1) Vintage Singer turned into a sink? You’ll take it. Our commenters and Twitter followers loved reader Matthew’s  vintage Singer sewing table turned sink project. Melissa says: “That is just beautiful. I’ve been looking for vintage/antique sewing tables lately for use as a table in my office, but would never have thought to make one into a vanity. Gorgeous!” Got a great design idea or completed reno project to share? Email us at letters (at) shelterrific dot com!

2) You may have solved Mary’s mys-tree! Turns out our readers are real garden gumshoes, and many of you agree that Mary’s mystery tree is in the plum family. Naomi says: “You have some type of purple leafed plum tree. There are hundreds of varieties of flowering plums, in addition to the fruiting variety. Some flowering plums do yield a small amount of fruit. This tree may bring you nice fall color as well, so kudos on the freebie. Take a picture of the leaves, branches and fruit, or better yet bring a sample to a nursery or master gardener to ID.” Care to weigh in on this mys-tree?

3) You’ll find a place for Cat Studio’s place pillows. Shannon says: “I have seen the Canada one before at our local Roots store and wanted it so bad!! I may have to save up because they are just so darn cute!” See the New York International Gift Fair find here.

4) For many of you, expensive espresso machines are worth their weight in incredible java. We know our readers have their coffee rituals, and Megan shared the main event in hers: her Rancilio Silvia espresso machine. And she’s not alone in her love. Julie says: “We have a Silva (w/ a Rocky) and love it. Several years later, it is still going strong and pumping out some lovely shots each morning.”

5) Surprisingly, sometimes custom work is the cheapest option. Sarah L. shared her livingroom makeover and her custom built-ins beat their Ikea counterparts any day. Ellie says: “have to love custom built-ins cheaper than IKEA.” See the transformation here.

If you weren’t in Seattle for Cakespy’s Cake vs. Pie Party, here’s your chance to bake the Best in Show, a ginger peach pie (with cayenne), from Kate Lebo at Good Egg.

And speaking of Cakespy, check out what she just made for Serious Eats: The lemon-lime cream cheese filled Pat Benatart. She’s wrapped in a “real tough cookie with a long history” crust. Love.

Poppytalk gives the world a look at the art of Jen Collins. We like what we see — and are going to her Etsy page right now to get that adorable bison gocco print!

We’re climbing the walls (excuse the pun) for CasaSugar’s roundup of ladders as functional decor. The ladder as pot rack is particularly stealable…

Introduce yourself to Gandhi’s favorite vegetable, purslane. It’s tender leaves are juicy and succulent, and uniquely high in omega-3’s. It grows like a weed in just about any soil and to top it off, is in it’s peak season right now! Via the Huffington Post.

Top Design finalist Eddie Ross does a delicious budget makeover for the Nest that we are loving. Not a trace of the “Golden Girls” aesthetic he got sent off the show for!

With autumn’s impending arrival drawing nearer, you can bet that long hot soaks in the tub are on our horizon. What better for your bathroom escape than a deep, luxurious clawfoot tub? Get all the inspiration you’ll ever need from design*sponge.

Read about a carrot cake worth going to Riker’s Island for at The New York Times. Unfortunately you can’t buy it, but you can bake a 25 loaf batch. Uhh… perfect for holiday gifting?!

Did you know that lack of sleep is a slippery slope leading to a messy home? Makes sense, but here’s the article explaining why, at Unclutterer.

Photo courtesy of Valentina Vitols Studio.

For years, the folks at TableTopics have been cooking up conversation with their question cubes, but I’ve only recently discovered their PartyTopics line of fun cocktail accessories. Between the place cards, coasters and napkins (which also come in a wine version, for the gathering of the Sommelier Society) they have enough inspired questions to keep any group gabbing for hours. That is, with the possible exception of your monthly amateur psychoanalyst brain trust. For that sort of meeting of the minds, these Rorschach inkblot coasters, $18 for 10 at The New Museum Store, may be just what the therapist ordered. –- Sarah C.

We’ve worked hard for this tree. One of my favorite things about gardening on a budget (translation: zero dollars) is scoring “free if you dig” plants from neighbors. This tree was a volunteer in a neighboring ditch that we dug up last spring. It was small enough in circumference to reasonably move, but already more than 8 feet tall. After a hazardous ride home with a giant tree sticking out of our van, we planted it in our backyard as part of what we call “Operation Block the View” (houses are a bit close together in these parts). Of course, only then did we try to figure out what kind of tree it is. The neighbors thought it might be a flowering cherry, but the leaves were wrong. It was, however, flowering — we soon found out that transplanting a tree in the middle of flowering is a bad idea, watching as the leaves shriveled and fell. But before summer was out, the tree bounced back to life.

