Those Summer Nights...

July has proven to be a very busy month for us. Bear with me because this one's got some length...

I finished B's blanket.  I knit and stitched the borders on last week.  Then handed it over to the kido.  She's in love.  I'm envious and want my own.  I was not sure about the colors (as I let the 5.5yr old pick them out) but ultimately it came out pretty darn good.

I've posted before about mod podge.  I love this stuff.  It is really easy.  B can help and there are endless possibilities.  So my latest project was inspired by a friend.  She'd told me how she and her boys mod podged the light covers (white plastic over the switches) in their rooms, a couple of wine boxes and some clip boards.  I felt inspired. I have this utilitarian floor lamp from IKEA.  It's black metal  with a white bowl for a cover.  It is not very pretty.  I also have some pretty wrapping paper left over.   I sanded the metal, measured and cut my paper and set to gluing.  It was pretty easy. The rounded sides were difficult to smooth over.  I ended up cutting small hash along the edges as I glued, creating a kind of scalloping/layered edge. I covered this with the top circular piece.  The edges were definitely challenging.   The cone of the top (were the bulb screws) was also harder than it looked.  I decided to make it more of a layered collage.  I am happy with the final results...

 We explored our cool city some more this past week too.  We took a family carriage ride around the down town for an hour long historical tour.  It was pretty darn neat.  This city was settled by the Spaniards in the 1500s(between 1513 and 1563).  We saw a building with a cannon ball embedded into the side of a house from the 1700s (talk about a drive by...).  There is a love tree that made me nearly want to kiss my husband (it's said that kissing under the tree brings kissers long lasting happiness and a blissful marriage.  I'm willing to risk it.). There is a giant cross where the sailors made land and a giant wall that surrounds the city.  There is a cemetery on the other side of it for "heathens" (non Catholics) to die.

I took a view shots of the ride just in case we didn't make it (see above).

Our horse was named Big Mack.

Mark of a Heathen...

Lady behind us...?

For the Heathens

Really old church

We spent the Fouth with some friends out on a sand bar. They were kind enough to invite us out to watch the fireworks with them.  It was a great day and the fireworks were a pleasing finish.  A boat next to us was playing  a sound track in time to the show.  There was a piece from the Empire Strikes Back...need I say more?

Her first boat ride

Big Ol' Jelly Fish

We've been cooking fools these past two weeks too.
B made me lunch one day...

Almond Butter with loads of jelly, cherries, and yogurt with blueberries.

We made meringue cookies (easy recipe of Egg whites and sugar).  We called them Forgotten Cookies when I was a kid.  Forgotten because you'd let them cook in a 250 degree oven for four or more hours and forget they were in there (now we have machines like the Set It and Forget It, but this was old school).

We made homemade pasta (pappardelle of course)...

 She likes it.

We made baguettes and brioche (`A la Juila Childs Baking book)...

Kneading the dough...

Roll it, and pat it and mark it with a B...

B wanted Baguette and Poached eggs for dinner...

First rise of the sponge for Brioche

Beating for 15 minutes.  What a work out!

And they are done!

This week we also celebrated J's 38th.  I made him a dinner of onion and carrot soup with a rosemary cream sauce, the brioche bread  and a green salad.  I also made a cake from scratch and a meringue frosting with covered with fresh blueberries but there was no photographic evidence of this masterpiece. I threw in some chocolate chip and white chocolate chip cookies too, cuz he likes them.

We cooked a lot this week.  

Lets end this long post with Things I Love.

~Blogs~

I just love this outlet.  Anyone can do it. It can be random or focused and about whatever your heart desires.  

I was drawn to fashion blogs like What I Wore/ and Kendi Everyday.  But over time I've fallen for others like Barn Raisn', Design Sponge and Living with Punks. Even Gwyneth Paltrow has her own blog http://www.goop.com/). It's easy right?

~Mod Podge~

This stuff is so cool.  It comes in 4 or 5 different finishes depending on your project (matte, luster, satin etc...) and you can use just about any medium (paper, fabric, stone, shells...).  There are "How To's" on Youtube if you need them but really it's simple.  

~Thift/Antique Stores~

I have been around long enough to know that there is a difference between a thrift store and an antique store. But I love them both equally.  I've been on a bit of Do It Yourself kick lately, which makes these stores a treasure trove of possibilities.  B and I have been scavenging our local spots (as we find them, for they like to hide) and have come away with some goodies.  I got a barrel chair (marked at $50 got for $30) and a couch (marked for $100 got for $71).  Yeah shabby chic!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and is enjoying their summer thus far...

Thank you for reading.

J