Black & white bathroom remodel

We finally finished the downstairs bathroom! The shower was semi-tiled for months, but our super busy summer didn't really leave us any free weekends for the finishing touches (and by "we" I mean Jim). So we - really both - made the bathroom, but Jim definitely put in the most effort with construction and finishing. I wanted a masculine look since it's his bathroom where he gets ready early in the morning, and I think the duo tone and wood touches, plus the nod to vintage in the subway tiled shower and pullout shaving mirror achieve that. Unfortunately the cool black penny tile floor isn't showing up - but trust me, it's cool!

Perfect rainy Sunday meal

Thomas Keller's roasted chicken (plus fresh garlic cloves) with thyme mushroom gravy, sautéed Brussels sprouts with bacon and roasted farmers market potatoes. So. Delicious.

DIY backyard sandbox

 

Enjoying his new sandbox with his cousin

Earlier this summer I made a super easy sandbox for my 2-year old to play in with his "diggers" and shovels. My goal was to make the backyard a really fun place where he could play and be entertained so that maybe, just MAYBE, I could read my novel outdoor in the sunshine in relative peace.

At Lowes I found this 4'x4' raised garden kit in a box consisting of 4 plastic boards, hinges for the corners and 4 stakes to secure it into the ground. After some 6th grade math that hurt my brain, I figured I'd need 9 bags of "Play Sand" which, apparently is a commonly stocked thing and it's meant for sandboxes. Who knew!

Just remember when buying bags of play sand - 

width times height times depth equals volume... I think? 

I also bought 4 red, resin-coated pieces of rebar (sold as garden stakes) that were about 5 feet long. I thought it'd be cool to use them to string some fiesta flags around the edges of the finished sandbox.

At home, I assembled the frame according to directions using a drill to attach the corner hinges and a rubber mallet to pound the stakes into the ground. I placed it right on top of the grass. Then I schlepped 2 bags of sand at a time with a wheelbarrow from my car to the backyard, sliced them open and dumped away. A bit of raking evened out the sand and the stakes and flags (attached with zip ties) gave it a festive flair.

 

When Alexander woke up from his nap I hurried him outside to see and he exclaimed, "A beach!" He loves it and has been playing in it all summer. His favorite thing now is to write numbers and letters in the sand and then "erase" them.

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PROJECT REFLECTIONS
Total cost: $135.00
     $90 for raised bed kit, $45 for 9, 50-pound bags of play sand
Easiest part: getting a Lowes employee to help me load up the sand bags into my cart and then again into my car.
Hardest part: I guess schlepping the sand bags and dumping them out. So heavy.
What I'd do differently next time: Figure out a better way to attach the flags.
What I learned: You really DO use that 6th grade math when you grow up!

 

$4 thrift store lamp makeover

 

 The repainted lamp looking pretty fly on the madeover desk. 

I found this metal lamp at Value Village for $3.99. It had cool lines and I immediately knew that with a paint job it would be a killer piece for my sister's new office. 

I wrapped the cord and covered the inside edge of the lamp shade with painter tape, then started spraying a copper paint. It took about 3 coats to completely cover it and in maybe 2 hours I had a great-looking lamp that complemented the makeover desk quite nicely

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PROJECT REFLECTIONS:
Total cost: $11
     $4 for the lamp. $7 for the paint
Easiest part: The painting was so easy.
Hardest part: tightening the loose fasteners.
What I'd do differently next time: I'd paint a little more carefully because it can definitely start to run on the curved parts.
What I learned: That the thrift store is a great place for finding reusable pieces! (I'm not a huge thrifter to begin with.)

Ugly desk makeover using spray paint & shims

 The finished product!

This furniture makeover project turned out way better than I could have ever imagined. My sister had a new office full of drab old, standard-issue furniture - chipboard and vinyl veneer with rubber trim.

I worked with her on a TINY budget to design a new, mod space that sparked creativity! (I still need to take photos of it...)

Instead of buying a new desk, I spray painted the existing one after scrubbing it with TSP. I used 6 cans of high gloss white paint.

 

The desk "before" photo.

 

After maybe 2-3 cans of spray paint. Still needed a lot more!

 

Playing with the shim pattern before adhering the wood to the desk.

