So Unique!

This has to be one of the coolest chairs I have ever seen.  Unfortunately, it has already been sold.  =(

{via MidCentury Mobler}

Lemon Blueberry Bread

We stopped by Arizmendi Bakery on the way back from the pediatrician's office yesterday and they had Lemon Blackberry Bread as a special.  Inspired...I decided to use some meyer lemons from my tree and the blueberries I snagged at Trader Joe's a few days ago to make something similar.

Lemon Blueberry Bread


Ingredients
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup white sugar (If you like things on the sweeter side, go with 1 cup)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions 
1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.  

2)  In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk.  Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.  

3)  Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Friday Wishlist - Washi Tape Walls

{via Poppytalk}

Beautiful and fun, isn't it?  Check out the post on Poppytalk for more information about this partnership between a Japanese washi tape company and a wallpaper company.

The Adventures of Baby CP

For those of you who want to stay on top of the comings and goings of our new family member, check out the new blog The Adventures of Baby CP.

More Uses For Lemons

I haven't posted any lemon recipes recently.  I've mainly been making lemonade with the lemons I've been picking since Baby CP takes up so much of my time.  I saw this posting on the many household uses for lemons on Apartment Therapy today though and thought I'd share.

Some Saturday Cuteness

It's a beautiful Saturday and little CP just went down for a nap...thought I would share some cute Etsy finds with you all...

Needle Felted Owl by FeltJar

Peach Snail Amigurumi by CuteWorkshop

Folk Miniature Wood Town by Says The Tree

Pudgy Snowbird by BubbleTime

Our BedRoom is Finally Painted!

Since my last day of work, which coincidentally was also Mr. CP's last day of school, we were very busy working on the house and running errands.  Some tasks were in preparation for the baby, like taking the hospital tour, writing up a birth plan and setting up diaper service, while others were things we just wanted to get done because we knew we would be too sleep deprived to tackle them after the baby arrived.

Below for your viewing enjoyment are some before and after photos of our bedroom.  We still have to finish the room the baby will eventually sleep in, but I figured if we at least mostly finished our room, we'd have some place for all of us to sleep for at least a few months before we move the baby into his permanent digs.

The room started out with relatively cheerful yellow walls and an off white ceiling.  There were a number of cracks in the walls, that I decided to repair with some spackle and joint tape (and some help from my brother).

Close up of a plaster crack

First layer of joint compound

Third layer of spackle (courtesy of my brother). It was a lot of work!

We decided to go with a no VOC primer and paint for a number of reasons, mainly since I was pregnant and at home for most of the day after I stopped working and because the baby would be moving in so soon.  It's also good to reduce the future off-gassing in the house in general.

And here is the painted room...For colors, we choose a soothing light gray and a Benjamin Moore shade called snow white for the ceiling and mouldings.  We purchased our paint at Ecohaus here in San Francisco.  They used the Yolo brand base and tinted it with the Mythic and Benjamin Moore shades that we had chosen.  The job definitely required two coats for the ceiling and the walls, though I suspect that many or all no-VOC paints require a double coat, because they are less pigmented than conventional paints.

We still have to install baseboards eventually, but that's a project for another time. We did manage to find a close match to the moulding that we removed at a place in Millbrae called The Moulding Company.  The staff there was helpful and we'll probably order from them when we're ready.  We are also planning to replace all of the doors, so we didn't bother to paint them for now.