My awesome grandparents live in a retirement community nearby. Momoo, my grandmother, is in large part to thank for my craftiness and creativity. So, it’s only fitting that she be the recipient of some of my handmade creations. Thus, I’ve taken to making Momoo and Daddy Tom seasonal wreaths for the door of their apartment. I mean come on, what is better than having the best looking door in the retirement community AND be able to brag that it’s your granddaughter that is responsible. It’s grandparent heaven and fun for me too.
My previous wreaths have mostly been concoctions made up of faux florals and doo-dads from the seasonal aisle at Michael’s. Not so steal-worthy, my friends.
But last weekend, I came across this Babble article with 10 Simple DIY Fall Wreaths (many adorable) and decided I would rip off this one in a Valentine’s palette for my sweet grandparents.
You can steal this blogger’s instructions for making felt flowers here and use these adorable baubles for all kinds of applications. I really like this craft because you can cut and fashion the flowers while sitting on the couch (felt sticks to itself – so with just a round object to use as a template, a pen, and some scissors, you can make a whole mess of these little flowers before you ever get out the glue gun).
Once I had them all rolled up, I moved from the sofa to the dining room table and in 30 minutes, they had all been hot glued to the grapevine wreath. I decided that some leaves were in order so I halved some green felt, placed a towel over it and ironed a crease before cutting out the leaf shapes (I learned the hard way that the towel is a big deal – synthetic felt does not like heat!).
Pop on over to Little Things Bring Smiles and steal some inspiration for a lovely Valentine’s Day gift!
The Saturday before Valentine’s Day I got an itch to make a homemade Valentine for my hubby. He’s a man who has everything and we’ve never made much of a big deal over Valentine’s day. In fact last year we had Will’s delicious chicken marsala on our good china by candlelight. It was honestly a perfect evening. That’s one of the great things about my husband. He’s an excellent cook and it’s totally sexy!
The week before Valentine’s Day, my friend Jaime from Prudent Baby wrote a post on Valentines Poems for Every Personality. And on that list, I found one that was PERFECT for him. It’s called The Love Cook by Ron Padgett and it goes a little something like this:
Let me cook you some dinner.
Sit down and take off your shoes
and socks and in fact the rest
of your clothes, have a daquiri,
turn on some music and dance
around the house, inside and out,
it’s night and the neighbors
are sleeping, those dolts, and
the stars are shining bright,
and I’ve got the burners lit
for you, you hungry thing.
HOT! HOT! HOT! I love it. And I wanted to do a little something more with it than write it on a card. But what to do? Put it in a frame? Hand-embroider it on a dishtowel? Paint it on a utensil holder at one of those paint-it-yourself places? Of course I came up with this idea on approximately February 12 so I had to work fast.
Enter Prudent Baby once again! They were featuring a potholder contest at the same time for a chance to win a Brother sewing machine. That’s when I saw this:
And I decided that yes in fact a potholder can be sexy. So I went to the fabric store and picked out some Valentine-y but not too girly fabrics and some notions. Then I ran on over to Michael’s and grabbed some heat transfer paper and I got to work using the instructions that Prudent Baby provided for their contest.
You are definitely going to want to click on that hyperlink up there and look at Jaime’s tutorial for sewing a potholder if you are going to tackle this yourself. But below I’ll summarize the steps with a few tips on what I learned in the process. I must admit – sewing a potholder is a very satisfying little project. It really only takes an hour or so and with some cute fabric, what a sweet little hostess gift or thank you gift it could be.
Here’s how it goes:
1. Cut two 8″ squares of fabric, two 8″ squares of batting, two 5×8″ rectangles of fabric and two 5×8″ rectangles of batting. Pin batting to each fabric piece comme ca:
Now the fact is that you could just use one piece of dense batting in between two pieces of pretty fabric and that would be just fine. But the batting I bought was light so I wanted the extra layer to protect against heat. I was also planning to applique the heart to the potholder and I didn’t want the thread to show through on the other side. That’s why I opted to quilt each side separately, which brings be to point #2.
