in memory

I was very saddened today to hear of the passing of JD Salinger. Despite the multitude of celebrity deaths within the past year, I haven't really been affected by any of them until now. Yes, they're sad and bewildering, but I've never felt personally or spiritually or emotionally linked to a celebrity, because they are just that. Not a friend... a celebrity.

But Salinger was a very different beast - a recluse by nature, and someone who was uncomfortable with his celebrity and cult-status. A mystery in a world of over-exposure. He is most definitely my favorite author - he was inspiring to be as a young writer and I spent a good portion of my sophomore year of college around my kitchen table with a (now tattered) copy of Franny & Zooey. His books were a friend during those uncertain times of my life and beyond.

And, of course - I named my cat Seymour after reading "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and every other Glass family saga back to back to back. What can I say... I can be a bit obsessive.

It is cliche, but at least Salinger will always live on in our hearts and on our bookshelves. And through my cat, Seymour Glass Pumphrey. You will be missed.

hide your love away

I'm way too excited over the latest DIY project over on design*sponge. Seriously, where do they come up with this stuff? Today's DIY is a jewelry box hidden behind a classic picture frame. Totally up the PF alley.

sneak peek: one inch pins

Here's what I'm working on right now: one inch pin back buttons & magnets, made with vintage sheet music & maps from an old encyclpedia.




Coming soon to the shop!

diy light experiments: reflective umbrella

After I made the lightbox (and photographed everything possible from PBR cans to hollow books to candles inside) I wanted to experiment with a way to bring more light to my hollow book safe pictures. I shoot these on my vintage record player stand, which has moved into the bedroom where there's ample light. But even with noon day natural light, my pictures were still coming out a bit gray.






So I built a DIY light umbrella! I took a dollar store umbrella and sprayed the underside with white spray paint, then clipped the umbrella and a lamp onto Tom's mic stand. The lamp, pointing into the white reflective underside of the umbrella, radiates light evenly back across the record player stand - making my editing job much easier.

when the going gets tough, the tough clean their cleaning tools

I'm a firm believer that there are few things that can't be fixed by an hour of deep cleaning while simultaneously blasting Joan Jett's Bad Reputation* on vinyl. Think about... your house is not only cleaner but more aesthetically pleasing, subsequently boosting your own mood. I'm sure all the chemicals from the cleaners don't hurt your mood boosting either.

I'm also a firm believer than you must clean your cleaning supplies. I'm talking sponges, plungers, toilet cleaners, dish towels, wash cloths, toothbrushes, shamwows, etc. Throw your sponge in the microwave for minute or two after you clean your toliet and bam... it's safe to use again in other areas of your bathroom. Just don't handle it right away.

Don't have a microwave? Boil it! Just make sure to wash your pot well afterwards!!

And what about that plunger & toilet brush?? The other day, I took the pair outside for a deep cleaning of their own.

First off, I sprayed the pair with Scrubbing Bubbles. Normally, I'm more of a make-your-own-cleaning-solutions or use-eco friendly-ones kinda gal, but there is something intensely satisfying about this Scrubbing Bubbles. I mean... it FOAMS. It's GOT to be doing some hard work. Purely psychological, I know, but sometimes that's all that counts.

So, spray with SB, then hose em down. I suppose you could also do this in a tub, but I had just cleaned mine. Another rule of cleaning I always forgot... work from smallest to largest.

*Alternately, I find Dolly Parton to be an excellent cleaning partner.

lipstick proof

You heard it here first... dogs or other small creatures are an excellent way to test out the staying power of your lipstick.



On second thought, it kind of sounds like I'm promoting animal testing. That is so not my bag... we love animals over here at Pommes Frites. Make sure you always obtain your animal's consent before kissing them with lipstick on.



Although the lipstick didn't exactly stay on my lips, it did stay on Max's head for a good 24 hours. If it means anything to you..

eating in: easy peasy spanish rice

This easy dish is probably the most frequently cooked meal in our house, and it's usually accompanied by Tom's famous refried black beans. Heaven!




Here's the quick & easy recipe:

Ingredients
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1/2 jalapeno, chopped
-olive oil
-1 cup rice - I use Jasmine
-2 cups chicken stock
-1 cup crushed tomatoes
-optional: Valentino hot sauce, chopped bell pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium size pan & add onions. When onions begin to turn translucent, add jalapenos.
2. Cook veggies for a minute then add 1 cup dry rice. Cook until rice is slightly toasted.
3. When rice is browned, add chicken stock. Cover.
4. Simmer for a few minutes then add tomatoes.
5. Cover & cook until rice is cooked all the way, about 15 minutes.
6. Uncover, add optional bell peppers & Valentino. Salt and pepper to taste.

