Folksy Home

Fancy's Blueberry Banana Pie

2012-02-21T23:07:00.000-05:00

My dad and his partner, Liz, lost their precious, sweet dog last week. She was 16. Fancy, a toy poodle, was given to them by a friend who could no longer care for her years ago, and she fit in with the family from the get-go. In her later years, she became a therapy dog, working with my Dad at his practice. She even came to our wedding in New Hampshire!

My dad and Fancy at our wedding. (Liz is in the blue dress on the right!)

My dad and Liz are understandably devastated (as are we); she was the only kid left living at home!

So how does this tie in? Liz has been making this absolutely delicious pie, aka my favorite pie EVER, for special occasions as long as I can remember, and sent me the recipe a while back so I could make it on my own. I've been meaning to make it, and this past weekend I finally felt like I needed to make it. For Fancy.

This pie was always just called 'blueberry banana pie,' but I propose that it should now be called Fancy's Blueberry Banana Pie. It's soft and sweet, but not sickeningly sweet, just like her :). Also, it's the most amazing pie and she was an amazing dog, although she shared that title with our Oats ;).

It's ridiculously easy to make, the antithesis of an apple pie. You start with these ingredients:

4 oz cream cheese

1-2 bananas

graham cracker pie cruse

can of blueberry pie filling

6 oz of whipped cream (I whipped my own from heavy cream)

1/4 cup sugar

That's it!

First, slice the bananas

and line the bottom of the crust with them.

Then, whip your cream, if you're making your own.

If you're using the pre-made version, move right on to mixing the cream cheese and the sugar together. I used my stand mixer, but you can use a hand-held one, too. After they're thoroughly creamed together, fold in the whipped cream.

Plop it on the bananas.

Spread it out.

Cover with blueberry pie filling and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer!

How easy is that?? I swear there's nothing in life that gives you a bigger reward for less work. It's insane. I could eat the whole damn thing in a single sitting. Trust me and try it, you won't be sorry! Fancy's Blueberry Banana Pie is out of this world. Miss you, girl!

If heaven were a place on Earth...

2012-02-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

...it would be the Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine. This place has captivated me over the past three days since I read about it in this month's issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. The article includes the most gorgeous photographs of a lush organic home garden, including perennials, annuals, edibles and orchard fruit, hedged by forest and dotted with chickens. The home on the property is equally organic, and echoes the natural setting of the homestead. Guys, this is where I want to live when I grow up.

I wish I could scan and post the photos from the feature, but alas, copyright laws prevent it. Do yourself a favor and get the magazine. I can't find the exact photos online, so here is a taste to give you an idea...

There's so much more...a stonewall-lined edible garden, the chickens running around, the most quaint sun-warmed green house ever. It's incredible and it's exactly the style of garden I adore.

How's that for a little Monday escape?

(all photos from www.fourseasonsfarm.com)

Getting Real: Cleaning the Tub

2012-02-17T04:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! This past weekend, Folksy Husband got fed up with our tub and dropped everything to clean it. I can't blame him, it was reeeeeeally bad. So bad I can't believe I'm even showing this on the interwebs. I mean, I periodically disinfect it, but really, it still looked, um...grungy? nasty? filthy? And that's putting it nicely.

Yeah, bad, right?

After drying it out, he removed the hardware (look what was lurking behind there! ewww!) and soaked it in some vinegar to remove the calcium.

The caulking where the tub meets the tile clearly needed to be replaced, it was so badly stained it couldn't be salvaged. He broke out the paint scraper and peeled it off.

After the bad stuff was gone, he replaced it using some while silicone caulking we already had

and put the clean hardware back.

Now we're moving in the right direction! The next step was that no good, very bad, awful (name that kid's book) grunge on the bottom. Chemical cleaners we had on hand were not doing the job, so, geniusly, in my humble opinion, Mike sand papered it. It worked like. a. charm. He took 320 grit paper (very fine) and gently worked off the bad. He also touched up chips in the tub with some Rustoleum Enamel Paint. Amazing! Look at her now!

Now I can sit down in the shower without being grossed out. Not that I do that or anything. How do you clean your tub?

(All work and pictures by the husband. Love him!)

A Craft Box Overhaul

2012-02-16T04:26:00.000-05:00

Whoa. Can you believe this:

was lurking under this?

Those are craft supplies and sewing notions, piled high in a big wooden crate. I picked up this box for $18 years ago at the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts. When we moved to PA it became the purse stand and craft catch-all, but it only did one of those jobs well. The craft supplies needed an overhaul, clearly.

So, with the catalyst that is Love & Renovations' Organize-a-Thon, the craft abyss got a makeover. I decided making a shelf insert would be the most effective solution, so after taking measurements, Mike and I headed to Home Depot to pick up the lumber. One 2x12x12 board later (we had one cut made in the store, so it would fit in the car), I got to work:

I measured out and marked the board to fit a configuration I liked (that's my plan on that piece of paper), then took the board to the miter saw, and got to cutting.

Because this was a 12'' wide board, the 10'' miter saw wouldn't do the job with one cut. We improvised and cut one width, flipped the board, matched up the laser to the cut (love that laser!), and cut the other half of the width. Since the shelves were going to be hidden in the box, I wasn't too finicky about perfection (not that I ever am, ha).

After all the cuts were made, it was time to lay out that bad boy:

When the configuration was finalized, I busted out the beloved Kreg Jig and made some pocket holes to connect the boards at the T-junctions. If you're not familiar with the Kreg Jig, its the ultimate in joinery. I honestly did not even know that was a word until this little kit came into our lives (thank you Auntie Mary & Will for the wedding gift!!), but yeah, it is basically the ultimate in joining boards, or joinery. I really can't believe that's a word. Anyways, check it out:

It's so ridiculously quick and easy, especially when you're not worried about perfection. For the junctions where I couldn't get the drill to fit, Mike toenailed in some screws from the back, just so it would stay together. I forgot to take pics of this. Bummer city.

But yeah, once the the shelves were assembled, in they went!

Once they were in there, I cursed myself a little for buying the board that was $5 cheaper, but double the thickness. Half the box is filled with wood! Oh well, thank goodness all the stuff fit, or I'd REALLY be cursing a blue streak. (See what I mean by not obsessing about perfection? The whole thing is listing port. Ha, what's better than a little boat humor on a Thursday?)

So after organizing my ~~junk~~ stuff, and thinning the fabric scrap collection, back in it went.

Ahhhh, much better! Now maybe I won't avoid glue gun use at all costs for fear of 'the box.' Darn, I love organizing!

3 Steps to Garden Prep

2012-02-13T15:11:00.000-05:00

After a weekend of snow flurries and frigid temperatures, I'm talking gardens. Nothing like keeping you looking ahead, right?

Today, I want to outline my '3 Steps to Garden Prep'. These are a couple of things you can do (and I'm about to do) before the temperatures rise and soils thaw.

1. Check your USDA Planting Zone: I'm a 6b! What are you?

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map breaks the US into 'zones' based on average minimum winter temperatures. Enter your zip code on this website to find out yours. Why does this matter? Because many plants can only survive the winter down to certain temperatures. That is, even though a plant may survive a New England frost, it may not be able to live through an Alaskan winter! Most plant catalogs and nursery plants are labeled as to which zones they are hardy within, letting you know the coldest and warmest climates a species can live year round. This is especially important for expensive species you want to keep going, such as large bushes and trees, but can also be important for edibles that need certain temperature ranges to induce the growth cycle (like artichoke and garlic, for instance). So, find your zone and commit it to memory. It will come in handy!

