Artisinal LA

Last weekend I made a trip to the fashion district in LA for Artisanal LA - a tasting event featuring local, handmade foods, drinks and crafts. The event was in the penthouse of the Cooper Building in downtown LA, a space that is home to various showrooms, designers, artists, etc. There was a fair share of jams, bacon spreads, chemical free honey, BBQ sauces, and cupcakes, but Chocovivo and SoNo mustard stood out above the rest. The salted almond chocolate and the cilantro lime mustard are worth trying and reasonably priced. Amazing building and view of downtown LA also!

Handcrafted Coffee Table

One of the benefits of dating a creative, artistic, handy guy is that he can build almost anything. While our taste is very Room & Board, CB2, and West Elm, our budget is very Ikea, Goodwill and Salvation Army. So, my boyfriend decided to build a coffee table and finally use the cool metal casters I found at the flea market last year. The workshop/garage area of our building is non-existent, so I made a coffee cake to bribe our friends to let us use their garage and tools for the day. The result...cute coffee table below! Great storage, easy to move around and very modern. I love it!

Another Ring Pillow

The color inspiration for this ring pillow came from the wedding invitation and the new Martha Stewart paint colors. I used felt on the last ring pillow which is really easy to work with and the edges don't fray, but the color choices are usually very limited, bright and bold. I was looking for more muted tones so I decided to go with linen, canvas and duck cloth. I used felt to cut out the letters and hand stitched them on to the linen pillow. It was so fun to make and I love the way it turned out! A few more of these and I'll have to open an Etsy store!

Shelves Before and After

Anyone that has ever been to any of my apartments in the last 10 years has seen these shelves. They are a little worn, but I can't seem to bring myself to getting rid of them. I've been looking for shelves for the kitchen to put my cookbooks on and decided to give the old shelves a makeover. This is the area I was thinking they could go...

I can't decide if they are cute or not? I'm still debating if I should put them up or look for new shelves.

Fabric Flower Gift Wrap

Although I'm not planning a wedding of my own, I still love to visit Once Wed for cute craft and decorating ideas. Last year there was a DIY project for fabric flower garland. I took the fabric flower idea to wrap a bridal shower gift I went to last weekend. You will need: fabric, scissors, needle and thread and something to trace the circles. Cut six fabric circles. Fold in half, and in half again. Thread through all the corners as shown.

Once you have all six flowers on the needle, pull through and pull both ends of the thread tight and tie a double knot.

When you pull the two ends of the thread together a ball will form. You may need to adjust the pedals a little bit and spread them out to make a full flower. Once Wed post suggests sewing the pedals together, but I didn't and it turned out fine.

The tissue paper wasn't big enough to cover the box, so I staggered the paper about a half inch apart and taped it between layers so the tape didn't show. Attach the flower with thread, tape, glue, or however else you like, and voila! A cute package without spending any money. Just fabric scraps and leftover tissue paper.

David Sedaris

Last night my boyfriend and I went to see the smart and funny David Sedaris. I love his books, love listening to him on NPR and always wanted to go see him live, so I was very excited to get tickets for my birthday!

First, we stopped at a really cute, new wine bar that just opened down the street and had a glass of wine and tasty mixed bar nuts. When I ordered them I was expecting a glass bowl filled with generic mixed nuts from a warehouse store, but these were delicious! I'm not sure how much of each ingredient to use or how long to toast them for, but they were a good assortment of nuts, mixed with brown sugar, cayenne pepper, salt and rosemary. The rosemary and the cayenne pepper together was so good! The dark chocolate on the plate was a perfect addition.

After the wine bar, we walked down the street to the performing arts center and there was David, happily signing books in the lobby. All 5ft. 2 of him. OK, I didn't measure, but he seemed really mini and cute and was really nice to everyone in line. I brought a book just in case I had a chance to talk to him. As I walked up to the line, the security guard told me he had just cut the line off. I begged and pleaded and asked in several different ways but he held his ground and would not let me get in line. I waited 1o minutes and asked again. He said, "If you get in line, I am not going to physically remove you, so...". I took that as a yes and got in line.

I was the last person so it was a little rushed, but I gave him my book and he asked me what my favorite animal was. I said "dog" and then felt dumb because I'm sure 38 other people gave the same response. He drew a dog, looked at it and said, "Well that isn't very good. Hmmm......Oh, I know, I'll make it a dog that is bleeding from the anus," and added red dots to the dog's rear end. He then rushed off and reappeared 5 minutes later on stage. A fork lift dropped him off at the podium. He is wacky and his sister is wackier, but I love the Sedaris'!

Walla Walla, WA

The stars have not aligned in my favor this week as my boyfriend is in Walla Walla, WA for a wedding and I am here at home. Walla Walla is in the south east corner of Washington and has been featured in several magazines in the past few years for its adorable Main St., great restaurants and wineries. I did have a chance to go last summer and fell in love! It is so cute and there are so many things to do. Most of them have to do with eating fresh fruit, fine cuisine and drinking wine, so it's almost impossible not to enjoy yourself!

The family wheat farm.

The beautiful family farm house built around 1905 overlooking the wheat fields.
The groom is the pastry chef at the best restaurant in town , Whitehouse Crawford. I'm missing a dessert reception for a pastry chef's wedding. Upsetting.

Another wheat farm.

Another fantastic restaurant, Brasserie Four! I had the most delicious quiche with caramelized Walla Walla onions and best chocolate souffle with fresh raspberries. I love the french bar stools also!
The wine industry is relatively new and is booming now that the grapes are in their 10th year. A few of the wineries have been open for a while but they were using grapes from the Colombia Valley, not local Walla Walla vines, until recently. The winery below is in an old French school house, hence the name L'Ecole, which means "the school" in French.

