Men.  That could be an entire article in itself, right?  They’re notorious for driving us nuts, so it’s a good thing they’re just so darn cute.  Especially today.

Your house is probably like ours.  You have the established roles for who does what – one of you cooks, one cleans up.  One does the taxes, one eats all the food.  Construction projects are no different for us.  I have my roles, and Martin has his.  It’s our best kept secret for working together.  I don’t get in his way, and he doesn’t lean over my shoulder. 

So when I pulled out the camera after *I* finished the next step of our kitchen remodel, I had to laugh.

Do you see what Martin has in his hands?  The compound *I* used is in his right.  The metal scraper *I* used to spread it is in his left.  How, oh how did my tools manage to slip into his fingers just as I was snapping the picture, that’s what I’d like to know!

The thing that you’d probably like to know:  what exactly were those tools for, Katie? 

The short version?  Leveling.  

The slightly longer short version:  When we tore down the solid plaster walls with the sawsall, the cuts couldn’t be totally level, and the ceiling had little holes where the walls had linked into it like Legos.  Here’s what that dusty project looked like:

We filled the holes in the floor a couple months ago.  (One of us has a tendency to fall in things like that, and unfortunately, it isn’t the person grinning at you above.)  Now we’re preparing to install the countertops, and this is one of the final steps before the counter delivery man drops off our order.  We can’t get too excited, though.  Unlike prefabricated cabinets, we still have to sand and varnish.  I have a feeling those countertops are going to be covered with newspapers for a long, long time.  (sigh) 

Scope out our finished kitchen – yeah! – right here.

(Image by Katie for Making This Home)

One of the greatest treasures many of us have is our books.  They’re funny, they’re entertaining, and every so often, they’re truly inspiring.  These books are the things I lug to Germany with me instead of the essential things like cheap American socks and peanut butter cups.

The latest addition to my collection tops them all in the inspiration category.  I’m constantly flipping through Celebrate Green! by Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell.

This mother/daughter team is dynamite.  Their book is all about creating eco-savvy holidays, celebrations, and traditions for the whole family.  They don’t throw overwhelming data at you.  They just offer casual, good ideas.  One of my favorites is the list of things to put in Easter baskets instead of candy.  (Who knew wooden animals could sound so scrumptious?)

A lot of green books tell you to put solar panels on your roof and rip out your heating system to build a more eco-friendly one.  Those are all good, but they’re totally out of our price range.  That’s probably the best thing about this book.  At $24.95, it’s a major bang for your buck.  I’ll be going the rest of my life with it and still be turning to this book for more practical and affordable ideas.  Celebrate Green! is the cherry in my fruit cocktail.  It’s going to spend the rest of its life in Germany with me (or wherever I am), especially because I can’t help noticing… it’s made of 100% recycled paper.

So while I kept drooling (and drooling) over this book, I decided to do something bold.  I wrote to Lynn and Corey.  We’ve chatted up a storm, and now I’m pleased to present you with a fabulous interview.  It’s a little bonus footage for you by two women who are just as fabulous as they sound…

Lynn and Corey, we hear a lot of talk about how important it is for us to make greener choices.  But why should we be altering our lifestyles to make these decisions, especially when it’s harder and occasionally costs more?

In our minds, it’s about basic values. So many people have become slaves to “stuff.” Everything in modern life seems to point us toward acquiring more and more. We’re used to working hard in order to buy things, not to have a better life. Anyone who reads this most likely has his or her basic needs met, so working to acquire is about things other than our needs. Why shouldn’t we work equally as hard to preserve the Earth, to support our neighbors and to ensure a better world for our children?

Making greener, or more eco-friendly choices isn’t about taking anything away. It’s about stepping back and looking honestly at our lives, deciding if we’re living in accordance with our values, then doing what we can to bring our lives into alignment with what we believe. And what if it does cost more? So what? What is the cost to us, our children and the planet when we live the way we have been? Now that is expensive!

Have you always been environmentally focused, or did you learn over time?

Corey became a vegetarian at age 16. Her interest in the environment grew from there. When her children were born, she became particularly interested in how chemicals in clothing, bedding and toys might affect children. As a marriage and family therapist, she is well aware of the influence of the environment on child development. Her idea about starting Green Halloween®, sprung not only from her desire to find a way to improve the holiday not only for her children, but for all kids as well as the planet.

We joke that Corey is green from the tips of her toes to the top of her head and Lynn is green, about up to her knees. In other words, Lynn is still in elementary school when it comes to the greening of her personal life. But she’s an enthusiastic learner! And many of the things she did when raising her own family, were environmentally friendly even though at the time, that was not the intention. She jokes that the friends who now call her eco-friendly, used to just call her cheap! She’s been an avid crafter all her life and all the crafts in the book are ones she made, mostly from recycled items or things she’s collected. Her love of family has made it easy to focus on meaning over stuff because that’s what she’s always done.

Could you give us a few of your favorite tips for making our homes and holidays eco-savvy?

We are madly in love with the idea of using fabric instead of paper for gift wrapping. Everyone has extra pieces of fabric lying around, whether napkins, dresses, sheets, or even socks. You can find simple instructions for wraps in our book or online. A lot of people tell us they wrap with comics or leftover newspaper. Although it’s always good to recycle rather than toss, fabric wraps can be used almost forever and they look absolutely gorgeous (see bobowrap for ideas). And if you use old scarves, for instance, the wrapping becomes a second gift.

