A bit of a chaotic day yesterday at the Brooklyn Flea, but it could have been worse. I actually made a few bucks. I’m telling ya…I do so much better in the rain than in nice weather!
We were running late in the morning. When we got to the storage space, the 24 hour access code wasn’t working. I was 1 week late with my bill (They don’t send invoices, so I forget.) so I knew it was probably that. But I needed my stuff so we climbed the fence prepared to throw things over. Well, they padlocked my unit! 1 week….no courtesy call or nuthin’. So, we go to the market to set out our 5 items and waited until they opened. At 10am I let the chick behind the counter know my thoughts on the matter, but didn’t have time to go all Brooklyn (old school) on her ass. Got back to the market. Set up by noon (normally 9:30am). Got drenched twice by the end of the day, which was early due to rain. On a positive note, I entered into the vendor’s wet t-shirt contest and won!
Futopia was a cool/retro/funky store located in Greenpoint. The store no longer exists but you can now find them at the Brooklyn Flea on Sundays. Owner Futaba makes her own creations and sells other artists as well. Photographer Michelle Levante partnered up with Futaba for the flea market. She sells decoupage objects displaying her own photography. The booth is eclectic and best of all….inexpensive! To give you an example, the antique glass eyeball below was only $20. I meant to go back for it, but I forgot. Dammit! I really NEEDED an antique eyeball. Space W-37.
It’s difficult to see from the photo, but that white fireplace insert bottom left is perhaps the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I was tempted to splurge on the $350 piece, but it’s something that needs to be measured and my husband would kill me if I paid that much for something that didn’t fit. BTW, $350 is a good price for something like that. It’s just that….I’m poor. Or cheap. Or both. Anyway, Red Barn Antiques had some great stuff in their booth. The guy (didn’t catch his name) was supposed to come and give me a card later on, but he forgot. Then I forgot. Now I’ve got nothing for ya. But it’s Red Barn, no website. They are at the flea most weekends, but I can’t find them on the layout. Is it me or are they not there?
Our duplex roommates are moving out! They are parting ways with each other so they’ll be looking for smaller apartments. The beautiful thing is that we weren’t going to renew their lease anyway. They are just too YOUNG! The first year was fine, but they had one too many loud, late parties this year. We’re old and kvetchy. We don’t go for that.
Anyway, they’re leaving early August and we’ll be in a mad rush to get some new blood in there by the middle of the month. I’m sure there will be some things to take care of after four 20 somethings lived there for 2 years, but two weeks oughta do it.
I gave “The Duplex” it’s own page. I tried to do it as a “listing” but I’ve been neglecting that for so long I forgot how to do it. Please feel free to send the link on to friends, friends of friends, post it on your blog, etc….
3BR/Bed Stuy/Pets welcome/$2600
Preferably NO MORE ROOMMATES!
Ya know, it’s not only Brooklyn and Manhattan that have brownstones. Look at these…all under $600k. Ok, it was slim pickins and they actually look more like brick than brownstone. But they exist!
And I’m happy to have twice the square footage at half the price (literally). 
Form A Drain from Certainteed is a 3-in-1 solution for foundations.
1. The lineal sections form the basement footings. Unlike wood forms, they can stay in place permanently after the concrete is poured. Which means….
2. They act as a drainage system. Use these instead of perforated pipe. Because they are used around the perimeter of the foundation, this is also good for reduction of…..
3. Radon.
So, we did our little vacation romp in The Berkshires last weekend. I followed the advice of readers from a previous post and booked this place in Great Barrington. Actually, it was in Housatonic, which is outside of Great Barrington.
The town of Housatonic actually reminds me of Beacon. It has that whole ‘abandoned factory by the river with train tracks running through it’ kind of thing going on. Housatonic is fairly small, although there are a couple of galleries and restaurants as well as a convenience shop and liquor store. When we first arrived at the house I was pretty disappointed that it wasn’t a hidden country retreat. Definitely more of a suburban feel. But the area does have some glorious old homes, many of which are under renovation.
Great Barrington is pretty crunchy, as promised by my readers. Restaurant menus offer plenty of vegetarian options, there was a food coop in town and even a new age shop.
We only stayed for a few days (the in-laws are still there) so we didn’t get out all that much. The two restaurants we did get to try were both exceptional. We had a “4-birthdays” dinner at Xicohtencatl, a colorful Mexican restaurant just outside of town. Although the frozen margaritas didn’t live up to my mother in law’s first margarita experience (I got her drunk at some Tex-Mex joint in Park Slope about 15 years. She has never found a margarita that compares to her first time.) they were GOOD. As was the food and service.
