St. Louis Folk Victorian

Holiday Movie Round-Up

2009-12-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year when the tube is filled with holiday movies of every variety, and the stores are jam-packed with gift sets. I thought I'd highlight a few of my faves...and not so faves, in no particular order.

What are your faves? Which can you do without seeing again? Did I miss any?

Must Sees
-White Christmas
-It's a Wonderful Life
-Love Actually
-Elf
-Santa Clause
-National Lampoon's Christmas
-Miracle on 34th Street (classic blk-wht edition)
-Home Alone 1
-A Charlie Brown Christmas
-Holiday Inn
-Fred Claus

Misses
-Christmas Story (just don't understand this cult classic)
-Rudolph (a classic; but I've seen it way too much)
-Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch...

We'll Miss You Skittles

2009-12-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

While it's sad to see our friend go, she is now peaceful. We've had Skittles for 9 years; which is crazy long in bunny-time. She always greeted us with jumping on our lap and licking our hand.

Unfortunately, she took a turn for the worse a few weeks ago and was unable to use her two back legs, although she remained in good spirits.

We knew the end was near, so we showered her with goodies that would make her last few days happy. She passed this week.

Skittles : 2000-2009

Congrats to...

2009-12-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

First a big 'ol thanks to all who voted for me and my project in the Repair-Home.com contest. I never imagined I'd make it to the finals and am honored that all of you found my garage renovation such a big hit.

While I wasn't the final winner, let us all give a big round of applause to the Van Dyke Project...who scored the $1000 prize.

Cookie Season Part 2

2009-12-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

The cookie baking is nearly done for the season. As promised I wanted to share some photos and numbers with you. We laid everything out on the table last night, so I could pack some gifts for friends and coworkers. It filled the entire table as you can see below.

I won't list, or rather can't list every type of cookie because I was only responsible for 4 different kinds and honestly I think there are nearly 20 varieties.

As to the grand total of cookies...2243, which means nearly 187 dozen. I told you we were Santa's bakery.

Cookie Season Part 1

2009-12-14T10:24:00.001-08:00

As is tradition in my family, we are always the ones to supply the cookies for the holiday gatherings and gifts. In years' past this always involved my mom and dad slaving away in the kitchen for a week straight. For us kids, it was like living in Santa's bakery...that is if Santa had a bakery.

There were bowls of flour and sugar, cartons of eggs and sprinkles of every color. You could taste the sweet air and feel the warmth of the oven. Us kids got involved more with the decorating and as you can imagine it was always a little messy. Those colored sugars found their way onto the table and floor more often than on the cookie.

Now that us kids are grown, we have tried to lighten the load. The past few years, I've been the one responsible for three different kinds: Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal. While basic, these tend to make up the backbone of the giftboxes.

This past weekend started Cookie Season for my family. I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday making over 33 dozen (400 cookies to be exact...it just happened that way). I didn't have time for the Chocolate Chip, that dough is in the fridge.

Yet, this is nothing in comparison to my parents. I cannot even remember the ridiculous # of dozens; but it's in the 100s. We hope to do the first packing of cookies mid-week, so I'll be taking some photos to share with you.

Until then, if you see the midnight oil burning in the kitchen...you know it's only us.

P.S. If you haven't voted yet in the Repair-Home Contest, I hope you'll vote for me.

Repair-Home.com Contest

2009-12-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

My mom called me with the best news this morning. It seems I am one of the 5 finalist in Repair-Home.com's $1000 Share Your Project Contest; which ends midnight on Dec. 15th.

I'm the "Just Tear It Down" white garage entry. They allow 1 vote per day, per computer, so if you would bookmark this page and pass it onto all your friends, it would mean so much.

I entered several projects and knew that I was up against some stiff competition; but having this validation from all of you is such a great pat on the back to me and my family. We put in so much backbreaking work to finish that garage and I cannot be more thrilled. If I am lucky enough to win the $1000, the $$ would go towards a lot of needed maintenance and remodeling on my century-old home.

