talk without speaking http://blog.dutchbingo.net/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.64 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://blog.dutchbingo.net//nucleus/nucleus2.gif talk without speaking http://blog.dutchbingo.net/ Transformations pt. 1 xml-rss2.php?itemid=29
We'll start upstairs. First up, the "master" bedroom....

GRAR listing photos




In this room:
- Phil painted the ceiling white and the walls a sandy color. The throw blanket on the foot of the bed is what I took to the store to color match, after what happened with the paint in the living room I learned my lesson - never pick paint colors based on some hypothetical mental image!
- I made nightstands out of old wooden shipping crates and a single floor tile for the top surface.
- The fabric tapestry is from India.
- I believe the white chair in the corner (used for holding books and a stand for the box fan) is from grandpa and grandma Van't Hof's house on Paris, not sure of the history.
- The dresser was a hand-me-down from Phil's family.
- Other than the puppy kennel, the only furniture in this room we purchased was the bed (American Signature). Maye some day I'll blog about the saga of the Ikea bed that it replaced. Most of you probably know that story!
- Actually that's a lie, I did purchase the wool rug for cheap from the Meijer outlet - does that still exist?
- The artwork are just mass produced Ikea prints, but it matched so well I gave it a chance (African savannah scenes).
- The nightstand lamps and decorative "boob" (on the dresser) were wedding gifts from Crate & Barrel.












The Man Cave
This is perhaps the most impressive transformation!

GRAR listing photos & photos I took during our showings








In this room:
- For Phil's birthday in 2010 I took a day off work, made the 5 our trek to IKEA, and gave him a Chicago Cubs man cave. When we moved we carried the theme over.
- Phil painted the walls blue and a pale taupe (leftover from the dining room).
- The armchair was Grandma Mickie's.
- The blue rug, both bookshelves, computer chair, and work table were all previously purchased at IKEA.
- The large computer desk, TV table, and organizers were moved from our old house.
- We haven't purchased any furniture for this room since we moved.
- The photos above the work table are vintage black and whites of Cubs teams and players circa 1909-1930s.
- The blue curtains were re-purposed from the third bedroom/nursery.


















The nursery

GRAR listing photos & my photos




In this room:
- Phil painted the walls clean white which took several coats due to the fun baby decals on the wall. I painted the yellow trim and curtain rods white.
- Due to the lack of storage and countertop space in the bathroom, I made myself a vanity using the headboard from that infamous IKEA bed. On a more recent trip to IKEA, I found a suitable mirror, cheap sawhorse legs, and soft tabletop lighting. I believe we've already discussed the vanity below.
- Thank you to Aunt Judy for the nicer of the two rugs which fits perfectly in this room.








We've done nothing to the full bathroom. The white tub/shower insert is practical and easy to clean. I was happy with the colors (our previous bath linens match) and the tile floor. I'd like to replace the sink with a small sinktop vanity and install a matching "etegere" (a fancy word for something that fits above/around the toilet for more storage) or wall mounted cabinet like-a so. What is on the wall now is hideous, rusty, catches a ton of dust, and makes this awful squeaky sound when you use a wash cloth or hand towel. Maybe someday I'd like to create more room by expanding into the Man Cave's closet. This is the only full bathroom in the house.

GRAR listing photo


Now






We'll look at the main floor later....]]> Decorating xml-rss2.php?itemid=29 Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:53:55 -0500 french toast xml-rss2.php?itemid=27


I use five simple tricks to achieve the perfect French toast.

1. I use a really cheap "nonstick" type pan, not my copper bottom frying pan. I think the copper bottom pan heats up fast and holds heat, so the toast burns before it's really done.





2. My liquid is about one part egg (including yoke) to one part milk (1% or 2%). I don't like a fried egg hanging off my toast or a soggy toast.



3. I put about a half cup of brown sugar in the liquid. This adds to the yummy goodness but I think it cooks and helps keep the toast from staying soggy.

4. Cook on about half-high. See the visual below. If you have an electric stove, I feel for you.



5. I use a dense bread like Vienna bread or, French bread surprise, surprise! However I have used cheap white bread and #1-4 still keep it from being too soggy.




