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Tomorrow I will be doing a little behind the scenes maintenance on the site, so unfortunately Love Library will have to go down for at least a few hours. I hope to have it back up on Friday at the latest. Stick with me, friends! I appreciate your support and love you all!
melanie
How long does it take to get paint out of one’s hair? I still have paint in my hair from two weeks ago and I’m doubtful that it will ever come out. It took way more coats of paint to cover the walls than we expected. We had to use a primer, two base coats and a top coat to cover the icky, dated walls. But at least now the airstream now has a floor and painting is complete. We also installed a “real” toilet. No creepy camper potties for us! (TMI?) Anyway, what I’m trying to say is “we made some serious headway, people.”
If anyone is curious, we ended up using Kilz Premium as the primer, Valspar Contractor Finishes 2000 in Ultra White as the base coat and Valspar Paint and Primer in Ultra White as the top coat. We also put a coat of Kilz on the floor before we laid it to ensure the floor was sealed. If you can’t tell, I want the Airstream’s interior to be as bright white as possible.
Our budget is getting a little tight as we are progressing through this project. Flooring is expensive! We chose laminate flooring to keep the cost down and keep the airstream light in case we ever wanted to tow it. And again, we had to buy much more paint than I ever imagined. It can be cheap, fast or good, but it can’t be all three– is that how the saying goes? Le sigh.
We’ll definitely be reusing old lumber from previous projects and trolling Craigslist for free stuff. My friend already found us a 3/4 size fridge for $75 bucks on Craigslist and I’m hoping to score a few more steals! (Gabby, you are awesome!)
Does anyone have any tips for acquiring free fabric or lumber? I need both! Let’s hear them in the comments!
love,
melanie
To call this weekend eventful is an understatement. I’m finally at my new job! Did I tell you all that? I’ve been there about two weeks and I’ve already experienced two power outages. On Thursday, as I tried to leave work, a policeman urged me head back inside. There were tornado warnings and not long after I (begrudgingly) went back in the library, a huge storm blew through.
After it all blew over, I called George immediately. His first words were “don’t freak out.” My mind immediately went to the airstream. I thought something terrible happened to it. Luckily, so luckily, the two 100 year old oak trees (above) fell into the barn and not our soon-to-be home.
But it was close, so close. I’m not very religious, but I think someone was looking out for us.
Goodbye!
I am also lucky to have Fridays off during the summer, so George and I were able to head down to our old apartment to finish packing up and cleaning. I will miss those gorgeous hardwood floors, the pool and the close proximity to water. I won’t miss our crippling rent payments.
I’m excited to save money. I’m excited that George will be able to pursue his art full-time. And I’m excited to start the next chapter of our lives.
Was your weekend eventful? Let me know in the comments!
love,
melanie
I feel guilty about not being “productive” this weekend. Do you ever feel that way? Learning to relax is definitely something I need to work on.
Tropical Storm Andrea put a damper on our Airstream progress. This past weekend, we had planned to install the floor, but it rained crazy-hard. And when it wasn’t raining, it was a humid, unbearable 95 degrees. Gotta love living in the south!
But instead of staring longingly out of the window at the airstream, I decided to make myself at least feel productive by looking for inspiration for the Airstream’s interior.
A few of my favorites are below.
For the source, just click on the picture!
This is my ultimate inspiration. I love the clean lines and the bright white in this airstream.
I adore this desk! It folds down for more space. Gorgeous and genius. It’s the Natalie Portman of desks.
The storage under the bed in this Bambi airstream is so clever. And I just want to climb in that bed!
Although it isn’t an airstream, I really admire the woodwork that went into this bus. I also love the pattern mixing in the textiles. Custom woodwork and pattern mixing are two aspects I want to incorporate into our own design.
For more of my airstream inspiration, follow my board on Pinterest!
love,melanie
One of the best ways to unload a large amount of junk and make a few extra bucks is to sell your wares at a local flea market (or as some call it, a swap meet). In my experience, we’ve had much more success at a flea markets than at yard sales. Yard sales require the customers to drive to your house. Yard sales don’t have as many vendors, so they don’t attract as many customers. And people also seem to want you to offer you .10 cents for everything at a yard sale.
Over the past couple of years, George and I have sold a large chunk of our earthly wares at the Raleigh Flea Market. During this time, we’ve also acquired an array of tips and tricks to the flea market game. Here’s what we’ve learned:
1. If your flea market is outside, check the weather report! People will not shop if it is raining, super cold or very windy. It is also a total bummer to sit outside in harsh elements all morning. Bad weather can also ruin your stuff. For example, if you sell books, even a little bit of rain will completely ruin your stuff. Bring tarps or a large tent even if the weather report is in your favor.
