Shelterrific reader and fellow blogger, Debra Immergut from sent over this amazing idea. It’s taking some scrap Marimekko fabric and using it as base for some darling curtains. As Debra explains:

I had an orange, yellow, pink, and green floral Marimekko bedspread when I was a kid in the seventies. I’ve had an incessant desire for this Scandinavian-designed gorgeousness ever since. Thanks for getting me hooked on the expensive stuff, Ma!

I really can’t bring myself to spend the full 4o to 60 bucks a yard that Marimekko fabric usually costs. So to get my fix, I drop by the “clearance” section at Textile Arts, a fantastic online fabric shop that specializes in Scandinavian goods. Every so often, excellent Marimekko bits and pieces are to be found there, often for less than $20 a pop. It’s one of my most treasured secrets, but now I’m spilling the beans to you, darling blogosphere!

My collection of Marimekko pieces are all in odd sizes. Some are big enough to tack on the wall, and I do that. Some are just folded in a drawer, and occasionally I just take them out and admire them. One day, I realized I could use two of the scraps to dress up some bland white bathroom curtains. And so I did…

Click on over to Improv Home for the complete how to and a few other Marimekko scrap ideas!

A friend of ours posted a link to this Sunset magazine video on her Facebook page this week and we’ve been thinking about it non stop. It’s a tour of a zero-impact kitchen by Béa Johnson’s (her whole house is like this but it’s the kitchen that is most inspiring). Not only is it clean, modern and and bright but every drawer and cabinet is filled with smartly-used glass jars filled with locally-grown food. I love the idea of no-impact living, but I think it’d be really hard to pull off unless you lived in the right place. My dear friend Henny tries to maintain an uber green lifestyle and is constantly pulling out re-used produce bags from her backpack when we’re in stores. I oblige when she’s with me, but on my own I only remember our grocery totes about half the time. We bring them in and then forget to put them back in the car! What about you? Could you imagine living a no-impact life? Or perhaps just having a zero-waste kitchen? Here are some tips from Béa’s Sunset feature, below:

1. Get rid of your trash can. Everything goes either into the recycling bin, or it gets turned into compost. If you can’t do one of those things with it — eat it!

2. Pillow cases work in the freezer. This Californian buys a week’s worth of baguettes, cuts them in half and freezes them in pillow cases for the week.

3. Make your own orange juice. We can do this. We have a juicer we never use!

4. No more plastic containers from the store. Bring glass jars, hit the salad bar and bulk aisles, and stock up. Granted, cashiers at Whole Foods might do this, but I can’t imagine our local grocery store pulling it off.

P.S. Béa has a blog! zerowastehome.blogspot.com
P.S.S. If you feel a little insecure after watching this video, and after recently learning that French women are better moms than us, you’re not alone. Sigh.

Hey there, fellow citizens of Procrastination Nation! With Valentine’s Day looming large it’s time for the yearly scramble to make that last-minute dinner reservation. (Table for two at 4:30 pm?) But if you haven’t already, don’t: Consumerist confirms what we’ve known all along about this commercial love fest – that it makes statistical sense to stay home and eat in on V-day. Not sure what to make? Let the stars decide with Chow.com’s Zodiac Valentine’s Menu Game . Simply enter your astrological sign and that of your sweetie to generate a menu catered to your specific tastes complete with recipes for the recommended appetizer, main dish and dessert. But if a dinner out is a must, you’re in luck: White Castle is still taking reservations .

It’s not very often that we write about fashion here on Shelterrific, but this insanely adorable top from Anthropologie lets us wear our domestic hearts on our sleeves – and tummies and backs! A silk-screened image by photographer Sarah Ball (we couldn’t find any additional info on her so let us know if you have some to share!), it features a delightful pink cottage on its front and back. Match it with a pair of jeans and kelly green cardigan and you’ve got an outfit worthy of any weekend getaway. Now, all we need is a little cottage to visit! A little pricey at $188, we’ll keep on eye on the sales racks for this one. Swoon, swoon.

Among my many obsessions are great cookbooks. If a cookbook is truly lovely, I can read it like a novel – cover to cover, ogling every photo and fantasizing about the event for which I’d make every recipe.

I’ve clearly been living under some sort of rock, as I didn’t know much about Melissa Clark before now, other than that she’s the food writer for the New York Times. But from the moment I cracked the spine of her latest book, Cook This Now, I was a devoted follower. Organized by month, Clark walks you through what’s in season and great to cook with every month of the year, so you can adhere to her strict localvore attitude or mix-and-match recipes throughout the year.

