Simply Bizzy.

Another Project Bites the Dust… Literally

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 02:16:19 -0400

Remember my crappy Valentine’s Day present? Well, my “little girls” have grown quite a bit! The other day after going into the garage to find Zinfandel, Merlot and Riesling perched in various locations outside of their brooder it became quickly apparent that I needed to get on top of fixing up the old chicken coop.

That brings me to this beauty… Sigh. Unfortunately I have to take complete responsibility for this yellow monstrosity. I don’t even want to start to tell you all of the things that are wrong with this picture but for blogging purposes I will have to humble myself.

The lovely shade of yellow
Lacks a proper roof
No nesting boxes
No perches
The walls leak
The roof leaks
The floor leaks
The door is broken

On the bright side this coop is mathematically perfect and very sturdy, so that makes for a good starting point. I haven’t fixed everything just yet but this week I got around to painting it a dark charcoal gray, fixing the holes in the walls, supporting the floor, and replacing the door with a salvaged one I found in someone’s backyard so it once again a functioning coop for my girls. I also made some nesting boxes out of old wine crates and scored a used parrot perch off of craigslist. It’s the girls first night in their new home and I am a sawdust covered nervous wreck. We have a slew of predators out where I live not limited to: hawks, eagles, snakes, bobcats, coyotes and raccoon I’m hoping that all of the sawing, nailing, drilling, and cursing paid off and they will be safe in their new home.

Without further ado I give you my coop aka. The Vineyard.

An Airstream Update: I get by with a little help from my friends

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:47:52 -0400

Earlier this week I got a hand in gutting my Airstream AKA The Fort. I am excited to say that this project is finally starting to look like it’s making some progress!

Remember the before photos?

Well, it’s not all gone but it’s getting there! I’m going to be honest; the damn bathroom is the bane of my existence right now. I am majorly procrastinating pulling the restroom out but I know it has to go. After pulling up the rest of the flooring I have discovered the subfloor that the previous owner of The Fort decided to put the old floor over is rotten in a few areas. I plan on treating and sealing the entire thing and then flooring over that. As it turns out ripping up and replacing the subfloor is a huge project that I don’t entirely feel I am equipped to do. There will be more updates to come, but for now, here is a current shot of The Fort in all of its’ messy glory.

As the title eludes, I get by with a little help from my friends. Honestly, I wouldn’t be this far if it weren’t for my buddy Jared encouraging and helping me… a lot! Thanks Jer-Bear.

My Old (Not-so-ugly-anymore) Desk

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:27:04 -0400

Slowly but surely my projects are coming along. Oddly enough, it seems as though I’m taking on projects faster than I can complete them.Weird, right? On the bright side I am happy to announce that I can officially check “desk” off of my list of things to do.

You remember that old desk that I showed you a few weeks back? You know… the ugliest desk ever? See photo here. Now take a look at how it looks today! After weeks of going back and forth on what colour I wanted for the knobs I finally settled on black.I am just tickled pink with how this one turned out.

Supplies

Sandpaper, sandpaper, and more sandpaper
Primer+Paint Combo in Vintage Gray
New Hardware (black knobs)
Brushes
Microfiber cloth
Wood filler
Electric drill
Ebony Stain
Number Stencils
Stencil Brush
Rubber Gloves
Black Acrylic Paint
Lots of Time and Patience

