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.