[ market day ]

OVER THE past few years, we've become accustomed to using reusable bags for grocery shopping. It started in Ireland where they were charging the equivalent of about 50 cents per plastic bag ~ we quickly started bringing our own!

Even though we've gathered a few of the cheap cloth ones they sell at the grocery stores, I've been meaning to make a couple of my own ~ something a little cuter to make the chore of grocery shopping a bit more fun. I finally got around to sewing up 2 new ones...

I dug through my fabric stash for something heavy enough so I wouldn't have to add a lining and found this black leaf-print IKEA fabric and had just enough to make 2 bags. I didn't use a pattern ~ I just winged it. I added a dotted pocket on the outside, perfect for a phone, wallet or coupons and used black ultra-suede along the bottom. I figured that black will hide dirt and remain nice looking for longer, but they're washable anyway so no worries. 

Sorry, no DIY on this one, but if you're looking to whip up a similar one for yourself, I did come across this cutie...

and you can purchase the pattern for it here.  Happy sewing!

lisa

[ arrggh! this place! ]

EVERY expat in Dubai knows that this place is an exercise in patience. Sure the sunshine is great, but it definitely comes at a price! I'm constantly encountering things that just don't make sense and are guaranteed to hike your blood pressure up a few notches. My latest encounter was this...

This is where we live ~ villa 57 on street 2 of our gated community...

Over the course of this year, the developer has filled in an open area just up the street from us with a few new villas. The boards have just come down to reveal this...

Seriously! How can you have two villas on the same street with the same number?? They had assigned this chunk of new villas numbers 53-63, right between existing numbers 12 and 13! Why 53-63? Seems pretty random since the existing numbering already goes to about 100 at the bottom of our street! How does this even happen?

I hadn't noticed until I called for a taxi on Thursday. I was standing outside my villa waiting for what seemed to be much longer than usual when my phone rang.

Taxi: I am here ma'am

Me: Where?

Taxi: In front of villa

Me: No... I'm standing right in front of my villa and you are not here.

Taxi: Villa 57?

Me: Yes, villa 57. Are you on Street 2?

Taxi: Yes ma'am

Me: Are you sure?

Taxi: Yes ma'am. Street 2. Villa 57.

Me: Well I'm confused. I'm standing right in front and you are not here. Are you sure you are on Street 2? Did you turn right at the gate or left?

Taxi: I turn right ma'am. Street 2.

Me: Well, you are definitely not in front of my villa. I'm confused. You're SURE you turned right at the gate?

Taxi: Sigh. Yes ma'am. I turn right. I go back and turn left. 'click'

Me: Sigh.

I stood there waiting to see how this was going to play out when I saw him approaching from the bottom of my street instead. He had driven around, past the gate, down Street 1 to where it joins my street and come up. He looked at my villa number with a confused look on his face. I got in.

Taxi: This is villa 57?

Me: Yes. This is where I've been waiting. This is Street 2.

Taxi: Yes ma'am but I was Street 2. I show you.

We drove up the street and he stopped in front of the new villa.

Taxi: Here ma'am. Here I was waiting. Villa 57. Street 2.

I couldn't believe my eyes! I was looking at a villa on my street with the same number as mine! The fact that it was clearly still under construction and obviously not yet occupied hadn't dawned on him. He was waiting at villa 57 so I couldn't very well accuse him of being wrong. He was right ~ sort of. I can't even imagine the problems this is going to create.

Sigh. Only in Dubai.

lisa

[ apple of my eye ]

WHEN you are craving something for dessert, there's nothing like baking up an apple cake. I love that there are no special ingredients ~ just pantry staples so you can bake one any time you like!

lisa's scrumptious apple cake

This cake is simple to make and you can use any apples you like {I use a mix of Granny Smith and Gala just because it's what I usually have on hand}. This is a light, fluffy cake and the apple slices will sink right into it when it bakes. Tastes delicious as is, or serve it even yummier with ice cream and caramel sauce!

what you need:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

a sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

3 apples peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon for topping

how to:

Preheat oven to 350F. 

1. Sift flour with baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla until fluffy. 

3. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk {begin and end with flour mixture}. Spread the batter into a greased 9" square baking pan.

4. Place apple slices in rows on the batter, pressing in slightly {I alternate apple varieties}. If you have a few too many, just wedge them in there! Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

5. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until apples are tender and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

lisa

[ my weekend ]

WHILE much of North America is still digging out from under snow, we've had a dirty sandstorm weekend ~ beige skies, sand blowing, a bit of drizzle just to make the sand run slightly down the windows and then dry that way ~ yuck. This is my 3rd birthday in a row with a sandstorm. Gotta love waking up and checking the forecast on my iPhone and seeing this...

So needless to say, we didn't partake in the breakfast on a patio idea that I had originally planned. 

Instead, we chose a bit of Texas BBQ...

And we went to see this...

I hadn't heard of it ~ apparently it was at Cannes. Hmm... what can I say except it wasn't really my taste. I mean, how bad could it be with Ryan Gosling in it?? I guess I just didn't appreciate the artistry of it. 

But the best part was being surprised with these...

I can never have too many pairs of TOMS, especially here in Dubai. And this taupe colour is perfect to hide any dirt, even in a sandstorm!

Thanks for all your sweet birthday wishes! How was your weekend?

lisa

[ another year older ]

HAPPY weekend everyone!

As for me, I'm celebrating my birthday ~ yup, another year closer to old age! Luckily I still feel like a spring chicken and my guy tells me that I don't look any different than when we met at 16 ~ gotta love him!

