You've Got Mail(boxes)

Although it isn't February until tomorrow, I feel like I'm late in decorating for Valentine's Day.  Maybe that's because it comes at the beginning of the month, and I feel like I should enjoy it for as long as possible.

I went to Target and found some adorable mailboxes in the dollar bins.  While I'm sure they're for putting Valentines in, I found another use for them: stowing car keys and sunglasses!

I used Sharpies to write our names on them.  Now they sit by the door and have our keys in them.  For picture purposes I stuck my sunglasses in Colin's box. :)

Even Ruby (the dog) has one!  Hers sits on the coffee table and has candy in it.  Although she can't eat what's in it, at least we didn't leave her out!

Colin was really excited about the mailboxes keeping our keys in order.  He got a little sad when I told him these were just Valentine decorations!

Later this week I'll share a few more V-Day decorations. 

Have you posted about your V-Day decorations?  If so, leave a link to the post so I can see!

Tutorial: Infinity Sweatshirt Scarf

Here's a quick tutorial to make an easy, comfy scarf.  The material is like a sweatshirt so it's super soft.  It's also easy to wear-- just slip it over your head!  You can dress it up or dress it down.

(let's not discuss my modeling skills! a better picture of the scarf is at the bottom of the post!)

I bought a yard of sweatshirt fleece and cut it into equal thirds (so I could make three scarves!).

Take one of your thirds and fold the scarf in half width wise (you want the scarf to stay it's same length). Pin rights sides together.

(click photos to enlarge)

Sew along the edges, right sides together.

I used a stitch that's made to stretch and stay strong.  Use a zig zag stitch if your machine doesn't have this other stitch.

Trim the excess fabric, making sure not to cut into the stitch.

Turn the scarf inside out.

Now fold the scarf in half lengthwise.

Let me clarify that I did not sew the ends on top of each other.  I laid the ends side by side and joined them with a stictch (see picture below).

Using a zig zag stitch, I sewed the two edges together.

Then I flipped it over and did a zig zag stitch on the other side to make a strong seam.

Here's my sister-in-law, Loren, wearing the scarf I made her for Christmas.

I went back to Hancock Fabrics to buy more material, and they're already out of it :(.  Since it's seasonal and they're starting to get in spring fabric, I guess I'll have to wait until next year to make more.  Maybe you can find some still in stock at your fabric store.  It's probably even marked down in clearance!  If you have an old sweatshirt, you could even use that for material.

Let me know if you have any questions (my tutorial may not be very clear) or if you make one yourself!

Grilling Goodness

My husband, Colin, turned 30 back in November (If you're wondering, I'm just a baby and in my mid-twenties), and his sister gave him FireWire.  His sister, Loren, works as a designer at a company that specializes in outdoor spaces.  Think about those shows on HGTV that design amazing patios with outdoor cooking and fireplaces and make you dream of your own paradise, and you'll understand what she does.  Pretty cool!

We're just now getting around to using the Fire Wire, mainly because Colin has had to do some minor repairs to the grill.

I picked veggies that I had already (carrots, tomatoes, radishes, red skin potatoes) and put them on the FireWire.

Then I threw the FireWire in a bag and seasoned everything.

The meat you see is round steak seasoned with this Weber packet.  The seasoning is so yummy, and the steak was incredible (and round steak is pretty inexpensive!).

The great thing about the Fire Wire is you season your veggies (and meat if you put it on there) on the FireWire and then throw it on the grill.  It keeps everything together and works so much better than the wood sticks that burn and fall apart!  When it's all cooked, you just slide everything off the FireWire to serve it.

This meal was delicious!!!

If you know Loren (or me!), she can sell you this great contraption.  If you don't know Loren, then I'm sure you can find it online.  I won't go searching and post a link, though, because you'd be better off to get it from her ;).  She could tell you all about them herself if she ever sets up her own design blog (hint hint, Loren!).

EDIT: To answer a few questions, yes the FireWire is reusable.  I even threw mine in the dishwasher (I should read the package to make sure that's okay!).  The FireWire has two ends.  One of the ends you keep off the grill so it stays cool for you to move it around.  This thing can hold a ton of food too, but doesn't take up much space because it curls up nicely if needed or stays straight.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Talent Crush: Autumn de Wilde

Autumn de Wilde

Talented photographer, videographer, director, etc., etc., etc.

