Thursday, July 23, 2009

Hooked on Improving

This is another post for the Hooked on Fridays over here AND I am actually including house type stuff this time!

First, we all remember my tomato issues (click here for a refresher), I have upgraded my 'redneck patio garden'. We have two topsy turvy planters (as seen on tv) as well as several bigger pots - some with tomato cages! Don't be alarmed about the detergent bucket, this was the Hubby's idea to fill that with water (remember we are on the second story of our apartment = no hose) so that the girls can help water the plants from onew location instead of running through the apartment with water. We are uptown now! lol If only I get a tomato harvest..... Anybody with any other suggestions for survival of these plants, please let me know.


Second, my toddler whom I have nicknamed Spiderman as she can scale flat surfaces with ease, has found the 'treasures' that were on top of the older girls' desk (gymnastics trophies, medals, ribbons, Little Miss crown, etc.).

These momentos/awards needed to be moved to a safer location as they hold sentimental value to the Oldest and could potentially harm the toddler when she pulled them down on her head (hey, at least I am giving her a totally flat/clear surface to stand on once she scales her way to the tippy top of the bookshelf component). I had originally envisioned a wooden shelf with a dowel rod track jigsawed into the support but as we roamed through Home Depot (a shopping experience which I always detest - I never know where to find anything and it drives me nuts...) we stopped in the shelving aisle and came up with a better idea (of which we decided was very appropriate to test run in the apartment). The pre-fab shelving unit supports have openings that a dowel rod could be slipped through. For about $10 and very little effort, I think this looks nice. It has more room for medals and ribbons (although I have several without strings that are not displayed here....) but when more trophies come home there is only so much rearranging I can do. This will do for now, I suppose.





Next, even though we have lived here a full year now some things are still not the way I want them. You know, can't find them when needed, etc. My spices were one of those things. I found the perfect spot for them in baskets in a alcove type place on the wall dividing the kitchen/living room but they were in the baskets all willy nilly, no rhyme or reason, just there. Since I have to climb a chair or step stool to get to them, looking through multiple baskets while balancing on top of something was annoying. So, I had my big girls along with a friend who had spent the night do a little alphabetizing/categorizing of them. Ahhh.... now I know exactly where to look for what spices. Maybe this will help the multiples of the same spice I have. Maybe you can never have too much ground ginger but I have 4 different styles/brands.






These all transpired while doing repetative "normal" tasks like picking up the Leap Frog Word Whammer along with the 2 alphabet sets that go with it. For some reason in addition to climbing things the toddler prefers these strung all over the floor and not in the basket so she dumps them out when she passes. Yes, they really hurt when you step on them too. Probably not as bad as Legos but a close second.




At least you can say I haven't been bored this week! I wonder what all I will tackle next week. Stay tuned....

4 comments:

Your home, only better. said...

Wow - you've been busy! I finally learned to step over toys until 4pm, then go nuts with the big "pick up before daddy's home" furry. Saves me a lot of time. (And good work on those spices!)

Elaine Prunty said...

good luck with all your improving ,its certainly very hard and constant hard work isnt it?
but it'll be worth it, you'll have lovely tomatoes to eat and you'll know where the basil is for the lovely bruschetta !

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Those alphabet letters KILL when you step on them...I've said some not nice words. ;) I am late in responding, but I wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog. :)

Embellished Bayou said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, you should take a look at some of the other participants crafty spaces, they are making me drool! You've done a great job adapting to your small space, good luck selling your house!