little farmhouse in the big city | home styling, weekend cooking and urban gardening in Minneapolis

the big 1-1-5 … happy birthday farmhouse!

August 23, 2015

The farmhouse turned 115 this year, and I hosted a big backyard bash in July. It was amazing to have so many friends and family members show up to help celebrate. I’ve had the idea in my head for a few years, and have been dreaming up party food ideas all year. Some awesome girlfriends helped me bring the idea to life, preparing party fare from every decade that the house has been around. It was so much fun. We rounded out the menu with home-smoked pork from my awesome cousins, Maggie’s famous German potato salad, and the most amazing ribs from Smoke in the Pit (a neighborhood BBQ place).

1900s: Jell-O salad (yeah Rachel!)
1910s: root beer floats
1920s: Rice Krispies treats
1930s: Fritos
1940s: deviled eggs (thanks aunt Mary!)
1950s: Chex Mix (great job Brianna!)
1960s: Sangria
1970s: cheese ball (way to go Mary!)
1980s: 7-layer dip
1990s: Bagel Bites
2000s: Millenium cupcakes (amazing job, Sarah!)
2010s: the best kale chips ever (thanks mom!)

And, by popular request, the white sangria recipe:

4 bottles vinho verde
2 L. club soda
1.5 c. Triple Sec
2 cans frozen lemonade
3 oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 peaches, sliced
Bags of frozen fruit (1 of each): raspberries, strawberries, pineapple
//combine and pack dispenser in ice or refrigerate for a few hours prior to serving//

So much <3 to everyone who showed up and made it a party. xoxo

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: cooking, entertaining, house history, summer, Uncategorized

extras in the entryway

July 19, 2014

My “everything has a place” efforts needed a bit of help in the dining room/entryway. Without a good space for a command center (aside from the secretary desk), I decided a while back that what I needed was some baskets for the wall by the front door. It took me a while to find some I liked — I finally found this set at Target, and while they’re not perfect, they’re close enough! I can now drop to-read magazines, to-pay bills, to-mail items, wedding directions cards and all sorts of other little items in the front entryway. I like that everything is close to my desk in the dining room for when I pay bills, but also tucked away and not the focal point of the room. What do you think? Want to place bets on how long I can stay tidy + organized? 🙂

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: dining room, organizing, storage solutions

2014 garden

June 2, 2014

Some of you have noticed I took a bit of a break from blogging this spring. Between work travel and some family things to attend to, I really haven’t been home — much less, cooking, crafting, gardening and fixing! But I managed to get a few things in the ground recently, and despite the torrential rains we’ve been getting, they’re doing great so far.

It’s going to be a low-key summer for the garden this year. I took out some trees in the backyard last November, and I am looking forward to seeing how that changes the light in the garden. A year of observing and waiting, and maybe next year I’ll make some big changes. Oh wait, you thought that was a metaphor for life instead of my garden plan? Funny…

Parsley, Basil, Lemon Verbena, Chives, Peppers and Raspberries on the north side of the garden

Mint (three varieties), Thyme (two varieties), Oregano, Cilantro, Sage and Tomatoes on the southeast side

Annuals in the whiskey barrel out front — a purple and coral theme this year, which I’m loving so so much

Some beautiful Bleeding Hearts that have spread out in the front garden beds

xoxo

Comments: 1 Posted by: admin Categories: flowers, garden, summer

4

March 25, 2014

I forgot what day it was, and then I saw this photo in my timehop stream. I guess this makes 4 years of Lauren + the little farmhouse!

I should probably get around to finishing the paint job in the kitchen that I started the first weekend, eh?

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: Uncategorized

fix it february: cabinets + closets

February 20, 2014

The latest installment of Fix-It February: tackling cabinets and closets.

This is less of a how-to post and more intended to inspire you to get out that screwdriver and fix your own crooked doors and loose wall hooks. Maybe even climb on a ladder in your closet and install some battery-powered LED lights so that you can get dressed in the dark of winter? Because that was a pretty fun project.

Cabinets: I have the kind of kitchen cabinet hinges that snap apart (with a bang) when the screws get loose. They’re easy to fix, and I took a few extra minutes this time to go around the kitchen and tighten all the screws so there are fewer loud, scary noises in the future.

