farewell

Over the last few months I have spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at home and craft blogs while giving minimal effort to completing any projects to display on my own such blog. I've realized that while my accomplishments are satisfying to me, in the big world of H&C blogs they are really quite pathetic. There are SO many amazing blogs and ideas out there, I began to feel grossly inadequate.

In addition, the last week or so I have felt more like sitting down and reading a book than working on home improvements or homemade bridal shower gifts. For the first time in my life I have felt guilty for wanting to read, because in the back of my mind is this sad little blog that has been horribly neglected.

While I plan to continue to give homemade gifts, and I will always have some home improvement project in the works, I want to relieve myself of the burden that this blog has become. So for the time being, SRP is discontinued. If I feel especially proud of something I've made or finished, I'll post it on my other blog. That is the blog I really enjoy contributing to, and will more directly benefit from time spent with my nose in a book.

Thanks for stopping by!

hats

My enthusiasm for homemade gifts is waning. I'm a month behind now. I thought I found the perfect gift my very cute and crafty sister-in-law. This sun-hat.

I did a practice version for Eli, who hates having the sun in his eyes. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped but I figured out the changes I needed to make for the final product.

Sadly, the final product went terribly wrong. It wouldn't fit on my head, or any adult's head for that matter. It will be tucked away in a dress-up tote in case someday we have a girl. I was bitterly disappointed by my failure. Sorry Brit, but I do have something else in mind!

Eli doesn't seem to mind his hat's imperfections. It is reversible afterall.

Homemade Broth

At WinCo I often buy chicken in the largest quantity possible because it is usually cheaper. When I bring it home I cook all or most of it at once. Then I divide it up and chop or shred it and put it in the freezer to use for meals later like enchiladas, hawaiian haystacks, you name it.

My mom taught me that if you season the water that you boil the chicken in it gives the chicken good flavor and the remaining "water" that the chicken was cooked in can be used as broth. I use the broth to cook with (as broth) and I also love to cook rice with the broth instead of plain water. I just freeze it in old yogurt tubs.

This picture doesn't look very appetizing, so you'll just have to take my word for it. All I use to season the water is salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.

utility room rug

We had leftover carpet after we got our new carpet installed. I decided the shaggy nature of the carpet would make for a great rug in the laundry room, which is the gateway from the garage into the house. I'm tired of door rugs that do nothing to remove actual dirt/mud substance from shoes. So I just cut a piece of carpet the size I wanted. Then I ordered the Instabind online for
$1 per foot. I'm really happy with it.

Finished Product: And it is so much nicer to stand on while doing laundry.

in the works

I do have several projects in the works. But the exhaustion that comes with the first trimester is resulting in a slow-pace for home improvement. And I am terribly behind in the homemade birthday gift arena. But I am motivated so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I keep busy with the first-rate pursuit of feeding myself. I love these pre-cut baguettes from Fred Meyer. They make the perfect little snack topped with gouda cheese & tomato or almond butter & avocado. Mmm.

my garden

I posted on my other blog about planting the seeds for our garden. I wish I had taken a picture of the seedlings before the transplant, as proof that they actually existed in the likely event that they all die.
Well Saturday I transplanted all my precious little seedlings. I was telling Richard that it really does amaze me that you can plant a tiny little seed that carries the information and capability to produce a plant that will provide you with many fruits or peppers or what have you. It blows my mind, to be honest.
This year I planted everything from seed and we'll see how it goes. I'm really excited, but at the same time my optimism makes me prone to disappointment when things fail.
You may remember these cans... it is the chocolate mix I put in my skinny-boys milk to add calories. Anyway, they were piling up and I read in a book about using something similar to protect the seedlings. I cut out the bottom with my awesome Pampered Chef can opener. If there are in chilly nights in the future I can just put the lids on the cans and "Voila!" Protected.

The red stuff you see is cayenne pepper. It's purpose is to keep predators away. (In our case, it would be our dog.)

the clock

I re-painted this canvas to make a clock that matched my other canvases for my bathroom. Last step for the bathroom, a new shower curtain!

Cornice

We have an arched window in our living room that for the first two years we lived here had blinds hanging from over the top of the arch. I can't really explain how bad it looked, but eventually they quit closing and so when I painted the room I took them down entirely.

I couldn't decide how to handle the arch shape because we wanted blinds in the window. I finally decided to just hang blinds in the rectangular part of the window and cover the arch altogether with a cornice. My sister Lori had made a couple for her apartment and came and spent an afternoon helping me construct it.

If you really want details let me know, but here are some pictures of the process.

glad to be back

Well, since all my major life-changing events are out of the way I have the chance to get back to my second-rate pursuits.

My homemade gift challenge has been just that, a challenge. I hit a major obstacle in February with my brother-in-law's birthday. He is a married twenty-something in college. I went grass-roots and tried to think what he enjoys most in life. The best thing I could come up with was food. His wife was doing student teaching all day leaving him on his own for lunch. I put together some lunch-size meals for one and froze them. From what I've heard, it was a hit.

Calzones

Homemade Chili

Enchiladas

baking

It was the birthday of a co-worker and he requested an Angel Food Cake with orange frosting. I have never had success with frosting so I went for a glaze instead. I'm not here to give a great recipe for a glaze. I just got mine from a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

I am just here to say what I always want to say on this blog:

If I can do it, you can do it.