Strawberry Dreaming

Whenever I eat strawberries I think about this book.  You know, the one with the mouse and the big juicey strawberry?  I couldn’t get enough of that book when I was little. One of my favorite things in the world is strawberry ice cream.  It’s hot here, really hot, so it seemed only necessary I make some strawberry ice cream.

I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot of ice cream this summer.

Headed to Humboldt County tomorrow–oh how I’ve missed it!

You can find the recipe here!

DIY: Saw Horse Table

 I am completely guilty of starting projects and never finishing them; I have a grave- yard of these lying around, but one of the many perks of making my schedule these days is getting to start projects and finish them.  Pinterest has been a great and overwhelming resource for DIY projects–which I love.

Never a big fan of sitting at a desk or sitting in general, I was on the search for a table I could work at, but stand at, too.  I didn’t want it to have drawers, because for me they always just become rabbit holes, and what goes in…rarely comes out.

Looking around on Pinterest, I  fell in love with the look of the classic saw horse desk. I wanted a slightly industrial look, and I loved the idea having a roughed, beat-up piece of wood for the top.  I used this DIY from Mae Chevrette for the basic assembly instructions, changing a few things here and there.  Young House Love provides some lovely instructions for distressing and staining wood to make it look old–I am now addicted and want to distress and stain everything.

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In order to make the table tall, I needed to find adjustable saw horses, and after a bit of looking around, I found the perfect, metal, yellow ones  from Home Depot. ( My brain really wanted to call them sea horses.)  They’re very sturdy, and I think the pop of yellow is a nice touch.  Although a bit pricier than some types of saw horses, they were totally worth it.  For the stain, I mixed Jacobean and Ebony.  I applied the Jacobean first, and then just a coat of Ebony after the first stain had dried.  Honestly, next time I would stick with Jacobean by itself as the Ebony doesn’t add much to it. By the way, Jacobean is my new favorite color.

My dad used to be a woodworker (he made wooden owls!);  so he helped with the power tool bits and by cutting the beams.  There really isn’t that much assembly though.   I probably could have done it myself, but it certainly didn’t hurt having him around.

All in all, it was about a $100 dollar project, which isn’t bad considering I got exactly what I wanted.

If you plan on making the desk, here a couple of tips for good measure:

• When buying wood, lay it out on the ground to make sure it’s not bowed
• Bring a tape measure.  Don’t trust that all of the wood is the same size–it’s not.
• Do a small test of your stain beforehand– in case you’re not in love with it.
• Measure the width of your saw horses to determine the width of your top.  We didn’t notice till we were nearly done, but the saw horses were a bit wider than the ones in the instructions I’d followed, so we added another, smaller board to cover the exposed metal.
• Pine is great and cheap, but next time I think I’ll go with a thicker,  better quality of wood.

That a Girl

The last couple of weeks have been consumed by pooches, packing and lots of planning.  I am happy to say that all three have been met with progress.  Gypsy graduated doggy school today, flying colors–no, crowd favorite for sure–such a lover she is.  Unanimous winner of, Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Class.

  With a huge sigh of relief my parents’ house is nearly packed.  After months of packing, I’m starting to have nightmares about boxes.  It’s been a good trip down memory lane, but I’m definitely ready for the next chapter.  If I never see a cardboard box again…

On the planning end of things, there are lots of changes and new things coming your way. This here blog will be getting a makeover, a new nameand I’m opening  an Etsy store!  I’ve been working, making, and collecting for months (years really)–I can’t wait to share it with you!  That’s all you’re getting out of me for now–hope you like surprises.  I’ll keep you posted.

Headed to one of my favorite places on the Universe this week.  Can’t wait for ocean, redwoods, and some of my favorite people… Arcata, here I come!

xoxo

Happy Mama's Day

Almost 28 years ago, I won the lottery of a lifetime and became the daughter of this lovely lady.

I couldn’t imagine being the daughter of anyone else.  I’m not sure anyone else could put up with me honestly–not the the way she does. She’s a great many of things: teacher, poet, wife, friend, blog editor and well, she’s the hardest working and loving woman I’ve ever met.  My brother and I are lucky to have her as our mother. Thank  you, Thank you, Thank you for being just the way you are.

Happy Mothers Day to my Mom and to all you lovely Mothers! 

Stop and Eat the Roses

My parents are in the process of moving into my grandparents’ house and selling their own.  I grew up only ten minutes away–so this has always been my second home.  The backyard is my favorite part, filled with fruit trees and the sweet smell of roses.  The roses were my grandparents’ pride and joy; they’re always beautiful.  They’d have bouquets everywhere in the house.  It smelled so good walking in the door.  This year we had roses coming out of our ears–my grandparents would have been thrilled.

Smelling all the roses reminded me how much I love the flavor of rose, although I know it’s not for everyone.  Some people think it tastes too much like perfume, which it can if you’re not careful.  But if you use just the right amount in something that compliments its delicate sweet flavor, it’s a lovely treat.  The weather’s getting hot here, so I thought I’d make something cold and refreshing.  Semifreddo seemed like just the thing.Saffron and rose compliment each other nicely, so I threw a pinch of saffron threads in with a dash of rose.  I drizzled the semifreddo with some honey and candied pistachios.

Perfect for a hot day like today.

Here’s the recipe!

Rooftops and Thunderstorms

This has been the season of rooftops.  With each new visit, I seem to find myself atop yet another one looking down at a new big ol’ beautiful city.

I’m loving it.

Ricki may have had the best view in Denver.  We had front row seats for the sunset and  thunderstorm!  I kept trying to get a shot of a lightning, but seemed to miss it every time I put my camera down.  So I had a bit of fun with the city lights instead. It really is a beautiful place.