Domestic Fashion // Dip-Dyed

Dip Dye. It's so hot right now.

via house or earnest

via oh happy day

via craftgawke

via design for mankind

via french by design

via curbly

via wish flowers

via kicsi haz

via design for mankind

via element of style

via michael penney style

via martha stewart

via design sponge

via martha stewart

Organize Your Life // Emergency Food Supply

via martha stewart

This topic has been on my mind lately. It's something that I know my family needs but doesn't have. We insure our homes, cars and lives...but how many of us have food insurance?! There is so much information out there on how to organize your home to be prepared for an emergency. There is so much to learn about food storage (year supply, 72 hour kits, 3 month supply, water drums vs. bottled water, etc)!

What a great feeling it is to be prepared! So if you have a sudden loss of income or a natural disaster occurs you can feed your family!!

It seems like an overwhelming task for both storage space and finances. So I googled around to find someone who has done it so they can tell me where to start!

Here is what Provident Living Today suggested:

When I set out to put together my three-month supply of meals ready to eat, it seemed overwhelming. I needed a plan. My friend, Claudia also wanted to put together a plan that broke this project down into steps. Here's what we came up with:

1. Pick out 2 weeks of recipes. Use easy meals your family eats now.



2. Convert each meal to “non-perishable” foods. If you use fresh chicken, use canned. Fresh or frozen corn, use canned. You get the idea.



3. Write each converted recipe on a 3 X 5 card. Run each card off 6 times.



4. Times each ingredient by 6 and write how much or how many you need on a shopping list. There you have it a 12 week supply of food.



5. Go shopping!!! Remember to take some help! You can do this in one big trip if you have the money, or gather the supplies over the next few months.
   
   
   Note: Use name brand labels.
   The metal is heavier and stores longer.
   
   
6. Take each recipe and all the ingredients and put them in a gallon freezer bag - right down to the spices and cup of rice.
7. 
   Use Ziploc freezer bags, they hold up better. You can also buy the Jumbo size bags for a large family. Put the spices in a snack size bag. The ingredients like rice or a cup of biscuit mix can go into a sandwich size bag.
   Now put the recipe in and ZIP . . . It’s “ in the bag!” Store them in boxes under the bed or bins in the closet. You want them to be easily accessible.

Keep a few meals ready to eat in the pantry and use them on busy hectic days. Keep the recipe cards. When you have a few stacked up, go to the store and replace the ingredients. This is a great way to rotate your three-month supply of food. Start eating your food storage now and save money.

I like this concept because it's food storage that your family will actually use and be accustomed to. You can use the items before they expire in your every day life, as opposed to canned wheat you need to grind to use. I am so on it! And don't forget water and medications too!

Kitchen Revival // Slow Cooker Menus

If you don't have a crock pot, I guarantee your mom does. I've had mine for 4 years, and I'm pretty sure I can count on my fingers the times I have actually used it. Why I haven't is a mystery to me because Slow Cooking is one of the greatest time saving, plan ahead-ing things you can do. As I was browsing around Pinterest, I happened upon this:

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Intriguing. An entire year of Slow Cooking? Could it be true? I say yes. Here are my favorite recipes I'll be trying this week:

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Source: 365daysofcrockpot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

D.I.Y. Tutorials // May Day Baskets

Today is May Day! I have always wanted to participate in the holiday! For those of you who are not aware of the May Day tradition, here is a quick breifing taken from A Field Journal:

"Chapter IV: May Day" in The Original Girls Handy Book (a reprint of a book published in 1887), had a few things to say about "a very pretty custom observed in Merrie England of fastening bunches of flowering shrubs and branches upon the doors of neighbors." The author writes of the (then) surviving tradition in New England, of "hanging upon the door-knobs of friends spring-offerings in the shape of small baskets filled with flowers."