As mouth-watering as every recipe appeared, I had to give things a try before I committed to our new love. So, I tested her recipe for Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas. Friends…all I can say is that roasting chickpeas and lemons underneath a chicken is pure culinary genius. They get all crunchy and delicious from the long cooking time, and the butter-slathered chicken drips down on the chickpeas as it cooks…the whole thing is complete genius.

For once in my life, I made this recipe exactly as written. And I wouldn’t change a thing…but I do have a few comments/helpful hints:

1. The gremolata is, as is often the case in my opinion, optional. The parsley is a nice touch, and adds a bit of freshness and color, but the lemons in the chickpeas are so bright that I couldn’t really taste the gremolata anyway. If you do want to go for the gremolata, I suggest zesting half of one of the lemons you’re already using (the half you’ll put inside the chicken), just to save yourself some work.

2. Butter is nearly impossibly to apply to wet chicken skin. So, before slathering, dry that chicken off thoroughly.

3. A roasting rack with handles is a nice effort saver here – I lifted the chicken out to add the chickpeas and stir everything around, and it made my life much easier than trying to maneuver around the bird.

4. Baby carrots would work every bit as well as larger carrots here, and would be a great shortcut. Also, dried thyme works out just fine in the chicken cavity if you don’t want to buy fresh.

Other than that, follow Clark’s directions to the letter, and you’ll have a seriously stunning dinner on your hands. My husband, carnivorus maximus, threatened to eat the entire bowl of chickpeas and lemons by himself.

Melissa Clark’s Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas & Gremolata

For the Chicken:
2 lemons
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
4 thyme sprigs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 pound carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch rounds

For the Gremolata:
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Quarter the lemons lengthwise and remove and discard any seeds. Thinly slice six of the lemon quarters crosswise (you will get little triangles) and in a bowl, toss them with the chickpeas, oil, 1/2 tablespoon (which equals 1 1/2 teaspoons if you don’t have a 1/2 tablespoons measure) of the garam masala, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Season the inside of the chicken cavity with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fill the cavity with remaining wedges of lemon and thyme sprigs. Rub the outside of the chicken all over with the remaining 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Rub the butter all over the skin.

4. Scatter the carrots in the bottom of the largest roasting pan you have (use the one you use for your Thanksgiving turkey). Place a wire roasting rack over the carrots; arrange the chicken, breast-side-up, on the rack. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast, stirring the carrots occasionally, for 30 minutes. Scatter the chickpea mixture into the bottom of the roasting pan. Continue to roast until the chicken’s thigh juices run clear when pierced with a knife, 45 to 60 minutes longer. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before carving.

5. Meanwhile, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic in a bowl. Spoon the carrot-chickpea mixture onto a platter; arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle the gremolata over the dish and serve.

When we bought our house about a two years ago, it was nearly perfect. Porch, backyard, short walk to the train. Coming from a small apartment meant we had stars in our eyes at thought of a things like an attic, garage and a basement. Storage galore. We were smitten. So smitten we casually overlooked that the kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher. I had lived 40 years without one, surely I could go a little longer, I thought. However, once we moved in my inner baker and closeted hostess-with-the-mostest personality came out. I cook at least three times a week and we have guests over several times a month. Suddenly, the no dishwasher thing was getting to be a real drag.

We called in a kitchen contractor type and were dismayed to learn that slipping in a dishwasher was not going to be an easy task. Our cabinets were all custom-sized, and the nice stone counter top could break if they tried to lift it up. There was some extra space in the corner of the kitchen, were we had placed a small bistro table. It was nice to have a table in the kitchen, but honestly we never used it. Our solution became clear: Extend the counter with butcher block (so we didn’t have to worry about matching the stone counter) and put the dishwasher there. There’d even be room for a stool, if we wanted to tuck one under.

A few weeks later, and voila! I can’t believe how much I am in love with our new appliance. We picked a Bosch — not the most expensive model, but a nice one that hums quietly when it’s on. It also has a pretty red light that beams on the floor so we know when it’s in use. Unlike dishwashers of my youth, this one does not have a drying cycle. I suppose it is to save energy, but if you open it up too soon things will definitely be too wet.

Now I am trying to learn the tricks of good dish loading. How dirty can things be when I put them? How closely can I pack things together? I definitely have noticed a few butter knifes that still look dirty after a cycle, and if we put the plates too close together, the backs will stay gunky.

