steak and blanket weekend {part 1}

For the first time in a while I had a very productive weekend.  One of the ladies I work with is pregnant and she's having a baby shower this coming Saturday.  I'm super excited about it, (the shower and the little one it's for).  Every time someone in our family has a baby my mom makes them a baby quilt.  She always picks the cutest little fabrics and they're never too cutesy or power blue/baby pink.  Since I took the "Mitered Blanket" class at The Needle Shop I thought I'd give it a go and make a blanket for my friend.  I went to TNS and got some fabric, it was hard to find fabric that would work for a boy, I never noticed before how girly everything is.

I decided to go with Polka Dots! A personal favorite.  This is what I made:

First cut two squares. The "feature fabric" is a 33 X 33 square and the back and border is a 43 X 43 square.  Then fold them in half and marked the center of all four sides on both pieces of fabric with a fabric pencil.  Then, lay the fabrics "pretty sides" together with the smaller square on-top and match the center of the raw edge:

Pin the edges together and sew along the pinned edge starting and stopping a 1/2" in from the feature fabric:

Next match up the centers of the raw edges on the opposite side and do the same as before:

On the next side match up the centers by holding the corners on either side and pulling.  The feature fabric will pull up and you'll see where the fabric meets up.  It might be a tiny bit off from the centers (not too much) but that's o.k.:

Pin the raw edges together, and sew from seam line to seam line:

Do the same for the last edge but when you sew, switch to a basting seam in the middle for about 6" (back stitching before and after), just enough space to pull the blanket through:

Next step is the corners.  To create the "Mitered" corners fold the blanket in half diagonally.  Mark the end of your stitch line with a pin and draw a line that makes a 90 degree angle with the folded edge. Like so:

This type of ruler makes it really easy, if you line up a 45 degree angle with the ruler on your seam line, it will create the 90 degree angle for you.

Pin this together and sew along the drawn line:

Trim the edges to a 1/2" seam allowance:

After you've finished all your corners lay the blanket flat and press the corner seams open and the edge seams out from the middle:

The next step is to open your basting stitches and pull the blanket right side out.  Push out the corners and lay the blanket out flat and even.  There is just one more step.

So the blanket doesn't completely loose it's shape when it goes through the washer and drier you'll need to sew a seam line around the entire blanket on the inner edge of the border (where the two fabrics meet).  This will also close up your opening from pulling the blanket through.  Pin along the inner edge of the border all the way around the blanket and sew your last stitches:

It is also recommended that you sew another square in the center of the blanket to stabilize the layers even further but my colors are so different that I skipped that step.  (I also skipped it last time and it's worked out fine).

Here's my Blanket!!!:

(I look a little creepy peaking out from behind the blanket, and my lack of make-up doesn't help)

(Just as long as no one looks at the baby like that I think we'll be fine)

Up close shot:

What do you think? Is it manly enough for a baby boy??  I know there's a little pink in there, but this baby will be secure enough in his masculinity to pull it off, I just know it!

farmers market

Today is Thursday!!! My favorite day of the week!!!

and here are my farmers market finds

BEETS!

More Asparagus!

KALE!

And a little bucket of Strawberries.

I picked this specific container of berries because it had this one in it . . .

Siamese Twin Strawberry!!! Oh nature, you're so unusual.

Yum, yum, yum, I love me some veggies.

So, for those of you who know me personally you might be thinking, "Aly, why in the heck would you buy strawberries when you can't even eat them?", and those of you who don't know me might be thinking, "why did she just write that??"  

Well, a little fact about me is that I am allergic to fresh fruit.  It happened when I was around 14, we were having an easter party and there was a huge bowl of cherries.  I couldn't stop eating them and after about 15 I started having trouble breathing.  I found my mom and tried to tell her between quick short breaths that I thought my throat was closing.  She looked at me and sighed "ah, crap."  My aunt has the same allergy so she knew exactly what was going on.  I kept trying little bits of various fruits hoping that it was just a certain type, but to no avail. It's all of them.  

BUT! There are ways, yes, I can cook it, and I've had those canned peaches and pears from Trader Joe's, and once I bought a bag of frozen berries and munched on those.  The frustrating thing is that I can't just eat it as a healthy snack.  When you cook fruit it becomes more of a dessert, which is delicious but not something you should be eating every day.  

So, today I was walking through the farmers market and every stand had beautiful, delicious smelling strawberries.  It was too tempting, I don't have a plan for them yet but they just looked so good!

Do you have any suggestions?

Should I make some shortcake?

Or some simple jam?

