Skip to content

Page Header

Posts from January 2008

Furniture Sales!

Furniture Sales! published on

twoworldsdesign.jpg

Antiques at the Armory
January 18, 19, 20
69th Regiment Armory, Lex @ 26th St
$15 admission

Seminole Furniture
Now Til to February 15th, 2008
44 East 32nd Street, 2nd Floor
(Park Avenue & Madison Avenue)
212 683-6464
Store Hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm

Two Worlds
Moving Sale
Call for appointment: 212-929-2210

ABC Carpet
Now through 1/21 at all locations
Up to 40% off

Green Demolitions
95% off until January 31
Check site for locations

January Brooklyn Blogade

January Brooklyn Blogade published on

2132925445_dd63f3497b.jpg

Clinton Hill Blog will host this month’s Brooklyn Blogade. It will take place on Sunday, January 20th at Frank White Cafe & Gallery, 936 Atlantic Ave at St. James. 11 am. The brunch menu looks to die for, so if you don’t come for the chit chat, come for the food. Please RSVP by January 16th: clintonhillblogATgmailDOTcom

Photo by Danya Bateman

Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen

Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen published on 4 Comments on Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen

kitch1.jpg

Yes, we live like this. And we have for years. If you’re a germaphobe, please look away now.

Our long term plan is to completely redo the kitchen. We’ll probably end up adding an extension as the layout here is difficult to get around. There are windows and doors in every wall. It would be a bit cramped for an island. We also don’t love the idea of having a full bathroom right off the kitchen, but we want the home to have 2 baths.Continue reading Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen

Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ

Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ published on 3 Comments on Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ

Author: Brett

eplaza.jpg

Andrew and I have employed a couple of methods over the years in order to pinpoint the town that is right for us. Some of them are zany, like looking up the area where a certain film was shot because we liked the street or studying the train map and researching the towns within an hour’s ride from Manhattan. Then there are the times when we hear about a place through word of mouth. That’s how we discovered Cranford, NJ.

One day, I was complaining to a coworker about how long we have been looking for a house in a town with a vibrant downtown area and that we would like said house to be no more than a 20-minute walk to the train station. She mentioned that her best friend lived in Cranford in Union county, New Jersey and that it seemed to have what we were looking for.Continue reading Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ

Immigration on the Lower East Side

Immigration on the Lower East Side published on

m197701770137.jpg

This week the City Room had the Tenement Museum respond to questions on the history of immigration on the Lower East Side. Personally, I’m fascinated by this since both sides of my family emigrated from Russia around the same time. Since this is a New York blog and I’m looking for a quickie Friday post, I figured I’d share my Lower East Side family history with you (mother’s side).

I’m totally cheating on this post. Back in October, an immigration question was posted on the Brownstoner Forum and I responded. I’m a cuttin’ and a pastin’. Hey, I wrote it! Well, I took notes from Aunt Elaine. Continue reading Immigration on the Lower East Side

Fridge Drawer

Fridge Drawer published on 3 Comments on Fridge Drawer

bdr190na.jpg

I like the concept of a dish drawer because I have this fantasy that it can save me the job of putting away the dishes. However, I don’t get the idea behind the refrigeration drawer. It looks really cool?

Granted, it’s perfect for small apartments. We’ve all seen those apartments where the refrigerator is located in the foyer. Heck, even in my kitchen, the fridge is tucked away in some weird alcove. (We’ll be discussing my kitchen on Monday).

So the drawers serve a purpose when there’s a space issue and they are beautiful. But I haven’t seen any for under $1000. You can buy the same size compact fridge for under $200 and keep it under your counter. We have one in Brooklyn that was a hand me down from a friend. We paid: FREE.

Nextag: Fridge Drawers

CribCandy’s “15 Miniature Living Solutions” led me to EuroStove’s article on the Ariston refrigeration drawer.

Weekender: Wurtsboro, NY

Weekender: Wurtsboro, NY published on

mvc-907s.JPG

Little known fact: Ms. Reclaimed Home from straight outta Brooklyn spent a few years of her childhood in Wurtsboro, NY. My parents did the country/city thing for awhile. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Early 70’s Wurtsboro had all of the small town ingredients that scares the bejesus out of me today…hunter’s driving around with rifles and dead deer attached to their hoods, pregnant teens, drunk drivers and nutty conservatives. My mother’s BFF (no longer on this plane), an antiques dealer and psychic, moved up from Brooklyn first. By the time we arrived she had managed to befriend the one black family and one gay couple in town, so my informative years weren’t too parochial.Continue reading Weekender: Wurtsboro, NY

Preparing for Guests, Dining Room

Preparing for Guests, Dining Room published on 2 Comments on Preparing for Guests, Dining Room

dr1.jpg

We’re finally getting to the rooms that really need work (in the blogosphere only, not in real life). The only reason we have a dining room set in here is because we ran out and bought one the day before had our first guests. It was one of those purchases we paid too much for because we needed it immediately. We bought the table on Atlantic Avenue. Need I say more?Continue reading Preparing for Guests, Dining Room

U.S. Green Building Council’s Home Guide

U.S. Green Building Council’s Home Guide published on

home_img_large.gif

Via ReNest

The U.S. Green Building Council has a new fun and informative site called Green Home Guide. They profile various LEED projects, have a green renovation checklist and list incentives.

I also found a link to the EPA’s Personal Emissions Calculator, but I’m so over those already! For today.

Alternative Heat Sources

Alternative Heat Sources published on 3 Comments on Alternative Heat Sources

jotul.jpg

About 5 years ago when we still owned the Kingston house, we made an attempt at making the heating system more energy efficient. Not such a difficult task considering the home had electric baseboard heating.

We had a lovely stone fireplace in the living room and a wood burning stove in the basement that we used regularly as weekenders. Once we moved up there full time, chopping wood got old fast and we noticed a constant draft from the flue.Continue reading Alternative Heat Sources

Preparing for Guests: Living Room

Preparing for Guests: Living Room published on 2 Comments on Preparing for Guests: Living Room

jlr.jpg

We’re starting on the easier projects first. Like the guest room, the living room is pretty much finished.

The major concerns here are the couch and the light fixture, both Ebay finds. Both items bought about 3 years ago and my husband has never let me live down.Continue reading Preparing for Guests: Living Room

Low VOC Coating: Whey To Go!

Low VOC Coating: Whey To Go! published on

coating.jpg

Via LeedPro Via Treehugger

Vermont Natural Coatings has a line of poly whey finishes available. Whey, a bi-product of cheese production, is a renewable resource. It’s also non toxic, low VOC and low odor.

The furniture finish is available in satin, semi-gloss and gloss. Floor finish comes in satin and semi gloss. Dry time is 2-3 hours. At $62 per gallon, I don’t think I want to be the guinea pig. Treehugger does point out that the coverage is higher than that of regular water based poly.

The cans are made with post consumer materials which can be recycled when discarded. It all sounds very wonderful, however, as much as I love to promote these great sustainable products, I use oil base on my floors. Toxic, high VOC oil. Unfortunately, it’s the only thing that lasts longer than a few months in my house.

Primary Sidebar