A Handmade Baby Quilt

This weekend I went to an amazing shower for my friend Meatball (a.k.a. Abi).  Abi and her husband are expecting a baby next month and she will be the first baby girl among my close friends.  Since Abi is one of my closest college pals & a true blue friend, I wanted to get her something special as a baby gift.  I decided to try making a mini quilt and even though I still have a lot to learn about quilting, I'm really excited about how it turned out.  I just wish I had blow dried (or maybe even just brushed?) my hair for this picture:

The front of the quilt is gingham style with a red hearts, pink floral, and white squares.  I didn't use a pattern or anything, I just sort of winged it and it came out pretty close to what I was hoping for.  The back of the quilt is pink seersucker:

I made a mistake when finishing the quilt - I ran out of binding and so there was a very small gap.  I could have maybe handstitched it together with pink thread but I decided to make a little heart tag to cover it all up.

As you can see, the stitching is not exactly perfect, but each stitch was done with lots of love and good wishes for little Meatball.  It's totally machine washable, so it'll be great for tummy time, laying in the grass, stroller walks around Boston, etc etc.  I can't wait to see it in action in April when the baby arrives!  Congrats, Meatball & Brad!

Beadboard Ceilings for a Half-Bathroom

This was a productive weekend for us - the first one in a long, long time.  I don't know if it was the unseasonably warm weather we've had or the excitement of a new year, but this weekend we tackled a project we've been meaning to do since we moved into this house.  We have a very small, very windowless half bathroom on our first floor that visitors use.  

Pretty sure that lightbulb has been out since 2011.  We sure know how to treat our guests.

The pictures are terrible, but it gives you a feel for the room.  I didn't even photograph the popcorn ceilings that were stained by a leak before we moved in, but it was dismal.  All of it.

(The photo above is the reason I shouldn't buy seasonal anything.  I guarantee that box of reindeer tissues won't run out until June.  And I'll get super annoyed but what I am supposed to do besides use them up?  Throw them out?  Box up the Kleenex with the rest of the Christmas stuff and bring them out next December??)

Since we magically woke up on Saturday morning with a newfound zest for life and home improvement, we packed up Willbo Baggins and headed to the Home Depot where we bought some beadboard & trim to cover up the ugly popcorn ceilings and then haphazardly chose a paint color for the walls.

After we made it home, we put Will down for a snooze and Jesse got to work cutting the beadboard down while I started painting the bathroom.  

Once that was finished, we headed to the basement to use our miter saw to cut 45 degree angles in the trim that would go around the wall under the beadboard.  On some DIY projects Jesse and I have a blast and on some projects we want to kill each other.  I'd say it's a 50/50 split on that but luckily the home improvement gods were smiling down on us this weekend.  Jesse and I high-fived our way through even the trickiest math and measuring.

With the ceiling components cut to size, we both squished into the tiny bathroom and used nails (find the studs!), Liquid Nails, and our arm strength to get the beadboard panel onto the ceiling.  Once it was up there, we added the trim along the sides.  

I realized that we aren't exactly pioneers in beadboard ceilings (2011 called and they want their hot blog project back), but I'm so excited about how it's coming out.  The ceiling makes the bathroom feel so much more finished (& here's a peek at my new paint color, Behr's "Heron", which I lurve).

We're taking the rest of this week to finish off the bathroom - filling in some holes, painting the ceiling, framing art for the walls, hanging the mirror and cabinet back up, and perhaps finding some neutral Kleenex.  Stay tuned and stay homey!

DIY Citrus Body Scrub - Guest Post from Michelle @ Skana Spa

Remember when I said I'd be back on Thursday with a homey post?  Well, things got pushed back due to the rain (hint: it's an update to my herb garden) and I figured I'd share this guest post before Mother's Day in case you are looking for a last minute, easy to do gift!  Enjoy and many thanks to Michelle from Skana Spa at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in upstate New York!

When you’re a busy mom, you don’t have a lot of time to pamper yourself. You

know it’s important to relax, but who has the time for a manicure and pedicure every

week? It would be nice to have a spa vacation every month, but that’s probably not

going to happen. You need a pampering product in the comfort of your own home

that makes you feel refreshed and revitalized.

If you’re looking to save time and money on a beauty product that matters, make this

quick do-it-yourself body scrub. The invigorating scent practically screams spring

and summer! With the lemon, lime and coconut smell, you’ll feel like you’re in your

own spa at home. This fresh natural scrub will perk up your mood instantly during

your morning shower routine. The grains of sugar exfoliate your skin, while the oil

softens it. This is a simple way to exfoliate your body and slough off dry winter skin.

This citrus body scrub is just what you need to prepare for the warm season ahead.

Get ready to wear your shorts and sandals by following the instructions below!