I like my toast chewy, not soggy. Sweet, not too egg-y.





]]> Kitchen xml-rss2.php?itemid=27 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:09:35 -0500 my lair xml-rss2.php?itemid=25


Normally the counter space on the left would give the occupant a view of one corner of the department and allow for customers to sit at the desk and be served, but I opted for backing one of our computer cabinets against my counter and then wedging an unclaimed section of cubicle partition between the cabinet and the edge of the counter. Now I look at a wall, which suits me.




My worldview


Sometimes I have this problem where people think that just because I'm sitting at my desk and physically shut off, that means I'm always interrupt-able. Today I made some passive-aggressive signs for my cubicle....




(that's a picture of a door chained shut and a picture of Obama shutting the door in your face)]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=25 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:57:48 -0500 lolz xml-rss2.php?itemid=23




















This one is my own



Funny sites I recommend:

Cats That Look Like Hitler
GraphJam
Damn You Autocorrect
Look At That Fucking Hipster
Engrish
]]> Funny xml-rss2.php?itemid=23 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:08:35 -0500 Vanity xml-rss2.php?itemid=21
Here Nikon is getting away with being in an off-limits room in order to demonstrate the size, or lack thereof. Nikon is a ~75lb German Shepherd dog. I am a human whose weight will remain undisclosed but it's considerably more than Nikon. Phil is also a human who probably weighs me + Nikon. There is no storage in this, the only full bathroom in our new old house.


Here are a few snaps of the bathroom right after we moved in last spring. It's so small I can't even get a decent photo of it with my wideangle lens.


Here is the headboard/sawhorse vanity. I also got that large mirror and tabletop lamps from Ikea. The stool I got for $5 when my hair salon closed. I've trimmed and layered my own hair since then.


I've never purchased an Apple product, but I think their packaging makes for an interesting marketing case study.




My makeup, in an Ikea bowl, surprise surprise.


THE best lotion: Trader Joe's Moisturizing Cream Extra Dry formula. I've even been using it in my hair every day. One time I forgot this was from Trader Joe's so I Googled the product tagline "Midsummer's Night Cream" to find out how I could order more. Yeah...bad idea. That might be a gay porn flick. Since then Santa and the Easter Bunny bring me some from Trader Joe's in Illinois twice a year through their messenger Ruth Kelder.


My favorite face moisturizer, Olay Sensitive Skin.


I hate caked makeup, so my routine involves just a dab of the above and then Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends powder.


I don't buy lipstick or blush, instead I have these samplers from Amway's makeup brand that I got in 1993. For lip color I use Carmex and then dab on whatever blush color I want.


I've had the same blowdryer forever, this is my third one. Every morning Nikon makes himself useful and protects me from the hot monster.
]]> Products xml-rss2.php?itemid=21 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:24:51 -0500 Mathematics xml-rss2.php?itemid=19 teacher's dog eats the homework, are the students off the hook?





Here is something really special from Mr. Kelder's math test.


....get it? Squiggly is not parallel!

]]> Funny xml-rss2.php?itemid=19 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:51:19 -0500 Golden Oldies xml-rss2.php?itemid=16
"if you hit play on this video you should have no reason to dislike it."



"Wow, this song is my new "House of the rising sun", i just replay it all day LONG!!! :)"



"That farty guitar tone gets me everytime! What a great riff!"



"sure as hell better than the pop music of today."



"Without Chuck Berry I don't think that we would have rock n roll today."



And my childhood IDOL rocking out (Chuck Berry starts around 0:52. I was Kim for Halloween one year. I mean, what could possibly be cooler? Except no one but me and my mom knew who she was. She was really something, back when people still scored 10.0s and double backs were really something and the USSR was still competing together and *still* undefeated....
]]> Music xml-rss2.php?itemid=16 Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:05:16 -0500 Recycle candle wax xml-rss2.php?itemid=14 World Market, for a few bucks. Sometimes I have to put the candle in a pan of boiling water to melt the wax along the sides and then I can pull out the clump and transfer it to a new jar. When I use the stove or oven, the wax melts and smells delish.



