Mango & Tomato: project

3/27/20

Friday Flower Love: Weekend Inspirations

Mood boosters:
a walk outside
a thoughtfully prepared meal
a spoon of Nutella
Facetime with friends and family
yoga
Fleabag

How are you all doing in this new temporary (I HOPE) reality?

Yesterday I picked up roses and tulips at the grocery store and paired them with yellow mums from a few weeks ago to arrange my birthday from-me-to-me flowers.

I'm planning on celebrating on Sunday by making a mini brownie cake, a batch of Russian potato salad, and facetiming with my family.

TGIF.

1/23/20

Pomegranate & DIY Leather Earrings

For something a little different, I wanted to share with you my new hobby: making leather jewelry! It all started when my friend Kate bought a pair, and then my twin bought a pair, and then I thought about buying one, but instead made my own!!

Here are a few other examples:

The ones above are made from recycled leather from a wallet! All the earrings have sterling silver hardware and are very light in weight, but big in their presence.

I've had a lot of fun making these and sold a few to friends and a boss's boss's boss!! If you want your own, check out my Etsy page ;)

12/20/19

Weekend Motivation: Flower Friday

TGIF!! Wanted to share a photo of a flower arrangement I created with gorgeous blooms I won from Darling and Daughters!

11/19/19

Flower Arranging: Hand-Tied Technique

This past Sunday I did two things for the first time: taught a flower arranging class and taught at Hill Center!

After attending a few flower arranging classes, assisting 3 classes at Smithsonian, and being a life-long flower enthusiast, I proposed teaching a class at Hill Center, and to my great joy they said YES.

8 students signed up to learn from me! Yes, I was nervous. Yes, I created an Excel spreadsheet with several flower arrangement "recipes," and yes, I brought home made brownies to sweeten the deal.

After meeting my students and discussing the basics of flower arrangements, learning about their favorite flowers and their first flower memories, we went on a field trip to Trader Joe's to pick up the flowers.

Back at Hill Center, we sipped on mimosas, snacked on the brownies, and I demonstrated how to create a hand-tied arrangement: you build the entire bouquet in your hands and then rubber band it to keep it intact.

The students then created their own arrangements. They all turned out great!!

All the photos throughout the post are of the arrangement I created with a few extra flowers left over from the class. This "recipe" contained mums, roses, eucalyptus, and alstroemeria.

Eight happy faces with their gorgeous creations.

I hope to repeat this class again!!Let me know if you'd like to learn this technique.

1/28/19

Upcycle: Pallet Coffee Table on Pin Legs

Remember when 6ish years ago I made a pallet coffee table that ended up being featured on ApartmentTherapy and then some dude tried to sell it on Etsy? Well, I took the coasters off and added pin legs!!! Love the updated look.

Below is my original creation! Also an old lamp, painting, table, chairs, and blah walls.

And now the new table! It was so easy: I took off the red wheels (what should I do with them?) and attached pin legs I bought on Amazon!

And here is how it looks in my living room with my "birch" wall, big plants, new'ish lamp and all the stuff ;)

3/31/17

Spring Cleaning With OXO Containers: Organize Your Pantry & Clean Your Home

Do you dread Spring cleaning? Join the club. I'm not a fan of cleaning, but I do like organizing. Thanks to 3 products from OXO, cleaning and organizing your kitchen, and your home in general, can be less painful and even a bit of fun.

I've been in a relationship {ha!} with OXO for years and was happy to receive a few gifts from them. I wasn't paid for this post and all opinions are my own. Trust me, I've spent plenty of my own $$ to support this company :)

First up, 10-Piece POP Container Set. This is my second set. I fell in love with these containers a few years ago and have purchased additional individual containers to store everything from panko crumbs to brown sugar.

POP Containers: Stackable and space-efficient, POP Containers are designed for modular use, so you can organize in any number of height combinations to fit your countertop and pantry. Push-button mechanism creates an airtight seal with just one touch. Corners are shaped for pouring.

I've used this set to streamline my pantry cabinet and also store a few cleaning items such as dish sponges and laundry detergent thingies.