2. Sun map!: Find your inner cartographer

http://www.thegardencontinuum.com

Plants need sun, everyone knows that, but do you know where the sun is in your garden? Now, if you have a wide open space to plant your goodies, you can disregard this step and consider me jealous of you. If you're like me and have a maze of deciduous trees, shrubs and neighbor's houses blocking parts of your garden from the sun at any given part of the day, you're gonna want to map out which patches get full sun, partial shade, part sun, and shade (and when, i.e. afternoon/morning). What you map out isn't going to be a steadfast rule for your plants (I, for instance, have little to no full sun areas of the garden, but still manage to get some production from full sun plants such as cucumbers and other veggies), but it will help in your plan to figure out what should go where. I have made a sun map for my garden in the past, but with the snowstorm in October breaking trees like toothpicks around here (and hopefully clearing the way for more sun on my patch! Hello, silver lining!), I need to make an updated version. This website gives a great tutorial.

3. Seed Starting Calendar: You gotta plan for those good times!

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2006/03/31/the-lazy-gardeners-seed-starting-chart/

Making a seed starting calendar is integral for those of us wanting to start long-growing-season-annuals (like hot peppers!) from seed even though we live in an area with a short growing season. It is also helpful in planning earlier harvests (starting tomatoes indoors will give you fruit much earlier than if you plant the seed right in the ground when the soil is warm enough outdoors). The seed starting calendar uses your region's average last frost date (the last day temperatures usually drop to freezing at the end of the winter/spring) to calculate the day you should sow the seed and the day you should plant outdoors. I know I'm explaining this poorly, but download the excel file here and you'll get what I mean. They also have a .pdf that explains the math, if you want to calculate the dates for a plant not listed on the chart. To find your last frost date, go here and use the closest city to you. (My last frost date is around May 9th, less than 3 months away!) Plug in your frost date on the excel sheet and viola! You'll have sowing and transplanting dates. Then you can start counting down the days until it's time to turn on those grow lights (not that I do that or anything).

So there ya go, a few tidbits to tide you over until it's time to get some dirt under our nails. What are you doing to prepare for the gardening season?

Cabinet Organization: Check!

2012-02-10T03:23:00.000-05:00

This week Love and Renovations put out a call to arms in the form of an Organize-a-Thon. The challenge involves organizing one area of your home each week left in February and then either post or e-mail her about it. A kind of support group for getting organized. I thought to myself, 'I could use this!'

So, here we are on week 1, and I have shiny, clean kitchen cabinets. Score!!

Now, I know this not the before and after that TV shows are made of, but for me, and especially Folksy Husband it's a nice step up. He nearly refused to ever go into the pots and pans shelf because he hated the deafening clanking that went on trying to get something, and forget about the tupperware shelf. When emptying the dishwasher he'd just leave the tuppers on the counter because of the potential plastic avalanche when putting them away.

Here's a closer look at the bottom cabinet. These are un-tampered with befores, people. I'm gettin' real:

Muuuuch better. My process started with emptying the cabinets of everything but the food and coffee mugs. Oats helped.

Funny story, see those red-striped popcorn containers in the center of the photo above? Mike and I won them on a mystery theater train ride. All the passengers' names were in a hat, and the MC happened to ask each of us to pick a name out. I picked Mike's and he picked mine! Everyone on the train thought it was rigged! Good stuff. They went the way of the yard sale.

Anywho, I separated out the things that was yard-sale-bound and got to work putting stuff back. Very exciting. It was mostly trial and error, and I think the biggest help was the added space from getting rid of the unneeded. Oats did a little scouting work and gave me the all clear:

Here are a few post-organization snaps:

No more excuses to not put away tupperware!

Small electrics within an arm's reach.

The other horror I tackled was the top shelf of the middle cabinets that is filled with baking goods. Here are the contents before: lots of plastic bags, which are not exactly organization-friendly.

After putting most dry goods in other containers like mason jars and swing-top jars that were hidden in the bottom cabinets before (using stuff and making space, double bonus!) this is what I was working with:

And the baking goods back in their place:

So, now Folksy Husband has no excuse to not put tupperware away, I don't get hives thinking about what could be hidden in there. Win-win!

Next week, it's gonna be a craft-cabinet extravaganza. I'm a little nervous.

(p.s. Bar Cart is coming along, and this weekend is Bar-Cart-a-Palooza oh-twelve. Mike is really getting into tricking it out. There were mid-day brain storming texts, that's all I'm gonna say. ;) )

World of FAIL Craft: Personalized Smart Cover

2012-02-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

(I don't know what came over me with that World of Warcraft joke. I don't even like video games. I was compelled by a higher power. Only logical explanation.)

Oh boy, is this a doozie.

It's no secret that I love me some gadgets and my iPad is one of the most prized pieces in my techie quiver. I have the iPad 2, and protect it with a cute plastic case and a simple smart cover. Now, we all know those smart covers have limited color options, especially when you're the crazy lady who waited in line to buy the iPad the first day (yes, that was me). So, I had the coolest gadget in the world covered with one of the ugliest colors ever (ok, maybe not the ugliest ever, but not my cup of tea). Yeah, clearly something had to be done.

So why not paint, right? I mean, people paint tea towels, leather purses and who knows what else, so why not a smart cover? Oh, how wrong I was.

I settled on an oh-so-chic chevron pattern and got to work carefully making a template,

which involved serious number crunching

then it was on to measuring,

and taping,

and painting,

veeeerryyy carefully

with a little help from the Poats dog and a head lamp.

Then I sealed with modge-podge to make it stick and

got it looking so so good...

I was so confident/excited about this project I took 80 photos. Seriously.

Then I used it. F to the A-I-L. Cracked City, USA. Here is how it looks after 3 weeks of use:

Now, it's not thaaaaaat bad. It still functions as a smart cover after all. But it's cracked, and chipping, and not exactly chic. The major place I went wrong is painting over the creases where the cover bends. I think if I had incorporated those into my design so they remained the original light blue, it would have fared much better, but who knows. The paint also may have been an issue; I used acrylic paint, and maybe if I had used something meant to have a little give I'd have an EPIC craft instead of a FAIL craft. Either way, now that the smart cover personalization seal has been broken, I'm thinking of maybe decoupaging it? We'll just have to see how that goes.

Anyone else a resident of the World of FAIL Craft?

Bar Cart It Is!

2012-02-06T05:15:00.000-05:00

Guys, I can't even fake it. I am DEVASTATED about the Super Bowl last night. Ugh, I wanted the Pats SO badly. I can't even talk about it yet, too soon. Mike is equally devastated, he's sent me at least 12 texts this morning reiterating that fact in different ways ("I'm glum city USA." for example). We'll have to kick butt next year. Brady and Belichick WILL get another one. Trust.

Anyways, because my mind was so preoccupied with football this weekend, I didn't write a post and now I'm too bummed to write one. But just as a quick peek, here are a few pics of the bar in production. (Bar Cart won!) We drew up a good (I hope!) plan, went to the big orange and picked up parts and started with the painting and sanding. I'll be working on it this week so hopefully a final product is not too far off! Here's what we got for now:

Drawing up plans and putting parts together at Home Depot.

The wood slab that started it all after the first pass of sanding,

and a gratuitous Oats shot. This was going on while we watched the big game. Clearly he's not as into the Pats as we are.

Alright, is anyone as sad about the Super Bowl as I am? I will try to stop sulking ASAP.

It'll Wake You Up: Coffee Sack Upholstery

2012-02-03T02:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get on these kicks where I just need bright, tropical, calypso colors in my life and I'm only convinced I'll be happy if I surround myself in pops of neon. (I have my melodramatic moments, don't I?) Usually, I'm an earth tone, cozy color kind of girl, but there's always an exception to the rule, right?

