Another day... another project

This is one that sprouted from a curbside find. The first of every month means a new neighbor, and the removal of another. In May however, there are tons of recent graduates moving in and out of their Boston apartment, and their trash is another mans treasure. Tony found this table on the curb and i decided that it would make a great present for our friends. Their coffee table is broken and the bottom shelf always gets dumped on the floor anytime we go to their house to hang out. It served as some serious frustration and usually resulted in us always joking about how we were going to buy them a new table. Well... we did one better! Check out their new table with a certified awesome chalkboard top!

Things I do for Tony

So Tony works for a design build firm in Boston, and since it's construction work (for the most part) he eats a lot of food! He also works with four other men who also eat a lot of food, and since their company is really ecologically conscious I thought that I might make them some super-awesome lunch bags to reduce their dependency on plastic shopping bags, which they all used previously to carry their lunches in. So I made one as a test out of some canvas I had laying around the house, and sent it off with Tony. That day he came home and told me that everybody wanted one, and to make them ASAP. Well, that was about a month ago, and last night I finally caved and busted out three more bags for the boys. They aren't the most beautiful creations, but seeing as they end up looking like Tony's (see before/after shot) I don't think anymore time should be spent on them.


Also note the sweet initials Tony personally stitched onto scraps and then sewed into the bags, yeah that's not my sewing you see there!

BUSY BEE = ME

I realize now that it has been over a week since I last updated this blog with any worthwhile information, so my sincerest apologies to all of you loyal followers... you do exist right? Tony's final thesis was presented over the weekend, and with that huge hurdle out of the way we both have been lounging in blissful nothingness for the past few days. However spring is in full bloom here in Boston, and I can't be too lazy. At least not while the sun is shining and birds are chirping! This morning after an earlier morning meeting I headed to TJ's for some weekly groceries and decided that today was a day for baking!

I attempted to make some whole wheat loafs, and two turned out quite perfectly, however the last bit of dough was a bit tough and I guess also a bit "stringy" . So I decided that it probably wasn't going to bake up pretty or potentially at all, so I used the dough as a bit of an experiment adding mango chunks and coconut to the batter. I plumped the brick into a bread pan and crossed my fingers. Well the baking fairy was totally watching out for me today and that bread is the bomb! After averting a near disaster with some burning, smoldering coconut flake drippings onto the oven bed, the loaf came out with a crispy yet chewy caramelized coconut top and sweet mellow mango flavoring in the dense, moist center with surprising spring. I have to admit this was the luckiest mistake ever, but a mighty tasty one at that!



Pic: The yummiest mistake ever: Mango Coconut Bread