Saturday, August 21, 2010

bathroom improvements


This is not the bathroom of my dreams, it's the bathroom of my reality, so I have to make the best of it. We recently found an old mirror at a car boot sale for £5 that I sanded down and repainted, it weighs about 30 pounds because of the glass. I have been trying to find some shelves for our bathroom above the toilet pretty much ever since we moved in, and everything is either boring, expensive or impossible to find. I wanted to put up two old wooden wine crates but they fall under the "impossible to find" category. So I spent 2 whole days at work last week on the internet looking for a suitable alternative (as you do), and then when I was driving home one day the answer came to me. We bought two of these bins from Ikea a few months ago and they have just been on our bookshelf not really doing much. They are the perfect solution; they're not plain old shelves and they're items we already own--score! The best part was that it gave Sam another chance to use his power drill to make more holes in our 134 year old plaster walls, which is always an enjoyable experience for him:) Anyway, here you go, it's not really a completed product but it's miles better than before.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


cabinet memo board

Today I copied a super idea that I got from Ashli at Maillardville Manor who got the idea from here. I found it was actually cheaper to buy a bulletin board--all I had to do was take the frame off (to use for something else??) and cut the cork down to size. Then I covered it with some fabric and put it up on the inside of one of our cabinet doors like so:


Now I just need to figure out a good way to organize all of our spices...


Thursday, August 19, 2010

a little apron for a little person

I made this little apron for my niece who turns two next week. It will be the perfect accessory for the awesome kitchen set she's getting!!

how to water your plants from afar

Now I know what you're thinking and you're right, I live in England, it rains here all of the time why would I ever bother watering? But tomato plants are needy little things, so I want to leave them with an extra boost of water while we are in Wales next week. All you need is a plastic bottle, a nail and a hammer to poke a hole through the cap and you've got yourself an automatic water drip.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

harvesting and picking

runner beans
purple and baby carrot
peas (not sure what kind but you eat the shell and they are beautiful)
cherry tomatoes
Sam digging up our potatoes, yes he is wearing his slippers--that's how we roll.


Potatoes
Our first wild berry pick of the season and we got enough blackberries and blueberries for a whole pie. It was DELICIOUS, and I was so excited to eat it I didn't take a picture.


Friday, August 6, 2010

we went to Egypt and it was hot

Naama Bay.  Red Sea.  Sainai Peninsula.