :)  I can't wait to get it done!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

RIP, Tom Gunkelman

This past weekend one of my favorite designers and a fellow Fargoan passed away.

Tom Gunkelman






















All images can be found here.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mexican Rice With Smoked Sausage

I love rice. I love Mexican food...therefore, I love me some Mexican/Spanish rice! Unfortunately, my husband won't eat it so I don't make it very often but when he's out of town, the kid and I enjoy it.

I'm sure this isn't a traditional preparation but I just started making it like this many, many years ago and it seemed to work well for me so I kept on making it this way. Here's what you'll need:



Rice (I prefer to use Minute Rice in this recipe because it just seems to turn out better but this was all I had), canned black beans, frozen corn, salsa and/or canned tomatoes with green chilies and smoked turkey sausage. (I've also made this with smoked chicken breasts or chorizo. Both are excellent.)



Determine how much water you will need for the amount of rice you're cooking. Substitute canned tomatoes for part of that water if you're using them. If you're using salsa, use two parts water for one part salsa. Add your rice and cook according to package directions.

This is what it will look like when all your liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse your beans and thaw about a cup of frozen corn (or to taste).

Add your beans and corn to rice mixture.

Halve your sausage and cut into 1/4 inch slices, add to your rice mixture and heat through.

I love to serve this with a little bit of shredded cheese and a small dollop of sour cream. Also, to me, the avocado is absolutely necessary! This makes such a good (and pretty healthy!) meal...it also freezes exceptionally well! I like to make a big batch and freeze in individual containers so they're ready to just grab on my way out the door as I'm heading to work.




 What are your go-to simple summer time meals?

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Friday, May 20, 2011

Simple DIY Art

I've been of the mentality that I have to wait until a project is totally done before I can post about it but recently I've started to move out of that mindset (as evidenced here and here) and realized that I can show you something before I'm done! In fact, I can do one even better...I can show you individual projects that make up part of a whole! Now, I realize that most bloggers have already realized this. I'm a little late to the game ;)

So, I'm in the process of a mini-redo of my downstairs bath. I had really wanted to wait until it was all done to show you but I realized...why would I do that? I can show you each project...one at a time!

First I'll tell you some basics. The room is very small. It is painted a medium greige. It has a basic builder vanity and mirror. I upgraded the light fixture so I actually like it. Here are a couple pics:


The shower curtain was an impulse buy. I just needed something to hang up. I like the blue but just not in that room. I'm going to give it to my mom :)


Here's that light fixture...


A sneak peek of my plan ;)


Okay, on to the art. I used these 16x20 canvases from a different (failed) project.


All I did was wrap the canvases with my new fabric. EASY!!


I hot glued the fabric on, starting with the middle of each side, pulling it taut as I glued.


...and here is the finished product! Seriously, this was so easy.


The fabric is Premier Prints Barber in Corn Yellow/Kelp slub. I'm a major fan of Premier Prints...I also got the fabric I'm using for the curtains in the office re-do at the same time.

I can't wait to show you everything else I've got planned. I did buy a mirror from Craigslist to replace my builder grade mirror but it was too big! That's what I get for not measuring!

So tell me, what kind of posts would you rather see? Teasers or everything at once? 

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Brick House, Rope Wall

I don't normally feature other bloggers and their projects but I stumbled across this incredible rope wall over at The Brick House. You've got to check it out!



What an amazing space...I wish I had seen this many years ago when I lived in an old studio space!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Found Treasures...I Didn't Take Home

**This is a repost. Due to issues with Blogger, the original post was deleted.**

Yesterday I posted my awesome finds from my shopping adventures over the weekend. Well, I came across a couple things I loved but just couldn't bring myself to take home.



This lamp had a really cool mid-century vibe to it. I'm a sucker for wood and the chevron...love!


This bar cart was too cool. I love the faux bamboo look to it. At $15, I almost picked it up to turn it into an end table but I just couldn't justify it.



Finally, my friend and I spotted these guys. I didn't even consider bringing them home, they just made me smile :)

Another Waverly Fabric SCORE!

Hey there! I'm just stopping by quickly to share another awesome deal I got on Waverly fabric. If you've been reading this blog for long you know how obsessed I am with Waverly and how somehow I am lucky enough to score some killer deals! I've still got this great fabric. I haven't decided yet what to do with it but it is sitting there, waiting for a fantastic project. You've also seen my living room curtains...I love this fabric!

Well, today on another trip to Joann I came across this fantastic Waverly Sun N Shade fabric. The pattern is called Chippendale Fretwork and the color is called 'Mineral'. (The same color in the cotton is called 'Mist'.)





It was in the clearance section for $6 per yard. There were two yards and 24 inches so I took it all. That's $12 for the two full yards and $4 for the last 24 inches, minus the 50% discount for end of bolt...$14 total! Sweet! I immediately thought of some other items I had purchased previously to dress up my deck this summer.


I got this set of four napkins in a brown and white geometric pattern for $2.48 on clearance at Target a while back. I think they will make great pillows for out there.


I got this 70 inch round tablecloth on clearance for $4.48 at the same time! This is their ever-popular bird print from Dwell.


So, the three fabrics together will make beautiful cushions, pillows and whatever else I can come up with. I love a great bargain!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Found Treasure

This weekend I had the pleasure to go rummaging and thrifting with a fun girlfriend. Here are a few of my finds.


I got this set of four wall decals for $2. I'm not sure what I'll use them for or if I will use them at all but I just couldn't pass them up! I'm doing a gallery wall in my entry way and am leaning toward adding some pics of vintage keys and doors but I really like the chairs!



I found this set of four chinoiserie decorative plates at one rummage sale. The price tags say $2 but they were half off. I think these will be going in my bedroom.












This one is my favorite :)


I got this sweet little couple (hand carved!) for a buck. I think I will probably paint them and find a nice spot.


The woman has a sweet little baby in a pouch on her back.



This apothecary jar came from the same half price sale so it only cost me $0.50! I'm obviously not the only one that likes it :)


Another angle. I threw away those ornaments. They were the super cheap dollar store ones where the paint was all smeared.


I spent $3.50 on this apothecary jar at a thrift store.


I got two yards of this pretty fabric for $2 at another thrift store. I have no idea what I'll be using it for but it was pretty and I couldn't pass it up for that price!



I found this at a thrift store. This is by FAR my best purchase...$5! I'm so excited about it and can't wait to get it up in my entry way. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't want to put it up himself so I'm going to have to hire it out. We don't have a ladder tall enough to reach and he doesn't feel comfortable hard wiring it himself. I told him that getting this up can be part of my Mother's Day gift :)

Did anyone else get any good deals this weekend? I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day...

I'll be posting some fun finds I didn't bring home a little bit later.
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