A curtain, fit for our King bed

With each apartment arise fun new challenges usually surrounding storage and the like (especially if one of you is an artist and the other an avid outdoorsmen- you have a lot to store!)

Our Bedroom is one area that keeps evolving! First, back in April my mom and husband made a king headboard! And now something new.....

Background: Since we live in the downstairs of an old Victorian that once was a single family home, we have a door in our bedroom that leads out into the main hallway. With two windows to the right of the bed, and a closet and radiator at the foot of the bed.... placing our king bed in front of this door was our only option.  In order to make the bedroom more cozy and to have it feel like a contained space, my mom ever so lovingly made us a curtain that we hung over the door.

tah dah! The final result, more cozy and more like a finished/complete room!

Next on the to do list: window curtains and a light fixture update for our ceiling light! Stay tuned!

ps: detail shot of the fabric- on the headboard and of the curtain.

New in my home decor shop on ETSY

I am adding new vintage items to my Grayday- shop for the home on etsy this week!

Here's what's up so far!

Above: Vintage trompe l'oeil storage containers.

Curious little Bear. SOLD

Vintage book ends, cute for a children's room!

Stay tuned as I continue to add more items!

Bon Voyage Clutter- an organizing tip!

After my Jewelry organizing post- I have been hinting at future organization posts... and here's one of many to come! Many years ago I inherited a great collection of old vintage suitcases from my grandmother and other family members. Not only do they look awesome and fit with my decorating aesthetic, but they can be oh so functional in so many ways! I have a total of 5 suitcases and this stack of 3 act as a little coffee table between two seats in our living room as well as provide much needed storage!

If you are short on closet space or book shelves, might as well come up with a funky alternative that looks nice while being functional.

Here's a fun tip: I use paper luggage tags to label each suitcase with its contents.

And here are the suitcases in their setting- a stack of three as a side table between two chairs, and the other set tucked into our non functioning fireplace.

What are your organizing tips and tricks!?

Hump day links to get you through the week

I never played with legos but my brothers did and thus the red portion of this graph resonates with me! 

(click image to enlarge)

Videos:
The only way to play Guitar video.
Kitten riding on turtle video.
Spider crab sheds exoskeleton - this made my mouth drop open!
Jim Breuer, former SNL cast member, tells a father's day tale during his interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Warning: crap your pants/potty humor, but made me laugh till I cried and had to hold my eyelids open.

Feel good about your world, links:
Inspired by the Uniform Project comes a new project 6 items or Less where folks from California to Dubai will only wear 6 garments for a month to promote awareness about our clothing choices and their global impact. Should be cool!
A Farm in the Bronx- ny times article about urban farming!
Let's color project- working with communities around the world to add a splash of color to their surroundings and perhaps in the process bring about a positive change!

Design Inspiration links:
coco+kelley- aqua and rust pallet inspiration board. (inspiring since I've been thinking this color combo would be a fun alternative to the standard green and yellow unisex pallet for baby gear  ie: colors I will knit with for our baby)
Lobster and Swan: does a nice review on the book- the homemade home.
Made It blog- offers an inspiring interview with little star design asking how she crafts, works on her business while balancing being a mom!
Check out this Open Air Kindergarten on handmade charlotte.
Swissmiss has a great post about resource furniture- an Italian furniture company that makes space saving designs!

Misc websites:

Rubikcubism- art made with a rubik's cube!

The Frisky offers 10 inexpensive ideas to help combat boredom.

I Scream for home made Ice Cream!

With the summer solstice on Monday, we decided to celebrate with some home made ice cream! We received our Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment 2 yrs ago and this was sadly it's maiden voyage.  And now that we have hopped aboard the natural ice cream train there might not be any way of getting off.

We decided to play it safe with our first ice cream experiment and start by making classic French Vanilla. The ice cream maker came with a little how to instructional including a few recipes. In the future we plan to venture out beyond the standard recipes with green tea ice cream and maybe even a rhubarb sorbet.

While at Whole Foods I also picked up a little organic instant cookie dough set- that makes 24 cookies, by Immaculate Backing Co. Very tasty and affordable (around $3)! Thus I made myself a little ice cream sandwich! In the future- when I am perhaps not so impatient to taste the ice cream, I will spread the ice cream between the cookies and then put the sandwich back in the freezer to solidify the combo into a tasty treat. Our ice cream was so good it seriously rivals Haggen Daz!

Happy Summer and here's to more home made ice cream!

Gone out to the country

We went out to NH to visit some family and friends on Saturday. It was so nice to get out into the countryside where we ate yummy burgers followed by some wacky homemade ice cream!

I thought I would share some pics!

Above: 

Question: How many people does it take to make ice cream? 

Answer: 3 guys and a little lady...

The beautiful surroundings. I spy a white horse behind the fence.

Their horse and one of 2 donkeys in the distance.

Chow Time!

Our little Millie trying to get in there amongst 7 dogs.

We had a great time, got some much needed knitting done and had some fun fellowship.

Urban Knitfits- featured on Etsy Blog

My rope braided necklace was featured on Etsy this Friday- for shops that offer free shipping!

Unlike what some comments on the etsy blog might say- I do not tack on an invisible shipping cost to the price of my item, I do take a hit because I understand that buying knit goods during the summer is not always on someone's mind. Thus I like to encourage my customers to shop with me over the warmer months by offering free shipping!

Here's the screen shot and check it out in person on the etsy blog!

Portland Maine Farmer's Market, a slice of heaven

Another lovely Saturday at our local Farmer's Market! I love that we have both a Saturday and a Wednesday farmer's market. (Saturday's is in Deering Oak's Park and Wednesday's is in monument square) I enjoy seeing all the farms and their handmade signs and beautiful produce. A big reason we moved here last spring was for the more "green" and "local" things Portland has to offer. And even with my stuffy nose I could smell the loads and loads of strawberries as we approached the market. The abundance of plants- flowering and vegetable, make me pine for our very own garden one day....

But for today we came home with strawberries and some golden beets. It's a hot one this weekend that really convinces me that summer is in fact here. I hope everyone has a great summery weekend!