DIY projects for the home.

Need a spring project? Here are a few cute ideas you could try making to jazz up your home!
Happy Monday, friends!

How adorable is this rustic DIY hanging table? I definitely want to make this.

Need a cute alternative to regular pots? Try planting your herbs inside of old tea tins.

This DIY canvas bag would make the perfect lunch bag or a cute hostess gift at a dinner party.

DIY etched wooden spoons: A great way to jazz up boring kitchen utensils.

 How incredible is this DIY floor lamp made from a branch?

Let's do-it-ourselves this holiday season!

We know how money seems to fly right out the window around the holidays, so we thought we'd share some of our favorite gift and crafty DIY ideas that we came across on Pinterest so that you can save a buck or two. You can follow us along on Pinterest here.

This rosemary and pistachio bark looks delicious!

Our friend Mandi from Making Nice in the Midwest shared this great gift idea on her blog and we are definitely going to try out the recipe!

How great are these oversized ornaments made from big balloons? 

Mmm these peanut butter & pretzel bars look tasty!

This DIY garland is pretty darn cute, hey?

Give the gift of herb honey this holiday!

Simple DIY holiday wreath.

Now that December is here, I am in full Christmas mode! We went to a tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree on Sunday and today I am spending the day decorating our home. (Perhaps I'm extra excited for the holidays this year because this will be our first Christmas at our new house!) As you all know the holidays can get pricy mighty quickly with all of the gifts, decorations and big meals, so its great to save a few pennies where you can. I was looking into getting a new wreath for our front door and I knew I wanted one with lots of red berries, but most of those types ranged from $25-$40 so I figured I would try to make my own instead and I succeeded! If you're like me and in the market for a new wreath then try making this simple DIY holiday wreath for under $10:

 All you need is a basic wreath made of branches that you can get at any craft store for a few bucks and some branches with red berries and some hollly bunches that I picked up from the holiday section in the dollar store. I also wanted to add some dried baby's breath so I picked up a bunch for cheap at my local grocery store.

 The only semi-time consuming thing is drying out the baby's breath but even that doesn't take long, just make sure you have the flowers dried out before you begin.

 It was so simple to make this, all I did was weave the berry bunches and dried flowers through the branches of the wreath and tuck the ends behind so that it would lay flat. I decided to go for a sort of an asymmetrical look based off of a photo that I used for inspiration found here. I didn't end up using all of the branches and berries that I bought because I wanted to keep it more simple, so instead I used them in Christmas displays around my home. This wreath would also look cute with leafy branches, Christmas ornaments, or even things like pine-cones and acorns.

That's it! Easy as pie! A $10 wreath in under 10 minutes! Happy decorating!

XO, Stef

Deck the Halls.

(source) 

Hey guys! Since today is the first day of December, we figured we could seriously start talking about Christmas, right? So we thought we would share with you some cute DIY holiday ideas today to get ya in the spirit!

 

You know us, always suckers for anything with greenery, and these leafy toppers on these simply wrapped presents are right up our alley! Fantastic idea.

 How delicious does this festive snack look? S'mores Mini Dippers! Mmm... perfect treat to bring to a Christmas party!

Make your own advent calendar like this adorable one. (DIY found here.)

 

Nothing says holidays like a good dose of pepperment and this icy peppermint stack cake looks pretty darn festive. (Recipe here.)

A cute way to jazz up brown paper packages tied up with string.

Not only will your house look like Christmas, but it can also smell like Christmas too with this recipe for homemade simmering spices. Mmm... I'm definitely going to be trying this!

Feelin' festive yet? Do you have any fun DIY ideas that you are wanting to try this holiday season? We would love to hear 'em! 

Happy Sunday lovely friends. Stay cozy!

XO, Stef & Erin

How to throw a Wes Anderson themed party.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm always a bit of a sucker for a theme party. I've attended and hosted quite a few in my day, so I am always looking for new or different party ideas. Since the temps started to drop here I have been spending way more time indoors having movie marathons on my couch. Last week I decided to have a Wes Anderson marathon and it made me realize that it doesn't matter how many times I've seen these movies, I still get caught up in all of the eccentric details and elaborate sets. I found myself wishing that I too was living in such a quirky environment when the idea hit me: why not throw a Wes Anderson themed party? How fun would that be?! So I compiled a little list of essential items needed to pull of such an event just in case you too have the same dream:

WEAR: Take a page out of Margot Tenanbaum's book and rock a fur coat and load on the black eyeliner or just keep it simple and throw on some knee socks a la Moonrise Kingdom and a cozy toque like everyone was sporting in the The Life Aquatic.

