Lemme just be honest with you: cooking is not really my thang. Because when I'm hungry, I like to eat. Like, that very moment. So playing around with the cutting and the chopping and the measuring spoons (where I have to stop and think "wait, what does TBSP mean again?!") isn't my idea of a good time. Naw, I'm more into the eat-a-bowl-of-cereal-and-move-on scene.
Howevers, there's this dude that lives in my house who seems to enjoy a hot cooked meal now and then. I don't know why. I blame his makin'-food-from-scratch mother.
For that reason, I force myself to cook at least two giant meals a week. What we don't eat, that aforementioned dude and I freeze into lunch-sized portions and dinner-sized meals. A coupla years ago, we stopped eating meat (well, he did. I can't seem to give up sushi which is kinda like food-crack so it's not my fault) which means I gotta be creative with the meal planning. Because, as much as we've tried, one cannot survive on Butter Noodles alone.
Now, not all vegetarian recipes are created equally. Some taste like, well, boiled down celery stalks and gym socks. With a TBSP of wheat germ. So when you come across a good one, you wanna keep it. For that reason, I recently started jotting down my fave recipes. I settled on this sweet little recipe box a buddy had given me to house my new recipes in.
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| Like, super cute, right? And while I totes love anything vintage, there was something about this that I just didn't love. So I decided to give it a fresh coat of paint. |
But here's the deal: I wanted to keep the carved lettering of the box the original wood grain color. To make that happen, I used a little paint roller and simply rolled over the front of the box. This (for the most part) prevented the paint from completely covering the designs. And, done.
For the recipe cards, I decided to use the postcards I'd purchased from Anthro. I scored 'em at their 1/2 off the sale price sale (which is like Christmas only better because you don't have to be around family to score the goods) and I used a stash of vinyl stickers I found in my craft stash for the labels.
Yes, one of those recipes is for Krispy Kreme Donuts. Vegetarian Meal of Choice, yo.
By the way, I learned how to not cook by one of the best non-cookers I know, my crazy mama! This is a super rare photo of us for a coupla reasons: 1. We're in the kitchen (I think we got lost); 2. Mom's holding a cookbook (definitely a photo prop as this book looks like it's never been opened); 3. We're smiling. Which isn't unusual. Unless we're cooking. In which case we're usually cursing and calling each other names. And then ordering pizza.
And now my recipe box has a home! But, let's be honest, the only reason I'm showing you this cupboard is so you can look on in jealousy at my newly acquired ceramic bird house collection. Drooling yet? Again, that Anthro sale was nutz, ya'll! Got each house for about $20 each. I love 'em so.
If you were in my kitchen right now, you'd find dishes in my sink, an overweight cat tiptoeing on the counter scouring for scraps and this new painting hanging above the window!
I got this really cool, super long frame years ago and promptly painted it black and added this flower. It hung in our bedroom for a while but recently decided that I wanted it for a new sign in the kitchen. So, before I could change my mind (cuz I really did like that flower!), I repainted it black and started planning my new sign.
I measured the length of the sign, divided that by the number of letters in the word "Tennessee" and scoured the interwebs for a fun and funky retro font. I settled on this and began sketching our my lettering. Each letter was then cut out and traced into place on the black panel with a white colored pencil.
(This is how our dining room table always looks. And no, that's not an ashtray. I'm not allowed to smoke in the house.)
Now I was gonna paint each letter outline...until I had flash backs of this and this lettering experience and decided that I was being ridiculously cray-cray. So I dropped by the craft store and picked up a couple of those white paint pens and just traced my pencil lines. WHAT?! So super easy, ya'll.
Now, I gotta admit, I'm still not certain that this is complete. The letters seem a little...empty? I don't think I wanna fill 'em in necssarily...but maybe just add a little design on the inside? A buddy of mine who has far better taste than me (which, honestly, wouldn't take much) said to leave it. Whatcha'll (translation: "What Do You All") think? Ideas? Thoughts? TBSP of Wheat Germ?
Alright, my friends. That's all I got. Now, unless you plan on doin' those dishes, ya'll best get outta my kitchen!
