Pictures hidden in concrete : like invisible ink for home design! Via Fresh Home Blog.

Haven’t the time to leisurely browse the 6th issue of Rue Magazine? Well CasaSugar did, and picked 5 ideas to steal.

Check out what this Etsy seller can make with ordinary household castoffs like mixer blades, at theinteriorRevolution.

Tour the home of a Richmond-area lighting designer with Young House Love. Inspiration is everywhere — lots of industrial salvage mixed with traditional antiques in a lovely way.

Beat the brutal summer heat by making this DIY waterfall spinkler at Curbly. It only takes 10 minutes…

DIYLife interviews landscape designer Margie Ruddick, who was recently in hot water with the city of Philadelphia for her wild, naturally grown yard.

Simple Coconut Ice Cream? Yes, please. At fleur du poirier via Tastespotting.

Michael Ruhlman is awesome. He’s an amazingly talented food writer — his book Ratio is a must for anyone who wants to cook & bake sans recipes, and his blog is an endless source of hilarity and inspiration. So when he’s not busy writing, or hanging out with his buddy Tony Bourdain, he can also add inventor to his list of job titles. I’ve taken notice of his new bamboo scrubber (above), and it is firmly seated at the top of my “things I need” list. Other tested and true implements include the bad ass perforated spoon (yes, that is the real name), designed to assist in poaching the perfect egg; all strain kitchen cloths, reusable cotton strainers that are so much better than cheesecloth; and the spanker collection, acacia wood paddles that get to the corners of pans for even stirring and deglazing. These are artisan tools, indeed. Find the aforementioned items — plus a nice selection of Ruhlman’s favorite other kitchen gadgets and spices — at his Open Sky page. — Megan B.

If you’re familiar with the phrase “the Dude abides,” you’re familiar with this Venice, CA bungalow, available now for a cool $2.3 million. The house that Jeff Bridges made famous in The Big Lebowski is now on the market. It looks quite a bit nicer in photos than it did in the now-classic Coen Brothers film, but at that asking price, here’s hoping they throw in a rug that really ties the room together. Maybe you could attend a showing just to see what condition the house’s condition is in. (Feel free to add your own Lebowski-isms in comments!) — Mary T.

While I was out and about a few weeks ago, I came across the prettiest vintage wool blanket in a secondhand shop. It was love at first sight – I grabbed it and wouldn’t let go until I was at the register. Sadly, while it’s lovely to look at, I failed to follow the cardinal rule of vintage shopping: always, always do a sniff test. Now, I’m stuck with a beautiful, but musty blanket – and I simply can’t cure it!

I’ve dramatically improved things by washing it in a wool shampoo (an excellent thing to have on hand – wash on warm, delicate cycle, and air dry). I’ve tried hanging it out to air dry for a couple of days. I’ve Febreezed and I’ve Lysol’ed and it’s all been to no avail. The biggest degree of improvement, oddly, seems to have come from accidentally leaving it in the trunk of my car for a week in hot summer weather. Something about baking in the heat for so long seems to have helped quite a bit.

I’d really love to banish the rest of this funk and enjoy this beautiful find…have any of you encountered this problem? I’d love any tips or tricks you have to share! –Becki S.

“This recipe is a can’t-miss!” my friend insisted. Well, this chocolate spice cake from Five Spoons may have been delicious, but a winner of my company’s bake-off, it was not. Alas.

I thought that it was imperative that I have a bundt pan in order to properly bake this cake, so I bought one new from Nordic Ware, spending a bit more than I’m used to for bake ware. When I made the cake, I used reduced-fat sour cream, and I’m wondering if that combined with my first foray into bundt pan baking was what made my cake just slightly dry. I didn’t have time to do a test run, or I would have taken it out of the oven sooner — I’ve learned that judges like moist. The cake’s flavor, however, was quite good — like a nice chocolately version of gingerbread.

So my cake didn’t stand a chance against some entries like a peanut butter/chocolate thing that was covered in Reese’s Cups and peanuts (bleah, personally), but I did hear from a lot of people that my frosting was the favorite! I usually just whip up my own with butter, milk, and powdered sugar, but this time I followed a recipe from my re-issue of Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook. Just a simple vanilla buttercream frosting that was delicious and easy and held its shape amazingly well. Now that’s a can’t-miss. — Mary T.