2. Place a pretty fabric square on a batting rectangle and quilt. I chose to do 1″ parallel lines which I estimated using my little handy ruler. (This is, by the way, a great project to practice sewing straight lines if that’s an issue for you – not that it is for me (cough).)
3. You’re going to do the same parallel line quilting on your second fabric square and batting set. Then move on to your rectangles. The rectangular fabric cuts will be used for the little hand mit portion of your potholder. Since my mit rectangles weren’t getting any appliques or special decoration, I just sandwiched the pretty fabric on either side of 2 pieces of batting, pinned it tight, and quilted away. Jaime says a walking foot for the sewing machine is great for this. I didn’t have one and I did just fine.
4. What you’re going to do next is press your message on to a heart-shaped bit of fabric using heat transfer paper. I didn’t get any photos of this but it’s pretty easy. Just make sure you give yourself some leeway to do a little trial and error with the transfer paper as it is NOT an exact science.
5. Then use the satin stitch setting on your sewing machine to applique the heart on to one of the fabric + batting squares. You’ll wind up with something that looks like this:
5. Now you are going to sew some bias tape to your rectangular pocket on one side and then base the rectangle on to the square while basting the squares together. If you have never sewn with bias tape (I hadn’t), check out Prudent Baby’s tutorial here. But be forewarned, you may become obsessed with bias tape as I now have. Bias tape makes me want to sew a LOT more often because it hides the ugliness! But I digress … here’s how we’re looking now …
6. Now it’s time to apply the bias tape all the way around. Don’t forget to make a provision for the loop to hang you pot holder with. And again, if you haven’t already, check out Prudent Baby’s Bias Tape Tutorial.
7. And that just about wraps it up!
8. Unless of course you are me and you have already decided in your head that a set of pot holders would be way cuter than just one.
I thought the conversation heart motif was kind of fun. Do you see that that one actually has iron marks on it? I suppose maybe the iron was a little too warm, the press was a little too firm, and the hold was a little too long on that heat transfer. But I decided that especially given the message of this pot holder that the iron marks give it more character. So I decided to go with it!
My Love Cook loves his new pot holders. And for less than $25 (I had to buy every single thing I used here … no scraps to be had), I made a cute, custom and funny valentine for my love. Handmade gifts are fewer and far between these days. Who better to give one to than the one you love the most?
Thanks, Prudent Baby, for the poem and pot holder inspiration. Clearly, I was inspired!
So I know I said I’d do my big reveal in a day or two and here’s it’s been a whopping 2 weeks. Poop on me. The truth is, I planted my window boxes and I think they need more oomph.
Here’s what I mean by oomph:
Courtesey Luvzdollz on Flickr.
From BehindtheScenes2006 on Flickr.
From Angie Naron on Flickr.
From Joyeux Artiste on Flickr.
All totally lush and gorgeous, right? When I wrote Part 1, I had my flowers all picked out (and purchased!) and I just knew that I was going to get that kind of look. But I kind of think I struck out.
Here are my front window boxes now:
I used one of my favorite tricks from last year which is to buy a big ol’ bushy fern and take a butcher knife to it. Yes, that’s right I just sawed that sucker in half and used a half in each window box and I think the effect is quite nice.
But my issue is with the Catalina (or Wishbone flower) I chose. I LOVE the trumpet shape of these.
And I had the idea that they would just mass and mound in there and maybe even do a little trailing. And you can see in the photo above that they are trailing a tad. They are pretty up close but not so stunning from far away. I think my issue is that I need more impact!!
I should have listened to the container rule that I have always followed more closely.
Start with a thriller (something tall), add a spiller (something over the side) and fill in with a colorful filler.
Those Catalinas are beautiful but there just isn’t enough impact. So before I threw in the towel, I tried to apply my learnings to our sunny back deck where we also have window boxes. And this is where I netted out:
Geraniums, Petunias, and Potato Vine. Classic. And apparently for a reason. It looks great.
Excuse the slightly dark photos as these were taken at dusk.
