Friday, January 27, 2012
New nightstand, new alarm clock
Now that I have my lovely new cabinet al my nightstand, I also wanted to get an alarm clock that looks nice too. The old one we have has developed a buzz that is making it impossible to have it next to the bed, but from it's current location I can't read the display. Which is kinda the whole point of having a clock. So, new, affordable and stylish alarm clock. Oh and the hubby, who's the techno-freak, says it cannot run on batteries, cause they might die on us unnoticed (like that couldn't happen if we blow a fuse or something). So far the only one I liked that is within budget (meaning as cheap as possible, I'm Dutch after all!) is this one from kitchenonline.nl. Ok and very cheap, it's sold around 15 euro in several shops, but it looks a bit too plastic, so I moved on to something better.
For a minute I thought my search was over when these two cuties called "Back in Time"
came along via Selectgadgets.nl but they turned out to sold out. Booooooh!!!! They were only 29,99. Not fair!!!!
Time to recover a bit and have a look around pretending like I had more to spend: I would maybe buy this internet radio at alcatronic.nl
it has the same look and would work perfectly our wifi and squeezebox (the device where we store our music instead of on CD's). Don't tell Mr.Fleur about this one, he would really like it.
So no luck so far, but at least I know there are a lot of retro looking alarm clocks out there. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Even better: send me your suggestions!!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
home made remedies: sore throat
I haven't exactly been as active on the blog as I wanted to be. But now I'm back in the game. I was feeling a bit under the weather (which has been really crappy for weeks now) and especially my throat was bothering me. So much it even woke me up at night, grrr.
I like to use natural remedies as much as possible, and this one works like a charm every time.
You need:
a glass or mug
boiled water (to fill glas or mug)
2 cm/ 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
a few stalks of thyme
organic honey
Put the grated ginger and the thyme in the glass/mug and pour the hot water over it. Add honey until it's sweet enough (about 2 tablespoons...or 3)
If you want a more tea-like taste, you can add a bag of chamomile or rooibos. Ginger and chamomile also both help to settle your stomach.
All you have to do now is relax and get well.
I like to use natural remedies as much as possible, and this one works like a charm every time.
You need:
a glass or mug
boiled water (to fill glas or mug)
2 cm/ 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
a few stalks of thyme
organic honey
Put the grated ginger and the thyme in the glass/mug and pour the hot water over it. Add honey until it's sweet enough (about 2 tablespoons...or 3)
If you want a more tea-like taste, you can add a bag of chamomile or rooibos. Ginger and chamomile also both help to settle your stomach.
All you have to do now is relax and get well.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The two cabinets: before and after
As promised, here are the pictures of the two little cabinets I've been posting about last week.
Before
After
Before
After
I think they turned out great! And together with the new crown molding and fresh white walls, our bedroom has improved a lot. It now really feels like a nice place to be, quiet but cosy.
We also bought some bedside lamps at IKEA, so the days of having to get out of bed to turn of the lights are finally over.
Now all we have to do is find another dresser. The one we have is practical, but it doesn't mix with any of the other furniture and I just want something else. I keep you posted about the replacement.
Before
After
Before
After
I think they turned out great! And together with the new crown molding and fresh white walls, our bedroom has improved a lot. It now really feels like a nice place to be, quiet but cosy.
We also bought some bedside lamps at IKEA, so the days of having to get out of bed to turn of the lights are finally over.
Now all we have to do is find another dresser. The one we have is practical, but it doesn't mix with any of the other furniture and I just want something else. I keep you posted about the replacement.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Getting things done
This week I actually finished some DIY jobs that have been waiting for years.
Our apartment is a mid-Fifties build and it shows especially in the quality of the inner walls.
They're made up out of some kind of gritty cement, the plastering is too thin and they have become disconnected from the ceiling. Ugly!!!!
For the really big gaps, we used foam spray and then had the entire wall re-plastered. Very effective, but having plastering done is expensive. Plastering is really a specialist thing. Believe me, I've tried to do this myself, how hard could it be? Very hard! Pay to have it done right and it will be worth it.
If you want a cheaper solution, you can use molding.
I bought really cheap small strips made of styrofoam with a special glue. And it work incredibly well. Because the styrofoam's quite flexible, it could move up and down with the imperfections in both ceiling and wall. Cutting internal and external corners required a bit test- cutting and Youtube assistance, but I got there in the end.
After everything was glued in place, I had to wait 24 hours and then I painted the walls and the styrofoam held the color really well. I'm sooooo happy this is finally off my list and that it was easy and looks good. Definitly doning this in the spare room as well!
