Tour Guide Tanya

Today I'm playing Budapest tour guide for Hubby!  He's a little jet-lagged, so we'll be taking it easy.  First, we're off to the Christmas Market, for a shot of Palinka (it's after noon somewhere), mulled wine and yummy fair food.  Then we will head up to my stomping ground, because the view is unbelievable.  I finished collecting my research yesterday (yay!) and even though I have to now go home and read the zillion articles I photocopied and collected, it felt momentous and motivational to be done this stage.  A little R&R&R (rest, relaxation, but still more research because I don't have time to stop completely, lol) with Hubby is the best reward! 

It's so weird having Hubs here after so long.  Lovely, but weird.  I keep pointing out random things, like, "here's where I buy my internet tickets," and "look, there goes my favorite bus (the 178 - never very crowded)!"  I need to step it up in the tour guide department, I know.  But don't worry, we have a fun things planned (with some unplanned time planned too, because I'm type A like that).  And soon I'll put together a Best of Budapest guide, for anyone who ever wants to make there way here (or would like a little virtual tour).

9 Peppermint Wreath Ideas

Since finally making a Halloween wreath, I'm a little addicted to DIY wreaths.  I like the idea of adding some personality to our condo-issued orange door.  I spent the other night looking for inspiration, then I spotted a peppermint wreath and my world fell apart.  See?  I genuinely did get on the red and white bandwagon, but I'm holding off on making this wreath until I can have a turquoise front door (stupid condo).  While I dream up another wreath idea, can we just take a moment to marvel at how many peppermint wreaths are out there?

Here are my favorites:

Left to right:
top: 1, 2, 3
middle: 1, 2, 3
bottom: 1, 2, 3

Speaking of copious amounts of candy . . .

I am thinking of giving up sugar in the new year, not as a resolution or a weight loss thing, but because diabetes runs in the family.  Not too long ago, my Dad's blood sugar was quadruple the healthy number (they actually thought the tester was flawed because the reading was so outrageous, so the company sent him something to use for a base reading and, nope, no flaws, just a scary big number).  Needless to say, he started making major lifestyle and diet changes.  And I think I should too, as a preventative measure.  I don't eat a ton of sugar as it is, but, really, do I need any?  So, wreaths might be the only way candy is stepping a tasty toe inside the townhouse, come 2013!  I'd like to keep my feet and hop off the train to diabetes-land (surely the opposite of this) while I can.  But I'm worried going cold turkey might make me crave it mooooore.

Has anyone given up on sugar (of course, bad starches like white bread and potatoes are goners too)?  Any tips?  And if I do give up sugar and make this wreath, what are the odds the neighbours will catch me licking it?

Read more »

How to Build a Jewellery Display (from Scratch)

I've seen some neat re-purposed jewellery displays, but if you can't find something to makeover, here's how to make one from scratch!  Warning: I went a little overboard on the sparkly goodness, loading this DIY jewellery holder with 100% (except for one Sherman brooch) handmade-by-me jewellery for the "reveal".  Apologies to you fellow magpies. 

How to make a (super simple) jewellery display from scratch:

First, we grabbed some 1x6 pre-sanded pine and 1/4 inch plywood, leftover from other projects, but you can find these supplies at any home renovation store.  We basically created a design based on the supplies we had (about a 7 foot length of pine), so feel free to make up whatever measurements you prefer (oh yes, nothing but super specific instructions on Dans le Townhouse).  One thing: the 1x6's were a really good size for making something that can stand on its own.  We used a circular saw to cut the pine and because we don't have a table saw (no space!), Hubs used a handheld circular saw (like this one) for the plywood too.  Once cut, we dry fit the pieces. 

When we were sure everything fit well, we applied some Lepage PL Premium Construction Adhesive (leftover from the mirror project) and then used a nail gun and compressor (like this one) to put it all together, including the plywood back.

Then we had the issue of a rough edge:

Not to worry!  A little belt sanding (we use this one) followed by some hand sanding made all the joints and edges super smooth.  We also used some wood filler to fill in any gaps/dents, especially from the nails.

