7.31.2011

in town: farmers' market

There is an amazing farmers' market in Phoenixville every Saturday morning. It's only a 10 minute walk from our house. There's coffee from Artisans, incredible pastries (which we eat for breakfast... every week), organic produce, cheese, wine, live music, people watching, etc.

This is our walk to the farmers' market in pictures:



















ENJE roller shade

Over the past 2 years we've realized that our style is pretty minimalistic. While I love the look in others' homes, the idea of curtains is a little much in this house. It seems like the more streamline it is, the better it looks. The old mixed with the new.

This is how the room started off. The camera isn't exaggerating, it was really this dark.
I don't mind wood-colored trim, but it just brought this room down.



After the room's major renovation, we slapped this baby up for privacy. It was a good temporary fix while we figured out what we really wanted.
*Yes, we originally painted with semi-gloss. Lesson. Learned.



Hello ENJE Roller shade. It looks great, is cheap, and can be easily be trimmed to fit any window. I'm kind of obsessed with them. The material is sheer enough to let light in but still provides privacy at the same time.

Find out how to trim the blinds here (doorsixteen) or here (makingitlovely).






Hoot hoot.

7.30.2011

table by drew leshko

We went over a year and a half without a dining room table. We were holding out for the perfect one. I knew we needed something that looked good but could also get messed up and still look good. We obviously weren't having any luck in stores.

Enter Drew Leshko. Who happens to be our friend. The pieces he makes are absolutely amazing.
You have to check out his site.









7.29.2011

living room shelves: progress

You would think that decorating a few shelves wouldn't be so complicated.
These have tortured me.
I'm really trying to find the perfect combination of stuff but not too much stuff. I think I'm getting close on shelves #1 and #2. We won't even talk about shelf #3 (not pictured here).

The jars are going to hold small souvenirs/papers/tickets from trips (we spotted this idea here). Hopefully each trip will have a jar. Now I have to go collect/find things from past trips...



My sister Emily is an amazing artist. She made this in school.

Remember when...
it used to look like this.

dinner: mac and cheese

I'm always on a lookout for ways to add extra protein to a recipe (we get plenty of protein, it's just better for me so I eat less). This mac and cheese recipe has been evolving since we got married.
The secret is cottage cheese. I know, that sounds crazy but cottage cheese is low calorie and realllly high in protein. Even though we both hate it, when mixed into mac and cheese you can't even tell it's cottage cheese and it's sooo good.

*I ran out of spinach so it's pictured without
**This is pictured with regular italian breadcrumbs. Usually I use panko.



  • 6 tablespoons panko bread crumbs (or any other type)
  • 1 16-ounce or 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed, and excess water pressed out
  • 3 cups low-fat milk, divided
  • 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1lb pasta, cooked until firm

Preheat oven to 450°F.
  1. Heat 2 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
  2. Spread half the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta; sprinkle with the breadcrumb (you can add a little oil and paprika to the breadcrumbs if you want).
  3. Bake the until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. Yum!


7.27.2011

mirror

Our Grandparents gave us this awesome mirror. When we took mirror home it was a brass color. After a date night of caulking and painting, it's now a bright yellow. I love it! Thanks Mom Mom and Pop Pop!

"Date Night"


Tada! Sorry about the horrible pictures... I obviously have no idea how to take good pics in a dark room.


7.25.2011

dinner: friend forces me to cook

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. But I have not wanted to even step into the kitchen these past few weeks because of the heat!
My friend Katy pretty much forced me to make this dinner with her and introduced me to toasted bread topped with a doctored-up bruschetta. And I'm so glad she did. It was super good.


1. Brush olive oil on some crazy herb bread
2. Spoon tomato concoction (blended bruschetta, garlic, olive oil)

3. Top with fresh mozz

4. Bake until reallyyyy toasted
5. Serve with this salad

weekend: summer









7.19.2011

sunroom windows: caulked and painted

The windows went from this:


To this (Nooo!):

Dad nailing or measuring stuff ... you know.

Ahhh drywall and trim:

Sand, caulk, nail fill, paint, paint, paint!
*Fun fact: it took us a 1/2 a day to clean these windows after the demolition

Perfecto!



7.18.2011

toilet paper roll art: almost done

Being in the midst of a renovation and grad school, I'm trying to either make most of what we decorate our home with or get it for free. Or super cheap.
Instead of feeling upset that we can't just order whatever we want (not that we would even if it was in the budget), it inspires me to be creative. So when I saw this toilet paper roll wall art on Design Sponge, we were all over it. My friend Erin made one and it came out beautiful.




Still need to:
glue pieces together
paint the inside of a few (yellow)
tweek the arrangement (it might not be big enough)
hang up!

lotta's stencil

We've loved Lotta Jansdotter for awhile now. The stencil book is one of our favorites -- every stencil is simple, clean, and beautiful.

It's just what the dining room needed:








If you get a chance to pick up one of her books, just do it. You won't be disappointed.