Search for a tablecloth

I want a tablecloth for our dining room table. Simple purchase, right? Wrong. I cannot find a decent tablecloth.

I have been to Target twice. Today I also went to two Marshalls, JcPennys and Macy's. Nothing. There wasn't even one that I sort of considered. The department stores had about 5, all boring solid colors.  I just want a simple pattern. Any suggestions on where I should go?

Norway Book

I made a book on http://www.mypublisher.com/ for my Norway trip that I took this summer. I debated about what company to use. There are so many out there, and they have similar prices. I decided on this one because I had seen finished books by this company, and I really liked the books. I wish I could have seen all of the books in person to have a really good comparison. This site had an instant chat that was very helpful for those little questions that come up while making your project.  Also, they have great coupons! I got $20 off.

Here's my project if you'd like to look at it. I had to convince myself to just hit "purchase" because it seems there is always more you could do.

http://bookshelf.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3TDwYWXkJrB-8oI083zL--0&s=fb


*I just noticed the date is wrong on the front.  That is annoying.  But, I guess it can't be perfect!

I'm official!

I have good news!  I have officially been hired by the local Catholic school for two maternity leaves!  It is the same school where I worked last spring.  I will be teaching kindergarten from October through January.  Then I will teach second grade from March until the end of the year.  In between I will just do some day to day subbing.  This is huge for me!  While it's not the every day for an entire year with benefits job, it's much more than day to day subbing.  What is even better is I love this school!  It is about 2 miles from my house, my commute is around the lake, it has a late start time, and I like the staff and students a lot!

Yesterday I was there subbing in a fourth grade classroom.  They were passing out t-shirts to kids that had raised money for a fundraiser.  Each staff member also gets a shirt.  The mom in charge saw me in the hallway and told me to come get a shirt.  She said that I basically work there and should get a shirt.  I feel like a shirt means you're official, it means you're apart of something.  I like this.

I will wear my tye dye shirt proudly!

Chili Season is Beginning

Last year Linnea (my old roommate) and I developed our own ever-changing recipe for chili. We always kept all of the ingredients on hand. It's been a while since I've made it. Chili isn't quite as appealing in the summer. But, now it is fall. Tonight I decided to make a big pot. That way Katie and I will have lunches for the week. I have a recipe. but I never measure! I usually do vegetarian, it's easier, and cheaper. Have fun, play with what's in your cupboard.

-2 cans of black beans

-1 can of white beans, like Great Northern or Garbanzo

-1 can of kidney beans

-1 large can of diced tomatoes

-1 small can of tomato paste

-1 onion

-1 green pepper

Seasonings:

-sugar, a couple of tablespoons

-white wine vinegar, about a tablespoon

-red pepper flakes

-chili powder

-garlic powder, or use minced garlic

-salt and pepper

Mix it all together and let it simmer!  There is no need to precook the onions and peppers.  They will just cook while you simmer everything. 

This recipe definitely takes a lot of cans. But that's the only major clean up.

Enjoy! Hope everyone had a good weekend! 

Ikea assembling

I think when you are in your 20s, you are suppose to struggle through putting together a piece of Ikea furniture. It's a right of passage to becoming an adult. Do you know basic tools? Can you follow directions?

By no means did I put together the most complicated Ikea furniture. I have friends that have recently put together numerous pieces. I just had one piece of Ikea furniture... well one for now. Let's be honest, I get tempted easily by Ikea. I bought a kitchen cart for out kitchen. This is what the area of the kitchen looked like with nothing there.

It needed something. I don't love the coloring in the kitchen, but we're working with what we have.  My parents bought me some things from Ikea for my birthday. One thing I chose was this kitchen cart.  My brother Andy was here to hang pictures, but somehow I convinced him to stay and help assemble.  I asked for 15 minutes.  An hour and a later we were done, and I made him lunch.

Here's the finished project. I added some bottles of wine to one of the shelves. I want to add a small plant, maybe basil.  Any suggestions?  

Thanks for reading! I have been so excited when people tell me they read my blog. Also, I will continue to take suggestions for this project. For example, I had one friend tell me that in the blogging world you only use one space between sentences. Though this goes against everything I've ever been taught, and what my fingers want to do, I do agree it looks better. It just means hitting delete a lot!  Happy weekend!

Decorating the new apartment

I've discovered over the past few years that I really like decorating.  One of my guilty pleasures is watching House Hunters on HGTV.  I don't have cable at my own place.  I watch it on Friday nights when I babysit, after the kids have gone to bed.  

Now with a new place, this gives a new excuse to decorate.  We are in no way done.  It's always a work in progress.  I just returned from Ikea, so in an upcoming post you will see the new kitchen piece.  First we have to put it together...uh oh.