EAT & DRINK: Get your champagne flutes out of the china cabinet because this event calls for plenty of bubbly and a great option for this is Passion Pop (one of our guilty pleasures as of late.) As far as food goes, just keep it simple with munchies and finger food. Pay homage to Rushmore with mini PB&J sandwiches. (Or try this recipe for grilled crab and shrimp mini sammies!)

HEAR: This is the perfect time to bust out your old turntable and throw on some vinyl. Spin the likes of Francoise Hardy, The Rolling Stones, Sigur Ros, and The Kinks.

PLAY: This is a great excuse to dust off any old board games you have hiding at the back of your closet. Think: Scrabble, Monopoly or maybe even a good old fashioned game of charades.

These are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling, obviously there are many more details you can incorporate into your party to make it even more over the top! Happy party planning! XO

A simple belt rack/accessory organizer DIY!

Today I have a super easy and really cheap DIY project to share with you guys! I'm most likely not the only girl out there with way too many accessories on her hands. My belts were in a jumbled up pile in a vintage suitcase, and my necklaces were tangled and there were head scarves everywhere! It was time for a change. Time to organize...something I am a pretty huge fan of to tell you the truth. So I looked around my home and tried to figure out how to hang everything nicely, and then I saw a piece of pegboard in one of my closets and thought it would be just perfect for the job. 

This is a really affordable project and it took almost no time at all! 

All you need is a piece of pegboard in the size of your choice. Most hardware stores will be able to cut them down to the size you need. Mine is 2 feet wide and 4 feet tall (I measured my longest belt and allowed for extra room at the bottom). Once you have your pegboard cut, simply go on over to the hardware section and look for nuts & bolts. I tested out a few until they fit perfectly in the pegboard holes. A little tip-wear a belt to the hardware store, or bring one with you so that you can make sure the bolt head is not too big to fit your belt over. Now count out however many belts/accessories you want to use and that number will be how many bolts you buy. Double that number of nuts and you are good to go! All you need now is paint, a paintbrush or sponge and the nail polish color of your choice.

Ok, first things first, paint the pegboard and give it two coats if it's not covering well.

While the paint is drying, screw the bolts onto the nuts as far as they can go. 

After the painted pegboard has dried,  stand it up and place the bolts where you want them to be to hold up your accessories. I played around with mine for awhile until it looked just the way I like it. Then I screwed the second nut onto the other side of the pegboard and onto each bolt securing them in place. All you do next is paint the heads of the bolts with nail polish  Normally I would spray paint them but I didn't have time so nail polish would have to do the trick, and it did! It worked just perfectly, and everybody has extra nail polish kicking around!

Once that dries, all you have to do is fill up your new accessory board! So simple right?

I hope you like this simple organization tip! Happy accessorizing!

Xo, Erin

A little bedroom makeover.

I recently gave my bedroom a mini makeover (or make-under, I suppose.) A few years ago I had painted all of the walls bright turquoise, which I totally loved at the time but after awhile all of the bold walls started to feel a bit overwhelming. (I should also mention that we don't have a particularly large bedroom... there is basically just enough room for our bed and one dresser, that's it.) So we decided to simplify and clean things up a bit with a fresh coat of warm white paint on all of the walls and seriously what a difference! It's like a breath of fresh air! The room is so much brighter and also seems a lot bigger, which is always a bonus! Now just because we opted for an absence of color, doesn't mean that the room is super monotone. We added tons of pretty color by making the bed with an assortment of retro floral pillowcases and pops of green were added throughout with cute potted plants. I also feel that the simplicity of the walls is better for showcasing my mid century lamps and fun kitschy art.

Overall, we are super pleased with our decision to streamline and simplify. The space seems a lot more inviting and it is so cozy in the soft evening light. Here are a few peeks at some details around our new and improved bedroom:

It's amazing what a difference a simple project like painting a few walls makes! Do you have any fun projects on the go right now?

XO, Stef

How to make the perfect cheeseboard.

For as long as I can remember I have had an immense love of cheese. Everyone that knows me, knows that the key to my heart is with cheese. In fact, on numerous birthdays friends and family have surprised me with cakes made entirely out of cheese (no, not a cheesecake but a cake of cheese.) I have made countless cheeseboards over the years to serve at dinner parties and I thought it might be fun to share some tips with you today on how to make the perfect cheeseboard:

First of all, you should chose a variety of different types of cheese. A well-balanced cheeseboard has one of each of the following categories: fresh, soft, semi-soft, hard, and blue. There are many examples of each type of cheese, but here are a few basics to get you started:

Fresh: feta, ricotta, mozzarella, mascarpone

Soft: brie, camembert, capricorn goat

Semi-soft: edam, havarti, taleggio, gouda

Hard: manchego, emmental, grana padano parmesan, aged cheddar

Blue: stilton, roquefort, gorgonzola, cambozola

Once you have decided on the cheeses you would like to serve, your next decision is the accompaniments. Here are a few examples of delicious things you can pair your cheeses with:

Fresh fruits: blackberries, strawberries, grapes, green apples, figs (if they are in season)

Dried fruits and nuts: apricots, cranberries, figs, various mixed nuts

Spreads: chutney, jam, mustard, olive oil & balsamic vinegar

And of course plenty of crackers and crusty french baguette.

