Nanny Gear

Okay, so I don't wear the earrings when I go visit the little munchkins (that's a good way to lose an earlobe), but the rest is something close to what I wear to work.

These pictures are what happens when I get up early enough to stand on the other side of the balcony and catch the morning sun...even though I'm squinty you at least get a more interesting background.

What I wore:
Top – Paper Scissors
Shorts – Roxy
Cardigan – Thrifted
Moccasins – Nine West

Primary Bubbles

I seem to be inspired by big hair made of unusual items this week. Now, it's bubbles.

I used watercolors and different sized round objects in my apartment to create this effect.

Vintage Suitcase Coffee Table DIY

One man's trash is this gal's treasure! Look what I found on my way home from work last night.

I cleaned it up and cleaned it out, then recovered the inside with spare fabric I had in my collection-o-scraps.

Then I filled it up with books for storage and popped it underneath an old brief case we already had to create a coffee table.

Take a look at the finally product below and how I did it.

I have made up a story about Mr. W. O'Sullivan from Canada.

I imagine that he moved from Canada to New Zealand in the 70s, where and when this case was made. He had kids and one day they moved to Australia, where he joined them in his later years. Now his kids are cleaning their closets and found no more use for this old case. It's the old stuff circle of life.

I found it locked up and without a key, but could hear something rattling around in it.

So, I yanked it open with my pilers and found...old Christmas decorations. I quickly realized that the inside needed recovering.

When recovering something like this with fabric it's important to remember to use a small, but very even and thorough amount of glue. Smooth it from the middle towards the edges.

Then trim and finish.

I popped the manufacturer's sticker back on for good measure, then filled it with books for storage. Not only was this helpful for hiding unneeded items, I needed to put the books in to make sure the case didn't cave in when things were stacked on top.

And this is where Mr. O'Sullivan's case lives now. Thanks, my Canadian friend!

Yarn for Brains

I have many Facebook friends who happen to be veracious knitters. I swear, 75% of their posts are about said activity, which is fun because I get to see all their wonderful creations. They inspired me to create this painting.

It's available here.

Closet Tip: Donate!

Think about it, if you haven't worn it in the last four seasons will you ever? Aren't you just letting that piece take up valuable space? If you're emotionally attached to a piece either put it someplace special or try to work it in to an outfit more often.

Professor Autumn

I'm off to do my people-helper work today, and boy, I could only look more like a college professor if I had elbow patches on my jacket.

Fall is almost here! Weather is getting a tiny bit cooler everyday and I LOVE IT. I'm nothing without layering. Nothing!

What I wore:
Jacket – Banana Republic
T-shirt – Target (US)
Jeans – Banana Republic
Wedge loafers – Kenneth Cole
Bag – Fiorelli

Closet Tip: Knits

The more you hang your knits up the faster they age and wear out because of stretching. If you have to hang up your knits, use thick or padded hangers, NEVER wire.

DIY Stencil Cake Topper

My hubby loves sprinkles. There, I said it. I'm married to a sprinkle-lover. And because it was his birthday, I wanted to use sprinkles in some spectacular way on his cake. This is how I stenciled the top of his cake. You could do this with anything: powdered sugar, cocoa, or anything small enough to dust over the stencil.

All you have to do is create your stencil in a word processing program (Word or Pages), print it out, and then cut it out with an exacto knife.

Place the stencil GENTLY on top of the cake.

Then, dust the stencil with your chosen topping.

He loved it!

Building the Perfect Burger

Because my hubby had school on his actual birthday, and I had to work, we decided to spend some buddy time together the day before collecting the ingredients for our perfect homemade burger (I'll share our secret ingredient today...if you're good). This required a long walk swinging over through a neighborhood called Surry Hills (if you've ever been to Portland it's similar to NW 23rd). Our adventure went a little something like this...

 A surprise shot from the birthday boy.

 A great cheese place.

The only shot I could get of him.

Bourke Street Bakery

Sausage roll from Bourke Street for breakfast. Mmmmm!

Our secret ingredient is truffle oil. We rub it on the bun and heat the buns over the pan. We got our oil from a fabulous butcher called Hudson Meats.

Lovely, is it not?

Tomorrow's post: Cake Top Stencils

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