Our apartment is a mid-Fifties build and it shows especially in the quality of the inner walls.
They're made up out of some kind of gritty cement, the plastering is too thin and they have become disconnected from the ceiling. Ugly!!!!
For the really big gaps, we used foam spray and then had the entire wall re-plastered. Very effective, but having plastering done is expensive. Plastering is really a specialist thing. Believe me, I've tried to do this myself, how hard could it be? Very hard! Pay to have it done right and it will be worth it.
If you want a cheaper solution, you can use molding.
I bought really cheap small strips made of styrofoam with a special glue. And it work incredibly well. Because the styrofoam's quite flexible, it could move up and down with the imperfections in both ceiling and wall. Cutting internal and external corners required a bit test- cutting and Youtube assistance, but I got there in the end.
After everything was glued in place, I had to wait 24 hours and then I painted the walls and the styrofoam held the color really well. I'm sooooo happy this is finally off my list and that it was easy and looks good. Definitly doning this in the spare room as well!
Monday, January 2, 2012
The tale of two little cabinets
I did some more work on the cabinets today. After nearly cutting my fingers off while trying to remove the very stubborn hardware, I sanded them and put on a coat of grey primer.
The idea was to paint them grey , but one look at the primer told me that was not a good idea. So instead I bought a glossy soft white, called Blossom White (Bloesem Wit for the Dutch) by Flexa, and after sanding the primer, the first coat with this color made me a lot happier.
For sanding I usually use sanding paper, especially with all the corners and curves, but it's not my favorite step in the whole painting proces. Enter my new best friend: the Mouse from Black&Decker. This really speeds things up, but you have to be carefull not to take off too much.
I bought some new hardware, too. The old stuff was not really my style. Besides, they gave me so much work taking them off, no way they're going back on.
Next step will be to drill new holes and get the last coat of paint on. And then the two little cabinets will live happily ever after in my bedroom!
More pictures, with "before" and " after" finale in a few days.
More inspiration on this kind of project you can find on these websites:
www.centsationalgirl.com
www.apartmenttherapy.com
here's a picture of the old (left) and the new hardware (right)
The idea was to paint them grey , but one look at the primer told me that was not a good idea. So instead I bought a glossy soft white, called Blossom White (Bloesem Wit for the Dutch) by Flexa, and after sanding the primer, the first coat with this color made me a lot happier.
For sanding I usually use sanding paper, especially with all the corners and curves, but it's not my favorite step in the whole painting proces. Enter my new best friend: the Mouse from Black&Decker. This really speeds things up, but you have to be carefull not to take off too much.
I bought some new hardware, too. The old stuff was not really my style. Besides, they gave me so much work taking them off, no way they're going back on.
Next step will be to drill new holes and get the last coat of paint on. And then the two little cabinets will live happily ever after in my bedroom!
More pictures, with "before" and " after" finale in a few days.
More inspiration on this kind of project you can find on these websites:
www.centsationalgirl.com
www.apartmenttherapy.com
here's a picture of the old (left) and the new hardware (right)
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's resolutions
How nice to start 2012 with something new. This will be great year, with some big changes and cool projects. And so I have also a lot to blog about.
Starting with how cool it is to set up a blog. So many templates and colors and things to personalize it. And soon I'll make it even more Fleur-ish, once I get the right pictures together.
So what's going on in the project department?
- I'm making my mom a silk jacket
- I'm knitting a scarf
- I'm revamping two super cute cabinets from my local recycle(aka thrift)shop
- I'm repainting a bunch of old wooden frames
- I'm educating myself about building an ecohouse
Today though, we recovering from New Year's Eve and enjoying the last day of mr.Fleur's holiday. So more to come tomorrow, when I have the house to myself and can really get to work! I have 7 days off, let's see how much can be done.
Starting with how cool it is to set up a blog. So many templates and colors and things to personalize it. And soon I'll make it even more Fleur-ish, once I get the right pictures together.
So what's going on in the project department?
- I'm making my mom a silk jacket
- I'm knitting a scarf
- I'm revamping two super cute cabinets from my local recycle(aka thrift)shop
- I'm repainting a bunch of old wooden frames
- I'm educating myself about building an ecohouse
Today though, we recovering from New Year's Eve and enjoying the last day of mr.Fleur's holiday. So more to come tomorrow, when I have the house to myself and can really get to work! I have 7 days off, let's see how much can be done.
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