After I brushed on two coats of primer (the bare wood really soaked it up), it already looked pretty cute:

At this point are you asking why the heck I made a jewellery display when I have a super duper mini armoire for jewellery?  A friend of mine was having some jewellery storage issues and I couldn't just stand by and watch her struggle!  She had one of those teeny tiny dresser top jewellery armoires with drawers that were not practical for her, so she hung necklaces on the outside of it, in addition to draping them on a lampshade.  She likes to be able to see her jewellery, all at once, so I decided to make her this jewellery display.  I chose to enlist Hubby to make one from scratch, because I wanted one that could sit on a dresser or be wall mounted, and most of the ones I saw around the web were wall mount only.

Anyway, who we made it for is important because of the colours I chose.  My friend has an electric blue bedroom, bright (almost Kermit) green kitchen and a beige living room.  I chose to paint this beige because I didn't want it to compete for attention in her space but, because her living room is this colour, I knew she'd still like it. 

So, I opted for beige paint, (does the colour look familiar?), using a brush for the corners and a small foam roller for the rest.  Then I added some small hooks leftover from my artful Expedit Hack.  They are perfect for anything from earrings to bracelets and more!  I tried to space them so there's enough room above each hook for a hand to comfortably fit so my friend doesn't end up draping things over a lampshade again.  There are quite a few, but we have room to add lots more if she needs the storage.

For extra storage of hard to hang things (like brooches), we attached a small ceramic dish with the same adhesive we used for the construction.

Here it is, all decked out with some baubles I've made myself (just to show it to you in action).  I like it sitting on a surface, but we plan on adding some sawtooth picture hanging hardware so my friend has some flexibility.

And, for scale, hopefully this photo helps:

How do you store your jewellery?  Out in the open, tucked away?  If you say "draped on a lampshade," I'm making you one of these too!

Read more »

Garage Lust

Speaking of Hubby, and his time alone dans le townhouse, is it bad I hoped he'd act in lieu of the DIY fairies and knock out a few projects?  I wanted to have an HGTV-esque reveal and oooo and ahhhh over the lovely changes to our mangy laundry room that was all planned out but only half done when I left . . . 

In truth, he did do some puttering, most notably moving Charlie to winter storage and moving our car back into its cozy hole (Charlie lives in a storage facility when it's winter because we have a single garage and small drive, and I will happily pay any sum of money not to have to scrape frost off the windshield off in the morning, so Charlie gets the boot and I can handle winter with fewer meltdowns).  Although I'm appreciative he did the switcheroo, it had kind of a landslide effect.  With working on the basement, prettying it up, I had displaced some things into the garage.  It didn't matter then because Charlie, once parked in the garage in the spring, stays put.  Piling things up against the garage door or behind him wasn't an issue.  And then I flitted off to Europe with an email that said, "Deal with Charlie."

Even with the gorgeous storage unit Hubby built, there just isn't enough space!   Now with the garage in active use again, there is excess stuff and we need to reassess the lovely job we did making it tidier.

I don't where our bikes ended up (Hubby?) but I have a feeling lots of stuff ended up back in the basement after the car shuffle.  We both have some serious organizing to do in 2013, and back at work in the pit of despair.  We need to make the garage work for us a little better (and finish up some lose ends from the makeover).  So, once again, I find myself ogling people's garages.

On our list: bike storage!  Look how cleverly Carrie, from Dream Green DIY, hung hers.

I think we need more storage, period.  Specifically, we need to make more use of the vertical space, perhaps along the sides or above the garage door, if we can.

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens

Montel

Family Handyman

Once our stuff is dealt with, I still want to make the garage prettier.  Frankly, in the cold weather months, I see this space more than some rooms in the townhouse.  I love the turquoise storage unit, but we never worked on making what went on it more organized, or coordinated.  And here is proof that garages can look mighty gorgeous.