This year, we were stunned (even a bit alarmed) at how fast the tree was filling out. And in July, the mystery tree had fruit! At first we thought they were cherries, but I quickly discovered that they were tiny plums. (At least, they sure look and taste like plums — I took a tentative bite, causing my husband to worry, “What if it’s a poison plum tree?!”) A month later, the tiny plums are no larger. Is there such a thing as a tiny plum tree, or is this something altogether different? I’m sure I could ask a garden expert, but this voyage of discovery is just so much fun. — Mary T.

Our homeowner’s claims have been infrequent and run of the mill. But a week ago, we noticed our neighbors staring at their garage door. They looked puzzled and the door was half up and hanging at an odd angle. As we were leaving for a mini vacation, we didn’t do the neighborly thing and stop. When we got home, however, we saw the front of the garage was boarded up with plywood. Hmmm. Then our neighbor walked over and told us that when they opened the door, an eight-foot long long black rat snake got caught in one of the overhead tracks. It cut off close to a foot of the snake’s tail (that can’t be good) and broke the door. Several odd conversations with the insurance company later, our neighbors are finally scheduled to get a new door. The poor snake, I fear, probably did not fare as well. Care to share a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance claim that approaches this one for weirdness? — Sarah L.

Any house guest can bring a bottle of wine, but it’s the rare person who brings it encased in a sock monkey. From ThinkGeek, makers of all sorts of nerdy goodness, the Wine Monkey is a throw back to the retro classic sock monkey toy. Slip it on a bottle of banana-flavored vodka and you’ll definitely be invited back to the next dinner party. How adorable are those button eyes? — Katie D.

Thanks to a busy summer, we didn’t do a long vacation but we did manage to get a house project done that will give us that “just back from vacation” relaxed feeling for years to come. (But first, sorry for the before picture. It’s a bit like one of those beauty makeovers where it feels rigged but my pic disappeared so I dug through the kids’ camera and — lo and behold! — the before picture with what looks to be a chair fort in progress.) Anyway, back to the project. We thought we’d need to save up $5-8k. Not happening. So we looked to Ikea. However, add up two large Liatorp shelves at $325 a pop, the Liatorp television base, a Liatorp hanging shelf, and the wood and trim needed to alter them, and we were looking at $1,000+ and a lot of work. So on a whim we called a remodeler we had used in the past and with drawings and inspiration photos in hand, got a quote. A very low quote. A quote so low, we booked the guy on the spot. Click to see the rest of Sarah’s living room makeover! (more…)

Last summer, Mary wrote about romanesco (or broccoli romanesco), and it got everyone buzzing. Well, it’s in season again ! Hooray! Time to bust out the anchovies (yes, anchovies) and get the pasta water boiling! This dish is something I make year-round that I call “peasant pasta”, with the basic framework always the same (garlic + bacon + anchovy + chile flake + lemon): I just change up the veggies seasonally. In fall, I’ll throw in quartered brussels sprouts. In winter, ribbons of dark green kale. But my favorite version, that comes in summer — when it’s romanesco season. It’s cruciferous sweetness and firm texture lend a satisfying bite when mingled with the delicate capellini. The sauce is impossibly simple, and comes together in as long as it takes to get a pot of water boiling. And it has anchovies. And anchovies make everything taste like magic. Trust me on this. If you’re scared, use just one fillet. But if you’re like me, you’ll toss in the whole can. — Megan B. Click for Capellini Romanesco! (more…)

I’d love to restore an historic home to its former glory, but I’m just not sure I have the time/energy/money/patience to do it. So in the meantime, I’ll live vicariously through An Urban Cottage. The blogger is restoring an 1842 Greek Revival in Cambridge and tracing the previous owners and documenting the frustrating permitting process along the way. If old houses are your things, grab a coffee, your computer and start at the beginning. It’s worth the read. — Sarah L.

In the dark days of free online newsletters, you used to have to live near a major metropolitan area to take advantage of outrageous culinary deals. No more with Blackboardeats.com. Now, even if you don’t live in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, the three city editions of the newsletter, you can still snag great discounts on designer dishes and culinary delights with their “Everywhere” option. Simply sign up for the free e-mail and discover a new deal every Wednesday. Past promotions include 40% off at The Little Pie Company and 40% off the entire line of Spiegelau glassware. On tap: 30% off Italian Essentials, Greatest Hits and Party for 10 sets from NYC’s Murray’s Cheese. Ready those mailboxes! — Sarah C.