The last time the calypso-color-calling-bird sung to me (he's totally the star of the Amazon), I happened to have two old chairs (donated by the in-laws) that were begging for an upgrade. (Now, a forewarning, this happened a while ago and of course, pics are limited. I love the results so much though that I still had to share.)

Here is the before (already sanded a little):

And the upholstery they came to me with:

Underneath which was this beauty:

They are both oilcloth fabrics (read: durable, but so '70s). After unscrewing the seats from the frame, I diligently sanded to rough up all surfaces:

I cleaned and wiped away all the sawdust and got to painting. Everything was brushed on and took about 3 coats. I didn't use a primer. Poor life choice.

Then it was upholstery time, and I opted for some coffee sacks I'd found at Building 19 months earlier. (I washed them in the washing machine before using them. They reeked of coffee and burlap.) They were graphic and colorful, just what I was going for. I cut them approximately to size, and then staple-gunned the fabric right over the beige oilcloth, wrapping like a present as I went. I screwed the seats back to the chair, et voila! Coffee Sack upholstered chairs that fill the bright color vacancy in my heart.

And over a year later, they are still holding up in our little kitchen.

Have you ever used unusual fabric in usual ways?

(P.S. Last day to vote bar cart or desk!)

January 2012: A Real Chestnut

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

I take lots of (poorly lit) pictures and unfortunately, most of them end up in the dark corners of my iPhoto library never to be seen again. That's about to change, baby.

Now that I have this little spot on the interweb, I'm going to use a piece of it to highlight events and fun stuff that happened in the past month. A little monthly re-cap, if you will. Hey, the byline of the blog does say, 'DIY and Daily Life,' right? Hopefully this will work to both serve as a kind of fun, interactive diary and to let you in on a little behind the scenes action that doesn't make it into regular FH posts. I'll also set out one small goal for the month ahead. Oooooo, exciting, right?

The top 8 (how myspace is that?):

1. We started the month and the year by toasting with champagne. Fun fact: for every New Year that we've spent as a couple Mike and I have a picture of us clinking glasses at midnight. Such crazy kids we are.

2. We exchanged stocking gifts when we got back home after the holiday. Mike filled (and I mean FILLED) my stocking with chestnuts and sprinkles of licorice. If you must know anything about me, know that I live and breathe chestnuts between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I almost had an apoplexy from the excitement after peeking into my stocking!

3. In family news, my heart melted a little bit when I got this picture of my nephew. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks? They slay me!

4. My dad came up from Florida for a snowy weekend! It was such an amazing treat. He converted us into Lifetime movie freaks. We watched the world premiere (they're very dramatic about premieres on that channel) of The Drew Peterson Story: Unstoppable. OMG. So. Good. Watch it. We also watched like 3 other Lifetime moves. Um, they're amazing, and they're all based on true stuff! A total hidden gem in the high channel numbers.

5. I got these awesome red shoes and am now obsessed with them. Very Dorothy even though that movie still gives me the creeps. I think I've only made it all the way to the end once. (From J. Crew)

6. Mike discovered his love for photobombing blog pics. I already have...hmmm...10 of these pics and its only the first month of blogging. He's cute.

7. Poatsie had a ridiculously adorable moment, but whats new? Oh, if you only knew how many pictures I have of this dog. You'd have me committed. I think there's like 10 from this little session alone.

8. And, finally, I made this bracelet from Honestly WTF blog. Tutorial here. Those are hex nuts from the hardware store! Absolutely genius. The safety pin to the sock is my proprietary bracelet making trick. Secret's out now.

So that was January, full of chestnut-chubby-cheek-Lifetime-movie goodness. Not a bad way to start the year!

February Micro Goal:

Get a good pic of my mug for the sidebar. Something with no one else in the photo...I have surprisingly few of those! And yes, I do think it will take me a whole month to get one I like :).

Peruvian Ambrosia: Lomo Saltado

2012-01-31T23:07:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, nothing but home cooking will do. This weekend, the yen for some good, hearty food from my youth hit and we happened to have all the ingredients for one of my all time favorites: lomo saltado. This is a classic Peruvian dish, and because I'm half-Peruvian, it is something I grew up with. Not only that, but it's basically one of my favorite dishes ever. Like, I'd take it along with coke slurpees to a deserted island. Trust. It's that good.

It's really a kind of simple stir fry with only a few ingredients. Here are the major players:

That's

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Onions

Steak (almost any cut will do)

Jalapeño

The portions can be tweaked depending on the number of people. Though it was just the two of us, we cooked extra for leftovers. Lomo saltado for breakfast is out of this world.

The only other ingredients are

Rice

Canola Oil

Salt

Red Wine Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Simple stuff, right? It's also pretty simple to cook.

1. Cut potatoes into fries and keep them in a bowl of water. (Keeps them from getting brown!)

2. Cut onions.

3. Cut tomatoes.

4. Cut steak into ~inch cubes. (Sorry, forgot to pic this...must have been drooling too badly at this point.)

5. Slice jalapeño latitudinally.

(OK, I know the cutting method is usually indicated in the ingredient list, but it's a personal pet-peeve that the cutting prep is never included in the total time for the recipe. SOMEONE has to chop those veggies!! They sure don't come out of the ground like that! Phew. Rant over :) )

Start your rice however you usually cook it. We're rice fiends here at Folksy Home, so we go rice cooker all the way.

French fries are the next step and really, since this is a two burner meal, batches of fries are going the entire time until they're all cooked.

If you've never made french fries at home before, it's pretty easy, just oil and potatoes. Heat up enough oil to fill about two inches in the pot using medium-high heat (on a back burner for safety!) and pop in one fry. Once that fry starts sizzling, the oil is hot enough. Drain the potatoes and throw in enough to fill the oil (but don't put in so many fries that they're sticking out of the oil.)

There is a great recipe for fries over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks, but I don't get fancy enough to use a thermometer, so this 'go by feel' method works for moi.

Those will take about 7-10 minutes to cook, and just take them out when they start to look like fries. Sprinkle on some salt.

While the first batch is cooking, heat a skillet with a coating of oil to medium-high. Just like the fries, pop in a piece of onion, and once it starts sizzling, you're good. Throw in the onions. (Peruvian tip: If the fries finish before anything else, put them in a glass dish in a 250 degree oven to stay warm and keep them from being snacked on. Oh yes, I have gone through an entire batch of fries while the rest of the dish is cooking. Oops.)

Cook them 'till they're good and soft and then it's time for tomatoes.

After those are in, stir them around. After about 3 minutes, it's time for seasonings. Give the skillet a heavy dash of garlic powder (probs about 1 tsp.), about 1/4 to 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (sounds weird, but trust), and salt to taste. Cook that down for about 5 more minutes or until everything is soft.

Put the tomato/onion deliciousness in the glass dish with the fries and pop back into the oven.

Re-oil the skillet and throw in your lightly salted meat cubes. Sear them.

If you're like us, and prefer rare over well, the searing process literally takes 2-3 min. If you like your meat cooked through, time accordingly.

Add the meat to your glass dish and you're ready for business.

Put a nice portion of rice on your plate,

serve some fries, and a mix of the onion/tomato and meat. Sprinkle on salt to taste (can you tell I like salt?), and a little jalapeño if you're into that sort of thing.

Tell me now, did that just rock your world or what?

Be the Decision Maker: Bar Cart or Desk?

2012-01-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

Last fall I came across a wood slab that spoke to me at a yard sale. (What, old, beaten pieces of wood don't call out to you? ;) ) After finding out it cost $2, I had to have it. Much to the chagrin of the hubs. But to his credit, he did help me put it in the trunk. Here she is:

I know, it needs ~~a little~~ work. But look past that, it will get there! It's 18'' x 50'', by the way.

