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Operation Organize Garage

Operation Organize Garage published on 1 Comment on Operation Organize Garage

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Yeah, that’s my garage in Beacon. It’s a leaky, drafty old structure that is totally falling to pieces. And this is my storage and work space. But it’s kind of cute, isn’t it? And how do you like my white trash pile out front? That’s a sink vanity under the sheet and those are boxes of concrete tile. I have everything but the kitchen sink spilling out of that garage. Oh, wait….

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The goal is to eventually tear this down (and reuse all wood, of course!) and build something….functional. But for now, she’s all I’ve got. No heat. Not a pleasant work environment. Don’t you feel sorry for me?

We were going to waterproof and insulate it on Sunday. But we stood there looking at it for a half hour and decided that it would be too much work for something that will come down in the spring. (Ha! Spring 2012 maybe!)

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The other options were the dining room or the basement. We opted for the basement. The dark, damp basement. We’ll still have to organize and throw a tarp over the roof of the garage so we can use it for storage, but we can put that off for another few months.

Until the spring. When it will be pleasant to work out there again.

Liquidation Sale + Flooring = A Productive Weekend

Liquidation Sale + Flooring = A Productive Weekend published on 6 Comments on Liquidation Sale + Flooring = A Productive Weekend

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This weekend I did some antiquing in Saugerties while the hubby worked on the Bed Stuy place. I hit The Treasure Shop’s retirement sale that was listed in the Friday Sales post. With 7 weeks to go, Tom’s prices weren’t rock bottom just yet, but there were some bargains to be had.

I met Jean aka I Love Upstate for lunch before our big shopfest. She was telling me how her mother is living in her house and redecorates with Walmart crap and how her fiance is one of those people who always lands on his feet (I HATE those people!). I read Jean’s blog regularly and she seems like a bit of a shopaholic, but I got to see it first hand. She purchased a framed horse ribbon display and some grain bags. What are you gonna do with those grain bags, Jean??!!

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I filled my car with a bunch of stuff that I’ll transform and rehab. The twin bed frame will become a bench. The old metal gym locker can be used as a linen closet. And the singer sewing machine base will be used as a sink stand once I find the perfect piece for the top. I did ok. I’ll go back in a few weeks with a bigger truck when Tom is feeling more inspired to part with his items.

Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, Husband picked up this floor I found on the Brownstoner forum. I had my heart set on wide plank antique flooring, but I was having trouble finding it at the price we wanted to pay. At the end of the day, this is a blessing. It’s 4″ wide, thick, solid oak leftover from a renovation. Already stained and polyurethaned. And it’s not one of those cheesy prefinished floors. The Boerum Hill couple had it sealed themselves outside of their home. So once we lay this sucker…it’s done! $400 for 200 square feet plus the $115 parking ticket my brilliant husband picked up.

All in all, not a bad weekend.

Brooklyn Flea Blog

Brooklyn Flea Blog published on 3 Comments on Brooklyn Flea Blog

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As some regular readers may know, we’ve been gearing up to join Brownstoner’s Brooklyn Flea which launches on April 6th in Fort Greene.

Eric Demby, the MIC (Man in Charge), will be chronicling the planning process and asking for input via the blog. They are still seeking more antiques and vintage vendors as the goal is to capture the magic that the old Chelsea Antiques Market had. If you want to sign up you can register here or send an email to eric@brownstoner.com.

Meanwhile, check out the list of vendors on the sidebar. I have a feeling I’ll be doing more shopping than selling! This ain’t good.

Preparing for Guests: The Kitchen

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

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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

Preparing for Guests, Dining Room

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

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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

Preparing for Guests: Living Room

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

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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

We’re On Vacation: Sort Of

We’re On Vacation: Sort Of published on

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We’ll be visiting the folks down in Florida this week. Think more Seinfelds in Del Boca Vista/ early bird specials than the above photo.

We’ve prepared some posts in advance to keep you occupied, but it might be hit or miss….publish when we can. We’re too cheap to go for an iphone right now because we’re bound to Verizon for awhile. So we’ll be schlepping around the laptop looking for Starbucks. Just wanted to warn you.

Woo-Hoo, Help Has Arrived!

Woo-Hoo, Help Has Arrived! published on 2 Comments on Woo-Hoo, Help Has Arrived!

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This is how I envisioned blogging.

Since starting this God forsaken blog in September, my goal has been 4 posts per day (weekends and holidays don’t count). Well actually, it was 5 posts, but that lasted about a week. I’m sticking to my goal even though I no longer have time to exercise, shower, feed my pets or earn money. Fortunately, I found a sucker friend who is willing to help out.

Brett to the rescue! I shot Brett and Andrew’s wedding a few years ago and we’ve been in touch ever since. She actually knows how to write, unlike myself, and she’s looking for her 15 minutes of blogging fame without having to be responsible for her own site. It’s a win-win situation.