This dish is one of those amazing dishes that is great eaten right after cooking but even better as leftovers the next day. Pure comfort food.

diy lightbox

Recently, annoyed with the poor winter light & dissatisfied with my pictures in the shop, I decided to make a light box in which to photograph my shop items. After a lot of research, I found this tutorial from wikihow and went for it. The box was free, the tissue paper was $1 and the posterboard was .33. I splurged on some ivory colored canvas ($5!!) to lay in the background instead of the white posterboard, and the lights were ones I already had from craft fairs.





For now, it's just a matter of messing around with lighting, photoshop, camera angles and backgrounds. I like this part of my job much better than expense sheets.

eating in: potato leek soup

eating in: potato leek soup, originally uploaded by pommesfrites.

Last night, we made potato leek soup following a recipe from The Everything Cookbook which was, incidentally, the first cookbook I ever received back in 2003, my freshman year of college. Thanks Mom!

ps - notice the nice soup picture? I built a lightbox & have been messing around with it, photographing everything from manila tags to PBR cans. Check out my flickr stream to see more pictures, and while you're there add me as a contact! I've just started a new flickr account that is more directly linked to Pommes Frites etsy shop & blog.

I pledge to read the printed word

Kindles are great and "the future" and all, but nothing will beat the smell of a library book or the slight water damage and food stains on your mom's copy of The Art of French Cooking. If you agree, take the pledge to support the printed word - newspapers, books, magazines in the digital era & beyond.

Visit readtheprintedword.org to snag a button for your page & show your support of the written word.



On a personal note, working with old & discarded vintage books every day makes me appreciate the printed word that much more. I only pick books I find in the bottom of the clearance pile - ones that are on their way out the door (to the dumpster! what do you think happens to books with coffee stains?) Not all of these books can be read, but I make sure they get a new home and continue their life in another way.

pommes frites on thrillist austin

Many thanks to Thrillist Austin for doing a feature on Pommes Frites today!



Thrillist offers daily updates so you can get the scoop on Austin's best restaurants, nightlife, services, style & more. If you're not in Austin, don't despair! Visit the main Thrillist website for info your city.

etsy finds: yourwishcake's sweet card sets

The yourwishcake shop is full of tons of pretty items - wallets, hair pins, goodie bags - all neatly & beautifully packaged with handmade touches like baker's twine & scripted labels. However, my favorite items in the shop have got to be the hand stamped note cards with little mason jars on them.


This mason jar card has an extra little felt heart on the inside - fantastic for your Valentine's Day needs.


These cards can be customized with your initials inside - they'd be perfect to use as thank-you cards for wedding presents.

Be sure to visit yourwishcake on etsy to find more of the lovely items offered by this awesome seller!

500 days of that amazing chalkboard wall

Tom and I just watched 500 Days of Summer. Yes, we are totally late in the game but to be honest with you, I'm sort of over the PLIF. That's an an acronym for "Precious Little Indie Film" in case you were wondering and yes, I made it up. Three years ago, back when I was just graduating from acting school, I was up to my eyes in PLIF. In fact, I saw my career folding out in front of me with PLIF after PLIF and then a Sundance award or three. I'm not sure what changed or when it changed, maybe it was too many Belle & Sebastian songs or mumbling leading men, but I am sick and tired of the PLIF. I'm looking at you, PAPER HEART.

That being said, I really wanted to watch 500 Days of Summer, because despite all my PLIF trash talking I am still absolutely predictable.

Joseph Gordan-Levitt was so good in this movie, delivering an honest, sweet & totally real performance. However, I was sort of ambivalent about the Summer character. See - this is one of the reasons why I'm annoyed with PLIFs - they simplify characters so much that they have "depth" but no passion at the same time. For example, we are supposed to fall in love with Summer because she loves the Smiths and dreamily karaokes a Nancy Sinatra tune, but has no clear passions in life or even real interests - aside from the standard hipster activities of record hunting & French movie watching. Zooey Deschanel is totally adorable as Summer, of course, but the whole thing left me kind of "meh".

