Welcome!

The hallway and its giant chalk board have gotten a make-over. I'm still in the process of putting it all together, but I am dorkily excited for someone to see the chalkboard. We won't have guests for a couple of weeks, so HERE YA GO, INTERNET!

 The lettering and embellishment was done with chalk pens, which wipe off with water but won't smudge under your finger. I have a bag of plain ol' chalk nearby, so visitors can leave their own marks or Jake and I can write each other the lovey messages we are wont to do.

Outfit details--All elements purchased second-hand unless noted otherwise:

Why do I look so crabby!?

Floral Shirt: $1.50

Dress: $2.00

Belt: $.25

Tights & Socks: Purchased from mall stores, $10.00

Boots: A birthday gift from my mom, to replace the pair that was stolen from my car! I paid $40.00 of my own money for these from Zappos.

Approximate Total: $53.75 (13.75 excluding the boots)

Floating Shelves

Renegade Handmade's storefront has sadly closed, but my benefit from their fixture sale was vast. I picked up a clothing tagger for cheap, a bag of markers to support my marker habit, and among other things some floating shelves. There are only two, a few feet in length, but they are just what I've always wanted.

We stuck them up on our big, bare wall in the bedroom and I can't wait to turn it into a rotating "gallery," as tiny as it may be.

One step closer to my dream home! In which, I have a library full of these shallow floating shelves, much like the photo below from here.

And speaking of dream homes, we found ours! It may not be in the right setting, but one day when we are able to afford the $$$$million$$$$ price tag, we can just put in on a truck and take it to our acreage...right?

Just look at the siding details! The colors! The tear drops! The spire! 

What does your dream home look like?

Plant Parenthood

One day, in either the near or far future, Jake and I would like to adopt some "serious" plants. A pitcher plant, lime tree, something carniverous, and a few that will feed us.

There's a big ol' rubber plant sitting happily in the kitchen thanks to Jake's care, but any other plant I've owned has died due to cats, my laziness, or in the case of our cilantro, rats.

After a little trip to American Science and Surplus (more on that later), we picked up some "baby steps" plants to fill our new beakers and practice our plant care.

Do you have any experience with cacti, succulents, or air plants? Let me know if you have any tips! We need all the help we can get.

Bedroom Makeover

There are no excuses to not tackle nearly every item on your project list when you have 2.5 weeks at home with no obligations. This is my situation, still at the top end of the 2.5 weeks my boss is in India.

We painted much of our apartment in the first couple of months here, which I shared long ago in this post. We bought a calming slate blue for the bedroom, but after tackling four rooms worth of walls, I was burnt out and swore that I'd get to it soon. Fast forward to February, and I finally got around to it.

Until yesterday, the bedroom was such an eyesore that I never bothered to take a single photo of it. Tall, white walls in the shape of a small square just big enough for our bed and kind of our dresser. One small west-facing window with the view of a brick wall three feet away (ahh, city life) and a single bare bulb hanging from a rusty chain being our only sources of light. The room absolutely felt like a prison cell. Of course, we do nothing but sleep and change clothing in the room--even reading and napping are done elsewhere--but it felt nothing like the sanctuary typical of a bedroom.

Thank goodness things change.

Please divert your eyes away from the paint on the ceiling! I am diligent about edges only for the first wall and then inevitably get lazy. One of the items on my "no excuses list" is to hop around the apartment with white paint and a ladder to fix my whoopses. Also on the list is to hang some white shelves we've acquired from both friends and the Renegade Handmade store (RIP) and make a hanging lamp shade with a little more interest.

Also, while I commandeered most of the styling choices in the apartment, Jake did an exceptional job choosing both the wall and bedding colors for this room. The combination of light blue and brown has always been a favorite of mine, and adding touches of jewel tones makes for a romantic room without feeling like it belongs to a princess. Maybe in our next place, I'd let him do all of the color scheming.

A few of the details:

Bedding: Espresso brown and Eggplant organic sheet sets from Target

Gazelle print: FREE gift from Renegade's fixture sale with our purchases--it had a $50 price tag on it, but has slight tears at the edges. Whatta deal!

Throw pillows and curtains: Made by my mom years ago when I'd decorated my bedroom in a Moroccan motif

Elephants: All of the tiny elephants were found at antique and consignment shops and gifted to me by my dad for good luck

Projected: Stick Art Accomplished!

After a lot of struggling with mono-filament and a bit of craft cursing, I made it happen! The layout isn't pitch-perfect, but after a couple hours of struggling with the display I decided that it will have to do for now.

This project was 100% free, using paint and fishing line I already owned. Mother Nature was kind enough to donate the sticks from the park across the street.

Check out the whole process here and here.

PS- My layout seems to be doing crazy things without my permission, so if you happen to see the Comic Sans font anywhere on here, please know that it is not of my doing! My design taste and skill levels are limited--if not a bit challenged--but I DO know better than Comic Sans and Papyrus thanks to some outspoken design friends of mine.