So what do you think? Should I replant my Catalina elsewhere and look for a more colorful filler? Remember, it’s shady in the front there and I think tough to find a good bloomer. Any suggestions?
I’ve always loved Nashville. Even during my years in Oxford, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia neither felt as much like home as Nashville. Until this weekend I thought that was because it was familiar, family-filled, and wrought with character. This weekend, when a 500-year flood brought devastation to our town, I learned what it is about Nashville that makes it so special. Nashville is a community in the truest sense of the word. In a time when Community means everything from Facebook to a sitcom on NBC, it’s easy to lose sight of what a community really is and how valuable living in a real one can be. But Nashville has not forgotten and it’s a very beautiful thing.
Nashville is in a world of hurt right now. My little corner of the world that I so lovingly write about on this blog is blessedly in-tact despite this scene that played out Saturday literally in front of my very own home (on the left is the street in front of our house and on the right our neighbor’s home on the downhill side of our creek).
But I have friends, family, fellow church members, and even close neighbors who are in a state of disarray that they never dreamed possible in their lifetimes. This isn’t the kind of flood that hit only homes perched on riversides. This flood moved entire homes completely on dry land off their foundations and down the street. It tore the ashalt off of roads who previously had seen only a gentle bath from a storm drain. It filled thousands of cars with murky, muddy water. Grocery stores, banks, small businesses, and restaurants are still (3 days after the rain stopped) waiting for the waters to recede so they can pick up the pieces. Historic and important tourist (read economic) resources like the Grand Ole Opry, Opryland Hotel, 2nd Avenue, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Titans Stadium, Bridgestone Arena, and countless others have sustained millions of dollars in damage. The submerged stage of the Grand Ole Opry hits Nashvillians particularly hard since it’s the same circle of wood where so many great musicians have been both discovered and made, even back to the days when the Opry was at the Ryman Auditorium (they moved the wood from the stage out to the new Opryland location when it was built).
(pic courtesy Matthew Daniel via Facebook)
My own father had to rescue a friend’s daughter, her husband, and her 2 kids from their home in his fishing boat. This is the real deal. It’s depressing to see a city that I love so dearly in such devastation.
But what is indescribably uplifting is the fact that Nashville has once again proven herself as one of the most graceful and lovely cities of the South thanks to a true sense of community. As so many others have said, we’re seeing little in the way of national news coverage (given the magnitude of the situation) in part because there is no rioting in the streets, no looting to speak of, no complaining about our metro government’s inability to help those in need. Instead, neighbors are helping neighbors, congregations are helping congregations, and little by little Nashville is picking up the pieces and making ourselves whole again.
Here are just a few things I have witnessed:
- Hart Ace Hardware sending out social media messages asking if there are special order items that they can bring in via truck to assist people in their clean up efforts when just days ago this was the scene from just a few doors down:
(Photo courtesy Ann Ripley)
- Our own neighborhood association email listserv has transformed into a trading platform for fans, de-humidifiers, hoses, piping, sump pumps, and just plain help (and I’m very proud of my very own husband who helped to keep that rotation like a well-oiled machine).
- The Gordon Jewish Community Center so overflowing with donations of food, clothes, towels and toiletries that they have asked that donations stop. They have set up one of their halls like a grocery store and they are inviting anyone in who needs assistance, not just those staying at the shelter, to pick up supplies and basic necessities. If you know anyone in need, they are at 801 Percy Warner Blvd.
