With a light heart and a happy bit of gusto, I present to you:
See below for Giveaway Details - contest open through June 14th.
(And I can say with all certainty that this is a splendid bit of fun because, as fate would have it, I won a copy this spring at the Local Kitchen giveaway!)
{ My copy, pictured here with homemade Pomegranate Syrup that I received from Kate back when she was moving from NYC to Austin, TX, cleaning out her summer preservation stash and offering a giveaway on her Facebook Page. Side story: Once her book arrived, I pulled out the syrup and proceeded to make myself a lovely beverage, and then sat on the couch, flipping through page after page, smiling to myself over all the great ideas worth trying. Consider this your warning: if you win, you may lose a few hours to happy browsing... } I met Kate last winter through a web of Facebook Pictures (BKswappers' Food Swap pics inspired our very own PDX Swappers group), Twitter Tweets (she's fun to follow @hipgirls), and Helpful Emails (offering gracious to help as we sorted logistics for our first swap), and I'm now looking forward to a Real Life meetup when she travels through Portland this month on her Hip Girls book tour and PDX Swappers visit.
Kate's spunky, thrifty, DIY spirit resonates with my desire to give-it-a-go around the house and garden. Her tagline says it all: "Decorating, Dining, and the Gratifying Pleasures of Self-Sufficiency - on a Budget!"
Thinking about tackling a project? (Without breaking the bank!) Thinking about decorating your home or cooking something new? (Without packing up for an interior design academy or booking a trip to culinary school in France?)
The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking is divided into three helpful sections, each chalk full of easy-as-pie methods to take care and be smart in your daily living space.
I. Room-by-Room Guide to a Homey House, Homie
II. Impressive Acts of Domesticity: Do Try This at Home
III. Life After Restaurants
You can give the book an online browse if you'd like to read more...and if you'd like to get a sense of her easy going, inspiring charm, give a little watch to her instructions for Homemade Marmalade + Waterbath Basics:
All ready to own your own copy?
{ Giveaway Details }
This giveaway will be open until midnight, Pacific Standard Time, on Tuesday, June 14th.
In honor of the three sections of the Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking, please take your pick and leave a comment on one (or all!) of the following.
Decor & bargain hunting:
What recent thrift-store find are you most excited about?
Keeping up around the house:
Do you have a trick or two that you use for cleaning nasty spills with natural products?
Cooking, preserving, & entertaining:
Tell us a story about a favorite food project and how you shared it with friends.
Fine print: The winner will be selected at random. Harper Collins Publishing will ship a lovely copy directly to the winner's front door! Please leave your email address or twitter handle with your comments so we can contact you if you win. Each comment counts as one entry, and you may enter up to three times.
{ Your Chance to Meet Kate }
The June 24th PDX Swappers & Lost Arts Kitchen Meet-Kate house party/book signing/food swap is now full, but...If you live locally and would like to meet Kate, she's signing books at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing next week, on Thursday, June 16th.
If you live out of state, you're also in luck - Powell's is selling and shipping signed copies! Head over to their website for more info...
{ That's it ~ leave a comment for your chance to win! }
Don't be intimidated!
Leave your entry as grand or as simple as you would like...
As Kate's first page says:
Leave your entry as grand or as simple as you would like...
As Kate's first page says:
I dedicate this book to all the beginners out there.
Keep at it;
we all have to start somewhere.
Keep at it;
we all have to start somewhere.
Until next time,
~Bethany
{ And the Winner is... }
~Bethany
{ And the Winner is... }
June 15th Update: Congratulations, Chelsea! Your comment was selected using random.org. Thanks to all for entering and sharing terrific inspirations!
16 comments:
I recently started fishing for spring Chinook with a great friend of mine, who is a diehard fisherman. My boyfriend has now picked up on it too, and we've been sharing fresh salmon with friends, and now even handing out smoked salmon that we've smoked in a hand-me-down smoker we received. There's nothing I love more than sharing food with friends that I've caught, cleaned, cooked and/or smoked!
In Minnesota, where I moved from nearly a year ago, I was part of a cooking/dinner club that gave me the opportunity to try my hand at a multitude of new things, share them with my friends at the meal and try out their creations. I tried my hand at making sushi rolls and found it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, I made a tasty steak tartare (and we all survived!) and I found a way to incorporate dried squid into a dessert dish. Great times!
