an easter basket for the fur child ...

*** this post was sponsored by kroger. all opinions are 100% my own. ***

since eleanor joined the gang back in january, ms hattie our english bulldog graciously accepted her new role playing 2nd fiddle. so when kroger approached me with the challenge to create an easter basket for a loved one exclusively from items purchased at their store - i decided to spoil our pup with an easter basket of her own. after all, hattie is much more excited about goodies than our little one at this stage.




this was also a great opportunity to visit the new kroger marketplace®! along with the huge variety of the fresh food i've come to expect from my neighborhood kroger, the kroger marketplace® is a one-stop shop for everything else for your home - including home decor, linens, small appliances and more. and when it came to items for hattie's easter basket - it did not disappoint. i filled her basket with pup essentials:

- a little lamb doll (with sewn on features as a safe choice) + bunny ears from the easter selection
- a rubber ball from their amazing selection of pet toys
- a water bottle wrapped in a sock from the $1 bins (which of course is her favorite from the basket!)
- from their home goods section, i picked up a jar to fill with homemade dog treats!

... and even a little gift for me - a lint brush!

kroger has a great big natural section loaded with the gluten free products that we love as well! when we adopted hattie a year ago, we weren't entirely familiar with the bulldog breed. we knew they were super squishy, loud snoring, crazy loyal lovebugs. but we didn't realize that they are also one of the most unhealthy breeds. you can help with their allergies and breathing issues by keeping them on a gluten free diet. so yes - in this household even our dog is gluten free!

here's a super easy recipe for gluten free dog treats:

• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4c natural peanut butter*
• 1/2c bacon, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4c gluten-free oat flour*
• 1/3 cup gluten-free oats*

* peanut butter is a good source of protein + it contains healthy fats, vitamin b, niacin and vitamin e. and oats are a great source of fiber which is especially beneficial as your dog ages. 




preheat oven to 300º F.

1. combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients (except the bacon) separately. then mix the wet with the dry ingredients. finally fold in the bacon bits. 
2. transfer the dough to wax paper. if the dough is sticky, use additional oat flour. roll the dough to a 1/4" thickness and use cookie cutters to shape each treat. transfer the the treats to a non-stick baking sheet. 
3. bake the treats for 35 minutes until golden brown. allow them to cool at room temperature before storing them for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. 

you might not be able to tell - but the treats are hattie approved! she's pretty excited about the basket as a whole! :)



of course kroger has everything you need to fill up an easter basket for your human counterparts too! for more easter basket ideas including great DIY easter projects - check out the kroger pinterest board and their Facebook page.

{nesting} a dresser for baby

i think i've finally entered the nesting stage of this pregnancy. which is a good thing bc we need to get busy! luckily i'm entering it early enough that i can still work around the bump!

over the weekend we finally finished all the messy work in the nursery! super soon wade plans to post about this project! we have to cut and nail up a couple of pieces for the footboard + then paint! maybe this weekend!?! :) life w/o access to 1/5 of the house due to this dirty dirty fireplace excavation has been rough! and worst of all was sanding down the drywall and spackle. good golly - even our closed kitchen cabinets were fair game for dust. :-/

sunday following my first prenatal yoga class (so fun - nashville mommies-to-be check out kali yuga yoga for their next 6 week prenatal session) ... wade and i got in there and CLEANED. we mopped the floor 4x and washed down the walls and all the window and door frames and the chandelier. we still need to wipe down the brick of the fireplace before we seal it. i really should have taken a before and after of the cleaning process alone.

cleaning somehow motivated us though! wade spent the rest of the afternoon reorganizing the pantry. a job well done - and well overdue (could he be nesting too?). and i decided to start painting furniture for the nursery.

wade had this old yellow dresser which needed an update. 

to tell you the truth - it's a pretty rough piece - exposed nails, broken corners. but i think that's part of the charm! i approached him about painting the dresser thinking he might be sensitive bc it was his childhood dresser. turns out he has no idea where it came from. "probably some garage sale find by my mom." you mean - i could have painted it years ago?!

2 coats of annie sloan chalk paint in graphite later ... and i love it!

yes - black (well graphite) in the nursery. you won't believe the color we're painting the walls also! ;-) ... now to find the right knobs.

i think our nursery style has morphed into "french amish farm". haha! are there amish living in france?  *** time for a little google knowledge: the last old order amish settlement in europe (germany to be exact) ceased to exist in 1937 when it merged w/ a local mennonite congregation. there are a number of beachy amish congregations due to missionary outreach (beachy amish = more progressive allowing electricity in the home + automobiles & telephones).

this weekend i hope to start painting the crib and the twin bed that will be in the room! AND i need to start working on christmas gifts. 75 days until christmas. 100 days until baby! hopefully this energy streak will continue!

oh baby: a little diy action

my mom is coming to town!!! dad too. the boys are going to be crazy busy (and dirty) uncovering the brick wall in the nursery. and mom and i are going to garage sale/thrift shop + diy like nobody's business!

so of course - i've been brainstorming some inspiration:

1. dye-dipped tassel garland. yes please. inspired by the minimalist.

