Zombie Jars

Swooped this pic of Nelli's jar collection from her jar post ;)

If you're a regular here on BSOM you'd know that both Nelli and I are pretty Eco-friendly conscious kinda girls. For this reason we both try to upcycle items that would otherwise be thrown away. A lot of these items are things that I'm sure many of you may be guilty of throwing away, specifically glass jars. You know the ones that your spaghetti sauce, or apple sauce come in? These bad boys definitely have a shelf life longer than just being the packaging for the product it contains. Nelli has written about what she does with her glass jars once they have served their original purpose, you can read that here. I've also written a couple of DIY upcycling blogs, which will be posting soon so be on the look out! Psst there's one posting tomorrow ;)

I decided I wanted to throw in my 2 cents on the topic of glass jars and so here we are. Below are just a couple of ways that I upcycle my glass jars, aka bring them back to life! Hence the name of this post. In fact from here on out all of my upcycled projects will now be referred to as my Zombie projects. (bbraaiinsss LOL)

* For my art projects!

Whether I use a jar to hold my paint water, or to even hold my paint brushes it's pretty damn handy to have one (or five) around. Hell even the jar could become a piece of art itself with just a little imagination.

* To organize my desk/studio/tools!

A glass jar makes the perfect supplies holder! Whether you fill it with office supplies or use it to organize all those different nails + screws that may be scattered about.

* Decor!

Like I mentioned you could decorate your glass jar, + display your collection of sea shells or other fragile keepsakes. It would also make a great vase for flowers.

* Food container or drinking glass!

Nelli already mentioned how she stores her food in these jars, and to that I'll add glass jars are perfect for candy too! (Who needs a candy bowl! everyone has one of those, but few have a candy jar ;)) 
These bad boys also make great drinking glasses as they are. If you really want to get fancy there are all kinds of DIY projects around that can show you how to cut glass at home to turn jars/bottles into actual drinking glasses, I found this pretty good one after a quick search online (although I haven't tried it myself yet!).

* Gift it! 

This kind of goes with the above idea, but...

A candy filled jar makes a great balloon weight! I remember an elementary school friend of mine once gave me some balloons for my birthday with a glass jar filled with my favorite candy to weigh down the balloons. Awesome idea!

* Critter catcher!

I know from personal experience that a loose lizard in your house will be very cooperative if you have a glass jar on hand to stick him into so you can put him back outside where he belongs! (Of course you'll want to poke holes in the lid before you do this!)

If you don't happen to have the lizard problem, but you do have a kid problem (that was a joke people relax), I'm sure a glass jar would be perfect for them to go catch any little critters that they happen upon.

I hope this has inspired you to look at those glass jars a little differently next time you're about to toss one! :) It's all about changing those lenses of yours, something that I think can be applied to many facets of life, and not just your "garbage".

Until next time friends...Cheers!

<3 Noonie

Savannah | Southern Charm

One of my favorite things to do is to explore new places, and with my semi-recent graduation I have had the travel bug sitting on my shoulder for awhile now yet I couldn't decide where I wanted to go. That is, until Jet Blue graciously emailed me their list of inexpensive flights, and like that I was gone!

I have always wanted to visit Savannah, Georgia for many-a-reason the first of which is that no other city in the world is planned like it. So I, being a city planner + architect, had to see it. I was also looking for a city in the South so I could convince one of my favorite people to tag along with me on this journey, and sure enough it worked!

I called up Mel and said: "Hey, do you want to go on vacation with me?" 

She replied: "yes."

I said: "Savannah or Charlotte?"

She said: "Savannah."

I said: "Done!"

Within 24 hours she and I had a trip to Savannah planned; airfare, hotel, and a few tours lined up.

We arrived in Savannah on a Monday, upon landing I could not help but notice that Savannah Hilton Head airport was by far the cutest airport I had ever seen! The food court + shopping area were done up to look like they belonged in town, and outside of the airport were rocking chairs (yes, rocking chairs!). Mel drove and picked me up, we immediately went to the bed and breakfast we were staying at, Los Robles, where we were greeted by the owners Richard + Robin with nothing but warmth. We dropped our bags and quickly headed downtown for some lunch and sight seeing before our tour.

