In 2010 I ... had an Italian feast

Food I Wanna Eat is back up and running in full swing. Last week at Beth's suggestion we participated in Dining Out for Life and enjoyed an incredibly delicious (and affordable!) Italian meal at Carmelo's in St. Paul. Feast your eyes on this:

Alex's Seafood Cannelloni - amazing.

Beth's Rosemary Chicken delight.

Seafood heaven - Carissa's scallop and crab fettuccine.

My treat, Carmelo's signature dish, Chicken Carmelo with crab, parmesan, cream and just good goodness.

Last but not least, Morgan's scrumptious pesto pasta.

And I can attest to the deliciousness of each of these, because when you go out under the guise of "food club" you get to try everyone's everything. Yum!

This was also a mini belated celebration for Carissa's birthday, complete with candle-lit tiramisu:

C's b-day treat

M chowing on a perfect chocolate cake ...

... with Beth's help.

Up next: Sea Salt Eatery. Suddenly, I'm starving again.

In 2010 I ... attended a Moustache-querade!

This post is definitely overdue, and I have no excuse for why something so memorable has yet to be jotted down. A couple weeks ago, the Books & Bars crowd celebrated Dan's birthday, moustache-style. First step: crafting the 'staches. As you can see, these were a complex blend of downloaded art expertly trimmed by moi and then adhered to cuticle sticks (courtesy of Ivy Spa Club):

Because ladies wear moustaches on sticks only. Hopefully.

Modeling my faux 'stache.

A few short hours later the Moustache-querade commenced at McKenzie's where I modeled several of my moustache varietals:

I also taught Jesse how to drink beer with a 'stache. Straw required.

With my birthday almost visible on the horizon, I got to thinking about possible themes too. Lawn games are lovely, and a bar gathering is fun, but I'm really beginning to lean toward party ball races (read: outdoor bar gathering with lawn games and racing with party balls - important distinctions). Currently accepting ideas, so help me plan a b-day celebration that can at least attempt to hold a candle to Dan's -querade!

In 2010 I ... started an Etsy shop

This is very exciting. I've been a HUGE Etsy fan for quite awhile. Purchasing art and gifts a lot. Envious of the gorgeous shops and handmade gifts. Wishing I was more creative like all the artisans out there.

And suddenly I had an idea that might be worthy of a shop. So I figured, why not? (Plus, it's a reason to bring the amazing vintage flashcards back again!)

So far there are just a few listings, but I have several more in the works. A sampling:








I hope that others will find these as fun as I do, but if not, prepare to receive one (or more) of these as gifts soon! Last, and most importantly, if you'd like to avoid being the recipient of one of the flashcard lovelies, share the shop link with someone who might just make a purchase.

In 2010 I ... revamped the patio

My dad can make/repair/install anything. I'm not exaggerating - this is just a known fact in our family. Plumbing, check. Electric, no problem. Construction, sure why not? So naturally when I decided I wanted to explore the possibility of adding a built-in bench to my patio, my dad was my on-call laborer of choice, and he kindly accepted the task.

I've been longing to do something to take best advantage of the unfinished half of my patio, and my dad assured me building this bench would be no big deal. Surprisingly, he was right. Here's the process in action:

My mom and I escaped to Common Roots for one hour and returned to this - a bench!

After a quickie paint job with whatever random paint was leftover in my storage unit.

Trimming down 2" thick foam so this now cushy bench would fit perfectly.

Summer comfort! A bench with a cushion and color.

The Breakdown:
Bench building supplies - $30 (with free labor)
Cushion foam - $55 (ugh, I know!)
IKEA Duvet turned cushion cover - $15 (including pillow case)

Total: $100

In my mind, $100 for a custom bench is completely reasonable. I guess I would have rather seen the materials cost $55 and the foam cost closer to $30, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter, does it?

My last tasks are to wash the pink rug, replace the white extension cord with a brown one (and secure it to the back wall) and find some storage baskets for added utility under the bench. I might grab a few additional throw pillows, as well. In the meantime, anyone up for a patio cocktail?

In 2010 I ... crafted at Paper Source

Oooh! I've been blogging long enough now (we're moving into the fifth month, folks) that I can bring up multiple shops mentioned in previous posts. Wow.

After our lovely visit to Paper Source earlier this year, my mom has been keeping an eye on the site and came across a Girls' Night craft-o-rama of sorts. So obviously I dragged along my crafty friend/class companion, Diana, on this paper haven journey. We whipped up 4 projects in about 2 hours, the results of which looked like this:

Paper flower, an envelope out of any paper, accordion book and note cards

It was a fun session (particularly due to the wine, cheese and fruit free-for-all) but I would have preferred to spend more time on one or two projects - things felt pretty rushed. Luckily there was plenty of shopping time and a 10% discount off anything in the store afterward!

Which was great because a few months earlier, at one of my many trips to Hunt & Gather, I snagged this vintage "w" stamp with plans to whip up a personalized something or other for my mom. So thanks to the vast array of materials at Paper Source, I grabbed cream note cards and craft-colored envelopes (20 of each for only $10 total!) and stamped away with a red ink pad (also just a few bucks at Target):

Practice round.

While this isn't exactly complicated crafting, I was really pleased with the slightly washed-out effect the stamp had on with the grain of the cardstock. I really didn't want these to look too perfect, but rather individually unique with small imperfections - it better suited the look of the cards and envelopes. (Unfortunately I forgot to snap a picture of the finished product, but I thought they came out well.)

I gifted the stamp along with the stationary set, so we'll just have to wait and see if Wendy crafts something of her own anytime soon.