------This is a repost from 12/3. I thank you for your support in the past and hope that you will consider voting for me again-------

Decorating for Christmas

2009-12-05T19:45:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few highlights from our Christmas decorations; which were put up today.

We opted this time to go with large bulbs for the tree, instead of the mini LEDs. Yet, that also meant that the bulbs were scattered...too much cord, not enough lights...so we called in the "expert" to get the job done. My parents dropped by and before I knew it, my Dad had the lights on the tree and we were ready for ornaments.

Making Bread and How I Survived

2009-12-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to have a few days off earlier this week and decided that it was time to finally quit saying I would make bread...and just do it.

I had acquired a small collection of bread making books over the past few years, and enjoyed looking through them from time to time. Yet, making bread always seemed like such an impossible task.

Regardless, I decided this was as good of a day as any. I pulled out the book, ingredients, various materials and started to get to work.

Although the book said that a beginner should start with a batter bread, I skipped that section and jumped right into yeast breads; starting with the Egg Bread that sounded delicious.

I pulled out the Active-Dry Yeast that I bought some time ago (checked the expiration-it was for 2010) and read the directions over and over. I think this is the step that gave me such fright. I knew that yeast breads were all about the yeast. If you get this wrong, you might as well give up.

I followed the directions (now having read them for like the 5th time) and before I knew it, I had bubbling yeast.

I gave myself a quick pat on the back and jumped to the next step. This process involved so many liquid ingredients, I was afraid that I'd have a soup-y mess. Of course, once you add 8 cups of flour (yes, I said 8 cups) you have a flour-y mess that overtakes the bowl.

I think the part of bread making that intrigued me the most was the kneading. I was excited to take out my frustration on the sticky goo in front of me.

Seven minutes later and my sticky mess began turning into something that actually looked edible. Now the next hard part...the waiting. It took two and a half hours for the dough to double in size. This pic is what I started with. When it doubled it nearly reached the top of the bowl.

After waiting two and a half hours, I punched it down, folded it over to get the air out and then put it back in the bowl for another hour and a half...ugh! More Waiting.

Of course, by now the kitchen was filled with the wonderful aroma of the fresh bread that was sure to come.

After a quick nap, I took to dividing the dough into two loaves. Each loaf, I split into three logs and braided them as the directions asked. I'm showing you the prettier of the loaves below, it was my second. The first, I dare say turned out a little sloppy. It's amazing how one forgets how to braid.

Nearly an hour later, I crossed my fingers for the final time, opened the oven and pulled out this beauty. The smell was absolutely amazing and I couldn't wait to tear into it.

The directions said to wait until the bread cooled...I waited all of five minutes and then gave in.

What did we learn here, you ask. I had survived.

$1000 Finalist...but I need your help.

2009-12-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

My mom called me with the best news this morning. It seems I am one of the 5 finalist in Repair-Home.com's $1000 Share Your Project Contest; which ends midnight on Dec. 15th.

I'm the "Just Tear It Down" white garage entry. They allow 1 vote per day, per computer, so if you would bookmark this page and pass it onto all your friends, it would mean so much.

I entered several projects and knew that I was up against some stiff competition; but having this validation from all of you is such a great pat on the back to me and my family. We put in so much backbreaking work to finish that garage and I cannot be more thrilled.

If I am lucky enough to win the $1000, the $$ would go towards a lot of needed maintenance and remodeling on my century-old home.

--------This is a repost from 12/3. I thank you for your support in the past and hope that you will consider voting for me again----------

Weekend Finds (Quilts and More)

2009-11-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

It has been tradition that I would venture out into the chaos that was Black Friday, not because I was looking for that hot laptop or television; but because it starts the holiday season and I like the holiday season. What with all the Holiday music, pine scented everything and the generally happy mood.

When I did venture out around 10:30, my Dad and I headed to one of our favorite Antique Malls located in Farmington, Missouri. It's about an hour and a half away. Not only is it huge; but the prices are usually pretty reasonably and one can find just about anything.

