Conscientious objector

So yesterday was the day everyone couldn't stop talking about except for me. I worked until 9 o'clock on a living in post about my favorite criminal couple but I took a break in the afternoon to go buy myself some fancy flowers. Even if, no, especially if you work with flowers- it's nice to get some that are non-work related.  Nicolette had a charming flower stand on Bedford Ave but I just missed her so I took my $20 bill and found a massive floral painting at a junk shop around the corner. Everlasting flowers for valentine's day? I'm pretty taken with it.

I also squeezed in some victorian flower girl scraps and made do with my two week old 'nations above. They've become my dirty little floral secret- they last until the end of time and are just as cheap and ruffly as can be. I've been listening to love songs in the manner of Sam Cooke when I'm feeling happy and Patsy Cline when I'm feeling sad. I'm working on making peace with romance, even if it's the Estella from Great Expectations sort. A boy who is both straight and not a family member cooked me dinner recently and I didn't even flinch. Baby steps.

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Shelf. Take two.

It recently dawned on me that I've stopped showing you my stuff. You know, the stuff that I've been buying lately. Old stuff. Did you think I was just not buying stuff? Because HA. No. I will continue to buy stuff till there is no stuff left to buy. (personal mission.)

I bought this old shelf made from sewing spools and really heavy gauge wire a few visits to Maryland back. I splurged on it and by splurged I mean it cost more than $30. I've had a serious weakness for spool furniture for the past few years, the real good, old handmade stuff is pretty tricky to find.

It's holding half of my dead horse bay bottles and a few other not too special thingies I use for flowers. The good stuff is mostly not on here because, hello, I'm still traumatized from the last shelf that was in this same spot. Serious heavy duty hardware this time. And if it falls again, I promise, you will be the first person to witness my burning shame in all of its glory.

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Wallpaper

This whole past week I've been resolutely pretending that I haven't been wallpapering my bathroom. What if it turned out horribly? I'd have to hang my head in internet shame. What if i decided I hated the 1940s paper? Then I'd feel all judged. What if I couldn't get a decent picture because there's no natural light? What if no one wants to sit next to me at lunch time? Or play with me at recess? or sign my yearbook?

Whatever. Here it is. And i like it. So there.

Okay, so maybe it's more girly then I bargained for but at least I live alone and am not inflicting its awesome grandma-ness on any boys. And this photo is awful. My cabinet door is open in the kitchen and I need to unplug the power drill. I'm only showing this to you because we're friends. Okay? Okay.

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Blue Plate Special

Okay, okay! No more posting about blue and white china after today, I promise. After a round of flea markets this weekend, my pile of collected china could no longer be ignored as it threatened to topple at any minute.

But before I could find a home for the pieces I'd already found, I needed to do a bit of rethinking my space.

Here's the wall across from my bed before the shift occurred. Cute, but so busy and cluttered and I never did get the spacing right on the gallery wall thing.

Trying to find a better arrangement, I moved my beloved empire dresser off to the right to let some more light in and brought in a fireplace mantle (acid green, yuck!) to center at the foot of my bed.

Once the mantle was painted to match the trim in my bedroom, I drilled holes and screwed in into place in the wall.

I bought 13 plate hangers from my local hardware store to hang my 13 plates above the mantle.

Attaching the hanger to the plate was so easy and the hanging hardware was included, too. I swear to you, I was a bit intimidated but it was a snap.

I worked out the general outline on paper first and just eyeballed placement, having to rehang some of the more wonky ones.


Some of the plates are from the 1890's, some are from the 1970's, some are chipped, some aren't. Some cost 99 cents and some were $25 and you'd be surprised which is which.

In the beginning I was a little fussy about only buying beautiful old, old, old plates but in the end it didn't matter, they all look wonderful together. Yay, hopefully I can refocus my energy and money away from china now!

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Wise old owl

Here I go again, shamelessly stealing ideas from Elmwood to use in my Brooklyn homey home home.

This amazing paper mache owl decoy has stood sentinel on a bookshelf in New Hampshire for years. I've coveted it for as long as I can remember and only recently had a light bulb moment.

Instead of sulking about what you can't have, haunt ebay till you find a similar one.

Not only did I find a similar one, I found the same freakin' one for only $15. To sweeten the deal even further, I recently saw another of the same at the amazing antique store Darr in Boerum Hill for $175. Yikes!

My wise old owl is standing guard on my kitchen shelf, bringing some much needed toughness to my girly collection of all things yellow.

Thanks again, Emerson ancestors, for wealth of ideas just waiting to be pilfered!

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Back to Cooking School 2008: Kitchen Redo

BEFORE:
A few tumbles off my ladder trying to reach my 20 lb cast iron crock pot was all it took to force me to rethink my space usage.

Also, my huge philodendron plant was blocking out a ton of light on top of the fridge, getting dusty and generally making me cranky.


AFTER:
Yay, I feel like a grown up, living a slightly less cluttered life. Or at least a more cohesive life. Shelving my smaller plants freed up valuable table and counter space through out the kitchen so now I can access the things I use everyday without fear of falling!

My beloved toy sailboat, the inspiration for the kitchen.

The new arrangement makes watering time much easier, everything is in one place. The plants on the higher shelve require less water, so i won't have to be making a trip up the ladder everyday, either!
A utilitarian stack of terra cotta pots look pretty, too, while they are waiting for my next new plant brought home from the farmers market.


BEFORE:
Across the kitchen, a little bit a wall goes from useless home for knickknacks to actually functional after several incarnations.

Cute and a bit bare, but serving no purpose.

Very cute and holding a lot of useless decoratey things. Pretty, but not a good use of very limited space.