Also, SPOILER ALERT, what the heck is with that ending? In case you haven't seen it, JGL has finally (for the most part) gotten over Summer. It's the 500th day and he's on his way to an interview at an architecture firm (he previously worked at a greeting card company, although architecture was his passion). Outside the interview, he meets a cute girl and ends up asking her for coffee. And guess what her name is. Autumn. I felt as if the director was saying "Get it? Get it!?? He's moving on past Summer!" Nudge, NUDGE!". The ending had me literally screaming "Are you serious??" at my tv.

But on to the reason for this post - this movie is worth it for the chalkboard wall alone!! Joseph Gordan Levitt's character has this amazing loft apartment and the wall behind his bed is a chalkboard. It's used as more than set decoration, though - he originally keeps mementos of his relationship on the wall and then begins to sketch out his future after Summer.



I couldn't find many pictures of the one from the actual film (other than the one above, you'll have to imagine a bed beneath it), but I did find this fantastic version from Martha Stewart that's a chalkboard calendar wall.

The only thing you'd have to work out about the chalkboard wall would be the placement logistics... high traffic areas are a no-go unless everyone wants to be covered in a sheen of dust. Unless you're going for that 1930's hobo look. Then it's all good.

just in time for the holiday - heart-shaped hollow book safes

All those heart shaped items lining the aisles at Target are seriously testing my willpower, so I channeled my heart-shaped-love into a special release for the shop - heart carvings! These books would be fantastic as a vessel for your valentine's gift - tuck a love note or ring or necklace inside for a sweet surprise.


I'll be updating the shop frequently with more of these heart carvings, so be sure to check back for more titles.

diy: ridiculously simple draft guard

Want to guard against wind, keep heat insulated & reduce expenses? Make a draft guard! This DIY is so simple I'm slapping my forehead, wondering why I didn't think of it months ago. You could get all fancy and make a double sided one - you know, as seen on TV, or you go the route I did and basically make a long pillow & fill it with rice.

As most old houses go, the house I live in is incredibly drafty, made worse by years of neglect. The wind isn't just getting through in cracks & crevices - the space under the backdoor is large enough that you can see a ray of light beaming underneath it.



I whipped up this draft guard in no time - some ridiculous cowboy-hat printed fabric, measuring 31" x 8" (or something like that... to be honest with you readers I only measured the 31", because it's the door length). I sewed the rectangle into a tube, closed off one edge completely and partially sewed up the other, then filled it with cheap rice. After it was completely stuffed, I whip-stitched the final edge closed.




Here's a helpful hint: you'll need someone to help you fill the tube. One person holds a funnel & the tube of fabric, guiding the rice (or beans or whatever you choose), and one person pours the rice in. If you don't have a funnel, an envelope with the corner cut off can be a substitute (thanks, Martha!).

I was skeptical at first - it seemed too simple to change anything drastically - but this little rice pillow makes a HUGE difference. It's been so cold here the past few days that any insulation goes a long way.

eating in: brunch of champions

Fried potato slices, scrambled eggs with onion & turkey sausage.



Thrift tip: if you buy a package of sausage - the long kind, not the stubby Jimmy Dean variety - use one link for dinner and one for breakfast. Make a simple pasta with whole wheat spaghetti, onions & garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper, parmesan and slices of sausage.

monopoly on a wednesday night

Setting your own schedule means that Wednesday nights are open for late night board game sessions with good friends.





Heaven.

eating in: sweet potato soup

last night's dinner: sweet potato soup with a touch of lime.

eating in: stuffed bell peppers

In an effort to save money, Tom and I are trying to cook at home as much as possible. "Eating in" is a new feature on this blog that will detail our daily culinary exploits.







Stuffed Bell Peppers - made with homemade spanish rice (Tom's recipe), corn & bacon and topped with faux-Parmesan cheese.

time for decoration removal!

January 2nd - it's time for those holiday decorations to come down lest you risk running the chance of being one of "those" neighbors. Take a tip from Martha and wrap your Christmas lights around old pieces of cardboard.



Also, make sure you wrap up those vintage christmas decorations in left over bubble wrap and store them securely; pointy New Years hats provide an extra layer of protection.

And before I pack up, I'll take the opportunity to share my own vintage x-mas decorations with you - my collection is mainly from my grandma, but Austin vintage shops have no shortage of sweet doo-dads.


This appears to be a golden nativity scene, mounted on top of a ribbon-embellished foam round and topped with an upside down brandy sniffer. I'm sure my grandma picked it up a Daughters of the American Revolution bake sale.







By the way, if you're wondering how to fill the void of your missing snowmen and Christmas lights - Valentine's Day is just around the corner!