apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We're loving the color palette of these lanyard bottles we spotted at Thrift Town. And though we almost brought them home with us, we finally decided we didn't need six new bottles and they really do look best together. But that doesn't mean we're not seriously considering reliving our summer camp days and busting out the lanyard supplies on some of our own empty bottles....

Say "tea party" and we start thinking of pastel floral prints, white gloves and that faint musty smell that lingers in antique tablecloths and lacy doilies. So imagine our surprise when we wandered in to the cozy storefront of the Leland Tea Company. No doilies in sight, only fantastic dramatic art-deco details. The place looks renovated to it's original glory but there's a dirty little secret hiding in the details...

You might remember this nifty tote from a few weeks back? Heather (aka Ms. Skinny laMinx) kindly notified us that they're now available online....for only $10!!!

As co-eds back in the day, we fulfilled a science requirement with an amazing entomology course. The "sex life" of the Giant Corpse flower was unmistakably one of the highlights of the class (show and tell with hissing cockroaches was a close second) and we've always wondered if the smell was as horrific as the flower's name implies...well now is the time to find out!

In honor of this month's Green @ Home theme, we're using our editors' green moves as inspiration. In addition, all of this week's eBay picks are located within 100 miles of San Francisco... double green whammy! See the links below the jump...

Angel Island is one our favorite places to take visitors when they come to the Bay Area. In our book, you can't find a more impressive way to show off the city; from the ferry to the Island, to the views from the Island and the gorgeous plants and landscapes on the Island. But it's the deserted military bunkers and buildings that provide an eerie and oddly beautiful glimpse into the history of the Island. We were especially drawn to the color palettes and textures of layers of peeling paint and aging concrete...

Name: Shayna
Location: Oakland

Like Faith over at The Kitchn, I had the pleasure of harvesting my very first tomatoes of the season this week. However, I didn't have any questions as to how I would prepare the first precious beauties because they hopped straight from the vine into my belly. No wondering if they were organic, salmonella-free or pesticide-free and no fretting over the oil or carbon emissions produced by transporting the tiny tomatoes hundreds of miles for my eating pleasure. Those are just a few of the reasons why our home garden is growing exponentially....

Inspiration sometimes comes from the most unlikely of sources. This has been sitting on our "to-blog list" for a while now, and somehow always gets bumped down. But with this summer's water rationing we pulled this to the top of the list. We had heard tale of the legendary East Bay Municipal Utility District (that's EBMUD to most folk) landscaping book, but we were skeptical. A utilities company with an eye for landscaping?

Is your old toilet sucking down the water? It might be time to give it the boot (just don't let it end up like the poor toilettes in the above image, please!) We just took one more small step towards lowering our water usage and we know you wanna join the party. If you're a EBMUD (East Bay Municipal Utility District) customer, hop on the party train with us and get yourself a free water-efficient toilet! Jump below for the details...

Yesterday we showed you how to pick out wood for building projects. What, you might ask, have we been using all of our wood for? Well, there was this project a while back but now we've got our paws in a whole new mess. Take a peek at the latest construction after the jump!

Last Saturday we were chillin' at our usual weekend hangout spot (the hardware store) when we noticed a gal staring at the piles and piles of wood with an expression of overwhelming confusion. She had a cart loaded with bags of planting soil, a book on vegetable gardens and piles of seeds. As she piled random planks of redwood on her cart, we realized how much we've learned over the past year while working on renovating our own home. Take for example the process of selecting wood. Easy as can be, and oh-so-important for just about every project involving wood. See our tips below the jump...

Faced with an eternal construction zone, Sarah and Joe of House & Fig, decided to go one step further than the usual temporary storage solution of living out of suitcases and moving boxes. They found themselves some nifty wine boxes and got to town...

