Don't Leave a Mark On My Good Table

My grandmother influenced me in many ways (see "perfectly good tin foil that can be reused" neatly folded in my kitchen drawer). One trait I picked up when I began to accumulate nicer furniture.

I am now the person that scurries to slip a coaster under a guest's glass of ice water and scolds Abe for leaving his drinks on the desk with no protection. Actually, I just remembered that Abe and his friends dubbed our kitchen table the "No Fun Table" because I insisted that we use a tablecloth and coasters ("But, it's an antique!")

I might as well embrace my new found worry ("Oh dear, that will leave a water mark!") and start shopping for coasters to keep around the house.

There are so many coasters out there. Today I am focusing on ones that are non-disposable.

[from top down: Vintage tin flower coasters £10.00, 1970's playing card coasters $6.99, Happy Time vintage cork coasters $8.00, Frosted green glass vintage coasters, Padded coasters $18.00, Eco Green Leaf Cork coasters $16.00, Bird on Tree (embroidery on wood) coasters $24.00, White Striped Ceramic coasters, $26.00]

Two New Blogs to Read

Men Who Look Like 80's Villains

They're blonde, they're rapey, their grandfather was a nazi, they hate poors, they love blow-dryers. They're gonna kick your ass, lift you by your belt loop, hang you from their locker and then rub your lunch tray remains on your face, Four Eyes. And despite 20 years and several nerd revenges, they're still everywhere.

My Mom, the Style Icon

Moms as fashion muses.

11222 Love

On Saturday, Abe and I went for a walk through Greenpoint's "Nature Trail" located by the sewage plant. The use of nature on this trail exercises one's imagination, but all in all it was a pretty cool walk and creatively designed. I would liken it to a potentially-carcinogenic version of The High Line.

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Newtown Creek Nature Trail entrance looking all natural.

Leaving the nature trail behind us as we head back into the city. It felt so weird after being submersed in so much nature!

On Sunday I went to brunch with my three cousins who all live in Brooklyn. Three of us live in Greenpoint. The 4th one used to live in Greenpoint and is the reason why I chose the neighborhood 7 years ago. We both encouraged the other two to live here when they decided to move to NYC. Interestingly, our great-great-grandfather lived in Greenpoint in the late 1800's.

Sigh. I love Greenpoint.

Skeletons in Their Kitchen

Abe and I went over to Preeya and Dave's place Friday night for dinner, drinks, stand-up comedy, karaoke, and good times. It was a majorly fun-filled evening. I feel like we were all talking and laughing in double-speed all night long.

In previous posts I've mentioned Preeya's long-term project of piecing together a deer skeleton that she excavated from the woods about 5 years ago while a group of us were having Girl Weekend upstate.

Well, she finally finished the project and I would like to give her a big, huge CONGRATULATIONS because not only is it a major accomplishment to piece together a large animal skeleton (c'mon, who does that for fun?), but she actually hand-crafted the missing bones (all the darker pieces).

Preeya's skeleton will be shown in a gallery in November. I'll post all the details here when it gets closer.

A couple months ago we cared for Preeya & Dave's terminally ill hamster while HEXA was on tour. They showered us with gifts to show their thanks. It wasn't necessary at all, but the gifts were really fun.

Abe hasn't taken off his ultra-rad flying disc satchel in 72 hours.

Preeya made chicken enchiladas late-night and it was goooooooooooooood.

DIY Projects List

I am keeping a list of all the DIY projects I want to complete when I finally get my grubby little mitts on my future house.

Ottoman

[except I am going to make the cushions myself and I'm going to make the top one stick to the bottom one with Velcro so that I can pull one off for extra seating. I know, genius.]

Instructions at the now extinct Martha Stewart Blueprint magazine blog, Bluelines.

Tufted Upholstered Headboard

photo courtesy of Design*Sponge
[except I'm going to make mine rectangular. I am also planning on making one for the guest room for the daybed.]

Instructions for the headboard seen here can be found at Design*Sponge.
Instructions for a rectangular & tufted (with buttons)headboard can be found at All Things G&D.

IKEA Hack: Nightstand

photo courtesy of Eric Teng
[I already own this nightstand, but I plan on buying 1 or 2 more & shelving & counter tops for my studio].

Instructions by Eric Teng can be found at DMD Insight blog.

Plumbing Shelves

photo courtesy of The Brick House
[LOVE, but not sure where I'll fit these in, or if I'll be able to at all - maybe I can do a smaller scale in the studio/office.]

Instructions can be found here at The Brick House.