Author: sarah

DIY 361: Organize Your Kitchen Into Zones

A few years back we visited a chef friend in Colorado. Tom makes his own pasta, bread, and grows a garden of herbs and greens. What really impressed us, though, was the organization of his kitchen. He schooled us on the finer points of “Proximity in the Kitchen.”  It goes like this:

Optimize efficiency in the kitchen:

  1. Sit in your kitchen for a few minutes making a list of the things you often prepare. (Mine is something like this: Coffee and toast in the a.m.; packing sandwiches for lunch; overall chop/prep for dinner; weekend baking.)
  2. Organize your kitchen into zones: The Breakfast Zone, the Baking Zone, The Prep Zone, etc.
  3. Pull everything out of the cabinets and place on the kitchen table (or floor) into groupings according to the Zones you have determined. Toaster and coffee machine; measuring cups, bowls, flower and sugars; knives and cutting boards, etc.
  4. Put everything back into the Zones. (Do not~yet~reshelve anything you haven’t used in a year or more. When you are done replacing all the things you use often, tuck the things you use less often in the harder-to-reach cabinets or give that stuff away!)

The Coffee Station


Group the grinder, coffee maker, cups, spoons, sugar bowl and creamer pitcher, coffee, tea, honey and anything else you use to make a delectable drink on a large tray and stash on a shelf or put on the counter for display. TIP: The tray makes clean up easy…just move the tray and wipe up a mess! (Mine coffee station is on a tray in a big cubby hole in a piece of furniture in the kitchen. It’s easy to access and looks good.)

The Baking Zone


Put all flour, sugars, baking soda/powders, chocolates, measuring cups, bowls and baking dishes into one cabinet above/below the largest work space. Since baking routinely takes the most space put everything you need within arm’s reach. (One friend of mine who is especially fond of baking converted an alcove near the kitchen into a baking station~go here to read her blog about it.)

“Sharps” Drawer, or “Sharps” Magnet


Tom has a wide selection of knives and has them off the counter and safely put away in a drawer near his chopping block. Now, I am short on counter space so I opted for a magnetic knife holder. (Those knife blocks are inefficient; they take up way too much room and don’t assist in the choosing of the proper knife.) A Sharps Drawer/Bar displays the blades for the perfect choice the first time.

Spice Drawer


Another must-have-for-efficiency is a spice drawer. Those carousels are messy and spices are hard to find. The top drawer directly adjacent the range is the place for spices. Line the drawer with non-skid mat to keep the little jars from scooting around. (Here’s one at Target.)

Handy Cooking Tray


On the counter next to the range-top put a pretty tray or plate with all the essentials: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, garlic press, and taster spoons. The tray or plate makes it easy to move and wipe up after making dinner.

Less steps = less time = greater efficiency = more fun in the kitchen!

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

DIY 362: Anti-inflammatory Smoothie with Cinnamon

This week I want to focus on getting back in shape~this includes eating better and getting myself psyched up to go to the gym. (Eating better is going to be waaaay easier.)

One of the easiest things to whip up~that makes me feel better instantly~is a smoothie my husband invented. I have read a lot about the benefits of yogurt, berries and cinnamon lately, and this yummy concoction has all three~and then some. Here’s the recipe:

Berry Smoothie with Cinnamon

1. In a blender put…

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1-2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries and strawberries
  • 1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
  • a pinch of cinnamon (upto a 1/4 teaspoon)
  • a little water to get the blender going
  • * for extra chill and crunch, add a few cubes of ice

2. Blend until smooth. Adjust to your tastes with more berries, yogurt, or cinnamon

3. Pour into your favorite pretty glasses and share!

We often ride bikes on the weekends and make this treat the minute we come in the door. Being cyclists we read the LiveStrong website where they’ve published more information about smoothies. Read up, drink down, and live well!

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

DIY 363: Organize and Hide Clutter

My husband plays guitar, and I love it. What I am not fond of is the messy-mess his this-and-thats make of the living room. Since I would never discourage his hobby by moving him into a back room (where~by the way~I couldn’t enjoy his renditions of AC/DC’s “Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”), I would rather contain his papers and small equipment in a neat package.

