ShelterPop gives a helpful tutorial on growing chives, and makes a convincing argument for growing your own. Chive flowers in salads? Beautifully delicious!

We’ve been on the hunt for retro-inspired, decorative concrete screen blocks for quite a while now. The search is over, thanks to RetroRenovation.

MadMen actor Vincent Kartheiser (who plays Pete Campbell) lives without a toilet in a 70 square foot wooden bungalow in Los Angeles. His extreme minimalism is for real, and it’s in response to his MadMen celebrity. At BoingBoing.

The New York Times featured some more comfortable and realistic minimalism this week too, detailing how a Seattle artist converted a 250 square foot garage into a fabulous little home for $32,000(with a cute little love story attached!).

We’re planning a trip to IKEA after spotting these galvanized hanging planters, a steal at $4.99. Via Remodelista.

We love orchids. We love terrariums. We love helpful how-to’s. CasaSugar’s got all three things in one post. Awesome!

Five things that are bound to clutter up your day, via Unclutterer. Helpful list, indeed (especially for those of us who are guilty of ALL five)!

CakeSpy has us dreaming of April in Paris (as we’ve been wont to do of late) with her recent post, highlighting her visit to a patisserie in each of the 20 arondissements.

– Megan B.

Know a mom who’s a garden guru? Make her Mother’s Day with these gorgeous printed garden tools from the V&A/Wild And Wolf collection. Available online at the V&A Shop or domestically at Aldea Home, the collection features a garden tools set including a cultivator and trowel, a watering can, and secatuers outfitted in Daisy, Anemone, and Cray prints by famed English textile designer William Morris. Gardening gloves in Celia Birtwell’s Pretty Woman print are also a great gift for Mom this Mother’s Day. Snag a pair for $20 at Anthropologie or check out the expanded collection, including gardening tools, $38, and watering can, $56, at Kate’s Paperie. — Sarah C

That’s an easy one for me to answer: Brussels sprouts. The truth is, I’m not sure I even used to hate them, only that I used to refused to eat them — they just looked like small, stinky cabbage to me. (I love my mom, but a childhood of German and Irish cooking — read: boiling — probably contributed to that notion.) Flash forward to Christmas 2009, when my pal Bay did a simple Brussels sprouts stir-fry with some balsamic vinegar. Suddenly, I can’t get enough of those crazy, tiny cabbage. Have you had any food revelations lately? — Mary T.

Photo by Flickr member Esteban Cavrico

This Saturday is the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. Despite being horse-obsessed throughout my childhood, and currently living within an easy drive of Lexington, I lack the singular focus I once had. However, these great vintage paint-by-number horses from Etsy seller vintagehaven took me back to a time when all I thought about was horses: Horse racing. Horse books. Horse stickers. Horse hooked rugs. Horse paint-by-numbers. You get the point. This Saturday, though, my thoughts will once again be dominated by horses. That, and our now annual treat of Derby Pie. See all the vintage paint-by-number horses that Etsy has to offer right here. — Sarah L.

I’ve been keeping tabs on forkheartknife, the blog of Sierra Laumer, one of the proprietors of a soon-to-open Cincinnati restaurant that will also be known as forkheartknife. I love Sierra’s energetic style — and also her food — so I asked if I could share her post on making pickles. Be sure to visit her site for other great (and sometimes surprising) recipes — beet bi-products pizza comes to mind. — Mary T.

Today I made a load of pickles for a tapas and Italian bites dinner:
- Carrots in a spicy brine of chili oil, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices
- Asparagus in a brine of Italian white wine vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, sugar, salt, and spices
- Beets in a pretty classic pickling juice
- Cukes pickled with fennel frond, dill, garlic, and jalapeno
- Red onion with my sherry vinegar
- And OKRA! in a pickling brine

I make a lazy pickle, or “quickle” (because I like making combo words, too). I don’t have a granny to teach me the fine nuances of canning, so I use a jar with a tight lid and keep everything in the fridge for safety.

