Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

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Small Goals // April 2018

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March was an pretty ambitious month goal-wise (six instead of five thanks to a late add). Let’s get into it, shall we?

  1. Actually make that bathroom mood board. Done! I’ll loop you in in the near future.
  2. Hit the gym 10 times. Done! Having a number to hit really helped me stay motivated while helping me pace myself. I’m going to try and stick with this one.
  3. Sew something, anything. Done! Last year around this time, I cut out a dress pattern in this beautiful ’50s-esque tiki fabric. I pulled those pieces out and started putting the dress together, only to find out that I had cut out the wrong size. 2017 me is a damn fool. While this project was a flop, I still got to sewing (and I got a new project lined up).
  4. Reorganize the den to make it a real work space. This did not happen.
  5. One more serious declutter session. Nope!
  6. Bonus goal! #marchmeetthemaker challenge. Done. I’ve never posted so much on Instagram in my life. I need a break (and I’m sure @kaminskihandicraft followers do too).

4/6. If you asked me mid-month if I’d complete any goals, I’d have told you no. But in the end I did OK! March is long and grueling, but somehow I found a bit of motivation (but not enough to deep clean). For April, I have a few more semi-ambitious plans lined up, but I wanted to add in a few fun ones. It’s my birth month after all!

  1. Host my book club. Back in January, my friend Katie set up a book club with some gal pals. Let me tell you, this club is exactly what I needed: casual reading, wine and some cool new ladies to chat with. This month, it’s my turn to host since my pick – You’ll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein – was chosen. Time to brainstorm some good snacks and do a little cleaning.
  2. Visit Ben Franklin. Ben Franklins are some of the best craft stores hands down. Yeah, Michaels and JoAnn have aisles and aisles of supplies, but Ben Franklins are just homey and charming. My mom recently told me the one nearby had a great fabric selection, so I need to see it!
  3. Commit to a landscaping plan. After a year of living with a gravel-filled yard, it’s time to get it back in order. I hope Michael and I can come to a good decision when it comes to choosing someone to fix it up.
  4. Sew something that fits this time. I’m back on the wagon with my sewing machine. I’ve got the fabric, the patterns and the thread. All I need are a few buttons and it’ll be smooth sailing!
  5. Get a few new spring pieces in my closet. I’ve been cleaning out my closet for the past six months (and doing a decent job!), but I can’t help but notice a few gaps in my spring wardrobe, like a decent pair of wedges and cropped jeans. Time to treat myself.

Let’s see if I can channel some Aries energy and do five out of five in April!

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Keeping Your Cats Safe (and Yourself Sane) at Christmas

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If I love two things in this world, it’s my cats and Christmas (OK, OK, and my husband and family). But I recognize that the two aren’t always compatible. I mean, every cat guardian has suffered at the hands of a kitty who got caught in the tree. So in efforts to make the holiday season a little easier on your cat (and you), I’ve got a few tips from personal experience on how to keep your kits (and, to a lesser extent, your dogs, rabbits and parakeets) safe.