Me, being the foodie I am, had a laundry list of places we had to eat while in Savannah starting with B.Matthew's Eatery. Here we had one of my 'had to eat dishes' the shrimp and grits, we also had a quiche they had on special that day. Both were delicious and generous portions. Neither Mel or I finished this meal, which would become par for the course on this trip. After lunch we meandered near the waterfront a few of the squares before taking off for Bonaventure Cemetery. Mel had booked a tour for us, which was both informative and educational. If it were left to me I would have simply wandered through the cemetery tour-less. Afterwards we returned to our B+B to freshen up and put on some warmer clothes, it was cooler than either of us had anticipated. Our hosts recommend we walk down Bull Street, through Forsyth Park, toward the water. This was a beautiful walk, and one I would recommend for anyone visiting the city; and if you could do it in the late afternoon that would be even better. We ended up at City Market at sunset, stopped by Byrd's to sample some cookies, grabbed a georgia sangria + sat outside listening to live music, before heading into Planters Tavern, attached to Olde Pink House which was one of my foodie spots. She + I lucked out with seats at the bar, but you have to be a hawk to get one of these. This place was crowded on a Monday night, given they did have a live piano player but that is besides the point. We had fried green tomatoes with creamed corn + I had some Georgia Peach Brandy which I was slightly afraid to try, but turned out to be my new favorite thing! We strolled ourselves back home and slept in the warm comfy king sized bed.

Day Two was less crazy, but perhaps that was because we had already gotten the lay of the land so no fear of getting lost, but nevertheless. We decided to go on a hop-on-hop-off 90 minute trolly ride around the city. It was informative (luckily both Mel and I love to learn + love history) and nice to be able to hop on and off; one down side is that it is slow if you're not interested in listening to the conductor anymore... Anywho! We got the package which included admission to 4 museums (and saved $1.50, whoop whoop!), but all joking aside I would recommend it. The museums were small but fun, and held my attention. We also strolled through the squares more on this day, and I cannot tell you how nice the people were. After the tours we grabbed a mushroom burger + salad from Green Truck, which typically has a line out the door so show up early, before our now nightly, rest + redress sesion at the B+B. We then walked back into the Historic District for a Mead Tasting at the Savannah Bee Co. This activity comes highly recommended from yours truly! Neither of us had tried mead before, but now that I have I think it should be enjoyed by the masses! This brings us to 8pm, and two 20-something ladies could not feasibly head back to bed quite yet, so after a failed success at finding live music, we stumbled upon a bar that had 'trivia night.' Trivia (we learned) was a great way to meet people so if you're in town on a Tuesday evening stop by Congress Street Social Club + play the locals at random trivia, grab a craft beer, and maybe make a new buddy.

Chocolat by Adam

Our last day in beautiful Savannah was only a half day. We went to the Massie Heritage Center which was by far our favorite of the museums. This exhibit focused on the architecture and planning of Savannah (which I loved), was located in an old school house (which she loved), was interactive, and simply well done. Upstairs is a test to see if you are smarter than an 8th grader. Sadly neither of us were. It just goes to show you the difference between what is taught in schools today vs. what was taught in yesteryear. I highly recommend this for all tourists + particularly if you are traveling with children! For our last meal we went on a Barbecue Hunt (when in Rome) and while our first choice (Wall's) was closed, we ended up at Angel's BBQ which was as to be expected. BBQ pulled pork - oh the meaty goodness, and a little bit of crazy sitting next to me.
Mel + I split paths that afternoon; I went to a Foxy Loxy's sister coffee shop The Coffee Fox for some tea + conversation with my new buddy, while she headed home to her family.

