Old Light Bulbs + Twine = Pears!

We're getting ready for Baby M's first birthday here on Lincoln Street. I can't quite believe it's already been a year since we met him. I'll report back about his birthday party next week - prepare for lots of owls!

Anyway, as I was writing a birthday message to him on a little chalkboard in the bathroom, I realized I'd never shared my twine pears with you.


I can't seem to find where the image originated from, but after seeing a picture of a trio of light bulbs wrapped in twine, I started saving my supplies right away: old light bulbs, twine from the garage, twigs & a glue gun. Free projects are my favorite kind! It was a bit time-consuming to wrap the twine around and around, but easy enough that I could just turn my brain off (it's usually fried after I get the kids to bed every evening anyway!), catch up on my favorite TV show and glue away. I'd like to make a few more, to fill a whole bowl. But for now, I'm enjoying them in this little shelf.

Dining Room Curtains

When I saw these fabulous Anthropologie-inspired curtains on Pinterest a few weeks ago from a really fun blog called Besserina, I knew they would be perfect for my dining room. Bess, the author, offers a great tutorial, which I followed to a T -- be sure to go check it out! These curtain made such a splash, she is even offering them for sale on Etsy now. The only adjustment I made to her tutorial was using 70-inch wide fabric to accommodate my large window. I considered adding another ruffle to each panel, but decided to stick with just two, and I love them!

I had been looking for curtains with a slightly vintage feel, but also elegant. I've got a lot of color in my house, so I liked the idea of neutral yet dramatic drapes. Here they are, hanging in my dining room!







And I have to add that osnaburg is my new favorite fabric. It has a wonderful natural color and texture, frays beautifully, and it's quite inexpensive! I found it at fabric.com for under $5/yard. I used about 10 yards for my project, so the curtains cost me less than $50. At that price, they can't be beat, even if this project was a bit time-consuming with all the pleats. They're worth it!

Back in the Saddle

I find it slightly ironic that as soon as I moved Lincoln Street Lovely over to Blogger, got everything set up and publicly declared my intention to post a minimum of once per week, I disappeared from the blogosphere for 5 months. I could chalk it up to the steeper-than-anticipated learning curve of becoming a family of 4, a case of baby blues, severe sleep deprivation and the resulting brain-fog, or maybe just plain busyness, but I give my apologies! Things are, however, looking up in my little world. We've gotten our family groove back in many ways, Baby M is turning 1 this month, I've implemented some better self-care techniques, and although we're still not sleeping as much as we would like, I'm hoping for some good 7 hour nights in the near future. I've missed being here, and I'm eager to be back. There are so many things I want to share!

Today I want to make sure you know about this fabulous website that a friend showed me. Leave it to her to find beauty everywhere she looks. She inspires me! And so does this site dedicated to color, color and more color: Design Seeds: for all who love color

Here are a two palettes that are speaking to me today:




I could post a bunch more, but I won't. You must go explore this site for yourself. It is ever-changing and ever-inspiring! Doesn't it just make you want to start a project?

Crockpot Yogurt

Yep, you read that right: I made yogurt in my crockpot this week. And it was super easy and super yummy!

I read about it on this website, which totally cracks me up: A Year of Slow Cooking. Where did I learn about this website? On Pinterest. Where else? I have a little obsession with Pinterest. Anyway, this woman decided to use her crockpot every day for a year... a bit extreme. As a result, she has some pretty crazy recipes on her site. I used her tutorial, and it was so easy, it's laughable.

I decided to try it because we eat a lot of yogurt... and not the cheap stuff. Justin and I love these little DanActive yogurt drinks:


And I feed organic YoBaby to the kids. Well, to one at least... and baby Emerson will be eating them pretty soon:

This is what I started with:

-half gallon whole milk
-1/2 cup of yogurt for starter

And here's the result! So yummy. It mentions this on "A Year of Slow Cooking," but this yogurt isn't as thick as storebought yogurt. It's more like the texture of plain yogurt. But that's ok with me, since I like to drink it anyway! I've actually been diluting it a bit more, adding vanilla & a little honey. Voila! Or I eat it with granola. Next time I'm going to puree fruit to mix in as well. I honestly think I won't be buying any more yogurt. I'll just save 1/2 a cup of this as a starter for my next batch of crock-pot yogurt. Let me know if you decide to try this, and how it goes!