  1. Set up a basecamp. I can’t stress this one enough. The holidays are crazy stressful even for the most social of cats. I find it best to set up a place as far away from company as possible for the cats to retreat to. That means I fluff up the kitties’ favorite blankets on our bed and keep the bedroom door cracked open for them to have some alone time if they need it. For Zara, our tabby that is not really a big fan of strangers, I try and encourage her to hang out in our room before the party even starts.
  2. Prep your guests. On that same note, let your guests know if you’ve got a finicky feline. I’ve got a script that I use all the time: Zara is a cranky cat. Please, just ignore her. This will help preserve your cat the stress of having visitors go searching for them all the damn time.
  3. No plants. Pretty much all the Christmas-y plants are toxic to cats, dogs, rabbits, birds – pretty much any critter. Poinsettias, mistletoe and holly are all bad news for pets and their intestinal track. As for pine trees, they’re not that great for your pets either. The needles are super hard to digest, and whatever plant compounds are in them can lead to some serious stomach upset. Also, tree water: It likely has some pesticides from the tree (and sap) in it. Try to keep that covered. While I’ve never run into tree-eating issues with my cats, it’s probably best to monitor how your pet interacts with the tree (and cross your fingers that they aren’t too curious).
  4. Just say no to ribbon. Ribbon, string, twine, tinsel – you name it and our cats love to chew on it. While they’ve never ingested any of these things, you can never be too safe (it can get pretty gnarly if your cat swallows ribbon). I’ve cut down on my ribbon usage and I’m sure to keep it any festooned gifts and garlands put away or far out of their reach.
  5. No people food. We don’t feed our cats much people food. Around the holidays, though, it can be tempting to want to share a little something special with your pet. I’d draw the line at a small, skin-free piece of turkey or ham. Any greasy foods can cause stomach upset (and its friends vomiting and diarrhea), and other foods – raisins, currants, chocolate, onions – are straight-up poisonous.
  6. Have updated tags. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle around the holidays with people coming and going. Visitors that aren’t used to pets in the house might not be as mindful of the door as you, so your cat (or dog) could slip out by accident. In case, I’d make sure their tags have your current contact information on them (and make sure those kitty collars are break-away!).
  7. Avoid the vet. Not in general of course, just right before Christmas and New Year’s. A few years ago, I took my cat to the vet a few days before Christmas for her checkup and vaccinations. That year she had a really terrible reaction to the shots, lost a lot of weight and became really lethargic. I was on the phone with the vet on Christmas Eve begging to bring her in. Luckily, I was able to get her an appointment and pumped with some fluids (and Christmas was saved!). To avoid anything like this happening, I say just push that appointment up to the first part of December or postpone until January. You never know.

OK, I’m off my cat lady soap box! Now go enjoy the holidays with your pets. And if you need a DIY gift idea for your kitties, I’ve got one!

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Fall Feels + Spooky Sounds

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So far this fall has not been giving me the cool, breezy weather I’ve been craving. How can I don my favorite flannel shirt and boots if it’s 70º outside? How can I be expected to enjoy apple picking if I’m sweating at the orchard? But I decided that if Mother Nature isn’t going to provide fall feelings, I’d make them instead.

That’s when I dragged my Halloween decorations out and put some Fleetwood Mac on the hi-fi. It was finally fall.

I realized flipping through our record collection , that most of our albums made me feel nostalgic and cozy. I mean, we have a ton of Christmas albums and those are instant warm fuzzy-makers. But so many other albums made me think of windy fall days, hot drinks and just being inside my weird little cabin. (From fall and into the holidays is when my house feels most itself.)

Here are my favorite fall albums currently in my collection.

Rumours by Fleetwood Mac 

A classic! As a child I loved Fleetwood Mac and would jam out to “Don’t Stop” whenever it came on the radio. Everyone knows Rumours, but I don’t care. Just listen to “Never Going Back Again” and tell me it isn’t the prettiest.

Unicorn by T. Rex

Michael shared this album with me years ago, and I instantly loved it. It’s psychedelic, hippie ren faire goodness. Plus with songs about black cats, owls, wizards and alchemists, it’s a Halloween no-brainer. This one is probably a tough sell for most people, but I highly recommend the track “Cat Black” for starters.

Tapestry by Carole King

This is such a mom album, a really great mom album. Filled with classics “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Where You Lead,” it really pairs well with gusty winds and falling leaves. Plus “So Far Away” fills me with that sort of melancholy nostalgia that fall can bring – in a good way.

His 20 Greatest Hits by Harry Belafonte

I love the movie Beetlejuice (obviously). You’ve got Alec Baldwin at his absolute dreamiest, Winona Ryder as style queen Lydia Deetz and an amazing soundtrack! I’m tempted to buy the actual album because the Danny Elfman score is top-notch (and it’s the perfect accompaniment for pumpkin carving), but half the fun is all the Harry Belafonte tracks. I mean don’t tell me you don’t think of this scene when you hear “Day-O!”

What are your favorite fall albums? I love hearing what puts people in that fall state of mind.

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From Peggy Olson to Mary Berry // A New Career

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I mentioned in my small goals post for the month that I was starting a new job. It’s true! This week I start working for Taste of Home, a food magazine based in Milwaukee. I’m really excited to start a career in a new industry, and I’m absolutely thrilled to be working back downtown.

