Fourtune Cookies

Chinese New Year is almost upon us. February 8th begins the year of the rat. I have a ton of fabric lying around and this seems like a perfect way to give some away as a gift.

Good in Theory

I saw this great idea for a backslash today on Materialicious. I love to cook from recipes, but I hate the idea of printing them out because I am not good about saving them which means I print them over and over. I am not sure I like the idea of having this right over the stove. I think all I would end up with is grease splatter on the chalkboard and chalk dust in the food. But this would be perfect next to the stove. Then I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about all the little slips of paper I am using to keep ingredients handy or risk losing my laptop to a spill. via

I am Going to Wait in Line Now

Apparently we are mere weeks away from IKEA Red Hook. I know I shouldn’t be so excited about this, but I am. I have read all the cons to having this Swedish Mega Giant move into Brooklyn. I am aware that you buy stuff at IKEA which is something I need to cut back on. I know I know. But I can’t wait. Can I just say that while you can say a lot of bad things about the fact that IKEA is coming (whether you like it or not) they seem to be trying to do the right thing at every turn and not always because they were being forced to do so. They did a major waterfront improvement which helps to extend the NY Greenway just that much more and today I read that for the next 3 weeks they are only hiring people in the 11231 zip. Bringing jobs to the community sounds like a good thing to me. Apparently they are only accepting applications online, so for those without computer access or access to the library, Red Hook Works and Red Hook Rise is offering free computer access and assistance. I say välkomnande. via

I Hope You Saved the Packaging

On this blog I know it seems like I can’t really make up my mind between consumerism and minimalism. I think it is because I know the right thing to do (consume less) but I am a consumer, although I have come a long way. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe. I am learning to deal with this dual personality aspect of myself. Sifting through the layers of trash on the property is helping me see where my consumer ways are going to lead me if I am not careful. Today while clicking around I saw this great product. Bear with me here, it will all come together. I have an iPod Shuffle. If you have one as well, you know that they come in a plastic box which seems way too large for the shuffle. I kept mine because it seemed a shame to through away a perfectly good plastic box. Well in Japan someone has come up with a use for this plastic box. You can purchase a DIY kit that turns your shuffle packaging into a speaker! Tah dah! Now as a speaker it is a nice size for traveling and it has a use again. Come on America, get with the program. We are running out of space to dump stuff. via link US link.

I am Turning Green with Envy!

Irene over at Bloesem got herself a Gocco PG5 for her birthday! Lucky girl… I can feel my resolve weakening… I am not sure I am going to be able to hold out until my craft diet is over. Must be strong… must be strong. You know, it wouldn’t be violating my self imposed craft diet if someone else were to buy it for me. Hint hint, Honey, hint hint. It is ok to get your loved ones gifts when there is no birthday or anniversary near. Really it is.

Brrrrr

Holy cow did it get cold. It is chill you to the bone cold out there. This past weekend M&I went upstate to work a little bit on getting the “house” cleared. We made some really good progress despite the chill in the air. We also got one step closer to electricity by putting a grounding rod in. M and his dad did most of the work. It is an 8′ pole and it went into the ground about 4′ and stopped… we hope that is enough. We made a few trips to the local recycling center. We were overjoyed to find out they recycle books! Alleluia. We took a few loads out which really helped clear some space. We are trying to recycle everything we possibly can. The more we recycle, which is free, the less we have to pay to get rid of. The real shame is some of the books would probably be of interest but they are filthy dirty grimy and mice have made homes out of some. Honestly the only things I am considering keeping are glass items. I figure they can be pretty thoroughly cleaned and then displayed. I am not sure there is anything that could get them clean enough for me to consider eating off them.

Where Have You Been All My Life!

I haven’t had the chance to use my new kitchen-aid mixer until tonight. Oh man. I don’t know how I got along without it. It made making cookies so easy! I made delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from a recipe I got from Smitten Kitchen. Yum!!! I can’t wait to make something else with my mixer. I am going to have to find some recipes that aren’t sweets, otherwise I am going to have to buy some elastic pants.

Back in Time

The Library of Congress has released a flickr photoset of images from the 30’s and 40’s. The images come from the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information and from the George Grantham Bain News Service. All are high res scans and if you have information about a particular image you are encouraged to comment. For more information about the project, click here. via

Nifty Drawer Pulls

When I first saw this picture I thought I was looking at jewelry of some sort. Maybe cufflinks and a pendant? Well it turns out these are drawer pulls. It makes me want to change out some hardware. via link

Chalkboard Paint

This is definitely another “why didn’t I think of that” moment. M&I bought chalkboard paint ages ago and while we did use some, we still have a bunch waiting for another project to come along. I think this might be it. I apologize, I actually saw these the other day and I can not remember where. But you can get them here or make your own. In accordance with my craft diet I could use the paint that I have and revitalize a vase I am not too jazzed about anymore. This could also work with pots for plants.