Directing Work:
Different Names for the Same Things- Death Cab for Cutie- video you must watch that has embedding disabled (hence the reason I don't have the video in the blog)

Silver Lining- Rilo Kiley- another video you have to watch (embedding also disabled)

Photography:

Sketchbook, Claymation, Music

Yesterday I put my sketchbook in the mail.  I've been working on it since the fall, so it was hard to see it go.  There aren't any exhibits near my area, but maybe one day I'll see it again.

Maybe it's coming to your area.  Check it out and see.

Earlier this week I "clayed" myself!

Go make your own clay creation here.

One last thing: how cute is this video?!

I dream of being Zooey Deschanel...or at least having her wardrobe.

Grood (Great + Good) Music

Here's a few of my fave songs (in no particular order).  Take a break and listen!

Meet Jim Ranger and his beaUtiful voice (I might be a bit partial because I did the video and he sang this at my wedding;) ).

Jim Ranger Sings "I Have You" from Marla Stanton on Vimeo.

I'm really liking this Natasha Bedingfield video.  Although fashion isn't the purpose of this video, I'm taking notes on a few things she's wearing and her makeup!


When I first started hanging out with my now-husband, he introduced me to Arcade Fire, so they have a special place in my heart.  The original video I wanted to show was having some embedding issues, so here's a clip of the video I wanted to show.


Lastly, here's a gal I've recently gotten into-- JJ Heller


On a completely different note, I'm verrrrrry excited about this becoming a movie.

Weekend Update & Golden Globes

I've got to get this out of the way...how was True Grit not nominated for a single Golden Globe?  Was it filmed too late in the year?  I'm hoping that's the reason.  Maybe it'll get some nods from the Oscars.

And we all know the real reason for these award shows...celeb fashion.

source

I like Anne Hathway's dress and Claire Danes's.  January Jones is way too pretty for that swimsuit top dress.  Speaking of True Grit, Hailee Steinfeld's dress was totally age appropriate, which made me happy.

Okay now to my weekend:

Colin, my dad, and I took a scuba introduction class Saturday.  We're totally hooked now and want to be certified...if we can figure out how to pay for it!  Sorry, no pics of us in the awesome scuba gear.  I thought about getting a picture as we were driving away...kinda late.

After lunch, we went to the Old Statehouse Museum to see an exhibit on the architect who designed my brother's house.

We also checked out a few other exhibits, including one on the history of Arkansas criminals!

The last thing we saw was an exhibit of paintings of famous Arkansas musicians.

Colin and I moseyed over to Williams Sonoma where I found a few cookbooks on sale.

Then I spent Sunday afternoon marking what recipes I wanted to try (hence all the yellow sticky notes!).

My weekend ended with uploading a pretty cool iPhone app (inspired by the Golden Globes).

You can take video with your iPhone or iPod and make it look like old footage!

You can change lenses, films, flash, and even make the film move to look like it's skipping!

Here's a sample (it's not exciting at all...just an example):

I had a pretty good weekend.  Colin's weekend isn't over yet, because he's off work for MLK day.  Maybe he'll surprise me with a clean house or dinner (fingers crossed)!!!

Decorate Your Home & Self

I redecorate my mantle just about every month, but it's never very drastic.  After taking down all my Christmas decorations, I decided to not put anything back that was there before Christmas.  Well, kinda.  I put the bird picture back.  But that's really it.  I decided to use books as the base of decorating.  And since I got a couple more hurricane vases from my mother-in-law, I incorporated that too.

I went through my books and pulled out the ones that are old (dating back to early 1900s) or just look old (just a few years old).

I stacked the books according to color.  For example, stack of blue, stack of red, stack of tan, etc.

Fill clear vases with decorative balls or anything really of interest.

I took a chunky frame and put in a picture that I took in China.

I wanted the mantle to look antique-y and comfortable and interesting.  I'm hoping it doesn't look cluttered or suggest I'm too lazy to walk to the bookshelf :).

The decorating didn't cost me a dime!  I already owned everything-- best way to decorate/remodel!

I tried to dress to match my mantle and came up with this:

black dress: GAP

brown belt: Walmart

gray heather tights: Walmart

brown boots: gojane.com

jewelry: tiffany's (i've got a great man ;) )

Follow my blog with bloglovin