The slab sat in the basement until Mike cleaned in there recently. He started using it as a shelf to hold other ~~crap~~ stuff I've hoarded, but little did he know that doing so brought the piece back to my attention. Muahahaha ;)

Of course, now I must do something with it, but I have more than one idea floating around in my head. Bar cart or desk, let the battle begin.

First, the bar cart. Right now we have a small cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to bar stuffs (mixers, spoons, shot glasses, koozies, etc.) and it's not working. Every time I need the bottle opener, an avalanche of breakables comes tumbling out. We could definitely use an upgrade.

Here are some inspiration photos for what the wood-slab-turned-bar-cart could look like. I couldn't find any bar carts with slab tops, but these at least give you the feel of what I'd go for.

Of this ilk? From here.

A rustic/industrial feel? From here.

Maybe with a pop of color? From here.

And then there's the desk...With this new blogging thing I'm into I could use a pretty place to channel my genius ;) . Here are some inspiration photos:

Those hairpin legs are to die for. From here.

Or maybe something like this...are you getting the rustic/industrial theme yet? From here.

The truth is, I could/would use both of the pieces equally, so there's no pragmatic advantage to either one. Which one do you think I should make?? Yes, I'm talking to you! To help me decide, we have our first ever Folksy Home Poll! Vote vote vote! Without further adieu:

[polldaddy poll=5889686]

Thanks so much for voting. I'll be deciding on Friday! :)

What does your garden grow?

2012-01-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

It's only January, and already I'm thinking of gardening. I've been working lots of hours in my windowless office lately, and, well, Mama thinks it's time for some vitamin D on her skin and dirt under her nails. It's not so much that I want winter to be over (I could definitely use another cozy snow storm), but the need to get my hands in the soil is starting to nag at me, just as it usually does this time of year. This is why I love the seasons, just as I get tired of one, another totally different and equally exciting one comes along with its wonderful smells, lighting, and weather.

Back to gardening. I love it. I'm the kind of girl that plans for last frost and starts seeds accordingly. I'm the kind of girl with grow lights and heat mats. I'm the kind of girl that maps sun movement. There was a quote in the back of an issue of Mother Earth News once, "Gardening is a journey, not a destination" and boy, it couldn't be more true. I am on the gardening train. Choo! Choo! (Sorry, had to!) Here is the first garden Mike and I put in the ground together. It was at his parent's house on Cape Cod where we lived one summer. Who are those children??

And here is the raised bed at Folksy Home in all it's height-of-summer glory:

So because gardening is something I love, and because I happen to know the difference between a brassica and a cucurbit, we're gonna be seeing some gardening posts on this little blog. I have a raised bed in the yard (see pic above :) ), and containers scattered around outside, but today, I'm going to introduce you to my winter friends. (Mike actually calls it, 'playing with my friends' when I go out to garden in the summer. He's a funny guy, that husband of mine.) These are the indoor plants that keep my gardening bug sated through all the weather winter brings.

I don't have tons of indoor plants, mostly because I don't have the space. (What I wouldn't do to have a greenhouse!) Surprisingly, though I kill plenty of plants during the growing season (I told you it was a journey!), I have relatively good luck with indoor plants. The trick here is, basically, DO NOT WATER. I mean it. Some of my plants have not been watered since bringing them inside in early October. Seriously. And they're still doing fine.

OK, so here is my oldest and dearest indoor plant.

This is an avocado that happened to sprout in our worm composter back at our apartment in New England. Yep, this guy has been going since 2009! I've transplanted it to a few larger pots and it's still going. I know that it will never produce fruit, but it's fun to keep around. Mike has said of this plant, "I would be devastated if the avocado ever died." Yeah, so I'm desperately trying not to kill it. My basic plan for this guy is water when it looks droopy. During the winter, that's like a pint glass every week or so.

This guy is a money tree. Both this and the avocado live in the kitchen in the winter because that's where it's sunniest. He chills with even less watering than the avocado, maybe a pint glass every two weeks? I try to keep them as dormant as possible so they don't fight to grow in adverse conditions (i.e. a cold an dry kitchen). Funny story about this plant, which I've had since 2007: my cat once ate every single leaf off of this plant except 4. 4! And it came back. And now it's about 3x as big as it was back then. Money tree for the win.

To the right of the money tree is a peace lily given to me by my sister-in-law when she was moving. He got hit with quite the slug problem this summer, and is still fighting to come back. Even less watering for him than the above two. Though after seeing this photo I brought that drooper into the sink for a little drink.

Moving out of the kitchen, and into the bedroom, I have a jade plant on the rope shelves. No water since October!

And a pothos cutting keeping fishy company. (Obviously no need for water. Or soil, for that matter!)

The last little grouping of plants is a stash of succulents that live in the bathroom on the seedling shelf.

I started with a few individual plants (bought at the Philly Flower Show, whoop whoop!!) and then found out propagation was beyond simple and began experimenting last summer. I haven't really attended to them much because, well, winter isn't an ideal time to start new plants, but they're still goin'!

Hopefully when it warms up they'll spring back to life. We'll have to wait and see! No water for these guys, I think they get enough from the shower moisture to tide them over.

So there is the starting line of the indoor brigade. I do have some poinsettias and a few paperwhite bulbs going,

but they're ephemeral and don't last season to season.

What kind of plants do you have inside for the winter?

Dying Cashmere: It Can Be Done

2012-01-24T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ah, my love/hate relationship with the classic Rit Dye goes way back. Tie-dyed t-shirts: love! Tie-dyed hands: hate! Beautiful colors: love! ...but they all came off in the wash: hate! You get the idea. Needless to say, I was less than optimistic going into this project. During my recent closet overhaul, I pulled out two cashmere sweaters I bought on eBay and decided that it was time they get an upgrade. I sniped them at a great price, but regretted my trigger finger after realizing they weren't exactly, ahem, complementary to my skin tone. That 'place bid' button has a way to make you put blinders on. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

This photo booth background, so beautifully displayed behind my family in this photo booth picture from our wedding, was my last foray into tie dying:

But, cashmere? The soft and delicate and damn expensive goat's fur? Yes, cashmere can by dyed at home. Now, I'm not saying this method will work for ALL cashmere (so don't hold me to it!), but it worked for me and my sub $30 eBay find cashmere sweaters (I was surprised, too!). Maybe the secret ingredient was having nothing to lose. Weird how it works out that way sometimes, right? (So much easier to make the half-court basket when $50K isn't on the line!)

Anyways, me and my fearlessness started dying with these ingredients:

We have two pots, a stock and a sauce, used ONLY for dying. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but dying pots should be used only for dying - it's toxic stuff! So, we have pots, white vinegar, a measuring cup, the dye, fancy stirring stick (some may call it a broken shim), and the sweater to be transformed. Coffee maker not included.

Now, I cannot lie, I basically just followed the directions on the box, but I do feel that a few of the steps were more important for this process in particular, so I'll highlight them here. #1) Pre-measure your sweater, so you can lay it to dry with the same dimensions!

After measuring, we go on to dissolving the dye. I put the burner on medium-high, and poured in the dye. I don't like this part because the fumes smell caustic and weird, but it has to be done. Now that I'm looking at this pic, I'm not sure having an open flame so close to the burner was such a great idea...

While that was warming up, I presoaked the sweater in tepid water. Now, I really think this made a difference in ensuring even coloring. The cashmere is weirdly hydrophobic, and it took me a good 5-10 minutes just to get it all soaked, but I'm pretty sure it was time well spent

Once that was soaked, I filled the stock pot with warm water (not scorching hot, or the sweater will shrink!) to a level just above where the sweater would be submerged. I poured in the dissolved dye,

and dunked in the sweater. It was totally a 'Here goes nothin'!' moment, fingers crossed and all :).

