DIY – In Good Taste

Six Household DIY Projects I’ll Probably Never Do

Maris Callahan — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 19:06:47 +0000

This month, Brad and I moved from our respective homes into the rear apartment in a big, beautiful old house in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Before this, I lived in a convertible studio in a downtown high rise (translation: beautiful apartment, minimal space) and Brad in a smaller apartment in a different big beautiful old house with his roommate of the better part of the last decade. Suffice to say, we have more space than we do stuff, so we don’t know what to do with a lot of the extra square footage. What we do know, is that both of us are filled with grandiose DIY ideas for how we’d like to fill said space. I love to buy pretty things and Brad loves woodworking and is excited about all of the different projects we’ve been scheming. It’s pretty much perfect. The thing is, we have some limitations. And I’m going to be blunt here: I’m one of those limitations. My creative ability and vision is decent, but my executional abilities are, well, lacking. As we’ve been crawling every corner of the web to look for ideas and inspiration, I keep finding things that, well, we’ll just never do. Now, I know, […]

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Four Festive Spring Centerpieces

Maris Callahan — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:43:52 +0000

If you’re like me and still have some of your Christmas decorations on display (I like to think of glittery snowflakes and gold ornaments as winter decor) then you’re probably feeling very ready for a spring refresh. One easy place to start is by replacing the centerpiece on your dining table, kitchen table or if you have one, kitchen center island. We rounded up a few of our favorite spring centerpiece ideas from around the web. The best thing about DIY home decor is that you can change it seasonally and not worry about spending a million dollars every fall, winter, spring and summer. Yellow & White Spring Centerpiece Mimic this bright and cheerful idea from Yellow Bliss Road by dividing a bundle of yellow and white tulips between three mason jars. Give your floral arrangements some rustic spring flair by creating doily-wrapped spring vases from the jars. It’s super easy to make, you simply dab a tiny bit of hot glue on the doily and attach it to the jar. Wrap it with brown twine for a rustic look or you favorite color ribbon to complement the flowers. Easy breezy. We love how this blogger alternated the flowers with bright, fresh lemons. Lemons have long been […]

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How-To: Homemade Simple Syrup

Maris Callahan — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 05:04:31 +0000

Once you master making homemade simple syrup, you’ve officially crossed the threshold of adulthood. It means that you’re longer a college student that will use just about any liquid beverage as an alcohol mixer, including Jell-O. To make simple syrup is to up your cocktail game exponentially, from average to elegant. If you’re not a frequent drinker, it’s also a perfect ingredient to have on hand for homemade fresh basil lemonade, sweet tea or iced coffee. In short, simple syrup lives up to it’s name: simple to make, simple to use. It might not improve any other areas of your adult life, but it will certainly impress your grown-up drinking buddies. Simple syrup, by definition, is a sweet, thick liquid made of two ingredients: sugar and water. What sets it apart from its humble components is that it dissolves completely in beverages that require sweetener. To make homemade simple syrup, combine one part sugar and one part water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves (which it should in just enough time to pour yourself a glass of wine). Once you can’t see any sugar in the solution, take the saucepan off the heat and cool […]

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