The Cloche Conundrum

So, I have this cloche, just sitting on top of my bookshelf.  It's not on a plate; it doesn't have anything cute inside it.  It just sits.  I'm convinced it's a fabulous cloche and I'm thrilled that I was able to snap it up for a mere $.80.  Somehow though, it intimidates me.  I have no earthly idea how to help it live up to its full potential.

I want it to look like this:

320 Sycamore

Or add a green plate like this:

Pinterest

Apparently I can even put a real plant like this one underneath it!

Etsy

I could try a miniature version of these nifty twine and twig balls:

House of Turquoise

So, I'll be keeping an eye out while I'm thrifting.  This cloche deserves some love!

2nd Time's the Charm

Not every recipe works for me the first time.  Don't even ask about all the cake, muffin, and cookie recipes that I've had go wrong.  I want to become a better cook but for now I'm sticking with the easy stuff.

This recipe for shells with peas, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes seemed like just my thing.  Quick, easy, pasta.  Still, the first time around, I managed to mess up before I even started cooking- while I was at the grocery store in fact.  The only sun-dried tomatoes my grocery store had were organic and much more expensive than the regular canned, diced tomatoes.  So I decided that the cheaper tomatoes would be a safe substitution.  I didn't think they'd be as delicious, but it seemed worth a try.  For some reason, I chose diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro.  Just for the record, lime, cilantro, and pesto do not really go together.  The results certainly weren't horrible but I had a strong feeling that I could do better.

So, I gathered my ingredients again.  I broke down and bought some (less expensive) sun-dried tomatoes.  I think I probably could have left out the tomatoes entirely but I wanted to try the recipe in its true form.  This time, I was more than pleased with the results.

Just a couple things:

-- My sun-dried tomatoes were "Julienne sliced."  That was fine but I think diced would have been better.

-- I halved the recipe and that does seem to yield three modest servings.

-- I used pre-made pesto from a jar because I didn't want to have too many things going at once.

Yes, this recipe is one to remember.  I love that I can keep all the ingredients in my fridge and freezer and just throw it together in minutes.

Dressers!

 Soooooo the wonderful treasure of a thrift store find that I was telling you about... it's mine!  All I have to do is find a truck to haul it home.  Easier said than done, but I'm optimistic.  I don't have any decent pictures of it (my phone is a razr, ha) but here are some dressers I love:

Isabella & Max Rooms

Here

Pinterest

Sometimes I Love Anthropologie

Not that I would buy one of these chairs in a million years, but they sure are pretty.  Of course I love the creamy neutral, but imagine these gorgeous lines in a spring green or turquoise.  Or maybe I'll take the deep yellow for a spin.  That might be difficult to coordinate with my other furniture, but I'd love to try!

Welcome to Thrifting Thursdays

I didn't really get serious about thrifting until recently, probably around the same time that I started reading so many fabulous home decor blogs.  Now I'm hooked on the idea of finding a treasure, whether it be in mint condition at a perfect price or a bit too loved and in need of a major makeover.  I guess it's the thrill of the hunt for me.  I love finding stuff but I'm happy just to look around too.

My apartment is furnished almost entirely by hand-me-downs and thrift-store finds.  I had my furniture and a dinner table that I had asked my parents to keep around for me.  That didn't leave a whole lot of furniture gaps, but I've managed to squeeze in a super-comfy arm chair, a simple wooden chair (mostly for holding stuff), and a rolly chair for my sewing table.

For kitchen stuff, we went thrifting like crazy.  I had nothing, absolutely nothing.  So for a while, my mom and I were hitting up Goodwill, the Habitat ReStore, the Salvation Army Store, and an entire rotation of other thrift stores, practically every other day.  It worked though.  I have plates, cups, pots and pans.  I have a toaster oven, a coffee pot, baking sheets and muffin tins.  I even have a mixer!  That is probably the find that I am most proud of.  It's so decadent but inexpensive!  I found a beautiful Sunbeam mixer that looked like it had never been used, complete with two sets of beaters for... six dollars!  The fact that it didn't have bowls was a bit problematic but I was prepared to wait for the right ones to show up.  Within a couple weeks, we found a matched set of glass bowls at Goodwill.  They did cost as much as the mixer itself but still: the whole shebang for only twelve bucks?  That's beyond fabulous.

