Now that school is out for the Summer I have way more free time to complete the stock pile of projects i’ve been aching to get crackin’ on. Here is one little fun and easy DIY I did yesterday. I made chalkboards!

The main idea was so I could use them for our wedding next month, but now that they are finished I am for sure using one in the kitchen.

I just used Krylon Chalkboard spray paint and some Plywerk blank panels. You can also find some neat pieces of wood that have some old painting on it at Goodwill, like the one above, and just paint over it. I added some embellishment with white paint on one of them, but it’s not needed.

The paint can go on just about any surface, so get creative!

At least I think it’s week 6. I lost track, life has been a bit hectic the last few weeks. I’ve been stockpiling fun DIY ideas for the wedding in July, many of which involve succulents, my favorite of plants. So I headed to Pistils Nursery where I buy all my plants, and bought half a box full. Lucky for me, they had a Groupon for 60% off today! So I can buy more guilt free!

I’m buying them early in hopes they grow in size a bit before July. Now i’m on the hunt for dried cotton plants…

In other news, the herb garden is still growing. Although I think something isn’t right. They have true leaves, but they just don’t seem to be maturing very quickly. Is that normal? Also the lavender doesn’t seem very lavender ish yet. Anyone have any thoughts?

Its moving right along! Nothing new to report really, the cilantro exploded upward and got a little too big for its britches because it started to get droopy. Really looking forward to cooking with fresh basil and driving my cats nuts with catnip!

Speaking of cats, Eskimo has an upper respiratory infection, which he is prone to. But this time our vet gave us Greenies Pill Pockets for his medication. They are amazing! Eskimo loves them and gobbles it right up! I highly recommend them to anyone who need to feed their cat a pill.

Week 2 of my windowsill herb garden and all my seeds have sprouted and  been planted! Basil (on the left) was the first to sprout, Lavender (on the right) was second runner up, and Cilantro and Catnip and Sage are a little behind but have all poked their bright little faces through the dirt to say hello.

Also, heres a cute picture of my cat and the little succulent Piet surprised me with when I got home from work the other day

I have dreamed of a little window-sill herb garden all Winter. With school and work I hadn’t had the time to get things started. My one and only goal for Spring Break was to get everything set up. Using a mixture of recycled jars, and mixed matched pots set upon the lovely little shelf Piet put up for me I will grow Basil, Cilantro, Lavender, Sage and Catnip!

I’ve started the seeds out in a damp cloth sealed in a plastic baggie. This will speed up the germination process. Stay tuned for week two!

These Berkley Illustrations make my heart joyful.

Even better you can find them on Plywerk at Fawn & Forest!

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Piet and I are settled in our new home. We even set up our first Christmas tree together this evening. The apartment is wonderful, sporting steam heat which we can use as much of as we want. Piet’s brother says “they live in a sauna”. Its really nice in this below freezing weather we’ve been having. The cats seem quite happy here as well. All is well, and Merry Christmas!

Check out the whole post for more images

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Between moving, Thanksgiving and school I haven’t had much time to post. But here is an amazingly cute free calendar I found today, i’m definitely putting this on our new fridge.

Its by Yasmine Surovec and it’s free! You can download it here.

Winter in Oregon tends to give people a bout of the temporary blues. Here are some cheery and bright kitchens that would help brighten your mood.

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Well folks, its Fall in Portland again, and that means layers, scarves, gloves, cuddles and the annual gaining of 5 lbs. Such a glorious time of year! We haven’t yet made our own trip to the pumpkin patch, but here are a few beautifully crafted takes on the traditional Jack-O-Lantern.

A note of experience: If you try any of the designs where you’re only shaving off the top layers of the pumpkin or gourd, candles don’t do well due to general lack of oxygen, or for smaller pumpkins, the flames tend to be too close to the top and end up burning the inside. Try either cutting a vent in the back of the pumpkin or using a small LED light instead of a candle.