Introducing Parsley!

Hello, lovely readers.

Over the past few months I have been chasing my tail attempting to adopt a dog. Endless piles of paperwork, month long games of phone tag, joy, disappointment, more disappointment, three zipcar rentals and about $500 later, I am finally a doggie momma.

Yesterday I drove in the rain (and got lost in Yonkers) to adopt the beautiful Parsley you see below. I found her on petfinder.com at the Elmsford Animal Shelter in Westchester County, New York, and I loved her from the first moment I saw her.

Parsley, previously named Chantelle (but she didn't respond to her name, so I figured it was okay to change it. Judge me not!), has been a complete angel since arriving at our apartment yesterday afternoon. She was mellow and quiet in the car, which I know can be stressful to a dog that's been shipped around from shelter to shelter. She's only had one accident in the house since arriving. I know no one likes to clean up dog mess, but it is completely natural for a dog to want to mark a new space, and the confusion of the move would probably make me pee on the rug, too. Most amazingly, she seems to love us unconditionally even though we just met this weekend. She cuddles up to us and follows us from room to room, and she seems to trust us completely. I was pretty shocked that she didn't put up any fuss when I lifted her into the crate in the car. She hasn't begged at mealtimes, she doesn't jump on the furniture, she is great on the leash, she smiles politely, she hasn't barked (although she howled once while the feller was in the shower this morning; here's hoping separation anxiety doesn't result in all day howling), and she lets us hug and kiss her all over.

I think, thus far, she is a testament to the joy a shelter dog can bring to one's life. I adopted a dog that seemed unwanted, but has already exceeded my expectations. I have had a permasmile on all day, and I think that's definitely worth more than any price tag. I also just feel great knowing I helped an animal.

I've got her first vet check up booked for this weekend so we can make sure she's fit as a fiddle, and I need to call a dog walker to break up her days while I'm at work. I got her a sweater to wear in the cold weather tomorrow.

I know she's not a craft or a DIY project, but I think I might blog about her training and acclimation to life in her new home on here, because family and home is what DIY is all about to me, and she's family and she's helping to make my rental apartment become a home.

Here she is, world.Here's Parsley!

-Bea

How lovely are your branches!

We put up our tree too! Here is a picture of my Dear Fiance carrying our tree home that we bought off the street in Queens. It is from a farm on the West Coast.

This is my third New York City Tree and it always feels like something out of When Harry Met Sally. We did check out the trees outside our supermarket and at the Home Depot. The Home Depot's Christmas tree selection is the saddest thing.... It was filled with sad corralled trees, tons of families with small children, the scary sounds of chainsaws and a woman literally grabbing a tree away from others....

Thankfully, we hightailed it out of there! And found this wonderful little tree. We put it up on a table and we decorated it! I'm hoping to mix in a few of my family ornaments with my Dear Fiance's family ornaments next year.

Merry Christmas!

O Christmas Tree

Happy Holidays, Cozy Rustic-ers!

I'm happy to say I made it past Thanksgiving before putting up the tree this year, and I wanted to share said tree with you. We went with silver and candy canes this year to keep it simple, and our real tree was also a modest height. Based on comparing it with myself, I'd say 5'6". Anyway, Gregory, as I've been calling him, is all set up and sparkly, and I've tossed in a few photos of for you.

Merry Christmas,

Bea

Gregory prior to being unwrapped.
The tree stand, that for some reason was next to impossible to construct. I thought I would go on a killing spree.
Our tree all finished with silver balls, mirrored balls, clear lights, sliver tinsel, and classic candy canes.

The feller with the tree. You can see me in the window taking the photo. And our other family member, Aloe Ginsberg is sitting on the sill.

Bunny's Christmas Gift - A notebook of her own

This year, since we're getting into crafting, Bunny and I decided to make each other our gifts. I wanted to give her something practical, since she is planning her wedding for this summer, but I also wanted her gift to be attractive. Again, I wanted it to be budget friendly, too. I'm not ashamed to state on the blog that I was cheap with gifts this year. Bunny is well-aware that I'm frugal, and I think she's a wise enough gal to bee cool with it.

I wound up "making" Bunny a notebook for collecting thoughts and ideas relevant to her wedding and life in general, a journal, I suppose. Here's what I did.

Start with your basic run of the mill marble composition journal. They're around $1.50 pretty much everywhere, and are bound prettily (though you can't easily tear out the papers should you choose to do so).

Gather some beautiful paper. My go to store for this is Paper Presentation on W. 18th St in Manhattan.

Mod Podge. 'Nuff said.

Scissors.

I folded a piece of paper over the front and back covers of the notebook, covering about 2/3's of the outer surface. Then I Mod Podged this down. I cut a length of a different paper to cover the remaining 1/3 of the outer cover and Mod Podged it as well, being sure the edges met up evenly and that I was still able to open and close the notebook.

I found these awesome envelopes at Paper Presentation as well, and I placed one on the inside cover in the front and in the back, so Bunny can store coupons or tear-outs from magazines that she finds inspiring.

Finally, I found a nice letter "G" (you didn't really think her name was Bunny, did you?) in an old issue of Self and slapped it onto the cover.

I ran some embroidery floss around the loop ties of the front and back envelopes (see photos) so it wrapped around the whole cover of the notebook, and I slipped in a purple pen for notetaking.

Ta dah!

-Bea

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Happy Chanukah from Mulder + Scully!!!!
And Bea and Bunny too!!!!

