My mom taught me this little trick – whenever you see a good, cheap vase or container, pick it up (Would you believe that vase with the orange handle was just $2.00 at a stoop sale?). Then save it for when you go to a party or a friend’s house. Instead of bringing a bouquet of flowers that they have to unwrap, trim and find a vase for (all while smiling and hosting and dealing with other things), you show up with your flowers ready to plonk down on the table or counter. Who wouldn’t love that?
Of course, the trick is not getting too attached to any of the vases you find!
Weekend Event Picks for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill: It’s Third Friday in Durham // Enjoy music, art, food, camping & crafts at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival all weekend long in Chatham County // Closing weekend of Activated Art at the Ackland, performances Friday and Saturday night // Last chance to take your kids to the NC Science Festival at Marbles Museum // Bet you didn’t know storytelling was a competitive sport…hear 8 previous winners compete at the Monti GrandSLAM Friday night // Live & Local Earth Day music festival Saturday in Raleigh // 10th annual Great Grapes Wine & Food Festival on Saturday // Go green at the free Durham Earth Day festival Sunday afternoon
Today we’ve got a special guest post from Zoe of Rub a Dub Dub! I’ll go ahead and hand it over to Zoe, and be sure to click “more” below to see the full recipe and lots more (incredibly beautiful) photos. —Ellie
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Hi Mint followers, I’m Zoe. I have a blog called Rub a Dub Dub based out of Canberra, Australia. For some reason (that entirely escapes me now) I felt that blogging, photographing, parenting and cooking wasn’t keeping me busy enough so I have just started studying Nutritional Medicine which means more and more we are trying to make a habit of feeding ourselves food that is as healthy, enjoyable, interesting and tasty as possible, with the belief that none of those things are mutually exclusive. The blog is my way of trying to celebrate and capture these moments as best as I can!
On that note, I believe there are not many people who would say no to the chance to have dessert knowing it is not a completely sugar-and-fat-laden-crazy-guilt-inducing indulgence (there are certainly times for that but sometimes it’s nice to think that you can eat sweets and benefit nutritionally too!). Moreover, not many people can resist a good cheesecake (or is that just me?) so for my first Mint contribution I thought I’d give you a slightly healthier, less processed option while still maintaining the decadence that we all expect from such a popular dessert. I really hope you enjoy it!
Every time I see a Nate Berkus interior, I just about fall out of my chair with envy. They are always this incredible mix of masculine and natural textures, worn materials that just invite you to come in for awhile. When I spotted this room, it was no exception. What’s not to love about it?
Thankfully, Nate Berkus has a fabulous collaboration going on with Target, which makes his signature style realistic for anyone. Lots of brass, woven baskets, and rich textiles. Mix it with some nice leather pieces, new or used, and some bold graphic rugs, and this room can totally be your own.
A few months ago, I found some beautiful art books at a used book store for just a few dollars. I’m usually not one to take books apart, but I bought these specifically for pages I wanted to frame. Here’s how they turned out! We bought pre-fab frames from Michael’s and had them cut custom mats to fit the artwork (we waited until they had a 50% off sale). All in all, we spent less than $25 per piece.
