From Eat-in-Kitchen to Coffee Nook

Hey! Today I wanted to share another of our

home improvement projects.

Most older homes have both an eat in kitchen or breakfast nook 

AND a formal dining room.

However we decided that we wanted to make the "formal" dining room

our everyday dining room, so that left this little spot without a purpose.

My husband and I just love coffee, and our kitchen has limited space,

so I decided to make a little coffee nook!

I found those two cozy chairs at a consignment shop in town, 

and Ryan built the little bistro table.

 

We have coffee here almost every morning.

It's really beautiful with the morning light coming in the windows.

We framed out those windows in Farmhouse style

and also updated the paint on the walls, with Kilim Beige from Lowe's.

Ryan built the light fixture, and I love the country feel it provides.

 These little shelving units were perfect

for our coffee makers and mug collection.

It's such a cozy little spot and a very functional space for us.

So I'm curious - do you have family meals in your breakfast nook

or in a formal dining room?

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

jessica

Coffee for two {year olds} - Starbucks Felt Playset

 

When we jump in the car, Charlotte usually asks if we are going to the fabric store or Starbucks.  If you know me at all, you know I love Starbucks.  I've worked there, and I go there frequently.  So I was browsing all of the cute felt food out in blogland and I was trying to think of something Charlotte could relate to.  This is what came to mind! I decided field research was necessary, so I hopped in the car and headed off to sbux.  I ordered a coffee and a pastry, and I snagged an extra cup sleeve. Then I came home - all hyped up on caffeine and sugar, and whipped up these little beauties.  Here's the tutorial if you would like to make some!

You will need:

white felt

dark brown felt

light brown felt

pink felt

coffee sleeves

sbux pastry bag

needle and thread

polyfill

sewing machine

pins

scissors

Step 1:  Cut out the pieces for the cups.

2 Dark brown circles - 3" in diameter

2 white circles - 2 1/2" in diameter

2 white pieces - bottom measuring 7 1/2" and the top measuring 9 1/2" inches

draw diagonal lines connecting the bottom to the top.

Step 2:  Now cut out your doughnut pieces.  The starbucks lid makes a perfect circle to trace for these.  You need two light brown, and two dark brown.  Then cut out a lazy, squiggly shape to make the icing.  One out of pink, and one out of dark brown.  

I am mimicking Starbucks's mini doughnuts:

Step 3:  Pin the icing on one of the circles.  Topstitch it on. about 1/8" in from the edge of the icing.

Place the other circle on top (right sides together) and stitch around the edge, leaving about an inch open for turning and stuffing.  Stuff it with stuffing.

Step 4:  Using a needle and matching thread, hand stitch it closed.  Then hand stitch the circle shape in the middle.  I didn't want to actually cut out a circle, because if you look at the Starbucks ones, the icing sinks down in the hole and covers it.

 Step 4:  Make the cups.  Start with the large cup piece.  Sew along the sideseam.

Pin the white circle to the bottom of the cup(smaller opening), and sew all the way around.

Now pin the brown circle on the top and sew around, leaving about an inch open for turning and stuffing.

Flip it right sides out.  I poured some lentils in first to weight the bottom.  

You don't want your coffee cups tipping over!

Then I stuffed it full of stuffing.  

I slipped the sleeves on first so that I knew I would get it stuffed the right amount.

Then just hand whip the opening, and you are ready for a coffee date!

Have fun!  and if you make this little project, or any other from this blog, don't forget to upload a pic to the Flickr pool!

AND if you make a Valentine's craft or food item - please join our Linky Party - click over there on the right side bar!  Have a great day.

jessica

4 household chores I hate and how I am learning to get over it....

The other day my mom and I were chatting about cleaning, and she sent me to this post over at the Inspired Room.  Something in this post really clicked with me - perhaps it is my aesthetic personality - but I am attracted to all things lovely.  Including cleaning supplies.  You should go read her post for yourself, but what it basically says is, make cleaning an enjoyable experience for yourself.  She recommends lighting candles, making some coffee, using good smelling cleaning supplies, and listening to good music.  Sounds like a plan to me.  So here's what I did.
My number 1 nemesis: LAUNDRY.

