Anthropologie Calls for Help

When Justin and I were in Starbucks several weeks ago, I was perusing the flyers on the community bulletin board and came across this little number.

The poster is from Anthropologie and basically says that if you are interested in learning how they create their amazing window displays, you can attend a workshop creating their displays for the upcoming holiday season. I worked in retail for several years through high school and college and my first thought when I read this was "ha! they are trying to get free labor by calling their set-change a workshop, what a scam!" and then, as I sipped my venti nonfat chai latte, I thought "who cares if it's free labor! It'll be awesome—I want to go!" Unfortunately, the day I saw the poster was the day the workshop was being held and Justin and I already had plans, so it was a no-go this time. However, I will be frequenting that Starbucks again and I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for another session.

A few days later, my curiosity got the best of me and when I was in the area, I swung by the shop to check out the display. This time, the window seemed quite simple compared to what I've seen in the past, but it still looks like it would have been super fun to help set up.

What do you think? Would you be down for attending a display-making workshop even if it ultimately meant you were providing the retailer free labor?

Rethink Shipping Gifts

I have the misfortune that two of my best friends live 5+ hours away from me. For that reason, any gifts I want to give either of them, I have to ship. Generally I wrap the gift, put it in a box to send, and drop it in the mail, but this year I thought, why not wrap the box I'm shipping so they receive a pretty present, rather than some boring 'ol brown box. I knew if I used a thick paper such as recycled shopping bags, the wrapping would withstand the heavy handling by the post office—genius!

After securely packaging the gift in a sturdy box, I selected a silver shopping bag from my stash of used bags. (I knew they'd come in handy one day!)

Then I cut open the bag and laid it flat as if it was a sheet of wrapping paper.

I removed the handles with some gentle peeling and scissor snips.

And in no time, had a wrapped box in pretty silver paper!

But a wrapped box isn't a gift without a bow or ribbon, so I pulled out another pretty-paper shopping bag with a high-contrast yet complimentary color. I sure do love CB2!

To ensure the decor wouldn't be ruined during shipping, I had to create something that would lay flat against the surface of the box and completely cover it with tape, securing any corners or loose sides. When wrapping the gift, I also went over each edge with tape, sealing it from tears or water damage. Anything that is raised has the potential to be ripped off as the package is sent through the post office's mailing machine, so make sure you use a whole roll of tape on that sucker!

Although this particular package was going to my friend Heidi for her birthday, which was yesterday, and Christmas, I decided to stay in the holiday spirit, cutting a few snowflakes from the bright orange bag. I also trimmed out the white circles and added some dimension by layering the two elements. Pretty cute, yes?

I'm also pleased with how the gift for Dawn (the friend I went to London with) turned out as well.

Of course I wouldn't be posting this rethink if I wasn't positive it would run through the mail nicely. In fact, when I was standing in line I got tons of compliments and was even asked if it was my "original design." So, cheers Heidi and Dawn, keep your eyes peeled for these little babies in your mail boxes soon!

London Part 1

I can't believe it's already December 13 and I haven't even started sharing photos from my trip to London in—shock—September. Tsk tsk. (I hope no one's living vicariously through me because their life would definitely be a few months delayed!)

I traveled with my best friend, Dawn, who invited me to tag along on her business trip across the pond. Before leaving, we spent some time strategically planning our daily activities because Dawn has been there a few times before and "didn't want to do the museum thing," so I had to get my museum kicks during my solo-mio time. After putting in a full—cough—productive day at the office, I took the L up to O'Hare where Dawn and I joined forces (she flew from Des Moines) and settled in to our—cough again—comfy airline seats for the roughly eight hour flight (me in coach, she in first-class).

A delay landed us at Heathrow an hour or more late, and with an appointment to tour the Houses of Parliament that afternoon, we hustled our butts through customs and onto the Underground railway system for my very first time.

One thing I enjoyed about the tube were the tile mosaics identifying the stop and the easy to navigate signage system. (I sure hope the public transportation Justin and I encounter on our next trip are as clear!)