I need help!!

p.s. sorry I missed a wednesday, I was so tired yesterday, and thought it was tuesday until about 7 o'clock.  I'll be back on it next week, I swears.

real life shelves

I got a call from my mom last Thursday.  She had read my post about the built-in bookshelves and said "Hey!  Where are your bookshelves? You talked about them, I want to see them!"  Well, I was going to put them in that post but it was too dark to take the photos by the time I thought about it, so here they are now!

Alright, so I'm not very good at taking care of plants, especially in a room I rarely go into.  I actually totally forgot about that plant until I took these pictures.  oops!

Aaaanyway.

These are the shelves my man installed in our office/studio space.  Floating shelves are so beautiful and clean, I love 'em!

They float above this strange jut-out in the room, I think it's to make room for your forehead when you're walking up the stairs to our apartment.

The shelves are great because they make useful space out of this awkward little corner.

sunday breakfast?

What is this?

 . . . 

Peaches!!!!!!

Don't they look like eggs yolks? They look so slimy because they're canned peaches from Trader Joe's!

Yum.

farmers market

I finally had time to take lunch outside the office on a Thursday. So I headed over to my favorite Thursday summertime spot . . . the Farmer's Market!!!!  Yesterday it got up to 106°, then last night around 10pm it started to pour down buckets of rain, then the lightning and thunder came and it didn't stop until this morning around 9am.  Today it was about 54° (yeah a 50° drop in less than 24 hours - CRaZY).  All this meant that the market was a little sparse, but I still got some good lookin' veggies.

Asparagus

Herbs - Dill and Garlic Chives

Bokchoy

Asiago Peppercorn Sourdough Bread

OH YEAH!!!!

I wish there were some sort of "smell" button, because this bread smells amazing.

YUM!!!!

wishful wednesdays {floor to ceiling bookshelves}

One thing this Lazy Lady does best is fantasize about the future.  I'm not very good at living "in the now," I'm always thinking about the next recipe we should make, or couch we should buy, or city we'll live in, or job I could have, and where we'll be in 1, 3, 5, or 15 years.  It's not really the healthy way to live, buuuut sometimes I come up with some really great futures. . . 

Now this is a hard one, I mean, it really all depends on what kind of space you have.  Is there room for just one small bookcase? How about a wall to dedicate to books? Or an entire room!  Do you want something funky, something sleek and modern, or something very traditional?  Right now we have a small apartment so the Man made two floating shelves and installed them over a jut-out in the office/studio off of our living room.  I've always loved the look of a wall of books, not a normal rectangle wall, but walls with strange ceiling shapes, or a door, something to make it a little more interesting and complicated.

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Like this room.  They used a wall with windows and a fire place in a room with slanted ceilings.  Love it!  It makes basic built-ins unique, and decorative, instead of boring and common.

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This is a great little book nook.  Just like that mudroom built into the space underneath the stairway I posted a couple weeks ago, this "library" creates a purposeful room in an otherwise useless space.  It's unusual and completely unique to this home. Love it!

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The shelves in this room are different from most, the sections are all uniform equal squares.  What I like about built-in bookshelves that go around a doorway, is when they continue along the top of the door to connect each side.  It steps away from looking like two separate bookshelves one could buy at ikea and makes it look custom (which it obviously is).  In my opinion, if you're going to spend the money then don't go "cookie-cutter."

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Now these shelves were built into a wall that had nothing else on, in, or around it but, they decided to break it up in another way.  Display space is a great thing to add into a book shelving.  Whether it's very specific as to where the objects will go, with open space and lighting etc. 

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Or open as to where they can go.  With large shelf areas to intermingle the books and objects however you see fit.

Bookshelves are a strangely huge topic, I didn't really think about how many opinions I could possibly have on the topic until I started looking them up.  There are just so many options, for home owning and apartment renting alike.  I can't do built-ins, and maybe I'll never want to, especially with a handy furniture making boyfriend, who has ton's of great ideas.

Maybe after all of that built-in talk I'll end up wanting something more like this ...

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Who knows!!

How about you? Do you already have the prefect library?  Do you like to read?  Do you like the look of built-ins or do you find them dullsville?

Tell me, I want to know!

june birthdays bring beautiful bouquets

This weekend I got so many beautiful flowers for my birthday.

We had a BBQ on Saturday night, and went to Trader Joe's to get all the fixin's.  The check out guy asked us about our plans for the weekend and Andrew told him it was my birthday.  He rang the bell and when another employee came over he said "It's her birthday, go let her pick something out." The guy took me over to the flower stand and they gave me a bouquet!!!!!!

I LOVE TRADER JOES!!!!

Then my friend Meredith came over to bring me these (and a tiramisu cake), even though she was feeling sick and couldn't stay.

