diy Christmas bunting frame

hello!

In my halloween pumpkin post I mentioned a little bit about a potential new house my hubby and I were looking to move into. Well, after deals, inspections, some surprises from the inspection, more dealing, and eventually an acceptance, it is official;  we are moving into, and renovating a new home in about a months time (and not to mention I'll be having the baby in two months!)

Talk about a crazy whirlwind of events this winter!

Needless to say, I will not be setting up our Christmas tree (which really bums me out because I was totally hoping to be one of those crazies on the street that have it up November 1st). Instead, we'll be packing everything up.

So, to get my little fix of Christmas decorating before I pack everything away, I thought I'd share a little project I did using an old frame I found at a Goodwill, spray painted, and left to sit empty for about 2 years (and considering our hectic schedule in the next while, this saying might be needed every once in awhile!)

Using a lot of materials I already had on hand (including glittery letters from my wedding, and fabric from some project I didn't get around to doing), I started by measuring (which in my case meant 'eyein' it), and cutting out pieces of fabric.

Then I snipped one of them like so:

and used it as a general guide for the rest of the pieces... (I'm sure you could measure each of them out to get them exact - I wasn't as patient, so I just layered them and drew a dot for the point)

Next, which was probably the most painstaking part of all, was I measured out lengths of ribbon that would hold the bunting, made knots at the ends (to prevent them from falling off and me having to fish them through), and I curled the flat edges over and sewed them loosely in place.

This took the longest, but I didn't want to glue the flaps down and have it seep through the fabric.

The final product (yup, I'm not a seamstress!):

After they were all nicely sewn, I got some Tacky glue, and began glueing my letters in place.

When the glue dried, I carefully laid the frame face-down over a blanket on the floor, and stapled the ribbon in place (I used a heavy duty staple gun, as my frame was a hardwood).

When it was finished, I just adjusted the pieces of fabric to make it all fit in the frame (as you can see all is 'tight', not just 'bright' ;)

Now, with a little bit of Christmassy embellishments (and once again getting my holiday fix for the month of November):

The silver letters can be harder to see against the beige, but I love the way they pop off the fabric. 

I also added a wire in the back (a la staple gun) to see what it would look like hung.

It's alright on the wall as well (hm... maybe I need to buy tall candles to grace that empty space!), but that tight-'bright' is really bothersome!

Either way, this project set me back about $5! Not bad, yes?

what do you think? Up high or down low?

Well, I look forward to vicariously living through your holiday decorating as I bask in cardboard boxes and packing tape!

xo,

thai coconut chicken + mushroom soup

I've had my share of good food in my lifetime, but this soup I'm about share is one of those dishes that makes your palate stop in their tracks, and do a double-take (at least mine did). Whenever I make this, it instantly becomes my hubby & my go-to lunch, dinner, and occasional breakfast. Seriously, that picture does not do it justice!

I got this recipe from this amazing food blog, which was originally from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, but I thought I'd share it with you here as well :)

Now, just a warning that some of the ingredients might only be found at some of the not-so-ghetto-grocery stores (I found lemongrass after driving to three different places, and eventually found it at Loblaws). Just save your sanity and go to a place that would carry some of the more 'exotic' ingredients. :)

Here's what you'll need:

1 tsp vegetable oil
3 lemongrass stalks, tripped to bottom 6 inches, halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
3 large shallots, chopped
8 sprigs fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp fish sauce, divided
4 cups chicken broth
2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk
1 Tbsp sugar
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced 1/4 thick
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/8 inch-thick pieces
3 Tbsp lime juice (2 limes)
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
Cooked Jasmine rice, for serving

Here's what you'll do:

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the lemongrass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 Tbsp fish sauce. Cook and stir until shallots are just softened, 2-5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and 1 can of coconut milk and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Pour through a large mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard solids.

Rinse out the pot then return the broth mixture to the pot. Stir the remaining can of coconut milk into the pot, then add the sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and add the mushrooms. Cook just until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 Tbsp fish sauce. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the lime juice mixture. Serve immediately over the rice.

Happy Sunday! :)