The Little Things

Happy Friday! It seemed like this day would never come. Here's what I'm reading, drinking, decorating, rocking, & cooking enjoying this week.

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[Picture tour to come next week?]

Linking up with the lovely Lindsay today:

Loving the little things and that it's Friday. Use code TOBER20 for 20% off everything in the shop. Today only!

Weekly Dinner Menu: Free Printable

One of the things that helps me stay organized is planning my meals in advance. My roommate & I started this great trend in college a few years ago, and now that I'm in an apartment by myself, I've brought back the brilliant idea.

Our bi-weekly ritual consisted of us perusing recipe books & websites to find 10 dinner meals that sounded great & easy. These ten meals would feed us for two weeks (with a few leftover meals for lunches and or the freezer). We'd make two lists, one with the meals & one with the ingredients we'd need to make that dish. Then we'd choose whatever sounded good & made it knowing we had all the ingredients on hand. It worked out marvelously.

This is what I use on a weekly basis (as I've adapted to going grocery shopping once a week). I plan 5 meals (always with leftovers) and count on having a few leftover lunches at my disposal and use what's left in the fridge for Saturday & Sunday (not to mention these are the days I'm most likely to go out or have family dinner, etc.). Click the picture at the end of this post for your free printable if you like! It fits a standard 8.5 X 11 inch paper in the landscape orientation.

Here's mine in action:

I like to jot down the weather on mine too! Another tip I have is to make note of where you got the recipe so you don't go crazy the day-of trying to remember which site or book you got the recipe from.

Hope you find this helpful! Now get cookin'!

Tutorial: Fabric Covered Letters

Here's a quick & easy (no sewing required) tutorial for a cute way to add some zest to any room.


You will need a computer, a printer, cardboard, fabric, scissors, a paint brush, decoupage & double-sided tape.

1. Find a font that you love. Download (if necessary) & open up a document. Type your letter, and re-size it so that it fits a full size of paper. I used a serif font.


2. Print out each letter and cut around the edges. Trace onto a piece of cardboard (use what you have on hand... cereal boxes work great).


3. Cut the letter out of the cardboard.


4. Place the letter face down on the fabric & trace.

5. Cut the fabric.

6. Apply decoupage to the cardboard and ease the fabric onto the cardboard so that edges match up nicely.

7. Apply a coat of decoupage to the top and let dry (about one hour should do it)

8. Use Command Strips, double-sided tape or putty to hang letters.

Done! Voila!

Linking up here today:

The Kurtz Corner

Today's Creative Blog

A Bowl Full of Lemons
Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night
Carolyn's Homework
Sugar Bee Crafts
Eisy Morgan

An Autumn Weekend

Sometimes pictures enlighten us more than words. Let me tell you about my weekend solely through pictures.

Be Kind to Yourself

Well that was an unexpectedly long hiatus! Hello friends! I am back. My interview was mediocre (a very dull faculty member interviewed me), but that's okay. I have a different interview two days before Thanksgiving & this time I'm off to Philadelphia! Omaha was superb (I LOVE THIS CITY). Visited a great friend, went on adventures for coffee & old books. I am so thankful for wonderful friends like Hilary. We might not see each other for long stretches of time, but we pick up right where we left off,  & that is something so precious.

The beautiful memories & aromas of my favorite coffee joint, Aroma's.

Hilary in a loved ugly chair.

Princess Tari herself on a beautiful quilt.

Hilary's picturesque notes. I thought it was so endearing that she spilled coffee on them. Love it.

Ahh, the psychology section. Smiles.

AND I've been in the process of moving. YAY. Here is the MAJOR work in progress apartment. It's a studio, so these pictures are of my room, living room, craft room & office, all wrapped up in a cute little package. More updates & pictures to come.

The office, rocking some high speed Internet courtesy of CenturyLink.

The proverbial color-coded closet. More organization to come!

And the area that needs the most love & attention: my crafting area. So much potential!

More unpacking and organizing (+ more trips to IKEA) in the forecast, along with some fun fall activities (like going on a walk in snazzy boots with hot apple cider in hand to look at the fall leaves and crunch the fallen beauties as you walk).


 Love to you all!