Better Homes and Gardens

Via Pinterest, Source Unknown

Lastly, after I caught a piece of the garage door with the car and ripped it down (loooong story), new garage doors have been on my mind.

Gorgeous Garage Doors

Read more »

Life Without the Wife (Hubby's Take)

Yesterday I talked about living in Budapest for almost three and a half months without the Hubs, and promised to share his take on things too.  He emailed his thoughts to me without knowing mine, so it's funny how different his perspective - even his train of thought - is.  Because I had to, had to, interject, his text is teal and sandwiched between the next two photos and my interjections are the regular text colour and in italics.

Three and a half months alone.

It's been awhile since I lived on my own.  With Tanya overseas for an extended period of time, here are a few things I noticed about being home alone:

The house sure is quiet.  If I don't talk, NOBODY talks.  TV or radio is my friend.  I don't think the silent house appreciates my sometimes lame sense of humour like a human can (it can't recognize sarcasm).

Shopping at Costco takes a little more thought when only feeding one person.  Sure, it's easy for two people to eat ten bananas before they go bad.  One person?  A little harder.  I only did that once before deciding to buy fruit that I can keep in the fridge.  Mmm, strawberries.  Although I still had to power through those.  They are Costco-sized, after all. 

TANYA: He mentioned this ongoing Costco buying saga often.  I am surprised he didn't mention the joy of loitering by the watches (every single time) without me saying, "let's GO already!"

I use a lot less of the house on my own.  I think I ate in the dining room once.  Of all the chairs in our house I used three.  One in the dining room, one in the kitchen, and one in the office.  I could have gotten away with two, or one and the sofa.

TANYA: He determined that sixteen chairs is too many for our house (that's seriously how many we have . . . after I gave one away) and has since bugged me about this so much!

For this reason, I am sure there are things that Tanya put down before she left that will still be there for her return.  I kept the house tidy, but if I didn't need to put it away (or, more likely, I didn't know where it went), it probably got left alone.  This will add to the time warp she will experience.  "It's like I never left" will probably be said. 

I am surprised that I had the self discipline to make the bed and fluff the pillows on the sofa almost every day (I admit, I missed a few).  I used to think that I only did that because there were others to think about.  Perhaps I do care a little what the house looks like.

TANYA:  Cue evil laugh: MWAHAHA!  Soon he will be asking for MORE pillows, MORE pillows I say!

I still dislike doing laundry, and with just me in the house I am less likely to put it away until I absolutely have to.  Basically when I needed the laundry basket for the next load.  I still haven't pared all the socks, though.

Overall it was an interesting experience.  I worked quite a few extra hours and was not home a lot.  Now my bachelor-dom is coming to a close and I get to go to Hungary to see Tanya!  I can't think of a better way to wrap up the year!

He's tall, I promise, I'm just always wearing really high heels when we're photographed!  And we're patenting a certain dorky awkwardness when photographed together that you wouldn't expect after 11 years of posing for various photos (my prom among them).

So, there are Hubby's thoughts on being sans Tanya for over three months.  It was clearly a super weird feeling for him to have the house to himself!  That's kind of cute.  We normally do a lot of things, like grocery shopping, together or I just do them myself.  I think those routine things do become weird, when all of a sudden you're alone.  Are there any other home alone kids out there? (That's what my grandma calls me when she phones knowing Hubs is out). 

P.S.  Speaking of matters of the heart (although Hubby seems more enthralled with his fruit consumption), my pal Amy, from Vintage Marketplace, is having a really sweet from the heart (+ Starbucks giftcard) giveaway right now, so take a look.

Read more »

3+ Months Without Hubby

I have been bombarded with questions from people on both sides of the Atlantic (blog friends, Hungarian friends and family, Canadian friends and family . . . I know the woman at the bakery is dying to ask), all wondering how I'm "coping" with more than three months away from Handy Hubby.  I think it's mighty strange to some (namely the woman at the bakery) that we've been apart for so long, so Hubs and I have both taken a stab at answering what life without the other has been like.  Me first.

