***BE THE CHANGE***

Saturday, June 30, 2012

DIY: Planting Lavender

We finally got our two varieties of lavender in the ground this afternoon. After removing the weeds from the area we covered it with newspaper in hopes that it will help keep the weeds from coming back up. We then covered the entire area with mulch. It looks so much better!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DIY: Vanilla Extract

DIY: Vanilla Extract by Sanctuary-Studio
DIY: Vanilla Extract, a photo by Sanctuary-Studio on Flickr.

Last night I decided to make some homemade vanilla extract. I found instructions online which stated 1 cup of vodka to 3 split vanilla beans. I had four beans on hand so I upped the vodka (Belvedere, it's all we had) to 1 1/3 cups. I placed the labeled mason jar in the pantry and made weekly entries on my calendar as a reminder to shake to bottle once a week for the next 6 to 8 weeks. We'll see how it turns out! Stay tuned...

Life: Dear Pink Insulator:

Dear Pink Insulator: I know you were only with us for a few months but I still miss you nonetheless. Whoever got into our yard and decided, with their pea-sized brain, to walk off with you is a compete douchebag. I hope the karma attached to stealing from me drives your captor so nuts that they decided to bring you home.

Fingers crossed.

Monday, June 18, 2012

DIY: Front Yard Redux (WIP)

As noted above, our front yard is still very much a work in progress however I couldn't help but share the progress that was made over this last weekend.

Saturday morning I decided that we needed a deliciously fragrant Gardenia near the front door so I ran over to Home Depot where I was able to pick up a 1 gallon plant for $18.00! I planted it in a tall blue pot (above right) which fits perfectly next to our front walkway. It's full of buds. I can't wait until it blooms!

While purchasing the Gardenia pot I also picked up a larger pot for Farilla's beautiful (but root-bound) succulent Bonsai (above left). I think it will be much happier in its new home.

Farilla took a pick axe and shovel to the remaining stump of an unruly and overgrown cactus that was literally killing our Miniature Date Palms. With that now out of the way I'm thinking some feather grasses or maybe a fern or two would fill in that empty space nicely.

I'm also looking forward to getting a few lavender plants in the ground along the front walk behind our Palms.

Boy, what a difference a few pots and some mulch makes!

Burning Man 2012: Homeslice Meeting Success!

Photo courtesy of Richard Brunt.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Life: Local Organic Blueberries...

Organic blueberries were on sale for $1.99 yesterday (regularly 6.99'ish) at Whole Foods. I bought as many as I could carry back to my office. After getting them home I washed and dried them then whipped up a batch of blueberry lemonade. Deeeeeelish!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Life: California Adventuring!

Our park hopper passes were expiring today so we got up early and hit California Adventure. I'd forgotten how much I liked the coaster in that park. Lots of dips, drops and turns. Tower of Terror was a lot of fun too. A first for both of us. We were only in the park for a few hours but that was plenty of time to ride the bigger rides we were most interested in. As always, there will be plenty more to see next time!

Monday, June 4, 2012

DIY: Flourless Almond Butter Cookies

I've had a craving for some cookies so I thought I'd try out a super simple recipe I peeped on Pintrest. The recipe called for peanut butter but I improvised with almond butter since that's what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1c Almond Butter
1/2c sugar
1 egg
A dash of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Drop by the spoonfull on to a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Crumbly yet delicious!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

DIY: Potted Succulent Garden

DIY: Sweatshirt Quilt Layout

Resurrecting a very old project!

Rather than donating my old high school/club soccer and college sweatshirts to Goodwill I've decided to turn them into a sweatshirt quilt.  I started this project a couple years ago but quickly lost interest when I realized how much work goes into cutting out those squares.  Yawn-city!  I tried to pawn this project off my mom (the bonefied quilter in the family) but she wasn't having it.  Apparently retirement life doesn't mean she has as much free time on her hands as one would think.  Three more sweatshirts to go before the actual sewing begins.  Wish me luck.

Life: Gathered Skirt Number Two...

Mom made this one in a third of the time it took for her to walk me through the first skirt. Practice makes perfect.

Life: On To Skirt Number Two...

Gee-tars!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

DIY: Simple Gathered Skirt

I've been coveting one of these nebula skirts as seen on Etsy for a while now. However, for $138 I decided to hold out until I could get my mom to help me make one. I picked up this organic cotton peacock fabric at a local quilt store to use as a test run. I was secretly hoping my mom would just whip it out for me BUT she had other plans. She patiently walked me through every detail step by step and voila! I made my first skirt! It only required one yard of fabric, a little thread and some elastic. Not bad for roughly $18.