Spaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh water

Here's a quick, easy recipe for a refreshing treat that will impress anyone you serve it to, guaranteed! It's called "spa water", so named because it's usually the beverage on tap at most spas.

Spa Water:
1/2 a cucumber
1 lemon
1 handful mint leaves
1 pitcher with ice



1. Rinse cucumber, lemon and mint.
2. Peel cucumber and slice. Slice lemon and remove mint leaves from stems.



3. Place ingredients in pitcher with ice and fill with water. The water can be refilled throughout the day and will remain flavorful.



The best thing about this is that you can do lots of variations on it. Oranges, berries, limes, use your imagination!

Getting Crunky, cocky roosters and used books...

As an LA native, I have a lot of favorite local spots. I thought it'd be fun to share these treasures once in a while with everyone and spread the good word.

One of the best places to get not only the tastiest, but most variety of Japanese restaurants in LA is on Sawtelle Boulevard, between Olympic and Santa Monica.
My family and I have been going for years to a place called Hurry Curry, which serves delicious Japanese style curry at great prices. About a block and a half down is Asahi Ramen, famous for it's ramen noodles. I'm not a ramen gal myself, but I love their gyoza and sara udon.

There are at least half a dozen other restaurants there, along with some wonderful Japanese import shops that sell beautiful and well priced tableware, silk kimonos, slippers and gifts. There is also a Japanese market and a wonderful little Japanese version of the 99 cent store called Tokyo 99 Plus that sells all sorts of fun things like Japanese candies (including the delicious and fabulously-named Crunky bar) stickers, bento boxes, toys and hello kitty paraphenalia, almost all at under $5! This is a fantastic place to put together last minute gifts.

This little stretch of Sawtelle also boasts some great clothing/shoe shopping. Black Market carries a well edited selection of indie designers for men and women (including Gentille Fille) and right next door is an awesome sneaker store (who's name escapes me at the moment) that carries vintage, old school and limited edition kicks. The world famous Giant Robot is just a little ways down, and also has an art gallery and restaurant across the street.

As you move up closer to Santa Monica Boulevard, you'll pass some beautiful plant nurseries, and sooner or later end up at Alias Books. Alias is a used and rare bookstore with a cozy atmosphere and a great selection. (Dan and I left today with about 10 books between us!) Keep your eyes peeled for the rooster and hen who live across the street at the auto body shop and are often gracious enough to pose for pics to amuse us city folk.

Wrap up- the week's projects come together

This week we made eggshell vases and astro turf placemats.
Today, I'm going to show how to tie the two together and create a really fun, Mod/kitschy place setting. Obviously, you don't have to copy it exactly, or even use the same color scheme. My point here more is to plant the seed for a general idea and have fun with it. Best of all, similar looks can be created for practically nothing. Usually the cleaner and simpler the design of something, the more high end it looks, no matter how much it cost. Below I've combined plain white dinner plates from Ikea, an orange melamine cup and saucer that Dan's had forever, flowers cut from the front yard and Ikea silverware that we got for a song at the Salvation Army.

Astro turf madness (and placemats too!)

This astro turf placemat project is easy-peasy, and ties in with the eggshell vase project from Tuesday May 9th.
I love this stuff because there are about a million things you can do with it. Plus, it's durable and easy to clean- you can sweep it or wash it with mild soap and water. I'm making astro turf placemats, but you could also do a table runner, doormat/floor mat, pet dish placemat, coasters, even cut the turf into simple shapes (circles, squares, hearts, etc.)and create an outdoor or indoor pathway. You name it...go nuts!



Here's what you'll need:
1.Astro turf in the color of your choice (I've been looking for pink to no avail, so if anyone knows where to find it, holla!)
2.Scissors
3.Ruler
4.Marking pen



Step 1:
Mark out the size and shape of what you're cutting on the backside of the astro turf using your ruler and marking pen.



Step 2:
Cut and enjoy.





Man, that was easy!

What I'm listening to lately...just in case you're interested

The Loon by Tapes n' Tapes
My favorite song is "Omaha"



Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out.

Eggshell Vases

This first project is a fairly easy vase made out of an eggshell. This is an especially great way to use eggs that have gone bad! These sweet little vases are great as gifts, party favors, for setting a table or as part of your interior decor. This project will tie in with a few others this week that will show an easy and cheap way to create a cute table setting.



Here's what you'll need:
1. an egg
2. small, sharp scissors. (I like curved nail scissors.)
3. origami paper, wrapping paper or magazine cutouts.
4. white glue.
5. medium sized brush.
6. small rocks or pebbles.
7. flowers of your choice
8. varnish or shellac.
9. small plastic bottle cap (optional)



Step 1:
Use the tip of your scissors to tap a small hole into one side of the egg. Using this as a starting point, cut out a nice size hole to place your flowers in. Empty the contents and rinse out the eggshell.





Step 2:
Cut out the shapes you'll be gluing to the egg.



Step 3:
Using a medium brush dipped in a little watered down white glue, coat the surface of the egg. Apply your cut outs, and go over them with the brush and glue once again.



Step 4:
To finish the surface, spray on an even coating of varnish/shellac (DO THIS IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA!).



The finished egg should look something like this:



Step 5:
Once the egg is dry, place a few small rocks or pebbles in the bottom to weigh it down (otherwise it will tip).



Step 6:
Place the flowers of your choice inside and enjoy! Note: If you want your flowers to last longer than the length of a party or special event, place a small plastic bottle cap or thimble full of water inside to give the floral stems a place to drink from.



You can also use these as mini planters for hearty plants like succulents. Follow the same steps as above, but instead fill with dirt and a small plant.

Howdy folks!

I decided to start this blog as a way to share fun ideas and projects that come my way, and to show people that it's really not as hard as it looks to be creative (or do creative things.) This is my first real blogging experience (other than a few random thoughts on myspace) so bear with me. Hopefully people will find the contents of these pages inspiring and informative. Stay tuned for our first project later today!
Caroline