Easy DIY Drip Art

Supplies:

Water color paper or canvas

Water color paints (I used Reeve's Water Colour in a tube for more color concentration)

Paint brushes, one for each color or have a glass of water nearby for rinsing

Spray bottle of water

Newspaper or tarp to keep your space clean.

Consider experimenting on scrap paper first. Here is the hot mess of my first attempt, which is already in the recycling:

 Simple steps:

1. With the paper flat on a surface, dampen the top of your paper with your spray bottle. 

2.Add the water colors of your choice in whatever placement suits you.

3.With the spray bottle and a brush, mix each paint with water until the color paste is fully dissolved.

4.Tilt your paper/canvas upright to begin drips. Adjust as necessary: gently (or not so gently) blend your colors together, spray more water, throw some glitter on it, etc.

5.Allow drying time, frame it up, and admire.

Symmetry

I bought these matching vintage lamps at the same time as the lamp in this previous post, for $6.00 each ($12.00 for both). I knew it'd be a long-shot to thrift matching lamp shades, so I caved and bought these from a big box store for less than $30 total (yikes!). I suppose the extra cost was worthwhile, as I have been grinning at them each time I walk past for four days now. 

This is the wall directly across from this one, and I love how its symmetry is mirrored. No matter how ready I'll be to leave Chicago, it's going to be tough leaving this apartment.

Happy Weekend! I'll be taking it easy and hopefully hosting a game night--our first time having a gathering of friends we've made here in Chicago. What are your plans?

DIY Grease-Fighting Liquid Dish Soap

After some struggle and playing a little "mad scientist" in the kitchen, I've struck up a pretty, pretty decent alternative to store-bought dish soap. Here's a little somethin'-somethin' for you to read about major brands is dish soap. There are many somethin'-somethin's on this subject for you to find out there, so this is just a jumping off point. 

 This recipe is natural, but please remember that natural does not mean that it's something you should eat or drink. If you're going to do a full load of dishes with this stuff by hand, be sure to wear some gloves to protect those lovely paws from drying out.

I already had all of these ingredients on hand (you will too, once you begin exploring the world of natural housekeeping), so it was unbelievably convenient to make. More convenient, in fact, than actually going to the store to buy more dish soap. The total cost of the soap breaks down to approximately $2.50, which is less than leading natural dish soap brands that I've found to be much less effective at cutting grease.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups water

1 cup Castile soap (Dr Bronner's is my preferred. The peppermint is what we always have on hand, but unscented would probably be ideal)

3 TBS Super Washing Soda (Found in most laundry aisles)

2 TBS Baking Soda

3 TBS White vinegar

10-20 drops of your favorite essential oil *optional (I chose tea tree, but lavender, lemon, and eucalyptus are great choices as well)

OPERATIONS:

1. Mix the water, castile soap, washing soda, and baking soda together in a non-reactive pot. On your stove, gently heat the mixture over medium-low flame. Whisk until the washing soda has completely dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and add the vinegar and essential oil. Mine did not bubble over, so I assume anyone who tries this method should be safe. If your kitchen turns into a middle school science lab, I apologize.

3. Allow your soap to cool and then transfer to your favorite liquid soap vessel. I always make sure to label my concoctions clearly, as well as mark their containers with the recipe for easy future reference.

Please note that this soap will not do much in the way of sudsing, but it WILL get the job done. As consumers we've been convinced that something isn't getting cleaned unless we see some bubbles, but often suds are the result of drying, harmful chemicals--totally artificial to most cleaning processes. 

 

Back in Iowa, I had the pleasure of not only making exceptional espresso at the city's favorite coffee shop, but also keeping up the chalk boards. The menus are done exclusively by hand, and I updated some of them weekly.

Being barista and chalk-wielder are two things I miss dearly, so I was thrilled when offered the old menu board from Jake's Chicago coffee shop. It may not be a job any longer, but I will certainly keep it as a hobby.

Make no mistake, this board is the size of my car--almost four feet tall and 7 to 8 feet wide--which made it difficult to get home. It looked a lot like this, but much less stable. Now that it's home safely, it will be the perfect thing to fill up our bare wall in the entryway and offer greetings and art space for our guests. My first-ever chalk board greeting was for birthday kids Josh and Jessica, who were to spend their birthday weekend with us here in Chicago until the snow ruined our plans.

Eventually it will be hung, but the whole hallway is full of "eventuallys." Eventually, we'll put up a couple more coats of orange paint to hide the blue underneath and touch up the white trim. Eventually, we'll either pull up the hideous carpet or get a decent rug. Eventually, we'll put a privacy curtain over the front door. 