After 5 minutes, add 1 cup of white vinegar (apparently, with animal fibers, it helps the color stick). Then starts the waiting game. I soaked it for a total of 60 min, stirring around every 15 min. After 60, it looked pretty red and I decided to go for the rinse. Wearing some rubber gloves (that luckily Mike had in his work truck!), I squeezed and twisted the sweater, then rinsed it in warm-then-cold water until the runoff was clear. It. Took. Forever. (20 min? In my defense, it felt like forever.)

Simple task, simply boring. BUT, through the magic of Rit, the dying worked!! The color was even, and didn't wash out! Score! I laid it to dry (according to the original dimensions). Sorry for the bad pic, I think by the time I got to this step I was a little tired of dying.

It took about 4 days for it to dry all the way, and for research sake, to make sure I was dolling out at least semi-useable advice, I took it to the dry cleaner to ensure the color was held fast. Guess what? It did! And now I have a fancy red sweater that I'll actually wear!

Heck yes! I also dyed an obscenely orange cashmere Lands End cardigan (also an eBay score) black. Now, this one didn't come out exactly as promised (and hasn't been dry cleaned yet).

I used black dye, but it came out mocha brown. For some reason I thought black would be a guaranteed slam dunk, but after cogitating, I realized dying black takes more pigment than any other color. So, maybe because it was originally orange, or because it required more dye, I now have a perfectly neutral mocha cardigan. Also, I think the thread used on it was synthetic, it didn't take color. Call me crazy, but this was a happy accident. It does forewarn you, though, that this dying thing is a fickle beast. Proceed with caution. However, if you're game for a little color adventure, grab a piece of clothing and dye away!

Welcome, Hackers!

2012-01-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

Ooof!!! As a new blogger it is downright invigorating getting all these click-throughs from Ikea Hackers. I just wanted to give you a warm welcome, and personally invite you to snoop around my blog. We've got a bedroom re-do, a diy scarf rack and other fun projects. Enjoy, and I'm so glad you're here :).

A Drop of Cider Will Do Ya

2012-01-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like a warm drink on a snowy day to set a cozy scene. And there's nothing I love more than cozy. Today's scene-setting drink is none other than the classic mulled apple cider. Trust me, it's just as good after the holidays as before. Mike is the master of the mulled cider in our household, so, in the spirit of giving full credit, this is his recipe and I'm just the taste tester/scribe.

It's the kind of cider Sandra Lee would be proud of - almost home made, and as far as I can tell, it's just as good as the from-scratch version. Mulling is essentially just warming and adding sugar and spice (and everything nice :) ha! couldn't help myself!); it can be done to wine, cider, etc. And it's simple!

We start with a gallon jug of apple cider (this is the not-home-made part), it's just the grocery store bought kind. Pour 'er into a stock pot over medium-low heat.

Next, we spice it up. The measurements are totally approximate and feel free to tweak ratios to suit your palette. I think it's pretty hard to mess up. All of these ingredients get tied up in cheesecloth.

In our sack-o-spice we've got:

brown sugar (~ 1/3 cup)

allspice (~ 1 tsp)

cloves (~ 1 tsp)

3 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)

a couple dashes of nutmeg

The wrapped up spices get thrown into the pot along with a half-peeled orange, which, by the miracle of buoyancy, looks not peeled at all in the pot:

Cover and bring to a light boil. Then, uncover, lower the heat to a light simmer and let the spicy-sweet smell intoxicate your home for a good hour.

Sneak a couple of spoonfuls while your husband is in the other room.

Remove the orange and the spices, and before you know it, you'll be on the couch huddled over a warm cup of cider watching Love, Wedding, Marriage on Netflix.

Cozy, indeed.

Then & Now: Dresser Side

2012-01-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ah, here we are, back to sipping from the bedroom well. I think it'll be worth it! But yeah, last time, promise.

For a frame of reference, here is the out-of-scale floor plan again:

We're talking right siiieeed today. That's where the dresser, rope shelves, TV, and most importantly, Fishy live. Here it is, pre-intervention:

Boooriiiing. The clothesline with mementos hanging from it was an attempt to bring down the height of the ceiling a bit because with all our furniture sitting so low, the room seemed empty and cold with such a high ceiling.

I have to say, I quite liked that idea, mostly because it allowed us to see all the ticket stubs, lift passes and love notes we've collected over the course of our relationship. Sappy? Nostalgic? Romantic? COUNT.ME. IN. It was cool to just glance at that stuff and have all the good memories flood back. Ahhh, I remember our first brewery tour together like it was yesterday...

The only problem, however, is that it looked...unkempt? teeny bopper? Not sure, but I wasn't feelin it anymore. Not that I lost my sappy side. You can't get rid of it that easily.

Anyways, ta-da! Here is the after:

Booya. Ain't it fancy?! Along the way we got a new TV (thanks to my grandma's donated AMEX points!!), but the dresser, lamp, curtains and fishy are the same :).

Detailing in on a few small changes I made, here are some custom finials. (Please excuse the dust, didn't even notice it until it was uploaded. Observant, much?)

They are the same stock Ikea ones from before, but I hack sawed off the decorative part and used E-6000 glue to attach some beach-rounded quartz pebbles I found on Cape Cod way back. Up close you can see a little glue spillage, but from standing height, it's all good in the hood.

Here is another small update I made: that lamp seen on the left of the 'before' pic. It's a Christmas Tree Shop special, ('Oh my gawd, lighthouse plates for only a dollah!' Please tell me you've seen that commercial.) and was originally filled with periwinkle shells.

I emptied the glass of its contents leaving just the clear jar and updated the shade by trimming the edges with the same twine used to finish off the rope from the shelves. Looks like a whole new lamp!

The accessories on the shelves are kind of a mish-mash. (Again, I'm no whiz at accessorizing. Maybe another New Year's Resolution?) On the top shelf we have a jade plant and a series of photos that spell out our last name (an awesome wedding gift from our upstairs neighbors!). The photos are sitting in Tolsby frames from Ikea (can't beat 99 cents) and I think look pretty snazzy.

In the middle we have some frames filled with pics of us as kiddos. We love looking at our cute selves. (Really they were from the welcome table at the wedding and we still haven't changed the photos because, well, they are pretty cute. And I haven't thought about it that much.) There's also a brick I found on a Boston harbor island, some candlesticks salvaged from Mike's grandparent's old house, and a rock from a beach in Lima.

The bottom shelf is a bit more functional. Mostly because I can reach it.

We have three blue glass mason jars I found at our local flea market. One is filled to the brim with wine corks (what does that say about our wine drinking habits?), one is empty, and one is filled with mineral samples (what does that say about our rock collecting habits?). I think they make a nice trio, only it's a little too dark in that corner to see what's going on in the glass.

There are also some other rocks we've collected (the Folksy hubs is a geologist by day) sitting in front of a surprisingly very a-la-mode ceramic horn vase we found in the grandparent's old house.

When I saw that baby sitting in that old house, I finally felt like one of those holy grail thrifters who somehow find antique-road-show-worthy pieces at yard sales. 'Something fashionable! With personal meaning! For free! What did I do right?!?!'

On the right there's an oil can from M's grandparent's old farm, and a mason jar that holds all our loose change (how fun is going to the Coinstar and getting a fat Amazon gift card with just extra change?). In front is a ring tray we got as a gift from cousins that holds my earrings every night.

