Sunday Southern Days

Flaps is testing out the new chair I'm half way through recovering. He seems to approve. Or he wants me to create an oil painting of him. I'm not 100% on that last part.

This past Saturday, we took advantage of our season tickets to the Blackhawks and caught Game 5 of the 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are some shots from the night: Started the night with giant bucket of roasted oysters. I only have one shucking wound to show for it. Poulos Sandwich with a Gooey Poulos Filling These 5 will always have my 7-year-old heart Sam's Cousin, Costa, joined us for the night's activities Hawks Win! Stopped over at Saddle Up for Celebratory Drinks!

So easy to create a casserole from ingredients on hand: From bottom, layer: 1/2 c Tomato Sauce 1 c Sliced Mushrooms 1 1/2 c frozen Tri-Color Peppers 1/2 c Tomato Sauce 1 layer Frozen Ravioli Top with 1 c Tomato Sauce and 2/3 c Shredded Mozzarella Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes to get the cheese a golden brown. So easy, you'll feel like you cheated at making dinner.

How many glass jars have you tossed at the end of your candles even though in your crafty heart of hearts, you know there should be a way to keep and reuse that lovely jar. Well here you go. Photo tutorial of how to get the last of the wax out to reuse the jar for your next project. Starting Jar Bring 3 or so cups of water to boil Pour the boiling water into the candle jar all the way to to the top. Be careful, as the glass will be very hot. Filling to the top is important because as the wax begins to melt, it will float to the top of the water. Give it a little time (10-15 minutes) and the wax will magically begin to melt and float to the top.  15 minutes later, all of the wax had floated to the top of the jar. Allow to cool, and pop out the wax (I let it cool for about 2 hours total before I popped out the wax). Finished product! I removed the label and wiped off the residual stickiness with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.

The Captain and I were doing a little shopping in Downtown Aurora and he led me through a shortcut down an alley, and we stumbled upon this awesomeness. On the back side of this building was a tall metal wall with the words "Elite Restaurant" hanging in coordinated metal letters. The Elite was my father-in-law's first restaurant he opened after immigrating from Greece. It was a sandwich counter in Downtown that he had until he opened in the early 60s the Highway Lounge on New York Street in the late 60s. While the Elite is long gone, it was so cool to see the sign still hanging today. We shot this image, blew it up, and framed it for my in-laws to have in their home.

While The Captain was at the Chicago Blackhawks game the other night, I took a trip downtown to enjoy a Chicago spring night. Here is a shot near Water Tower Place, lit up at night, with beautiful white tulips. I stopped over at Wow Bao in Water Tiwer Place, one of my favorite Asian bun shops. I grabbed an Asian BBQ and an Edamame as enjoyed them on a park bench in gorgeous evening weather. If you've come to Chicago, what's your favorite thing to do/see/eat in the city?

Found these letters at Anthropologie, but seriously. $98 a letter. Love them and wanted to give them as a gift to a friend, but $400 for a little gift is all of a sudden no little gift. You guess right. We hack. Here is how this week's project kicked off: 1) 4 letters (I used "B", "A", "B", and "Y" to spell Baby -- you can do this with any letters ($2.49/letter at Hobby Lobby) 2) Gold Krylon Spray Paint (I used the "shortcuts" line of mini canisters - only $2.99/can at Hobby Lobby) Yep, just two ingredients. The Gameplan: I cut open a brown paper bag to give us a base for spray-painting the letters. Of course, always use a well-ventilated area for spray-painting. I applied a total of 6 coats of spray paint to the letters, allowing them to dry for about 30 minutes between coats. Using the metallic spray paint, the more coats I applied, the more it was "uneven" in places, allowing fo

Good morning, campers! Mom was visiting and we made the obligatory stop down in Greektown for Kokyva supplies (Kokyva is a Greek Orthodox wheat-based dessert made for funeral and memorial services; my mom makes the best), as a little Greek grocery shopping. I had to grab a paper box of Amita peach juice. It's the best.

Today's project: Summer Burlap Wreath for my front door. Materials: 1 pool noodle ($1 at the Dollar Tree) Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint (already had this in the cabinet, originally paid $5.99) Scotch Tape Scissors 22 Gauge Floral Wire ($1.99 at Jo-Ann Fabrics) 1 Yard Burlap Fabric ($3.99/yard) Duct Tape Photo Tutorial: Starting materials Duct tape the pool noodle closed into a circle Slice the burlap into 3" strips. I ended up cutting around 10 strips to completed the wreath. Starting off -- used a little scotch tape to hold the first piece of burlap in place. Overlap the burlap as you wrap. I used a small piece of scotch tape when starting a new piece of burlap, then covered the tape with the burlap as I wrapped. Completed the wrapping job. Holding the last piece of burlap in place with a piece of scotch tape. Close-up of the wrapping job. I pulled a few long strands our of the leftover burlap and braided them to make a s

A little family history lesson tonight. My great-grandmother, Paraskevi, with my grandmother, Carolyn, (l) and her older sister, Eva. My dad's parents, Nick and Carolyn, on their wedding day, March 1951. The Captain's maternal grandparents, Evyenia and Thanasi, with their children (l-r) Dina, Niko, and Toula (my mother-in-law). Photo taken in Greece around 1959. Mystery photo in a pile of family photos. Details to come as they unfold about our mystery man. No question though -- he is Greek. My great grandfather in Massachusetts, 1939. My father-in-law, Sam, around 1959. My dad's grandparents, Theodore and Paraskevi, with their children (l-r), Helen, Nick (my grandfather), and Alex. The Captain's parents, Sam and Toula, on their wedding day, June 1969.