AFTER:
With my vintage pots and pans at arms reach, cooking is a million times less stressful. Having my glasses and bowls on the shelf frees up space in my tiny cabinets so I can hide my trader joes cereal boxes more effiecently.

Dinner, anyone?

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Drawer overhaul

Ok ok, so I know drawer liners made from wallpaper isn't exactly reinvention of the wheel, but the exciting thing here is I actually followed through and finally did it.

*I think it was my new old cutlery caddy and and shiny new old silverware that were the inspiration for a kitchen drawer makeover.

Before: ICK! Ink stains, ancient dust, lord knows what else covering the bottom of my drawers.

I've had this roll of vintage wallpaper in my closet for ages. Wallpaper from the 60's onward works the best because it's pre-pasted and most likely washable. So when the drawer gets icky again (which it will), all you need is a swipe of a sponge. No paper damage!

You've just got to measure and cut a properly size piece, then completely wet the pasted side and gingerly drop it into the bottom of your drawer, smoothing out air bubbles as you go!

Yay, organized drawers! Now if I could just master the art of keeping them organized.

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Let there be light fixtures.

I have been aching to change my kitchen light fixture since my first day in the apartment and this weekend I finally tried it. My old fluorescent fixture made my skin crawl. It was like coming home to an nightmare operating room.

Food looked awful under it, as did people.


Once I removed the old base, i scraped and repainted the ceiling.


Just a standard socket. Easy breezy.


My old gas station fixture. Literally cost a single dollar at the Jane st. sidewalk sale last weekend. I almost felt like i was stealing from the sweet old guy.

This is just the style of shade i was hoping to find,too. I have so much else going on in the kitchen that i wanted something simple.


Cut the cord to the appropriate length, separated and stripped the wires.


Attached lamp "nipple" (no joke) with nuts to cord, one on either side of the shade to hold in place.And finally done. I am in total shock that i finally did it and it works. Plus i love that it only took a few hours once I had worked through the process and it was cheap cheap cheap to boot.

I love getting things done.


(I wish i could have taken pictures of attaching the medallion, but seeing as i was 12' in the air, on an old ladder, nearly drowning in my own sweat on this 97 degree day, juggling all of these pieces and with only my sad 7 fingers, i couldn't manage it. Apartment Therapy can help, too.)

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My dead presidents club and other lovely things...

The wall across my from my bed has been dreadfully empty and sad for weeks and I finally did something about it today. I had a lovely family painting hanging in this spot but sadly, it has been repossessed back into the family fold. I finally gathered up some things i had around the house and filled up the space. The three antique portraits are of President Wilson, Mckinley, and Van Buren. They are some of my all time favorite treasures and I will never forgive myself for not buying every president in the store. There are still some spots to be filled and the composition isn't quit perfect, but it's a start and they say thats the hardest part.
This weekend I completed the amazingly inspiring task of switching my out of season clothes. I store most all of my unused clothes in these vintage suitcases, it keeps things clean and tidy and manages to not take up any valuable closet space. Plus it makes me feel like a old timey globe trotter, I love organizing solutions that actually work for me, it's a rarity. I make my bed every morning (thanks mom!). It makes a big difference and overshadows a multitude of sins, like my overflowing pile of laundry. Plus, quilts on top of quilts are so cozy. These feedsack stunners are both from the 30's, the top one is called postage stamp and the bottom is a double wedding ring.
My dear friend Frances gave me this little bear. Sigh, I love a 1930's boy in overalls. The terrier is mini mohair Steiff and has a twin sister, Dottie, who lives with my darling Ginny Branch.
And this is a close up of President Martin Van Buren. Don't you love that a president could get away with this hair?

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A victorian art colony in my bedroom...

After several unproductive swoops around my favorite junk store on Tuesday, I was feeling desperate. I normally find lots of neat old things and I was hoping to find something to inspire a project. On my final lap of the store I found this odd bundle of wooden pieces shoved in a corner.


Totally clueless as to what it was, I toted it up to the counter and bought it, as any curious and emotionally driven antique shopper would have done. It was made out of beautiful old wood and have sweet painted smudges, there was no way i wouldn't find a purpose for it (trying to justify....) I got the big bundle home and turns out it's an antique easel, I'm no painter but was excited none the less. It was a challenge to assemble, no instructions, no screws, nothing to go off of.
A few hours later and after a two trips the the hardware store, i did it! It's sturdy and wonderful, what a happy surprise. Now I have to find a spot for it, but i love how it adds a bit of summer time to my bedroom. The painting is of my family's summer house, Elmwood, and my aunt painted it. It's very dear to me and I am so thrilled to have found a big, statementy way to display it.
While I still had my power drill handy I also tackled the project of making my kitchen more user friendly. I finally installed hooks to hang my cast iron cookware, before they were stored up on the high shelf which made retrieval a dangerous proposition. A brilliant friend gave me the idea to put plants on my highest shelf, so it would look more like a greenhouse as they trailed down. What a genius.

This morning I put some little hooks on the underside of this shelf, too. I needed more space to organize all of my kitchen stuff, it's been monopolizing my very limited counterspace since i moved in last year.

Three cheers for getting things done.

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Williamsburg swan lake.

okay, after much deliberation about how i could get swans outside my window, it dawned on me that I already have them in my kitchen.

I bought this amazing mobile from the children's section of ABC Carpet and Home a few weeks back. It's from a company called skyflight mobiles. I love that i was wishing for some swans and I had them here all along.

And please notice my terrible fluorescent light in the kitchen. My next goal is to take that sucker down! Any ideas where to look locally for cheap old fixtures other than ebay? I don't fancy a bargain attached to a huge shipping cost.

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