Picnic Ready!

St. Louisans know that we have very small windows in between our cold, slushy winters and our too-hot, too-humid summers. These small windows of spring and fall? Oh my, do I love them! Matthew resides in the same boat as me, so whenever the weather approaches mild we go into "picnic mode".

"Picnic Mode" is not some passing fancy of oh, let's try to have a picnic next weekend. It is a full on attack of every park within walking distance of our home. In doing so, we tend to race against the clock once we get home from work--especially in autumn when the sun starts setting early. Over the years, I've found a few easy ways to maximize our post-work-picnic-potential. The common thread throughout is to keep things easy and to keep things ready.

Food and Beverages:

• Glass bottles of water in the fridge (when you get home, fill 'em back up and pop 'em back in the fridge)
• If we know the weather report for the coming week is good, I’ll make a big batch of something that lasts for several days in the fridge. Think salad: pasta salad, chopped salad, chicken salad, chickpea salad, or bean salad/salsa (like this or this). If I am really on the ball, I will divide it into smaller portioned tupperware. Note: in the photo above, I was not on the ball but just grabbed the whole bowl and carried it to the park!
• Generally speaking, our fridge is always stocked with chopped veggies, hummus, dressings, and cheese (don't forget to grab some crackers from the pantry). Throw any of these into your cooler and blammo! instant picnic fare. I'll pair some combination of these foods with a more substantial dish (see above) and call it done.

Getting Around:
I have a lightweight insulated tote bag that is perfect for quick picnics. You can find these almost everywhere (Target, Walmart, Amazon, BB&B, and the like). I keep it regularly stocked with the following.

• Disposable forks, knives, and spoons
• Bottle opener with cork screw (you never know when you might opt for some wine/beer!)
• Paper plates and napkins
• Bug Spray
• Wet wipes/hand sanitizer
• Little cutting board & knife (for cheese)

So when we get home from work, I grab the grub and toss everything into my bag. If there happens to be some extra room, I might throw in a freezer pack to keep everything chilled. And that's it. We sail out the door to enjoy some lovely scenery and each other's company. It's really one of my favorite things that to do with Matthew; I can't think of a better way to decompress from the workday! So as fall approaches (we are currently having a heatwave in St. Louis) get yourself ready to relish it with just a little bit of organization.

 

 

Make: St. Patrick's Day Wreath

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

February 27th...

Megan: I guess I should take down our Valentine's Wreath, since February's over...but it's so gray and cold now, it seems stupid to put up our springy orchid wreath.

Matthew: You should make a St. Patrick's Day wreath.

Oh, how I love my husband!!

I did not need to hear this suggestion more than once before I hit the ground running with green felt and grapevines.

Basically, I cut out several clover-shapes in different sizes and stacked them together with some thread and buttons. I also used this flower tutorial. Lastly, I sewed little triangles along some ribbon to create a banner.

This was a decidedly not megan style of wreath, since I tend towards overly intricate projects that allow me to channel all of my not-quite-OCD energy. I did enjoy the change of pace and think I managed to pull off the "relaxed look" well enough.

Right now, my slow cooker is full of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. There's some beer bread baking too. Needless to say, my house smells very Irish and very good!

A special thanks to my grandmother who gave me an this old grapevine wreath she found in her basement.
It took a bit of elbow grease, but I managed to remove all of the hotglued bows, birds, and bulbs.




 

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Christmas Time is Here!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. At the end of the day, my belly was full and my fridge was stocked with more sweet potatoes than any one person could eat. Anyone, that is, except Matthew. Before the leftovers could even be reheated, I had moved on to the real star: Christmas! I know, I know, Thanksgiving is certainly a special day; one to spend with friends and family, to enjoy good food, and to reflect on blessings. But to me, Thanksgiving is just the opening act, the prologue, the stepping stone to my favorite holiday--nay, season--Christmas Time. By Saturday morning, Matt and I were up to our eyeballs in ornaments while Sufjan Stevens provided the hall-decking soundtrack.
 

