The weekend, briefly

{baking (& then living on cookies for the rest of the weekend)}


{crafting}


{organizing - it might not look like much but you should have seen it before}


{cleaning (& taking breaks to snap photos instead)}


{sleeping, sleeping & sleeping}

Friday flowers

Peonies are here! I made a beeline for the them in TJs on Monday and I've been enjoying them all week ($6.99 for 5 gorgeous stems). I love watching as they open up and get even more ruffly. They are in a glass jar that does double duty (it can be a vase or a juice pitcher).

There is my dining room table, which I did not clean for this picture, in an effort to be honest. No, I don't use my iron on the table. It's just sitting there, waiting to be put away. Although I would really like to be able to iron directly on the table because it is so much larger than the puny ironing board. Is there some kind of cover I could use to make that possible without ruining my beloved table?

psst...

Shoestring Home is having a clearance sale. You get an additional 20% off all clearance items with the code CLEARANCE. Hop over and check it out before people snatch everything up.

Pretty little things, handmade and thrifted

I have acquired a couple new things for the house.

:: Beautiful magnet clips from the oh-so-talented Courtney over at Wunderbug. I let Courtney choose the color and I'm glad I did because she picked out one of my favorite shades of green with an amazing ivory print. These little clothespin clips have magnets on the back and they are now happily living on my magnetic chalkboard, holding important bits of paper. You can get some for yourself in her Etsy shop.

:: A bright yellow ceramic butter dish from the thrift store ($2). We've lived without a butter dish for a long time, so I snatched this one up the moment I saw it. I guess I was just waiting for the right one.

:: And some of you have already noticed the milk glass plate coyly hiding under my birthday cake. It was another thrift store find ($4) and I love that I can weave ribbon through the edging. It's just right for a 6" cake.

Whole lemon tart (courtesy of Smitten Kitchen)

My dears, you must make this.

It is the most mindblowingly delicious lemon tart you can imagine. If you have a food processor it comes together in a snap. I made it for a coworker's birthday last week and we all ate seconds and then thirds and then I hid it in the fridge and polished it off myself after everyone had gone home for the day. Sadly, I am not kidding. I think I would have growled if anyone had come in and asked for the last slice.

The recipe is from Deb, naturally. Start with her unshrinkable tart crust recipe (make it a day ahead - it's easy as can be but the dough needs time to rest and the crust needs to freeze before you bake it, so it takes more time than you might think) and then proceed to the lemon filling.

Meyer lemons are the magical secret here. You only need one and you use the whole thing, peel and all. Amazing. If you read through the comments on her post, you'll notice that quite a few people had trouble with the recipe. I think that maybe it's the process of incorporating the butter that makes the difference. I added my melted butter in a thin stream while the food processor was running, so it was almost like an emulsification. If you are going to whisk it in by hand, I really recommend adding it slowly and whisking vigorously.

Oh, and I added raspberries because they were on sale and I think they were the perfect contrast to the lemon. I just sprinkled them in there before baking the tart.

Underneath it all

Warning - this is a post about undergarments. For females. There are a few scantily (but tastefully) clad women ahead. If you prefer to stay blissfully ignorant of my underwear buying habits, click away now.

For the rest of you, this is a quick heads up about the Victoria's Secret Semi-annual sale, which is going on now. Please don't tell me you buy things from them when they aren't having a sale. Wait for the sale and stock up. Online, not in the stores. Those bins full of jumbled bras are impossible to deal with, in my opinion.

VS has long been a utilitarian store for me. The basics work great, but it's not as if they stock anything particularly lovely. Until I discovered one of their new(ish) lines - Intimissimi. Apparently it is Italian lingerie. I can vouch for the fact that all the pieces I've indulged in so far are comfortable, affordable and neither bland nor covered in trashy red lace.

Check out some of my faves.

{1, 2, 3, 4}

See the whole collection here. That flowery silk slip may have ended up in my order, despite the fact that I almost never allow myself to purchase frivolous things on my yearly stock piling expedition. But isn't it lovely? And it's on sale for half off.

Since I place a big order once per year, it pays to research coupon codes. The site proudly boasts free shipping on orders over $100 (VSFRSHIP) but I found one that gave me a better deal. SP917305 is a tiered coupon, so you get $15, $30 or $75 off your order of $100, $150 or $250. You can't combine it with the free shipping, but if you're placing a big order it is a much bigger savings. I think it expires on 6/05, so you have to use it this week. I was able to scoop up 6 bras, 13 bottoms and the indulgent slip for just $210 with tax and shipping (minus the discount).

Now I feel a little awkward because you all know exactly how much I spend on my underwear every year. Are we officially too close? Feel free to tell me something about your buying habits. Do you have a much more fabulous source that I should know about and take into consideration?

The weekend, briefly

The onslaught of May birthdays continued with my nieces.

{chocolate cake with chocolate frosting - recipe from here}

I treated myself to a couple new herbs for the "garden" and got them settled.

{french lavender, special basil & rosemary}

And rewarded myself with the fruits of my labor.

{ice, fresh garden mint, sparkling water and a splash of gin}