For my birthday Kara gave me these really cute flower pictures.  I love the color they add to the walls.  Yesterday I interrupted Katie and Andrew, her boyfriend, from their work they were doing at the dining room table.  Thank guys for helping!  

We needed certain screws.  But that was fine because we have a hardware store right across the street!  This is why I love living in the city.  Here's the finished project.

Also, here's what our living room looks like right now.  The only major thing missing is pictures for the walls, they're coming.  Those flowers on the table are from Erik. :)

Birthday Weekend

On Saturday I turned 25 years old.  Wow, that's half a century.  I renewed my driver's license.  Apparently I can now rent a car at the regular rate.  Exciting.

Friday night I went to Brasa with my family.  It was raining and the restaurant was busy.  But, once we got seated, it was great.  I love that my 92 year old grandma was there eating ribs.  I want to be like her.

Saturday the sun came out!  I woke up to hearing a marching band outside.  Maybe a high school band practicing for the upcoming fall season?  Then I had Chipotle for lunch.  Soft shell tacos, with rice and beans, tomatoes, sour cream, guac and lettuce.  It's my favorite.

On Saturday night I thought just Erik and I were going out to dinner and then we'd meet up with friends later for drinks.  We walked into Loring Kitchen and Bar.  He told me previously that he had a 6:45 reservation.  We walked in and he walked right by the hostess station.  I started asking questions, confused to what he was doing.  All of a sudden I hear a chorus of "Happy Birthday!"  Six of my friends were seated at the restaurant there to surprise me.  I was shocked!  It took me a few minutes to stop shaking.  Nice work Erik.  The best part was that it was also the restaurant's birthday, so we got free cake and a drink.

Sunday the sun was out again!  I visited the Kingfield Farmer's Market, walked to Lake Harriet, sat outside and read a book, and finished the evening with Ticket to Ride, which  I won!  All in all a good weekend!  I love MN fall sunshine.

Meredith's Wedding Shower

I've already admitted my blog stalking to you.  One of the things I like reading about is party design.  I love when party favors match the linens, which match the flowers, which match the vases.  So I got really excited when we had an excuse for a party with some design elements.  My roommate from college, Meredith, is getting married in October.  Linnea, Kara and I hosted a wedding shower for her.

We started out at Flirt, a lingerie boutique in St. Paul.  This was a great place to begin our party.  We all would recommend it to anyone who wants to host a girls party.  We got to bring in our own food and drink, so it's no more expensive than hosting a party at your own house.  Kara and Linnea did a great job organizing the food, as I was out of town until 2:00 the day of the party.  My favorite was the heart shaped fruit pizza they made.  Such a nice "love" touch to the shower.

After the boutique we headed to our house on Girard for its last major social gathering before we moved.  I had a lot of fun making vases with ribbon in Meredith's wedding colors.  Each girl got to take a vase home with flowers from the Minneapolis Farmer's Market.  I got the candles from my mom's collection.  We also had pictures of Meredith and Karl situated around the living room.

 

The future bride, Meredith, in pink

We had a wonderful Saturday night.  I'm excited for the wedding in October and the opportunity to be a bridesmaid.

New Blog!

Welcome to my blog!

A lot of people wonder why this didn't happen earlier.  I read a lot of blogs.  I read a lot of personal blogs.  I love reading about what is going on in other people's lives.  I like when they wonder about something I've also wondered about.  I like when they post pictures to show what's new in their lives.  I have one particular example.  Somehow I found my now previous landlord's blog.  I fell in love with her blog.  She writes about stories from her life, musings she's had, questions about faith.  I found myself checking every day to see if she had a new post.  Finally, this summer I admitted to her that I read her blog.  I was embarrassed to admit it, but she didn't seem too creeped out.  She told me to start my own.  Thank you Becca!  Amazing that a landlord can encourage a new project like this.

People kept asking why I didn't have a blog, even though I read lots of blogs.  I never really had a good answer.  Now, with no permanent job yet in education, I decided I need a project.  I need something that makes me think, challenges me, makes me learn something new.  I've decided this blog is my project.  I'm not an expert when it come to technology, but I'm hoping I can learn.  I don't have anything specific to write about, but I have thoughts, recipes, ideas, questions.

Where am I at in life?  Two years ago I graduated from St. Olaf with a degree in English and my teaching license for K-8.  I student taught in first grade, loved it, and now want a teaching job.  Since March of 2009 I have been a substitute teacher.  I want a "real" job that works with the same group of people everyday and allows me to build relationships.  However, until then at least I'm in the classroom with students.  I just I moved into a new place with my junior year roommate, Katie.  I now have my own bedroom and a new place to decorate!  We live in southwest Minneapolis right by the lake and Java Jack's coffee shop.

I'm excited for this project to begin!  Please send comments or thoughts.  I want this to be a project that involves others.  And, don't ever be embarrassed to tell me that you read.  I've been in your shoes.