How I transformed my ugly desk

First I wiped the desk down with a microfiber cloth to rid it of any dust and debris that had accumulated over the years. Then I started sanding. I spent the most time on the top of the desk due to the fact that I wanted to stain it so it needed to be stripped down. I barely sanded the parts I planned on painting. I have zero-to-no upper body strength and this step took me forever even with the help of an electric hand sander.
I filled all of the holes that I wanted to replace with premium wood filler. After a day I sanded the filler down so that it was even with rest of the wood and then drilled new holes where I wanted them.
Next I taped off the top of the desk and painted the bottom with three coats of the Vintage Gray paint+primer over the course of two days.
The top of the desk was the biggest hassle as this was my first time staining a desk and the weather outside was temperamental at best. I only let the first coat of stain dry for a few hours before applying the second. At this point I read the instructions on the stain (a little late, yes) which said to leave the stain to dry for about 3 days so I left the desk outside to dry… and then a day later it rained.
At this point I was ready to be done with the desk and was mildly annoyed that all of my hard work had gone to waste. So, instead of starting over and re-sanding the desk, I just wiped the water off of the desk and put another layer of stain on it.
While that coat of stain was drying I took stencils and added numbers to 6 of the drawers in black acrylic paint. Then I coated the lower portion of the desk in stain and immediately wiped it off in order to give it a weathered look.
A few days later I checked on my desk to find the entire top covered in white spots. Annoyed, I attempted to “sand them out” with a fine grade sandpaper. Somehow, completely by mistake, I managed to get a very weathered look on the top of the desk. Although it wasn’t part of my original vision, I absolutely love it.
The finishing touch consisted of adorning my new desk with new black knobs.

What do you think?

hi there! i just started following you because of your recent airstream purchase/ plans for renovation. im currently saving up to do the exact same thing and am interested in other peoples projects. good luck!!

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:33:55 -0500

Thanks! I hope that you enjoy following my blog. I have no idea what I’m doing/have no prior experience fixing up trailers so it should be quite the adventure. Feel free to ask questions as my project progresses (I will do my best to answer them) and good luck on purchasing yours!

In Progress

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:25:00 -0500

The past few weeks have been filled with changes, both big and small. I don’t know if it is the change in temperature, having relocated from NY to AZ, or what but I have found myself taking on a slew of projects lately. That means lots of updates coming your way but for now let’s see what I’ve gotten myself into.

The Desk

I have been on the lookout for The Perfect Desk for over a year now. While perusing Craigslist this week I bumped into this little number for $50. There are some things you should know about this desk:

This is the ugliest desk that my mum has ever seen. Ever.
This desk’s former owner was out of her mind. I know this because when I called to inquire about the listing, she kept me on the phone for 40 minutes.
This desk reeked like cigars.
This desk is currently in the process of a revamp.

The Crappiest Present I’ve Ever Gifted Myself

For Valentine’s Day this year my friend Murray and I bought ourselves 6 baby chickens. Let me just say, they shit… a lot. They are by far the crappiest present I’ve ever bought myself; and I love them! More on them later, but for now, how stinkin’ cute are these little fluff balls?

My Monster Project

Last, but certainly not least. I bring you my pride and joy. After years of harboring a secret affinity for these vintage trailers I finally took the plunge and bought one. This is my 1968 Overlander. You will be seeing a lot of this baby in the coming months. I’m bursting with joy bubbles over this one. It needs a lot of work and by a lot, I take a good look at it now because it’s going to look NOTHING like this when I’m done with it.

Often when we take a leap or turn down a new road in life we...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:20:02 -0500

Often when we take a leap or turn down a new road in life we yearn to discover something new. Whether it is learning to get over a relationship gone wrong or learning to live with the hurt that follows, we often don’t realize that the treasure at the end of our quest is something much simpler. What we seek isn’t the complicated and impossible task we conjure up in our minds, what we seek is simply to get in touch with ourselves.

I have a love for old, used trinkets that have a story behind them. This love has led me to the dark corners of dusty used bookstores and helped me to find unlikely companions in novels I would never think to open. My used bookstore explorations usually happen on a whim when I stumble upon one in an unlikely place. It is here that I can get lost in worn pages and discarded dust jackets. Last week I found a used bookstore close to a cafe that I’d frequented for the past two years. Hidden in a corner of an unsuspecting part of town, I had never noticed it before. Inside I lost track of time as I read pages from random books I felt drawn to. A couple hours later I emerged with my findings, excited to dive in.

