Category: diy

ikea play kitchen hack

after scouring the internet for the perfect play kitchen that looked exactly how i (i mean, mila) wanted, and discovering that i just can’t justify spending nearly a thousand dollars for the beautiful ones from pottery barn… i decided to give an ikea dutkig a major upgrade, and OMG we are so happy with the final results.

there quite a few blogs and insta posts that show all the cool ways you can hack this kiddo kitchen. i got a lot of inspiration from this apartment therapy roundup of other DIYs. but in the end, i copied a little here and there from different kitchens and this is what we ended up with.

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DIY: pretty pie crusts

okay, if i’m being 100 percent honest, i couldn’t care less what kind of pie is made at thanksgiving. i don’t even really love pie. or dessert. i mean, sure i’m eating a chili dark chocolate bar right now, but that’s not dessert. that’s chocolate.

i digress.

the best part of any pie, is the way it looks. and my favorite, favorite, favorite part about pie is the decorative crust.

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diy: pom pom fringe pillow

my family has a tradition. every new year’s day, you’re supposed to make a pillow case for someone you love. it’s a little good-luck charm that lets them know you love and are thinking about them! growing up, i accumulated a million pillowcases. okay, i guess really only one a year, but that’s still a lot of pillow cases. i’ve loved making one for steven every january 1st, but this year i have a new little sweetie to sew for! this pineapple pom pom pillow case makes the sweetest addition to the nursery that’s waiting for her.

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oh citrus tree, oh citrus tree

we’re all about any excuse to use food in fun, interesting ways… and this year, thanks to some citrus that was probably about to become inedible, we decorated our entire christmas tree for less than $10. last spring, i saw dried fruit slices hanging in a window of one of my favorite shops in baltimore. it looked like stained glass, so pretty! i’ve been waiting for the perfect time to try it out at home.

this was such a simple project. easy to do by yourself and probably even more fun with little ones! plus, the house smelled sooooo good while the slices were drying in the oven!

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simple tomato canning

we started in may, planted a garden in tiny soil pods by starting with seeds. we cared for them, we watered them, the chef built garden boxes and we planted the seedlings into the ground. then we waited. and nothing happened.

all summer long, nothing. the peppers, eggplants, beets, and tomato plants we started grew and grew and grew, but nothing edible appeared — until fall. late fall. like, it’s almost thanksgiving and we’re still getting four pounds of tomatoes a week. they really are great tomatoes, but we can’t use them fast enough, so: canning.

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our home reno

in the last few months, we’ve spent so many hours traveling back and forth between our row home in baltimore and the house we just bought near dc! every day off was spent doing parts of projects here and there: sanding, staining, painting. the hard part is over now that we’ve moved in, but we still have to finish some small details.

we moved in friday, and while i should be spending these free moments unpacking, i’d rather sit on the sofa, watch the mindy project and document our renovation journey. it’s been both challenging and fun, and it turns out this chef of mine is also quite the handyman! here’s the before and after (or, rather, after and before) in our new living room.

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