One of the things I like the most about this set is how versatile it is. You don't have to use any particular container for a specific ingredient. Finish eating all those almonds? Refill the container with pistachios or sunflower seeds. You get to mix and match and rearrange to your heart's desire. You can see everything you have and know when it's time to refill your staples.

Moving on. I make coffee in my French Press almost daily but really hate cleaning the metal parts. I usually rinse them and hope for the best. Boy, did I see the difference in cleanliness once I used Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set. You can see how much cleaner the photo on the right is.

Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set: This versatile, compact Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set features durable nylon brushes and scrapers that can get into your kitchen fixtures and appliances' tight spaces and get unsightly buildup out of them. Tools snap together into clip for storage.

And finally Microfiber Under Appliance Duster. One of the only cleaning tasks I don't mind is vacuuming. I vacuum everything from the rug in my bedroom to hardwood floors throughout my living room and dining room to tiled floors in my bathroom and kitchen. But I've never really thought about all the gross mess that is underneath the refrigerator and oven: you can't really get to that mess with a vacuum cleaner, but you can with this skinny long duster! Luckily I did not find any dead bugs.

Microfiber Under Appliance Duster: Our Slim Duster features a long, flat profile to go where other dusters don't: around and underneath appliances and cabinets. The long, fluffy fibers conform to uneven surfaces to capture dust bunnies. To clean the head, simply unsnap it and wash in cold water, then dry without heat.

So there you go: 3 tools to organize and clean your home. Go get that Spring cleaning done!

3/10/17

Weekend Inspiration DIY: How To Paint A Modern Canvas For Your Bedroom

Want to do something crafty this chilly weekend that will immediately transform the look of any room in your home? Take an old canvas art piece (unless it's original Van Gogh or something like that) and paint it over!

WARNING: there is no food involved in this post ;)

Below is a photograph of my bedroom with a canvas from World Market I've had for 6 years. It's pretty, but I've been wanting something modern and graphic for a while.

When I saw the photograph below on West Elm's instagram, I knew what I would need to do. No, not buy the image in the photo...try to recreate it!

Step 1: cover the old canvas with 3 coats of paint making sure to let each coat to dry thoroughly before painting the next one. Depending on the color you choose and the original color of your canvas, you may need more or fewer coats of paint.
Step 2: paint the design of your choice.
Step 3: allow the paint to dry completely.
Step 4: hang your new art piece!

At first I wasn't completely sure what I thought of my new art piece, but after living with it a few days, I really like it!!! And the best part: it cost me nothing because I already had the paint!

Go do something creative this weekend!

10/26/16

How To Decorate Pumpkins Without Carving Them

pumpkin, diy, crafts, arts & crafts, halloween

When I was in College, we had to do an exercise of saying one adjective that described ourselves that started with the first letter of our name. Mine was O, and all I could think of was objective. Looking back, I should have chosen obsessive because I get obsessed with things.

My current obsession is mini pumpkins! They are so cute, inexpensive and cheerful!

You don't have to carve them. Leave them as is or add a bit of liquid glue and glitter!!! Easy, chic, and they can last through New Year and serve as winter decorations.

Don't forget to check out my nail polish pumpkin decorating tutorial from a few years back.

pumpkin, diy, glitter, fall, home decor, halloween

What are YOU obsessed with?

9/9/15

Where To Buy Food Styling Props? Make Them!

Hi! I don't have a recipe for you today. Instead, I wanted to share a few of the pieces I've made in my pottery class. Tonight is my last class, so I'll have about 6 more projects to post about later this month, but for now, these are the first ones that I've completed.

Don't you love the combination of blue and yellow?

It has been a long time since my first pottery class in high school. I remember how much I loved working on the wheel and seeing what I can make from a lump of clay. I also remember how heartbreaking it was when a piece you were working on broke or was stolen.

10 weeks ago I signed up for pottery classes at Hinckley Pottery in hopes of getting my creative juices to flow, have some fun activity to look forward to and to make a few pieces I can use in my every day life as well as to feature on the blog.

