From Country blah to Modern

I thought I would show you an easy makeover I did this summer. I found this ugly bench on Craigslist for $25 with the plan of changing it. I spray painted it white and found this cute modern fabric at Calico Corners and used a staple gun to attach the fabric over the old one. So in total it cost me roughly $35 dollars. I ended up putting it in my bathroom. (I'm currently renting so I did not choose the paint color on the walls. Why anyone would choose such a dark color in a room where you need good lighting is beyond me.) I also used some of the leftover fabric to cover a cork board for my office.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tonya

Fall Colors

Sorry for the sporatic posting lately. I've been working on applications for internships for my final year of school. There are more people applying than their are positions available nationwide so the competition is pretty intense. I absolutely love fall, but haven't been able to spend much time enjoying it this year so far. I'm hoping to get my applications in early and then will hopefully have my weekends back. I would love to be spending my time going to the pumpkin patch, baking and hiking instead of writing essays but I guess I've gotta do it. I often go to a nature park near my house to exercise or just to get from fresh air and enjoy the Pacific Northwest. Here's what I've been missing while stuck inside.

(photo taken last year at said nature park)

Thanks for stopping by,
Tonya

Makin' Ketchup

In my current obsession with canning I thought it would be fun to make my own ketchup. We did finally get some ripe tomatoes here in Portland, though not very many. I made tomato ketchup and tomato-peach ketchup. I was a little surprised by how little it makes. I haven't tried them yet so I hope they turned out well. They do look pretty in those jars though.

I used the recipe from Canning for a New Generation book I bought recently (sorry I haven't figure out how to link it to amazon or powells yet).

Thanks for stopping by,
Tonya

Salsa

Over the course of this harvest season I've canned 3 kinds of salsa; Peach Salsa from Canning for a New Generation, Spicy Tomato Salsa and Zesty Salsa from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I like my salsa hot so I used hot peppers in place of mild peppers. We just opened a jar of zesty salsa and I have to say it turned out great. The only change I would make for next year is to use hotter peppers as it still is fairly mild.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tonya