I've done a bit of thrifting since the move, mostly just to get little household stuff.  I'd like to decorate a bit more, but I've made a promise to myself that I won't spend much trying to make it perfect.  What is perfect anyway?  Besides, if I'm patient, I can find great stuff for cheap and then be able to splurge on something amazing.

So here are my finds for the week:

My spice rack spins, has little labeled glass jars, and seems to have hardly been used.  There are only two vials missing and I can totally deal with that.  It was half-off an already-great thrift-store price so I just couldn't pass it up.

I've really been struggling with what to do with my bedroom.  I have some art that I like and had planned to use in there.  The style of this apartment and my new duvet cover just don't mesh with it.  I wanted something rustic or country chic.  I finally decided that a window would be gorgeous, at the right price, of course.  Luckily, the Habitat ReStore was practically overflowing with windows.  I had my choice of all shapes, sizes, and conditions.  I love this one and I think I might give it a little extra pizazz in the next couple of weeks.

Lastly, I stumbled across this little puppy.  I have thing for turquoise and I just could not walk by this vase.  It had some not-so-fabulous fake red flowers in it so I convinced them to sell me just the vase.  Yes, it has chips on the lip, but it might get repainted somewhere along the way.  For now, I'm just telling myself that gives it rustic charm.

Cross your fingers for me because, while I was out today, I might also have discovered the best thrifting treasure yet.  I have to go back tomorrow and see if the store has priced it yet.  Here's hoping it's still there and that I can afford it!

Well If I Can't Sleep...

I just hate those nights when I wake up at 2:30 and absolutely cannot fall back asleep.  Here I am, having been up for a while, officially deciding to start my day at 5:30 am.  I know that's not super early for some people but it is for me, especially since I'm coming off of years of "college time."  I'm not as much of a late sleeper as some, but I definitely adopted the college attitude of "What? You want me to attend an 8:30 class?"  I'm trying to wean myself off sleeping in, but, so far, all that happens when I go to bed early is that I get even more sleep.

The thing is, sometimes when I wake up at 3 am, after only about 4 hours of sleep, I feel really good.  Like, "I wish the world was up and about so I could get things done" good.  Thank goodness the internet allows me to do a bit of that.  I've just been sitting in my cozy chair, applying for jobs, checking up on my finances, and taking periodic (okay, frequent) breaks for daydreaming about how I'm going to design the rest of my apartment.

One thing I've been stuck on lately is how to finish my bedroom. Since I had beds and sleep on the brain anyway, here are some of my favorite beds from Country Living's Bedroom Designs You'll Love article.

Alrighty, I'm off to do more "grown-up" stuff (read: not just looking at pretty interiors).

Happy Thursday!

Sunny Side Up

Morning after morning I wake up to the delightful smells of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and every other sort of breakfast delight.  At first it was kind of exciting.  I figured I had very enterprising neighbors and it was fun to have my apartment smell of food.  After about three days, I got a bit... annoyed.  There I was, smelling delicious breakfast smells before I was even fully awake, only to get up and eat my honey bunches.  Don't get me wrong; I love honey bunches.  But I was starting to feel just a bit aggravated with that neighbor.

After about day five, I was really longing for eggs and bacon of my own.  Really, seriously, wanting to throw the budget out of the window and go get yummy breakfast foods.  It's lucky that I'm not at my best until after I've had my breakfast.  By the time I would finish my cereal, the longings (and the annoyance) would mostly have dissipated, and I would go on being content with my life.

Then I had an epiphany.  I didn't need to be annoyed with my neighbors.  It wasn't them; it was the little breakfast and lunch café two doors down from my apartment.  Of course!  Why hadn't I thought of that?  I could hardly be annoyed with the owners of this sweet restaurant for making their living by torturing innocent passers-by with delightful smells until they give in and stop by for breakfast in an honest, hardworking manner.

Somehow it's not so bad, now that I know that the source of the delightful odors is a restaurant.  It reminds me that I live in a cozy little neighborhood.  It reminds me that I appreciate the way my apartment building is stacked on top of local shops.  It reminds me that I love the fact that nearly everything I need on a daily basis is within walking distance.  If the price I pay for that is just daily unrequited longing for bacon and eggs, that's okay with me.