Have a great weekend!

lisa

[ the beach at jbr ]

ONE THING about Dubai is that there is always development going on and something new popping up. This weekend we decided to check out what's been happening down at JBR, the area where we stayed 3 years ago when we first arrived here before we got our apartment.

JBR is a popular Dubai tourist spot with The Walk, a strip of hotels and all kinds of cafes and restaurants with outdoor patios. It's a great spot to people-watch and weekends usually bring the locals with their expensive cars cruising along the strip.

There has always been a beach along the shore and now there is The Beach, a new development of 4 plazas connected by an esplanade with more shops and restaurants, a running track, underground parking, valet parking, and an open-air cinema opening soon. A few places have opened so far with more to follow. 

With Dubai winning the bid this year for Expo 2020, there's been plenty of celebration here and plans for more and more development. I love this huge sandcastle...

We decided to stop for lunch and headed for The Counter, a build-your-own burger spot {we went to one a few times in Dublin when we lived there}...

My guy built his with sautéed mushrooms and chipotle aioli...

and I made mine more of a Hawaiian with grilled pineapple and bbq sauce...

add a chocolate banana shake and a side of these parmesan fries...

and yummo!

The Beach at JBR will be a great spot in the winter with mild temperatures and gentle breezes on the patios. But with temperatures jumping from highs of 24C to 31C just this week and climbing, it won't be long before it will be a little too toasty for many to take in the sights along the sand {including the camel rides!}. 

lisa

[via mytravelingjoys.com]

[ sticker families ]

I'M SURE all of you are familiar with sticker families ~ those little stick people on the back windows of vehicles depicting everyone in the family including pets...

Well, did you know that there are also sticker families for people here in Dubai?

It really is a small world. Do you have a sticker family on your vehicle?

lisa

[ happy weekend! ]

THE WEEKS sure seem to fly by ~ can you believe it's already March tomorrow? So what have you got planned for the weekend? Since weekends here in Dubai are Fridays and Saturdays, we've already had a head start and enjoyed a lovely brunch meeting new people from South Africa and France ~ I love that Dubai is such an interesting mix of international people.

As for the rest of the weekend, I think a bit of sleeping in tomorrow is in order and perhaps soaking up some sun while we still can before the temperature starts creeping up.

Whatever you are up to, have a good one!

lisa

[via byfryd.com]

[ before and afters ]

ONE OF my favourite things is seeing how an ugly space has transformed into a thing of beauty. Sometimes the work has been extensive, but sometimes only a few minor changes have created a completely fresh space. These are some of my favourites I've come across recently...

Aren't they great? I love how these spaces have primarily used paint to give the room a completely updated feel. So if you're shopping for a home, don't be scared off by dated wood finishes ~ just imagine how it would look painted out and you might snag a bargain!

Have you painted out any dated wood finishes in your home?

lisa

[the decorologist; coastal living] 

[ slipcover reveal! ]

SO, promising yesterday that I would reveal my slipcover today did the trick to get this project completed {it was just the kick in the pants I needed!}

This was a tricky project ~ much more complicated than my club chair covers due to those darn roll arms ~ the thing I love so much about this sofa. But I managed to get them fitted pretty well...

For those of you interested in how I achieved those arms, here are a few details to give you a bit of an idea...

Take the inside arm panel and drape it around the arm towards the outside. Start creating the arm folds {remember you are doing this inside out so you need to make the folds facing up so that they will face down when you turn it right-side out}. Take your time as you want these as even as possible since they are a key feature of this sofa.

Once you have the folds smoothly positioned, hand baste in place {I added two rows of hand basting to help hold things in place, then trimmed some of the excess fabric}.

Pin on side panel while positioning the piping in between {take your time and use lots of pins ~ this is the most difficult part to get right}. Don't forget to run the piping down to the floor!

Flip right-side out and check for fit. Congratulate yourself for getting the worst part done ~ have a cookie!

Spread out seat back and seat bottom piece {I used one big piece} and start pinning around the arm, clipping to get a smooth fit.

Sew around both arms and check for fit before trimming excess fabric from seams.

Cut a piece for front skirt panel, pin along front edge and fit along sides to join with piping. Sew and check for fit.

Similar to the arms, pin fabric around the top corners, forming smooth folds. Baste if you feel necessary to hold in place. 

Now attach your back panel {decide how you want the slipcover to open/close ~ I decided on a centre zipper with a flap ~ you could choose a side seam zipper, buttons, ties, etc}. Once you have completed your open/close detail, pin back panel in place, sew and check for fit. Remove all basting threads.

Pin up hem, measuring how much leg you want to show. Sew. {You may want to zigzag all your seams just to ensure they won't unravel when you wash your cover} Turn right-side out and smooth in place. Add all your covered seat cushions and...

Done!

It feels great to have this project finally complete ~ I've had it on my list for 2.5 years since we bought this sofa! I think that's it for slipcovering for a while! {To see my tutorial for my leather club chair slipcovers, click here}.

lisa

[ motivation ]

AND THAT'S exactly how I've been feeling about this slipcover project... so close and yet so far. 

I won't lie and tell you that it's been an easy project ~ that couldn't be further from the truth! Those lovely roll arms make for some tricky fitting and have made this project drag on longer than I anticipated. And instead of just tackling it head-on, I've found myself dragging my feet and procrastinating. 

And so to force myself to finish up the darn thing, I'm giving myself a deadline of tomorrow for the big reveal!

Now on to the hemming part and it will be complete!

lisa

[ happy weekend! ]

AND happy valentine's day to you all! What have you got planned with your loved one?

Our day will include a movie date...

a romantic dinner at home followed by a bit of this...

and of course a few of these thrown in...

Have a wonderful lovey dovey day!

lisa