p.s. We love you

Oh Heyyy.

Consider me bashful.  That whole “Christmas break” thing turned into winter hibernation.  The bad thing is that we went MIA just as we were getting a nice little group of daily followers and I for one definitely feel like I left a couple awesome supporters hanging. So sorry about that, come visit and I’ll make you cookies.

I won’t make too many excuses. Although I will say that the blog was pushed aside amid job and apartment hunting, settling down in a new city, grad school applications and a whole cornucopia of life changes. 

The good thing is that we have never really stopped working on the blog.  Tara, Meghan and I still toss around ideas whenever we talk and we have some relatively big plans for Scoop and y’all.

Things you can look forward to very soon:

•          Tips for thrift shopping
•         Interviews with consignment store owners
•         DIY tailoring instructional
•         DIY graphic skirts
•        Modern acid wash printing (this might be the funniest thing I ever do, stay tuned)
•          Street style.  We would love you to contribute to this section.  Send in photos of interesting folks from around the country (jeanatscoop@gmail.com).
•          My foray into the world of cooking for vegetarians.  A pretty darn good sandwich was the result. Stay tuned.

And two bigger projects we’re looking to get done at Scoop:

•          A community centered project focussing on teaching skills, building relationships and contributing to your local community.
•         A ‘zine’ cookbook and DIY guide that you will receive in the mail (that’s right ...PAPER).  Designed and written by us and you.  Opportunities to contribute will exist so keep your ears open!

Thanks for stopping by, we really hope you keep doing so in the next couple weeks as we work to get some great content up! 

Jean

My friendly mid-winter suggestion to myself

If you're a fixture in the Twittersphere you will have been bombarded with hashtags, lists, links and musings about New Year's resolutions this week.  If you're anything like me, you ignore them all. I must say I am a doubter of resolutions especially those concerning the body*, and as a result very rarely make a resolution.

This year was a bit different.  This blog, as well as some personal ventures I've undertaken over the past couple months have all been designed as outlets for the little bit of creativity I have.  Now that my work at the paper is done, I have far fewer excuses to sit in front of a computer and obsess over typefonts (yes, this is a bad thing).

Doing any sort of creative work is also great stress-relief for me (also a very, very good thing). So I figured that it's in everyone's best interest that I make some form of resolution involving being creative.

So, I've resolved to complete a drawing a day. It doesn't need to be anything big, a small sketch will do.  The idea is to fill several notebooks and keep a visual log of my ideas.  I must admit I'm never too tough on myself and when I skip a day I just do a couple more sketches the next day.

Here is a small selection of some thing's I've done so far.  They may seem super random, but that's only because I'm trying to hide the plans for future DIYs from you.

Hey...you. Yeah, YOU. Are you one of these ambitious people making resolutions? What are they? Do you make resolutions every year?  Can you guess what the future holds at Scoop?  We want to hear more from you, so send us an email (jeanatscoop@gmail.com), tweet in our general direction (@scoop_blog) or leave a comment!


*I won't pick that bone here, but I will forward you on to this interesting project: http://thatsnotacompliment.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/thats-not-a-compliment/)

To a tea

The morning after indulging in a Yuletide Hipster or two, you may be wishing you had something slightly more refreshing at your disposal.

Well we got you into this mess, now let us get you out!

Making your own iced teas is extremely easy and the possibilities are endless. If you're interested in the health benefits of tea (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and obvious hipster cred) iced tea is ideal.  It's easy to prepare in the morning so you have it when you get home and is easily transportable.

This version tastes exactly like Nestea but can be made for a fraction of the cost and with fresh ingredients. Also, unlike most store-bought iced teas it contains little sugar so it's more refreshing than cloying.

1. Boil a kettle of water.
2. Place 3-5 orange pekoe tea bags in a large pitcher (I used King Cole tea, but brand will do) 
3. Add about 1/4 cup lemon juice, or slice 1/2 a lemon into rounds and put these into the pitcher.  Stir.  Amount of lemon can be adjusted to taste. 
4. Add sugar to taste.  I put only about 1/8 of a cup per pitcher because I prefer my iced tea to be quite bitter, but again it's totally up to you. 
5. Cover pitcher with plastic wrap and let cool. Don't put the warm pitcher directly in the fridge, unless you're fond of food poisoning.  Once pitcher has cooled, place in fridge. 
6. Serve tea over ice and garnish with a slice of lemon.
7. Pat yourself on the back for making several litres of iced tea for under $1. 

This basic recipe can be used to make an infinite variety of iced teas.  Try green tea and lemon, berry tea and fresh berries, ginger tea and honey, white tea mixed with blueberry tea (served with fresh blueberries), lemon tea with strawberries...

Cheers!

Posted by:  Jean