This morning as I packed for my flight and prepared to leave my life behind for another week in a foreign bed I fingered through my dog-eared loot and selected two novels as my traveling companions. I believe that in our quest to discover ourselves life presents us with little lessons, in ways that we are open to, but only when we are ready for them. Today I learned a Latin proverb from one of the books that I’m reading: Amor fati, means accept what is; literally, love fate. In her book, “Drinking the Rain”, Alix Shulman shuts herself off from the world and spends an entire summer alone in a cabin on an island off the coast of Maine. Initially she wanted to escape the clutter of Manhattan to find time to write but instead discovers that by removing herself from the clutter there is an opportunity to get to know herself.

Alix relates her life to the ocean surrounding her. Just as the ocean transforms the shore with the phases of the moon, she finds that the different aspects of her life have also transformed who she is. She explains that she is finally “beginning to see who I am when the tide goes out”. I feel that there isn’t a more appropriate way to explain the current transformation of my own life. As I shed the tainted layers of my own experiences I am finding that discovering myself is the greatest adventure of all.

Today’s lesson: Amor fati. Love what is.

Life: My Journey. Phase 2.

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:21:58 -0500

I started out this blog while embarking on a new journey. The journey each of us has to embrace as we make that awkward transition from the nest we came from into the nest we make on our own. The journey of growing up.

Last year was full of life lessons, new adventures, and a lot of experimenting with food. Where you find immense change, you find yourself immersed in challenging situations. I’ve found that every difficulty I’ve faced has been an amazing opportunity to grow. When I first embarked on my journey last year I thought I knew what I was getting myself into but I had no idea that I was going to discover so many pieces of myself along the way. What I’ve discovered is I am just an average person. I breathe, I listen, I learn, I live. I don’t follow a map and I don’t have answers to most of my questions. What I do know is that my life has meaning and it has purpose and that sometimes what gives our life meaning and purpose isn’t right in front of our face. It’s not always what we want or intend. Sometimes it is hiding in the corner and there are times that it hurts when we find it but at the end of the day it’s what defines each of us.

I believe that resolutions are made to be broken and this is going to be my year of un-resolutions. This year I’m going to get lost, get out, and break the boundaries of my comfort zone. It’s going to be a wild ride and I’m ready to embrace the adventure of it.

And so the journey continues…

"I’d appreciate the convenience of a local, vegan go-to for a satisfying, good-for-me, good-for-my-family, meal."

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:16:35 -0400

"I’d appreciate the convenience of a local, vegan go-to for a satisfying, good-for-me, good-for-my-family, meal.":

Some food for thought. Sometimes we just crave something a little more fresh.

Vegan Beets

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:43:07 -0400

Tip of the week: Check out the specials.

Every week before I go grocery shopping I check out the Whole Foods website to see what is on sale and I make my grocery list based around that. On the weekends they have additional items on sale so if I am shopping on a weekend I go to the store, sit down with their brochures and make out my list. As I get better at cooking I can usually make up meals out of the sale items.

When I found golden beets on sale, I wasn’t sure what to do with them but stocked up regardless. This gave me an opportunity to finally break in my new pressure cooker and make pickled beets for snacking and salads. Just because you haven’t made something before doesn’t mean you should be afraid to try.

A new month.

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:34:00 -0400

Starting Budget for the month of May.

How big must your backyard be to live off the land?

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:47:00 -0400

How big must your backyard be to live off the land?:

Just some food for thought for today.

And the results are in…

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:06:00 -0400

April’s Grocery Total was $89.65… this means $35.35 that will roll into next months budget.

Breaking this down (and next month I will be sure to be more thorough) this means a lot of fresh veggies to use in salads, soups, and to mix with the grains that I had sitting in my cupboard.

Tip of the week:

Keep it simple. By using simplistic recipes you can stretch your budget that much further and it also saves you time preparing food throughout the week. For example, a favourite salad of mine uses nothing more than french dressing, arugula, romaine lettuce, and red peppers.