What you need:

1 lime

1 lemon

1 teaspoon peppermint oil/extract

½ cup coconut oil

1 cup pure cane sugar

Mint leaves (optional)

Lime and lemon peels (optional)

Place the coconut oil and peppermint oil into a medium sized bowl. Cut your lemon

and lime in half. Squeeze out the juice, and pour the mixture in with the rest of the

oils. Next, add in the cup of pure cane sugar and stir it all together. Feel free to add

in mint leaves and fruit peels to the scrub for a touch of color. Place the mixture into

a pretty glass or plastic jar. Now you have a fresh body scrub you can use for the

next few weeks.

With this citrus body scrub and your morning cup of coffee, you’ll be ready for

whatever the day throws your way!

Michelle Pino, is a Spa Manager at Skana, a spa in upstate New York at the Turning

Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. She enjoys DIY projects, healthy recipes,

exercise, and all things related to skin care. If you have any comments or questions

feel free to contact Michelle via email at michellepino@turningstone.com.

Nursery Update #2 (Alternate Title: This is all that's done so far??)

The last time I posted pictures of our soon-to-be nursery, it was a dusty mess with no finished ceiling or floors to speak of.  That was over a month ago.  I'm pleased to announce that, at long last, we have both a ceiling and floors (AND painted walls)!

Here's the little nook in the nursery where the dormer window bumps out.  Don't mind the various tools scattered throughout the room, please.

The wall color is Martha Stewart's Sea Anemone, which seems to photograph somewhat toothpaste-y but is actually soothing but bright in person.  We decided to go with it on a whim instead of the light blues we'd been considering and I think it's perfect.

Here's our delightfully flat, non-popcorn ceiling, just waiting for its new fan (arriving tomorrow, right, Amazon?):

The closet still needs a lot of work (we're trying to find a "system" that will work for us) and I don't want to put the bifold doors back on there... I'm thinking about a canvas curtain of some sort.  The bifold doors that are ALL over this house don't seem to work well - they're always askew and off track and I hate to start off in this room with closet doors that are doomed for failure.

Jesse and our neighbor Rob (THANK YOU, ROB!) installed the floors themselves over the past two weekends.  They're bamboo and I am OBSESSED.  

Once the ceiling fan and lights are installed, we are ready to finally start decorating.  With less than 3 weeks until my due date, we're kind of down to the wire here.  I'm also hoping that the "nesting instinct" that I keep reading about will kick in at some point (My sister on nesting: "Suddenly you just clean and you like it? That seems like fiction").  And so far, for me, it is.  I'd much rather nap than nest (or even slog through my yes-I'm-still-working inbox).

Stick with us until the next update and stay homey!

Wedding Bathroom Baskets

How many times have you been to a wedding and you say, oh snap, I just spilled my red wine on my summer dress at like 4pm and now it looks like a) I'm an alcoholic because I've been drinking since 4pm and b) now everyone knows I'm a mess.  Oh that's just me?

Gosh.  You're so judgmental.



Anyway, that exact scenario might not happen to you, but maybe you've needed some gum, a spritz of hair spray, or maybe it looks like you've been dancing in a Tsunami and your once voluminous hair is now shellacked to your forehead and the only thing that could help you is 4 hair elastics and an army of bobby pins.

Either way, having a toiletry basket for the ladies and men's rooms are a nice touch for your guests and pretty effortless to put together.  The above picture is courtesy of It Weddings Florida.  I'm a sucker for wicker.

Here are some suggested items for the restrooms.  All of the items below can be found in a convenient travel size at Target.  To incorporate the wedding colors, I've used gift tissue paper to line the bottom of the baskets.  It also helps give the items a little height.

1. Pain Reliever
2. Antacid (I'm a fan of Zantac)
3. Benadryl
4. Gas-X 
5. First Aid Kid 
6. Spray Neosporin
7. Contact solution
8. Visine
9. Deodorant (spray would be ideal, but if you can't find it, get the regular.  If someone is desperate they won't care.)
10. Hand and/or Body Lotion
11. Colgate Wisps 
12. Floss
13. Mouthwash
14. Toothpicks
15. Hair spray
16. Body Spray (Axe spray for guys, Dove Body Mist for girls)
17. Blot Strips (guys and girls both love these)
18. Lingerie Tape
19. Tampons
20. Sewing kit
21. Nail File
22. Brush
23. Hair elastics
24. Bobby pins
25. Safety pins
26. Tide To Go pen
27. Mints
28. Gum 
29. Lint brush
30. Kleenex 

I like the idea of including a little sign or poem. Here's a good one that It Florida Weddings posted:

So happy you’re here to share in our special day, but should something happen to go astray, please help yourself to the contents within, Kleenex, hand lotion, and even aspirin. Use only what you need and leave the rest, it may also be useful to another guest. So repair the damage that may have been done, then hurry on back and join in the fun! Whether your skin feels dry or your hair out of place, you’re not feeling so fresh, or whatever the case. We've put together a basket to help you along. Now hurry back out before you miss the next song!