2. adorable stacked animals. inspired by japanese designer happa do.

3. pretty lavender words - i'm thinking "rest". inspired by this nursery on house & home.

4. a few happy clouds! inspired by this nursery on the animal print shop. 

(do you see those dipped stools and the tree branch clothes rack as well. triple swoon!)

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ...

despite our crazy holiday schedule (oh - and packing to move!), we took some time off this past weekend to hang out w/ photographer alissa saylor. we are so blessed to have talented friends.

as excited as we are to have our very first home - i have to admit it's a little bittersweet packing up our apartment. we have so many memories of our first 2 years of marriage here - and we will definitely miss mornings in our little kitchen. not to mention i nearly cried telling our wonderful neighbor jerry (and his kitty lily) that we were moving out. *enter watery eyes again* ... we were so very thankful that alissa could capture pictures of us at both our brand new home & at our current apartment.

i especially love w/ the pictures of us decorating cookies --- a vickroy family tradition that we will someday pass along to our kiddos.

per wade's usual, he makes one, eats one. :) which yes - means all our of christmas cookies have already been consumed. an excuse to make more!?! (can i find time - and get this house packed!?!)

head on over to alissa saylor photography to see more of our pictures & more of her amazing work!

ps - here's my gfree sugar cookie recipe! definitely the yummiest gfree sugar cookies - and to be honest ... we like the better than the glutinous ones we ate before we realized my allergy. these are sooo delicious bc of the oat flour! and this time i substituted almond extract for vanilla. let's all say it together ... yum!

thurs-DIY: merit badge stationery

i try to make at least 1 gift for wade each year on his birthday. so this year along w/ his usual "old soul" birthday gifts: renewed membership to cheekwood botanical gardens, a copy of annie dillard's pilgrim at tinker creek & this amazing 8-cup coffee maker ... i decided to make him a new set of stationery.

first - you must know - i mentioned my snobbery over sewing vs no sew glue the other day ... well wade is a bit of a snob when it comes to stationery. we all have our quirks. HE ONLY USES CRANE & CO! for this set of stationery, i used crane & co's pearl white folded note - a box of 20 clean kid finish® note cards with matching envelopes.

i also used speedball's stamp making kit! this was my first adventure in stamp making - thanks to the encouragement of pottery friend amy - and i will admit i'm completely hooked!

1 // make your stamps!

a) i designed basic merit badge shapes in illustrator.
b) i traced them w/ a piece of tracing paper and pencil.
c) i used the side of my fingernail to transfer the traced illustration to the rubber carving block.
d) the kit includes a wooden handle and 2 tips: a cutter and a gouge tip. i also used my exacto to carefully cut out my shapes.

CUSTOM STAMPS, y'all!

2 // roll out a teeny tiny dot of block print ink w/ your speedball rubber brayer. the ol "just a dot, not a lot" totally applies here. then roll your brayer carefully over your stamp! and go to town!

i absolutely love how they turned out! and wade was pretty stoked too. he favors the little trees and the tents - while i absolutely love the other 2. we might just have to share! 

happy stamping! :)

tues-diy: camp pennant party favors

camp isn't official w/o a camp pennant, right!?! so i decided to make each individual camp their own vintage-inspired camp pennant to mark their territory!

 

here's how i did it:

1 // i cheated and used illustrator to layout each name. a) i set up a file for a 17.5" by 5.5" pennant. b) i created the tents and a "name box" to determine the fit of the name. c) i hid the "name box" and typed out the name in my preferred font. d) i placed the typed name under the "name box" and un-hid it. then using envelope distort, illustrator automatically made each name fit the pennant.

i simplified the printing/cutting process by expanding the object & fill on each word and creating a separate illustrator file with the letters tightly packed together. each name was a different color to avoid confusion. 

that's a lot of illustrator-speak. want a copy of the pdf? email me here.

2 // i pinned and cut each name out. thankfully the olympics were the perfect distraction from this task! i also cut my pennants out of a heavy green felt. and my little tents out of gold and tan felt.

 
3 // i've never used liquid stitch before (i've always considered it cheating. yes i'm a sewing snob at times), but it was essential for this project. there was no way i was going to stitch each letter and tent on 30-something pennants!