Healthy: Means changing more than just your diet

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:05:00 -0400

Being immersed in the 9-5 world I see the same phenomenon everyday.

Each morning starts with herds of people filing from their cars and making their way to wait in lines for elevators up to their respected floors; disposing their morning’s coffee cups along the way. At noon they pack back into crowded elevators to go downstairs to wait in another line to get their lunches. They can usually be seen shoveling unhealthy cafeteria food into their mouths and rinsing it down with diet soft drinks before crowding back into elevators to return upstairs.

It is not uncommon to hear co-workers talking about lacking time and energy to do things. I also hear many people complain about needing to lose 10 lbs or get in some exercise each day. This got me thinking about the concept of being “healthy”. Being healthy is more than just a matter of what you put into your mouth. It’s a reflection of your lifestyle.

I work a full-time job, have two pets, am a full-time MBA student, and somehow still find the time to interact with others while looking after myself. I spend my mornings doing yoga and going outside with my dog before either walking or biking to work and I avoid the lines for elevators by opting to take the stairs. Even more, I always have plenty of time to eat my homemade lunch at noon.

The concept of being healthy is a result of your priorities. Living in the Big Apple, I see everyone around me struggling with a priority crisis every day. I read, I make all of my own meals, and I get plenty of exercise. Others spend all of their time trying to socialize, seek a life of convenience, and many haven’t so much as touched their kitchens since they moved in. The common misconception is that you can’t have both.

Here are some quick remedies to common issues:

Want to go out for a meal? Instead of going out for a meal, pack one and eat it in a park.

Not getting enough exercise? Skip the elevator, take the stairs (it’s usually faster anyway).

Wanting to hang out with friends but you’re trying to save money? Ask them to go on a walk with you. Not only will you save money, you’ll get in that extra exercise you’ve been missing and who knows, you may even discover something that you’ve missed before. At the end of the day you’ll feel better for choosing to be active over sitting on your ass in a cafe or bar ordering “just one more”.

Are you missing out on “you” time? Don’t be afraid to say “no” to others. Your relationship with yourself has to come first and you have to make time for yourself. In the words of Ziggy Marley “I can’t make you happy unless I am”.

If you feel as though you are missing something in your life, change your lifestyle, not just your diet.

Week One.

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:53:04 -0400

I did it! One week down and so far I haven’t strayed from my budget. I actually have so much food left over from last week that I probably won’t be buying anything this week.

Tip of the week: Get a gift card.

Since all of my groceries will be coming from Whole Foods or a farmer’s market (when the season is right) an easy way for me to keep within budget is by purchasing a gift card ahead of time and only taking that with me when I go shopping. Whole Foods lets you buy gift cards online and will send them to your mobile phone so that once you’re at the store all you have to do is flash the bar code at the cashier and you are good to go. A cool feature is that you can go online and see your transaction history and current balance. At the beginning of the month I added enough money so that I started with $125 and so far I have used $47.34 of that.

There was a sale on carrots and celery this past week so I stocked up on those and have been making a lot of soup. I also had two sweet potatoes left over from the week before so I whipped those up in a sweet potato & tomato bisque which I turned into a spaghetti sauce later in the week.

So far, so good.

High School Lunches Go Vegan

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:40:00 -0400

High School Lunches Go Vegan:

Some Food For Thought… “Because The People Who Are Crazy Enough To Think They Can Change The World, Are The Ones Who Do” -Steve Jobs

Counting Down the Days

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:08:49 -0400

Week 2 in my new place and so far everything is going really well. Some things I have learned:

Moving is messy. After the romanticism of being out on your own wears off you are left with piles of boxes and, as I have yet to buy much furniture, nowhere to put anything. For someone that’s borderline OCD, this is a very annoying little detail.
I am getting pretty damn good at budgeting. That’s right folks. This girl has successfully put herself through a crash course in budgetting and being frugal. I came within my budget three weeks in March.
I don’t control my own heating. Apparently when I moved in and had heat included that meant that it was free as long as it was on for the entire building (which I share with two other apartments). This means that anytime I want the boiler turned on I have to call my super. On the bright side… that will encourage me to go green by bundling up. That also means I’ll be getting a lot of use out of my hot water bottle.