I made these for a wedding last weekend and I overheard several people mentioning how many of the items they used.  Score.  Ok Caitlin, I know this isn't really a "homey" post but this is about as crafty as I get.  So here it goes - stay homey! 

DIY Decorated Dishtowels (& More Spoons!)

My sister turned 23 last weekend and she chose to come up from DC and celebrate with us!  I was so excited!  She graduated last year and is living in her first apartment with her old college roommate.  I'm getting a little nostalgic for my early 20s, so let's move on.  I wanted to make her some cheery accessories to use in her kitchen and she mentioned a while back that she's going with a yellow color scheme.

I made some dishtowels for my father a while back and wanted to do something similar with cute yellow fabric.  The problem was, I couldn't find any yellow fabric I loved.  I went to a local independent fabric store that usually has a great assortment, but their yellow selection was severely lacking.  Time to switch up the plan a bit.  I grabbed some yellow rick-rack and a quarter yard of a yellow & blue striped fabric.

Both dishtowels were very simple.  First, I cut my rick-rack so that it would run the length of the towel. Then I folded over one side and put in a bunch of stitches so it wouldn't fray.

Then I flipped it over and sewed a straight line through the rick-rack right across the length of the towel.  Then I folded over the rick-rack and stitched through it on the other side (again, to stop fraying).

With the rick-rack towel done, I cut my length of fabric in half and folded so it covered one end of my second towel on both sides.  I ironed the whole thing in place (including the hem, folded under the fabric)...

...and then started to sew the fabric on.

Once the fabric was on, I sewed another line of stitches towards the top of the fabric to help it keep its shape.

I wrapped up the dishtowels and paired them with three bright yellow spoons (similar to these and these).  Fun & homemade gift for a loved one!  Happy birthday, Jules... stay homey!

Reader Submission: Ali's DIY Jewelry Board

I am super excited to be sharing a project from one of our readers this morning!  Ali saw our Hardware Store Jewelry Board a few weeks ago and decided to put her own spin on it.

Starting with a board, some drawer pulls, & pretty blue paint, she whipped up her own wall-mounted jewelry hanger.  I seriously love this thing.  Check it out:

I LOVE how she used a single knob for the thick bangle bracelet - SO perfect (& something I wish I had thought of for my own!).  Also, doesn't it look pretty with the necklace dangling down past the bottom of the board?  So crafty and creative.

This jewelry board is nailed into the wall with the black screws seen in the photo above.  The last step was painting over the screws so they matched the rest of the board:

Awesome, right??  So simple and easy to do, but functional and pretty to look at.  Two thumbs up from Hardly Housewives!  Thanks so much for sharing, Ali!

DIY Herb Salt Labels

So you know if good ol' hungry can assist with some arts and crafts it HAS to be easy.  I LOVED how these turned out.   Yesterday I showed you Caitlin's mother-in-law's herb salt made by my dear friend Lauren, and today I'll show you how we made little labels for these puppies. 

Aren't these just adorable?  

The bride's colors are yellow and lavender, so instead of yellow ribbon, we used a more natural twine so they matched the organic, rustic look of the bottles. 

Ok peeps this is what you'll need: 

Label Cards (we used 2 x 3.5" business cards from Paper Source)

VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad 

Embossing Powder 

Hole Punch

Ribbon or Twine 

Scissors (not pictured)

Embossing Heat Gun (not pictured)

Something to label...like herb salt. Duh. 

Notes:  If you don't know how to emboss (this is very new to me) ask the folks at Paper Source.  They will help you out.  

You know why I love Lauren?  Because this was waiting for me when I came over...

They didn't have pre punched, pre sized labels in lavender.  Fear not!  We made our own.  Depending on what you are labeling (tiny little bottles in this case) you may want to trim a little off the top and then cut the sides...

...punch a hole...

...and make it look like this.  How happy are you that I don't normally run this portion of Hardly Housewives?

Lauren and I divided and conquered.  We are a good team.  Sort of like how one of us always "keeps it together" enough during our girls nights out so we make it home in one piece.  Actually they are totally unrelated, but whatever.  You get the point.  

She wrote out the ingredients of the salt and recommended uses on each of the cards...

Here was my little station.  We tried the gold ink with gold embossing powder and it was a little too much.  So, we went with the clear watermark ink and the Bridal colored embossing powder.  

When you do this you want to move fast.  Get a good amount of ink on the stamp, stamp your paper and immediately sprinkle the embossing powder so it sticks...