He doesn't like to make many appearances on the blog (you can spot bits of him here, here and here), but here's my Handy Hubby: 

I love this photo of him.  I snapped it shortly before I left for Hungary.  He's carefully creating a custom box to ship some vintage molds I found for a friend's collection.  He's wearing his favorite pirate t-shirt (he has more than one).  He's using my Dora the Explorer pencil.  Awwwwww.



Okay, so is it really weird I just took off for a third of a year to do research abroad?  I admit, I was apprehensive at first, but now I feel really weird that it doesn't feel weird and that's making me feel weird.  (I also always got stressed before exams only because other people were stressed and it became distressing that I wasn't stressed).  

But really, it shouldn't be weird, right?  I think it's important we both have independence in our marriage.  We both travel solo quite a bit - I even came to Hungary last year for a month alone.  Granted, I missed him a lot when I was here, trapped with nutty strangers (like my roommate who wandered Budapest barefoot and was completely uncaring when the hostel refused us more T.P. after we ran out).  But still, I did it and felt really good about myself - really brave (don't laugh if you've done braver things).  Overall, even if I'm not always successful, I try really hard to not lean too heavily Hubs for things I don't want to do (or don't think I can do).  Even though we work as a team most of the time, I want to stay capable.  So, to me that means: bathroom tap came loose?  I got it.  Fridge broke?  I'll deal with it!  Go to Europe alone?  Okey-dokey.  Centipedes in the living room?  Ummmm.  Well, I could probably just let Hubs take care of that.  Don't want him to feel unneeded . . . 

But remember, for this trip I had the added bonus of being really busy and, until recently, having my Mom around!  I also think it's always easier to be the leaver than the leaved (left? levee?).  The person who goes has distractions and adventures.  The person left behind gets to sit across from an empty kitchen chair and stare longingly at snippets of proof the other person was there, like clothes in the laundry hamper, bills not filed, a pumpkin cheesecake you baked for them because it's their favorite not eaten . . .

So, I haven't had to "cope".  I actually adapted much better than I thought I would!  And Hubby helped with that.  When I told him I'd be booking it to Hungary, he said, "you're going to have such a great time!" and he was right.  I've missed him (of course!), and I'm really looking forward to seeing him soon, but these past months have been exciting and challenging (in a good way). 

Have you spent a good chunk of time away from your spouse/partner/roommate/plants?  I went for coffee with a Hungarian friend last night, who had spent three months in the U.S. during the summer.  She said folks really criticized her for leaving her partner behind.

Check back tomorrow to read Hubby's thoughts (spoiler: he was traumatized by having to grocery shop alone). 

Read more »

A Minty Makeover for my Vintage Can

On my blogiversary, even though I could have laid low and said, "Oh, that project? You, uh, must have missed the reveal but don't look for it," I outed myself for letting some ideas and projects fizzle.  Although the antique chair makeover was a decade in the making, in the summer I made it my mission to wrap up as many DIY lose ends as I could (go me!), among them the garbage can makeover that had gone nowhere.  My Mom had originally bought the can at a yard sale (maybe seven years ago?), intending to decoupage it but she never got around to it, so I think I come by this procrastination honestly.  Or maybe the can doesn't want to be made-over??  Spooky.  This should have been my Halloween post!

The (cursed) metal can was cute, but rusty and clashed with the office.

I got a little creative with the finish.  I wanted to get the same feathered effect on this vintage planter (that is shop bound when we re-open - you should see the goodies I have been stockpiling):

I started with an all purpose primer, which I sprayed on.  But even though it's good for metal and wicker and all that jazz, some rust peeked through (the curse!).  Unwilling to let this project drag on any longer, I brushed on some leftover metal primer and then it was all good.  Next came some leftover minty paint, which I also brushed on.  I wish I'd sprayed the base colour, but I hate random cans of paint hanging around.

