jane's apron

sarah's house

I'm a huge fan of Sarah's House.  No surprise I'm sure.  It's one of those shows that my kids say they don't like but then they will join me...and then mimic Sarah every time she says "house" or "project".  Maddening.  So when the new Country Living came last week we all knew the cover was Sarah's Summer House.  

Sarah's House is my own fantasy world...where you get to rip out walls (and have someone build new walls), find cool furniture (and have someone paint or reupholster it), pick out tile (and have someone else install it).  Pure heaven.  Though some of her finished rooms are a little too crowded for me, I LOVE that she always mixes in something vintage or uses something in a new way.  

One of the first things I noticed on the magazine cover was the milk glass on the table.  And then there was more milk glass in another house in the issue.

I know right?  I'm on a mission to make sure everyone I know has at least one piece of milk glass in their house.  I'll make my case in my next post.  In the meantime, add some red and blue candy to a milk glass dish you already have...and have a happy 4th!

sidewalk chalk and the little orange box

The picture is of my kids and their cousins...but look a little closer at the sidewalk chalk art on the bricks.  Fun for a couple of hours last Friday night and such a cool mix of happy colors.  

I've been taking pics with my phone with the Retro Camera app and I love the sharp dark/light contrast that the "little orange box" camera creates.  And it's free.  

corn, avocado, and tomato salad

I'm on day 8 of the 17 day diet (I know, I know...but it has been a good way to hit the "reset" button on my eating habits).  I am already making plans for day 18.  First up is my favorite summer salad.  I'm going to eat a Jethro-sized bowl of it.  Probably add some whole wheat pita chips too. I . cannot . wait.

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad (slightly adapted from a Paula Dean Recipe)

• 2 cups frozen corn (I like Trader Joe's corn)
• 1 avocado, cut into cubes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Add the following dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

The pita chips are easy too.  Cut the pitas into triangles, drizzle with olive oil, and place in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle liberally with jane's crazy mixed-up salt and bake at 400 until crisp. 

{And that's my garage today...totally summery in the backyard right now}  

curtain redo

I bought curtains for my living room a few years ago.  They were sized perfectly to hang above the windows and skim the floor.  Before they made it onto curtain rods there was an incident with our geriatric cat and I had to wash the curtains.  The washing made them extra soft and pretty...and way too short.  At this point I should have just started over.  But no.  I spent a few years finding fabric, sewing one curtain, having problems with it...pausing for another year and, finally, just finishing the things.  

They are not perfect.  The edges are a little wacky and my plans to "just fold it over and stitch down the entire side" wouldn't work (because I would stitch the rod pocket shut).  I really only say the f-word to make my friends laugh but now I have to admit that I say it every single time I sew something.  Not perfect but done ... f* yeah ;-)

how to print on tags

Back when I had time to mess around on photoshop, I lifted these images from a vintage sewing book and a vintage sewing pattern for aprons (I even added color to the apron).  And then I printed them on tags.  Here's how I did it...

• Print the image on a piece of printer paper.
• Place the tag on top of the paper so that the image is centered under the tag.
• Tape the tag to the printer paper with a small amount of clear tape.  
• Put the paper/tag combo back into the printer and print the image again.
• Your tag should be printed...now just remove the tape and take it off the paper.