Frugal Style

First of all, you should know that  Mandi has an awesome apartment.  Andimay, we loved the neighborhood.  So cute and so walkable!  I would love to learn more about the area and some of the old buildings.  Probably a great history!  Also, I really am impressed by how much space you have for a city apartment and I think you've done a great job at finding furniture that's comfortable and "you."

So, yes, the walls are bare, but you'll find the perfect things soon enough.  Bare walls will always beat the hell out of soulless Target "art." As promised, I'm posting a few pictures of some of our decorations that we've done for super cheap.  By super cheap, I mean big coupons at Michael's for the frames.  The fabrics are ones that I had laying around.  You are welcome to my fabric stash, but you can also get your own for less than $8 per yard.

So, let's have a quick little tour, shall we?

You've probably seen this fabric before.  

This hangs above our bed.  We hung it there in the old apartment because there was so much wall space above the bed and we couldn't afford any big paintings or prints.  In our new apartment we still have a lot of wall space above the bed, but here we have the added headache of a cable jack positioned about two feet above our headboard.  My "art" solves that dilemma too.  I sewed together 5 in squares of various fabrics into rows and sewed those rows together.  Iron and then you're set.  Pretty simple. 

Our newest wall hangings are in the living room, where we've been completely stymied on decorating.  

I'm not sure if these will stick around forever, but at least they add some color to the wall.  Again, cheap frames made cheaper by a coupon at Michaels.  The fabrics are the same ones I used to make the pillow cases.

As for the Steelers decorations, well, they were cheap too, but they won't be sticking around too long.

Wholesome Oat Muffins

Ok, I want to play along!
Kyle and I are constantly searching for breakfasts and lunches that are easy and healthy and keep us from giving all of our money to various coffee shops. For a long time I was making these muffins every Sunday but then I got out of the habit. This weekend I'm reviving the tradition and sharing the recipe here.



Wholesome Oat Muffins (adapted from The South Beach Diet book)
1 cup milk (I always use skim)
1 tbs lemon juice
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaping cup fruit (blueberries, strawberries, etc. Fresh or frozen)

Combine milk and lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in oats and let sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper baking cups.
In large bowl, beat egg. Add brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and stir. Gently stir in remaining ingredients. Don't overmix of the muffins will be tough.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Enjoy!!

Rainy Saturday Morning

It's dreary and rainy here today and so I'm allowing myself to have an old school Saturday, complete with cheesy movies.

image stolen from Amazon.com

Of course this made me think of you girls.  I think it's time that I admit that my heart must have grown three sizes or so in the last five years since we graduated, because I'm finally ready to admit that it actually is a great movie and I may or may not have gotten a little teary at the end.  Sorry it only took me a few years to figure it out.

Filling Up (Other) Walls

I have found a few things for my office.  Love this new painting I bought from a fellow G'burger!

While the view is nice, it's just so gross and gray this time of year.  Please feel free to send some of your massive snow piles here.

PS:  I should definitely work on the photography skills...

Filling Up the Walls

Tom and I have collected tons of photos and prints and inexpensive art over the years.  Six months ago, we were living in an apartment that had completely run out of wall space because of this collection, and my office was also filled.  Six months later, we're living in a new apartment and I have a new office.  Somehow, the walls are practically bare in both places.

I've gotten really sick of looking at blank walls, especially in my office.  One wall is almost entirely windows and the view is terrific, but the other three walls are very, very beige.  It's awful.  I've started trying to find new decorations for the office.  Somehow, I stumbled on this poster, which I really like:

Created by Ork Posters (they also have a Boston version!)

It arrived a few days ago, and I think it's perfect.  Unfortunately (for my office), it was snatched up for apartment use before it even made it to the office.  Oh well, I'll find something else for that blank wall.

Lunch Stand-By

I'm a very exciting girl.  I eat the same thing pretty much every day for lunch.  Fortunately, it's pretty healthy...and a hell of a lot cheaper than going out every day!

I'm also a generous girl, so I thought I'd share my recipe ;)

[Lacking a Cute Name] Granola

(adapted from a NY Times recipe, which I stole from Ryan)

What I really like about this granola is that it's made with olive oil, which gives it good flavor and better nutritional standing than most other recipes I've seen. 

Inspire Me

I know you ladies probably think this is cheesy and I know that I very well may be the first person to stop posting, but I think it'd be very fun to read about what you ladies are up to.  Molly, reading that you were sharing recipes with Andrea is what inspired this, actually.  I'd love to see your recipes!  Erica, we will totally start our own quilting bee, but maybe we can also drag these guys in with us?  Mandi, I'm always interested in your book recommendations.  Plus, with a new apartment to decorate, I would love to see your choices!