*Brett and *Andrew sold their Manhattan apartment and have been looking for a home for the last 2 years. Crazy, huh? She’ll be filling us in on various neighborhoods and pitfalls of home buying. Ideally, we can follow their journey to an actual home and renovation if she doesn’t get sick of writing within the first week.

Somewhere along the way, a pair of twins came into the picture. Hopefully they won’t distract Brett from writing, like my starving cats’ crying out for some morsels of food or the stench of my own fat, decaying body.

*Names have been changed to protect the paranoid.

Review and Surprise Quiz

Review and Surprise Quiz published on 7 Comments on Review and Surprise Quiz

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If you think I’m not going to take advantage of the holiday to get a couple of days off, you’re wrong. The readership for this blog has been slowly climbing since we launched in September. That means many of you weren’t around since day one. Take this opportunity to catch up on everything you’ve missed.

If you do not know the answers to the following questions, you haven’t been paying enough attention.

Happy Thanksgiving! See you Monday.

1. What 2 places do we call home?

2. What is the term used for letting grout or concrete sit awhile after mixing?

3. In what country is The Hobbit Home located?

4. What is Bitter Apple?

5. Name 2 companies that offer high efficiency toilets.

6. Who are Eddie, Stan and Ken?

7. Who is Peter Wing?

8. What company makes countertops out of shredded counterfit money?

9. During which war did Alpine and Jasper share a romance?

10. What type of essential oil keeps the mice away?

11. True or False. You should wear a paper dust mask when stripping lead paint.

12. What ISO is recommended when photographing an interior?

13. What is the name of the Zero VOC paint made in Brooklyn?

14. Name 2 must have tools for your home.

15. Why is Zinc often used for oyster bar countertops?

16. What should you ask for before accepting an offer on your FSBO?

17. What is Nyctohylophobia?

18. What is smudging?

19. True or False. To fix a plaster crack, just spread some joint compound over the crack.

20. Where did the wainscot siding for our trash bin enclosure come from?

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure published on 5 Comments on Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

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Finally, a new product for our store! We’ve been concentrating so much on our posts that it’s taking us ages to create lovely reclaimed home fixtures to sell. Which is how we’ll make money. So we can keep this blog going. Get the hint?

The siding on this prototype is made with 100% reclaimed wainscoting from an 1865 farmhouse in Poughkeepsie. The cedar framing is new material. This is the second prototype we built. The first one didn’t work out so well. We thought it would be a great idea to use discarded shipping pallets. Well, if someone knows of a way to take pallets apart EASILY, please let us know. In the meantime, we cut them down for our much smaller kitty litter box enclosures (not built yet).Continue reading Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

It’s Blog Action Day!

It’s Blog Action Day! published on

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Today is kind of the Blogger’s Earth Day. Bloggers around the web have united to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Those of us whom have chosen to participate are doing so in one of 3 different ways:

1. Posting an issue relating to the environment.
2. Donating our day’s earnings.
3. Promoting Blog Action Day.

Since I earn bupkas, guess which 2 I’m doing?

The event has been organized by Collis Ta’eed of Eden Creative Community , Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and Cyan Ta’eed of Freelance Switch.

There are about 12, 000 participating blogs, among them:

Treehugger
Green Style
ProBlogger
Groovy Vegetarian
Etsy Bling

Officially supported charities include:

Greenpeace
Nature Conservancy
National Wildlife Federation
Sierra Club

One Step Beyond

One Step Beyond published on 5 Comments on One Step Beyond

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Ok, we have to take this to the next level now. I’m busting my arse working on these posts and you (yeah, YOU!) need to participate.

FYI, did you know that there’s a forum on this site? And did you know that someone just posted a lovely Victorian Parlor Mirror from a Harlem brownstone? Craigslist is awesome, but I’d love to see the forum become the place to exchange salvage and building materials. Recycle your junk! And ideas!

Brooklyn Blogade

Brooklyn Blogade published on

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Yesterday I went to my very first Brooklyn Blogade. Dragged the hubby (who had a nice time). We arrived late (my fault) and missed being in the picture of EVERYONE (except us). The event took place at Le Toukouleur in North Stuy and the food was yummy. Petra/Changeling and Joanna/Alexa11221 of Bed Stuy Blog organized the event along with Eleanor of Creative Times.

Shop Bed Stuy was on hand as well as Le Chateau de Frenche, an inexpensive luxury day spa offering high tea.

It was a good turn out (although I wouldn’t know, it being my first time and all) and everyone seemed to have a good time (I did, anyway).

Other bloggers on hand:

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Bushwick BK
Flatbush Gardener
Saucy Tart
Luna Park Gazette
Brooklyn Nester
Greenpointers
Brooklyn Fashion Gallery

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