My tip to you:

Always wanted a dyson vacuum but don’t like the big flashy price that comes with it? Look into getting a remanufactured one. I live with a pitbull and cat that both shed… a lot. Initially I planned to not invest in a vacuum, but after a week of finding their little hairs everywhere I decided that a broom and mop just won’t cut it. I saved $340 by buying a refurbished one, got free shipping, and it works just like new (my parents have the same model that they paid the full nine yards for). Check out Dyson’s site to get up-to-date prices and remember all of their vacuums include free shipping. For those of you that are getting around on a bike like me, this means you won’t have to worry about how to get the damn thing home.

Leftovers.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:21:00 -0400

Leftovers.:

Just some food for thought. Read this article in the WSJ today.

Without a well-researched shopping list, most grocery shoppers will naturally create food waste by overbuying… Vegetables are the most commonly wasted food in U.S. homes, making up some 25% of avoidable waste… The average U.S. family of four spends from $500 to $2,000 a year on food they never eat.

Simplicity. The Remix.

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:01:56 -0500

I am what society would call a spoiled brat, a princess, someone who has had life handed to them on a silver platter. As of today, I have never paid a single bill, never had to support myself, and have had little to no responsibilities. I am from what you would consider to be an upper class family. I am one of the fortunate few that has had every opportunity possible handed to them and never had to worry about a thing. I have never held an “adult” job and every job I have held I owe to my mum encouraging and going to bat for me. Growing up I never saw either of my parents clip a coupon, make a budget, or plan out a meal plan. We went out to movies when we wanted, ate out wherever we pleased, were always garbed in the best clothing, and were given anything we desired. Essentially, I have had the life most people only dream of. And as a result I have no grip on reality.

This past December I turned 22, graduated from university, and had a mini meltdown. Every year I spend the final hours of my birthday saying good-bye to the year that has passed and welcome the unpredictability of the year to come. I usually spend hours fixating on making lists that I will soon forget and promises to myself that I will never fulfill. This year I was busy compiling a list of places I wanted to visit over the year of 2012 when it hit me, what I really wanted—and needed—in my life wasn’t anything jotted down before me in black ink. What I desired was to make a difference, what I wanted in my life was change, and more than anything what I needed was to grow up. In that moment I realized that the promise I needed to make to myself was that I would take the leap toward being an independent woman, and that’s what I did. In the wee hours of my birthday I let tears run down my face as I said good-bye to my luxurious past and hello to my adult life.

I have dubbed 2011 my year of hints, you know, those little premonitions life throws your way to see if you’ll bite. For me, 2011 was full of them, along with a lot of opportunities to grow as an individual. There are some particular moments I feel the need to mention, as they helped lay the pavement for the road I am on today.

I watched a movie. One day I found myself perusing the aisles of Whole Foods, killing some time before class, when I happened across a movie called No Impact Man. On a whim I bought it, forgot about it almost immediately amongst the pile of things I didn’t need in my car, and found it two months later on a day I had nothing better to do than clean out said car. My friend and I sat down in his condo and watched the documentary as a way to kill some time. I didn’t realize then that what I was watching would have such an impact on my life.

No Impact Man is a documentary about a man named Colin Beavan who decided to see how drastically he could reduce his family’s impact on the environment. During his one year experiment he commits to cutting out trash, carbon emissions, toxins in the water, elevators, packaging, etc. for his family of three. The documentary takes you through a sneak peek of the hardships and hidden discoveries of their yearlong project. I have always supported the “go green” movement that seems to be a fad in our society but this particular documentary really hit home for me and made me want to make a difference too.

I read some books. Over the summer I was interning in the NYC metro area during the day and found myself immersed in books such as Natural Capitalism and Green to Gold by night. My boss also encouraged me to sign up to lifebyme.com, where you receive a daily e-mail explaining the meaning in someone else’s life.