Our second meal out was Siam Square on Main Street in Great Barrington. Again, excellent choice, even though it was a last minute decision once we discovered the Indian take out no longer existed.
There’s no shortage of outdoor activities in The Berkshires. We hiked up Monument Mountain twice with the dogs. Well, got to the peak only one day. It’s about an hour plus to the top and fairly strenuous (Although I should let you know that I haven’t worked out in months).
Our other great outdoor adventure was a kayak trip down the Housatonic. We rented from the Main Street outfitter, Adventure US. The very nice man who drove us to the water waited with us until the rain stopped. Unfortunately, it started again once we were in the middle of the river. We took shelter under a tree for about 15 minutes, but then decided to go on. The water was high and mighty because of the rains. I tried so hard to keep dry because it was pretty chilly that day. Then we hit the mini “rapids” and I got soaked. It was FUN though!!!! Better than kayaking on still water. Next I’ll have to try white water.
We visited The Clark Museum in Williamstown one day. They have a very impressive collection and if the spouse gets bored with the art as my husband tends to, send him outside to stroll around the grounds. The in-laws visited The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield the day we kayaked through the storm. The little one (3 years old) loved the place and the adults seemed quite satisfied as well. It’s kind of like The Met, Natural History and NY Aquarium rolled into one.
The one thing I didn’t get to do which was at the top of my list was to go antiquing. I just didn’t find the time. I suppose that says a lot about a place, when you can’t find time to do what you love most!
Related: Boston Globe article
Tourist much?
2 BR post and beam set on over 2 acres. At this price, it almost makes me wish I was in the market for a second home.
1740′s saltbox colonial on 1.2 acres. Wide plank floors, exposed beams, rear porch that looks like maw and paw should be out there smoking pipes. And best of all…it needs work! Now who amongst you wouldn’t want to restore this baby?
This lovely Victorian lady was around the corner from where we stayed. We saw the for sale sign and guessed at the price. I said $500k and my husband said $700k. Guess he was right. It sits on 2 acres. I really wish there were some interior photos because it’s breathtaking from the outside.
The plywood counter top post I did yesterday got me thinking about how versatile plywood is. It’s no secret that I sometimes get lazy with my renovations midway through. I’ve often asked the hubby if we can just do something fun with plywood rather than sheet rock the walls. The answer is always no. But that doesn’t mean I can’t write about it.
For our Kingston “country” renovation, we chose to go with board and bat walls. We did actually do board and bat, but afterwards our neighbor came in to see it and asked why we didn’t just use plywood under the batten? D’oh! We totally could’ve gotten away with that since we were going with a pickled white anyway. It would’ve saved hours. Actually, days. So, plywood under horizontal or vertical strips of wood could work. Or even raised panels, as in raised panel wainscoting? Are your creative juices flowing yet?
If you really want to go the cheapest, fastest, easiest route, consider just slapping that plywood up there with some paint or stain. The photo above is Cafe Macchiato in Newburgh, NY. Although I didn’t ask, I’m under the impression they just did a quick stain job. To me, the end result looks like a faux leather technique. Whether it was intended or not, it doesn’t look half bad! Consider bright stains and washes such as reds or purples. Could look very cool!
The fact is, you can’t really do much to screw up plywood. If you don’t like it and want to change to sheet rock, it won’t get destroyed when you take it down. And you can always use it elsewhere for all of your building needs.
From Instructables, a step by step guide to building this lovely outdoor doggy retreat. Turn up the volume and dance! The best part about this video is the disco beat.
The Hudson Valley Materials Exchange, formerly located at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, has finally reopened in their new home at the New Paltz recycling center. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place tomorrow, June 25th at 12pm.
If you’re not aware of the HV Materials Exchange, that’s the place where you can buy used building materials as well as art supplies. Cash and material donations are always welcome! HV Materials Exchange is a not for profit warehouse.
This month’s quick, cheap and easy DIY counter top choice comes from The Hardware Aisle.
What is it? Plywood! There’s no need to remove your existing counter top to feed the landfill. Furniture grade veneer can be affixed to existing material. Edges should consist of solid wood and surface can be coated for protection.
My own input? I doubt this will last forever, so why not make it look as nice as possible while it’s there? I’d add trim around the edges to fancy it up a bit. You can caulk it, but water will eventually find it’s away between the top and trim. If you plan on keeping the counter top for a long while, you should stay on top of the sealer and caulk! But remember that bars often have wood counter tops and they seem to last just fine.
Related:Charles and Hudson
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Well at least it wasn’t…chilly.
Comment by iloveupstate.com — June 30, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
Well, there’s a reason I’m holding my t-shirt out nonetheless.
Comment by RH — June 30, 2008 @ 3:02 pm