Be generous with the powder so it covers every bit of the ink...

...and then shake off the excess on a piece of paper.  It looks like I'm wasting a lot here, but I'm not.  You can fold the paper and drop it right back into the container.  

PS - look at the cheese plate Lauren put together for me.  She knows how to bribe me...

Now, back to Lauren.  I'm scared of this thing.  She wields it around like it ain't no thing.  You want to hold the embossing gun close to the powder so it begins to bubble up.  You'll see it change textures before your eyes. 

Ta daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.  

 I might have been bitten by the DIY bug...

...this was SO much fun.  

And if I can do it, you can do it!

Hope you guys try this out and stay homey!

Herb Salt Favors

For the tutorial on the handmade embossed labels featured in this post, click here.  Now, back to our scheduled program:

I frickin' love salt.  

Our homey home girl Caitlin had the most amazing wedding ever.  One of the best parts of being in her wedding was getting to know her and her husband's family better.  Her mother in law, Jackie, is a hoot.  I absolutely love her.  She made herb salt for everyone that attended the rehearsal dinner and I smuggled about 3 of the jars home with me.  Maybe I shouldn't say "smuggled" since I almost didn't get through airport security. 

I literally had to open up one of the jars and have security smell it in order to convince them that explosive powders don't usually include orange zest.  Luckily, I got through and was able to give one of the jars to my friend Lauren.  She loves it just as much as I do. 

Lauren offered to make her future sister in law, Lindsey, herb salt favors for her shower this past weekend and I jumped at the chance to help.  Except, I didn't really help.  She enlisted her husband Zan.  I helped with the cute little labels that I'll show you how to make tomorrow.  

She made the following herb salt flavors:

Parsley, oregano, basil, lemon zest, and garlic – good on all things Italian & good in olive oil for dipping

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme – good for chicken and pork and root veggies and beans

Parsley, cilantro, lime zest, and garlic – good in everything – especially salsa

Zest an entire lime, lemon, or orange depending on what flavor you enjoy.  I wonder how basil grapefruit salt would be as a cocktail rim...hmm...

You are going to want a whole mess of herbs.  For each batch, you are going to want 4 cups of herbs per recipe so go nuts. 

Oliver is so over it...

Anyway, you are going to want to pulse your herbs in a food processor so they are nice and fine.  

Ta da....

If you want, you can also add 4-5 garlic cloves to this as well.  YUM.  Add the herb paste to the salt...

...and stir it up...

Once the herbs are fully incorporated into the salt, pour the salt onto a cookie sheet. 

Next, spread it out so it's nice and even. 

To speed things along, you can bake the salt in a 200 degree oven for 2-3 hours.  Otherwise, it will take a couple of days for the salt and herbs to dry out.

  

 Ok so here's the deal.  If you bake it, the salt is going to get crusty.  

But fear not...

Just throw it in a plastic ziplock bag and break it up with your hand or the back of a wooden spoon. 

In order to bottle these up without getting salt everywhere, use a funnel.  Don't have a funnel? Use a rolled up piece of paper.  Lauren is a smarty pants. 

Ok...here is the (almost) competed product.  Tomorrow, I'll show you how we put together the super cute, personalized labels.    

Have you guys ever made herb salt before?  Any crazy combos we just need to try?  Let us know and stay hungry! 

Herb Salt Recipes 

3 cups Kosher Salt

4 cups finely chopped fresh herbs select a combination – parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro,

oregano, basil

Minced zest from one lemon, lime, or orange can also be added

4-5 minced cloves of garlic can also be added

1. To begin, choose a combination of herbs and finely chop by hand or use a food processor

Some combinations that are good are:

Parsley, oregano, basil, lemon zest, and garlic – good on all things Italian & good in olive oil for dipping

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (just like the song) – good for chicken and pork and root veggies and beans

Parsley, cilantro, lime zest, and garlic – good in everything – especially salsa

2. Stir minced herbs into the 3 cups of kosher salt and spread on 2 cookie sheets. Let the salt dry

out the herbs for 2-3 days – you’ll know when they are ready because the moisture will be gone

and the salt will be dry and crusty (if you are pressed for time you can bake the mix in a low

200 degree oven for 2-3 hours. It may take more or less time you’ll know when salt begins to

get crusty. As it cools it will dry out more.)

3. For a finer salt return it in batches to the food processor and pulse until herbs are a very fine

grade like the salt. Or you can leave the mixture the way it is and put it in a salt or pepper

grinder – a very nice presentation.

4. After the mixture is dried and processed (either ground fine or left whole) I like to add an 8oz

container of Tony Chachere’s Creole lite seasoning. www.tonychachere.com) it adds a nice kick.