tallsarah's Profile

I made the mistake of not double bagging the poison ivy a couple years ago. Got it on my arm & then it spread systemically to other parts of my body. It. Was. AWFUL. I thought I would need to cut my arm off it felt so horrible. It took several weeks to finally clear & then I had scars (physical & emotional) for a year.

My husband's grandmother burned some years ago & ended up in the hospital with the rash in her lungs.

It must be disposed of properly- it can't go in yard waste or compost. It must be bagged & put in the trash. Ugh. Even thinking about it makes me itch.

Luckily, I have a friend that is a bee keeper. She helped me this morning to try to convince a swarm to leave the hole in the tree in my front yard. I am still waiting for the bees to vacate... if anyone around the metrowest Boston area needs a couple thousand bees, email me!

If my yard were a bit bigger, I would happily let the bees stay. Since they are trying to nest just 6 feet up from the ground & about 6 feet from my front door, they need to live elsewhere :)

Interesting. With still a very small percentage of the market, I don't see the microbrews taking over the beer sales. At least, not in the next 15-20 years. Cost is still a big issue for many people & cheap beer is bought by all demographics.

I still only buy craft beer. It is delicious!

#7 is my favorite. Pop of red in a beautiful black & white kitchen.

Love this post. When my daughter was 3, she got the bathroom set for her dollhouse. She immediately asked where the toilet paper was! So cute. So my father-in-law made her a tp roll that glued to the dollhouse wall- that was the best Christmas present for her that year.

She would also fill up the play tub with those fuzzy pom balls to create a bubble bath for the dolls.

Ahhh.... I miss those sweet days :)

We have a lot of games (and puzzles), thanks to loving to play them with our 6 & 8 year olds. Ours are stored in low bookshelves under the windows in our small sun/play/office/desk/homework room. The bookcases are the translucent white modular ones from DWR. Since they are modular, we've used them in several ways in 2 different homes the last 8 years. We also have some filled with books. Mixed media :)

I agree with purging items. It looks like you have lots of books, magazines, binders stuffed in your little closet, under one wardrobe, above your bed. Get rid of them. Be brutal & only keep what you really, really need.

While the shelf around your bed may seem helpful because it can store things, it's causing visual trauma- too much to stare at & be distracted in what should be a calming, restful space. If you are unable to remove the shelf, at least get rid of 90% of the items on it. Keep the light & the radio & that's it.

Your closet has lots of space, seriously! You just need to add more shelves to use it better. Or convert it to the wardrobe space & hang 2 bars- one up high & one lower. These are inexpensive fixes.

To create a lofted bed, you can use concrete blocks- often you can find them for free. They will raise your bed a couple of feet off the floor & create more storage. Under bed containers can hold off season items (tucked into the back corner) and even items you need every day (undies, socks, cd's).

Lastly, the curtains hanging on the outside of the window take up a lot of space within the room. Can you change them to a roman shade that hangs within the window frame? Or roller shades (they are much cheaper). It looks like the windows are deeply set, with a good amount of space below, so if you are really pressed for space, perhaps you could find a narrow depth shelving unit to go below. That won't help with the visual clutter though. But only if you really, really need to have some of those books/ magazines/ binders in this room.

Good luck & please post updates once you are done!

Leftover wine????? :)

I also use cleaned, crushed egg shells to deter ants. Cinnamon sticks are too pricey for me to use with abundance.

I also just freeze a bunch in with peels & ends of carrots & onions so I have them ready for stock making. Not the costco sized bag full though :)