- Woodmont Christian Church’s Mobile Loaves and Fishes operation served over 1,500 meals yesterday alone with donations from Kroger and Trader Joe’s and the assistance of over 300 volunteers. They have focused on serving the poor and homeless displaced by the flood as well as the individuals working to keep our one remaining water treatment plant in tact and at our Emergency Command Center and 5 disaster response information centers where affected individuals without phone, television or Internet can get information and assistance. With all of that aid going on, you can simply stop by 3605 Hillsboro Rd. at Woodmont Christian’s South Hall and volunteer your time or make a donation of any of these following items:
fresh fruit (apples, pears, oranges, clementines, bananas)
washclothes + towels
toiletry items (toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner)
sandwich-sized zipper baggies
disposable to-go containers with lids
disposable oven-safe aluminum baking pans
Cousins Tallu Scott Schuyler and Margo Martin Cloniger are coordinating the efforts at Mobile Loaves and Fishes. I know them both personally and I have no doubt that their fabulous organizational skills and can-do attitudes are a large part of what is making this ministry so successful. Go volunteer alongside these smiling faces:
(stolen without permission but with gratitude from Tallu’s Facebook page)
- Hands on Nashville had registered over 7,000 volunteers in the first 2 days since the rained stopped and I’m sure there are even more volunteers registered now. They are doing an excellent job of matching volunteers to opportunities via their website but even more help will be needed. Even if you can’t volunteer this week or weekend, get on the list since clean-up will likely continue for a very long time.
- And if you are far away and you want to assist this lovely town as we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and reclaim our beautiful city, you can donate to the American Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999. When you do, an automatic donation of $10.00 will be made. There will be a $10.00 charge on your monthly cell phone bill for the donation.
While it’s been horrifying to watch the devastation play out, it has been uplifting to be a part of such a generous and open-armed community. I’ve never been prouder of Nashville.
When we bought our house, the hallway featured a built-in coat rack. It was a 1×4, painted the same color as the wall, and out fitted with a series of simple, wooden pegs. It was functional, for sure, but just not all that attractive.
Will and I decided that we would pull that rack down and recreate it later to better match the casual elegance we are hoping for in our house. And last week, we finally got around to doing just that. Here’s our new coat rack:
It turns out that this is a great feature to have in the downstairs hallway of our house. For starters, as is typical with any home built in 1930, ours is light on the closets (at least downstairs). And the closet that we had designated as our coat closet is inconveniently situated behind a rocking chair. We rationalized that the rocker would be easy to move for access to the closet. But what has happened instead is that the rocker has BECOME our closet … where we drape jackets, hats, scarves, the dry cleaning, dog leashes … you get the picture. Our hallway coat rack has really helped to corral all of that clutter. And what else is a hallway good for anyway? Might as well be for hanging coats.
How’d we do it? Glad you asked:
putty knife
STEP 1: MEASURE AND CUT
First things first you want to measure the length of your coat rack. We were butting ours up against the frame of 2 doors which made finishing it off pretty easy. If you don’t have 2 door frames (or even a door frame and a corner wall) between which to position your coat rack, you’ll want to consider how you’ll cap off the corners. If using trim, you’ll need a miter saw to get the look right. But we didn’t have to worry about that because the door frames helped us out!
STEP 2: AFFIX THE 1×4 TO THE WALL
We were working with a plaster wall so my hubby used special screws intended just for that purpose. Whatever is right for your wall, make sure you sink your screws so that you can come back later and fill over the screw head with wood filler. Will also popped a few nails in the 1×4 using his finish nailer for good measure.
STEP 3: AFFIX THE DECORATIVE TRIM
We chose this particular trim because we thought it echoed the patterns in the iron hooks. You could choose just about anything that is intended to help finish off an edge. The best thing to do is to hold it up against your 1×4 while you are still at the store and see how it looks. You’ll use the finish nailer to attach this trim. This is an important step. You don’t want to use a regular old hammer and nails for this task because you will dent the design in your decorative wood. Not cool! So rent or borrow the finish nailer if you don’t have one and enjoy the rush of using a pneumatic power tool!
STEP 4: SINK YOUR NAILS
Now you’ll want to go along and sink any of the nails that the finish nailer didn’t sink, so that the heads are just below the surface of the wood.
STEP 5: FILL, PUTTY AND CAULK
Get your wood filler and fill in the holes where the screws were installed. If you see any funky knots in the wood, you’ll want to fill those with wood filler too. Next you want to use some painter’s putty to fill in the tiny holes where the nails are The smother you can get the surface, the more professional and like-it’s-always-been-there your coat rack will look. Finally, use your caulk and caulk gun to fill in any cracks between the 1×4 and the trim or between the new rack and the door frame.