This is a really wonderful opportunity for me to stretch my writing muscles in new way. For the first time in my professional career, I’ll be writing copy for copy’s sake (and not to sell sweaters, socks, wheelchairs or diapers). I’m a touch sad to not call myself a copywriter anymore (I really was trying to live that Peggy Olson life), but I also think that associate digital editor has a nice ring to it.

I’m a day into this new gig, but if the Mary Berry welcome sign at my desk is any indication of how this gig will go, I think I’ll be just fine.

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Basement Blues

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I love my home. I love so much about it – the coziness, the wackiness, the memories it holds. But sometimes I hate being a homeowner. It can be phenomenally terrible. How?

This is how.

Yep, that is my yard being torn up so my basement can be repaired. What’s wrong with it? Almost everything. Three out of four walls were bulging, the drain tile was rendered almost useless by mud and tree roots and the whole thing leaked like no one’s business. It was bad.

So this is the sort of shit you do to fix it up. You hire a crew to wreck your yard, wreck your basement floor and put it all back together again all so you can sleep at night knowing that your foundation won’t collapse and your husband’s assemblage of musical instruments won’t be ruined by water coming in all the damn time.

NBD. Just a 10′ deep trench in front of our door.

This is what real home ownership looks like. It is not all picking out midcentury sofas and Anthropologie drawer pulls. It’s not curating the perfect china cabinet or finding the right brushed brass light fixture. Home ownership is hard, repairs are hard and shelling out the cash is the hardest yet.

But you do it.

And you try not to let every lifestyle and home décor blogger out there bother you when they post a picture of their kitchen “before” and it looks like you kitchen’s “after” except 100 times better.

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St. Nick’s Day

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It came to my attention some years ago when talking to a friend that not everyone knows about or celebrates St. Nick’s Day. I remember being in the Boston Store offices, mouth agape saying “You don’t know what St. Nick’s Day is?” in the most incredulous tone I could muster. Turns out this little tradition is a bit more Wisconsin than I thought.

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For you newbies, St. Nicholas Day is December 6. If you went to Catholic school like I did, you learned about St. Nick himself and how he’d leave coins in shoes for the needy. Something like that. It’s been a while. But either way, this story translated into old timey children leaving their shoes out and having them be filled with fruits and candies every December 6. And that translated into stockings which got filled with treats for kids like me in the Midwest.

And growing up, St. Nick’s was a big deal. Like really big. My mom imposed a fairly strict no gifts after Thansgiving policy growing up – meaning if I saw a Puppy in My Pocket in the checkout line, I couldn’t get it, and no matter how much I begged, I wouldn’t be seeing that new Littlest Pet Shop until December (I was really into small toy animals). When the Advent calendar went up on December 1 (the same calendar I have today #traditions), it seemed like an eternity to December 6 and some sort of new trinket. But when St. Nick’s Day finally came it was a day to rejoice. Extra bubblegum (every year, even though my mom hates gum)! Reese’s peanut butter cups in a candy cane! Marshmallow Santas! A Looney Toons nightshirt! YES!

This tradition is something I still celebrate today even though I’m 27-years-old. Michael and the cats all get a stocking and we open them up in the morning. It’s great! So many treats! So many surprises! This year was a particularly good year – Michael got the Beach Boys Christmas album and I got an ice cream sandwich ornament. Big wins.

And before you even ask, no, Christmas Eve/Christmas Day stockings are not a thing. Why would you get extra presents in a giant sock when you already have gifts under a tree? Consolidate or get a jump and put that stuff out 19 days earlier. Geez.

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The Best Laid Plans: Home Improvement Edition

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I’ve owned my house for a little less than two years, which means that for the past two years, I’ve lived with my lackluster bedroom. Once I signed on the dotted line, I had big plans for this space. Oh man – I was going to make it look so cool and relaxing with lots of neutrals and then make it all pop with a statement wall. Or not.