Finally, over the light switch is an ode to New England in the form of starfish. This little craft used to hang on our old front door when the entrance to our apartment was indoors and now it pops nicely against the new wall color in our bedroom.

Phew. How's that for a laundry list of what's going on in the bedroom? I'm pretty happy with the new digs and realize there's still work to be done, not the least of which is finding something grand for over the bed. Got any accessorizing suggestions?

**In other news, my dad is coming up from Florida this weekend. I'm SUPER excited! Woohoo for dads!

A Series of Quick Jewelry Fixes

2012-01-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned Monday, I cleaned out my closet recently because of serious style stagnation (SSS syndrome?). While I was going through it, I pulled out everything that needed a little TLC: stuff to be sent to the dry cleaner, pieces missing buttons, pants I want to hem, and jewelry that needed a little fixin'. The intent was so that everything in my closet is wearable at any given moment. Now I ~~won't~~ shouldn't look at something and then dismiss it because it's x, y or z. I needed to maximize my closet shopability!

I sieved out this pile of jewelry that either hasn't been worn or needed some updates:

Let me tell you a secret, or maybe you already know, but doing minor jewelry fixes is easy! Was I the only one who didn't know this?? The craft store sells all kinds of finishings and beyond those, all you need is a pair of needle nose pliers and a sprinkling of patience. I picked up cord ends, jump rings, and head pins:

I started with the easiest thing first; eased my way in. I have a lot of pendants I've picked up during my travels, but they were attached to either hemp cords, cotton cords, or something else more Phish concert appropriate than work appropriate. After detaching them from whatever they were hanging from, I attached the rings (called 'jump rings' in jeweler lingo) in 3 easy steps.

1) Open the ring:

2) Put the ring on:

3) Close the ring:

Bada-bing, bada-boom, ready for hanging on a nice chain! (The jump rings, by the way, come in all sizes for any kind of pendant.)

Here is my jump ring handiwork (and clearly my nails sacrificed a king's ransom to make them happen):

Like having 4 new necklaces!

Next up was a simple bracelet with a little charm I bought on Etsy ages ago. I fixed it using two cord ends, and a clasp closure (which I already had laying around from other broken jewelry):

This was also beyond simple. So simple, I forgot to take pics of the process (whoops!). All you have to do is brush a little super glue on the inside of the cord end (how genius is the new brush on krazy glue bottle?! Why wasn't this thought of earlier?) and crimp closed with the pliers! Attach the closure like I did with the jump rings above, and you've got yourself an easy to take on and off bracelet!

The last project was those earrings. They are a Christmas gift from my in-laws and I absolutely love them, but the little blue bottoms on them were kind of a distraction to me. No fear! I fixed 'em right up! Originally, they looked like this:

See what I mean? Those little blue flat beads didn't match the rest of the earring. I took them off by opening the jump rings they were attached to using the needle nose. I saved those puppies because they are cute and I know they will be useful in another project eventually. Here's one of the earrings after removing the flat beads:

I used the needle nose to remove the round beads from the earring and then took them off the wire. Then it was time to bust out the head pins:

I slipped on the appropriate bead, and cut the pin short.

Then the dexterity came in. The pin gets threaded through the hole on the earring

and then bent over to form a closure.

Simple, right? WRONG. This isn't impossible, or even hard, it just takes patience to figure out a way to hold the earring, the bead and the needle nose in a way that gets the wire closed. All the advice I can give is PRACTICE AND PATIENCE. Like most other tasks in life. Go figure. In this instance, however, the patience was totally worth it, because now look at my snazzy earrings:

Score! Simple update made them like a whole new pair.

Phew! I know that was a lot of niche info. But maybe it'll be useful! I had always avoided the jewelry isle at Michael's because of sensory overload from all the colored beads. No more!

Anyway, moral of the story here: don't get rid of your easily fixable jewelry! A little effort and a lot of nail splitting could mean a few (basically) new pieces added to your closet!

Got any jewelry fixing tips for me?

Somewhere to Hang my Scarves

2012-01-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

So, I'm a scarf fan. They're pretty and they add a bit of panache to any outfit, if I do say so myself. Given my fandom of scarfs, it stands to reason that I have a few of them. Or quite a few of them. Seventeen of them, as I found out while doing this little project.

I was cleaning out/reorganizing my closet recently as I'm known to do when I feel in a style rut and after the redo, I was without a place for my scarf pile. After the proper fantasizing of one day having a huge closet in which I'll never be want for storage, and will always sip champagne while getting dressed, I thought of a piece of ladder I had outside that could help solve my scarf problem.

The ladder is actually a leftover piece from a trash find that we used to display escort cards at our wedding. (Thank you neighbor 2 doors down for chucking it! She obviously wasn't plugged into the blogosphere's obsession with rustic chic.) Here's the other half in a mock up we did pre-wedding:

It looked like maybe an apple picking ladder, but regardless, it was old and rustic and had that great patina that only genuinely weathered wood gets.

I brought that bad boy down to the newly organized basement (thanks to the husband working on it all day Saturday) so I could work where it was warm. Call me crazy, but I was not interested in working outside in 19 degree weather, even if it was sunny.

The ladder was missing a rung at the bottom and was too tall for the spot, so I measured it out and cut the bottom off using the trusty jig saw. (I didn't wear eye protection, but you SHOULD. I totally forgot until after I was finished.)

Murphy's oil soap and hot water came to the rescue in cleaning off the dirt and grime that had accumulated in the grain. I scrubbed and wiped until I thought it was good enough, brought it upstairs where it was brighter, and deemed it good and clean. After letting it dry, I went over it one more time with a dry cloth and brought her in the house.

My original plan was to hang it, but after realizing it would involve either a) finding studs or b) toggle bolts, I decided leaning against the wall was a-ok with me.

Unfortunately, after the first go, the ladder stood a little crooked, kind of like we ~~all~~ did as teenagers with one knee bent and a foot turned 90 degrees from forward. ("Ugh, Mom, you're, like, duh, so uh-NOYINGGG.") Anyways, Mike came to the rescue and measured and marked evenly from the bottom-most rung using a square rule.

We hauled that thing back down to the basement and employed the miter saw to cut this time. (Didn't realize this pic was blurry until it was too late. Bummer.)

Back upstairs, I leaned it against the wall:

Hung the scarves:

And turned it around!

Et voila! Ladder turned scarf rack. Getting them on and off is easy-peasy, and I love that I can see all of them. Look out, world, my accessorizing is about to be kicked up at least 10 notches.

Then & Now: Bed Side

2012-01-12T23:07:00.000-05:00

After that brief interruption of discussing shelter media, and an attack of the organization monster, we're back to a little bedroom lovin'. No, not that kind.

So I've shown you two projects from the boudoir already: the farmhouse bed, and the rope shelves. Because we completed this redo back in September, I'm going to limit the in-depth info to those two projects, but I just wanted to do a quick before and after of each half of the room to wrap up the redo with a nice fancy ribbon. With scissor-edge curled ends, of course.

Big picture stuff first. Just an FYI, here is a severely not-to-scale mock up of the fh bedroom floor plan:

Before of the bed side of the room:

Cool grey walls, loooooow bed, and stock ikea night stands. Passable, but a little too...dorm room.

After of the bed side of the room:

Deep, dark newburg green walls. Recently built bed newly stained, and farmhouse bedside tables. Mmm mmm good.

A few details about that half of the room. (Yes those are my stuffed animals. Yes, I can't sleep without them. Yes, when Mike first started sleeping over I pretended like I just happened to still have them and they were totally like no bid deal. I told him he could toss them on the floor to get them out of the way and pretended like I was too cool for school. I SO wasn't.)

