recent flea market/yard sale finds

in my opinion there is nothing better than finding an excellent yard sale or flea market. you can find the coolest things and they are usually incredibly cheap. not to mention you will have things that nobody else (or at least no one else that you know) has. and you can feel good knowing that you're helping to lessen the amount of stuff in the world. buying something new, no matter what it is, contributes to the drain of energy and collection of green house gases in this wonderful place we call the earth. recycling, repurposing, reusing things is the best (and most fun) way to lessen your impact on this planet.

the bird mirrors were 50 cents for both. i plan on painting them a bright color. the metal tray was $5.

the lamp was from a yard sale. it is a solid piece of wood and was one dollar! i just need to find a lamp harp for it and recover a shade i have.


this set of patio snack plates was made by the federal glass company. how cool are they? i got these at a small farmer's market by my parents house, where i also scored the bird mirrors for 50 cents. not only did i find cool stuff, i also ate a delicious pulled pork bbq sandwich AND met this adorable girl:

i have a thing for goats. i LOVE them. it started on our honeymoon where we stayed at a villa on the beach on st. john u.s.v.i. our neighbor happened to be the miss lucy of miss lucy's, a great casual restaurant on the beach. she had a ton of goats roaming around, they would run up and down the fence around our property and try their hardest to get in when we opened the gate. apparently they liked to eat all of the plants that the owner had landscaped the property with. but they were so cute, i took a ton of pictures of them. unfotunately that was when i still used film, so i don't have the pictures on my computer, so i can't torture you with more goat pictures.



here is some fabric i picked up at shupps grove flea market. i look at it as fabric, but actually it is a pillow case, napkin and table cloth.

and not related to flea markets or yard sales, is this picture i took of the land around my parents. i never realized how beautiful it is around there until i moved away.

beginner's quilt class complete

saturday was my last beginner's quilting class at spool. it was a lot of fun and i just finished binding my second quilt. this time i did it the proper way and finished it by hand instead of with the sewing machine. although i did totally cheat and machine quilted it. what can i say, i am lazy and impatient. the pattern was a combination of 6 different blocks and strips of fabric. i used the following fabrics: two young street by prints charming, westminster fibers-birds, Tina Givens for westminster fibers-large petals, and Katie Fassett for rowan fabric-spot. i think i need to use some restraint next time i pick out fabrics. it's a little, okay a lot, busy.

machine quilting

binding

mitered corners

finished quilt

ikea to the rescue

going to ikea is like entering the unknown, you never know what you're going to find. they have so much cool stuff that it is hard for me control myself and not buy every plate, cup, frame, plant (that i eventually kill) and thingamajig that i see. unfortunately the down side is they are also ALWAYS out of at least one thing i really wanted to get.
i had been looking for something to hold and display my jewelry for a long time and finally realized the ikea grundtal bar would be perfect. they also have sweet little white ceramic pots that you can hang from the hooks to put stuff in. it not only keeps my jewelry out in the open so i remember to wear it, it's also like a little piece of art for the wall.

you can use these rods to hang anything. in our old apartment we had one in the kitchen to hold paper towels and cutlery. that one is now put to use in the laundry room of our house to hold fabric softener, paper towels and other stuff. you really can use these things in any room for anything.

delicious scones

this recipe from allrecipes.com makes the best
scones
on friday i made a batch of orange cranberry scones and this morning another batch of lemon blueberry. the orange cranberry is the best.


simple scones recipe

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup raisins (or dried currants)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg


DIRECTIONS
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
FOOTNOTES
Cranberry-Orange Scones
Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated orange rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried cranberries for the raisins.
Lemon-Blueberry Scones
Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the raisins.
Cherry-Almond Scones
Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the raisins.
This recipe was originally featured in the USA WEEKEND article Simply Perfect Scones on December 19, 2004.

wallpaper love

most people think of ugly florals and old fashioned grandma patterns when they hear wallpaper, but things have changed. awesome wallpaper is everywhere. check out these beauties from graham and brown






i have been trying to pick a wallpaper for our stairwell, but am having a hard time deciding. i had my mind set on the cole and sons woods wallpaper, but i kept seeing it on every blog and once i saw it in the pottery barn catalog (not that i have anything against pottery barn) i knew i had to pick a new one that is a little more unique. although i do still love it...

image from rose and radish
it comes other colors, you can find them on the cole and sons website. it's in flash, so i don't know how to link the images.

it's best to use these wallpapers on one wall so you don't overwhelm the room. or in a small room such as a bathroom. check this one out from walnut wallpaper

happy 4th of july

this is the first 4th of july we've been home for in a few years and it's going to be awesome. we'll be celebrating it by going to a bbq and then rocking out to renegade, an 80s cover band fronted by my brother-in-law and staring d.a. and other friends. if you're not there this is what you're missing.



happy 4th!