to make: shorts and salads

i'm not very much of a maker - of food, art, crafts, or anything really - but last week, i made two things that actually turned out pretty well:

these shorts: 

(okay, not the entire pair of shorts, just the eyelet pocket)

and this salad:

 

both were super easy (given my lack of skills, anything more complicated than a double knot is just not going to happen). 

the shorts required nothing more than a pair of scissors, an extra strip of fabric (i used eyelet, but i'm sure anything you've got lying around would also be cute!), some pins, thread, and a needle. i've seen this done multiple ways, but i pinned before i cut, because i didn't want to end up with a patch that was much smaller than the actual pocket. all you have to do is take the fabric, tuck it in to the pocket of the shorts just a little bit (a quarter of an inch or less), and pin it at the top corners and bottom edge, then fold. then, sew the new fabric down to the top of the pocket, making sure not to go through the entire jean or else you've got a pocket you can't use, removing the pins as you go. once you've got the top part sewn on, continue along the sides and bottom of the pocket, following the outer seams of the pocket as seen on the inside of the shorts. once you're done sewing, snip the edges off as close as you can to the thread and voila! 

the salad, a favorite of mine since i first tried it at artopolis in the city last year, is even easier. just drop a half a cup of blue berries, a quarter cup of almonds, a quarter cup of crumbled feta, two cups of chopped lettuce (i used a mix of leafy greens and romaine), and one chopped chicken breast into a bowl and toss. add two tablespoons of raspberry vinaigrette and serve!  it's a fantastic summer salad - it's got tons of protein (given the almonds and the chicken), and is just sweet enough. the blueberries and feta are an unexpected combination that really works, and blueberries are one of my favorite summer foods, so it's definitely become a staple. 

of course, i'm always looking for similar recipes (and other cute diys). now that i've done these, maybe i can move on to replicating that asian chicken salad from the cheesecake factory or these american flag shorts. 

eh. baby steps.