Then Caroline came for the BBQ and brought these

Our apartment smells great!! 

too much palooza

My parents held a graduation party for my cousin today.

It looks like Morgan had too much fun.

wishful wednesdays . . . a day late {walk-in closet}

One thing this Lazy Lady does best is fantasize about the future.  I'm not very good at living "in the now," I'm always thinking about the next recipe we should make, or couch we should buy, or city we'll live in, or job I could have, and where we'll be in 1, 3, 5, or 15 years.  It's not really the healthy way to live, buuuut sometimes I come up with some really great futures. . . 

I mean, come on.  What girl doesn't want her clothes and shoes to have their own beautifully designed room.  They deserve it.  They make you feel good so you need to return the favor and let them live in style.  A walk-in closet would be an absolute dream come true, being able to see every shirt and skirt and shoe, even drawers for undies all laid out like in a Victoria Secret store (too much information?).  I honestly don't know what style I would choose. . .

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Something sleek, modern and manly?

This is beautiful but I don't think it would be my go-to look, it's a bit too "suit shop" for a girly girl like me.

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How about some custom upholstered cushions?

 Doesn't look like enough seat for my tush, but how long do you need to sit in a closet anyway.  I like all the mirrored cabinetry and that fun chandelier. . . would you call that a chandelier? I like the idea of going crazy decorating a small space that no one will really see.  I keep thinking a large closet would be a fun place to go wild with color, but then I realize that you need to be surrounded by neutrals so you can see how you look.  If all your walls were painted bright orange all of the clothes and your skin wouldn't look right.  As much as I understand that my whole closet can't be mango or chartreuse, I have the hardest time letting a room be floor to ceiling white.  I grew up in a technicolor house and I just can't break away from it.  I would have to buy more colorful clothing for pops of color. . .

a little like this closet

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This space is really cute, I love all the open shelving and spot lights for displaying all your cute shoes, jewelry, scarfs, and handbags.  Of course there would have to be a ton of hanging storage behind and to the side of the person taking this photo. 

And then there are Hollywood closets.

I always remember this episode of Will&Grace when Jack sees Karen's closet for the first time.  (Sorry the photos are so fuzzy I took screen shots while watching the episode online).

Swoon.

This closet is as big as my ENTIRE APARTMENT!!!  The wall of shoes.  The chaise lounge.  The fresh flowers.  The gaudy chandeliers.  The immense amount of hanging storage.  I think the pull-out storage in the third photo is an awesome idea, especially if you had a closet with a lot of depth but not a lot of width, as opposed to a closet with a lot of every dimension.  I love having more hanging space then drawer space because then you can see everything and you don't have to worry about the man of the house messin' up all the folded shirts in drawers because he wants the one on the bottom.  

Then there's the clean white, bright, bright, bright look of the closet from the Sex and the City movie.  BEA-utiful.  I think I could go all white for something so shiny!  I love that the first thing you see is the wall of shoes.  Shoes should always be the focal point of a room.    

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How about a large walk-in for the kiddos of the house?

This little girl is one lucky baby.  Could you imagine giving a four year old this much closet space??  This is crazy to someone like me but if you've got the money and the space then go for it!

How about you?  Have too many clothes and not enough closet space?  Do you already have your dream closet?  Want something clean and sleek? Or do you want all your bests on display?

Tell me, I want to know!

alypalooza!

"Well, as the Festival Torch is officially passed, we say 'whoo-Ha' it's Aly-Palooza time!"

Straight from the lips of the StuFest Man himself.  One celebration has passed and  . . . 

Alypalooza has begun!

(Look at the beautiful presents my parents sent.  Such cute wrapping paper!!)

Some of you who aren't directly tied to the Flint Family might be thinking what's Alypalooza and who's a StuFest???  Well, my friend, let me tell you.  It all started with My dad, he takes birthdays pretty seriously, so instead of confining all the fun and love to one specific day he thought "hey, let's spread it out a little bit."  There's too much pressure on one day, what if people forget, what if you have a bad day, what if it's a Monday!?!  In our family your birthday goes past that one day, and that doesn't mean party party party, and presents up the wazoo every day for weeks.  It means be happy, let things happen when they happen, there's no such thing as belated, and hey, if you want to get me a present later go right ahead, or just come over and let's share a drink sometime in the next few weeks.  It sounds intense but it's actually more relaxed, and who doesn't like the sound of a birthday festival!

It's fun! It's exciting! It's Alypalooza!!!

The official day isn't until Saturday but let's just start celebrating now!

Incase you're wondering my mom's celebration comes in July . . . the eight days of Rebeccakkah! 

get it? get it?? hahaha.