Next, I used about 15 packages of wooden shims to tile the front of the desk. I attached them with Liquid Nails and a caulk gun. Some of the thinner shims wanted to curl up once wet with the adhesive, and those I tried to weigh down but it didn't work. Ultimately I replaced them with thicker pieces. I made an effort to vary the color and direction and size of the shims so the overall effect had the most visual interest.

The desk turned up on its side for affixing the shims. I started in the middle top and worked my way out and down from there, cutting the extreme left and right edges to size.

The final product turned out so cool! It reminds me of a beachy yet modern hotel lobby desk. My sister likes it and it definitely doesn't look like a tired old piece of used office furniture now.

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PROJECT REFLECTIONS

Total cost: $55.00

     $30 for spray paint; $24 for wooden shims; $3 for Liquid Nails

Easiest part: Tiling on the shims - it was strangely hypnotic and it went quickly.

Hardest part: The spray painting sucked. It didn't stick well to the vinyl coating and my finger started to cramp from pressing the button for so long. 

What I'd do differently next time: Start with 4 clean pieces of wood and build a simple 4-sided desk from scratch, then paint with a low-nap paint roller. 

What I learned: That wooden shims make great-looking tiles! Seriously, I cannot overstate how much I love the look of this. :)

DIY plant hanger from 2 pieces of rope

 Just a cool plant hanging out...

This spider plant I started from a clipping is finally big enough that it really needed to hang so the leaves wouldn't get smooshed. So I cut two lengths of rough sisal rope, folded them in half to make 4 strands, wound some leftover trim around the 4 cut ends and cinched it tightly to form the bottom. Then I tied a knot near the top to make a hanging loop and voila! an easy, rustic chic plant hanger more than sturdy enough to hold a heavy concrete planter. Once the planter is inside, the weight of it keeps the ropes taut and the plant stationary. 

To hang it up, I drilled a hole in the ceiling and used a toggle bolt, a headless screw and a decorative hook threaded onto one end to provide a secure place to hang the whole thing. I had a length of trim left still and I strung it for a bit more visual interest. I love how this turned out and I'll definitely make more.

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PROJECT REFLECTIONS

Total cost: Free! Everything I used I already had in the house.

Easiest part: Working with only 2 pieces of rope.

Hardest part: Drilling the hole big enough in the ceiling for the toggle bolt to fit up into, but even that wasn't hard, just dusty.

What I'd do differently next time: Maybe try differently colored ropes or wrap the ropes in embroidery thread for more color.

What I learned: I always forget to use horizontal space, so it was a good reminder to look up!

Nightstand makeover

We've had this fugly brown, scratched up night stand knocking around the house for years. I always thought that it'd be cute with a new coat of paint, so I hung on to it through a house move. Turns out I was right!

A coat of white, copper-painted legs and a new copper knob gave it a whole new lease on life. I didn't pause to snap a "before" photo in my creative inspiration hastened by the muse of refinishing, so just imagine one here [brown, scratched, ugly].

I used some leftover Behr paint in Swiss Coffee to do all but the legs, applying 3 coats.

 

I bought a quart of "Devine Penny", a metallic copper paint, at Target to do the legs, applying 4 coats. Also at Target, I found these heavy copper drawer pulls - they came in a 4-pack so I used one for the nightstand and 3 for the dresser I'm also redoing (which will be all white when I finish).

And here is the final product - a very cute "new" nightstand for the bedroom. I'm so pleased with how it turned out, and more than this, inspired by how quick and easy was the transformation. I have more fugly furniture knocking around the house that is also about to get made over!

A Super Simple Succulent Terrarium

 

I love the look of succulents indoors, but since I've moved to Alaska I haven't had as many of these hardy plants as I did in California. They do well with little water and lots of sun, but as I learned recently - they do not do well near freezing cold windows...which is like every window in winter in Alaska. So I purchased some faux succulents because they will never die, and unlike gaudy silk flowers, with these it's hard to tell that they're not real. 

Terrariums make easy little centerpieces for a table, unique hostess or birthday gifts and add welcome spots of greenery during the dreary winter. Which is why I wanted to make a couple for my home on this icy, foggy, 5-degree frozen day.

STEP 1: Gather your materials - I used, colorful rocks, a couple varieties of succulent (you can use living and faux), moss and glass containers. Also, tiny animals or pieces of wood or shells would be great, too.

