DIY Chevron Rug

While sifting through all of the creativity on Pinterest this morning, I was suddenly bug-eyed looking at a DIY gray and white flawless chevron rug. I immediately traced the rug back to its origin, a photographer and blogger named Hayley Anderson. She takes beautiful photos and loves DIY projects. I love her already.  

I plan to begin this project on my own very soon but for the time being I couldn’t wait to share! The complete tutorial can be found on her blog at: Hayley Photography

Finished product!

Homemade Strawberry Preserves

As a child, my mother and I would go strawberry picking every June in search of picture perfect, plump, juicy strawberries. I considered myself a pro by age 7. This expertise was created from my first gut-wrenching experience in the strawberry fields. I was young and did not understand the difference between quality and quantity, so I was in a hurry to merely fill my basket. I did this, much faster than my mother, proudly smiling and running up to her to show off my overflowing basket. In one of the most memorable moments of my childhood, my mother proceeded to look at my basket, make a terribly disappointed face, and dump all of my berries onto the ground. As tears began swelling up in my eyes and laughter began surfacing on her face, she quickly reiterated that these strawberries were for our special project and only the good ones would do. Reluctantly, I looked down at my pile of mushy, moldy, deformed looking berries and started cracking up laughing right along with my mother.

Present day: I decided to take on our special project without my ma’s help this year, in order to prove I can do it. In previous years, we had always used some type of pectin to ensure our jelly was the right texture. But this year, my boyfriend suggested we try the natural route, sans pectin. This involves a bit more work and plenty of patience but it is truly worth it in the end!

Tutorial

Strawberry Preserves (without pectin)

Ingredients:

Freshly picked strawberries (the recipe is adaptable to any amount) generally, 1 qt. of strawberries= 3 8oz. jars of jelly

1 cup of sugar (per cup of smashed strawberries)

½ Tbsp. of lemon juice (per cup of smashed strawberries) optional

*Leave stem on strawberries until using them to keep in flavor.

Step 1: Wash and cut stems from each strawberry.

Step 2: Mash strawberries into chunks, be sure to keep juice from strawberries as you smash. This can be done with numerous kitchen utensils, including a fork. I do not recommend buying anything special unless you prefer your jelly without seeds.

Step 3: Place mashed strawberry chunks and juice into a large pot. Add sugar to pot of strawberries. Mix and set sugar and strawberries aside for at least a few hours. Upon return, boil for at least 5 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid sugar burning on the bottom.

Step 4: After about 5 minutes on a full boil, use a sieve to remove chunks of strawberries, leaving only the juice in the pot to thicken and become syrup-like. Add lemon juice to pot. STIR OFTEN until desired thickness is achieved.

*A test to see if syrup is ready is to spoon out a teaspoon of it and put it on a side plate in the freezer for about 5 minutes. If syrup is thick and wrinkles after running a finger over it, it’s ready.

Step 5: Return strawberries to pot and boil on high for another 5 minutes.

Step 6: Canning: Place jelly in hot jars using a large funnel for least amount of clean up. Leave ½ inch of space on top for sealing. Wipe jars clean before placing on lids and rings (loosely). Place in boiling hot water for 10 minutes to seal. Put on drying rack to cool. Remove rings to prevent rusting. Enjoy!

** This became such a hit with family & friends, I decided to put it in my Etsy shop. Follow the link on the right if you're interested!

Bonnaroo 2011

From the free Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream- Bonnaroo Buzz, to the dust covered streets, campsites, people, and concert areas, the Bonnaroo experience is nothing short of electrifying. For those of you who may not know what Bonnaroo is, please take a moment to turn off the “Top 20” pop radio station, currently regurgitating the same Justin Beiber songs, and check out the most eclectic grouping of real musicians to play at the same venue. The Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival celebrated their 10 year anniversary this past weekend with 125 bands performing over the course of 4 days on multiple stages to a sold out crowd of 80,000. Plenty of hype surrounded bands such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Eminem, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, My Morning Jacket, and Florence & The Machine, which are all well deserved, but the true joy of the festival for me came from the unknown acts who remained favorites  overshadowing the headliners nightly. The bands, who just a few years ago were passing out cd’s to anyone to who would take them, begging for a listen, and now are playing scene stealing tents with up to 50,000 in attendance.

I have to quickly mention the people at this event. Being from Youngstown (and growing up with an overwhelming amount of depressing people expressing continuous, pointless anger), I was shocked by the consistent friendly nature of each individual in such a large group of people. Instant connections and relationships were built over the love of the current band playing, comedy show set, or bottle of water being sprayed into the crowd. It was breathtaking to watch people from all over the continent coming together with the same goal in mind, appreciating good music. My naivety does not overlook the fact that multiple “party favors” were in circulation at the ‘Roo, maybe a coping mechanism, or just another way to take in the music, and to that I say, not my cup of tea but to each their own.  

The conditions and amenities definitely left something to be desired on the camping front but it is a small price to pay for the amount of music, culture, and individual growth gained each day. I will be the first to admit that at the close of day 1, I was not sure I could go on without booking a room at the nearest hotel. It is not easy dealing with camping conditions in extreme heat, little shade; 10 mile daily walks to and from your destinations, and dust clogging your lungs with each breath. It takes a true music lover to go there, overcome the conditions, and embrace the surroundings. The self-awareness alone could kill a person’s ego in minutes. It is by far the most challenging experience I have entered into to date, and the result: the most gratifying learning experience I could have ever wished for.

Smiling from ear to ear walking under the arches for the first time.

Close quarters sharing the largest section of shade at the farm.

Grace Potter killed this performance!

Florence & The Machine overflowed crowds extending beyond Centeroo.

Roo'ers stealing a moment to themselves during the days festivities.