One day I downloaded a book called The Dirty Life and for the next 48 hours I found myself glued to my iPad. I couldn’t help but get caught up in the author’s life story about becoming a farmer. Kristin Kimbell writes about leaving her life in the city and how she transitions to homesteading with her farming husband out in Essex, NY after taking a huge leap of faith. To me, this was like a modern day version of The Alchemist, one of my favourite books. In my opinion it is a perfect manifestation of the power found in following your dreams.

I made a change. After my internship was over I moved back to Arizona, started researching sustainable master’s degree programs, and started working at a farmers market on the weekends. From August to December I started to discover my inner self breaking out from the confines of what I thought I should be doing. I uncovered a hidden passion for food, a desire for structure in my life, and an urge to make a drastic change. I took a job out on the East coast hoping to find some structure and stability in my life.

I got a cat. In November 2011, I acquired my first cat. I say acquired because he was never intended to be my cat. When he walked into my life he was supposed to end up with a friend of mine but as the unpredictability of life would have it, he ended up living with me. I bring him up because he made me address a weakness that I developed in my years at college. I was never home. By never home, I mean, my family would see me a few minutes a day, maybe a couple hours at best. Somehow over the course of being in school I developed a habit of staying out way too late and waking up entirely too early. My schedule would consist of going from one obligation to another. I failed to put my family first in many cases and the busier I was, the better (or so I thought). I literally did not have a minute of downtime for almost 3 years straight. When I moved to NJ, Vintage moved in with me and I learned to stay home for a change. I am falling in love with the idea that I don’t need to be on the run 24/7 to feel fulfilled and am getting over whatever aversion I had developed toward being home. I have felt guilty that I didn’t come to this realization sooner as I realize how much time and effort I wasted on things that didn’t matter instead of taking the opportunity to be with my family.

I watched another movie. In January, my mum had a hysterectomy. I stayed home with her for a couple weeks (the first time I’ve really spent with her in a long time). In this downtime my friend encouraged me to watch a movie called Vegucated. Having been a vegetarian for a few years and a raw vegan before that, this movie really hit home for me. I knew from the moment it was over that I would fully commit to being an ethical vegan. (It’s worth the criticism and dirty looks I’ve gotten—it also was a seamless transition and literally happened overnight).

I left home. At the end of January I left my family’s home in Arizona and moved to NJ to embark on a new journey. Enter my “new life”.

So what does someone do when they decide to embark on a journey that will probably turn their life upside down? They start a blog. (Welcome by the way.)

In my final days in AZ I told a friend of mine about an inkling I’ve had to start a blog. As I explained it I told him everything I hoped to include. I wanted to document my journey from being an over-consuming college student to a responsible adult while learning to cook, learning to live on a budget, cutting down my impact on the environment, and connecting with the person inside me that I’ve always wanted to be.

On March 15^th, I will be leaving the comfort of my family’s home and moving into my first apartment. This apartment will lack some commodities that I have always had easy access to such as a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. This means doing things by hand and reducing my impact on the environment.

On April 1^st I will be starting a one year project to eat vegan below the poverty line. According to the USDA it should cost me $161/month to eat on a thrifty budget. I am hoping to do it on only $125/month. I have the most incredible mum in the world who has taught me more than I can ever thank her for, but two things that fall outside of her strengths include cooking and budgeting. During my 365 day project, I hope to teach myself both.

Some of you may still be sitting there scratching your heads wondering what the purpose of this all is. For that I have a simple answer for you. I would like to demonstrate the peace that can be found in simplicity. I may not save the world while doing this project, but I want to show the world that we don’t need to live a life of material abundance to be happy and maybe, just maybe, we can find happiness in simplifying our lives.

"To love and to be loved is to feel the sun from both sides” -David Viscott"

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:00:16 -0500

““To love and to be loved is to feel the sun from both sides” -David Viscott”