love: new book and grocery fun!

so i picked this book up the other day...100 Best Health Foods...and i fell in love with it...its a quick read, an easy reference, and best of all, the 100 foods in this book are all normal, everyday foods that one could pick up at their local grocery...we have already tried some of the easy recipes, and they are all packed full of flavor!
one thing i gleaned from reading it was a better understanding of the health benefits of cooking with many herbs and spices....who knew that a sprinkle of this or that could give you so many vitamins and minerals??? i tend to gravitate toward the same garlic, onion, and pepper routine, but this book has made me want to be a little more adventurous with my seasonings!

so i got on a kick to revamp my spice collection, and someone had told me to try Jay International Foods on Grand (near Tower Grove Park if you are familiar with STL)...so last night, my husband and I stopped by....i spent a VERY long time browsing aisles that look something like this...

so many crazy foods...so many languages....it was all so exciting! after about 45 minutes, we left with a huge basket of freshly packed spices (1 pound containers for around $1.50/piece! I should never run out!)...garlic, rice noodles, south american coffee, and other goodies....

on our way out we grabbed some sesame seed honey candy....so addictive! and did you know that sesame seeds are a major source of calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc? and if you have any struggles with arthritis, the copper content should ease your pain (or so my book says!)

so if you live in/near STL, make sure you try out Jay International Foods...and if you are interested in knowing what/why you are eating the foods you are, try out this book...not a life changer, but good for the regular types like me that simply wanting make informed cooking/eating decisions without having to shop at high priced specialty food stores...plus, they have some really great recipes (try the artichoke salad...great with steak!)

create: DIY shutter room dividers

so i thought one, pre-finished photo was better than no photos at all...my blog could really use a posting....

these are the shutter door room dividers that I have been working on...basically, the inspiration for this idea came from the fact that we have moved into a one bedroom with two living spaces, and thus we want to have a way to close off one living space, so as to host guests there without them feeling like they are sleeping in the middle of our lives...you know? and while the divider is not being used, it sits comfortably behind our sofa, offering an easy, no-nails-in-the-walls approach to wall decor....plus, its a great backdrop for my book page wreath!

so i found my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore (if you are not familiar, you MUST google it, find your nearest one, and visit!)...basically, they sell everything you could ever want for home remodeling (its all used and random of course, coming from homes they rehab, as far as i understand it)...so like a thrift store, any given day you will find totally different items....on the day i went, i was lucky enough to find all these shutters, plus the screen door in the middle for $5 or less each....i was even able to pick up the hinges i needed...something like 5 for a dollar...crazy cheap....

this photo is "pre-finished" seeing as i put on the hinges later...i am still waiting on some brilliant idea to come to me on what to cover the screen part of the center door in.....im thinking, burlap...though thats a lot of brown....a antique yellow would be yummy.....hmmm...any ideas?

create: $8 vintage dresser revamp

since most of our furniture is found curbside or in a thrift store, we didnt feel the need to hang on to a lot of it when moving down to STL....this was true for our dumpster-dive dressers that we used to have, which we gave away before our big move....so when we got here, we had lots of clothes and no dressers to put them in....but then we found this beauty for $15 at our local Salvation Army thrift store....a diamond in the rough, you could say....
as you can see, its pretty gaudy retro...fitted with handles that dont actually fit....and if you look closely at the bottom, you will see that someone had began to paint it red, but then became discouraged (i can only infer)...

that red paint, however, was exactly in the inspiration i needed...i picked up my favorite barn red color ($2 for the big bottle!), and here is the "after" shot (sorry that the lighting is terrible):

so to start, i rubbed a thin layer of paint into the wood, let it dry, then sanded/scraped it off...the designs on the drawers that were previously very "Mad Men" have now become quite rustic!

this is some of the wicker detailing around the mirror...i simply ran a pocket knife over the wicker to distress it....

once painted and distressed, i needed to tackle the handles....being a retro dresser, the handle holes were only 2 inches apart...these days almost everything comes in 3".....so after weeks of trying to come up with elaborate plans for an alternative to traditional drawer pulls, i went back to my old faithful: twine.....which i always have on hand, so it cost me nothing!

i simply strung two pieces of twine through each hole, tying a knot on the inside....super simple, and easily changed....plus, they didnt take a huge bite out of my budget....

so if you are counting, i said this was an $8 project...$2 for paint, and the other $6 was spent on these beautiful flower handles from Hobby Lobby...though i love twine to death, i didnt want this dresser to look like it actually belonged out in a barn...the glossy handles really POP against the red and make it a little more sophisticated....

so that is my $8 dresser revamp! and now i have a beautiful place to put all my clothes (which have been hanging out on the floor and in rubbermaid containers for some time now!) i hope you feel inspired to revamp your own tired vintage dresser!

grow: where i've been

so my google reader is alerting me that my readership has plummeted...i suppose i should be alarmed, but i think i deserve it....my silly dog (see below) and i have been traveling a lot, leaving my blog neglected and full of old entries....if i were you i would stop checking back every day too!
but as you can see from the photo below, my blog is not the only thing neglected....my poor plants...brittle and dying...begging for water....is it too late?

when i am not traveling, i am slaving over this: my mosaic table top project...the top of the patio table is currently covering our dining table (yay for eating every meal in the living room!)...i have got to finish it...these little ceramic pieces are taking over my life...slicing up my fingers....and keeping us from dining like normal grown ups....i will post more once i finally grout and finish it...this week? perhaps.

create: alphabet magnets

so i thought i would break my blogging fast with an easy project to post...my alphabet magnets!

after experimenting with decoupage, acrylics, and the like, i decided just to do what i am good at: spray paint and distressing :-)...perhaps these are predictable (if you have been looking at my blog for any sizable amount of time, you know that i use WAY too much spray paint and I enjoy distressing EVERYTHING I SEE...)

so with that disclaimer, here are my magnets...
i simply painted them with two coats of my favorite krylon color....once dry, i peeled away some of the paint on each letter....then i finished them with a coat of clear sealer (to reduce excessive peeling)....

i couldnt get a very good photo....a white refrigerator isnt the best backdrop....but here is a message i spelled out for my hubby...

one problem i encountered was that in my haste, i sprayed the clear sealer on before some of the spray paint was completely dry....as you can see on the letter below, this caused some of the paint to bubble up...making it look a little more moldy than distressed :-)

but regardless of the bubbling, my boring white fridge is now decorated with some lovely distressed alphabet magnets...spelling out messages....some lovely, some silly....for all to see :-)

grow: must blog...eventually....

i just wanted to drop a note to say a big I AM SORRY for being so absent....i could tell you that life is crazy, but the truth is that it has settled down significantly....and i have actually been doing a lot of crafting....but alas, no blogging....so now i have this overwhelming list of projects to blog....here's a preview:

....DIY room divider from shutters/screen door.....

....photo transfer plaques.....

.....patio set revamp (mosaic table top?).....

.....my alphabet magnets!.....

.....and several other smaller projects that are slipping my mind currently.....

so i promise to start blogging about these things soon....

...while you are waiting though, hop over to Pioneer Woman (if you havent visited)....try out one of her recipes, drool over her photography, or simply be entertained by her commentary on life....and while you are at it, submit your name (along with 22,000 other hopefuls) to win a full FIESTAWARE SET!!!! (and if you win, you are obligated to send the set my way....just kidding....sort of....not really....)