ANYWAYS, those bedside tables. I mentioned them in the first bedroom post, and after I built them I painted them all white back in February 2011. Here they are pre-~~detroying~~ painting:

They were never great. I wasn't so hip to the furniture painting scene then (I am indebted to sites like Perfectly Imperfect and Centsational Girl for bringing me up to speed) and I never sealed them after the latex paint. Stuff was always sticking to the top. As in, I'd lay a magazine (I'm a magazine FIEND) down when I went to bed and the next morning when I picked it up, the back cover left a thin coat on the nightstand. Four months after painting. Not bueno. I also made the mistake of painting all surfaces of the nightstand and drawer which equaled STICKY CITY USA. I practically had to prop my foot against the nightstand for leverage when pulling out the drawer. Here is the best before pic I have of them painted (I curse my non-pic taking pre-blogging self!):

Needless to say, I was ready to banish those suckers for scrap. However, in a stroke of goodwill, I decided to give re-finishing a go. I sanded the bejesus out of every surface and probably went through a job pack of 40 grit sanding pads. And if you remember my mantra, SANDING IS BORING. YOU CANNOT EVEN LISTEN TO PODCASTS WHILE SANDING BECAUSE IT IS TOO LOUD, you'd understand how much I disliked doing it.

It was not a fun process, but once I got going I gained steam and would not let those hunks of wood defeat me. After sanding as much as possible, I decided to stain the tops with the Minwax English Chestnut and spray painted the remainder with Krylon Dover White spray paint. Thankfully, I knew better than to paint the bottoms of the drawers. They did not come out perfectly. They are not flawless. But hey, the room is dark and they are covered on two sides by walls and one side by mattress. For ~~all~~ my intents and purposes they look amazing. Cognitive dissonance is a beautiful thing.

The light above my nightstand is a spray painted find from Mike's grandfather's office in their old house that was torn down recently. (Side note, those Christmas lights are there only for Christmas. When it's the season, I like it to be the season EVERYWHERE I look.)

The mirror on the right is also a find from that old house. I spray painted it Krylon Sun Yellow and, inspired by this Martha Stewart Living article, I E-6000 glued some jute rope to the inside border (Same rope from the rope shelves!). I was a little worried (and so was Mike) about the yellow being too cray-cray in there, but it's grown on me.

So, we still need something va-va-voom above the bed (future project perhaps??), but so far we are smitten with this half of the bedroom.

Have you ever dismissed a refinish only to end up tackling the project and ending up victorious??

Everything Under the Kitchen Sink

2012-01-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

[caption id="attachment_322" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="You'd be this scared too. (Psycho pic from here.)"][/caption]

Remember how Monica on Friends was always SUPER organized, but had that one closet that was a hot mess? Yeah, I barely do too. Anyways, I had an under-the-sink equivalent of Monica's h-e-double hockey sticks hole closet. It looked like this:

Which from a higher angle looked like this:

and this:

Makes me itchy just looking at it. Mold, disorganization, a pile of empty sunflower seed shells; all of it was under there. Don't ask. And every time I wanted to grab something, I had to root around that nightmare of a cardboard box to find it. I had had enough and finally just emptied it out and figured if I took stuff out and put it back in, I'd at least know what was in there.

Well, of course, after everything was out, I got inspired to at try and improve the space a little. That mold in the back was enemy #A1. I know, I know, mold is dangerous. Please, don't let what I did diminish that fact. Anyways, I decided to let sleeping mold lie and painted over it. I figured the spores were better left in-tact and attached to the wall than airborne after of trying fruitlessly to scrub it clean. I got out the trusty Kilz II from the basement and painted right over it. I understand it may come back, but at least for now it's under a thick coat of primter. I painted the rest of the surfaces under there also, just to start out with a fresh coat on everything.

Then, I had to come to terms with what was going back in there. Little space, lots of bottles. I laid it all out so I could take stock and start to scheme how to put it all back so it wouldn't devolve into an abyss again.

So, what did I have under the sink?

Big screw-top bottles

Aerosol cans

Spray bottles

Trash bags

Spools of aluminum foil and other misc. papers

Rags and kitchen towels

Emergency tea light candles

Sponges

Paper towels

Brushes

Trivia place mats. Once, when Mike and I first started dating, we spent a whole Friday night memorizing the presidents in order. I can't bear to get rid of them.

Conclusion? Mishmash. I really didn't know where to begin, so I took a look around the basement for inspiration. I found these old farm boxes (a blueberry and apple crate, I think) I bought off Craigslist when we first moved to PA. I committed to buy them and then realized they were about an hour and a half car ride away in rural New Jersey. Did you know New Jersey could even get its rural on? Trust me, it can.

I used two of the one on the left, and one of the type on the right. After fitting the jigsaw puzzle of goodies back into the cabinet, I was left with the spools of paper, paper towels, and spray bottles. For the spools, I hung the Ikea metal paper dispenser back up on the right side of the cabinet.

Paper towels got a custom job using these ingredients found in our Hoarders worthy mud room.

After marking out where the roll would hang,

[caption id="attachment_334" align="aligncenter" width="502" caption="Gratuitous Ring Shot"][/caption]

I screwed in an eyebolt on the right side,

and a hook on the left side.

No exact science here, totally eyed it. It is on the back of a cabinet, after all. Then, I broke out the clothesline and tied one end to the eyebolt and measured to the hook, leaving a little slack so that a full roll could sit on the string without being too tight. I knotted a mini carabiner (from an eyeglasses screwdriver key chain) to the end. Voila! Feed the clothesline through the roll, hook, and grab a sheet.

The spray bottles were the last obstacle. There was an Ikea tea towel holder (I can't, for the life of me, find the official Ikea name for it) screwed on the right side door in the 'before' cabinets.

The holes serendipitously were the perfect diameter for hanging spray bottles. I added two more holes, for a total of five by drilling VERY carefully and slowly. This wood wasn't exactly industrial strength.

I wanted it hung up-and-out-of-the-way, which of course meant putting it where no screwdriver could fit. Mike was changing the oil in his car, and when he came back in to get something I lured him over with my endless DIY-in-sweatpants charm and made him hang it. He's much more patient with hanging things. He got out the smaller screwdriver and toenailed in two screws by going up through the holes made for the bottles and screwing into the cabinet side. Boy, I do love that man.

BOOM. Spray bottle caddy, love ya.

And here is the organized, non-panic inducing and sunflower seed-less after. I must have opened the cabinets to just stare at the organized bliss at least 12 times the day it was finished.

Attack 1 of the 2012 Organizing Monster is a sweeping success.

Homey Media

2012-01-08T23:07:00.000-05:00

We all get tips, tricks and inspiration for our home projects from lots of places. And imagine this, some of those places are not blogs! I know, blasphemy. Today, I'm going to divulge who's in my multimedia circle of trust, those podcasts, shows and magainzes that I use to fill my commutes and lazy hours. I can only imagine your intrigue.

But truly, I hope this is a 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' type deal. As much as I love my old standbys, I'd love to add some new ones to the lineup, so share away! (Future Link Party idea??)

Podcasts

For listening to with a male counterpart: Ace on the House

I actually only regularly listen to one home improvement podcast, and that's Ace on the House. Available through iTunes like any other self-respecting podcast. New episodes every Saturday. It's hosted by Adam Carolla and his childhood buddy Ray Oldhafer and they take e-mail and phone questions about home improvement projects.

