The realities of DIY

Remember this post?

http://www.inventingus.com/2013/04/patience.html

Well, I finally at long last have finished the dresser project.

You can see the early stages of the project in the post above.

After the paint stripping, staining, repainting, replacement of knobs, repair of drawers, sanding of drawers, waxing of drawers, and pain-staking process of getting once broken drawers to fit again, the project is done.  I'm tired, and I've injured my elbow somewhere in the process of finally getting the last drawer in today.

Was it worth it?

Of course.  Not only do I get bragging rights (which help), but I have saved hundreds of dollars and enjoyed myself.  Some parts of the project were more difficult than others (i.e. I wanted to throw the drawer out the window and watch it smash on the ground below when I couldn't get it to fit for the zillionth time), and paint stripping is not for the faint of heart, but I have a feeling the next time around I'll use what I've learned this time and continue to improve.

And I LOVE making what is old new again.  I hope this blog has helped you consider the joys of rescuing classic pieces that JUST need a little love!

I will ART work you, dog!

Do you get the reference?  10 points for you!

If not, you might want to check this out for a little lesson in male posturing.

NEXT.

I'm a little all-over-the-place today, as evidenced by the meandering nature of this post.

So I don't know if you've noticed, but artwork is expensive.  Add a frame to the artwork, and you'll easily tack on another hundo to a price that was already too much.  And you know those Michael's 60% off framing coupons?  Oh yeah, they are a scam.  One lady tried to tell my mom that normally to frame a piece she had it would be $800.  Right.  Because who is paying $800?  Really?!  Stop.

When we moved into our house, a huge box of artwork from the apartment went into the basement.  In this box, many a frame lay for about a year while I figured out what to do with them.  Some were frames that I had neglected to fill, and others were art work I was mostly bored of.  Now, we had a couple of pictures that used to hang in my bedroom, but I was tired of the prints.  So, I opened up the frames and then, and THEN!

WAIT.

First, I should show you introduce you to the additional cast members in our story.

First - Picture Frame.

Now, enter Snow and Graham Calendar.  My lovely MIL has given me one of these calendars for Christmas the last 2 years and I love love love them.

Here are some samples of what the calendar looks like:  (all of these pictures are from the S and G website, linked above, I own nothing)

Lovely right?  Now, when the year is through, it really would be criminal to throw out these pretty pictures.  The calendar is made out of a card-stock type material, so the illustrations are on some pretty sturdy paper making them prime for re-purposing.

I've started to pick apart my calendar from this year already to create some art.

Meet Ms. February:

This little ditty found a new home within an old frame.  Because the matt was built-in to the frame (it had come with the store bought art), I simply removed the old picture and put the new one in its place.  TA-DA!

(the other graphic is from last years Snow and Graham Calendar...i love tulips)

I have not yet decided where these will live in the house.  Hopefully it won't take a year to figure THAT out.

Yard update

Because I love a good before and after:

So you say you want a cat?

It's no surprise that I love cats.  I frequently hear comments about how I will grow to be a "crazy cat lady", or how I better watch it before I have "10 of them".  Others are more subtle -- "So, um, ya really like your cats, huh?".



I can't help it.  I really do love them.  From the time I was a little kid, there were always cats in my house.  My dad also loved cats, so I blame him.  Imagine a German-American police officer coo-ing to a tabby cat - it's enough to melt your heart.  My husband, consequently, always had cats as well.  He likes our cats, although he hardly coos at them, and when I ask if he loves them, he says he likes them, and that he "loves people."



Cats are decidedly low-maintenance animals, which makes them a better choice for the working crowd -- some dogs are fine being left home, but we occasionally like to jaunt off for the weekend, so we'd feel bad having to make accommodations each time we did so.  Plus the whole picking up poo thing doesn't really appeal to me.

Our cats sleep for a large percentage of the day.

Whole lotta this going on...

Sometimes together....

Other times alone...

Or with - um, on - me.

Together like BFF

On top of mom's robe

Most people who dislike cats end up liking ours, simply because they are very social and friendly.  I have to give the credit to myself for this, because I'm good at selecting cats.  What a talent.  I attribute this to being genuinely interested and doing a lot of reading.  I'll recommend some books at the end of this post.

