Desk Project

I thought I would do a small project while I wait for planting time to come for the garden. As I wait to make sure there won't be a last frost, I figured I could get a quick project in.

I needed piece for my bedroom to serve as a desk and vanity at the same time. Since my room is small I have to make good use of my space. I also don't like clutter so it's a good way to get stuff out of eyesight.

As I went out searching I couldn't seem to find what I needed. I searched craigslist and antique stores but all I could find was computer desks or small antique school desks and giant old desks. Then one day as I was perusing a local thrift store, from a distance, it caught my eye. There it was in the very back next to an old 1980's lacquer headboard and a veneered bookshelf that had seen better days. As I approached I could tell this little desk was in good condition but needed some paint and love. And as i was looking it over, I saw the price...I couldn't resist! It was $20!!!! 

I took the poor sad thing home, took knobs off, patched some holes, sanded, painted and put some more modern knobs on it and presto! I have a new desk/vanity and on a budget. 

BEFORE AND AFTER

As you can see it need some cleaning before I started sanding

Okay, the ugly eighties knobs HAD to go!!

I popped them off and filled the holes with wood filler.
You can get wood filler at your local home improvement store.

After two coats of paint

I painted the inside of the drawers in an aqua for interest

I also added some white paint to the top edges of the drawers
to finish it off nicely. It acts as sort of a frame when you open
them and look down into them.

I added a bigger sized knob, and turned it opposite the others on the
 middle drawer. Since it wasthe different shaped drawer and also the
middle one, it needed something a little different but not so noticeable.
Just a small detail that can give an otherwise basic piece a little interest.

"May you all be Domestic Geniuses!"

Vegetable garden prep

Alright, it's that time again! It's the beginning of Spring and it's also time to get ready to plant. As you all know I have moved across the country and this is going to be a whole new learning experience for all of us (I live with friends). Let's start by saying that it is still cold out and yesterday we had flurries, yes...you read right...flurries, in April no less. Sigh...feel my pain? By now in Ca I would have already planted at least one bed. Patience, patience.

Okay, new place, new plan. Here we have to pest proof. We have a fenced off space that was a "dog run" so-to-speak. Great for keeping the "pests" out. Pests here are deer, squirrels, moles, rabbits and all those cute animals that apparently will dig, eat and destroy your veggie garden. As cute and adorable as they are, I don't want to walk out one morning after all the hard work only to find a mind field of what used to be a garden! Anyway, it's a good place to plant.

Some work is being done to the area first. There were some trees taken out and it needs some drainage and a retaining wall will be added to delineate two spaces. My best friend and I have some great ideas for the space and I will be sharing all of it step by step. Stay tuned for pics.

I know it has been a while since I have posted. It has been a long and busy few months. I have been involved in a cross-country move. Yes you heard right, The Domestic-Genius has moved from sunny Southern California to upstate New York. I have been given an opportunity to leave the place I was born and raised in, to come live in New York, the place I have always wanted to live in. It all started when my best friend decided to move back home to Rochester. Since her family is here, she saw it fit to buy a home and move here. Naturally the ideal thing would be that your best friend would come with you. When does that ever happen? It did this time! She invited me to come along and start all new again. Scary right? Yes, but also exciting. So I quit my two jobs, applied for a Nail Tech license in NY (still haven't heard back) and her hubby, brother and I drove our cars here! After the movers took everything we packed our cars with what we needed, the dogs (four all together) and off we went. Hubby and brother were in one car with two of their dogs, and I in the other with my dog and one of theirs.
     Our road trip lasted six days! It was an amazing trip. We crossed so many states and saw so many things. We took our time in order not to get too tired or to overwhelmed. It was beautiful. My best friend went ahead and flew here the week prior in order to get a few things done before us and the movers came. The house is a farmhouse on a 7 acre property. It needs a little bit of cosmetic TLC but otherwise it is beautiful. We are out in the country about ten minutes from the Village (that's what they call it here). I have seen deer come through here everyday! There is a bird feeder right in front of the living room window and all types of birds fly onto it to eat, even squirrels!
     Since the house is in need of some cosmetic changes, there will definitely be some projects happening. Mostly, it needs more storage, so we added some armoires and cabinets that need painting. I also plan to do a garden in the spring. I am definitely going to have to do my research. It is not like Ca., where you can basically plant anytime in the spring. Here you have a smaller window to do it in. There are so many trees close to the house so we may have to plant in the clearing way out in the clearing. And I have to critter and deer protect my garden too! O boy it is going to be a project.
     So I will be posting pics of my trip across the country soon, pics of the village (which is the cutest I have ever seen) and of projects in the house and garden. It has been a long few months so I am going to get rested so that I may have energy for all this new and exciting adventures.