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The neutrals that I thought would make this place look airy and soothing, just ended up making the place look drab. And that statement wall? Well, maybe that would have been cool if I picked the right shade of emerald or jade instead of what I like to call dinosaur green. When you stir this together with a plethora of furniture, clothes that need donating (but never make it to Goodwill) and ill-planned layout, you get sort of a wreck. So after two years, I’m saying goodbye to this half-baked plan and moving forward with a mini-bedroom makeover. Here’s what I have planned to improve the space.

High contrast

Besides the lot of neutrals being so blah, they also faded in with the woodwork – literally. I think a good remedy for this is to go high contrast. That means picking a rug that doesn’t blend into the floor and upping my paint game.

More art!

The walls in this room are embarrassingly bare. Michael and I started to layout a gallery wall, but we soon realized we needed more frames and then just stopped. This time I’m following through.

Paint

First time around, I didn’t do a great job, despite my best efforts. The old walls absorbed the paint like a sponge and after three coats, I couldn’t deal – I washed my brushes and called it good. This time I’m recruiting my dad for a little help and making sure that I do the job right.

And I haven’t forgotten the important part – color! I’m still a fan of a green, only this time a darker, more sophisticated shade, like a hunter green. A deep shade like this is probably too overwhelming for the entire space, so I’m thinking of painting the bottom half of the wall in this moodier shade and then the top in the same snowy white (only a better coat). I said I wanted contrast, and I think this could be the ticket.

A silly update

I won’t lie – I love having a TV in the bedroom. Yes, I know that pre-sleep screentime can mess with your rest and that tech-free bedrooms are supposed to be more relaxing, but I don’t care. Once in a while I like to catch up on my stories from the comfort of my own bed. And I’d like to do that with something a little more streamlined than the 90s-era box that sits on our dresser. Lucky for me, my dad is opting for a bigger screen, leaving his smaller flatscreen to me. Less bulk, more modern, same cozy Shark Tank viewing. That’s a win-win-win.

The finer points

By this I mean all the finishing touches. That means if I think matching nightstands will complete the space, I get them. Or if I think some baskets will keep the closets cleaner, I buy some baskets. Living in a perpetual state of oh it’s almost done is annoying. I committed to reworking this room, so that means seeing the process through to the end. So that means when it’s all done and dusted, every item on my to-do list is done.

Stay tuned, folks. I’m starting on this makeover NOW. I’ve already briefed my dad on the paint situation and nabbed some new art.  It’s happening!

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Hi-Fi Fo-Fum

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It’s been a while, folks, but I figured I’d give you a little update about what’s going on in the old cabin. Some great news: the hi-fi is working! I love this piece so much, and it brings me an absurd amount of joy to see it spinning, especially given its history.

HiFi_5When I moved in, this little Magnavox stereo was being used as a nightstand. My mom and I shuffled it out to the living room and gave it a whirl (probably for the first time in 40 years). She ran a touch slow, but I’ll tell you the first few weeks I stayed in the house (sans internet and television) having it to play the Godspell soundtrack was my saving grace. It was a pretty emotional time, so filling up the house with “You Are the Light of the World” and “Day by Day” really gave it (and me) some life.

HiFi_3But after a few months, the slow turntable was getting worse, and playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” at half speed was pretty spooky. Because she’s the greatest, my aunt took the hi-fi in for repairs as a birthday gift. It took two months for the repairman to sort the thing out, during which we found out that this 60-year-old hi-fi is pretty rare. He also discovered that no matter how hard he tried, that old turntable wouldn’t keep spinning at that 33 1/3 rpm-s that you need. In the end, he dropped in a new turntable; better a new functioning one than an aggravatingly slow original. It made me a little sad to see the original one go, but I have to tell myself that a new, fully-functional table is better than some groggy, never-quite-right original.

Having this record player fixed has been such a huge treat. It’s pretty much the peice de résistance of the living room, and now I can play my Cat Stevens albums to my heart’s content, and when our friends come over, we invite them to peruse our small but well-loved collection and crank the tunes.

It’s the little things, kits.

HiFi_2And I wanted to add that the clever title came from my mom. She remembers a stereo shop called Hi-Fi Fo-Fum growing up (she also remembers pretending this record player was a piano when she was little – talk about a good memory).