I came home with this wonderful antique lock in almost perfect condition, all under $10.

Then I nearly fell over when I found this hand-sewn "Bow-Tie" quilt for 1/2 off. Due to the merriment of the holidays, many vendors were having 15-25% off everything in their booth. Ever so often you came across a 50% or 60%, as I did with this quilt. The reduced price was $25.

Sunday, we visited another of our favorite Antique Malls in Eureka, Missouri. This one wasn't having as good of sales; but one just needed to have patience and something would pop up.

Lucky for me, I came across another quilt, and the vendor was offering 25% off. This beauty cost me $20.

For those of you keeping count, that brings the total number of quilts I've purchased at Antique Malls to three. The earlier one is here.

Of course, finding all these great quilts put me in the mood for some sewing of my own. I put together this pincushion in about 3 hours and now don't have to worry about loosing my pins again.

The pattern was in BH&G Spring 2008 "Quilts and More".

2009-11-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

I hope you are able to spend time with your loved ones

this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving to All !!

Back Again

2009-11-14T07:51:00.001-08:00

So I must start this post by saying that Thursday was the first day that I was lucid enough to have a conversation without dozing off in the middle of it. I can only imagine what a blog-post would have looked like on Tuesday...if I had been awake enough to try and write one.

My reasons are simple-Jetlag. I got back from China on Friday, Nov 6th and have spent almost a week in a walking coma of sorts. While getting up at 4am allows one to catch up on reading, world news, etc...it doesn't do much for being able to stay awake past 8pm. I'm back to normal now and thankful for that.

Why was I in China you ask? It was for business. I spent two weeks in our Far East office working with our team on the next season's products. This trip was educational as well, since I had the opportunity to learn some things about the technical side of the business, instead of just design.

Nothing really is happening on the house for the moment, my Halloween decorations are still up (considering I missed Halloween, I'm allowed a few extra days), and I'm planning my To-Do List for the rest of the year.

I'll write soon, but in the mean time, if you see me dozing off...you know what to do.

Can I have your vote?

2009-10-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, there are always several online contests going on this time of year. I've entered one through Repair-Home.com and could use your help.

In order to be the winner in each category, you need to have the most votes.
I would really appreciate your rating, votes and any comments on my entries.

I've included the links below for your convenience.

Dining Room Disaster

Modern Kitchen

Just Tear It Down

Electrical Gone Awry

A Garden Brought To Life

Wonderful Windows

KnockDown Texture

2009-10-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

I'll just start by saying that this post was written for Houseblogs.net as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by True Value, and their StartRightStartHere contest.

For readers of my blog you may remember when I was talking about my Studio and the unconvential way I fixed one of the nagging problems, I discovered when tearing out these hideous closets.

You see, this was my Studio on Move-In Day. The photo below shows one of the two closets that bordered the center window. I knew the closets needed to come down...or rather, finish coming down, as the doors were just a screw away from falling off anyway. My brother took to this task with his favorite job of demo...and about a half hour later, the closets were no more.

That is when we discovered that the "knockdown" ceiling texture had been applied AFTER the closets were built, leaving an enormous expanse of raw drywall. The photo below, taken a few months later, clearly shows the difference in surfaces. My previous home was filled with different textures and I was always able to somewhat replicate small areas; but this was too big to try and do by myself.

Almost two years had passed when I came across some reclaimed wood at my local ReStore. I bought and cut the pieces in half, securing them to the wall. While figuring out the angles was a challenge, I succeeded in finding a solution. Now, the studio has a unique feature; which gives it a doll-house charm.

Day Off

2009-09-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

I'm still here, just haven't been writing since my job has been keeping me extremely busy lately.

Although yesterday and today was a nice release, two vacation days to try and keep the mind off of deadlines, email, etc.

Today my sister was off too, so we headed out without much of a plan. We ended up at the St. Louis Zoo, and what a day for it too...low 60s, with a mild breeze. I haven't visited our zoo for a few years now, and each time I go it brings back memories and sometimes new ones are made.