Last year I had quite a few outdoor parties, and went through a lot of cups, utensils, and napkins. You name it, it probably got thrown away after one use. Ugh. I decided to cut down (some more!) on disposable glasses, but after losing two somewhat-expensive wine glasses at a lively party, I knew I needed to find another solution. So, I picked up a dozen glass goblets from a local second-hand store and designated them “outdoor only” use. But their “mis-matchiness” bothered me and I wanted a way to tie them together. Then it came to me – frost them! I ordered some etching liquid online and dipped the glasses in the solution, and presto – matching outdoor drinkware! While the etching liquid is a little tricky, and not very forgiving, I got the hang of it after a few glasses. Now, if one happens gets broken, it will be inexpensive to replace and I don’t have to worry if it’s exactly the same style as the others. Just frost and it will instantly become part of the set! — Rebecca F.

Photo credit: Rebecca Firlik

There’s nothing like a trip home to spark a fierce bout of nostalgia. This past weekend, a short visit to my parents’ out in the suburbs served not only as a brief respite from the congestion of the city, but also as an invitation for the most bittersweet of childhood nostalgias for this city girl: yard nostalgia. The wistful longing for summer nights spent running around barefoot on freshly cut grass. As kids my sister, brother and I would hang around outside with the neighborhood kids playing all sorts of yard games. A favorite was croquet. Even though we didn’t know the rules, we’d often get the set out and knock the bright balls around with the colorful mallets. Bocce was another we played, albeit with our own rules, that has become popular in the city, even with its lack of yard space. Some bars and apartment complexes have designated areas for the sport, but nothing compares to the beauty of an expansive yard in the summertime. If I had one, I’d be right back at it, and would love to introduce some giant, yard-approved versions of table games, like Jenga, which can be made according to this how-to at Instructables, or even this larger-than-life game of Scrabble, found at Sunset.com. Click here to read about an Ohio couple who made an even larger paver Scrabble board in their backyard. How cool is that? Readers, do you play summer yard games? — Sarah C.

photo by Flickr member RLHyde

I had a lovely dinner party last month that included treats for each guest to take home – a trio of roasted and seasoned nuts. I packaged each one in a brown wax bag, tied each with cooking twine, and sealed with a little wax for a fancy touch. But I was at a loss as to what to put the individual packages in. My first thought was take-out boxes, but I couldn’t justify another $5 for a box that was going to be tossed out once opened. Ouch! Time to get crafty … I had a number of brown paper bags left from grocery shopping, and after a few trials I came up with a cute package that I felt good about giving. I cut open each bag and, to mask the fold lines, dampened each a little and crumpled them. (Dampening helps the paper to crumple easier). Then I smoothed, ironed on low, and cut two large rectangles out of each bag. I folded the rectangles in half, sewed on two sides, filled each with the packages of nuts, pinned shut the open side (but at 90 degrees from the first side) and sewed this end closed. Done! The brown paper was a nice complement to my rustic wax paper bags and sealing wax, and at no extra expense. Do you have any crafty wrapping solutions? — Rebecca F.

Photo credit: Rebecca Firlik

In our apartment, summer means it’s party-planning time 100% of the time. With a roommate who doubles as a professional Maid-of-Honor, we tend to do more chatting about flowers and cupcakes now than we did back in Mrs. Elefante’s 3rd grade class. And while we’re all for do-it-yourself, budget-friendly options, we’ve stumbled upon a few sites whose adorable wares are certainly worth a mention. Among them, Luna Bazaar and Shop Sweet Lulu. With it’s handy option to shop by color, Luna Bazaar is a great resource for anyone planning an event with a strong color theme, and with more than 375 paper lantern styles, a must-shop for those planning outdoor summer soirees. Polka-dot lovers, look no further than Shop Sweet Lulu’s stable of cupcake liners, straws, balloons and candles. Even if you’re surfing for inspiration alone, these two gems are a fun escape from the everyday. How cute are these spools of Divine Twine? Have any party shops to add? Sound off in comments. — Sarah C.

It’s tough being a tourist — airport delays, tricky language barriers, and unfamiliar bathroom situations. One thing you don’t have to worry about is wasting precious vacation time trying to fold your map back up perfectly thanks to the Crumpled City Map ($18). Designed by Emanuele Pizzolorusso for Palomar and printed on lightweight, 100% waterproof material, this city guide is meant to be stuffed into back pockets, clutch purses, and backpacks. Bonus: Each map comes with 10 marked “Soulsights” that the Italian designer describes as “places filled with intense emotions that are brought to life by the people passing through or stopping off in them. Visit these places and you will feel like an artist, a poet, a photographer, a director, a lover and a dreamer.” –Katie D.