All in all Savannah was a wonderful city + a fun 3 day vacation with one of my favorite ladies. If you're looking for a weekend get away, you like history, or you just want to get down with the locals I'd say it is a definite must see. I love to walk, so if you're into walking, ghosts, + drinking in public you should definitely check out Savannah Tour Walks. Plus if you live in NYC (like me) Jet Blue now flies there for a whopping $75 each way!

So go get yourself a little Southern Hospitality and stroll your heart out.

Savannah, you were quite lovely indeed!

Until we meet again.

Nelli

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

If I haven't mentioned it before, coconut macaroons are one of my all time favorite cookies (blueberry coconut macaroons) so I tend to make variations of them and this round is definitely on my list of favorites!

The photograph below has some of my favorite things in it: Scarlett, Cookies, + thoughts of Georgia. I was recently in Savannah (which I will be blogging about soon), and picked up that nifty magazine which happened to have my all time favorite movie featured on the cover. Like many little girls who grew up in America I always wanted to be Scarlett O'Hara; the charm, the clothes, the spunk!
Now that I am mostly grown up I have re-evaluated that desire; but anytime I watch the movie I get as giddy as a schoolgirl, fantasizing about long puffy dresses, refreshments on the porch, and of course a tumultuous relationship with a southern boy.

"Oh Rhett"

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350'
2. Mix everything together
3. Bake for 12 minutes

Yield:
5 cookies

Tips:
If the mixture is too dry add more milk +/or honey until it reaches desired consistency.
If its too wet add more coconut +/or flour.
Chia, Flax, + Carob are not necessary but I figure if I can throw them in and make my cookies healthier then why not?

It's been a pleasure.

-Nelli

Noonie's Art Has Finders! | Natalie + Emily |

Finder's Keepers!!

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to get to head to the Bay for a little day trip just to relax, and to kind of reset my soul. Of course I had to abandon some art while there. If you're not sure what I'm referring to check out these posts: |Art Abandonment| + Noonie's | Art Abandoning Adventures|.

As we went about the day I found the perfect place to abandon some Sun Prints I had made last summer. I have been slowly branching out with the locations of my art abandonment ventures, and I'm constantly on the look out for the next perfect place as I'd like to abandon my work in a variety of settings so that a variety of different people have the opportunity to come upon these abandoned works of mine.

So after a little nature walk, I thought the beginning of the trail I was on would be perfect! I had yet to abandon any work in the forest and knew it would be a fun a little surprise for whoever stumbled upon it. And indeed it was stumbled upon. Know how I know?! I got my FIRST email today from someone whose adopted my work! I've been abandoning for a couple of weeks now, but like I said this was my first email so it really was extra special to me! Up until now I've been thrilled and have enjoyed just leaving pieces for people to find and enjoy, but to actually get an email from one of these people is like icing on the already-quite-delicious cake!

Natalie with her finds! :)

I wanted to share with you the email (of course I got her permission first) I received from Natalie, who along with her friend Emily, are the new owners of the pieces I abandoned in the forest. :)

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Subject: Art Abandonment!

Hi Yaz!

My friend Emily and I decide to take a stroll through the woods today when we stumbled upon your amazing gift. She made a joke as we approached it saying, "look, I left a gift here for you to find." When I looked and realized it was really a gift for me (from you) I was very excited. We love the sun prints inside and have decided to split them between both of us. We love love love it and think it's such a great idea to connect people and lovers of art...It was so inspiring to find your art, I've started thinking about doing something similar myself. I teach preschool in San Francisco and I was thinking this morning how fun it would be to abandon some of the children's art for people to find! Thanks again for making our day.

Thank you, Yaz!
-Natalie  
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How sweet right?! I couldn't be more thrilled for receiving an email, let alone one as nice as this!! :) BIG thanks to Natalie for her kind words + for her permission to share her experience!! :) I'm so glad my pieces found good homes with her and Emily!! :)

I hope to share many more of these experiences with you in the future + welcome you all to join in on the abandoning fun!! It's such an awesome experience!!

<3 Noonie

Until next time friends...Cheers!!