The Untitled Post

We're back from camping and the post camping slump is in full swing. It's the slump you get after you unload the car, stare at the stack of campfire smelling laundry, the dirty dog, and the unorganized house, and choose to slump into the couch.  From the couch, my view would cause anyone to slump even lower.

One nice thing about my view, though, is the balcony garden! I love how lush and green it has become.  Remember when John showed you our upcycled popcorn tin turned tomato pot? Well, at Goodwill, we also found an even better something that we turned into our cayenne pot.

We have no idea what is use to be before it found its way into our hands, but now it makes an awesome pot for our cayenne pepper plants - they were growing too large for their previous home.

Does anyone have any guesses for what this wooden container could have been in its previous life? On the sides are metal tabs that seem to have attached to a lid or something. We're planning on removing them whenever John remembers he said that.  Oh, and before we added dirt and our plants, we made sure to coat it in sealant to protect the beautiful wood from moisture and weather.

There are some other new things in our garden.  Take this mint, for one! Last weekend we were both craving a mojito, and realizing that a packet of mint from the grocery store cost the same amount as a mint plant from the garden section of Walmart, we decided to go with the mint plant. I'm most excited that it's a perennial and will come back summer after summer!

What we thought were bell peppers have started to look like something other than bell peppers.  The leaves are dark green and big, but the plant recently started producing cayenne pepper type vegetables! Do you see me holding one in the below picture?

Again, I must ask the internet masses: what the heck could this be? The leaves are definitely much larger than our cayenne pepper plants (almost the size of my foot!) but the stalks are puny and skinny.  I'm a little sad we won't have bell peppers, but I'm a little excited to see what could be growing.

  

So, this is the nice view from where I am currently slumped on my couch. This is what I see when I look left. Please don't ask me what I see when I glance right or straight ahead.

Gone Camping

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Yup, we've fled the city and are camping in our favorite spot in North Carolina.  With summer coming to an end soon (John begins his last year of school in just a few weeks) we have decided it is imperative to run to the woods as much as possible between now and the first day of school.  Did you know that camping is romantic?

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Romance is such an interesting thing with each person defining it differently.  When I was younger, I defined romance only as flowers and dinners and sweet love letters. Now that I'm older (and wiser?) I recognize that romance can be seen in many different lights.  John and I recently discussed how camping has become romantic to us - oh the juxtaposition of romance and dirt, smoke, and bugs.

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I think it's the solitude, the common goals, the relaxation.  We don't worry about checking our emails, who did the dishes last, or what we want to watch on tv.  Instead, we let our guards down, take off the many masks we wear throughout the week, and reconnect with one another without any distraction.

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The simplicity of our camping activities allow us to easily fall into a rhythm of working side by side as we hike up a mountain, start a camp fire, gather firewood, and listen to the night sounds.

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Camping is more than taking a breather from life's responsibilities - it's falling in love all over again with the person we fell in love with four years ago. It's watching each other contribute to our survival in the wilderness. It's listening to the silence and knowing we wouldn't want to be listening with anyone else.  It's about letting go and relying on one another.

From Rags to Riches

Lately I've been spying a lot of rag rugs in magazines and on pinterest and I've fallen in the love with the whimsical, casual look of them.  Urban Outfitters was selling them as are several online stores and etsy sellers...which means that I must look into making one myself.  After all, why buy something that can easily be diy'ed?

Here are some inspiration pictures I've been using to tide me over while I gather supplies.

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This bright and fun rug would definitely brighten up my dark, windowless kitchen.

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I love the different pattern this rug shows off as well as the fun flair at the edges.

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 Bold, bright colors! The randomness of this pattern, coupled with the brightness of the colors creates instant love.

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When I think of rag rugs, I always think of colorful, random, and rag-gy.  This monotone rug looks sharp and beautiful with the neatness of the braids and the tranquil color scheme.

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Bright and fun colors that include teal, orange, and pink...sigh.

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I think this is by far my favorite rug - the colors, the oval shape, the faded colors coupled with a few brighter ones...this is definitely my inspiration.

Has anyone made a rag rug before? I'm slowly collecting sheets to use but it's been a struggle to find colorful ones.  Any hints?