Here's a peak at the other side of the wall, in all of its undone glory:

The Table

 

I just wrote my sixth Chicago rent check, and for all of those six months we've had a formal dining room with no table for which to dine. By no means a tragedy, but it's a nice thought to occasionally fix a nice meal and be able eat it at a proper table, rather than the couch or in the kitchen where my seat is just three feet from the cat boxes. I'm a roll-around-on-the-ground kind of girl, so the big, open space was fun to have...but I've always felt like I needed a table to fill its spot before I could feel totally settled in here. It's the first room you encounter in my apartment, which made for very underwhelming entrances day after day.

We found this vintage formica table, which should easily seat six, at our secret Salvation Army for $55. While I'm not obsessed with it, as I prefer to be with something I spend $55 on, I knew that it was the closest to what we want for about what we wanted to spend. I do love the faux wood and the sweet little mustache-y inlays. The top is in pristine condition, so we assume we can make our money back if we find something we like better to replace it.

Now, if I could only find a decent rug that doesn't cost $500...

PS- The table's legs don't fold or come off, so it made its way to our home tied upside-down to the roof of our little Mitsubishi with some rope, Christmas-tree style. Thankfully Jake was a good Boy Scout and is always prepared...and still knows his knots.

Handmade Christmas

My handsome roommate and I are not religious, nor are we interested in the secular aspects of Christmas. Still, sometimes you just gotta tilt your head at one another, get mushy, and sigh, "Awww, our first Christmas as a family." So, we agreed to set up the tree in our first apartment together. 

The tree has been mine for years and years. I have no idea how long it's been mine, if anyone had it before me, or if I bought it myself (and from where!?). It has traveled from apartment to apartment with me, summering in my mom's garage, always put away exactly as I'd displayed it. I can never be bothered to take off the decorations.

Okay! I'll admit it! It spent about six months in my little Mitsubishi's trunk this year. For no reason but my laziness. Then, after its six-month joy ride, I tossed it into the garage for the summer and left it for dead. When my mom dug it out to deliver when she visited, she rightfully considered throwing it out.

If only I'd taken a before photo. Then, you might be a little more impressed with these:

I don't like spending money on decorations, but I did invest in a couple of strands of LED lights. They're reliable, more energy efficient, and so bright that you need fewer strands. For the rest of the tree, I pulled together some easy DIY tricks and the results made for a damn cute tree. I made up the pattern for the poinsettia/dahlia tree topper, though I am pretty sure there are similar patterns easily accessible online.

And now begins the season of extra-bad cats. Here they all are, waiting for some alone time with the tree:

Chicago poster by Ork

This poster was designed and printed by Ork Posters, located here in Chicago just down the street from us.

I bought this from Ork's booth at the Renegade Craft Fair, and while we wait to thrift the perfect frame, the hanger method is doing us just fine.

Excuse the large TV and computer tower. Neither are very cute, but without them we can't watch the Wonder Years on Netflix (or much of anything at all, we have an antenna but no cable).

 

 We live right where North Center, Ravenswood, and Lincoln Square meet. See it up there?

I'm hoping to find a similar Iowa map to hang beside it.

PS- If you live in Chicago, Ork is hosting a holiday pop-up shop until the 23rd!

The Dining Room

After a little sweat shed by my boo and a table borrowed from his mom, our dining room has finally fulfilled its destiny! Mmm, that's nice. Raise your hand if you never expected that male mannequin to make it to his spot on the wall.

The little tree is actually a rosemary bush, given to us by my Aunt Paula. This is the first room you encounter as you enter the apartment, and it smells so warm and inviting. It'd make for an excellent (and edible!) Christmas tree for a small space, and it's potted so you won't feel guilty about chopping down a perfectly happy planted tree. I think I've seen them for sale at Trader Joe's, if the idea strikes your fancy.

Body forms: rescued from a mall store dumpster, free

Fern print: thrifted, $2.00

Map: vintage from a church sale, $1.00

Table: borrowed

Table cloth: borrowed, once belonging to Jake's grandmother

Matching chairs: vintage, found at Goodwill, $10.00

Earrings

Here's a little peak into what I've been up to when not entertaining my boss (she's 7 months old now, by the way--she's mobile!). The pieces are slowly coming together, but eventually my shop will open. And these will find new homes.

1. Burned natural wood earrings.

2. Earrings made of suede scraps.

3. My messy little craft corner.

Family Feasts

 It was a busy long weekend of food and family. After a fun day in Peoria with Jake's HUGE family, we hosted my TINY family in our apartment. All minor issues aside (like the turkey not being cooked the first time around), it went without a hitch. I made a pretty traditional holiday feast to see if I was capable. Turns out, I mostly am.

After almost a whole week of feeling over-full with fatty foods, I've decided to go vegan for the stretch of time between now and Christmas. The goal is to focus on fruits, veggies, and nuts with some occasional beans and quinoa for protein. Wish me luck! And please, share some of your favorite vegan snack foods. Snacks are always what ruin me!

PS- It's Cyber Monday, so be sure to spend your dollars at places like etsy, Renegade, and Big Cartel! Those big box stores don't need your money.

 Sometimes you just gotta go to Dulce Landia and buy yourself a vase full of Mexican candies.