DIY Amber Mason Jars

C.W. Frosting always has fabulous inspirational DIY projects and this week is no exception.  Check out this tutorial for turning old mason jars into beautiful works of art.

I can imagine these serving as gorgeous centerpiece arrangements at a wedding, baby shower or birthday party. Add some yellow wildflowers and greenery and these things will look like they came straight out of the pages of an event planner's portfolio!

Golden Era Glamour - A Flashback

I love finding old school videos like the one below.  Perhaps it's because they remind me of my days working in the film industry. More than likely though, it's the cheeky, charming narration.  I'm such a sucker for it!

Crazy Cars - Cool or Tacky?

As you know, my husband and I are in the process of buying our first house. We're still in the finding phase, which means lately, we've spent most of our Sunday afternoons going to open houses.  Last Sunday, we drove past this truck parked in one of the neighborhoods we were scouting:

*LEGO men not included

What's underneath all of those gigantic LEGOs? I have no idea, but this is just one of many cars like this that I've seen on the roads this year.  It got me thinking, why not share some snapshots with the rest of the world.

Behold, some of the tackiest (or coolest?) cars out there:

Oh, Hello there Kitty!

Matching your purse with your car is a thing, I guess?

This car is popular among Venice/Santa Monica, CA residents.
It was also recently featured in a national commercial. 

Random doesn't even begin to describe this one.

Taking their love of crocheting a little too far?

Mixology Monday: The Tiger's Paw

Ever heard of a little Seattle joint called Tavern Law?  It was recently rated one of GQ Magazine's "Top 25 Bars" in the United States.  It was also named one of Food and Wine Magazine's "Best Bars" back in December of 2011.  Maybe it's the extensive list of stellar drinks that draw the crowds, or the authentic, speakeasy decor that makes you feel like you're stepping back in time. Either way, if you're ever in the Seattle area or plan to visit, make a point to swing by this place and see what makes it so special.

Personally, I think it's their gem of a little cocktail called The Tiger's Paw. It's the perfect blend of rye whiskey, lemon juice, ginger, Allspice and a little Peychaud's bitters.  It's sweet and spicy, and guaranteed to get you feeling right.  If you love ginger, you will absolutely love this concoction.

Friday Funny: Nutella, Before and After

This Friday Funny goes out to all the Nutella lovers!

Happy Friday everyone!

Rolo Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter AND Rolo candies, together in one cookie?  I'm in heaven!

Check out the recipe over at Crazy for Crust.  My mouth is already watering...

Romantic Love Letter Lamp

Love Pottery Barn, but hate their high prices?  The Shabby Sheek Creek has this step-by-step guide for turning an ordinary lamp into something that looks like it came straight from the store.

The lamp shade itself contains words from old love letters and cards that have been translated into French, though you could also pull phrases from treasured poems, books, etc. It makes for one beautiful, personalized, shabby chic lamp that's sure to get people talking!

A lamp like this goes fro $200+ in the store.
You can make it for under $150!

DIY Adorable Tooth Pillow

The Brown Eyes Have It has this cute idea for creating a tooth pillow for kids. I love that it's actually tooth-shaped, which makes it fun to use. Plus, it's something you can keep it in the family as your kiddos lose their teeth.

For those who don't sew (like me), my guess is you could probably even hand-stitch this?

Presidents' Day Pancakes

Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons has a great little tutorial for making President-shaped pancakes. Pancakes are near and dear to my heart - it was the preferred dinner choice whenever my dad would have to feed us. The side dish was always savory scrambled eggs with cheese and bits of broccoli mixed in. Looking back, I'm fairly certain this was his sneaky way of getting us to eat our vegetables. It worked!

Happy Presidents' Day, everyone.  If you're lucky enough to have the day off, relax and enjoy it!

Mixology Monday: Sparkling Pear Martini

Mike and I had ourselves a little date night on Friday and went to the Dilettante Chocolate Cafe for a few drinks and some dessert.  Dilettante Chocolates are the best! They're well known here in Seattle, with  several stand-alone shops downtown. The cafe, however, not only serves a rich array of small plates and side dishes, it also specializes in sweet martinis. After a long week at work, a martini was just what the doctor ordered (me being the doctor, of course.)

I ended up getting one of the simpler drinks on the menu - the Sparkling Pear Martini. It was a mix of equal parts Absolute Pear Vodka and champagne, garnished with a lemon twist. It was so crisp it was like biting right into the side of a pear!

If I made this at home, I'd probably add a shot of amaretto for a touch of sweetness, but it's absolutely fine without it. Very refreshing.