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What Have I Gotten Myself Into? – Kitchen Edition

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Great minds think alike. You want proof? For a wedding gift both Michael’s parents and my parents decided to buy us a new stove. Not together. Independently of one another, they purchased cards (my mom unwittingly bought a super cute lesbian wedding card) and wrote “Congratulations! For your wedding, we’d love for you to pick out a new stove.” We were obviously shocked and overwhelmed by the generosity of both sides (and super stoked because our electric stove was the worst).

Since our families are too generous (like really – we were flat out overwhelmed) and a tad stubborn, they refused to go in on the stove together. Instead they compromised. The Stocks would purchase a beautiful Frigidaire Gallery gas stove and my parents would help us out with a similarly-priced home upgrade of our choosing. (Which is way beyond anything we could ever expect or want or need, but we appreciate it nonetheless.)

It took me about two seconds to determine what needed some overhauling (and two more seconds for Michael to agree): the kitchen countertops. The tile counter is original to the house and has seen better days – which after 53 years of use is understandable.

Pardon the terrible quality of these photos, but you have to see the before to appreciate the after.
Pardon the terrible quality of these photos, but you have to see the before to appreciate the after.

I know that granite and quartz have become a bit standard for kitchens nowadays, but that’s not going to fly in this house. First off it’s incredibly expensive, but also sticking a slab of elegant stone in a 1962 ranch that looks like someone’s fishing cabin would be so silly. So I took a hint from the era in which the home was built and thought laminate. I know, I know – you’re thinking why not butcher block or solid surface or anything else but laminate – but I checked out the Formica website, and they’ve got it going on. I’m loving this Black Walnut Timber pattern and whatever Dolce Macchiato is from their 180fx line. Also they have a partnership with Johnathan Adler and I’m dying over all the linen patterns.

Before_3
Gross. You can see the coffee grounds in the grout from here.

The thing is that once the tile top is gone, so is the tile backsplash. And once the backsplash is gone, there’s going to be a gap between the counter and the vintage wallpaper (which I love). And then you have a “if you give a mouse a cookie” situation where switching countertops means an even bigger kitchen project.

I won’t lie to you: I’m excited at the prospect of new counters, but I’m also a bit sad to be tearing up the kitchen. I suppose that’s part of the territory of moving into a loved one’s home. I’m hoping to preserve the vibe by using an extra roll of the same vintage wallpaper on the narrow wall.

Full-on galley kitchen. Tiny, narrow but totally functional. Not pictured: accordion door pantry.
Full-on galley kitchen. Tiny, narrow but totally functional. Not pictured: accordion door pantry.

And maybe once this is all said and done I can actually give a little tour of the cabin. This blog is all cabin this and cabin that and I have yet to really show you all around (other than these terrible before photos).

In the meantime, weigh in on those countertop swatches and let me know what you think! Inquiring minds need to know!

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It’s a Marshmallow World

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I love my home as weird and outdated as it is, and I love it even more during the holidays. My aunt hosted day-after-Christmas parties every year and they were the absolute best. Since I have such fond memories of the holidays here, I knew I had to keep the (Christmas) spirit alive.

It’s not much, but here’s a peek at my marshmallow world.

Christmas Decor

Outside of the tree I don’t have a ton Christmas decor, but enough to make this place feel special. With the glow of the tree, some lights strung along living room bookshelf and some candles in the fireplace, the living room makes you feel like drinking hot chocolate and watching White Christmas every night (I’m totally doing those things right now and it’s perfect).

XMasDecor_4XMasDecor_3

Since this is the first time I’ve really decorated for the holidays on my own since college, I wanted to find decor that felt like me and also felt like it was totally natural for this home (maybe those two things are one in the same).

XMasDecor_2

I hope that you’re jamming out to that Brenda Lee song right now, but more importantly I hope your enjoying your holidays! I’ve got another crafter hours booked before Christmas and then time off from work to perfect my buche noel recipe.

P.S. If you like any of the decor, you can find most of it at these great local shops: Winkie’s in Whitefish Bay, Pear & Simple in Port Washington, and Carrie On in New Berlin.