Here is my inspiration for a container (I followed their tutorial in the link below):

via design sponge // diy paper party cups

I want to watercolor paint white paper cups, punch two holes at the brim and hang with ribbon and a big bow. And I would obviously fill them with flowers!! I thought this would be very cost efficient and easy for throwing it together on MAY FIRST!! Procrastination!

Other May Day baskets to inspire!

via a field journal

via martha stewart

via beehive art salon

Just find or make a container, add a strap, fill with flowers and you are good to go adorn your friends doors! And wouldn't it be lovely to be on the receiving end?!

Garden Seeds // Storing Spring Bulbs

As the hot weather approaches, remember to dig up your spring bulbs and store them for next year.  Just as winters are too cold for bulbs in many parts of the country, Arizona summers are too hot for most spring bulbs.

Narcissus (top), Freesia below

I dug my Narcissus and Freesia out yesterday.  Wait until the leaves turn yellow, dig them out store in a dry place.   Wash off the dirt and dry in a single layer.  Store them in a place that is not in sunlight and between 60-65 degrees.  Avoid temperatures below 50 and above 75 degrees.  Be sure air can circulate around the bulbs and do not pile them on top of one another.  Too many layers will restrict air flow and generate heat, possibly causing decay. 

Freesia

These flowers were just beautiful this spring!  It is extra work to dig out your bulbs but it is the right thing to do to ensure you will have them year after year.

For more information on bulb care, including a general description of bulbs, time of planting, depth of planting, mulching, fertilizing and moving instructions, read this excellent resource from AZ Master Gardener:  http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/flower/bulbs.html.

Happy Digging!

Organize Your Life // Pantry Envy

My husband is an Organizer. On a whim he'll tear apart a closet, spice cabinet, garage- whatever is driving him nuts at the moment and clean, purge, and reorganize until it meets his incredibly high standards. Some day it bugs the living daylights out of me, but most days I'm thankful to live with a clean freak instead of a slob.

Yesterday our Kitchen Pantry got torn apart and of course while he was doing the work, I was scouring Pinterest trying to find some fabulous pantry ideas to keep it organized a bit better. I found some gems, people.

Source: bhg.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Oh how I LOVE all those glass jars. I have some on my counters holding my flours and sugar, but I'd love a whole slew of them in my pantry. Would probably get a little pricey though, and might not be the best option for a house full of kids that like to sneak fruit snacks when I'm not in the kitchen.

Source: michellelunt.blogspot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

The chalk labels on everything in this pantry are genius- and I really like the short, wide jars for flour & sugar. The little racks to add double storage for cans are great too.

Source: burlapanddenim.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

When I clicked on this link, I spent an hour on this woman's blog- she has a TON of great, chic ideas for repurposing old bulk containers into display pieces for her pantry. And I love the idea of turning your pantry in to a "Corner Market" and displaying things in a way that make you want to use them, much like a store does. I have a couple of those apple baskets that I'm going to start using for my root vegetables!

Source: store.willowhouse.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Hanging baskets on the pantry wall is also perfect for holding root vegetables & fruit! Way better than just throwing the bags on the pantry floor- which is my current system of storage : /

Source: une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

AH! I just saw these storage cubbies at JoAnne's in the Home Decor section and wasn't sure what I would use them for- now I need to go back and snag a couple.

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Rosemary on Pinterest

I'm obsessed with pegboards. I have one hanging in my bedroom for my "office space" and they are fantastic in a kitchen space. Maybe put some on the backs of the pantry door?

Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

And last but not least, my all time favorite pantry makeover. That quatrefoil pattern on the walls? STENCILED people. I also want the vinyl labels on the jars, and the ikea containers for the pastas. I feel inspired now, and want to get to work on our dinky little pantry!

Kitchen Revival // The Butter Dish

I know they make spreadable butter that sits in the fridge these days, but there is something charming and welcoming about butter on the table. Check out these to die for butter dishes!

via west elm

via keith brymer jones

via anthropologie

via cath kidston

via anthropologie

via beehouse tea pot

via supermarket

via anthropologie

via french presents