When I first graduated from college, I was lucky enough to be given a bunch of furniture from family and friends, so I didn't have to completely furnish my new apartment with the zero dollars I had post-college. Our coffee table came from my mom's friend, and while it has always served it's purpose (and I was thankful to have it for free), I've never completely loved it.


It came to me as just a stained wood table, which I then painted black. When Nick and I moved to Pittsburgh we decided to strip the black, paint it white, and switch out the drawer handle. Despite the changes we've made, it still isn't the coffee table I envision in our living room, yet I didn't want to part with it either.

Unlike most coffee tables you can buy nowadays, this coffee table is solid wood and very sturdy. I've always had dreams of one day turning it into a bench once we replaced it with a new coffee table... and that time has finally come! In case you missed it last month, we recently made our own hairpin leg coffee table and we're absolutely loving it. The new coffee table is a much better fit for our style and now I can finally make my coffee table bench dreams come true!


Here's what you need!
- Old coffee table, preferably solid wood
- Fabric of your choice
- Batting
- Foam
- Staple gun
- Scissors

I've had my eye on the Nate Berkus fabrics at Joann's for awhile now (they're currently on sale - snag them while you can!) I love them all, but that top one just stole my heart. Once the bench idea came to fruition, my first step was getting that blue patterned goodness before it was gone.


Here's what you do! (It's easiest if you have two people for this)
- Iron your fabric to remove any wrinkles. Trim down foam to fit the size of your coffee table (if necessary.)


- Lay out fabric on a clean floor area, right side down. On top of fabric, lay your batting. On top of batting, lay your foam.
- Place coffee table upside down on top of the foam. Make sure that the table top is centered on your foam.


- Tightly pull on fabric and batting together, and staple to the underside of the table. Do this around the entire perimeter of the table. (I sat on the inside of the table to push down the foam and I pulled the fabric while Nick stapled.) Fold and staple corners.


- Trim off excess fabric and batting. Add additional staples to any gaps.


Boom - you're done! Easy, right? I still get a little nervous when we upholster something. It's hard to tell how it's going to look until it's completely done (and doing corners is kind of the worst), but I'm so happy with how our bench turned out! It also helps that we chose a fabric with a very forgiving pattern that won't show any imperfections.


Have you ever upholstered/reupholstered furniture? Think you'll give it a go?

Sarah & Nick

As our never ending quest for new and unique plant based recipes continue, we were fortunate to find this great cook book entitled Clean Slate. This book has a ton of fantastic healthy meals, many of which accommodate a plant based, vegetarian, or gluten free diet. I think this recipe caught our eye especially because of the tofu (YUM) and also because of how pretty it looks presented in a bowl. Here's a look at how it's made, and how awesome it tastes!

Here's what you need:
- 6 2/3 cups water
- 1/3 cup short-grain brown rice
- 14 ounces firm tofu
- 2 tsp. tamari
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste


Here's what you do:
- Bring 2/3 cup water, the rice, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until grains are tender and water has been absorbed (about 30-40 minutes, but be sure to watch it so the rice doesn't dry out or become tough).
- Remove from heat, let sit 10 minutes and fluff with a fork.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drain, press, and slice tofu into thin strips about 1/4 inch thick. Place tofu in a bowl.
- In a separate, small bowl, whisk together tamari and oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle dressing over tofu and marinate 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Arrange tofu in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet.
- Bake 10 minutes, flip tofu, and bake 30-40 minutes more, until evenly browned.
- Meanwhile, fluff rice again with a fork and add ginger, garlic, and remaining 6 cups of water.
- Bring rice, spices, and water to a boil. Cook about 25 minutes until water thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, top rice in a bowl with tofu, spinach, scallions, and sesame seeds.

I really love the flavors of this dish, and the tofu is good enough to just eat right off the plate! (And that's exactly what we did with the leftovers... it was amazing.) All these components combined make a super delicious meal. It's not our typical Surznick menu item, but the variety and great flavors are much appreciated!

Sarah & Nick

- Reattach the back of the shadow box and display your adorable sign!