Another idea we think is great is to skip the fancy centerpieces and get your guests involved in the table décor. Ask each guest to bring a small item that has some meaning to them. Place all the items in a glass bowl. Add a beeswax candle on either side of the bowl if you like. Sometime during the meal, ask each guest to remove the item and explain why they chose to bring it. You’ll have created a no-cost centerpiece with meaning!

Our third tip is to keep your mood upbeat and positive when you propose replacing something your family knows and loves with something new and green. For instance, brainstorm some green ideas for your child’s upcoming birthday (feel free to check out our birthday section on our website, Celebrate Green! Write the ideas on pieces of paper and put into a jar. Then have the birthday child choose one. Doing a single eco-friendly act that works just fine, will encourage more changes. Remember small steps add up.

Finally, if you could pick one green thing that feels closest to your heart, that thing you would shout from the rooftops and tell people to get greening, what would it be?

It’s easy and it doesn’t cost a thing! Reduce, reuse, recycle. What could be better, more simple or cheaper?

(images from Celebrate Green)

Way back last year in 2008, I think we had a pretty good time.  You don’t know this, but it was my first Christmas away from my family.  It was really hard, although I felt really close to them as we all challenged ourselves to have a greener holiday, much like many of you did here with me.  I loved the ideas and changes you all made during the season.  You kept me strong, so thank you for every environmental thing you did in December.  Go team green!

Some highlights for the month included:

Well for us, anyway, this American classic had top priority when we arrived in the US.

How about some highlights we shared on Making This Home since I couldn’t mail you any pie (because Martin ate it all!)…

1.  Naturally, I have to say our Greener Christmas challenge with digital thank you cards, wrapping paper from blueprints, and oh so much more throughout the month was a smashing hit.  You were all so eco-savy and downright awesome.  Do you hear the crowds cheering?

2.  We made our own fabric gift bags with a few quick stitches on the sewing machine.  I use one to hold my camera now.  It’s just perfect.  And adding a few straps to the bigger bags meant we didn’t have to add to the growing plastic problems at the landfills.

3.  Andrea Schroder from Top Design on HGTV offered us three valuable decorating tips for our holidays.

4.  Then when the weather was -20 degrees (F) for an ENTIRE week in the US, Martin and I decided to make ice cream outside.  Crazy, I know.  But soooo good.

5.  And finally, we looked at a beautiful collection of Christmas photographs in Berlin that were taken by Vica, an up-and-coming photographer I’m certain.

On to the next year!

Don’t forget to keep sending the tops of all your used cards to St. Jude’s Ranch for kids with cancer.  They accept cards for any occasion from November to February.

I’ve had bathtubs on my mind all week.  Maybe it’s the fact that it’s COLD outside or that our bathroom is way too small for a tub.  Don’t we always wish we could have something during the very moments that we can’t?  

The holidays are always exhausting, and then the new year is supposed to be filled with resolutions.  But today I thought the new year needed a little relaxation instead.  And since I’m hooked on tubs right now, I have the perfect thing to share.  I wrote this poem last February on a cloudy day much like today as the weekend approached.

 
I WANT TO BE BUBBLE BATH SOAP

I’d like to be some bubble bath
and just hang out at home all day,
all feeling creamy and refreshing
and smelling like a bouquet.

I want to be some bubble bath
and never have to take a test.
I’d just lay upon the bathroom shelf
and take a little rest.

I’d love to be some bubble bath
and visit with the other soaps
about the happens of the day
and all our biggest hopes.

I wish to be some bubble bath
The stressless job sounds okie-doke.
The hardest thing I’d have to do
is take a soothing soak.

This morning, I found myself leaning a little closer as I looked at this picture Freckles Chick had in her inspiration folder.  I suddenly found myself wishing our ceilings were twice as high so that we could hang pretty chandeliers.  Do you see that beautiful kitchen space back there?  It’s so small you almost miss it.

And something from this kitchen at Apartment Therapy makes me want to start a cooking frenzy.  Those glass jars are just begging all of us to reach out and make something delicious. 

So while we can’t raise the ceiling of our own kitchen and take advantage of even more vertical space, Martin and I do talk about adding a couple of open shelves to our kitchen.  We have a space between the window above the sink and the large picture window on the left of the kitchen. 

Want to see?  We’ve got the last cabinets put in (no doors yet), a dishwasher, and the start to our recycling system.  The open shelves would be in that half yellow/half white area where I ran out of paint.

Maybe some open shelves will appear in the future.  Then again, my head carpenter is kind of getting sick of living in a remodeling project, and he’s thinking a framed picture would do just fine.  I do need a space for all my little glass jars and those egg cups Germans are so crazy about, though.  Stay tuned…

(images from referenced sources and Making This Home)

You want to know what the best companion is to physical labor?  It’s a martini.

No, not the drink, sillies.  We still want to keep our twenty fingers and toes, ya know.  I’m talking about the band Pink Martini.

Several years ago when Martin and I became avid chop saw users, my father-in-law told us about this “little orchestra” from Portland, Oregon.  Our life was changed forever.  If I had been a teenager, I would have been jumping up and down, screaming and begging this band to sign my body.  But I am not.  Instead I’m just a married woman with a huge list of work projects and an aching back who isn’t afraid to admit:

We play Pink Martini’s music over and over.  Sometimes we sing.  Sometimes we even dance.  It never gets old.

So today, instead of talking about kitchens and work projects, I thought I’d share our favorite escape with you.  Here’s Pink Martini playing on David Letterman:

You can download more of their music or buy their CDs on Amazon if you feel inspired… or you know, keep hitting repeat on this clip as Martin and I may or may not have already done three times in the last ten minutes.  Happy listening!