Okay, first let's talk about the fact that here in St. Louis, our Zoo is AWESOME. It was created in 1910 by the city; which set aside 77 acres in Forest Park. State legislation stated "the zoo shall be forever free", and it continues to be free 100 years later. Parking is free too, if you do like other St. Louisians and park along the winding streets of Forest Park.

My sister and I spent about two hours strolling around, catching glimpses of animals along the way.

I hope wherever you are, the day was as beautiful as this.

Garden IS Done

2009-08-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

It is rare, I think, to be able to say that something is done-complete-finished. Yet, this is the case with my garden. Saturday we put the finishing touches on it; which included the following

Installing timber frame along north side

Relayed landscape fabric

Bought 1-inch clean rock

Covered all areas not occupied by raised beds with above rock

It looks so good now.

BEFORE (from May '09)

AFTER (from Aug '09)

Quilt on the cheap

2009-08-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, my Dad and I went to an Antique Mall in St. Charles, Missouri. It was a decent size and had some interesting finds; most of which were a little too pricey for my taste. Having visited nearly all of the antique malls around the St. Louis area, I always find it interesting how varied the prices are for similar products. Yet, if you look long and hard enough, you can come across a great deal once in a while.

So, one can imagine my amazement when I stumbled across a handmade quilt folded up in one of the booths. I love looking at the handmade quilts found in Antique Malls, being a quilter, their intricacies amaze me. Yet the going rate is usually about $75 and up...and usually, the $75 ones can be pretty ratty.

You can believe I took a double take and even asked my Dad what the pricetag said, when I read $24.99

Yep, that's right folks. A penny under $25. Here are some pictures.

It does have a few small tears in the topcloth and the fabric is gently worn along the edges; but it's old, and that adds character. It measures approx. 6ft x 6ft.

Don't know when I'll find another quilt that cheap; but it just goes to show you that there are still deals out there.

Second Anniversary

2009-08-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Okay so technically I'm a day late; but I don't think anyone minds. Monday, August 17th was the 2nd anniversary of owning my old house. You can certainly take a trip down memory lane by viewing any of my older posts. I won't relive them here.

In these uncertain times, it's nice to know that I have a place to call home. Even if the place leaks, has strange noises and keeps my wallet empty.

I think we've had a good two years and I hope for many, many more to come.

Brick Patio is Done

2009-08-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

It was tough work (way more Dad then me), but after 2 days work we were able to finish laying the patio brickwork. While I'm not exactly sure how I'll be using this area, at least I have a solid surface to start.

This was the first time either of us had really layed a brick anything and I think it turned out perfect. I think my favorite part is the fact that this brick came from my yard. It is old, has slightly worn edges and small chips which make the patio look like it's been around for years.

Suprisingly, I still have piles and piles of brick around my yard, this hardly put a dent in what I have. Looks like I'll (okay, really we'll) be able to build a few more patios and walkways down the road.

Retaining Wall = New Patio

2009-08-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I had a garden started and a tiny part of my 1/2 acre figured out, I couldn't let the nice weather go to waste. Directly adjacent to the garden was an awful slope, which led to the back yard. I knew eventually I wanted to create steps; but in the meantime, I needed to figure out the slope since it was in the way of my plans. So as the saying goes, I killed two birds with one stone.

About $100 later, we had built a small retaining wall, backfilled it with dirt and put the start to the patio. As fate would have it, the first brick pattern I tried was a perfect fit.

Yet, mother nature got in the way. This past weekend, we had hoped to start laying some of the brick; but after 2 rows the rain poured down and we were left with a muddy mess.

At least I have a plan.

It all started innocent enough

2009-08-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

I certainly wasn't looking for trouble, well okay...maybe I was bored. So, as my post title suggest, it all started innocent enough. In my bedroom, the walls are covered with a nasty texture. While textured walls is a pet peeve of mine, at least have the courtesy to make it look nice. This room looked like a 3 year old was given free-reign. Needless to say whenever the time comes, the texture is certainly going to go.