Name: Shayna Location: Oakland

Earlier this week Leslie shared with you her favorite tote-bag. Though I keep a stash of large size canvas tote bags in the car for grocery shopping, I also have a "scrunch" bag that lives permanently in my purse. When friends from Hamburg came for a visit last year, they brought me this nifty net tote. It bundles into the tiniest little ball that fits snuggly in my pocket or purse. Though I've had some cashiers scoff at the bag when I pull it out (one even suggested it would make a better costume for burning man...ha!), it's surprisingly expandable and sturdy.

Name: Shayna
Location: Oakland

One of the easiest moves we've made in our home is to use a power strip to power the appliances that we don't need on all of the time. We simply flip the switch off when not in use and flip it on when we need that power.

Over the past few months we've shared a few of our home projects. Today, we're showing off our bedroom. Like most of our renovations, this is mid-process. Window trim hasn't been added, we still haven't decided on a floor and there are still paint touch-ups galore. Jump below for more before and after pictures...

As the post-party glow of a long weekend wears off, we're left staring at a MASSIVE pile of dishes. Being a dishwasher-free two-person household, we get by with a small counter-top drying rack most of the time with little complaint. But these summer barbecue-heavy weekends kill us and totally screw up our standard wash-and-load method. Lucky for us, Martha gave us a nifty little tip for adding some extra space to dry our glasses. Jump below for the details...

We're constantly gathering inspiration for own large backyard. As amateur gardeners and with an eye towards conserving water, we're especially keen on easy, low maintenance and sustainable ideas. Some of our favorite gathering spots for this type of inspiration are the local parks and nature trails. This past weekend we collected ideas from Angel Island but other favorites include Joaquin Miller Redwood Park and the Mills College campus...any favorite spots on your list?

This weekend will mark the one year anniversary of us moving in to our (that's the bf and myself, thank you...) new home. We closed in the end of May, stayed in our apartment for the month of June and moved in to a tent in the backyard for the month of July. I remember, in terrifying detail, that first weekend that we spent sleeping in our new backyard listening to our new neighborhood's sounds and praying that the unrelenting fireworks wouldn't burn our home down before we were able to move in...

Name: Shayna
Location: Oakland

I'm a firm believer in the concept of baby-steps. Grandiose ideas are great, but as for becoming reality? The follow-through just isn't always there. Like Janel, I think it's the small, feasible actions that become a part of your daily vocabulary that really make a difference. For my home, that means using cloth bags, recycling, composting, line-drying clothes in warm weather and buying local when we can; and we're always on the lookout for new ideas to add to our arsenal. This summer, faced with a mandatory water reduction, my family is looking specifically at reducing our water usage...

We had never bought live plants online before. But when a local search for a "string of pearls" plant turned up unsuccessful and our festering obsession proved unrelenting, we turned to Google. We typed in "buy string of pearl plant" and the first link led us to eBay. When the shipment arrived, we clenched our pearly-whites and cut open the box...

Remember back when we showed off Jeana's great wall planter? We loved it so much that we had to run to our local IKEA so that we could recreate our very own...

If you've paid even a wee bit of attention to our posts over the past years, you would already know that we are HUGE fans of Heath Ceramics. They're local, they produce gorgeous wares and visiting there makes you want to drop everything and volunteer to sweep floors just so that you can hang out with the kind folks that actually create the products and run the factory. To top it all off, Heath has some amazing collaborations going with artists from around the world. One of our current favorites is the Heath tote bag designed by Heather (aka Skinny laMinx). See more photos below the jump...

Last week we posted a few pictures of our patio space and retaining wall. Clearly, you guys wanted some more details and we're oh-so-happy to provide. Just keep in mind, we're not professional builders and this was a totally fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants project that was guided mainly by gut-feelings and experimentation. In other words: if you're looking for how the pros do it, this isn't it. See the details below the jump...

Remember the goofy dandelions for a giant? We indulged ourselves with a few too many giggle-fests at the thought of collecting oddities for a "garden of curiosities". Almost as if in response to our daydreams, our daisies have answered back loud and clear that they're game to play along....