Mammoth Trip

My best friend and I decided to head for the mountains again. But this time, the Sierras. We packed and headed out for Mammoth Lakes, CA. We started at 6:30am what was to be a grueling five hour drive through the hot Mojave desert. Of course we went in July so it was even hotter. As we got on our way, we both became more and more excited. Although I wasn't feeling well, (I had had a cold with a cough), I still couldn't wait to get to the fresh air of the mountains. We would be staying in Bishop, which is about half and hour from the mountain, at a little Inn.

We stopped at the half way point in Lone Pine to gas up. Cute, quaint little place. Nice people but still out in the middle of nowhere. So onward we went. About thirty minutes up the road there is a little town in the middle of the Mojave desert called Fort Independence (which also has an airport, where I'm not sure). I have to mention this because of well...the ridiculousness of what I'm about to tell you. The ridiculous part is that they make you slow down to 25mph as you go through this town of 500 people. Now I'm not really sure where those people were. I'm assuming that they were counting the cows, or cactus along with the people. There was no one there as we passed it at 25mph! Why? Why would they make you slow down only to see this little falling apart deserted town we theorized. Possibly to see the airport that was no where in sight?  Seems to me it was one of those towns where "bad" things happen. Possibly a town of people ostracized by society. So we passed and sped right up. On the way we discussed the reasons anyone would even want to live on that part of the desert, but to no conclusions that made sense to either one of us, we changed the subject to a less aneurysm causing discussion.

     Alas we arrived in Bishop. Instead of hanging out in our hotel room for what was left of the day, we decided to just head up the mountain and check in later. My bestie was excited to show me everything since I had never been there before. We later agreed that it had been a fabulous idea. She decided to show me Horseshoe Lake first. It was beautiful and calm there, so we decided to stay a while. We hiked and walked around the lake taking pictures and enjoying the fresh air. She then took me to a couple of her favorite spots and we stopped at each one, took some pictures and moved on. We saw quite a bit that day. At some point we realized it was time to go and check in to the Inn and go to bed. The bears tend to come out at sunset to fend for food. Didn't want to be there for that.

                                                               


           

                                         

                         
     The next day we headed back up the mountain early. We decided to go see the other lakes. We'd stop periodically to take pictures, hike around and then take off again to the next spot til about dinner time. We had packed snacks for the day but after all the hiking, walking around and driving we were super hungry. We headed down the mountain to Bishop. We had stopped at the Rock Creek Cafe the first day for lunch, so we headed back there for dinner. The service was good and the food was good to. We even tried some of the local brew. Then back to the room for a good night's sleep.

On the last day, we went up Tioga Pass and to Yosemite.On our way up we stopped at a gas station/ rest stop and poked around there for a bit. They had a small cafe where we ordered food. We finished our breakfast burritos and gassed up. Yosemite was warm and beautiful (aside from the many bugs flying around) lol. We hiked around, took some pictures and waded our feet in the stream. The water was clear and refreshing, but at almost ten thousand feet above sea level, the water was pretty chilly. We spent half the day there and then had to head back into Mammoth, pick up a couple of pastries from the local bakery and a couple of other things for the ride home. Sadly our vacation was over. Time to head home and back to life!

