miss jolly's Profile

Thanks everyone for your nice comments! You can't imagine what a nightmare this was to live through, but I'm glad I did it.

I can't take credit for absolutely everything: I hired out the electricity, the floor sanding, and my ex did most of the replastering and provided other assistance.

To answer some questions...

My only previous renovation experience was renovating the bedroom -- that took about 6 months, and also involved tons of wood stripping (window frames, moulding, and doors instead of built-in cabinets). My ex had done a bit of construction in modern homes, and showed me how to use some tools, but a lot of it was learned on-the-fly. I didn't quite think about what an enormous endeavor this might be before I plunged in, especially considering my very demanding job. This seems to be my general style of decision making, but it usually turns out surprisingly well.

There's a flickr set of the bedroom renovation too, but much less extensive and no before photos, and many more pictures of excessive vintage kitchen items.

The french press is a Frieling. I bought it more for its unbreakable nature than its ability to retain heat, but it does both.

Next project will be the living room, followed by the bathroom and foyer. I will be an old lady by the time I'm finished stripping lead paint.

I have a vintage glove form for necklaces, a vintage cake plate for earrings, a small covered bowl for rings and pins, and a very simple white box for bracelets.

Yeah, I just developed my food allergies in the last year and it's been really hard to adjust to. I also swell up and can't breathe. Fruit was basically my favorite thing to eat until last summer (and the tasty, healthy, fast way to satisfy my sweet tooth). All the best chocolate desserts are have hazelnuts in them. Actually, my showstopper dessert is a hazelnut torte, something I will never make again I guess. It is a dome-shaped hazelnut cake lined with chocolate ganache and then filled with amaretto whipped cream and raspberries. I used to bake that whenever I wanted something impressive for guests, and for my best friend's birthday every year.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/small-cool-2007-entries/9-kelly-gregorys-lil-italy-conversion-021186

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/blogging-o-at-home-magazine-spring-2008-first-look-044445

The secret to eggplants is to salt and drain them first. Otherwise they stay full of bitter juice. Lay out slices of eggplant in a single layer, salt them heavily and let them sit and drain for an hour or so. Then rinse and pat dry. You can use a colander for draining purposes, but I find it easiest to put the slices on a cutting board and then boost up one side of the board (with whatever's around and a few inches high) so that the board is at an angle and drains the bitter juice into the sink.

I'm going through this right now in a crumbling prewar coop in Queens. It's been a rental since 1929, if that's any indication of the condition it's in. The nice part about it is that all its original everything is intact - all the floors, moulding, fixtures, etc. On the other hand, I've been living out of boxes and without a stove for 10 months now and have become a lead paint expert. I'm not sure if I'd do this again, now that I understand everything that's involved. But I'd never be able to afford this apartment in mint condition, and that's what it's going to look like after my 1-2 years of labor.

I don't even HAVE a closet right now! My clothes live in cardboard boxes and draped over things. I miss them!

I also think Oranges are pretty delicious - and not especially difficult to eat. Since they come in their own wrapper they're convenient and easy to shove into your bag for a snack-on-the-run.

Sadly, I am allergic to 6 out of the 9 "tasty and easy" fruits.

You could put up a shower curtain on a ceiling track around the two open sides of the tub (like for an old-style clawfoot tub) to keep it separate. My old studio had a very tiny bathroom with no sink and I used the bathtub as my washing-up area instead of moving my toiletries to the kitchen sink. I had a small mirror in there and a shelf near the bathtub tab for my toothbrush and facewash and such. You'd have to bend down to rinse out your mouth, but at least it would feel like it's own "bathroom area".

trays!