Command Central

I was feeling desperate to actually finish a project this week. It's been a while. And considering the week we've had, with the whole family coming down with a cold, I'm shocked to announce that it's only Wednesday and I actually have something done and ready to post for y'all to see!

This summer, a friend (thank you, Frances!) gave us an armoire she no longer needed, and I tucked it in the corner of our dining room (filled with clutter, of course), unsure of exactly what would be the best use. China cabinet? Kitchen gadgets & table linens? Games & toy storage? This week I opted to turn it into what I call Mommy Command Central.

Although the project was small in scope, I think it's going to have big impact on our family's organization. I tackled three issues: 1. We are generally over-run by paper... we get so many credit card applications in the mail every day, keeping up with those alone - shredding & disposing - can be a challenge, not to mention all the other random papers that come floating through. 2. I haven't been able to figure out how to corral all of Finley's art supplies, craft stuff, play dough, movies, educational tools... all those kid items that I don't want to toss into a bin in his bedroom with the toys. 3. I drag my laptop all through the house, plugging the cord in at random spots... my initial plan was for it to live in the kitchen, but it's really never in there. It needed a home.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(I want to make cute labels for these boxes, using this site I learned about on Pinterest: http://www.picnik.com/ Not only for editing photos, but also for making cute printables, apparently... Not a top priority, though!)

Here's the two lower drawers full of Finley's stuff:

(the baby foot in these shots makes me laugh!)

Aside from organizing, really all I did was create the 2 pin boards on the insides of the door, and line the back panel with fabric for visual impact. Supplies: fabric, cardboard, Elmer's glue, staple gun, & a little double-sided velcro, It couldn't be easier!

To make the pinboard, I cut cardboard to the size of the in-set section on the insides of the doors. Then I laid it on the fabric, and cut the fabric with 2" extra all the way around. I put a squiggle of simple Elmer's glue on the front side of the cardboard, and made sure that the fabric was laid on squarely, since it had a graphic pattern. Then I turned it over to fold & glue the fabric over the edges, making sure to stretch it equally, to keep the pattern from distorting. Pretty basic. My cardboard even had a crease in it about 6" from the bottom, but you don't notice it once it's installed.

I used some left-over double-sided velcro to attach the cardboard to the armoire. I had maybe 2 feet, which I cut into 4 small pieces. It was plenty to hold it in place. I probably could have used half that much.

The cardboard works great with little tacks, and I didn't have to pay for cork board to go underneath the fabric!

Then I measured the back panel and cut a piece of fabric with about 1" extra around each edge. I folded & ironed the 1" edge on all sides, and used a staple gun to attach it to the wood (only waking the sleeping baby once with the loud noise). This worked great, as there is a little give, which allows me to send my computer cords out the back of the armoire!

This was super easy, and only cost me $15 (fabric, and a couple boxes from Target's Dollar Bins). My whole family is loving it so far - Finley loves to play on the PBS Kids website while sitting here!

Visit to Cedaredge

My little family recently trekked across the state to visit my parents on the "Western Slope" of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. They live in beautiful Cedaredge - a quaint little retirement town, which I didn't appreciate enough when I was growing up. Now that I have my own family, I understand better what a blessing my childhood was, including my parent's decision to raise us in the country, with the freedom to roam and play and imagine out-of-doors. Now my parent's unique home & property is heaven for my high energy 3-year-old son!

We spent our days picking raspberries:

Getting llama kisses:

Eating my mom's great, healthy food:

Playing with "Lizzie Dog":

And just hanging out as a family at my parent's beautiful B&B!

You too, could have this vacation, if you go here and make a reservation to stay at Cedars' Edge Llamas Bed & Breakfast! :) It really is a lovely place to visit!

Finally Finished!

My "dresser-turned-kitchen-island" is finally finished!

I've actually been enjoying using it for a few weeks... I just don't have much blogging time these days. You might remember the before pictures when I bought this on Craigslist.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

It turned out to be more work than I anticipated... sanding & sanding some more, de-glossing, painting, distressing, glazing, adding a top... whew! It was time-consuming. But I LOVE the end result, both in style, and in the functionality it has added to our kitchen. It's painted in a neutral greenish-grey, and the back is a chalkboard for my little boys. I re-used the hardware (with a little painting/distressing on the upper knobs), and the butcher block top is from IKEA. Not only was it less expensive than a ready-made island, but it has lots of character, and already feels kind of like an old friend.