Now, if you listen to the Adam Carolla Show podcast (which I also highly recommend, it's definitely rated R, though) you know what an outspoken, sometimes harsh yet absolutely likable and always hilarious guy the Ace Man is. If you don't listen to the Adam Carolla Show, Ace was a carpenter (the real kind, not the weekend kind) before he made his living in comedy and espouses useful advice for anyone's questions. Ray still works as a contractor and their banter is entertaining because Ray is not afraid of giving Adam some $*%@, and he's hilarious in his own right. If you're not offended by curse words or questionably tasteful analogies, this podcast is the bomb. They talk about everything from fixing a squeaky subfloor to filling a yolked-out screw hole to hanging towel racks that won't pull through the drywall. My husband and I listen to it together when traveling in the car or while making eggs on Saturday mornings. Great stuff.

TV Shows

For your fix of Canadian dudes who still highlight their hair: Property Brothers

Or, ProBros as Mike and I call it. This HGTV show features 2 brothers, one a contractor and one a realtor (how convenient!) who help couples find the house of their dreams. The only catch? They can't afford the house of their dreams. Womp womp. But that's where the magic happens, the realtor ProBro shows couples some subpar homes and the contractor ProBro explains (and demonstrates via computer graphics) how the house can be transformed into their dream home all within their budget. The couple picks a house and then the demolition begins.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="378" caption="The ProBros Themselves"][/caption]

It gets really addicting to see how these once derelict homes turn out to be incredible places I'd love to live. Sometimes the couples are *ahem* difficult so it sates that love-to-hate drive. The brothers are entertaining and it shows you the potential in everything. Worth a watch. We've definitely spent more than one afternoon watching episode after episode after episode.

For good tips and tricks from old timers with Boston accents: Ask this Old House

The small project version of This Old House, this show is a PBS classic. If it ever goes off the air I will be DEVASTATED. Rich, Rodge, Tom, and the host Kevin visit people's houses to help them with home conundrums. They tackle stuff like banging baseboard heaters, burping sinks and uneven asphalt. These guys fix things the right way, to the code and to the book. No shortcuts here. It's great information, though, and I find they show me a lot of products you never knew existed like under cabinet LEDs or screws whose heads break off when torqued the right amount. The best part of the show, though, is 'What is it?' Oh, that segment slays me every time. One of the guys brings in a product and the rest offer their comical guess at what it is. Trust me, it's worth watching the show for just that.

Magazines

For feeling like an inadequate homemaker: Martha Stewart Living

Ok, it doesn't really make me feel inadequate, it just makes me feel like I wish I had 10 more hours in the day and 10 million more dollars so I could outfit my named estate with personalized projects and extensive collections of things such as taxidermy and watermelon pot holders. I love the Martha Stewart aesthetic and this magazine has fabulous ideas and recipes. I find myself ripping out multiple pages from each issue and even the articles I can't relate to (taxidermy collection? really?) are beautifully shot. I'm sure you've seen this magazine, because, who hasn't? But, if you are a subscriber, and own an iPad, I highly recommend the iPad version. It is interactive and intuitive. I've totally come to love reading magazines on my iPad because of well-done versions like this. The only problem is you can't rip pages out of the digital version, but I've started to use screenshots...not as satisfying, but you can't have your cake and eat it too, I suppose.

So, good stuff, eh? (I just found out via my father-in-law and ancestry.com that I am Canadian 3 generations back and it has severely up-ticked my use of 'eh' because, well, I'm Canadian! No wonder I love the ProBros!) Ok, I've shown you mine, show me yours!

Roping in Some Shelves

2012-01-05T23:07:00.000-05:00

So last time I left off with what I fancied as a cryptic photo of another bedroom project. CAN YOU HANDLE THE SUSPENSE??

A refresher:

Zoom out a little, and BOOM. Rope Shelves.

I decided we needed some shelving somewhere in the bedroom to display knick knacks, and after brainstorming with the husband and going through various options, such as floating shelves (too hard to build), and bracketed shelves (take up too much visual space) we settled on making this Pinterest inspiration our own:

[caption id="attachment_143" align="aligncenter" width="554" caption="The Nate Show via Pinterest via http://pinterest.com/jenbow5/"][/caption]

They were the perfect solution because 1) fewer holes in the wall, 2) easy peasy to make, and 3) cheap! How can you say no to that trifecta? We started with the proper lengths of 2x12 and I sanded them with the random orbital sander using 2 successively finer grits (hmm...probably 60 and 300? Again, this was PB - pre-blogging - so I wasn't the, ahem, journalist I am now). Then, M drilled four 1/2'' holes (using a spade bit) on each board, two on each side about 2 inches in from the end, kind of like this low-budget powerpoint mock-up of the plan view:

After staining with Minwax English Chestnut and sealing with Minwax Wipe-On Satin Poly, began the rope work. I estimated the space I wanted between each shelf (if I recall, about 18 inches) and started the trial and error of knotting and re-knotting and re-knotting again (x~53). I made sure the bottom shelf would hang high enough to allow our TV to sit on the dresser underneath and calculated upward from there. There was a lot of finagling and balancing the boards upright with my toesies as I measured rope lengths. I do my best DIY in sweatpants.

I threaded each length of natural jute rope (from Homey Deeps) up through a hole in the board, measured approximately and made a simple knot, then threaded it up through the next board. At the top, I tied a butterfly knot

and then repeated the process down the other hole on the same side of the board. Rinse and repeat for the other side of the boards.

Meanwhile, M had been devising an anchoring system for the rope shelves to hang on. Because we live in an ancient and piecemeal house, our studs are nowhere near the normal 16'' on center. Consequently, he decided to screw a 1x4 scrap to the studs we could find at the top of the wall. (Side note: Whenever it comes to hanging something load bearing, I always defer to Mike. I have no time for finding things like studs and have the broken artwork to prove it.) We then caulked the seams and painted the whole schmear with the wall color (Benjamin Moore Newburg Green) for a seamless ~~enough~~ finish. Then, we screwed in two large stainless hooks at the appropriate distances and we were in business for shelf hanging. You can see the pre-painted anchor board at the top of this stunningly bad pic:

And the painted version here:

Ugh, if you could only have seen the first go at hanging the shelves. (I can't wait to start blogging current projects. I am a pic maniac now!) The shelves would have looked perfectly at home in the carnival fun house. But with a little lifting and knot adjustment, we were in business!

The only issue left to take care of was the raw ends at the bottom of the shelves. Lucky for me, M has some knot know-how, he was On the Mayflower, after all. Click the link if you don't believe me ;)

[caption id="attachment_277" align="aligncenter" width="354" caption="Yes, that really is him"][/caption]

So he 'whipped the line' with some yellow string we had left over from the wedding to prevent any fraying. Parfait!

Then all that was left was to accessorize those babies...it's still a work in progress, and accessorizing is not exactly my strong suit. Sometimes I feel weird just displaying things for display sake ("Why yes, that is a moss covered Styrofoam ball, doesn't it just make the most stunning vignette?"), so I try to use things that are at least marginally meaningful to us. Anyway, here is how the shelves look today:

And much to fishy's delight (on the bottom left), the shelves have hung tight. Anyone else made a Pinterest project their own?

Cottage-Modern?

2012-01-05T07:57:00.000-05:00

Can you think of any more dichotomous shelter trends than 'cottage chic' and 'mid-century modern'? And yet, I find myself drawn to both. I also find that at the far ends of each spectrum that love turns to, um...to put it mildly, hate.

First, let's talk cottage:

Programming Note

2012-01-05T07:16:00.000-05:00

Hola hola...just a little FYI for all my beloved early adopters: I plan to post on Mon, Wed, and Fri for the first couple weeks and then, if all goes well and I'm feelin it, I'll move to 5 days/week. These resolutions are about making steady, long-term changes, right?

Anyways...I am chomping at the bit to reveal what's going on here:

This blogging thing is kind of addicting.