Supportive

 
After reading some comments from his very first blog post last Monday, John informed me that I have extremely supportive blog readers. I nodded as I concurred and then was filled with gratitude as I read the comments many of you left John each subsequent day.  I've always known that my blog readers are the best - funny, supportive, positive, insightful, and kind - but John got a sense for the awesome community and caring that I've experienced since starting Turning a House into a Home.  So, thank you for hanging out with John last week as he showed off his own projects he's been working on and thank you for also showing him how awesome the blogging world is!

You guys rock!

Tom Tomato

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There is nothing better than a vine ripened tomato in the summer.  I have dreams of having some fresh tomato sandwiches with homemade bread, a few leaves of basil, mozzarella cheese, and sliced fresh tomatoes.  Unfortunately, Kristen hates tomatoes with a passion so I rarely get to partake in this delicious summer snack.  Last summer a student of mine brought me a small basket of cherry tomatoes that her mother grew.  I ate all of them before I made it home from work. 

So when Kristen thought it would be a good idea for us to grow a tomato plant on our balcony, you have to believe how shocked I was.  I have been so excited ever since.  I check on it 3 times a day constantly wondering if it needs more water.  I even have named the little guy - Tom Tomato.  Tom's pretty freakin' awesome!  I personally think it was a ploy for Kristen to get me more involved with the garden and growing plants.  It definitely worked!

EDITORIAL NOTE from Kristen: I'd just like to go on the record that John begged for the tomato plant like a kid in a checkout lane and he has yet to water it in the month we've had that stinky plant.

Tom has been growing like a weed and the teeny pot he was in was not helping his growth spurt.  We needed a much larger home for him.  We were walking through Goodwill today and found this pretty sweet Monday Night Football tin for only $1!  One man's trash is another man's treasure!  It is the perfect size for Tom and he has plenty of room to spread roots.

 
We punched 3 holes in the bottom of the tin for water drainage and then spray painted it a not-as-eye-catching green.

Now I know what you're saying.  Why would you guys want to paint over a piece of history.  I mean, this is a piece of Monday Night Football memorabilia.  I thought the same thing until I remembered that ESPN bought the rights and now Monday Night Football is only aired on cable television depriving millions of Americans of football on Mondays.  Cheap bastards, I will paint over you!

Anyways, I digress.  The new green pot looks lovely with the other pots and fits perfectly on our balcony.  I see many flowers starting to appear and I am very excited for tomatoes.

Do you have any good suggestions for the tomatoes?  I was just going to make a lot of sandwiches but I would love to hear some of your delicious ideas.

 - JOHN

Tools Make the DIYer

With the right tools, not only can you make all of your DIY dreams come true but you can also do it in a fraction of the time.  While I have dreams of filling a shed with every power tool my wife would let me purchase, right now we simply do not have the room for them.  However this means I either have to borrow the tool from a friend, or simply own a couple of the best and most versatile tools for any job. 

I have put together a list of the 5 most important tools one can have as a DIYer.  Not only have these tools allowed me to accomplish most of the things my wife asks me to do but they cost very little money.  Plus they pay for themselves with the time and energy saved. 

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#1 Cordless drill
If you do not own a cordless drill by now then do your self a favor and when you are finished reading this, GO PURCHASE ONE!  I think I use mine every other day.

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  #2 A Decent Hammer
Trust me there is such a thing as a bad hammer.  You won't know it until you pick up a GREAT hammer. 

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#3 Hacksaw
Whether you need to cut PVC, galvanized pipe, copper, a stripped screw, anything, a hacksaw can get the job done.  You can even use it to cut very small pieces of wood although I would not use it for wood that is very thick as you will be there for a long time.  You can purchase one under $10 and replacement blades are much cheaper. 

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#4 Electric sander
At just under $30, this little guy will save your wrists from aching after sanding your dresser before refinishing it. 

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#5 A good Multi-tool
Just like Les Stroud, I never leave home without it!

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A close runner up would have to be my laser level.  This tool has helped keep many of our pictures in line and level on the wall as well as make sure shelves and tables that we build are level.









 Did I miss anything?  Do you have a different list of essential tools?

 - JOHN

Crafty with Corks

As you have probably seen from my wife's posts, she is very creative with wine corks (you can see some past projects here and here).  We have saved them up over the years and she has come up with many interesting things to do with them.  I decided I wanted to give it a shot to see if I could also be as crafty with corks. 