4 // another quick fix! i used my cutting board to cut 1" x 6" strips of fabric. for each pennant i needed 1 strip for the front and 4 strips for the ties (2 sets of 2). i pinned and sewed these in place.

yes - i was a bit too ambitious. but aren't they cute?

a few instagram captures from our campers:

{credit: a. newell, j. wagner, k, pardue & r. willard via instagram}

a little outdoor lighting DIY

one disadvantage to apartment living is the lack of a yard. especially for wade. poor guy. he's eager to help our friends work in their yards/gardens to make up for it.

i'm not complaining - we love our little apartment. we're way up in the trees - and our kitchen is almost entirely surrounded by windows. and w/ a quick trip to the hardware store - we now have a fantastic outdoor addition.

say hello to our updated front porch:

we used 8ft deck railing painted white to blend our terrace lighting into the current decking. with 6 screw hooks (3 at the top of the deck railing & 3 along the eave) & hanging lights the ones w/ built in roof hooks, this project was a snap!

and she will be loved. extra space is well appreciated when you live in a 3 room 500-something sq foot apartment!

my goal was to surprise wade w/ this little DIY while he worked the morning of the 4th of july! then i planned to set up a little picnic for us to enjoy! unfortunately, i didn't have the muscle to attach the railings to the old fence myself. even with the electrical drill. (see wade - I NEED YOU!) and the weather wasn't on board w/ my little plan either. i can't complain - we've needed rain!

so we moved our little picnic inside:

now to thrift more comfortable and more "me" porch furniture! :)

{yum} blackstone signature salad

i am absolutely in love w/ the signature salad at blackstone brewery. to me ... a salad is a salad. greens, nuts, dressing and maybe some dried fruit. BUT what sets the signature salad apart from all other salads? not 1 but 2 warm almond crusted goat cheese rounds. salivating yet?

in an effort to save a little cash ... i decided to create my own version of the signature salad (oh a gfree - since there's isn't!):

ingredients:
* goat cheese (i bought the original chavrie log)
* finely chopped almonds
* olive oil
* baby greens
* toasted almonds
* dried cherries
* raspberry vinaigrette

prep your space: you'll need 1 small plate for the chopped almonds & 1 small plate to put finished rounds.

slice off about 1/3" of goat cheese and roll it in your hands to create a little patty.
roll the patty in the chopped almonds until it is evenly coated w/ almonds on each side.

heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
sauté the rounds for about a minute and a half. flip to warm the other side. careful not to let them melt!

the perfect little signature salad:

baby greens
toasted almonds
dried cherries
raspberry vinaigrette
and ... yummy almond crusted goat cheese rounds!

tues-DIY: pinwheel magnets

finally, i found free time this weekend to finish a couple projects! first, a super easy one.

i'm loving pinwheel's right now (remember my pinwheel necklace DIY). so of course i find these pinwheel push pins from anthropologie absolutely adorable:

however - because i don't have a cork board, here's a little DIY to make pinwheel magnets:

supplies:

* several different scrap pieces of fabric
* needle and thread
* piece of poster board (for a pattern)
* a piece of felt
* self-adhesive magnets
* tacky glue
* scissors

1 // trace a bowl or lid onto the poster board to create a pattern. the pattern needs to be twice as wide as your intended yo-yo plus 1/2" for seam allowances. my finished yo-yos are 2" wide - so i traced a lid that was 4 1/2" across.

2 // trace your pattern on the wrong side of your fabric and cut out your circle.

3 // with the right side of the fabric facing down, fold in the edge of your circle about 1/4". starting w/ the wrong side facing toward you, stitch close to the folded edge around the circumference of the circle (overlapping your first stitch).

you can vary the size of your yo-yo center by varying your stitch length. shorter stitches create a more open center while longer stitches make for a tighter center. i used a longer stitch.

4 // pull the thread carefully until the edges gather in the center. then tie a knot and clip the excess. you can tuck the knot and the excess into the center hole. flatten the yo-yo so that the center hole is centered on top.

now to make magnets:

5 // cut a circle out of your felt that is a little smaller than your finished y0-yos. cut your self-adhesive magnet to fit and attach it to the felt circle.

6 // with tacky glue, attach the felt to the back of the yo-yo.

if you want to create push pins: push the point of your pin through the felt. then add glue to the side of the felt with the top of the pushpin (not the point). glue your felt circle to the back of the yo-yo.

voila!! go yo-yo crazy!

want your yo-yos to look exactly like the anthropologie push pins? string 3 beads and stitch them to the center of your yo-yo before adding the felt to the back.