SilverFirsFarm's Profile

it happens.You might end up liking version 2.0 even better :)

plain old alcohol (rubbing or vodka) will typically take ink off any surface.. its worked on walls, doors, couches, tables, clothes, and just about every other surface in our house

Looks great to me! I use hotel rooms for sleeping, a warm shower, and a place to leave my bags. For the location I will trade space any day. There is only so much space my husband and I need to begin with, and with the common areas and the fact that its NYC I think wed manage to find things to do outside the room.

......martha stewart really needs to stop with these non descriptive candle tutorials. Candle making isnt just "stick wick in wax, add scent" Some fragrances are incredibly flamable... "lemon oil" could mean many things, and a dried lemon peel sounds flamable to me as well.
I've been making candles for 25 years and here are my tips if someone wants these to actually burn properly.
#1. you need a wick appropriate to the container size and wax viscosity. Beeswax requires a larger wick than paraffin, slightly larger than soy. Measure each lemon, refer to a candle wick size chart, which still wont be 100% proper, and go from there. You wont be able to find appropriate wicks at your local craft store, so that means ordering some. I would suggest HTP wicks for this purpose. Wick up from what it suggests, because beeswax requires the largest size recommended, sometimes larger.
#2. "Lemon oil" would be either lemon essential oil or lemon fragrance oil (make sure its rated for candle use, aka the flashpoint is appropriate) it just so happens lemon essential oil flashpoint is below the flashpoint needed to create scent (maybe faint but not noticeable) in a candle. Higher flashpoint= more fragrance. Lemon essential oil wont create a great smelling candle. it just wont. Especially not in beeswax which naturally has a strong odor of its own. Not to mention 1/2 tsp in 1 pound of wax is laughable. One ounce fragrance per pound is pretty standard.
#3. Seriously? Most candle makers spend years learning the properties of fragrances, eaxes, containers, wicks... so its just laughable to me (and many others) to read "stick wick in wax. add scent. light. burn."

ok, //end rant//...

it is dramatic seeing the differences in my neighborhood. My house is from 1906, and its 1500 sq feet. I dont know what its original floorplan was because sometime in the 50's it was converted to a duplex, only to be converted back to a single family in the early 2000's, right before we bought it. Its rather spacious, 12' ceilings, but narrow doorways. generous bedrooms, kitchen, dining.
Compare that with the brick single family homes further up the hillside, built in the 40's-50's that have standard ceilings (feels so small!) and max out at 900 sq feet for a 3bd 1ba, and you can see a trend in the housing. We have mansions built around 1900 on our block that are 4,000-10,000 sq feet!!!
Funny thing is, in our town at least, construction is almost exclusively condos/high rises above retail, which I’m kinda fond of. People are buying these beautiful old homes for under 100,000k (most are under 60,000 if they need some improvements) instead of buying new. Its refreshing, and I rather enjoy not seeing acres and acres of sprawling McMansions popping up. Now, 20 miles away is another story.

I dream of a space like this... someday

I absolutely will someday live in a "tiny home" I'm debating what form. I've considered a yurt many times...
But its not realistic with children so my dreams will have to wait. I think its absolutely doable and quite comfortable if you can also have outdoor living, but frankly I couldnt see doing it where we currently live in Utah. The winters are long and harsh, and I spend ALOT of time inside. Cabin fever would kill me.
My parents bought a home in Maui last year and hardly ever set foot inside the house except to sleep and ocassionally watch some TV... I could see myself in a very small dwelling there. My bikes, however, would need their own structure...

I would move the couch off the wall, turn it facing the uncovered patio door, and use curtains to pop some color onto the doors. The bookcase I would color coordinate and add some bright accessories to, and place where the couch is now. I would place the chair and ottoman in the corner next to the bookcase with a lamp, for a cozy reading nook/chaise lounge feel.
Last I would get a round or oval coffee table- Believe me, I am a mom with two nephews and babysit quite often, sometimes they bump their heads, thats life- but I promise it doesnt happen as much as you'd think and they will be fine. Maybe a cool bright colored coffee table? buy something old and paint it a BRIGHT color? Really when they are toddlers/young children they do more damage to the furniture than the furniture could ever do to them.
For accessories I think taask lighting.. lamps on the bookcase, a nice big tall lamp for the "reading nook"... you can get inexpensive art from so many places, ikea being the first that comes to mind, that will create a huge impact... Its a great room! have fun with it!

wow, that is cool!

beautiful.. im a candle maker and I can just imagine all of those glowing with tealights inside of them... gorgeous!