Month : March 2012

All House

rapper’s delight

Page and I had long planned on putting a cool quote in the front entry to greet guests coming through the front door. We also liked that it would be in a spot we, ourselves, would pass by each day. But to be placed center stage, the quote had to be a really good one; nothing cliche, and nothing we’d get bored with quickly. Page originally joked that we should put up a Notorious B.I.G. quote…he was totally kidding. (For anyone not familiar, B.I.G. was a progressive and well-respected rap artist who was killed in the late ’90s.)

After narrowing down the list of phrases that would fit this space, I stumbled upon this site – every day, the author of this blog posts a song lyric submitted by a reader. I combed through the archives for any last contenders for the space and couldn’t believe it when of ALL artists, the lyric that resonated with me most was this one…and it was by none other than Mr. Smalls, himself. I love the words because they encompass so much of how Page and I try to live our lives, but even more because of the source – totally unexpected and quirky to have rap on your suburban wall. 🙂

I worked with a fabulous Etsy artistan to bring this to life. I had seen her amazing wall decals before and contacted her about designing this one myself and paying her to print it for me. Danielle is super nice to work with and I am so impressed with the quality of her products. Because of the uber-thin font I chose for this one, I had to be very patient and meticulous (a stretch for me – it took me over a half hour to get it all applied!) but in the end, I think it’s the thin font that gives it the perfect amount of blending and standing out, all at once. It looks black in photos but is actually the dark charcoal color – perfect on top of our light grey walls. I knew I had to contend with the light switch on the left side of the wall, so I right-justified the font to avoid the switch altogether. I love the way it lines up with the edge of the wall coming around the corner. I initially thought I’d make this much bigger, but something was telling me to restrain a bit and not go too scary-big. I also originally laid the quote out with all of the punctuation, including putting the last line in quotation marks, but decided it was too distracting. In the end, I’m so happy I went with my gut on those two things – always helpful to lay something out, then walk away for a bit and re-visit it later with a fresh set of eyes.

I think Page was floored that I actually got on board with using lines from a hip hop song, but if I’ve learned anything while pulling our first home together, it’s to take some risks…and this one totally paid off!

All House

Meal Planner Free Printable

Meal Planner Free Printable | 29thandDelight.com
When it comes to meal planning in our house, I have the best of intentions.

Some nights, dinners are better thought out, and some consist of, “There’s a packet of ramen in the pantry, help yourself!” No matter the complexity of the meal, they all require ingredients, which requires the occasional trek to the grocery store. I am a HUGE fan of going to the store with a list…not so much because I stick to it, but because I can ensure I’m not making any more trips than I have to for forgotten items.

In the past, I’ve tried some super-organized grocery list pads. But for me, I don’t need my grocery list to just help me during my store visit, I want it to help me all week long so I can remember what I bought, and for which recipe, so I’m not at home three days later wondering what I bought the can of pineapple chunks for. (I finally remembered…it was for a stir fry.)

Meal Planner Free Printable | 29thandDelight.com

It’s no rocket science, but if you plan your list like I do (by meals and not by store zones), it will hopefully make your life a teensy bit easier…

Meal Planning Printable | www.29thanddelight.comI print this out and use it to make my meal plan and lists, take it to the store, then I hang it in my pantry once I get home. Don’t throw it away like you would a normal list. This way, I have a list of “oh yeah, I was going to make that” meals across the top…or a menu of options for the week, if you will, that I know I have the stuff on hand to make.

I still have space at the bottom to list the random stuff we need that’s not necessarily an ingredient for a dish. And you’ll notice I don’t specify days of the week – we just make what we’re in the mood for each night. We do leftovers at least once a week, thus only four “days” shown. Want more than four? Print it double sided or print two to a page. Better yet, laminate it so you can re-use the wipe-off version time and again.

You can download the printable meal planner by clicking Meals

Happy meal planning in the new year!

Meal Planner Free Printable | 29thandDelight.com