Dress Up Your Deck With Ikea

Our Eastlake apartment has an itty-bitty deck that is bigger than a Juliet balcony, but not quite deep enough to set up lounge chairs in. This space inadvertently became storage space for our bikes, the grill, cleaning supplies, and everything else that we didn’t want stored in the house. Eventually the trash bins found themselves out here as well. Suffice it to say, it got pretty gross.

Bali and the Philippines

Hey guys! Sorry for not posting anything in over a month. I was on vacation in SE Asia for 2 weeks, and when I got back I will admit I slacked off a little. Note to self: Must get my act together! It hasn’t helped that it’s been gorgeous outside for the past couple of days. Or that it’s been really busy at the office. And that the puppy has taken up most of what little free time I have. I can keep going but I know none of these is a legitimate excuse! I can’t help but wonder how other people can blog so consistently. My hat’s off to you.

To ease myself back into the blogosphere I am going to keep this post short and sweet. So rather than give you a play by play of our trip, I’ll share with you some photos instead. And stay tuned for more DIY stuff, I have a few little projects that I’ve taken on since I got back.

But in the meantime, enjoy!

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Gingered Cranberry-Pear Chutney

I made a small batch of this shortly before the holidays.  My mom had given us a box of pears that were already starting to ripen, and neither Breezy nor I could eat them fast enough. So into the canning jars they went. I made peach preserves with some of them, and the the rest of them I cooked with cranberry to make this savory chutney.

Baby Burpies

And now for my second sewing project. Wow I’m on a roll here. I went to a baby shower the other day and made these cute little flannel burp cloths. These were very easy to make and the fabrics I found at the store were super adorable. I literally prepped and cut the fabric the night before the party, and sewed them together the following morning. Voila! Instant designer burpies.

Take That, Plastic Bag.

Hello friends! Sorry for being in blog-hibernation all winter. I have been occupied with other things and haven’t had the chance to write anything these past few months. But I’m still here and I do have a few things that I’ve been meaning to share. Also, you may have noticed that I revamped the look of my blog. I’m still trying to fix a few kinks here and there but so far I am liking the look. What do you think?

I Want to Sew Like Project Runway

Such a lofty goal for someone who has never used a sewing machine before, eh? I have been following this season’s episodes of PR (go Anya!) and I am always amazed at how fast these people can whip up an outfit, sometimes two, in a matter of hours. I want to have that ability!

Yogurt Ice Pops with Blueberries

Bravo Seattle. You actually got up to 80 degrees this week. Now if you can just keep this up for a few more weeks that would be grand. That way I can have an excuse to keep making popsicles and eat them while I sit out on the deck, watching the float planes as they take off and land on Lake Union.