What can you do with a destroyed duvet, am old shower curtain and a linen couch cover?

So while I'm on a roll with the non-food related posts, I'd like to show you the project I started (and finished!) today after work.  It's my recycled doggy bed. 

You see, it all started with a problem:  2 dogs....1 doggy bed.  Something just doesn't add up there. And what's worse (as you may remember from an earlier post) these particular dogs do not share well.  And they will search out a comfy spot at the expense of my couches, beds and any shoe they can find on which to take out their aggression.  But where a problem arises, a solution can often be found. 

One recent victim of their quest for cozy, was the duvet I received in middle school and have held on to through every transition of my life.  I woke up one morning to find my beloved duvet shedding feathers from several tears that been created from an unnamed destroyer (Vegas!!). No longer good for human comfort, the duvet still held a lot of its volume and mass and had to be re purposed somehow...well ta da!


The sturdy linen (also a recent victim of the savage beast) used to function as a cover for the couch we will soon retire to make room for our new as-of-yet-un-doggy-adulturated furniture.  The polka dots are an old shower curtain I was gifted when my former roommates moved out of Savannah (thanks, Cindy!).  And the zipper was part of the supply left to me when another former roommate pared down her craft cabinets.  All-in-all, this evening project didn't cost me anymore than a few hours of labor. 

And it has already received the seal of approval!
 

Cemetery Chairs Resurrected

No cooking adventures in this post, but I couldn't wait to show you my new project.  This particular "craft" is outside of my normal creative quests and I was pleased with how well it turned out.  I figure with some practice and maybe some instruction or even a DIY manual I might someday be able to join the world of furniture restoration. 

I was conducting my daily walk through at Colonial Cemetery last Tuesday morning, kind of bumming because it was the first day back to work after the holiday weekend and ahead of me just off the main path I saw something unusual sitting in the grass.  My contacts were far from new and my vision was a little blurry, so trying to figure out what this mass ahead of me was turned out to be quite a task.  I knew it wasn't living, so I assumed it was safe to approach and it looked kind of like a tree bent over in the middle, but I was pretty certain I would have noticed a tree in the path before now (I do walk the same path every weekday). 

It turned out to be two wooden chairs.  Pretty nice, solid wooden chairs if I do say so myself.  I haven't the faintest idea why these chairs were left in the cemetery, or how they got there to begin with.  I have a sneaky suspicion someone was attempting a seance of sorts.  There was some candle wax on the top of the chair legs. 

I circled them a few times...and walked away twice, but decided they needed to go home with me.  If nothing else, I figure it is my duty to clean up debris left in the cemetery, right? 

They turned out to be quite a score.  I tore of the tattered weave, sanded them down, polished them with some linseed oil and created cushion seats with some brocade I picked up on sale at JoAnn's.  Altogether, I spent about $15 for the fabric and cushions for the two chairs...and had way too much time experimenting with the world of furniture rehab. 

I'm afraid this project may have opened a whole new obsession with dumpster diving and lane hopping... :)

Before is on the right and after on the left

Long Overdue...

I was reminded by more than one person that I am slacking on the blog front.  My sincerest apologies.  I guess the new year distracted me from my duties....but no excuse!  I resolve to be better this year...how does that sound?  Too late for New Year's resolutions?

I have been playing in the kitchen, though and I do have a few things to report.  But even more exciting, thanks to Jason's influence (and admittedly his labor hours) I have stepped beyond the four walls of the kitchen and outside to the grill...though I don't think I can take credit for those creations when I'm not the one actually slaving over the flames.  Take Monday night's dinner, for example.  I can't really claim a meal when all I contributed were a few chopped veggies and pureed beans.  But with our powers combined, we prepared an MLK day feast that rivaled all the other BBQs burning in downtown Savannah that holiday evening. 

It all began with a spur of the moment trip to Kroger.  I don't think we intended to get more than a few toppings for the leftover pizza dough in the refrigerator, but evidently we struck gold when Jason discovered lamb on sale...apparently it was a steal!  (I'm not really sure why I say "we," but I certainly benefited from the excuse to get the grill fired up).  Suddenly our meager leftover pizza plans turned into a feast of roast potatoes and garlic, stuffed eggplant and wood-fired pizza...and lamb something-or-other.  

Vegas is guarding the grill...in case anything should happen to fall off...

This was the first time we used the grill-specific pizza pan and the results were very pleasing.  The crust was wonderfully crispy on the bottom and a little doughy on top.  Personally, I liked the contrast between the two layers.  We used Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza mix again, but this time we added some grains leftover from Jason's latest brewing process.  The grains were dehydrated in the oven and then ground in the coffee grinder.  The result was a really tasty wholegrain effect.  Surprisingly, an effect that is hard to come by in the gluten-free world.  

Dehydrated Beer Grains



In other news, quite literally, I made the front cover of the Savannah Morning News today.  And because I simply haven't suffered enough harassment from coworkers and acquaintances alike, I'm going to post the link here to our 30 second news byte.  Notice how you never see my head lift up to the camera.  That's because I was under the impression that if "you can't see them, they can't see you."  Obviously, a huge misnomer. 

And one more thing!  I was forced to retire a beloved old friend on New Year's Eve and buy my very first brand new sewing machine.  It was the best arm-twisting purchase ever!  I may have had a few moments of buyer's remorse following the unmistakable impulse buy, but I haven't regretted it for one second.  The difference between my old machine and the new one is night and day.  I'm finishing projects 10 times faster now that I don't have to stop and fight with my machine every 2 minutes. 

Isn't she pretty!? 

I made this little bag for my friend Sarah who is getting married in May.  It's an emergency bridal kit to hold all your last minute snafu resolutions.  I'll be taking orders, so get yours in soon! O;)