I literally measured the pile and went shopping. I found a box at a cute resale/antique shop in my neighborhood called Everything Goes. The box is so unassuming it sits right where the mess was before and looks great!

I hope you are having a wonderful Summer so far!

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

Organize and Hide a Mess in your Home:

  1. Limit to one subject per container. That way, picking up and keeping organized is quick and easy.
  2. Measure clutter to determine what size box. A flexible tape measure works best, but anything will do (even a piece of string!) And, be sure to tuck the measurements in your purse so you can refer to it at a moment’s notice while out and about.
  3. Find a box with handles. This helps when it’s time to move for dusting or to just get out of the way.
  4. Clutter contained. Ahhhh!

DIY 364: Frame Vintage Photograhs

My mom calls this a “Rogues Gallery.” I call it “a great place to put all those old photos dad off-loaded onto me a few years ago~citing me as the ‘family historian.'” I did some research on how best to handle these (admittingly cool) pics and found great information on the National Archives site. They go into great detail about how to preserve these little bites out of history.

Make your Own Rogues Gallery:

  1. Buy frames you love, or re-purpose ones that are laying around, and frame up family pictures, or any other grouping you want to see everyday.
  2. Lay out a grid: clear a table or a space on the floor and figure out how you want the grouping to look on the wall. ~Since I used all different sizes I couldn’t do a regular grid. I ran four columns (top to bottom) with parallel spaces between the 1st and 2nd and the 3rd and 4th. Check out the graphic below~a picture is worth a thousand words, right?
  3. Measure thrice, hammer once.

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

DIY Challenge: 365 days to a better life

The last six months have been the busiest of my life. Everything I have been doing has been outwardly focused. Which is to say a lot of fantastic opportunities have come my way, so my energy has been in the realms of discovery, catch-up and production.

A DIY Project A Day

Now that summer is here and the living is getting easier (or slower) I have the time to look around and check in with myself. Well, I decided my body, soul, home and garden need attention~so I am challenging myself to improve everything around me, one day at a time.

The following year of daily posts are DIY projects to make my personal space (and the spaces shared with my husband) healthier, happier, and better organized. I am determined to make life better! Here we go:

I started with a shelf in my living room where I collected things to remind me of my goals. I chose the living room since it is the center of my home and I wanted to start at the center of my life and work outward.

Make Your Own “Good Intentions” Shelf

  1. Choose a spot in your home you will see every day (It could be in the bedroom, kitchen, or even your bathroom.)
  2. Clear the space to the edges. Nothing goes in that space except your good intentions. If you don’t have a shelf, get a tray and pretty it up with your style.
  3. Start by placing your favorite thing in the center~be it a picture of your family, an inspirational word or phrase, or an “intention bowl” where you write down your intentions and place them inside.
  4. Begin to find the things that represent your goals and place them in this space. Don’t exceed the space! If you need more room, get a bigger shelf! This area is the center of your dreams, give it structure and focus by creating a boundary.
  5. Now dream, and dream BIG!

Until Tomorrow~Sarah

Victory Garden a Small Victory

Erik decided years ago he wanted to plant a veggie garden, but never had the time to invest. I have had run of the property with my flower beds, pots and xeriscape specimens for years, and finally this year he decided he wanted in on the fun.

The only patch of our yard left without something green growing in it (and with enough sun to make it usable) is the west side of the house, a 12×20 foot area. This was where we threw all the old lawn furniture, leftover construction materials, and empty flower pots. Luna the Chicken would roll around in the loose dirt on occasion just to take a bath. Other than that, it was pretty much the forgotten corner of the garden.

The first thing Erik did was to buy and read cover-to-cover The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible by Edward C. Smith. The first instruction was to dig down into the soil 6-10 inches then build a 12″ raised bed. With our hard soil, Erik had to go at it with a pick. It was not easy work. He ordered a few yards of sandy loam and filled his 6×14 foot raised bed. It was time to plant the seeds.