Got any good dishwasher advice to share with me? I’d love tips on loading. What does your dishwasher clean that surprises you? What do you never put in there? As always, your shared wisdom is deeply appreciated! — Angela M.

As part of our newly freshened up Shelterrific design, we are going to be featuring an artist a month on the site and in our header. This month’s artist is Massachusetts-based Catherine Nolin, whose work we fell in love with via her Etsy shop. With ornately decorated rooms, wallpapers, patterns, and fancily-dressed ladies, they conjure up fantasies of tea parties in grand estates. Our favorite, however is Tree of Life, which you see on our header, with its exotic birds and flowers.

We asked Catherine to tell us a little about her work, and her where her sense of decorating flair comes from.

Your work features a lot of elaborately decorated rooms. What inspires them?
When my parents did a big living room makeover it made a big impression on me as a 8 year old. I remember being involved in the process looking at swatches of fabric, carpets, and paint colors. When it all came together it was quite a thing. When I create an interior I am pulling together all those elements and I just love it.

What’s your favorite room in your house?
My favorite room in my house is the living room. We painted the walls a dark olive which was risky but turned out to be the perfect backdrop/ canvas for all the eclectic furnishing we have collected over the years.

How would you describe your painting style?
I don’t quite have a name for my style although some have said contemporary realism.  I am very inspired by Matisse, Vermeer and Hopper to name a few. I learn something everyday when I paint.

For more information about Catherine Nolin and her work, visit her website and Etsy store.

I made it through the first two seasons of “Justified” on DVD in time to start watching season three on FX. Now I’m doing my best to get caught up on “Downton Abbey.” While it’s hard to compare a series set in Harlan, Kentucky with one set in North Yorkshire, the writing and acting on both is exceptional. On “Justified,” it’s usually the outside shots that capture my fancy. Big craggy rocks, mountains, sweeping shots of fields. But on the Abbey set? It’s all about the interior. Although I could live in the library with the floor to ceiling shelves and layered rugs, the set piece that really caught my attention was the table used as a bar. When bar carts are all the rage, it’s funny to see the same idea (sans wheels) in a period piece. The only requirement, it seems, would be finding a table that was slim enough without being too tall. An Edwardian table on Ruby Lane for $4,500 and a less ornate table on eBay for under $400 look to be the perfect fit. Of course, if you decide to go the Abbey route with your bar, plain old bottles will never do.

Yesterday among the bills and the Chinese food fliers, I received a little neon pink envelope in the mail. It was a save the date for a summer wedding (which is pretty much the golden ticket of postage items). Besides being adorable, it was also an ingenious little save the date! It was a scratch off ticket, mailed with a nickel, that revealed the wedding date as you scratched. After a little research, I found a great, simple how-to for the invites from (who else?) Martha Stewart. –Katie D.

I enjoy making risotto, when I have the time. Since that doesn’t happen as much as I’d like and I had a container of arborio rice staring me in the face, I looked up “oven risotto recipes” online. To my surprise, there were quite a few, ranging from recipes that required just a few minutes of stove-top prep to ones that required closer to 15 minutes of prep. Since I didn’t have most of the ingredients for either on hand, the decision was easy: Keep it simple. After coating a casserole dish with oil, I threw a cup of rice in the bottom, grated a little nutmeg, stirred in some minced garlic and added three cups of low-sodium chicken stock. (Low sodium is important, since the liquid will reduce.) Then I covered the dish tightly and threw it in the oven. After 20 minutes, I jiggled the casserole dish and there was still an inch or so of liquid on top. I let it go another 10 minutes and checked again. Bingo. I cubed up the butter and gently stirred it in, then did the same with the parmesan and seasoning. Total effort? Five minutes for a creamy and flavorful risotto. Not bad. I’ll definitely try this again, experimenting with adding a few more ingredients. Click through to the next page for the recipe!

Another one-pan rice dish you may like:
Broccolli rabe with sausage and rice

No-Stir Oven Risotto
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray or oil. Add first four ingredients. Cover tightly and put in oven. Check after 20 minutes but don’t remove lid! If liquid thinly covers the rice, remove from oven and add final three ingredients. If not, cook another ten minutes. Check again. If it looks good, add the final three ingredients, stirring gently. Plate immediately and garnish with grated Parmesan.

1 cup arborio rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp. pre-prepared minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more of garnish