When it comes to our Christmas décor, I think we've settled on the word eclectic. It is a somewhat odd mix of kitchy ceramics inherited from grandparents and relics rescued from our childhood homes (all of which we are way too sentimental about to discard), rustic purchases, and the growing collection of my crafts. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but I love it. I get such a warm, happy feeling in our festive family room that I wouldn't trade any of it for a pack of brand-new, shiny store-bought decorations.
 

I made these sheet music trees last Christmas and still love them! If you would like to make your own, check out this tutorial.

 

Matthew's grandmother painted these ceramic Santas; the sleeping fella (on the right) we fill with coconut clusters, her favorite candy—always a nice surprise for curious guests! The middle scene previously decorated my childhood bedside stand; everyone gravitates towards it and rearranges the pieces. I feel that incorporating such objects helps to bring back just a tiny bit of that holiday magic we felt as children.

That's it for now! I'll show you some new projects in the weeks to come. I hope you make your home  as cheery as ours this Christmas season!

 

Make: Easy Fall Décor

I grew up in an enthusiastic home. This enthusiasm could be applied to a wide range of topics and occasions, but particularly holidays and seasons. We celebrated everything in full-force: the front porch wreaths and flags had quarterly rotations, my mother wore timely appliqués, we started planning our next Halloween costumes on November 1st, and even now my sister and I (along with our husbands) get Easter baskets. It was great.

 

Most of that perennial enthusiasm has stayed with me (with the exception of appliqués). I just love having my home reflect the year's changes. Packing away the lemons and apples to be replaced with pine cones and acorns feels like I am drawing a giant orange highlighter over the declaration
"Fall is here!".  I also just get tired of looking at the same stuff year-round!

If you think that seasonal décor is too much hassle, know that you can make just a few small changes that shift the overall feel of your home. You also don't need to spend a fortune. Most of what you see pictured here was either A) made by me or B) bought on the cheap. A festive home just takes a little effort and creativity. It helps if you live near a craft store too.

Front Porch

Let's start with the first thing that everyone sees: the front porch. Matthew and I take advantage of our porch whenever we can. It's not uncommon for us to load up our dinner plates and head for the Adirondacks. With this in mind, I try to make the space inviting for ourselves and guests alike.

In years past, I have lined our porch steps with pumpkins. Before long, however, they would be nibbled on and ruined by a few very pesky squirrels. This year I have a two pronged approach: just one pumpkin and I'm going to spray it with Apple Bitter. Fingers crossed it will last til Thanksgiving! The mums are a new addition that Matthew picked up at a nearby produce stand. The deep orange blooms are a welcome pop of color.

The front door wreath was a very easy and affordable DIY project. Actually, I believe it was the first thing I ever made for our house. I bought a simple grapevine wreath and LOTS of fake leaves from the dollar store. Then I arranged the leaves in a nice layout and hot-glued them into place. Done and done.


Living Room

I put the most effort into the space that we spend the most time: our living room. Our fireplace mantel is part-function, part-form since we keep most of our in-progress books there. Besides that unchanging component, I like to switch things up with staggered glass containers. They are a quick and easy way to transition from season to season. As referenced above, during spring and summer I fill the cylinders with apples, lemons, and limes. Now they are showcasing pine cones and autumnal potpourri. You will have to wait to see what winter looks like! I did a similar arrangement on the coffee table, using some leftover potpourri and three small pumpkins.

After seeing so many adorable word collages online, I decided to use some around the house. I printed a few, threw them in some super cheap frames and voila! Instant cute home décor with minimal effort. Here is a great collection of free printables.

Dining Room

Since I am not one for overkill, the fall decorations end here: the dining room. Naturally, my favorite new craft gets prominent placement on our dining room table. I found these chocolate brown placemats and napkins on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Wanting some additional color on the table, I then made the napkins rings. Similar to my front door wreath, this was another figure-it-out-as-I-go project. I cut up cardboard paper towel tubes and covered them with some extra-wide ribbon. Then I hot-glued faux leaves here and there until I was happy with the final product.

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So there you have it! Hopefully this will inspire you to bring some seasonal beauty into your home!

On a related note, I'm excited to say that with the start of autumn begins a fun little "challenge" I'm posing to myself. I will to try one new fall-ish recipe each week! Sometimes I may write about them more extensively, but generally I will just provide a link at the end of my regular posts. Up first are some super easy Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies.