sit, stay, good dog.

Do your kids beg you for a dog? Now you can give it to em! This very cool Italian Puppy is available at CB2. They suggest he can be a sculpture, a foot stool, or even a kiddy chair! What a cool way to bring a little humor into a room.

Urban Baby

While searching around etsy for new and cool things, I came across these Rockin' Blocks Graffiti ABC Blocks, by beebles. Seriously, your kid is bound to be cool if this is what they are playing with as an infant!

Soup....

I have become a big fan of homemade soup recently, especially if it's fairly easy to make and I can cook it in the crock pot!
This is my husband's favorite soup/stew that I make (even my almost three year old eats it!)

Beef and Barley Soup/Stew

Ingredients:
1 package stew beef (1/2 lb or more depending on how much meat you like in your soup)
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot (or more if you love carrots)
1 package portobello mushrooms, washed and cut/broken into pieces (keep em kinda big)
1 bottle/can beer (darker beers taste better)
4 cups beef broth
1 tbs dried oregano
1 bay leaf
3/4 pearl barley (rinsed)

Directions:

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the barley to crock pot/slow cooker, cook on low 8-12 hours. The longer you let it cook, the better it will taste (and it will make your house smell delicious!) Approx. an hour and a half before you are ready to eat, add the barley, stir, and turn crock pot to high, and put the lid back on.

Voila, dinner is done, don't forget to take the bay leaf out!

This is just as good (if not better) the next day, but may need some water added since the barley will continue to absorb liquid after you've finished cooking.

Recycle your Prints

A while ago, I talked about a project I am going to be doing with my friend S*. Inspired by a picture in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, we are planning to paint a mural on a very large canvas to hang in her kitchen.
I realized after we purchased all the supplies necessary to complete her project that maybe I ought to give it a try myself, before we officially do it for her kitchen (wouldn't want to make a total idiot of myself). So, lacking the time to actually get to an art supply store, I took a look around my place and decided I could re-use a print we bought forever ago but no longer like.
So here it is:

Doggie Love

I'd like to introduce you to the little furry guy in my life. This is Kenmore. As you can see from the photo's, he's a big fan of the couch, and a mostly lazy life that includes begging for snacks and sleeping the middle of the day.

Cherry Blossoms

Spring is almost here! The most noticeable sign of spring in the DC area is the Cherry Blossoms. I've just noticed the first few trees covered in these beautiful blooms, and am really looking forward to when everything looks like the picture above. In fact, I think we may even make it to the Cherry Blossom Festival this year. It happens to fall on Easter weekend, that seems incredibly appropriate somehow. Here's to warm breezes, flowers, and the beginning of flip-flop season!

Mike's

Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world. I spent two of my four years of college there, met my husband there, and learned all about living in the city (no easy feat for a girl from the Pennsylvania countryside). I would happily move back to Boston on a second's notice and spend the rest of my life there. Something about it's small scale and almost European charm make it totally different from every other city in the US. One of the coolest parts of Boston is the North End, the old Italian neighborhood right by the water. There are amazing little Italian restaurants, coffee/espresso shops, specialty food stores, and best of all, Mike's.
Mike's is a pastry shop on Hanover Street right in the heart of the North End that has become famous for their incredible pastry's. Every time we go back to Boston we try and make it into Mike's for some treats, my favorites are the Amaretto cookies, the cannolies, and the marzipan. I learned recently that you can order from Mike's online! What a wonderful thing the internet is :)

Poor Man's Sceen Printing...

Ok, so I have LONG wanted to be able to screen print. Alas, my tiny condo's available space for storing, or using screen printing paraphernalia is nil. So, in my search for alternative ways to get bold clean images onto fabric I came across this tutorial for using Freezer Paper to create stencils.
I am dying to try it as soon as I can get the requisite freezer paper! Has any one else tried this?

Texture

I stumbled upon these amazing clay wall tiles at elementclaystudio. I can just imagine them along a hallway, or giving some texture to usually quiet space like a dining room.

Steppin' Out

I've always had a thing for baby shoes, and socks. Sadly, my little girl is too big for Trumpette's line of super cute socks and shoes, but these awesome little slip- ons are sure to start other little fashionista's on the right path.

Happy Birthday CowGirl...

I've had a lot
of custom requests recently
at Brittain Road.
Here's a new one
for two sisters in Florida
who are going to have
a cowgirl party.

Home Improvement...

Last week, my friend S* sent me a link to this picture from the most recent Pottery Barn Kid's catalog. She's lovin' the numbers painted on the wall behind the bookcase, and we are planning to see if we can duplicate it for her kitchen! I'm so excited to work on this, and it has gotten me in the mind set to do all kinds of cool (and happily inexpensive) painted projects around our little condo. It also made me realize how cool everyday things like numbers and letters are if they are styled just right. I'm even thinking I may start making mobile's for nursery/kids rooms with numbers and ABC's and sell them in my shop. When we get started on our project I'll be sure to take pictures and post em here.

at the beach

If you live on the east coast, you'll know that we had some unexpectedly beautiful weather this weekend that promises remain for at least part of this week. Friday night, my lovely husband suggested that we take advantage of this bizarre weather in March and head to the beach! So, Saturday morning,we packed up and drove 3 hours to Virginia Beach. We had a blast. My Two year old is now totally crazy about the beach, so is the dog :)

life on etsy

I spend a lot of my time online at etsy.com, truemost of it is spent
checking out my own shop and editing listings and writing to customers, but I also love to window shop
and see some of the cool things other people make. These are
a couple of my current favorites...

I love sock animals, a little
bit cheeky, a little mischievous,
and still totally sweet and innocent,
this cute little guys is from the storeyshop.





I'm also totally obsessed at the
moment with the wall graphics, I
have yet to order one, but I love
this one by ellynelly.

Hello...

Well...Hello there!

How are you? Welcome to my life, a little bit about motherhood, toddlerhood, life in the city, my work on etsy and elsewhere, and lots about great design I encounter everyday.

Know about something great that you want to share with the world?
send me an email at brittainroad@gmail.com