Oops - forgot to leave my Twitter info - find me at beermusingskris.
I recently found a pair of women's trousers in the two for a dollar rack at Spankeys--way to big for me, I turned them and an old pair of my husband's church pants into a dapper vest for my little man (10 months!). With the scraps I made him a cap too! :-) He got the record for kisses at church that sunday.
Thanks for the giveaway!
jberkom(at) gmail (dot)com
Summer has begun and I like to celebrate it with friends around the campfire! Last weekend we made pizzas in cast iron hobo pie irons for supper; and a sausage, egg, and potato casserole for breakfast in a dutch oven.
daisybug1(at)gmail(dot)com
http://simplyresourceful.blogspot.com/
One of my favorite food projects is homemade chicken stock - so easy to put the carcass in the crockpot w/ a little lemon juice and let it go for 2-3 days. We use soups a lot when we have people over so I get to share it with friends often :)
aldowning@gmail.com
In the summer when it starts to get warm, turning on the stove and/or oven is out of the question, so we do all of our cooking outside on the grill, and that includes Friday pizza night. We throw the pizza stone right on the grill and cook our pizza (and toppings) that way. It's the best tasting pizza ever! Summer also marks the height of yummy produce for canning, so I gather ingredients for my famous salsa, we "fire roast" it all on the grill and I whip up tons of salsa that we then give out to friends and neighbors. Good times!
oops forgot to leave my addy Waterminx@gmail.com
My most exciting recent thrift store find is actually not found yet. I'm OBSESSED with the idea of a vintage bar cart. I've got my eyes peeled all over portland for one. If anyone notices one, please let me know!
kate (at) thechicchickadee (dot) com
I just found the most fabulous vintage fabric at the thrift store and sewed it into a fruit picking sack for this summer's bounty. I can't wait to try it out next month on our cherry trees.
I use thyme from my garden and infuse it in white vinegar on the counter. It turns a beautiful pink color. White vinegar is a great natural cleaner and thyme is naturally antiseptic. I use this spray along with an old prefold diaper of my daughter's to clean up the nastiest of spills.
I recently tried my hand at making Grand Mariner using an orange suspended in a jar with a mix of brandy and sugar at the bottom. I enjoyed six weeks of watching the alcohol evaporate and then condense on the orange skin and all those wonderful essential oils drip down into the brandy perfuming the liquor. I bottled it and brought it to a party at a friends house and we did blind tastings of it and several store bought brands.
One of my favorite ways for cleaning up a nasty coffee pot or any glass bottle, jar or carafe that's got burnt coffee in the bottom or other nasties is to take some crushed ice and a good dose of table salt and shake it around in the pot. As you shake it, it lifts off the grime and leaves the glass sparkling just like new. :-)
My most bragged about thrift store find as of late is my pair of Naturalizer riding boots that I picked up at Goodwill for just $9.99!
bekarene(at)yahoo(dot)com
Ever since we cut back on our consumption of paper products, I've been using a lot more rags and dish clothes to deal with spills and cleaning. Even after washing they tend to retain odors. The solution I've found is to add about half a cup of white distilled vinegar to the final rinse cycle and to use the hot wash setting. I also use a splash of vinegar to wipe down my wooden cutting board between uses.
bekarene(at)yahoo(dot)com
One evening, I had last minute company and no time to plan anything, so I just went through my cupboards and fridge and pulled out things like chocolate bars, nuts, cheese, crackers and a bottle of wine. I added some oranges I happened to have and a jar of homemade apple butter. Voila! An instant party. I've learned that having a few key items in your pantry (especially some homemade items) makes last-minute entertaining much easier. bekarene(at)yahoo(dot)com
When I'm not preserving and canning, I shop at SCRAP and the Goodwill Bins for vintage linens and fabrics that I repurpose into new kitchen/table linens. Patchwork quilted placemats have become a favorite gift for friends, and I've made them out of linen pants, old sheets, cloth shower curtains and more!
Work potluck lunch today, and I forgot until the night before...Dug around in the freezer and pulled out already cooked hubbard squash from last winter, verde sauce with tomotillas, peppers and cilantro, (all previous from my garden) red beans and corn tortillas - layered together with cheese and made an impromptu enchilasagne. Breathed sigh of relief when it did not come out tasting like freezerburn! hope this book has tips for a full time working homemaker! bethany dot wofford at gmail dot com
Post a Comment