The one thing that still baffles me about the underground is actually how far into the ground you have to go. I swear the escalators are about 3 or more stories tall. Just looking at the picture below makes me dizzy.

Once we conquered the tube, we made our way on foot, through my first London rain shower, to the hotel, arriving to find our room wasn't ready—blast! Fortunately, we were able to leave our luggage with the bell men so we could make our appointment at Parliament. Although we arrived a tad late, the wonderful security guards escorted us in and let us catch up to our group. The tour was very informative, but being as that we had just got off an overnight flight, I don't remember much more than the basic structure of the British government and that the building was gorgeous. Check out this room where they hold ceremonies and meetings. I could have stared at that wood-beam ceiling for hours.

After the tour, we rushed back to our hotel, checked in, showered, and hustled back through the underground to see Deathtrap, a raved about play that had just opened a few days earlier.

The play was excellent and truly was a hit even though we both were exhausted, especially after splitting a bottle of wine! I think what "talked" me into seeing this show was the killer typography (pun intended).

After finding our way back to the hotel, we crashed into probably the most comfortable European bed I have ever slept on in the largest European hotel room I have ever seen.

Over the next few weeks I plan on sharing all my stories from this trip, but if you can't wait for the next post or are bored at work, check out my photos from this trip as well as several past trips on my flickr page.

Mineral oil rub down

Justin and I have been doing a lot of cooking lately and as we pulled out our large wood chopping block to slice up our homemade italian pizza the other night, I was embarrassed by its condition. Let's face it, the board isn't the best or the top of the line, heck it was only $10 at Ikea, but I do my best to care for our belongings so they last as long as possible. Though, I must have been slacking on this particular piece. As you can see, the wood is extremely light and there are some darker spots, which I assume is from food.

To maintain our block's swedish quality, I follow some "rules" each time we use it. First, we do not use this board for raw meat, completely eliminating the potential for bacteria to harbor in the wood. Second, we give it a good scrub by hand shortly after using so our food doesn't stain the wood, and then let it dry immediately. Do not let wood kitchen items soak in water as this can lead to water damage, allowing more places for bacteria. Last, I treat our board with mineral oil on a semi-regular basis (every couple months or so).

Treating your chopping block to a mineral oil rub down is similar to you going to a spa. The mineral oil locks in the natural moisture and prevents cracking and other forms of wearing out. It is my understanding to not use any other type of oil such as olive or canola because these turn rancid over time and make your board unsanitary.

When Linen's-N-Things was still around a few years ago, I picked up this very large bottle of oil for less than $10. Each new wood tool we purchase for our kitchen gets an initial mild-soap wash and mineral oil rub down. As you can see in the above picture, we haven't even come close to using half the bottle—a little goes a long way.

After scrubbing and washing off the homemade pizza sauce from our board, I let it dry overnight. Then I treated our chopping block to a nice mineral oil massage. I'm not sure if each bottle has the same directions, but I put a small amount of oil in a bowl and warmed it up for 5–10 seconds in the micro. Then I used a soft rag to soak up some oil and rubbed it into the board. I have never applied the oil directly to the board because I fear really dark oil spots, but I'm sure if you follow the instructions on your bottle you'll be fine.

The last step in the application is to let the board rest for a while to allow the oil to fully soak in.

If you are treating one wood tool and have other wood cutting boards, bowls, spoons, or serving utensils you might as well fix them all up at the same time, or at least until you have used the warmed-up oil. Waste not, want not!

Empty office

After leaving you in suspense over our hoarder-esque office last week, I'm back to share evidence that we, in fact, do have a floor in there.

It took us a few days to unload everything, but having a clean slate to work with was so worth the effort and time.

I think when most people are completely redecorating a room they tend to sort through their belongings as they remove them from the space. I'm the opposite. As we start to put everything back in our office, I plan to go through and pare down. There's nothing worse than getting rid of a ton of stuff and then realizing you could have used that large leftover finial as a bookend.

So, now who's ready to see some color on those walls? I sure am. Stay tuned for more progress next week, it's going to be a doosie!

PS: If anyone has photography tips on how to reduce the graininess in my images, shoot me an email. I'm getting desperate!