To get the vintage-y look, I lightly misted the top edge with some, you guessed it, leftover silver spray paint.  I sprayed pretty close to the can at the top edge, spraying in a circle around the can, and moving the spray can further away when I wanted the more feathered look.

I thought it was a perfect way to use up that teeny, tiny bit of paint leftover because it wouldn't be a crying shame if it ran out mid-task.  In the end, there really was hardly any paint left in the can, so it isn't quite the thick, perfectly feathered band I had hoped for (are you believing the curse yet?).  The feathering out of the paint turned out pretty, but a little uneven. 

I would definitely try to achieve this look again, though!  Overall I'm happy, because the can looks minty fun and suits the styling of the hacked Expedit.  I like how the silvery paint picks up the sheen of the silk curtains in the office and makes the can blend into that corner a little more.  I don't really want to make my garbage a focal point but a boring can is no fun either.

This makeover has got me motivated to experiment a little more with paint.  No more one colour makeovers (well, probably still lots more of those).  But now I want to figure out how to mimic the glaze on these vintage planters I thrifted . . .



. . . and these Shane Norrie pottery pieces of mine.



Have you experimented at all with paint?  I feel a little dizzy with ideas.  Or maybe I'm dizzy because I've been staying up too late reading the highly addictive novel Juliet (that may or may not be feeding my curse theory). 

Read more »

Happy Birthday Mom (Some Virtual Gifts)

I am still a little blue my Mom has left.  I keep thinking she's just down the road, at the patisserie, buying a slice of cake (or four) and she'll walk through the door any minute.  She was my rock: cheering me up when I felt useless, making me laugh when I felt stressed, and dreaming up future projects when I felt crafty. 

Today is her birthday.  Other than copious amounts of pre-birthday cake, and slipping a card into her suitcase when she wasn't looking, I didn't have a gift or anything ready - not that my Mom is really into gifts.  But I'd love to have been able to give her something really awesome, to also say thanks for giving up three months to come to Hungary with me, like maybe . . .

1.  Some art, painted with love.

Mom is in the process of renovating/re-decorating her home and, in a movie-perfect-world, it would have been so exciting to whip up a perfect abstract painting (she likes moodier art than me), and hang it in place overnight for a birthday morning surprise!  Hmmmm, maybe for next year?  Okay, shhhh, don't tell her about this idea.

Via Eclectic Revisited

2.  An embroidered change purse, hand-sewn with love.

My Mom had planned to make an embroidered change purse while she was here, but there were some bumps in the road.  I'm terrible, because I (with love) made fun of her grand ambitions relentlessly.  I was able to do some of my embroidery (an update soon), but not all of it - yet.  It would have been such a sweet idea to surprise her with a change purse I secretly DIY'd, but that would have required a lot of sneaking around.  A time machine.  Possibly some bathroom embroidery, because the apartment is smallish and offers few private spaces.  Oh, and I would have needed to have made peace with sewing.  In truth, she probably would have just preferred I stop teasing her about the change purse that never materialized!

Shape Moth

3.  Highfalutin European cake, baked with love.

Our pre-birthday cakes were not baked by moi.  One year, though, I'd love to try my hand at whipping up a cake as good as what we had here.  I am worried what practicing this art will do to my waistline, though.

There's a Newf in my Soup

4.  Floor to ceiling windows, wished for with love.

This is, technically, a virtual gift list so let's go big!  I think my Mom would be totally happy without the change purse and cake (although, she really likes cakes) if I could give her a space with windows like this.

Curbly

5.  A dream bathroom, designed with love.

Along with the windows, I can only imagine my Mom's ear to ear grin with a bathroom (her next makeover project) like this one.  Of course, this particular room would take up at least a third of the square footage of my Mom's whole house.  This list got grand, fast.  I need to win the lottery . . . 

One Week Bath

Happily, though, I know just loving spending time with her is gift enough.  Most Moms just want their kids to love them and enjoy their company, right?  That hardly seems like a fair gift, though, because I think we're both lucky to get along so famously.

Read more »