DIY Pimp your curtains

Tired of your curtains? I finally put curtains in the living room. The problem was that as soon as you want anything other then simple monotone curtains you need to break the bank. Most of the times they are expensive and you still feel like you are compromising on quality, design or colour. So why not buy simple curtains in the the exact colour and design and then add a little je ne sais quoi?

I decided to add navy stripes to a simple white curtains from IKEA. The idea I got from Pinterest.







I bought the Merete from IKEA (I changed the curtains hanging system),  added the satin stripes with gutter man textile glue. Make the exact measures you want, glue and voila! Unique curtains!

With a ruler and the glue I applied the stripes to the curtain. The result, unique curtains for much less!

New Curtains!

Market day in Amsterdam

Not only its raining, its pouring and horribly windy. The market was canceled, all our things were flying away so we couldn't even set up! It was so cold! We warmed up by keeping close and having to run after our things that blew away with the wind...Its one of those dark grey autumn days that seem to be mass produced specially for Holland.

So anyway, I leave you with some of the things I made for the museumplein market in Amsterdam.. 

Pencil cases

Little cases for makeup or tampons and ST's

Textile and leather Tote bags

All sold with some cute tags and put into a nice bag stamped with the blog's address

Perhaps we will go to the market on the 8th of December!

Gourmet Night

Yesterday I was at home all day so I decided to make something different for dinner and also something I had never done before. The chosen recipes were:

Shortbread Parmesan biscuits with salad
Ricota and spinach cannelloni

Parmesan shortbread biscuits

 

I used a recipe from Nigella Lawson as it had a shorter chill time than the Kitchenaid recipe

150 flour

100butter
75 parmesan
1 egg yolk

Mix all ingredients in a mixer, knead the ball of dough for 3 min. Divide into two and roll into cylinder shape. Chill for 45 min. When chilled cut into 1cm slices and bake in the oven at 180C for 15 min.

Cannelloni stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach

I read several recipes and made my own version...but there are a lot of nice and easy recipes out there!

Spinach and Ricotta stuffing

700g frozen spinach
300g ricotta
one handful grated Picorino cheese
pinenuts
cannelloni
small can of diced tomatoes
basil and garlic

White sauce

White wine

flour
parmesan cheese
butter
milk
cream

Drain as much water as possible from the spinach and mix it with the ricotta and cheese and add salt and pepper. Put the mixture into a piping bag (or a sandwich bag with a corner cut out). Chill while you do the tomatoe sauce.
Pour some olive oil into a frying pan and add the cut up garlic and basil. When hot add the a can of sliced tomatoes. Stir and add half a can of water. Let it simmer for a while.
Meanwhile make your white sauce.
Pour the tomato sauce on an oven tray, arrange the stuffed cannelloni on it leaving a little space between each cannelloni. Pour the white sauce on top and add a few handfuls of parmesan to the top.
Bake at 180C for around 30 min or until the pasta is cooked.

Bon Appétit!