Who Wants Sweet Potato Chips?

February is a short month. You blink and it's gone. You turn your back and then suddenly it's the 27th and you've only written one blog post this month. Blerg!

(Yes, I've been watching a lot of 30 Rock lately. And yes, I suppose that time could have been spent blogging).

February has not been an inspiring month for me. It was cold. It snowed. It snowed again. I slept through my Saturday morning yoga class at least twice. And I'm in major need of Daylight Savings giving me an extra hour or two of sunlight each day.

So with that I give you this photo that I wasn't even going to show you anyway because, well, look at it. A blown-out photo of burnt, homemade sweet potato chips. I was so excited to use the mandolin slicer I got for Christmas to finally get a consistent, thin cut on these little disks, but clearly I've got some practicing to do. Though for the most part, I did still enjoy the sweet and salty tang of these crunchy circles.

Sweet Potato Chips

1 sweet potato (I didn't peel mine, but you may want to)
2 tsp vegetable oil (olive oil might also add nice flavor)
Salt to taste (I used a coarse variety)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Slice the sweet potato into 1/8-inch thick pieces (this may take some practice - a food processor may help). Lay them spaced apart on a baking sheet or two lightly coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until they begin to brown, probably around 15 minutes (but I'd keep an eye on them, as you can see from my crisped edges).

Happy weekend :)

No more paint chips!

PHEW.

*flop*

(The sound of me landing on my bed after FINALLY having cleaned up my room enough to show it to you all.)

You wanted those paint chips off my wall (well, okay, I guess that was mostly me), and you got them off my wall, readers! I now have a freshly-painted Tiffany blue room. And a MASSIVE desk from Ikea. And hence a new angle for my daily(ish) photos, at right.

As you'll be able to tell from the photos below, the room is still a design work in progress. I'm planning on getting some new pillow shams to complete the clean white and tan look, and then throw in some poppy red accents. Sounds odd, I know, but it's actually my favorite color combination - see inspiration here and here. My mother doesn't get it.

So far, I'm loving the transformation. I've been craving a sleeker space that has a relaxed tone to it, and the business end of my life was in desperate need of HUGE DESK and much fewer stuffed animals. Although, if you look close, not all of little Lauren has left this room. And I guess that's fine. She was, in fact, pretty cute.

Ta da! I was unsure about the black and white chair cover (which is a dining room chair, by the way) at first - too cliche, I thought. But its added interest to the room is growing on me. Also check out the GINORMOUS desk. Trust me, it's big. Too large for the space really, but I love it.

Lime and aqua and lavender pillowcases soon-to-be out, bed skirt soon-to-be in. Also maybe these shams from West Elm. And, if it weren't so expensive, this rug, featured in last month's Real Simple.

The closet will probably soon be covered with a white curtain with large, brushed chrome-like grommets. For, now I don't mind the idea of using my dresses and blouses as wearable art in my decor.

My jewelry has become art as well, it seems. Find a like-version of the necklace on the right here. The other? Craft fair.

A perhaps too-close-up view into my daily life, but I'm loving the opportunity to display my espresso cup from Nannini in Siena. And, of course, my Mac, my baby.

The trim on my bookcase got some fresh paint as well. Baby pictures and Harry Potter books were spared from the purge.

Carved this in wood shop (yes, wood shop) in middle school. You just can't throw away craftsmanship like that, you just can't.

Radiating Engergetic Florals and Sandalwood No More

So last night - or rather, very early this morning, I suppose - I wrote a lovely post for you all. It was about how my room has recently been repainted (remember that resolution? Ta da! Or, well, it will be "ta da" for all of you once I clean up enough to get photos posted), and how much of a process it was taking the room apart and putting it back together again. Actually, the process is still going on, as about 50% of stuff is still lying (laying?) in an burdenous pile on my sister's floor.

I have acquired a lot of crap over the years.

I wrote one of those awful, nostalgic posts about the memories and time-traveling feelings all of the items in my room held for me, including such gems as "With a spray of an aging bottle of Tommy Girl it was like 10th grade washed all over me again," and "My stomach knotted at the thought of my 8th grade English teacher who I majorly crushed on and still occasionally think about in, erm, adult ways."

AHEM. Anyway.

Then Blogger crashed on me and with a click of "publish now" my post was gone. Which explains this cheapened post you're all reading now. But, actually, I think that's okay. No one needs to read a post about how many photos of friends turned frenemies I have or how many Field Day participation medals I've acquired. No one needs to know "how far I've come."

With my cool teal walls and my big white desk and bookshelf full of books and not toys, I'm feeling more adult (even if being adult means staring at your e-mail all day long waiting for any news, ANY NEWS AT ALL.). And the Tommy Girl is in the trash.

Featured Crafter: KimArt

Earlier this week, I frequented a college-town Starbucks. Like other Starbucks near universities I've found myself at in the past, some local student-done art was featured on the walls. I took note of one artist, KimArt (as she goes by), who had some colorful paintings I admired. Smartly, she also features and sells her work on Etsy. Remarkably, I remembered to look for the shop when I returned home that evening, and was I ever delighted! Not only does Kim sell her paintings and paper crafts, but she also makes these really lovely headbands and hair clips. She crafts all of the flowers herself! SO much more unique than a sparkly applique simply hot-glued on a black band (seriously, as my headband-connoisseur sister recently figured out, many of these crafters all use the same easy-to-find designs and mega-markup the price).

Love this sunny clip, too:

*this is not a sponsored post

Things to Do in 2010

1. Learn to knit. (Because aren't these so colorful and pretty?)
2. Run a 5K. (I was about to type "half marathon," but let's be serious.)
3. Improve my yoga practice.
4. Add more interviews and insider-y finds to this blog (I know, I've been talking about this all along).
5. Eat out less, buy locally and cook in more. (I mean, geeze, I have all these books).
6. Craft a necklace I'd like to wear. At least one.
7. Visit and buy something (perhaps for my crafty necklace) from M&J Trimming.
8. Grow a little herb garden.
9. Build the desk I bought from Ikea and paint my room (Hopefully soon! Note the eternal paint chips).
10. Make at least one new real and true friend.
11. Keep in touch with someone I don't see very often at least once a month.
12. Wake up by 9 AM on the weekends (Or, okay, at least most weekends).
13. Take books out of the library (They're free!).
14. Go ice skating.
15. Travel to a new state (International travel will, alas, not likely be within the budget this year. Unless I throw in the towel on this whole job-hunt thing altogether and go to Australia).
16. Take more photographs to show you all!
17. Give up the sugar (and especially the Splenda) in my coffee. (Thanks for the inspiration, Finslippy!)
18. Host a party.
19. Pitch and write something again. Lately, my creative energies have been directed in a more practical way (if you count checking job boards every hour practical - damn! I wasn't going to mention getting a job on this positive post!).
20. Dance more. Definitely dance more.

I think that sounds doable.





(Image via Ralph Hockens)