The piece below was an accident. After making a pretty round little bowl, I bumped into it with my hand causing the opening to become crooked. Instead of throwing away the entire bowl, I decided to cut out a piece of the "mouth." I think it turned out rather pretty. Although the photos below show strawberries, currently I'm using it to hold garlic.

The bowl/plate below is my favorite! You'll be seeing it a lot on the blog ;) I love eating out of something that I made with my own hands. The glaze is called mamo, and I love that it's matte finish and really allows the food to shine.

The little "jar" below was inspired by two pieces of pottery I bought in Asheville. Unfortunately, it has a hole on the bottom, but I may try to use it as a tiny planter. It was fun to work on making a textured container.

And finally a plant container and a vase. Because I love flowers ;)

2/12/15

Easy DIY: How To Make Marble Candles

Today I'm going to share with you a super quick and adorable DIY project. It has nothing to do with cooking or food, but this is my blog, so I get to do whatever I want ;)

Remember my post on decorating a pumpkin using nail polish? Well, this How To Make Marble Candles project uses the same technique.

1) Start with plain candles. I've had these candles for probably a decade. I never lite them because they are on a candle holder that is on my wall (see a photo above).

2) Find a bucket that is large enough to hold enough warm water and to have enough extra space to dunk in your candles. I used an Ikea planter because I did not care that its insides would get messy.

3) Add a few drops of nail polish into the warm water inside of the bucket and using a toothpick swirl the drops around. You can use several colors if you wish.

4) Dunk in your candle. You can dunk just half of it, or a third, or the whole thing: it's completely up to you!

5) Let the candles dry completely. If you aren't entirely happy with the look, you can repeat the above steps.

These turned out so adorable! I love that the nail polish adds a bit of color to my room.

10/24/14

How To Decorate A Pumpkin Without Carving: Use Nail Polish!

Pumpkins. Pumpkins. Pumpkins!!! Good lord, pumpkins are everywhere. A few weeks ago I saw a gorgeous idea for decorating a small pumpkin using nail polish on Say Yes blog. I loved it. No need to carve. No fear of the pumpkin rotting. You can use whichever colors you like or match your décor AND the entire project takes about 10 minutes (including drying time!).

As luck would have it, the order of produce I received from From The Farmer last week included an adorable white decorative pumpkin. The stars aligned perfectly!

Here's what you do:
1) Fill a disposable bowl with warm water (make sure the bowl is deep enough for you to dunk the pumpkin).
2) Drop some nail polish into the water using whichever color combination you like. The nail polish will at first sink, but then will magically rise to the surface of the water. Put enough nail polish to cover the surface of the water. Use a toothpick to swirl the colors.
3) Dip your pumpkin! You can dip the entire pumpkin or half the pumpkin. I had to dip mine twice first lower half, then upper half (letting it dry in between and adding more nail polish).
4) Let the pumpkin dry completely.

Isn't it GORGEOUS??? I love how it turned out. Dipping the pumpkin into the bowl with nail polish messed up my manicure: wear disposable gloves if you have them.

Thanks Say Yes for an awesome idea and From The Farmer for the adorable white pumpkin.

How do YOU decorate your pumpkins?

10/14/14

DIY Refrigerator Magnets: Easy Gift Idea For The Cook

Today instead of a recipe I want to share with you a super duper easy and fun diy project that you can make to spruce up your refrigerator or to give as gifts to your friends.

DIY Refrigerator Magnets: Easy Gift Idea For The Cook

When I was in Seattle last month, I found an adorable pin/button at a museum store and bought it immediately. After all, it said More Mayo and you know how much I ♥ mayonnaise!

Then, I found a few other adorable pins/buttons at a little coffee/gift store nearby.

Because I don't wear such pins/buttons, I decided to turn them into magnets once I flew back home to DC.

All you need are pins/buttons, super glue and magnets.

I happened to have a bunch of magnets in the perfect size!!!!

All you do is take out the back metal part of the pin/button and then superglue the magnet right inside. This could not have been easier!

Ta da!

Put these in a cute little bag and give them as a gift, or put them on your refrigerator.

Have you been doing any diy projects lately?

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