{And yes, I'm aware there isn't a daffodil to be seen in this drawing, but I thought it was spring-y.}
{And yes, I'm aware there isn't a daffodil to be seen in this drawing, but I thought it was spring-y.}
{And yes, I'm aware there isn't a daffodil to be seen in this drawing, but I thought it was spring-y.}
A weekend of progress
This is how we started off on Saturday. Pulling down the old ceiling which was water damaged from a roof leak and a couple of tiles were actually falling down.
Inspired by Abbey's ability to get stuff done, I set a goal to finish the room this weekend. So what if it was totally unrealistic? By 7 PM Saturday the room looked like this. (We're waiting to see how much/if the bead board will settle before trying to pull it flat around the edges.)
Then on Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30 while the other 2 2-leggers in the house slept for.another.2.hours. and touched up the paint, moved the orange rug back in and did a little bit of laundry purging.
When we demoed the closets to make the laundry area we saved the wood from the shelving. My granddad built the shelving from construction scraps and old army crate wood. I liked the idea of reintegrating them into the house somehow--you know, keep his industrious spirit a part of the place. The legs to this low table came from some of those shelves. I asked Charlie to make me a 56" long x 22" wide shelf in different types of wood so we wouldn't feel obligated to make it all matchy matchy.I like how it's rustic. Add a few houseplants on it and then we're really talking!
So maybe it's not totally finished, but it's so much better than this, right?
Still to do: Add ornamental trim around the door area to the washer/dryer to keep the look of woodwork uniform with the rest of the house;
hang bi-fold doors to hide the washer/dryer area;
paint trim white;
add sewing table top;
replace blinds with something (anything!) more attractive;
change the rug - I don't want to keep the orange rug, but since we already have it (no more money to spend on this project), for now it stays.
Inspired by Abbey's ability to get stuff done, I set a goal to finish the room this weekend. So what if it was totally unrealistic? By 7 PM Saturday the room looked like this. (We're waiting to see how much/if the bead board will settle before trying to pull it flat around the edges.)
Then on Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30 while the other 2 2-leggers in the house slept for.another.2.hours. and touched up the paint, moved the orange rug back in and did a little bit of laundry purging.
When we demoed the closets to make the laundry area we saved the wood from the shelving. My granddad built the shelving from construction scraps and old army crate wood. I liked the idea of reintegrating them into the house somehow--you know, keep his industrious spirit a part of the place. The legs to this low table came from some of those shelves. I asked Charlie to make me a 56" long x 22" wide shelf in different types of wood so we wouldn't feel obligated to make it all matchy matchy.I like how it's rustic. Add a few houseplants on it and then we're really talking!
So maybe it's not totally finished, but it's so much better than this, right?
Still to do: Add ornamental trim around the door area to the washer/dryer to keep the look of woodwork uniform with the rest of the house;
hang bi-fold doors to hide the washer/dryer area;
paint trim white;
add sewing table top;
replace blinds with something (anything!) more attractive;
change the rug - I don't want to keep the orange rug, but since we already have it (no more money to spend on this project), for now it stays.
Furniture Funk Friday
All this heavy political talk, let's move onto something lighter, shall we? My mom is on the hunt for a media stand for below their flat screen TV. Despite the scale of everything in this room, the TV is big, but so is the wall. I think the TV is something like a 50", the cabinet I've posted in this poorly photoshopped image is 53" long, and pretty much true to scale with the wall.
The rest of their furniture is a collection of modern masterpieces from Eames, Eileen Gray and the ilk.
My mom and I were both thinking the West Elm cabinet in the {may I reiterate: poorly} mocked up picture up top would work, but now we're both thinking something warm and darker will do the trick. Perhaps something in walnut? Maybe even a fauxdenza?
Some immediate thoughts include both the Ledge by Urbancase, Gus* Bathurst Credenza, but when it comes down to it, knowing my dad's affinity for furniture with honest, straight forward materials combined with geometric form, this Skram unit would fit the bill.
The question is, what would work with their other furniture and the scale of the room? Any suggestions?
Coconut Pumpkin Custard
Here's another sneaky way to get some veggies and vitamins into your diet: Coconut Pumpkin Custard! This post by Susy Morris, aka Chiot's Run, sparked an interest in custard, but I wanted a recipe for something not too heavy on the dairy. Miss M has dairy sensitivity, and easing up on the dairy keeps us all happier. After a little bit of searching for something close to what I had in mind, I found Gluten-Free Pumpkin Coconut Custard. Though I'm not sure custard usually has gluten, am I mistaken?
I roasted the cheese pumpkin I had on hand, and made a puree from it. Then went to work on the custard. I stuck pretty close to the recipe, which is unusual for me. I used closer to half a cup of sweetener (about 1/4 maple syrup, 1/4 molasses) and added about 2 teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger. While the custard was cooking I toasted some unsweetened coconut flakes and cashew pieces for a crunchy topping.
The result? A not-too-sweet, flavorful dish I can give the little one instead of sugar-loaded, organic soy yogurt!
A bonus? I saved the seeds from that delicious pumpkin to grow my own this coming summer!
I roasted the cheese pumpkin I had on hand, and made a puree from it. Then went to work on the custard. I stuck pretty close to the recipe, which is unusual for me. I used closer to half a cup of sweetener (about 1/4 maple syrup, 1/4 molasses) and added about 2 teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger. While the custard was cooking I toasted some unsweetened coconut flakes and cashew pieces for a crunchy topping.
The result? A not-too-sweet, flavorful dish I can give the little one instead of sugar-loaded, organic soy yogurt!
A bonus? I saved the seeds from that delicious pumpkin to grow my own this coming summer!
Follow Up Politics
Good news! The NWF and Scotts have called it splitsville, which is especially good because all the facebook and twitter urging/activism I was doing was making me feel a bit obsessive. I was just *so* disappointed in them.
The thing is, though, Scotts MiracleGro will continue to try "owning" the profitable realm of organics. While their corporate friend Monsanto will continue to "buy" rights to plants.
Even if you aren't wary of GMOs, we risk losing the resulting joy of simply pushing a seed into the ground to watch it flourish.
Farmers should be able to sue Monsanto, not just vice versa.
Monsanto is more than represented in the FDA. And another, similar petition here.