Recipe Rave: Cucumber Avocado Summer Rolls

Okay, I'm obsessed with these. Came across this

William Sonoma recipe via Pinterest and knew I had to give them a try. So so so worth it. So fresh and yummy tasting.  Oh, and working with the rice paper was way easier than I anticipated, so don't be scuuurrrred.

ps-kudos to my local stop & shop for carrying the rice paper wraps. very international of them.

DIY Lemon Sugar Scrub

I found this recipe for DIY moisturizing lemon sugar scrub on Good Life Eats and we love it. While she calls it a kitchen scrub, I've found it most useful left in the upstairs bathroom so we can use it right before going to bed and let the olive oil do its moisturizing overnight.

On My Radar

My MIL, knowing that I have a thing for lavender, got me Lavender Laundry Soap from Glendarragh Lavender Farm in Maine. I can't wait to wash my sheets in it! (Fresh clean sheets are already The Best, aren't they? This is going to take it to a new level.)

And here are some other random things on my mind:

...Houzz.com, a new source of home improvement inspiration pics

...the dirty dozen & clean fifteen of produce

...have you heard about the nastiness of imported shrimp? we are now making a concerted effort to buy domestic shrimp only.

...i think this piggy bank is awesome!

...everything you ever really needed to know about personal finance on the back of 5 business cards

...Pinterest, i love you.

...one of my favorite food blogs, Annie's Eats. (imagine my surprise when, after following her blog for about 6 months, I discover that she's also had Hodgkin's Lymphoma and has been in remission for 7 years...)

...a friend just introduced me to Doodle.com. genius!

DIY Furniture Makeover: Changing Table

When we were working on setting up the nursery, we knew that we wanted to refinish a dresser ourselves to use as a changing table. We kept looking and looking on Craigslist, and also hit a few estate sales with absolutely no luck.

Then I saw THIS post on Censational Girl and realized that we had almost the same exact Chippendale-style dresser in the house, sitting unused. We just needed to see an example to see its potential. Not only was it awesome to be able to repurpose something we already had, but the bonus was that it is a quality piece...solid cherry with dovetailed drawers.

I didn't get around to taking a "Before" shot, but as I mentioned, it was nearly identical to CG's, so here's her "Before":

We sanded, primed, and painted it a soft grey color called Cumulus Cloud. We also swapped out the original pulls for some polished nickel bin pulls from Van Dyke's. As a final touch, Steven stenciled on some playful circles in white & 2 shades of green that complement the wall color.

The circles (I think of them as "bubbles" for some reason...) are also on the top and sides, in addition to the front drawers.

We're really pleased with the final product and definitely make use of the extra storage!

Ciao!

~LT