  

             

   

Sparkly Summer Flip-Flops

I know summer is almost over for most of the country, but here in sunny Cali it doesn't end til about October. So if it's not cold in your part of the country, here is a little project to help you take advantage of the warm weather and show off those pedicured toes.
 I recently looked down at a pair of flip-flops I had on and realized that about half the crystals were gone! They are my favorite pair, so I thought to myself, "I need to find a few new pairs". And so began the search, that ended in nothing and me frustrated. It wasn't that there weren't any at all, but the ones that were out there were either too expensive (upwards of $50) or cheaply made. There are so many types out there but nothing I wanted. after searching for a couple of days over the internet I decided to just make them myself. Then I could do what I wanted to do to them.
I took myself to the local craft store (Michael's) and bought what I needed. I picked up some rhinestones and glue, then I went to Walmart and picked up three pairs of rubber pool flip-flops. You can find them anywhere really. At Michael's I spent just under $30. This included 3 packs of iridescent rhinestones (small, medium, and large), and 1 pack with all three sizes in clear. Each pack was $4.99 and then the glue was $5.99. Not bad since I could get at least a couple pairs out of the packs and still have rhinestones left over. The flip-flops were $2.28 each!!! What a bargain! It all worked out to roughly $8 per pair. Not bad considering there's some out there going for $75! No I'll stick to making them.
So below are some directions for a pair of sparkly flop-flops.

  

Buy your flip-flops, glue and rhinestones and grab a pair of tweezers

You can use any size or color rhinestones. Use your imagination. Here I used clear ones on the black shoes and below I used the iridescent ones for the white shoes.  the pictures don't do them justice. They are much prettier in person!

                                   

Garden Update

It has been almost a month since the last garden update. Here is a peek at what the veggie plants have been up to. I am like the proud mama. They have been growing. Although there were a couple of casualties. The spinach shot up to seed and most of the radishes produced but a few shot up and started to flower. Otherwise everything seems to be growing well.

My first zuchini

Yellow Squash

Lima Beans

One Jalapeno

Snow Peas have been abundant

Lettuce

Honeydew Melons

The corn is getting taller

Green Zebra Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

The Honeydew and Cantaloupe are taking over...

Plant Progress

I have become obsessed with my plants! What started off as a small project to grow a few veggies has now turned into a full blown urban farming obsession. A few raised beds with a sparse amount of veggies have now become way more than that.
     I have a friend that works at a  nursery and he has been dropping off unwanted freebies at my doorstep. Apparently nurseries have to get rid of what they don't sell. Usually it gets donated to the local community gardens. Nice. But they seem to have too much and he's been bringing a lot of plants. Luckily I can call friends and I give away what I can't use. It's so nice that every plant gets a home. It would be such a bummer if these plants had to be thrown out. I can't stand to waste things, especially that. So thanks to him I now have way more variety than I had planned on planting. Whew! Good thing he doesn't bring these everyday.
     So back to the plethora of plants! I have added a few things since I started, and my beds have morphed. What I had planned as four beds with perfectly spaced plants are now slowly becoming crowded. I have added 2 Spaghetti Squash, 1 Eggplant, 1 each of Pepperoncini, New Mexico, Italian Roasting, and Italian Long chili pepper, 1 Pole Bean, Yellow and White sweet onions, 4 strawberry, 5 corn, 1 Asparagus and 1 Celebrity tomato plant. That's over 20 more plants than I had planned! But to be honest, I think I'm hooked. I see the allure of being outside in the sun and it's so therapeutic. Not to mention that every few days I go out there to see what is starting to bloom. How exciting!!
     The hard part is going to be the preserving. I plan to do some canning. Preserving is the best way of not letting all those wonderful veggies go to waste. I'm already buying the jars so I'm ready when the plants are. There are so many things you can do, pickling, salsas, chutneys, compotes, jams, jellies...tons of possibilities. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Here are some pics of the progress and blooms that have popped up.

                                             BED #1

Before

After

                                                             
                                             BED #2

Before

After

                                            BED #3

Before

After

                               BED #4

Before

After