Monday, April 30, 2012

A Very Domestic Weekend

In lieu of visiting a bar, trying a new drink and then posting about it, I decided to be more domesticated this weekend. Sadly, that means no Mixology Monday features today, but I'll bring it back next week. ;)

So, domestication update: I spent Saturday out in the yard, planting geraniums, marigolds, candytuft, lavender, pansies, dusty miller and hydrangeas. For all the green thumbs out there, kudos to you. Gardening is hard work and I have the bruises and dirty fingernails to prove it.

 On Sunday, we ran the Top Pot Donuts 5k around Green Lake and followed that up with a 4-hour cooking class from our favorite instructors, Hipcooks. We actually learned how to make our own cheese from scratch! We made mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta and mascarpone. Then we took Trader Joe's pre-made pizza crust and topped it with sauteed garlic and rosemary sprigs and all of the fresh cheeses we prepared. It was wonderful!

Post-race. Top Pot gave everyone a free old-fashioned glazed donut.
Stretching cheese to form mozzarella balls.
Rosemary and garlic-brushed pizzettas. We added the mozzarella to these. 


Friday, April 27, 2012

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Chalk Letter Living

Chalk artist Dana Tanamachi does some of the most beautiful, typographic chalk artwork that I've ever seen. Perhaps even more impressive are her time-lapse videos. She's a one-woman show! Here she is talking about how she comes up with her designs. Pretty incredible.


I love this! What a clever background for wedding photos!
The cool factor... is it the chalk art or Oprah?  Or both?  So eye-catching!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

DIY Painted Bird Houses

A Fish Who Likes Flowers has this cute idea for turning plain, wooden bird houses into garden statement pieces. These things look like they came straight from some expensive garden boutique, don't they? I love the personalized touch too. You can make them as vibrant or as subdued as you prefer.

They sell these at craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.
For the base, anything goes. I might use wrought iron vs. wood for contrast.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Mixology Monday: The Ultimate Bloody Mary

Happy Monday, readers!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. It was sunny and seventy degrees here in Seattle so we made the most of it by sitting outside Greenlake Bar & Grill and enjoying an Ultimate Bloody Mary.

It was made with Absolut Peppar Vodka so it had a *wop* *bam* *pow* kind of kick to it.  Then they added every vegetable known to mankind, including pickled green beans, asparagus, celery, cucumber and stuffed olives. Finally, they salted the rim with bloody mary seasoning salt. The seasoning salt is one of those things that often gets overlooked with these kinds of drinks, but that plus the peppered vodka really made it stand out.  Yummy!


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Spray Paint Love

My love for ordinary things turned into works of art continues with CanLove.  It's a graffiti recycling program that takes old, used spray paint cans and gives them new life. Some of these pieces are absolutely breathtaking!  This stuff would be amazing in an urban office environment. So colorful and unique.

You can learn more about the program here.

Made from hundreds of layered spray paint dots

300 strips of spray paint can squares turned into a beautiful rainbow array

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Spring Sippin'

Spring and summer equal rosé season in the Davis household. This year, we're going to be hosting our first housewarming party so we're bound to have lots of yummy snacks and rosé wine on-hand. Any one of these stoppers would make for a fun way to spruce up the party beverage selection, don't you think?

1) Giraffe - http://www.dom-shop.com
2) Banana - http://www.geekalerts.com
3) Guitar - www.thehungersite.com
4) High Heel - http://www.homewetbar.com
5) Plunger - http://www.thegreenhead.com
6) Pickle - http://www.giftedgrape.com
7) Chess Pieces - http://www.thegreenhead.com/
8) Squirrel - http://shop.nordstrom.com
9) Star Wars - http://sclick.net

Friday, April 13, 2012

Friday Funny

I love surprises and this is one of the best I've seen in a long time!  Watch and wait for it.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A Little Boy With Big Dreams

Meet Caine, a very creative 9 year-old boy from Los Angeles who wanted to build his own arcade. With some cardboard, a little elbow grease, and help from independent filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, his dream came true. Watch the inspiring short story below!


Dear Photograph

If you're ever in the mood to get a little sappy or nostalgic, check out Dear Photograph.  It's a collection of user-submitted photographs with little notes attached to them. Some are short and sweet, some are more serious, but they're all equally fascinating. It's a fun, subtle reminder to cherish what's important to us in life.

"Dear Photograph - Thirty years later and I still catch them holding hands."  - Christina

Monday, April 9, 2012

Mixology Monday: The Rosamaria

We tried a little Italian restaurant on Friday night called Cornuto and they served us some of the most amazing drinks.  I tried one of their signature cocktails called The Rosamaria. It's made with vodka, soda, limoncello and a rosemary sprig. It's powerful, refreshing, and a great way to mask the bitter aftertaste that limoncello can sometimes have.

Try this as an alternative to wine with your next Italian meal. You won't be disappointed!

As the menu implies, this drink rocks.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Herbs in Hanging Jars

With spring in full effect, I'm feeling a bad case of green thumb kicking in.  I'm loving this DIY hanging herb garden from The Deadly Nightshade. It feels so rustic!

The only caveat is that if you live in an area where heavy rainfall is the norm (hello, Seattle!), you'd have to make sure your jars are placed under some kind of shelter so they don't flood.  Also, if you're worried about putting weight on your fence, you could replace the mason jars with aluminum cans and still have the same simple, rustic touch.



Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Do It Yourself Vintage Tote

My Two Butterflies has this great idea for adding vintage flair to an ordinary tote. Put a doily on it!  If you feel like going the extra mile, you could probably even sew on pearls or beads for added flair. 


Oreo Pudding Pie

Doesn't this dessert from Lil' Luna look delicious?  The combination of Oreo cookies and white chocolate pudding has me drooling!