Friday Funny

This is hands down one of the best ways I've seen of introducing Star Wars to young ones.  Of course it doesn't hurt that this little girl is adorable and seems to be having the time of her life in this contraption. I want one for myself!

Happy Friday!

Rope Vase Redo

I'm loving this idea on Made in a Day for making an old vase look more modern. All you need is a can of spray paint, glue and some twine.

This would work on vases of all sizes and you could use any color of twine you liked. Given my Pottery Barn tastes, I would go with the copper and beige combination, as pictured above.

You can read the full set of instructions here.

Nerd Pizza

The good folks over at thatsnerdalicious.com had this to share the other day.  I'm not even sure what to say...  Part of me thinks this would be a fun experiment and might actually taste okay.  The other part of me thinks this is a dish best reserved for kids and computer geeks.  Either way, I've never seen pizza with a hot dog crust before.  Kudos for originality!

A Valentine Kiss

Color Me Katie has an adorable idea for a Valentine's Day gift that's both thoughtful and inexpensive. It's a miniature flip book of you or your loved one blowing a kiss. See how it's made!


Flip Book from katie sokoler on Vimeo.

A Love Story from StoryCorps

StoryCorps is a nonprofit group with a simple mission: to preserve the history of our lives. They do this through recorded interviews which are then archived and stored at the Library of Congress.  Occasionally, the stories are animated, like the story of Rachel and Ruben below.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Demolition Time!

This weekend, we joined forces with my parents and kicked-off their mountain retreat remodel.  Since it's rare that I get to use professional tools like sledgehammers and electric drills, I jumped at the chance to roll-up my sleeves and get dirty.

How fun it was! We ripped up flooring, took down drywall and tapped away at tiling.  After six hours of sweaty, hard labor, the first of many demolition days to come was complete.

The biggest takeaway for me was seeing firsthand what goes into remodeling a house. I have newfound respect for anyone who has ever gone through this. Holy smokes, it's a lot of hard work!

Here's a fun video and snapshot of this weekend's work:

Mike's first swing with the sledgehammer. 

Mixology Monday: Martini Mantra

On Friday, we went out to dinner with our good friends Brian and Wendy.  We finally got to try this sushi restaurant we've been eyeing for months and it was worth the wait.

One of the funnier points of the evening came when our waitress offered us a bit of advice:  if you order a dirty martini, ask for a side of olive juice.  That way, if it's not dirty enough, you can adjust the olive juice as needed without having to send your drink back.  Personally, I like my martinis so dirty they resemble swamp water, which means I'm always sending them back and feeling guilty about it. Now I don't have to sweat it. Now that's news I can I can drink to!

Rainbow JELL-O Orange Slices

A friend shared this idea with me earlier this week and it makes me so happy.  It's a rainbow array of JELL-O frozen inside of orange slices! Doesn't it look like fun? Maybe it's just me, but I go crazy for all things JELL-O.  It brings back wonderful memories from my childhood, and some from my college days... hello, JELL-O shots!) 

Make these little slices of heaven yourself - it's easy:

• Cut oranges in half and hollow out, removing all signs of pulp on the inside
• Set hollowed out oranges inside of a muffin pan so they won't move when filled with JELL-O
• Make several flavors of JELL-O in separate bowls, using 1/3 less water than required
• Fill orange halves with JELL-O mix and chill in refrigerator as directed
• When ready to serve, remove orange halves and slice into quarters

Mixology Monday: Creme de Violette Martini

Hopefully you've all had a lovely weekend. I know I did!  I tried a fantastic new restaurant here on Saturday night called Re:public. While the food was to die for (try the crispy pork belly with ginger-glazed carrots), the drinks left the biggest impression on me, especially the Creme de Violette Martini.  Wow.  Just, wow.

If you've never had Creme de Violette liqueur, it's essentially brandy flavored with violet flowers. It's very sweet with a subtle, floral aroma.  It's also a deep, dark purple color, which sort of makes you feel like you're drinking something that should actually taste awful.  

I would definitely try this cocktail again, though it looks like there are many other interesting Creme de Violette combinations out there. I wonder if any other joints here in Seattle serve them?  

Looks like I've got some exploring to do!

My Creme de Violette Martini backlit by candles. 

A snapshot of Re:public's eclectic drink menu. The
Creme de Violette cocktail is there in the middle. 

P.S. Stay tuned for some cool DIY projects this week that don't have anything to do with cocktails, I promise! :)

Smart Storage

I was browsing DIY Home Sweet Home and came across this great idea for storing cleaning supplies. Basically, hang a towel rack above the sink or inside your cabinets below and it can serve as a nice resting place for all your miscellaneous bottles. Love it!