STEP 6: SAND SMOOTH
Once everything has dried, come behind and gently sand to make sure everything is smooth.
STEP 7: TAPE, PRIME & PAINT
Next you’ll want to tape off the wall around your wood installation and apply a coat of primer. Kilz is good for making sure that any knots in your wood don’t show up later as dark spots. Once that’s dry, apply 2 coats of paint. We chose the same color as our trim but the possibilities there are really endless.
STEP 8: INSTALL THE HOOKS
We found our hooks on eBay. I think we paid $20 for all 4. But there are lots of hooks out there if you get to looking. The web is a great place (but make sure you comparison shop) as is the flea market. Nashvillians, there is a vendor at our monthly flea market that has every kind of iron hook you can imagine – from kid-appropriate to ranch-appropriate to more Victorian like ours. We chose 4 and spaced them equally apart on the board. Will pre-drilled the holes and then just screwed them right in with some brown screws (due to the stellar price, the screws were not included so we just picked those up at Home Depot.
And ta-daaaaaa! A great place to hang coats and wrangle general clutter. How do you like our fancy coat rack, inspired by the much simpler one that greeted us when we bought our house? Those comments make me feel loved, ya know!
About a month or two ago, I was working out at the gym perusing someone’s left-behind copy of Better Homes & Gardens. I turned the page to find a photo of a farm-house sink styled with all kinds of colorful vintage vases brimming with different kinds of flowers. (Out of guilt, I didn’t nab that tattered BHG and now I can’t find the photo anywhere … let me know if you’ve seen it so I can post it here!) It dawned on me that literally every single vase that I own is clear glass (well, with the exception of my the egg-shaped vases that I used in my collection post). So I resolved to add some color to my vase collection and on my last flea market run, I scored this:
Besides just being a great thing to have on hand for when my hubby brings home flowers (which the smart guy does with regularity), I was hoping to find something that was just the right size to brighten up the telephone nook in our hallway. And, I think it definitely does.
I was so pumped up to see that the blue in the vase totally picks up on the blue in that occasional chair that we got hand-me-down from Will’s mom and freshened up with a bit of new fabric. But, I still felt like the space was lacking some pizazz. My good friend Rebecca who blogs right here told me about an awesome website that you’ve got to check out. You see, Rebecca knows that I had fake flowers and plants. You will never find silk botanicals in my home ever. But the real thing, when dried, is a totally different story. So for weeks I’ve been obsessing over Nettleton Hollow. Check out some of their cool offerings:
6 dried artichokes are $16.50 and 10 lotus pods are $8.50. Either would look awesome in a bowl or tray on a coffee table. The dried artichokes would be especially cute in a dish nestled in on some shelves with your cookbooks.
This manzanita branch is 24″ tall and $18.50. If you aren’t convinced that you should spend nearly $20 on a branch, take a look at Nettleton Hollow’s blog where manzanita branches are the star of the show and are used in a million different creative ways.
So I spent weeks surfing around the site. At first I was going to go the safe route and just get some grasses to fill my vintage vase. But then I decided, what the heck, let’s get funky with the dried botanicals. I found this photo on the Nettleton Hollow website and decided that was the ticket:
So here’s my little telephone nook now:
These botanicals are almost pre-historic looking. I’m into it! And while I was at it, I put some of that boring, dried rice on top of my bar to give it a little extra height. Maybe that crystal vase will get replaced with something colorful sometime soon. And for sure I’ll put an actual photo in that Pottery Barn frame instead of the birch trees that have been in it since Christmas.
Funky, dried botanicals r us! What do you think? Comments make me feel loved!
Ever since I graduated from dorm life, my mom has given me a bunny at Easter. I love rabbits (such sweet little faces) and I love to celebrate Easter and Spring so it’s no wonder she chose this tradition for me. Last year, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law jumped in on the fun as well. As you might suspect, my rabbits are multiplying like, well, like rabbits. In Easter’s past I have spread them all over the house under the guise that having a happy bunny to look at in every room makes my bunny collection more enjoyable.