Things to keep in mind:
1) Is/Was the cat feral?  When adopting, be sure to find out if the animal is/was "feral" - meaning, wild, aka not domesticated.  If a cat has not been exposed to humans in the first 6 or so weeks of its life, it's not used to humans, and may end up being the cat variety who sits under the couch or bed for hours at a time.  Now, for me, I don't want to feed something that doesn't provide some love or engagement.  You should ask about the cat's background, and also, just observe how it reacts to you as a stranger - does it run away and hide?  Although this cat may "come around" a bit, most times you won't see a drastic change in behavior or temperment, so keep that in mind.

2) Does the cat tolerate being handled?  I always attempt to pick up a cat before I decide whether or not they are a good candidate for adoption.  I tend to swoop up the cats and kiss them or put them on my lap or what-not, and I sure don't wanna get bitten or scratched when I do so.  Also, sometimes we have little visitors in our house, and I'd be very embarrassed if my cat assaulted a toddler.

3) Does the cat get overstimulated?  You usually need to spend a little time with the cat to figure this out.  Some cats, for whatever reason, will bite you when they are done being pet.  Usually it's not a full scale attack, but it's a symptom of overstimulation.  It's not a big deal, but it's usually a deal breaker for me.  I want to have kids one day, and I don't want my cats biting them -- and we have guests over frequently, and the same goes for them.  I like to take the preventative approach to this one!

4) Kitten Vs. Cat?  When we got Cotton, he was full grown - the shelter estimated he was about 1.5 years old.  The implications here are that your cat's personality is developed, and "what you see is what you get" -- now, some cats are shy at first, esp in a shelter setting.  That's fine of course, but again, it doesn't really work for me.  I want a cat that loves all over you, so I shy away from the word "skittish", or "needs time to warm up", or "timid".  You may not mind if your cat is shy with strangers, but it doesn't work for me.  Cotton was extremely loving and social at the shelter, and he is even more so now that we've had him for 5 years.

Cotton at the shelter - look how skinny!

Cotton at the shelter, again.

Cotton when we first got him home.

Okay, I derailed there.  We got Smokey as a kitten - she was about 8 weeks old.  Freaking adorable.  Her personality, even at that time, was good.  I asked for the sweetest cat in the place, and I was immediately directed to her.  This was appealing for many reasons -- bringing a grown cat into a house with a grown cat already living there can be tricky.  At least a kitten is less intimidating to the cat already living there.  Second, I knew our second cat should be a female.  I didn't want to have territorial nonsense (read: piss spraying) going on in my house, so I figured two opposite sex cats would be less inclined towards male posturing.  Kittens are really cute, but they do require a tad more maintenance.  They need more "play", and they can be a pain in the A around bedtime, as they haven't settled into the sleep-all-night routine.  They need to learn how to use the litter box, too, but this is usually an easy transition, and I can't say we've had any issues there.

Smokey as a kitten -- that's my husband's hairy stomach, not mine.

Smokey girl as a kitten

Quick friends, thankfully.

5) Be aware - cats will get into everything.

Your wreath?  A perfect fit!

Drill bag?  No problem!

I can't read, but I CAN sit on them.

Oh, hi.

No box is safe.

You thought this was a tray for your keys....but it is a tray for  CATS.

When we first got Cotton, we didn't think our cats would sleep in bed with us.  We were wrong.  The cats are in our bed, on our couches, and really, everywhere.  We try to keep them off the counters and the dining room table, but I think we haven't been as consistent here as we could have been.  Cats will most likely scratch your furniture, even if you get one of those jazzy cat trees.  In fact, you might have a jazzy cat tree that they will completely ignore while f-cking up your couches.  Unless you are very vigilant with training (i.e. my mom....i.e. not me), you may need to accept that these things happen.  I try to be zen about it.  I usually succeed.  One thing that keeps me cool about it is that nearly all of our furniture is second hand.  Sure, would it be great if they didn't mess with anything?  Of course, but this is life, and I don't sweat it too much.

5) Cat HAIR will get into everything.

We have 2 (soon to be 3) shorthaired cats -- in that regard, we are somewhat lucky.  However, I still have completely abandoned buying black and navy colored clothes.  White hair gets on everything in our house, no matter how much we vaccuum, sweep, and try to keep up with it.  We are good about staying on top of the hair situation because we are used to it at this point, and it's important to me for our home not to be a "dirty animal house" - we've all been to one.