I also deputized some drywall expansion screws (Twist-N-Lock) to fix this curtain hook that was falling out of the wall. Don’t know why it took me two years to think of that solution, but it definitely did the trick. These hooks hold back the curtain doors of my master bedroom closet…

…which was also the site of some new LED lights. Eventually I’d like to have the closet wired for real lights, but these help well enough for now. If you can drill pilot holes and fill battery packs, you too can add remote-control-powered lights to your closet! I got this set on sale at my local ACE Hardware for just $15.

All together with some projects not worth photographing, I fixed or installed 8 things around the house in about two hours. Much speedier than I planned, leaving plenty of time to enjoy season 2 of House of Cards 😉

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: bedroom, closets, DIY, kitchen, projects

fix it february: boots and baubles

February 16, 2014

Week two of “Fix It February” is all about accessories. Saving boots from the trash bin and necklaces from the scrap heap!

Project #1: boot heel healing

This is one of my favorite pairs of boots, but the black color on the plastic heel had worn down from driving. I’ve tried shoe polish and heel stains before, but nothing stuck to the plastic. So this time I tried black electrical tape. *Hopefully* it sticks this time!

Total time: 15 minutes

1. Clean and dry plastic surface.
2. Cut strips of black electrical tape and place vertically on heel, starting from the center and working your way outwards.
3. Trim extra tape with an X-acto knife

Project #2: fixing some favorite accessories

Each of these pieces needed just a few minutes of attention, but I had been letting them gather dust instead.

Before: broken chain on a vintage purse, broken chain link necklace, and earrings with a missing crystal piece

After:

How to fix crystal earrings: Gorilla Glue. Nothing works better. Just remember that it expands a bit when it dries, so you can’t use too much in small spaces.

How to fix gold link chains: needle-nose pliers and a patient hand. For each of these chains, I used the pliers to first open a chain link at the break site, and then to re-attache it to its neighbors. The round-nosed pliers can be slippery on metal, so you might find ridged pliers easier to use.

Total time: 10 minutes

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: DIY, tips, vintage

fix it february

February 8, 2014

We’ve had 40+ days of sub-zero temperatures in the beautiful Twin Cities this year. They’re saying it’s the coldest winter in a generation. Since 1981-82, which is before my parents left Minnesota for Texas.

All of this to say: I can’t fix the weather, so I’m fixing everything else. Understatement? Welcome to Fix It February, y’all.

This past week, the focus has been my blog (#nerd). If you read my blog via RSS or email, as many of you do, you won’t have noticed much of a change, but that’s ok! It’s working a lot better on the back-end now. I’ve had a few things I needed to fix since the site migration in November, and their lingering presence on my to-do list has also been a major reason for my lack of posting these recent weeks. See! Another thing that will now be fixed.

Kind of neat, though, if you like this sort of thing: you can now see related posts when reading any of my blog posts. You can also browse by categories — just navigate to “Archives and Categories” via the main menu.

Next up: some DIY fix-it projects around the house. It’s time for all the little annoyances to be checked off the list.

What are you working on during this cold spell? Or the drought in California? Or whatever crazy weather it is where you are? 🙂

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: projects, site housekeeping

new views

February 2, 2014

No, I’m not moving. But a lot of my friends are/have been lately, and although I love my home and life here, sometimes I get that niggling thought: “Is it time to move? To change again? To keep growing somewhere else?”

And then, yesterday afternoon, I was putzing around in the kitchen. And something happened. A corner of my kitchen was illuminated by light in a way I’ve never seen before. Almost four years here, feeling now that I know this place so well, and here was something new. Something new that I didn’t create or design.

It was just the angle of the sun setting. A result of the precise rotation of the earth and the placement of the house across the alley. It was so beautiful that I almost didn’t take a picture, knowing I could never truly replicate the moment.

And it reminded me that new surprises are almost certainly right around the corner, coming from where you least expect, even when you are just hanging out happily in a place you know well + love.

Happy and healthy weekends to you all.

Comments: 0 Posted by: admin Categories: seasons

a treat for you from ALT!

January 24, 2014

Surprise! I’m in Salt Lake City this week at Altitude Summit. Having a grand time {of course} and loving hanging out with some of the fabulous women I’ve only ever met online.

There’s no shortage of beautiful crafts + photo opps here. I’ll share more when I get back, but in the meanwhile … a little quiz + giveaway for ya! If you can guess what room of the little farmhouse *this* little project is headed for, I’ll have a treat for you from #altsummit. You leave comments –> I pick one via random.org on Sunday 1/26/14 –> someone has a happy day {could be you!}

xoxo!

Comments: 2 Posted by: admin Categories: crafts, decorating, DIY

let’s eat pie

November 28, 2013