Let's eat latkes! This year was my second time making them... and it went much better than the first! This year I just simplified a recipe from a real Jewish grandma and added apples!!

What you'll need:

• I used 5 small potatoes and 2 granny smith apples
  
• 3 small shallots
  
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons flouror matzo meal ( I used flour)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

How to:

Chop the potatoes and apple in a food processor. I did them both together in small pieces to aid my food processor. I don't have any cheese cloth... so after everything was grated I transferred the potatoes to a colander lined with paper towels over a bowl. Twist mixture in towels to remove water. Let it drain for 10 mins. If there is white starch settled in the bowl... remove the water and use starch. My method wasn't starchy and they turned out fine!

Start with the starch if you have and then add shallots, eggs, flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the potatoes and apples. Combine!

Line a baking pan or platter with paper towels. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet. This is the hard part coming up... the oil should probably be a certain temperature but with vegetable oil you can tell when there is movement going on in the pan. Make little pancakes in your hand and drop them in! Each side get a few minutes in the oil... keep an eye on them! I had to keep adjusting the stove temperature to cook evenly. Latkes will turn a golden brown when done! I then transfer them to the lined backing pan to remove oil and cool down!

Serve with sour cream or apple sauce... or both.. and enjoy!

DIY Menorah for Chanukah

Happy Happy Chanukah!

As a boy my fiance made this clay menorah for his family. But he wanted to share this DIY Menorah below that he made last year so we could light the candles together each night at home. We didn't have a menorah and he remembered a craft that one of his brothers made in school. His family loved it and they still use it. So, we decided to recreate an old family tradition .

What you'll need:
a piece of wood (approximately a foot long)
ten nuts from home depot (I measured the nuts with a candle to get the right size)
super glue (glue gun would be fine too!)
Chanukah Candles and Matches/Lighter

1) Evenly space 9 nuts across the piece of wood
2) Glue nuts down to the wood and let dry.
3) The 10th nut is for the “shamash” or service candle, which must be elevated. So, glue that 10th nut on either edge or in the middle.

4) Being a gentile myself, here is a little info on lighting the candles!

Candles are placed in the menorah from right to left. Correspond candles to which night of Chanukah it is. There is an additional candle which is elevated. The shamash is lit first, and then used to light the other candles, from left to right.

Here is a picture from last night (the 5th night) so you can see the set up!

Last night, I celebrated Chanukah with my mother-in-law to be and the family. We had delicious food, lit candles and exchanged gifts! I had to rush off to the Opera after, but it is really nice to get a glimpse of other family traditions!

Wine-ter Wonderland

Hello, Cozy Rustic-ers!

It's the holidays, the greatest DIY time of the year, so of course I needed to make a wreath for my door! I reviewed different options (paper, coffee filters, yarn) and I opted for corks, so I've had friends save any corks from their libations for the past month, and I finally saved up enough to create my wreath.

Like most good things, this started with a drill. I put on my tiniest bit and drilled little holes in the tops and bottoms of all my corks. Just a note, I needed to go back and re-drill with the next size up bit, so plan ahead!

See the tiny hole? It was just a itsy bit too tiny.

So here's what happened next. I ran floral wire through the top holes of all my corks. Then I tied the wire in the middle and ran another wire through the bottom holes of all my corks. The two wires help everything stay in shape better, though it was still pretty wobbly.

This is what it looks like now, but it will hang on my door once it has a big red bow on it.

Cheers!

Bea

Martha Stewart Craft Fair Tomorrow!

Save the Date!

Finally! Here are the Save the Dates for my June Wedding! You've already read about the inspiration and where I got the idea... but I will include the steps I took to make them. We had a photo shoot when we were finished... all photos taken by bridesmaid Madame Marble (from Marble and Milkweed).

Step 1: Acquiring the Postcards

After inspiration struck, fiance agreed and setting budget...hit the flea market. I went to the Flea/Green Market on the Upper West Side with friend, Cupcake Cable. I scoped out the entire market and found quite a few stall with postcards. I lucked out that the cheapest cards were also from my home state and even home town! I did buy a mix of cards though because I found others from the hometown of friends or where they went to college. I bought a large amount so I got a great deal from the woman selling them! (Under 50 cents each). Also... I only picked cards that had NO writing on the back. It is possible to bleach off the writing but I was looking to skip that step.

Step 2: Stamp Kit

My dad gave me a stamp kit that was his mother's (and that I played with as a kid). His mother was a school teacher and purchased this in 1932 to aid her students in learning to read. This was my main inspiration for decorating the cards.

I also purchased a kit from staples to make a stamp with all the save the date information. It comes with tiny letters and tweezers. It is supper tedious and took 3 hours to put together.... but was totally worth it in the end.

Step 3: Craft Night

I scheduled a craft night with all my local Bridesmaids and we made put these Save the Dates together! My only directions were get the info on and don't stress about perfection. We stamped, stickered and came up with a cute little "phony" postmark. My Groom to be bought us all dinner as we stamped away...

Step 4: Photo Shoot

After all our cards were made and scattered throughout my living room...we had a photo shoot.

Thank you NYC bridesmaids for all your help! I love how they turned out and have been getting a great response from guests!

Advent

Happy December 1st, everyone! To celebrate the countdown to Christmas, let me share my homemade advent calendar with you all! Each day has a surprise treat or activity for me and the feller to enjoy together. Some naughty, some nice, as these things go. Enjoy!