2. If your flea market takes reservations, call early in the week to book a good spot. Scope out the best spots the week before and ask for those specific spots. Look for spots near a bathroom or an entrance. These areas are higher traffic, therefore, your items are more likely to be seen.
3. Know your competition. Visit the flea market a couple of times before selling to scope out the competition. What is everyone else selling? Are their prices high or low? What can you offer that other booths may not?
4. Know your market. In the beginning, it is hard to figure out what sells, but by bringing a variety of items, you’ll be able to quickly narrow down your scope. For example, we’ve found out that vintage clothing does not sell at our flea market, but I’ve been to huge flea markets, such as the Rose Bowl, where vintage clothing sells like hotcakes.
5. You’ll want to narrow down your scope a bit, so you don’t have to haul your entire house to the flea market, but keep things diverse. We’ve had weekends where only our furniture had sold and we’ve had weekends where only small knick-nacks sold.
6. Create an appealing booth. Put your best items at the front of the booth to draw in customers. Spread items out and display them in a shop-like way. Go to the mall to get inspiration! No one likes to get on the ground to sort through junk. Put your items on tables, display clothing on racks and play music that reflects your style. Check out the picture below of our last set-up. We put our most eye-catching items towards the front of the booth. The painting of the pig drew in so many customers!
7. Price your items slightly higher than you the amount you would take. Some people at the flea market like to negotiate. Some don’t. If you see someone is hovering over an item or you can tell they may be a bit shy, let them know your low price.
8. With that being said, don’t take a price that is less than you feel comfortable with. People will always try to get something for nothing. Someone else will come along and you’ll sell that item eventually. Don’t worry too much.
9. Don’t take it personally when someone balks about the price. You know what the item is worth to you. Some people don’t see the value in it and never will. Ignore those people. When we bring George’s art out to the flea market people balk about the price and try to offer us less. The pieces are original and often take hours, if not days, to complete. We price it fairly. The end.
10. Have fun, talk to people, put on sunblock, dress in layers, bring a chair, lots of snacks and relax! Selling your old junk is easy money.
Have you ever sold at a flea market? Got any tips? Leave ‘em in the comments!
love,
melanie
I like my milk heavy on the coffee. Is that how that saying goes? No? What I’m trying to say is a big glass of plain, dairy milk makes me cringe.
The first time I encountered horchatas was when I lived in L.A. I was scared to try them because I thought they were a big ol’ glass of watery milk. But we ordered one anyway and boy was I was wrong! Horchatas are refreshing, delicious and made from rice water and almond milk– which I actually enjoy. I also enjoy a little refreshing nip of rum–if you know what I’m saying.
Here’s my recipe for the perfect adult horchata.
Ingredients
Pour the rice and water into a blender. Blend the rice until it breaks up, but isn’t total mush– about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature overnight.
The next day, strain the rice water into a pitcher. Discard the leftover rice. Whisk the almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and rum into the rice water. Serve over ice.
So much more refreshing and relaxing than a glass of milk!
What is your favorite summer drink?
love,
melanie
The past few weekends have been a whirlwind of work. I’m not complaining but, man, I could use a nap… or two… or five. Here’s the progress we’ve made on the airstream.
This picture accurately describes the first weekend we worked on the airstream. The lights at the bottom of the picture are indicative of how dirty everything was. The lights at the top were thoroughly cleaned by moi! We had no clue that the inside of the airstream was covered in mildew and mold. I guess it was hard to look past the ugly blue carpet!
I scrubbed every square inch of the trailer with a bleach mixture while George demoed. I even used a toothbrush to get in the cracks! A perfectionist’s dream! We had no idea the extent of the mildew, so we ended up demoing a lot more of the inside than we had imagined to just get everything clean. More demo means more building we will have to do, but at least I’ll sleep safely knowing we won’t be living in a petri dish.
Can you see me?
George cleaning out an old bee nest!
The weekend after the deep clean/demo, we primed! I think it already looks better with just a coat of primer on everything. What do you think?
Next weekend, we’re planning on painting the entire place a bright white. With such a small space, I think too much color on the walls would be overwhelming. And after seeing all that mold, I definitely want the place to look and be clean and bright.
There’s been a few obstacles, ahem, Mildew McMilderson, and our to-do list is a mile long, but we’re making progress. We won’t be moved in before I start my new job next week, but we’re figuring it out.
Living positive and living small,
love,
melanie