• It stares at me while it's in the hamper 
• It sits for a day in the washer
• it gets wrinkly in the dryer
• sits for a day in the basket waiting to be folded
• gets tossed back in the dryer so I don't have to iron it
• then sits in the basket all neatly folded until one of us needs it.  

UGH - I am terrible at it.  SO  I have 3 new strategies:
#1  Use wonderful smelling laundry detergent.  Gain is my weapon of choice lately.  It smells amazing AND the smell lingers on and on.  Yes, it may be a tad more expensive - but it's cheaper than hiring a maid right? (btw, you can use that rational for many many things....)
Strategy #2:  "A load of laundry a day keeps the laundry blues away".  To avoid the 6 days it takes me to usually take care of 1 load, I am now completing one load (washed, dried, folded, put away) every day of the work week.  So far it's working pretty well (it's been 2 weeks now), and it's not that big of a deal to just do one load.
#3  I bought that super-cute yellow kitchen timer from Anthro, and I use it as my laundry timer, because neither washer or dryer ding or beep when they are done.  This way I stay on top of it.  Even Charlotte knows that timer is for the laundry (the other day I used it to time baking cookies and when it "dinged"  she said "Oh! Time to check the laundry" :)

Onto #2:  Dishes
Again, the product is key here.  I am in love, I mean in love with Finish Powerball Tabs.  It really cuts down on the rinsing time, and leaves dishes sparkling clean.  I am also trying to run the dishwasher at least once a day.

#3:  Dusting
I use Flylady's timer method here.  I set my kitchen timer for 10 minutes, and I can dust everything important in my house during that time.  Only 10 minutes a week.  I also like rewarding myself by lighting a candle on my newly dusted mantel!

#4:  Paying the bills
Yeah this one's no fun.  No one likes to see money leaving their account to pay for things like medical bills and student loans.  BUT it is a necessity.
#1 thing that is helping me - this app on my smart phone(thanks mom and dad!) called Billski.  It sends me an alarm 2 days before each bill is due, and it has a little icon sitting at the top of my screen until I pay it.  It's really helping me.
To actually pay them, I fix myself a cup of coffee, try to wait until Charlotte is asleep so that I can think, put on some Pandora (I'm loving the Hawaiian IZ Station), and get cozy on the couch.  I also try to think of some reward - like looking at favorite blogs or something - for when I'm done.

So there you have it - one step closer (or really four steps closer) to my New Year's motto of Balance.
I want to hear from you - any tricks you have for conquering your least favorite household chores?  and remember - the more comments you leave, the more chances you have for winning that lovely little apron!

-jessica

p.s. Let the record show that I actually completed all of these tasks before posting this.  Just so you know I am for real :)  OH and none of those companies pay me to say any of that - I'm just telling you like I would tell a friend.

Starbucks Mocha in your Microwave

I'll be honest - I am very snobby when it comes to coffee.  Drinking coffee is an experience for me and I want it to be just right.  I've worked as a Barista at Starbucks twice in the past 6 years so I know how to make all of the drinks that you can order there - but I have had a really difficult time making them at home.  I can never seem to get it just right, especially the Mocha.  I usually drink plain coffee in the morning and sometimes I drink a "specialty" drink in the afternoon - like a mocha or a caramel macchiato.  Strangely enough it was yesterday morning that the coffee muses moved me to make a mocha.  Maybe it's the cold weather that was making me crave chocolate in the morning.  Well, somehow my still sleepy brain was able to combine just the right amount of each ingredient, resulting in the perfect mocha in my microwave.  Here's how you can make one too!

You'll need: 

Starbucks Via instant coffee

Dark Chocolate Coca Mix

water

milk

marshmallows or whip cream if desired

Fill one coffee mug half way with filtered water. 

Fill it the rest of the way with milk (I use whole, but you can use whatever you like). 

Heat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes, depending on your microwave.  Once it is nice and hot, stir in the Via, then HALF of one package of cocoa mix.  Stir really well and add any topping you like.  Sip and enjoy you're homemade Mocha.
jessica