If you are ever in Washington, make a side trip here. Or make an entire vacation out of it!

Eye Burrito

One of my favorite books for food and crafts - I like You by Amy Sedaris - Hospitality Under the Influence. Good recipes, quirky crafts and hilarious writing! I don't think she is for everyone, but I find her so funny! In the pantyhose craft section, you'll find the eye burrito. I made one years ago and love it! I keep it on my nightstand or in the freezer if it's hot outside and lay it over my eyes when I need a little relaxation before bed. Think shavasana.Items you will need:
1. Pantyhose (I used hose with a cute pattern)
2. Something to fill it with. (I used lentils but you can use lima beans, barley, rice, etc.)
3. I also added some lavender so it always smells good.

Directions:
1. Cut the leg off around upper thigh area.
2. Fill with about 1 1/2 cups-2 cups of lentils and push it down to the toe area.
3. With the other leg cut it so you have a six inch piece and fill with lavender. Tie a knot at the end. Put the small lavender pouch in the lentil filled tube.
4. Find a length you like and tie a knot. Double the hose over the whole thing (so there are two layers of hose) and tie.
5. Lay down, place over eyes and relax!

I may have just lost my two new male followers.

My New Ride

After the bike heist of 09 left me without two wheel transportation (lessons should have been learned from the bike heist of 07 but were not), my boyfriend started looking for bikes for us on Craigslist. I assumed he was looking at beach cruisers but he came home with this for me. I was thinking more stroll around town, ride the beach path type of bike, but he says this will be just as fun.
I'm told it is a 12 speed Peugeot P6 road bike made in France. I have no idea what that means but it must mean that I'm somewhat hard core as it is a man's frame.

Flea Market Caster Find and Chair Makeover

I went to the Long Beach Flea Market today to help a friend come up with some decorating ideas for her wedding. While looking for jars, dishes, linens, etc., I came across these vintage casters. For anyone that loves casters as much as I do, knows that casters with metal wheels are rare. The big, box home improvement stores only sell the casters with the rubber wheels these days. So when I saw this set of 4 for only $5 I picked them up! I don't have a project for them yet but I'm hoping they inspire my boyfriend to build a cool coffee table that could use some casters. They were really dirty and rusted but with a little steel wool, soap and a toothbrush they will clean up nice. I spent Saturday night working the chairs I got at the thrift store. Foam and fabric that was removed:

Several hours and one box of staples later...the chair gets a much needed face lift. (New chair on right)One down, two to go.

The french baguettes I had planned to make this weekend will have to wait until I can buy a new KitchenAid stand up mixer. I plugged in my current one, touched the bowl and was electrocuted. This is the second time it has happened and it overheats, so I think it needs to be laid to rest. I'm pretty sure people that purchase their KitchenAid's at department stores for $300 don't have this problem. People that acquire them from the side of the road, left for Goodwill and then have their boyfriends fix them, do. Well, it's all out there now. I'm not above Charles Shaw or used appliances found on the street. I need to post of picture of myself. My looks don't resemble that of a transient. I hope not at least.

Roses

It has been a long running joke in our family that I am the favorite child. I don't believe there is any truth to this because a) my parents are fair and I'm sure love us all equally and b) I am the only one of their children that has not given them adorable grandchildren. However, for Valentine's Day, my Dad got me a dozen yellow and pink roses that I've put in cute little bud vases around the house. He got my sister the Huell Howser DVD of In-N-Out. We are having a hard time drawing a conclusion. This is the same guy that wanted to send a life size cut out of himself to his high school reunion when he thought he wasn't able to make it, so the basis for "normal" is a little off. I think he thought he was being fair and both gifts were equal. Who knows maybe it's a really good DVD?

Great Fabric Store Find!

While searching for fabric for my new chairs, I came across an awesome fabric store! The fabrics were adorable and the most expensive was $12/yard. There was also a huge room with hundreds of fabrics for only $3/yard!I picked a solid white for the seats and a print for the backs, $12 total! But then, as with most projects I take on that I think are going to be cheap, I had to go back and get another $50 worth of foam after the original foam disintegrated and turned to dust when I removed the old fabric. I can't wait until they are finished!

Stumptown

Last summer while visiting Portland, OR for the first time, I went to Stumptown Coffee. If you are ever in the Seattle or Portland area, I highly recommend going! It was one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. They roast their beans on site all day, every day.

If you aren't in the Northwest, you can also enjoy Stumptown at the Ace Hotel in NYC. I've never been, but I plan to pose as a hipster for a day next time I'm in NY and stay at the Ace Hotel, drink Stumptown coffee, eat at the Breslin Bar and then maybe ride away on my fixie to a Speakeasy bar. Sounds like I'm joking but I'm not, that would be my dream NYC night! OK, maybe not the fixie part.

I ordered a bag of Stumptown - Hairbender for my boyfriend for his birthday. A little pricey for every day coffee if you don't live close enough to walk there ($15 for a 12 oz bag plus shipping) but a nice birthday treat! Anyway, the reason I was thinking about coffee and posted...today was the last of it.

I can't post about coffee without at least mentioning my trip to a coffee plantation in Brazil a few years ago. One of the best days of my life! It was about an hour outside of Sao Paulo and cost about a weeks' salary, but well worth it!

Great Mid Century Find

Check out these great chairs I got at a vintage shop for $5 each! Unfortunately they only had three, but for $5 I couldn't pass them up. I think they will be cute around our modern pedestal table and the window bench seat that my boyfriend plans to build for additional seating/storage. Now I just need some cute fabric to reupholster them with. I wish I didn't live 400 miles away from the best fabric store ever!