6) Litter.

For those who don't know, cats poo in a box.  Our cats happily share one box (they are wonderful), but in some houses, it is not uncommon for the litterbox to become a warzone.  If you are pregnant, you can't change the litter (lucky you), but otherwise, its another part of pet ownership you need to keep up with -- if you don't, you'll be reminded by a cloying smell of ammonia (i.e. cat piss) that could peel the wallpaper off your walls.

7) Knowledge is good.


I've read a number of books about cats (yes, I know, cat lady, etc).  I would strongly recommend all books by Vicky Halls -- she is a cat behaviorist in England, and her books are full of interesting case-studies about common situations owners may encounter  -- i.e. cats not using the litter box, cats not liking each other, cats and dogs, cats and boyfriends/girlfriends, cats and whatever....I've learned a lot from reading her books.


Overall, cat ownership is great fun.  They are easy, low maintenance pets who love sleep and cuddling (kinda like me).

Cheers mates.

I continue to shop Long Island on the cheap :)

I have kept forgetting to do a post about the ReStore - it is very well worth a trip if you are doing any type of home renovations.   It's a wee bit of a hike from Nassau County, but the drive is worth the savings.

2111 Lakeland Ave  Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

Here are the wares I peeped on my trip almost a year ago:

There were tons of new windows -- the source for most of the stuff in this store is a) donations from big box stores or b) custom pieces that didn't fit, or the people didn't want them

If you can be flexible about the size of your windows (and doors, they had lots of doors), you can get BRAND NEW stuff for a steal.

I think the sign explains it all:

If a bathroom renovation was anywhere in our future, I would have bought this claw foot tub.

Windows and doors!

I would strongly suggest checking out their website --

When I was last at the restore, they had fabric, paint (tons of paint people didn't want - think zillions of "oops" gallons, complete kitchen sets that people had ripped out - cabinets galore, bathroom vanities, electrical parts, outdoor lighting, christmas decorations -- so very much stuff.  ReStore is definitely a well-kept secret, and well worth your time.

Another shop we hit up when we're in a Suffolk County state of mind is the Peter Andrews outlet in Farmingdale.

Peter A is a store with gorgeous furniture that I can't afford.  The prices give me heartburn. However, the outlet (while at times STILL quite expensive) has some fabulous finds that make me smile.  

Be sure to check out the "As-Is" section (which is quite large) -- here, there were tons and tons of couches, chairs, coffee tables, side tables, bathroom vanities....and while some have significant issues (i.e. massive scratch down the middle), many of the "defects" are hardly discernible to the naked eye (coming from the woman who buys the chipped dishes on clearance at Homegoods).  

Peter Andrews (the outlet, too) carries some really cute Celtic gifts, too.  Figure stuff like this:

I spotted this cute little purplish mercury glass bowl/candleholder/thingie and since I'm a sucker for all things decor, I bought that shiz.  If you see below, the outlet price was $7.99.  However, imagine my excitement when the piece rang up as $3 at the register.  I was so pleased that I ran and got another one.  Ya know, because a pair is always nice.

And we got this coffee table.  Originally, it cost $300 or something ungodly, which was clearly not happening, but since it was a floor sample sale, we picked it up for $150.  Now, this is still kind of a steep purchase for Mrs. Cheap, but this is a really nice table, and we'll have it foreva.  The look is classic, and we both really liked it.  Some more detail shots:  (Speaking of which, the latest issue of Country Living is amazing. It has me gunning to go flea market shopping in Rhinebeck)

(let's just ignore the fact that there is a peanut on the floor)

And since we're on the topic of pairs, good deals, and shopping on LI, I'll share another purchase recently made -- this time, I went an old reliable - TJ Maxx.  Really, really cute outdoorsy stuff going on in there right now.

I love topiaries.  They are like my favorite thing ever.  However, for some reason, faux topiaries are expensive.  So when I saw this $16 topiary (about 1.5 feet tall)  I had to make it mine.  Then I got home and realized topiaries always look better as a pair, and at that price, I really should capitalize on the affordable topiary.


Hello, friends!  (a hastily taken photo, but you get the idea)

About 2 weeks later, Cotton did knock it onto the ground - but the glue job makes it look more shabby chic, um, right?

I'll be back soon with more suggestions on how to save in the most overpriced county in the United States.

Cheers mates :)