But this year I decided I would draw my bunny collection display inspiration from just about every article I see on collections. Everyone says group collections for impact. And I have to agree that a thematic display like a collection is a pretty cool way to show off your stuff. Here are some examples:
Genia Gilchrist (of Gilchrist & Gilchrist here in Nashville) was featured in Southern Living just before the holidays. In that article, Genia shares how she groups a collection of Santas she has been acquiring over the years. Isn’t it fun to see all of the different shapes and styles in one place?
I’m a lover of plates, although I try to resist buying them on every shopping trip (which I would if I could). Mostly I don’t buy them because I don’t have a great place for displaying them. But just have a look at how this collection totally makes this kitchen. Just darling.
If I had a collection of sea life specimens, I would want them to look like this. (That’s one sentence I never dreamed I would type!) If these were spread all over the house, it would be downright creepy. Like I’m getting the hell out of here creepy. With sea life specimens on these modern, open shelves, this office becomes totally cool.
modern home office design by san francisco architect Schwartz and Architecture via Houzz
I actually saved the picture below because I love the casual, mix-matched style of that front porch. But check out this clever display of metal buildings that this homeowner collected on his travels (#3 below). This is genius because put yourself in this man’s wife’s shoes (I don’t know that he even has a wife but work with me here). Your man insists on buying metal buildings on every trip that you take. He also insists that they be displayed. I mean what – are you going to strew them all over your den or even all over your bookcases? Well, come to think of it the bookcase idea could look cool. But what about putting them all together on the lower level of a table like this? Cha-ching! My Dad’s got some lighthouses that are going to get the same treatment in our lake house.
But back to bunnies. One of the spots in my house that I can’t get happy with is my mantle. I mess with that sucker at least once a month. Stay tuned for a post on that. So I figured why not corral all of the bunnies on the mantle for one high-impact Easter extravaganza? So night before last I unwrapped all of my bunnies and started arranging them. I was aiming for balance without symmetry. But when I finished, the mantle looked kind of empty. I decided this was actually good news since I can keep collecting and not outgrow my mantle for at least a few more Easters.
So to fill in a bit for this year, I added 5 of the Pottery Barn Egg-Shaped vases that I had been given for Christmas. This set of 6 total vases was a great find. The colors totally fit in with our house and even just a single flower makes these so cute almost anywhere. I hadn’t used them as a group until I nestled them in between the bunnies and I’ve got to say, I love the repetition that they add to the display. And although I don’t usually choose carnations, I chose them for this project since they are pink, cheap and long-lasting. They might even make it to Easter with a trim and water change.
What do you think of my bunny collection display on the mantle? Maybe it’s still missing a little oompf? Comments make me feel loved!
Nashville has just experienced a crazy bout of cold weather. Although it seems to finally be passing, I’ve been dreaming about the lake house for just about 2 weeks straight. I put together this idea book on a new website that I found. Houzz is totally an idea thief’s dream … you have got to check it out if you love looking at pics of interiors.
As I studied the photos that I loved as lake inspiration, a theme emerged. Can you figure it out?
I’ve decided that nothing says “lake” like a painted plank. It’s great for walls, floors, and porch ceilings. The texture and interest that it adds makes a place instantly feel like it has a history … WAAAAAY more exciting than drywall.
But remembering that we are aiming to build our lake house on a major budget, will we be able to achieve such style? I let my fingers do the walking (or typing as it were) and enlisted my trusty friend Google to see what I can learn.
After several faulty clicks, I finally landed on this gorgeous link from Southern Living. Here I learned that pine planked walls can also be called Shiplap. Ok 2 useful bits of information: pine and shiplap.
Additional searching brought me to this video from my old friend Bob Vila. Bob’s got a useful albeit maybe a little boring video on installing Shiplap where he mentions that it costs under $25 for a 4×8 sheet of paneling – or under $0.70/board. This still seems a bit pricey to me consider that drywall costs between $9-$15 per 4×8 sheet. So maybe we reserve the shiplap for interest up to chair rail height or maybe just for a single wall in a room like a bathroom.
