Three Dollar Patio Vegetable Garden Tour and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 535

Gardening in a condominium can be a challenge given the Home Owners Association rules and compact space. Add a pandemic that doesn't allow for a lazy afternoon wandering my favorite garden center for whatever catches my eye and the challenge levels up a bit more. 

I was happy to find that plants in five of the ten pots I planted last year came back because most of my  perennial herbs (minus my chocolate mint) are decimated by winter weather. The rest of the planters I filled by sprouting vegetables scraps which lead to this year's nickname - Our Garbage Garden. 

 

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In the photo above we have golden oregano in the front, followed by chocolate mint, winter savory, cabbage and romaine lettuce sprouts. I've never grown romaine lettuce before. It is supposed to look like that? The other romaine lettuce I planted is much lower to the ground.

Victory Rolls and Friday Favorites Week 534

One of the things I have not attempted during quarantine and social distancing is cutting my own hair because I know from past experience that I need to leave that for the pros. Lucky for me, I wanted a change and thought I'd grow my hair out a bit before this whole mess started. So instead of attempting a quarantine haircut, I'm learning how to roll my bangs into Victory Rolls! Here's the latest attempt.

It's not perfect but it's getting there

I showed you my project. Now you show me yours!

How to Make an Insulated Growler Caddy

My husband and I have a couple of glass growlers for those times we want to bring home a local craft beer from a brewpub that doesn’t put it in cans or bottles. We only tend to use them when there is a BBQ or party where a group of friends will be there to help us drink a little under 2 liters of beer (an open growler goes flat more quickly than a 2 liter of pop) over the course of a long afternoon into the evening with a bonfire. In other words, not very often.

No to mention in Ohio to go growlers have to be made of glass, which are hard to keep cold and carry if you are also juggling pot luck food as you walk from your car to the party spot. There are a lot of wood growler caddies out there but I really want something insulated. That way I can also use the growler as a water jug to refill our sports bottles  from the car when we are out and about.

When I can’t buy, I DIY! I dove into my fabric stash, grabbed some leftover corsetry fabric,  and sewed an insulated growler caddy. If you are looking for a handmade gift idea for men, based on my husband's reaction, this is a good one.  He liked the idea so much that he encouraged me to make a second insulated tote bag for the other growler.

Let’s sew!

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How to Make an Insulated Beer Growler Tote

Lighting Question and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 533

I'm putting the finishing touches on my guest bathroom remodel and hit another snag besides the first one of finding black mold that made me change the entire design scheme I had already planned. Now the bathroom has an oldy vibe with a literal twist of modern in the faucet that is staying no matter what because I looooooooooveeeee it.

I'm happy with how the new design is coming together. I had planned to keep the original bathroom vanity light now I'm not sure. Is this vanity light too contemporary for this room? Should I replace it? Keep it? Paint it black? I keep waffling back and forth on what to do. Let me know your feeelings in the comments below!

Should the light stay or should it go?

I showed you my project. Now you show me yours!

How to Strip Paint the Non Toxic Way

I have a love – hate relationship with spray paint. I love that spray paint will cover almost every surface (if you use the right formula) and easily paint hard to paint areas like indentations and intricate moulding. I hate that many of my spray paint projects en up with paint bubbles and drips.

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The best way to avoid spray paint bubbles and dripping paint is to hold the can further away from object you are painting and use several light and even coats of spray paint rather than blasting a thick coat of spray paint from close up. Using a spray paint handle (you can find several types of spray paint trigger handles here) will help you paint with even coats of paint and not kill your fingers from pressing the can’s spray nozzle. 

Spray paint bubbles are also caused by painting a second coat of paint on an object when the first coat is not completely dry. I know this because 9 times out of 10 I get spray paint bubbles because I thought my last coat of paint was dry after 24 hours and it was not. The joys of living in a humid area!

 

2 Ways to Repair Spray Paint Bubbles and Drips

 

Easy DIY Small Space Under Sink Water Filter Friday Favorites Linky Party 532

My mini DIY project for the week was decided for me by my old water filtration system because it started to leak after I changed the filter. After some tinkering, some Googling, and tinkering some more, the only solution was to replace the whole thing. Which lead to more Googling and researching for the best under sink water filter for small spaces like our condo. 

Since our water tests at a good quality, we don't need a super duper reverse osmosis water filter system. Good thing because there isn't room under the kitchen sink for one. I didn't look at whole house water filter systems because I have even less room to install one of those on the water main and frankly all of our drinking and cooking water comes from the kitchen sink.

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