Take a seat...

Here's a project from the wedding. Just about two years ago at this exact time, I was biking to work in Boston and saw this old screen door out on the sidewalk with someone's trash. Of course, I locked up my bike on the spot, carted the door home, and then went back to my bike and on my merry way.

The door is really awesome, and it's too bad that its dimensions don't match any of the doors I know, or else I'd put it to good use. The door sat in my bedroom for a long time. First it just leaned against the wall, after that it as a jewelry holder - attaching my earrings to the screen and hanging my necklaces from a few hooks. Then I decided that I wanted to embroider a design into the screen. I spent an evening doing it, but never got much further.

So, when it came time for the wedding, my motive was always to use what was on hand, and I knew it'd be fun to incorporate the door {keeping with our farm-house wedding motif}. Inspiration struck one night when I was thinking about the seating cards.

We were using manila tags on the thank you gifts {a post on those is coming}, and to keep things cohesive I wanted to use the tags for seating. Since the tags had a string, I wanted to hang them from something, and that's when the lightbulb went off ~ I have so many fun/beautiful buttons. We could sew the buttons to the screen door and hang the tags on them!

We embroidered an upper section with the words "Take a seat" and added a little bee button that I had been holding on to for the longest time.


In another section, we sewed a simple heart with our initials::

And then we added the buttons! The screen came with a tear {on the right side of the picture below}, so rather than ignoring it, we playfully stitched it up.


We sewed on a button for each guest/tag... but then invited a few more people, so on a few buttons we doubled up the tags. We decided to double up moms and little kids, that way both of their names were right next to each other and easy to find!
On the day of the wedding, we propped the door up under the willow tree as it's pictured.

Another door project's coming tomorrow!

My Summer Shower

These two products are the staples of my summer shower::

You'd think the Body Shop was sponsoring this post, they aren't, I'm just addicted.

I thought about it and realized that I've been using the peppermint foot scrub for over ten years now! Is that possible? I only use it a few times each summer, so a container lasts about two years. Want something really refreshing? Scrub up with the scrub, then use your favorite peppermint foot lotion. Keep that in your pocket for the next heat wave.

The Grapefruit Shower Gel is something new to me. I used to use their grapefruit glycerin soap, but the past couple of summers I was feeling unsatisfied, there just wasn't enough of that grapefruit punch that I was looking for. Picking up the shower gel was like getting punched in the face with a field of grapefruits. Seriously, I'm convinced that there's a ton of grapefruit zest in every bottle. How do they do it? I want to eat it.

Wednesday Soundtrack

Artist :: Lady Gaga
Song :: The Edge of Glory



A few things::
- I can't get this song out of my head.
- I love the way she sings the opening lines, there's something about her voice and the rhythm of those lines.
- I can never, ever take her seriously when I see her, I have to listen without watching.

-Something I can't stop looking at :: the purple coneflower picture from the last post. Doesn't it look 3D?

- Did you notice who's playing the sax? Consider this a mini tribute to Clarence. Not the tribute you'd expect after his years of playing with Bruce, but how much fun is it that this was one of his last projects? He really deserves his own Wednesday Soundtrack feature. xo

It's getting wild out there in the garden. Right now hydrangeas are in full bloom, and they're surrounded by beds full of black-eyed-susans, echinacea (or purple cone flower?), queen anne's lace, bee balm, and a few yet un-named.












Putting that all together makes for some beautiful bouquets! The second bouquet contains both the snowball and oak leaf hydrangeas {love}.

On the table

With the heat keeping me away from the stove, and a fresh head of cabbage from my pop's garden, I came up with a contingency plan this week :: Asian Coleslaw, and lots of it!



I love cabbage-based salads in the summer, they're such a nice and hearty change of pace after weeks of eating lettuce-based salads {although I know, with a few nuts and beans those can be hearty meal too!}. With my cabbage in the fridge, I did a quick internet search to see what types of coleslaws I could find. I was looking for something new, and if I didn't find anything, I would return to my summer-cabbage-salad-favorite :: Ramen Noodle Salad! I love that salad.

You'd think that the ramen version would be called "Asian Coleslaw", but what I found may be my new favorite slaw! This version skips the noodles, and uses a variety of ingredients found in Chinese and Thai cooking to make the dressing. Find the recipe here. I didn't follow it exactly, skipping the Nappa and red cabbages, as well as the ginger in the dressing. I loved the results, but want to try it again with the ginger.



At dinner I paired it with cheddar cheese on toasted sourdough with a touch of my mom's Chili Sauce ~ more details on the sauce soon!

Having big batches of salads like this in the fridge make packing lunch so easy. What else makes it easy? My cute little tiffin from India.

It's a three layer tiffin, but on two-layer days, I just close it with rubber bands.

Lunch today included the salad, {sweating} cheddar cheese, tomatoes, a hard boiled egg, and melted chocolate for dessert.

This weekend I'll be busy in the kitchen working on some homemade ice cream! I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday Soundtrack

Before we get to the songs, another wedding detail::
My sister painted these fantastic signs for the wedding. The day really was a big party, other than the ceremony, toasts, and cutting of the cake, there was no formal schedule.

Using big signs was a great way to virtually guide people around the party/property. Some signs pointed people towards the games and acted as an open invitation to play. Our games included horseshoes, bocce, washers. Other signs shared some of the crucial details : bar, bathrooms, ceremony. Some friends and siblings camped, and I thought the "camping" sign was a great way to keep that area organized while also letting the other guests know that having the tents and camper in the far corner of the field was intentional.

And as I mentioned last week, our DJ and late night dancing was in the barn, not under the tent where dinner took place, so if the thumping music and flashing lights wasn't enough, our fun little sign explained everything::

Before I play the music, did you see the sign?



Or are you thinking that the signs are just blocking the scenery?

First there were the daffodils and then the tulips, which were followed closely by the lilacs. Now, in the heat of summer, the garden's bursting with lilies! I haven't identified them all yet, but their colors and smells are intoxicating. Enjoy*