To pickle something, I use the basic guidelines of 2 c. vinegar, 1 c. water, 1 c. sugar, and 1/4-1/2 c. salt. I play around with adding dried seasonings to the brine — you can adjust the final pickle profile by adding more mustard seed, dill seed, fennel seed, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, ginger, cloves, star anise, etc. And sometimes I’ll add fresh herbs, jalapeno, garlic, or onion. Click for quick tips on making quick pickles. (more…)

We used to have two paintings hanging in the space you see above. The problem is, opposite that wall is our fireplace. When we added two large prints on either side of it, suddenly our room felt matchy-matchy. The watercolor I have hanging over our loveseat now is too small — and I overcompensated by adding too much matting — but the picture itself (and the fact that there’s just one) still makes me happy. While trying to find a watercolor I like in a better scale, I realized that I needed a better idea of what size to hunt for. An article on The Nest has some great and simple tips on finding the right size art for your wall — you simply measure the wall space and multiply by .57. I did that for our space and — gulp — now I know that what I need is a watercolor that measures about 20” by 14”. Which leads to a whole other math problem. Budgeting. — Sarah L.

Related: the art of the wall gallery

After literally years of debate, we are finally giving up city living in favor of a real house — complete with front and back yards, a porch, and even an attic space. The house is a small two-story gem, built in 1920. One of the things we loved about it instantly was the potential of the third floor. The previous owner used the space as an eclectic workroom — compete with ping pong table, decoupaged maps, and crystal chandelier (see top photo). What the space didn’t have: good insulation, modern wiring, or storage space. So we are undertaking our first house renovation project: an attic renovation! We did tons of searching online for images and inspiration — and found little to none. So we are sharing ours in hopes it will help you. The first step was ripping everything out; it was sad, because we know there was a lot a history in that room, but it had to be done. It only took one day! Then the contractors began framing up the new space. As you can see from above, the house has great bones. Our plan is divide the floor into bedroom/hangout place and some much needed closets. Next up: foam insulation. More soon! — Angela M.

A few weeks ago, while watching my father fix a dresser drawer with a butter knife at my apartment, I finally put my foot down. Having a dad who is the MacGyver of home repair is a luxury I enjoy immensely, but out of respect for both him and my silverware, I’ve decided it’s high time to stop the madness and invest in some real tools. My search for fun, alternative options has me smitten with bright designs by Alice Supply Co. (the darling of this winter’s New York International Gift Fair), but my fave find thus far is the Elemen’tary line of screwdrivers from Brook Farm General Store. Created by a cabinetmaker in England, each set features a simple, hardwood handle with interchangeable bits. At $32, Set No. 2 with its short handle and six bits seems the perfect addition to my big -girl toolbox. For more cool tools (including an awesome antique level) visit Brook Farm General Store. — Sarah C.

I’m not as organized as I’d like to be. I just find it really difficult to keep things neat and tidy when every little bit of space in my tiny New York apartment is being used. At this point, if something new is coming in, something old must go out… seriously. When I spotted these Ditty Bags over on Design*Sponge, I immediately thought they’d help me in my quest for organization. (Or at least my quest towards “looking” organized.) I could buy a few to act as closet catchalls and give anyone who opens the door the illusion of a well-arranged space. Pick from five different colors, and purchase one or a few for about $25 each at The Mariners Supply Company. — Erica P.

There are three things I can’t get enough of: s’mores, sweet tea, and fabulous stationery. According to my long-suffering dentist, I should only be indulging in the latter. While still only in the concept form, I’m obsessed with these beautiful Google envelopes! Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik, designers from the Industrial Design program at Syracuse University, created these envelopes that literally map out their destination. In theory, patrons would be able to send their messages electronically to the US Postal Service via Gmail for a small fee. From the digital copy, the post office would send a physical representation to your lucky recipient. While we wait for Google to make them a reality, any DIY-ers plan on trying them out in the meantime? — Katie D.