Well, I was curious this past week so I grabbed a flat-head screwdriver (as the scraper was outside in the garage) and began chipping away in one corner of the room. To my surprise, the texture looked like it was put directly to the fiber board underneath. Then the itch got the best of me and I went outside to get the scrapper. The first area I was curious about was this abnormal bump near the east window. I grabbed a damp sponge, soaked the wall and got to work with the scrapper.

10 minutes later and I have this. Several layers of wallpaper which were "oh so nicely" covered over by the textured plaster.

Then it happened, I stood up and figured I would take a look to see what was at eye level, so once again with scrapper in hand...this happened.

By now you are probably wondering what I was going to do next, well I had planned on stopping for the evening when I came across this. It is a little fuzzy; but the wallpaper shows a woman and man in mid-nineteenth century clothing. Of course when you find something like this, you owe it to history to seek out the truth.

Yet, it was about 11 in the evening and I was tired. So, I cleaned up what mess I could and went to bed. When I got home the following evening though that stupid scraper was calling my name.

About a half hour later, I had exposed a 5ft wide by 4ft tall area of the same wall. Whoopsie!!

Yet, what I did find along the way was more of the wallpaper print, albeit it missing some key elements. This time it was a similiar scene with a man and woman; but I could also make out a tree, boat and part of a house in the background.

The best surprise came when I reached the corner of the room. The same wallpaper print was exposed; but this time was in glorious color. Take a look and see what I mean.

The blue dress, red fan and headpiece, goodness, if those were the colors throughout the entire wall, that certainly was a colorful room.

I know that this wallpaper is not the first layer, it's actually like the 3rd; but even if it is from the 30s or 40s, that's still quite old.

I'd love to find an image of the actual wallpaper somewhere on the internet; but I know that's like finding a needle in a haystack. So, to all you home remodelers out there, if you come across something that looks like this on your walls or in your research, could you take a picture for me.

Studio Pics - Big Reveal

2009-07-06T05:25:00.001-07:00

It's been months in the making and I've shown you glimpses of certain parts throughout the process. I am happy to say that this wonderful holiday weekend, I was able to finish the Studio.

Here is a quick look back at what I had to start with...

Back in August of '07 (taken during my closing walkthrough)

Here is the space with a new floor from Sept. '07.

Here is the studio in January '08. Definately useable; but not proper for a creative environment.

And here is the studio today...

Definately more my style. Thoughts?

Partial Reveal of Studio

2009-06-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

I teased some of you readers when I showed you my new window trim a few posts ago. Well, the studio is still a mess, all of my stuff is in the center of the room so I can paint; but here are some photos of the east wall (on either side of the window I previously showed).

As you may remember if you read some of my first post, there were two ugly built-in closets located here. Unfortunately for me, those closets existed before the ceiling was textured, so when I removed the closets, the ceiling was smooth. There was no way in h-e-l-l that I was going to try and replicate the texture, so I needed to cover it with something.

Fast forward almost a year and a half later. My family was discussing what options I had when one day at good ol' ReStore, I come across a huge pile of reclaimed wood. It was partially painted white, had a look all it's own and was priced right. I bought up what I could and went merrily on my way. The only thing we did to the wood was lightly wipe it off with a damp cloth removing the dust and then proceeded to cut the boards in half.

What do you think??

April Showers Bring May Flowers and June Veggies

2009-06-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Many of you are receiving the same torrential downpours that St. Louis has been receiving lately. It seems like it rains for 3 days, is dry for 1 and then rains for another 3. While this makes enjoying Spring hard, it does bring lovely things to the garden.

Here is my garden in May...

and here is my garden a month later...

It completely amazes me how I can look outside one day and the pole beans are just starting to creep up the string and the next day it's like they've grown two feet taller.

I did get to eat the first veggies from my garden today, two fresh radishes. One is a German Giant (red one) and the other is a White Icicle (white, obviously). Let me tell you, they were yummy!!

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-26T05:37:00.001-07:00