Miller & MM

Ran across this cool photo of my former neighbors from around the time they lived here...or are they still ghosts that roam the halls? ;o)

Kitchen 'island' UPDATE

I performed an IKEA hack on the island yesterday: I added a nice hook to the side. It's a convenient place to hang a dish towel to dry or wipe my hands while cooking or after using the sink. That's the thing about some IKEA pieces, you can mold them into even better items.

The kitchen 'island'

I've lived in the apartment just over two years now. And since Day 1 I've always felt there was some wasted space in the kitchen, space I could put some kind of shelving for more storage and utility.
I'm speaking about this corner next to the window, here's how it used to look BEFORE:



I started to look on Craigslist to see if I might find something that would work here. I saw a cute little butcher block unit that looked like the right size, but it was from a seller in BROOKLYN. Ugh. Too far. They did mention in their ad that the thing was an IKEA item. I went to the IKEA website and, lo and behold, there it was. And only $20 more than the Craigslist asking price. I snapped it up.
I got back to the apartment last night and couldn't wait to assemble it. There were a lot of screws and I almost got a blister on my palm from pressing so hard on the screwdriver but it came together nicely. And I LOVE it. It holds a lot of skillets, pans, and pots underneath. And now I have a place to put my computer when I'm following a recipe that I found online....and I can play music too! Kitchen bliss!
Here's the AFTER shots, I'm thinking of adding a nice hook to one of the legs to hang a potholder from:

A hamish Christmas

I got the most wonderful Christmas/birthday gifts from my friend Doris this week. She's a wonderful seamstress, cook, and crafter.
She made me a couple of pot holders that can also double as trivets. One is white and one black, and they're backed with thick wool. I hung one in the kitchen and the the color scheme works well.





I also got a batch of Christmas cookies that are delicious, a mix of gingerbread and sugar cookies.



Lastly, she gave me an assortment of homemade jams, both savory and sweet: a tomato jam, a caramelized onion and apple, and a concord grape. I can't wait to taste those!

What a crock

I'm a big fan of crock pots. Especially when the weather turns cooler. It's the perfect time for hearty stews that are so easy to make in these contraptions. You just chop up the ingredients, throw it in the pot and 8 hours later you've got a great tasting meal.
The problem is that I didn't own one in the city. Until now.
I decided they were too essential to cooking and living on a budget not to have one in both homes. So I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond the other day (there's a huge one only 3 blocks from my apartment) and snapped up a nice one for only $35.
The next day I made a delicious beef stew with big chunks of stew meat, celery, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. All this marinates in the crock with a can of beef broth, a little bit of flour, some thyme, and salt and pepper, and-VOILA!-easy peasy dinner. It couldn't be easier. I'm gonna use this one a LOT this winter.

Venus or bust

I was walking to the grocery store late yesterday afternoon when I spotted a group of dining room chairs right there on the curb of 57th Street. Someone was obviously throwing them out. They weren't that attractive, a blonde wood Bob's Furniture kind of take on Windsor chairs, not for me. But sitting right on top of one was the amazing looking bust. I walked up to take a quick glance and it looked to be in good condition. It was so cold out I wanted to get to the store right away--I was only wearing a sweatshirt and it must've been around 30 degrees--and it's only one block away. I said to myself, "I'll quickly grab my groceries and if, on the way back home, the bust is still there, I was meant to have it." Sure enough, 15 minutes later there sat my bust. Because it was somebody's trash I thought it must be chipped, or badly cracked, why else would someone get rid of it? But no, it was in perfect condition, only slightly dusty. I stuck it under my arm and skedaddled up to the apartment. I cleaned it up with dampened paper towels and Q-tips to get into the crevasses and it looked good as new. At first I thought it would look good on the fireplace mantle but the base is too large. I ended up putting on the windowsill next to the bed and added one of my bandanas, a gray one, to add a little whimsy and to make it less formal to fit the style of the apartment.
I love it.
The big question is whether it's a bust of a woman...or a man? It could go either way, it's very neutral. I'm leaning slightly in the direction of woman because the hair looks like it's in a bow...but that's no real indicator. So with that I'm calling her "Venus". She's the new denizen of The Beautiful Wreck.

My "Digital Pochade Box"

Lately I've grown very fond of my iPad again.
I got to where I barely used it, I had stuck it in a drawer and forgotten about it.
But the other week I pulled it out and downloaded an update to a drawing app I used to play around with, Paper53. They had made several improvements to the function and it's really a joy to use now.
I noticed, though, that I didn't really love drawing on the pad when it laid flat on my desk (or lap). I really needed it to be tilted up for better viewing.
Well, necessity is the mother of invention as they say.
I decided to make my own iPad "easel", or to get really fancy with the description a "pochade box".
A pochade box is essentially a small box, usually made of wood, that has 3 unique properties:
--it has a hinged lid that acts as an easel and holds your canvas or board for painting on
--it has a palette contained within it
--it has a storage space for all of your brushes, paints, thinners, etc.

A typical pochade box

Now, this being the 21st Century and The Digital Age, i've got my palette and brushes contained in my iPad app, now all I needed was the easel part.
I sketched out a design and whipped it up in my handyman's basement at the house out of some scraps of old wood and nails. Sanded it, primed it, and painted it a nice charcoal gray to fit in with the apartment decor and--voila!--problem solved. It sits right on my desk next to my computer.
I'm pretty happy with it. The easel makes drawing so much easier. I even designed it to hold my drawing stylus to the side when it's not in use...making it a true pochade!
Here are some pics: