Posts categorized as DIY

My family has always been savvy thrifters. After all, my father was one of New York’s Strongest for 35 years, and he was always looking for hidden treasures “on the job,” so it’s in my blood. As a kid, my dad would take me to various junk shops but our favorite, “upscale” place was St. Vincent De Paul. It’s close to our house, just a town over in Garden City Park. I don’t get there much any more, but my father still goes regularly in search of a great deal. […]

I have a vague memory of watching the Oprah Winfrey show when I was a kid. The episode was about beautiful wrap-around porches in the south. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with porches and porch style.  When it comes to Rockaway porch style, Aunt Brenda is the master. Before I lived in Rockaway, I’d come down to the beach to see Matt. We’d pass Aunt B’s on the way to the water and I’d always admire her house. Brenda’s porch then and now is worthy of a spread in Better […]

My husband and I gut renovated our house five years ago. I documented the construction from start to finish here on the blog.  It was the biggest project I’ve ever been apart of. Mentally and physically it was so intense for the both of us. It feels like a dream now. I can’t believe we went through it all. During the process of the rebuild, we accumulated a tremendous amount of tools, wood, paint, sinks, plaster, you name it. To put things in perspective, we had 4 sledge hammers, 10 […]

I heard positive feedback about my Kitchen Hacks column from a few weeks ago. Using sunglasses to prevent one’s eyes from tearing up while chopping onions and lining a bowl with a compost bag for easy kitchen clean-up were helpful hacks I’m told! So, here’s Part 2 as promised. — Make your own “house blend” spice. Most of the time I use the same four spices in my meals and green salads – salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Instead of pulling out all of your go-to’s very time you’re […]

It’s mid-April: the time to slip out after dusk with your trowels, rakes, plants and seeds. If heavy rain is in the forcast, get prepared to launch your green grenades over your shoulder on the way to work. What? I’m talking about guerrilla gardening, planting in places that need a little love and wouldn’t otherwise get it– abandoned lots, under the el, unkempt street medians, every tree pit on the blvd. past 90th st. Rockaway Beach is the perfect target, and the result is aesthetically pleasing, enhanced public spaces, not […]

The weather has been irregular lately but we’re all feeling it – spring is in sight!  And Spring brings the bird migration. As a coastal community neighboring Jamaica Bay and it’s surrounding marshy inlets, we have a unique opportunity to spy migratory birds without going far.  Throughout the year, over 300 bird species are sighted in and around our area. I’m definitely visiting the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in the upcoming weeks in hopes of spotting rare migratory birds. But we can also find beautiful bird travelers making a stop […]

I had two ideas – not original because people do this all the time but nonetheless I wanted to share them on the blog. The first is using a kombucha bottle (which I love the shape of) to store salt. I cook a lot as you know. Having the salt right by the stove is convenient. Putting it in a nice bottle means I can leave it out and it will look nice. Eventually I will do this with all my spices! Make sure to put a few grains of rice in the […]

I’ve been looking on Pinterest for DIY Halloween decorations because Matt said I’ve already spent too much money on hay, decorative gourds and “all that junk”. I found this cool DIY dead body project and thought, “I’m definitely making this!” It was so easy and fun to build.  This is how we did it! What you need: Large tarps or old blankets Black contractor bags Duck tape Fake blood (we used a red lipstick) I recruited Anna to help me! It’s easier with two people but totally doable on your own. To start, what […]

We are taking a few weeks to finish off our apartment. Here’s where we’re at… Matt pulled off another awesome craigslist score – a large lot of reclaimed mahogany. I (yes me) spent a whole day prepping the material. I’ve seen Matt use the planer a dozen times by now but I never used it myself. To get the wood looking “clean” you have to put each piece through the planer and remove a quarter inch of wood at a time.  This process also makes the wood flat so it can be cut down on […]

I recently posted about the first apartment, it’s done! Now I want to get into the details. I’ll write about each room, starting with the bathroom. The biggest challenge was the shower. When Jared our architect made the plans, we thought a standing shower would be best – a space saver, right? The base before it was installed. A year later when we searched for glass to fit the base (already in place), we discovered it costs around $2,000 for materials/installation, that’s a lot. We then considered taking the base out […]