Can’t wait to get our plank on!
My husband has an uncle who enjoys woodworking. This Christmas, we opened a package to find he had given us a pair of handmade cedar birdhouses! One was a wren house and the other for blue jays. Aren’t they awesome?
You don’t have to be a bird watcher to appreciate a handmade birdhouse. Think about it. Who isn’t fascinated with birds? I mean come on, they fly! And what a great gift for families with kids. Post these suckers close to a window with a comfy seat and the little ones will be sure to be entertained … well, at least for a short while.
And, if you or the ones you love aren’t handy with wood working, then you can cheat. Lord knows I LOVE a good cheat. A quick search on Etsy turned up over 1,300 bird houses in the wood working section alone. I love buying gifts on Etsy because the seller usually puts in a little card talking about their handmade business. The recipient knows you didn’t just pick up this birdhouse at KMart.
Check out this cutie I found, just $15 from Etsy seller Bacon Square Farm. I love that little twisted perch. Such a simple detail makes it so special!
Or, if you are looking for something a little more mod, check out this vintage camper birdhouse for $45 from Etsy seller Strictly for the Birds. You can even order a custom license plate with up to 10 characters for just $4 extra. Freaking adorable.
And, if you want to take it up a notch, click the “Custom” button at the top of Etsy and request a bid for a custom birdhouse from the Etsy community. Snap a pic with your cell phone and you can include it in your bid request. A birdhouse built to custom specifications would be a great gift for a first-time homebuyer or as a thank you to friends who invite you to spend a weekend in their vacation home. Also great for matriarchs or patriarchs who have everything and have created memories for your family in a special home that you can immortalize in birdhouse form. With Etsy Custom, you can be as specific or as general as you want and YOU name the price. You are not locked into any purchases until you accept an offer. I LOVE buying gifts this way.
I love a gift that makes memories. This is that kind of gift. So whimsical and thoughtful, steal this idea and give someone a handmade, or even custom, birdhouse!!
Earlier this week, I wrote a post about the Real Simple inspired Wrapping Brunch I threw. I promised food details so here they are!
As I mentioned in that post, I served Eggs Benedict Souffle, Banana Breakfast Cake, Fruit Salad, Biscuits, Tea, Coffee, Bloody Marys and Pomegranate Mimosas. To keep things easy, I bought pre-cut fruit salad and frozen biscuits. At the bar, I served things DIY style. For Bloody Marys I offered Zing Zang, celery, garlic-stuffed olives, pickled okra, lemon wedges, celery salt, prepared horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. For the Pomegranate Mimosas, I set out chilled champagne and a small pitcher of POM Wonderful juice. The guests knew what to do!
I prepared the Eggs Benedict Souffle the night before and let it set in the refrigerator overnight. The faux-hollandaise that accompanies the souffle had to be made the morning of the party but that was no big deal. Here’s the recipe, shared without permission but with gratitude to my husband’s cousin who owns and operates a fabulous ranch in Colorado. This guy knows how to entertain and this casserole is always a HUGE hit! Click the image for a printable 4×6.
I also prepared the Banana Breakfast Cake the night before. This cake is more like a breakfast bread that is made in a bundt pan. I used a Williams-Sonoma Heritage Bundt pan that I mention here only because my cake totally stuck! I don’t know if it was the recipe or my oven or the pan but it sure did! But taking Julia Child’s advice to never apologize for a culinary mistake, I put that cake on my cake stand and out on the table. It tasted great so who cares. Here’s a shot of what was left of the cake after the party …
And now that your mouth is watering, here’s the recipe. Provided without permission but with gratitude to Lynn Christman. Lynn gave me this recipe at one of my bridal showers and I can tell it’s going to become a family favorite! I used dried cranberries but I think dried cherries would be A-MAY-ZING. I’ll be using those next time. Click the image for a printable 4×6.
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