STEP 2: Layer in the fillers. Start with rocks on the bottom, then wood or moss... You can also use sand. (Note: if using real succulents, place potting soil on top of rocks and then place the plants in. Last, fill moss around planted succulents.)

STEP 3: Tuck your succulent stems into the moss. I needed to trim the longer stems on a couple of these, but for the tall apothecary jar (below), the long stems were great for anchoring the plant down into the moss and rocks. 

STEP 4: Add the finishing touches. For the shallow bowl, I just added some contrasting white rocks to the top. This is where little pieces of driftwood or tiny bird sculptures, etc would look adorable. If you like that kind of thing.

That's it! So easy to make a tiny florascape in a bowl.

 

My son got 4 goldfish today, so I grouped the fish with the terrariums on the center of the table for a little surf and turf centerpiece. In case you are wondering the fishes' names, they're called Annie, Quincey, Leo and June after his all-time favorite show, The Little Einsteins.

Alaskan Halibut Thai curry stew

 

It's winter in Alaska and my book club is tonight, so I wanted to make a large batch of something warm. My freezers are still stocked with last summer's catch, so I got some halibut defrosting and gathered all my ingredients. (I don't normally use recipes, so I'll post quantities and amounts to the best of my knowledge).

 

I pulled all the flavors of Thailand I could find from the pantry and fridge. The great thing about soups or stews is that you can throw in so many different things, so just stick to a flavor profile (in this case - Thai) and you'll be all set! 

This recipe makes about 1.5 gallons of stew.

• Coconut oil - 1 TB
• Coconut milk - 2 13.5-oz cans
• Red curry paste - 2-3 TB to taste
• Chicken stock (although I ended up using seafood stock instead) -1.5 32-oz TetraPak containers
• Lemongrass - 1 stick sliced lengthwise
• Cilantro - like 1/3 of a bunch chopped, plus more for garnish
• Lime - 1 tsp zest, then slices for serving
• Ginger - 1 thumb-sized piece, peeled and sliced in half length-wise
• Shallot - 1 whole, diced
• Potatoes (I used Alaskan-grown gold) - about 6 or 7
• Spinach or any green vegetable you have like chard, kale, zucchini - 3 handfuls
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Alaskan halibut or any firm white fish like cod or rockfish would maybe work, too - 3-4 pounds
• Serve with Jasmine or brown rice if you like

 

1. I defrosted about 3-4 pounds of halibut in the sink. Jim caught this last summer in Prince William Sound and we fileted and vacuum packed it at home. (Side note: these wire racks that sit on the bottom of the sink work so well for weighing down frozen items for defrosting.)

2. In a heavy dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat, saute one whole diced shallot in about a tablespoon of coconut oil until they are translucent. Next, add about 2 soup spoons' worth (or more or less) of red curry paste and let it saute with the shallots for about 1 minute.

3. Add 2 cans of coconut milk to the pot, as well as 1 container of seafood stock (or any kind of broth).

 

4. Next, peel about a thumb-sized piece of ginger (I have pretty big hands, you might need more or less). Cut it in half length-wise, also slice a piece of lemongrass in half length-wise (or use lemongrass paste) and add both aromatics to the pot. Add some lime zest and some chopped cilantro, as well. Let the soup reduce by about 1/3 to 1/2.

5. While the liquid is reducing and making your house smell like heaven, peel and cube about 6-7 gold potatoes (not pictured) and add to the pot. The mixture will boil, when it does, turn the heat down to about medium to keep it simmering.

 

6. Prep your fish which goes in very last to prevent it from falling apart or drying out. I removed the skin and any errant bones in these filets, then I seasoned them with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, then cubed them into bite-sized pieces. 

7. Add the halibut when the potatoes in the liquid are tender and the mixture is reduced. The liquid should just barely cover all the fish and potato chunks like in the photo above. I needed to add more stock.

 

8. Last, add about 6-8 sliced green onions to the pot, cover and let the halibut poach until it is just finished (start checking after about 4-5 minutes).  This is also the stage when you can add green veg if you like - 3 handfuls of spinach or kale, sliced zucchini. I'm warming mine up later so I'll add spinach just before serving. Finish soup with salt and pepper to taste.

9. Serve with chopped cilantro, more green onion, Thai basil, lime slices and chili paste or sauce if you like. (Watch out for lemon grass and woody ginger pieces, or just pick them out.) Enjoy!