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Cooking is fun again.

My new kitchen is a million times more functional than my old kitchen, cooking is finally fun again. It didn’t start out super functional though, here is what we were working with when we moved in:

The cabinets you’re seeing in that picture are the extent of them — I guess they just gave up and forgot to put one more cabinet in that space next to the sink. Have no fear, after some extensive craigslisting, the perfect stand-alone cabinet was found to fit into that spot. Here is what it looks like now:

The cabinet did not look like that originally though. Wish I had remembered to take a “before” picture, but trust me —  It was a 20$ mess that needed a fresh coat of paint, new handles, and a new top. My handy boyfriend popped the dingy old linoleum top off of it and replaced it with a removable butcher block cutting board. Good as new!

I also whipped up a quick valance last night — I’ve gotten sick of staring at curtain-less windows, they were making me crazy.

Recognize the fabric? It’s one of the Liberty of London scarves from Target!

Just need to hang up some artwork over the kitchen table and I can check off this room as complete (for now).  I’ll share more soon!

Home

Back in action.

After a much needed blogging break to deal with moving, I’m finally back in action. Boxes are almost all unpacked, and I’m onto tackling some projects to make the new apartment feel more like home. The first project checked off the list? Color-coding books and assembling them in my newly acquired West Elm bookcase. (It’s not on sale online, but in the store I got a floor model for much cheaper — it was a steal!)

I’m also very excited to finally have my horse print framed and up on the wall, it fills out the space perfectly!

DIY

Kitchen chair makeover

I’m beyond thrilled with the outcome of my kitchen chair makeover! As a reminder, here are the craigslist finds I was working with:

And onto the big reveal:

I’m obsessed with them. Can’t wait to have the kitchen all set up and see how they look with the kitchen table!

Life

Things that are awesome about today include…

The fig and prosciutto pizza I made for dinner:

The promotion I got at work! (notice how that came second to pizza? Yea. I love food.)

And the awesome print I ordered  from Design Crisis as a present to myself for kicking ass. I can’t wait to frame and hang this bad boy. Nothing says congratulations on your promotion like a giant framed horse… made of other horses.

Life

Typewriter tales.

After my Thank You note post yesterday, one of my girlfriends, Audra, told me she writes her notes on her vintage typewriter which types in cursive. I almost fell out of my chair, and then pulled myself back up to open a new window on the computer to type in “eBay typewriter cursive.”

In addition to her enlightening tip  that  I can buy a typewriter with a script font, and kicking off an intense day of eBay bidding, she also shared a story about a typewriter she lost in college …

She had bought a 1933 Remington Rand Model One, in perfect working condition  at an antique store in Lake George for $25. It served her well all through college but then finally during her senior year it broke.

So she took it to a typewriter shop in the city, lugging her beloved 35 lb typewriter on subways, trains, and through the streets of New York. Once she got it there, they agreed to fix it.

In three weeks it was ready, but the cost to fix it was $225, which was way more than her collegiate budget could afford, so she let it sit on the shelf at the shop for a few months.

When she finally went back, they told her that they thought she had forgotten about it and would never pick it up so they sold it… to TOM HANKS! Apparently, he is a collector. And that’s the story of the typewriter that got away.

Image via stilettogirl on etsy

Recipes

Indulging my indulgent side.

I absolutely love cooking, but its a total challenge in my pitifully tiny excuse for a kitchen. This weekend though I was motivated left and right to cook… first ol’ Martha tempted me with pictures of her Christmas brunch. Caramel drizzled camembert anyone? How about a fried egg in a steaming hot popover? Holy drool Martha.

I also indulged my indulgent side and watched Julie and Julia with a glass of wine on Saturday night. Is it possible to gain weight from watching someone cook? Who cares, anyone that loves butter that much is all right with me.

Inspired, I made an attempt at beef bourguigon on Sunday night, and it was heavenly… and for anyone that wants my review: the book, and the recipe, were better than the movie. But isn’t that always the case?


Travel

Winter wonderland weekend.

I got back from a great weekend getaway in Quebec City (FRIGID, but great). The hotel we stayed at, Le Port-Royal, was modern and lofty. I had to snap a pic of the gorgeous wallpaper and furniture in the lobby.

The old city was like a magical winter wonderland, every store front was decorated for Christmas! They really go all out with the Christmas lights in Quebec. How cute are the santa clothes hanging from clothes lines?

The highlight of the weekend? Not my first attempt at skiing (I did more gymnastics-style tumbling than actual skiing), but the food! We had an amazing dinner at a restaurant called L’Echaude. And the icing on the cake? I tried my first macaroon; now I know what everyone has been talking about! Anyone ever try to make them? The recipes look intimidating!

Image via Mowielicious (looks like a delish recipe!)

DIY

Quilting bee.

I’m so excited, my cousin just gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Samuel. And also exciting, I just finished a baby quilt for her… and don’t act surprised, I went with yellow and grey.

I’m jealous of the baby though, I want to keep it for myself. At least I have some fabric leftover, because I’m obsessed with the grey faux bois Joel Dewberry fabric:

DIY

Thanksgiving sharpie fumes.

My sister and I are freaks, and after Thanksgiving dinner last week, we went to Michael’s to take advantage of their 40% off pre-Black Friday deal (our cousin and aunt came too — at least the crafting freak flag is hereditary).

(Side note: you really don’t want to know what kind of people go to a craft store at 9:00 on Thanksgiving night, it’s a scary breed).

When the two of us get together, it’s usually crafting pandemonium. We’ve been emailing back and forth about the great ideas on P.S. I Made This, and decided we had to make her animal print tote.

A blank canvas tote… a few stencils… some metallic sharpies… and several hours of permanent marker fumes…

And poof! Animal print tote!

I’m debating whether or not to monogram mine like my sister did, check it out here.

Life

Festive Fall.

Getting back to the grind after a long weekend wasn’t too bad today, and I think it was partially more manageable because I had such a fun weekend. I saw my sister, went hiking and leaf-peeping with my boyfriend and had a day of Fall fun with my girlfriends. We spent the day at the SOWA Open Market, browsing the flea market and taking in the sights and scents of Fall.

I can’t believe I’ve lived here for six years and never once went to this market before; it was a great browsing adventure and I even scored a few finds: a vintage Reiner record — I love the colors and text — to frame for my wall, and some fun eggplant beads.

IMG_1312I was eyeing these vintage suitcases, but unfortunately they weren’t for sale… the woman manning the booth used them to transport the jewelry she was selling.

IMG_1293The best part of the market was eyeing all of the gorgeously displayed and richly colored produce at the farm booths:

IMG_1301IMG_1299IMG_1300IMG_1298IMG_1297The weather, the smells, the clothes… everything fell into place for one of those quintessential Autumn weekends, even our cocktails were Fall colors!

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