I recently saw you could purchase a kit to make trivets out of wine corks.  This seemed a little ridiculous to me, especially when I saw the price of said kit.  I figured I may as well give it a shot and trying making a cork trivet using only the supplies we had on hand...making it essentially free. 

To start, I played around with the placing of the corks until I found a design that I thought looked nice.

I then glued a couple corks at a time to each other and clamped the corks while the glue dried.

 

*WARNING* Only use a small amount of Gorilla Glue!

Have you ever used Gorilla Glue?  This was my first time.  I have used many adhesives but never Gorilla Glue.  It's pretty great stuff and amazing at adhesion, but like I said, ONLY USE A SMALL AMOUNT.  I ended up with Gorilla Glue all over my hands and I could not get it off for at least a day.  Worst, Gorilla Glue expands as it dries and when used in excess, takes over your cork trivet project.

The glue worked quite well with the corks, however, and they were extremely secure.  Once I had the design completely glued together, I decided it needed some feet to add some additional interest and, well, feet.  I cut 2 wine corks in half lengthwise and used them as a base to raise the trivet slightly.

There we have it - a cork trivet made without a $40 trivet kit!

 - JOHN

PVC - Pipe is Very Cool

I know, I know!  That was a horrible acronym.  I did not want to just say Polyvinyl Chloride.  PVC pipe is a wonderful thing however.  Not only does it funnel your used water away from your house but it also is cheap and great for building various crafts.  I thought today I would share some of the many things you can make out of pvc.

The first non-aquatic project I used PVC for was to make a ladder golf set several years ago. Sets were being sold for exorbitant prices and friends had sets made out of wood but I decided to make one for $15 out of PVC.

The most recent project came from an issue that arose last week that I realized I no longer had a small microphone stand for recording.  I told Kristen I was headed to the music store to purchase one.  She said, "Why do you need to buy one?"  I responded, "I need a small microphone stand low enough to record guitars, guitar amplifiers, kick drums, etc."  She said, "You can't build one?"  Something about that statement screamed CHALLENGE to me.  Of course I CAN build one, I just don't want to take the time to build it when I need one NOW.  After a quick google search and a few thoughts I realized I could stick with my trusty friend Mr PVC!  I realized that not only would it be cheaper, but the music store is 40 minutes away and Home Depot is only 4.  I could go to Home Depot, purchase PVC, come home and cut the pipe and put it together in probably less time than it would take to drive to the music store.  Challenge excepted!

Supplies:
10 ft 3/4" in PVC
4 - 3/4" couplings
3 - 3/4" tees
1 - 2' 1/2" PVC 








I cut the 10 ft pipe into 1 - 19 inch section, 4 - 6 inch sections and 2 - 4 inch sections.  The longer 19" section serves as the height for the microphone.  The shorter sections were cut to be a base for the stand.  I used the coupling for the feet and the tees connected them all.

The 1/2" pipe fit into the 3/4" and I can slide it up and down for easy height adjustments.  I used some epoxy and attached an old microphone holder to it to hold a microphone in place.  I drilled holes through the pipe so I could stick a small dowel through to hold a microphone at various levels.  Unfortunately, I could not find a small dowel around our house so I found a small screwdriver that would work well and now he is doing two jobs for the moment!

Once assembled, we spray painted it black.  Although I plan on only using this for recording purposes and it probably will never see anything but a studio, the black looks a little classier than a white pipe with "Charlotte Pipe" written all over it.

Though I have misplaced my receipt, I know that I spent under $8.00. The cost of feeling like you won a challenge and saved money and time however, is priceless!

I have a feeling using this won't be the last time I use PVC for an awesomely creative and dirt-cheap project.  Speaking of awesomely creative, I recently came across this project - check out those kids playing in the awesome sprinkler! 

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This fishing rod holder is pretty awesome.  I have not done anything quite this extensive.  You can also make a great fly rod case out of pvc.  This is very helpful when traveling especially if you have to bring your fly rod on an airplane.  This website shows you how to make it very easily.  The best thing too is that it costs under $5 which is a fraction of what most fly shops would charge...it would be an awesome Father's Day gift!

Do you have any cool PVC designs you use?  Maybe you have some much cooler acronyms at least.  Please share!  If you're interested in other amazing PVC possibilities, this website has amazing ideas and inspiration.

 - JOHN