DIY: wooden bird key holder

Here's a project that B and I completed a little while ago. We've been trying to create a little nook in our kitchen to place miscellaneous items like our keys, cell phones, wallet, etc. when we come in through the garage door. After searching around for a key holder, I came upon one on etsy and decided to try to create our own version.

Here's how it went down:

1. B began by cutting out a piece of wood (using leftover scraps from an existing project) and sanded it down to size
   
2. Then we dabbled around in Microsoft Office, printed out the bird and letters, traced the sillouettes onto contact paper, cut them out and arranged them onto the wood
   
3. Using a bright cheery yellow acrylic paint, we brushed on 2-3 coats. After it was dry, we peeled off the contact paper to reveal the letters and birds underneath
4. The whole piece was finished off with a few coats of Krylon spray gloss, which helped to bring out the grain in the wood
5. B then attached the hooks and added two more in the back so we could hang it!

**Please note that I edited out all the squabbling that took place about just how big the birds needed to be and the reasons why B's initial couldn't go first, the doubts I had about whether we should have bought banana yellow instead of sunflower yellow paint, and how it's really not ideal to spray Krylon in an enclosed area...

All in all we had fun working on this little project. We've just about got the little nook all set up so expect pictures of that soon!

Favorite Friday Recipe: Shrimp and Scallop pizza

Once a month or so, B and I schedule "date night", where we take turns planning a date for each other. A night for me might include sushi and watching "The Proposal", a night for B--Mexican or some other cheese laden food. Last friday, B surprised me with all the ingredients for a DIY date night. He remembered a fantastic pizza we shared while on vacation in St Martin at a wonderful little restaurant called Rancho Del Sol. The pizza was fabulous--a thin crust with fresh shrimp and scallops and drowned in some sort of herb oil.

Here's their version:
And ours:

We had french bread and butter to start (in St Martin tradition) and polished it all off with a bottle of Riesling. A perfect recreation of our St Martin meal. Except for the fact that I had to watch "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" afterwards...


The recipe can be found here

Wishlist Wednesday: Target designer collaborations

Hello my name is Sharon and I am a Target addict. I unsuspectingly drive there simply to buy a loaf of bread or a tube of toothpaste and suddenly I need three bags to carry all my stuff out to the car.

Not only does Target do a good job of making it seem like I need all these various items at their store, they have also ingeniously paired up with various designers and roll out their own versions of the brand. Loomstate, Alexander McQueen, Osh Kosh, Dean Harris, and Anna Sui are just some of the designers with Target collaborations.

They've really been stepping up their home collections recently and my wishlist today features first some lovely bedding from Dwell Studio. I absolutely adore the fresh aesthetics that Dwell brings to their patterns. I own two of their duvet sets (from 75% clearance sales) and the quality is great. Here's a top contender from their spring line that I suspect will be coming home with me soon:

Dwell Studio for Target Mandala Coverlet and Shams:
I am thoroughly excited about the next designer collection, Liberty of London which will be in stores March 14. Here are some items that I will definitely be scoping out:

Love this floral collection with features a teapot, serving tray, mugs, and tiered cake plate (to replace my beloved Orla Kiely for Target tiered cake plate, may it rest in peace)



And I love this peacock piggy bank!

Vintage Monday: Catherineholm teapot

I'm so proud to show off my latest vintage goodness--a Valentine's Day present from B! I guess he does read this blog after all. Note to self: remember to post a ton on wishlist wednesdays

Of course I'm crazy about Catherineholm and I love this teapot--it looks great on the stove. I'm so pleased to have this as my first piece (and hopefully not my last!). Thanks honey!

Here it is in the kitchen:


And admiring its own reflection here:


And speaking of Valentine's Day gifts, here was what I got B. A lovely etsy-er, duetletterpress, hand drew a picture of our house and then letterpressed it onto cards. I got some as moving annoucements complete with our names and addresses and she was sweet enough to also do a plain one with a little phrase underneath. I framed it on a floating frame (bought from Michaels with yet another 50% coupon) and we're hunting for the perfect spot to hang it!



And a closeup--look at the great details!

Wreath of the month: February

Happy last day of February! I had this month's wreath up by Valentine's Day but just never got an opportunity to take pictures of it, so here you have it on the last day of February!

In keeping with a Valentine's Day theme, I wrapped a heart shaped styrofoam wreath with grey yarn, then cut out and stitched together a felt heart, stuffing it with cotton balls. Then the wreath was hung from a red and white ribbon that took some maneuvering to get it wrapped around and fairly straight.

The breakdown:

• Heart wreath form: $2 (used another 50% coupon at Michaels!)
• Grey yarn: free (leftover from another project)
• Red felt, thread and ribbon: free (leftover from other projects as well as years of hoarding)
• Total cost: $2
• Total time: 1.5 hours (but once again spread out over several intervals, making it seem more laborious than it really was)

Closeup of the final product:


And a little stitching on the back of the heart:

Flowers of the month: February

I was in charge of this month's flowers and chose hydrangeas, this time in a lovely antique purple. I love them b/c the blossoms make a big impact and there's not really much arranging to be done!

A tip on prolonging the life of your hydrangeas (so they do not wilt as quickly or this method can also be used to revive wilted blossoms):

1. Fill a vase with room temperature water
2. Heat up some water close to boiling in the microwave in a separate glass or bowl
   
3. When cutting the hydrangeas, figure out how tall you want them to be in your vase, then snip them with kitchen shears, always right before a nub on its stem
4. Place the newly cut stem in the hot water for 20-30 seconds
5. Then put them in the vase with room temp water
6. Enjoy! Mine have lasted close to two weeks with this method.
   

Favorite Friday Recipe: Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

I have really great memories of these cinnamon rolls that my mom used to bake every Sunday morning. She had gotten the starter from a friend and it made the best dough ever for bread, rolls, and of course cinnamon rolls. I've never quite recovered from the day when my mom threw out that precious starter. From then on, every cinnamon roll was a disappointment and could never compare to those original ones.

Well enter the Pioneer Woman whom I love love love. She posted this Cinnamon Rolls 101 recipe and I spent so much time reading the step by step instructions and drooling over the pictures. I've never been really handy at baking (something about not really being exact about measurements) and am terrible at dough, but I decided to give it a try. With the help of my sister in law, we measured and rolled and sprinkled and baked and to our delight we were finally able to proclaim--the best cinnamon rolls ever!

And the most miraculous thing of all is that I've been able to recreate these time and time again. Here are a couple of tips I can share after making many batches:

1. You can tell when the milk/oil/sugar mixture is scalded by the bubbles that just begin to hit the surface
2. Use plenty of flour on your surface to help with the rolling
3. Yes you will want to track down the maple flavoring for the icing, it's worth it.
4. And yes, the coffee is really necessary. I don't drink coffee at all so I just went to get a $1 cup at McDonalds
5. These freeze well (I put them in the round aluminum tins, place in a gallon size ziploc bag and then squeeze the air out)
6. And any leftover dough, if you can resist the urge to sprinkle more butter and cinnamon sugar on, are actually great left as is and baked as dinner rolls

Enjoy!

Here they are baking in the oven (before icing)

And after the glorious icing