(You can also add some cured meats to the plate as well, such as prosciutto and capicollo)

Next, take time to arrange the cheeses in a pleasing way and serve them on your favorite wooden platter or slate board. If you don't have either of those, you could also use a wood or plastic cutting board. Also, don't forget to include a knife or two for guests to help themselves.

*Tip: Take the cheeses out of the refrigerator an hour before you serve them so that they become room temperature. By doing this you are maximizing the flavor potential of the cheeses.*

For my cheeseboard I used: feta (fresh), soeur angele which is a brie made of both cow's and goat's milk (soft), douanier (semi-soft), 4 year aged cheddar (hard), and gorgonzola (blue). For the accompaniments I used fresh figs, dried apricots, green grapes and mixed nuts (and plenty of baguette of course!)

Have fun trying new cheeses and experimenting with different flavor combinations! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!  XO, Stef

All information taken from the book World Cheese Book by Juliet Harbutt.

Organization idea: Mason jar spices.

There is something about the start of a new year that gets me feeling so motivated. I have finally started tackling those pesky jobs that have been put on the back burner and saved for a rainy (or snowy) day. Well, the snow has been falling and the wind has been howling, so I figured what a perfect time to start organizing my kitchen cupboards! I also decided that each weekend I am going to organize one room in my house and this past weekend I started with my kitchen.

I don't know about your kitchen, but my pantry and cupboards seem to get pretty outta control very quickly. Before I know it I find myself starring at four Cheerios boxes that are all about 1/8 full and a bunch of random ziploc bags of assorted spices that have been purchased with one specific dish in mind and then once that dish is completed they get tossed to the back of the cupboard and totally forgotten about. Well I finally decided that enough is enough! 2013 is going to be the year of organization and more experimenting in the kitchen! So I started by giving my kitchen a complete overhaul. I found a cupboard full of empty mason jars that were taking up precious cupboard space so I decided to use them for spice, nut, seed, and pasta storage! By doing this I freed up so much more cupboard space and now all of my cooking ingredients are so much more accessible.

Another bonus? They look pretty darn cute. Definitely a step up from my stash of random ziploc bags. I hope this kick-starts your week and inspires you to venture into tackling some of your rainy day jobs!
XO, Stef

My vintage bar/cabinet makeover!

So I have a good story behind this vintage cabinet. It all started in the Summer when I saw this ad go up on kijiji (Canada's version of Craigslist).

 I instantly fell in love and knew it had to be mine! I immediately picked up the phone and called the number, but unfortunately the guy was just loading it onto someone's truck. It was sold. I don't know why, but I had an urge to put the photo of the bar on pinterest because I had never seen anything like it. A few weeks passed and I got a random email from a woman who lives in Winnipeg and had even been in my shop before! Low and behold, she follows Stef and I on pinterest, saw the pin and had the exact one sitting in her garage that I could buy! My mouth literally dropped to the floor. Seriously, what are the chances? I went and picked it up that same day and it was even cheaper than the first one I fell in love with! I took it home and have loved it ever since. Well, as good as that story is, it gets even better! A few weeks after I took it home I was working at the shop and one of our regular customers who has an incredible collection of 50's and 60's furniture and knick knacks came in and we got to talking and he asked if I had found anything interesting lately. I quickly pulled up the photo on pinterest and his mouth dropped. It had been his ad on kijiji! When I called about it, it was him that I had spoken with! We had a pretty good chuckle about it, and he was so happy that I ended up finding one just like it! On that note, let me show you the cabinet!

So this is what it looked like when I first brought her home. Sorry for the poor photo!

This is what she looks like now! I'm thrilled with the way it turned out!

First I stripped it down, took out the sliding glass doors, sanded the whole thing down and then did one coat of an oil primer. Once that dried I did two coats of white paint. The left door is a little bit crooked, but I like that it doesn't look perfect!

After everything was dried, I measured the inside and cut a piece of vintage floral vinyl I had been saving for just this kind of occasion!

Ta-da! What do you think? Have you done any fun make-overs to something in your home?