]]> Do It Yourself xml-rss2.php?itemid=14 Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:50:26 -0500 Chip Dips xml-rss2.php?itemid=12


I was so proud of myself being all domestic, making something home-made (never mind that it only has 3 ingredients, baby steps), using an antiquated tool that dates back to 1550 BCE...to be human is to use a mortar and pestle! Wrong. All mine did was push the avocado pieces up the sides of the mortar and make a mess. I guess this is more for pharmaceuticals and some such?

Back to the bottle. Disclaimer: I've never broken a bottle doing this but there's a first for everything.






Next we made the queso. This one's even easier than the guac. There's a TV commercial that airs before major football games with the instructions - Velveeta and Rotel. More specifically, one 16oz box of Velveeta and one can of Rotel, nuke it for about 3 minutes, stir and nuke until melted. In case you forget, the ingredients are printed on both the Velveeta box and the Rotel can, and there's usually a Velveeta & Rotel skid at Meijer.






The lovely bowls featured in this entry were my Van't Hof white elephant gift. Thanks, Aunt Sue?
]]> Kitchen xml-rss2.php?itemid=12 Fri, 6 Jan 2012 13:28:02 -0500 "Patience, young grasshopper..." xml-rss2.php?itemid=10
Mildred "Mickie" (Hofman) Van't Hof, circa 1948?


When I think back on my Gramma Mickie (Mildred [Hofman] Van’t Hof), the word
patience comes to mind. Patience is something I lack, big time; Gramma
Mickie had patience in spades: patience with the pain she suffered from debilitating
health conditions, patience with us grand kids, patience with all of her crafts and
sewing projects, patience calling through the church directory week by week to
find greeters....

Consider…candy-cane cookies. We used to make these with Gramma Mickie
at Christmastime.



Candy-cane cookies require an absurd (as always, in my humblest of opinions)
amount of patience. They look cute on the cookie platter but there are several
reasons why for me personally, they would be the *last* choice for a baking project
with the grand kids:

1. This is one recipe that you have to get perfect. If you measure anything wrong,
the resulting batter tastes like butt.
2. The batter is always too crumbly. Not the end of the world if you’re just plopping
cookies on a sheet but candy-cane cookies require two colors of dough rolled into
long snakes, then stuck together, then twisted.
3. The cookies fall apart at every opportunity. If you’ve conquered the crumbly
batter and somehow managed to get a candy-cane going, you still have to move
the candy-cane onto the cookie tray and then from the tray to the cooling rack and
then onto the platter. My happy memories making candy-cane cookies with
Gramma are paired with the disappointment of all my *perfect* cookies breaking in
half before even making it to Christmas dinner.
4. This project requires red food coloring. ‘Nuf said.
5. Despite a relatively short list of ingredients, every time I make candy-cane
cookies I’m amazed at how I manage to dirty almost every mixing bowl and utensil
in my kitchen.
6. If you’re a health nut, you’ve been warned. Candy-cane cookies are basically
1 part Crisco to 1 part everythingelse.

Despite the aforementioned, this was still the cookie of choice for Gramma
Mickie. Maybe it was the bland-ness or the almond flavoring, fitting for us
west Michigan Dutch…

Since Gramma Mickie is no longer with us I decided to spend some time (about
three hours, as it were) making candy-cane cookies. I got three done and onto the
cookie sheet with minimal expletives and decided the memory of Gramma was
sufficiently honored by my efforts.


The rest of the cookies took on some amebic form.


I tried making a leaf shape with our new cookie-cutter from Art of the Table,
but the dough was stuck to the chopping block.


This yin-yang was a total fluke. (yes I know the cookie sheets are
disgusting, I asked for a new set for Christmas, but…).


Pan is on to me. I pushed the cookies to the edge of the table so I could snap a cute
pic of him taking a longing whiff but he’s giving me the “you’re just tricking me into
doing something bad so you can yell at me” look.



RIP "Gramma Mickie". Patience personified.


]]> Kitchen xml-rss2.php?itemid=10 Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:41:09 -0500