Doodling on Glass Canisters a quick and easy DIY

One morning, back in October last year, I opened my pantry and a moth flew out.  I thought it strange, but didn't worry about it until a few days later, when I was killing time reading my local discussion forum and one of the titles read: "help: pantry moth infestation."  P A N I C! Did I have an infestation I did not know about?....It turns out I didn't, but I did google "pantry month" and realized that moths could enter your pantry, feed on anything that is not fully and properly sealed, lay eggs and create and infestation pretty quick.  Also, this apparently is a result of very warm summers and leaving back doors open.  So basically my open oatmeal or flour packages were a moth feast just waiting to happen.

Needless to say I went on a pantry cleaning spree, taking everything out and throwing out every opened box.  I guess the moth I found had probably just entered the pantry and I caught it just in time.  But in any case I got enough glass containers to put all of my pantry staples to avoid any chances with infestations.

The glass canisters were  just plain, transparent glass with silver colored lids.  They looked good enough for a simple pantry glass container, but I thought it would be an added benefit to "beautify" them into differentiation (flour or powdered sugar?) so I took a fine tip over-projector marker and started doodling.  It literally took me all of 5 minutes, and it brought me back to my high school days when I spent lots of time doodling in the back of my notebooks.

My idea of beautifying the plain canisters .......a moth. 
Simple, efficient, and DIY were you can put your personal stamp on!


And by the way, when you want to change the content of the glass canisters, just clean the doodles with water or rubbing alcohol

Plated Dinners: The Experience

I have been wanting to try Plated dinners for a while now and today I got my first trial box.  Just in case you don't know Plated, they are a company that provides customers with weekly menus and ingredients portioned for an easy cooking experience.  All dinners are supposed to take 30-40 minutes and customers are able to choose the type of menus they want to receive.  It's not a cheap option for a family of 5 (as every plate costs $10) but it is a great alternative for young working couples who don't have much time for grocery shopping before dinner but still enjoy the idea of having a homemade meal at the end of the day.

Well, I'm not single, or working full time, but I still LOVED the experience!  I guess that is part of what this is all about... a whole experience which starts when you first get the box delivered home.  When you open in it you see a world of culinary possibilities! With beautiful recipe cards and all fresh, organic ingredients to make healthy, tasty, and beautiful looking dishes.   It just makes you want to keep buying their menus on a weekly basis.

 

Although for me this will not happen,  I have to say that my first experience has been great!  The recipe I made today was Vietnamese Beef Pho and the taste was very pure.  All ingredients were fresh, rightly portioned, the meal took about 40 minutes to be ready and the recipe was easy to follow.
My husband and I really enjoyed it. 

Look at the pictures, do you see what I mean?

Treasure finding: Vintage Marx and Guntherz (Carslbad )Tea cups

Treasure finding in second hand stores or garage sales is one of my favorite things.  I really got into it while living in Belgium.

Many expats, English speaking families and thus my own lived in the town of Waterloo (close to Brussels).  Famous for the Battle of Waterloo, ABBA's hit single, and most recently, for its Antiques' Market that happens every other Sunday at the Carrefour (Walmart-type French super store) parking lot on the road to Braine L'Alleud.  It is a HUGE market and very popular with tourist and Antique collectors throughout Europe.  

So when I moved to NJ, I thought I was bidding goodbye to my treasure searching days but I'm glad I was wrong.  In this area, northern New Jersey, during Spring and Summer, there are so many garage sales on the weekends that you can make it a whole day out sort of thing.  Also, on average there are four Estate Sales per month throughout the year mostly from homes that are close to a million dollars.  However I have yet to attend a Estate Sale, I guess I don't feel the need when I can shop from my local SWAP facebook page.  Seriously, it is very easy to get addicted to it.  There are always great deals.  So it is here where I got these beautiful vintage stamped and numbered, pastel colored set of 7 tea cups and saucers from Marx and Guntherz Carslbad.  And the best part is that I only paid $20 for the whole set

Well, I don't know much about them except that this specific type was made between 1895 an 1919 in Germany.  And somehow that is all I need to know.  Maybe its because the lack of information lets my imagination take over and I can see rich beautiful women at Hightea somewhere in England.

Maybe too much Downtown Abby ;)

My new Nikon D3200

...finally arrived!
I am still playing with it whenever I have a chance although with 3 kids under 5, and no school yesterday or today, it's been a little challenging to find the time.

I was able to get a good 10 minutes ;) after lunch when the kids sat to watch some Octonauts and my little one sat quietly next to me so I decided to photograph my beautiful vintage Marx and Gutherz tea cups and saucers set.

Have a look at a couple of the pictures, I love these cups!(most on these cups coming up later this week)

 

And we are back....

...After a long break. 

Many new things to add, first my sister and me are not at opposite sides of the pond anymore so I guess we might have to change the name.....I moved to New Jersey, Yay!  
Other big news, I had a baby in Sep. 2014 and my sister had two girls,  one in 2013 and the other in 2014.

Lets see how things go, but we hope to keep adding some of the things that have kept us busy during these time.  Lots of delicious and healthy recipes, organization projects, creative decoration and wall art.  A lot of it is related to the kids but a lot is also just for the moms.

I just order a new camera so as soon as I can start taking some good pictures, I will start posting again...  Fingers crossed is here by the weekend, cant wait!