EPISODE #110 - SATURDAY MAY 12, 2012

Mmmmm…. The heat feels good!  The weather has definitely gotten better the past few weeks.   We can only hope it stays this way for the next six months!  We are still in the middle of spring projects.  I hope that we can finish all of them soon so we can get outside!  I was thinking about uncovering the crawlspace vents under the house but I may wait until I’m sure we won’t have a threat of frost!  Still there is plenty to do inside!

Sour Dough Biscuits

The taste of homemade sourdough is fantastic.  A couple of weeks ago we showed you how to make your own Sourdough starter.  It is really easy to make and we promised you that we would show you some recipes for how to use it.  For his first ‘sourdough’ recipe Chef David came up with a tasty one, Sourdough biscuits.  This recipe is good for a leisurely Sunday breakfast or a compliment for a dinner.  He made a ‘savory’ biscuit with chives which means it isn’t a ‘sweet’ biscuit, but still very flavorful.  The ingredients include flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, shortening and the chives.  Once those are all blended together you want to add a couple of cups of the sourdough starter. Gently mix that together and add a tiny bit of milk until you have a nice dough that is not too wet or too dry.  Roll it out to a half inch thickness and then use a round cookie cutter to make your biscuit shapes.  Put them in the oven for 15 minutes and they are done.  We will have more sourdough recipes for you in the coming weeks.  You can also check out this link for recipes for making your own starter!

Designing a Home Office

With the economy in turmoil and telecommuting a hot topic a lot of people are looking at working from home.  To do a good job and make it comfortable you really need to pay attention when designing your home office.  We stopped by Environments (503-236-3600) to talk to Will Eichelberger to get some tips on where to start.  His first tip was a question…ask yourself ‘how is my office going to function?’  Are you just going to work with papers, or are you meeting with clients?  The function of your office is the primary consideration.  To give you a good idea about what to include you need to get a feel for the layout.  Will used a piece of graphing paper and drew the room to exact measurements including the windows, doors and closets.  Then he cut little pieces of furniture to their exact dimensions.  By moving these small pieces around he was able to get a sense of where the furniture can be placed.   Will recommends that you keep a 3 foot clearance between doors, chairs and closets to allow for normal movement.  Once you have the idea for a layout down on paper you can bring that in and the experts at Environments will do a more detailed drawing for you and make recommendations. If you are still confused they can even build a 3-D drawing of the work space to help you design the area.  The other things you need to consider are fabrics and finishes.  These should make you feel comfortable in your work space but should also work with your current designs and colors.  The final tip?  Pick a good chair!  You could be in your chair for up to 8 hours every day so you should be comfortable!  If you have any questions about designing a home office, or you are looking at doing your whole business, you can contact Environments.

Hardwood/Bamboo Flooring

When people are looking for a new floor that is durable and adds character to their home they will seriously consider a hardwood floor.  Oak and cherry are not your only options anymore.  We talked with Sunny from Cascade Flooring America (800-942-0376).   He took us to a home that had a new engineered flooring called strand bamboo.  This bamboo is compressed under high pressure to make it harder and more durable than other types of hardwood flooring.  This flooring can still be dented if you hit it hard enough, but it can handle more wear and tear from children and pets.  Another thing about this flooring is that it will not shrink and swell as much as other woods.  To help you understand what moisture can do to a floor. Cascade Flooring gives all wood floor purchasers a hydrometer which measures humidity in the air.  If you see spaces between your boards on the floor it may mean that your air is too dry and the wood is drying and shrinking, this is to better educate you as a consumer.  If you have questions about wood floors or any other type of flooring you can come to a special event on the 20^th of this month from 10 to 4 at their store in Vancouver and meet with the experts.  There will also be special pricing on flooring during this event.   Call now and save your spot at this private sale.

Bathroom Redo Under $1,000

The bathroom is one of the most used rooms in the home.  It can also be one of the most expensive to remodel.  But it doesn’t have to be!  To learn how to remodel on a budget we stopped by to visit our favorite ‘stylishly frugal’ tipster, Sara Tetreault from GoGingham.com to see how she was able to remodel her bathroom for under $1,000.   She started at the floor with new marmoleum tile.  The old floor was a painted surface and to lie down the floor they needed to have a smooth surface to attach the tile to.  They picked up some cheap plywood at Mr. Plywood that even had marks for nailing.  Once the sub-floor was installed the 20 x 20 inch tiles were put down.  Next we moved to the tub.  When they moved the tub they found that the clawfoot tub was missing one claw!  A quick trip to Hippo Hardware solved that problem.  Hippo carries lots of vintage parts and supplies.  When Sara made the shower curtain she designed it to hang a little differently than you would think.  It looks like it isn’t quite long enough.  Actually the outside curtain is designed to be shorter so it hangs perfectly over a plastic shower curtain to dress it up and cover the plastic so not one can see it.  She used grommets to make the curtain last longer and look nicer too.  The sink had a nice story behind it.  Sara and her husband found the sink on a ‘free’ pile at an estate sale and with a little elbow grease (and a couple of trip to George Morlan Plumbing) it is up and running.  It is the perfect addition to the bathroom and matches well with the tub.  The laundry chute in the floor was an old metal door that was picked up at the ReBuild-It Center and repainted.  Finally we looked at the new light fixture.  Once again Hippo Hardware to the rescue!  They shortened rods and helped with pieces to make this light fixture complete.  Overall the project came in at under $1,000.  And it was all done by recycling, reusing and frugal shopping!  For more ‘Stylishly Frugal Living’ tips you can check out http://www.GoGingham.com.