This was back in January. And while Phoenix weather is pretty much perfect that time of year we weren’t getting enough sun to grow the plants in a satisfactory time-frame. It’s now the end of May and finally we are enjoying my favorite of root vegetables, the Chioggia Beet. This tasty treat is sweet as sugar when roasted and absolutely superb when added to a salad.

This evening I wilted the greens and tossed them with the cooked beets and a dressing made with lemon zest and juice from our Meyer Lemon tree, as well as mint and parsley from the garden. It’s been a long five months waiting and watching these beauties grow, but it was worth it. The next crop should be ready in a few weeks. I can’t wait!

Cricut Cake cuts fondant for cupcakes. Cute!

I finally got my Cricut Cake in mail. It is so beautiful as to be a work of art! Now if my creations can be so cool.

Yesterday, I was intimidated on several fronts though, so I invited myself over to Cyndi’s to enlist her help and expertise. My trepidation mainly lies in baking the perfect cup cake, not so much the frosting of it. And, since I’ve never worked with fondant before, I was in need of a crash course.

Now, Cyndi is well versed in the machine after watching the Home Shopping Network’s launch of the Cricut Cake three times. They demonstrated how the machine can cut fondant, gum paste, cookie dough, even meat and cheese! The Cricut peeps made an entire party from the cricut—it was something!

I picked up 2 pounds of white fondant at Michael’s with the intension of using Cyndi’s extensive library if icing pigments to mix pretty colors. We tinted the frosting pink and made three fondants: teal, purple and magenta. I rolled out the teal onto a buttered cutting board then transferred it the cutting mat. Here’s a picture of it going into the cutter. We chose images off the “Indie Art” cartridge. I picked the 8 ball and Cyndi picked the skull and cross bones, of course. We found the trick to working with the fondant is to be sure it is chilled between steps.

Now that I have the hang of it I am going to whip out a cake—chocolate zucchini with zucchini from the garden—and use the “Freshly Picked” cartridge to decorate it.

Hmmm…I think I might put on a few pounds here.

Sewing vinyl fun and easy (bags and more bags)

I got lucky last month when my mom gave me her like-new Viking 500, preferring her 30-year-old Viking 6000. I have never owned my own sewing machine, preferring to beg and borrow from friends. I could never justify spending the hundreds or thousands of dollars they cost to buy since I wasn’t sewing everyday. Well how about that: when there’s one in the house, I end up sewing every day!

I began sewing with a vengeance a week ago when I got my hands on several pieces of vinyl. The stuff cuts like butter (love butter) and since it doesn’t fray I can leave a raw edge. The possibilities of a raw edge are endless, and I started by punching three holes in the side pocket of this bag I whipped out in an afternoon.

The inside I lined with ironing board cloth (the silver stuff) which makes it look all the more urban. There’s a pocket on the back side, too.

I am sewing coin purses as well, trying to figure out the best way to put in the zipper. Mom told me I started the hard way with zippers by going small, but I love a challenge and I am here to tell you putting a four inch zipper into these little bags has me scratching my head sometimes. No one seems to notice, but for me they aren’t perfect just yet.

I started selling them at Made (a super cute bungalow-turned-shop in downtown Phoenix), as well as my other little creations. Cyndi and I will be running a set of workshops at Made this summer. As soon as I have our schedule and the projects I’ll post the info.

Wacom Bamboo pad with Photoshop, Wow!

It’s incredible! My life has just opened into new possibilities… I have been using Photoshop for 20 years or so and never knew I could achieve lines like these…thanks to the Bamboo Craft pad and pen from Wacom. Thick to thin, light to dark, depending on pressure. I whipped out a quick graphic for Michelle to take with her on her trip to Australia where she’s running a Yudu screen printing workshop for Provo Craft. In the past I hit a blank sheet of paper with a marker, scanned it in, cleaned it up, etc, etc. What a time saver. I am getting used to the draw here, see results there, and I look forward to all the fast and fun things I’ll be making.

This design was set up to be printed on the Yudu screen printer. Michelle will have to separate the pink from the black and make 2 screens. I’ll run a demo using this design soon. Check back!