new lamp love and quesadillas

Remember when I made a lamp out of a tripod I found at a thrift store? Well I have a really hard time finding lamps that I like via retail, but I guess I’ve found my groove in making them. I had a weird, thick, glass beaker thingy that I got back when I went to Surplus, and just now got around to making a lamp out of it (story of my life).

I was not able to find a lamp kit at the big box stores that would fit my beaker thingy. My recommendation for a great place to get supplies is Hansen Lamp & Shade in Seattle. They specialize in restoring lighting, so they are experts at every little part and piece you might need for your project.

In this case, I took my weird beaker thingy in and plopped it on the counter and said, “I want to make a lamp out of this… can you help me?” I wonder how many people have said that and plopped weird things down on their counters? The lady was super helpful, took some measurements and ordered (and shipped to me) a special lamp kit that would be able to customize to fit the top of my beaker…

But I ended up realizing I could just forgo the cork all together for an even better fit/look…

Time for a little tweaking (so far tweaking is a common theme in all my lamp-making endeavors)…

…I stripped the cork and gathered some supplies left over from the last lamp redo…

…used one of the short threaded tubes and added a nut…

…put them all together…

…tested the fit…

…perfect! Aleene’s Jewelry & Metal Glue seemed logical (though something like epoxy would certainly be stronger) since I was gluing metal and glass and they are both listed on the glue, and a little tape to hold it all in place while it dried…

…a little waiting…

…here was the finished product with a shade I borrowed from my bedside lamp (this pic gives you a good view of the ‘weird beaker thingy’)…

…I picked up a bigger burlap shade from Tarjay for a little more drama, and here is the final before and after…

The new lamp is much more interesting, unique and textural, if I do say so myself! And it doesn’t need to be propped up on books to make it look bigger! Yay!

What do you think? Too weird for you? I’m digging it.

I’m also digging me some quesadillas, now that my Mexican friend shared with me the secret to a good quesadilla. Mine always tasted oddly sweet or something and I wasn’t that into them. I would like to introduce you to…

Mexican Quesadillas

Ingredients:

See the salt? THAT is the secret.

Fold your tortilla in half, open and add the cheese, and a good sprinkling of salt to one side.

See all that salt? That is what makes it good. =)

Close it back up and cook on medium/high heat until brown spots show up and then flip it…

Cook until brown spots form on other side and then I like to cool them for a minute or two to make the cheese less stringy…

Then cut.

And serve.

I am tempted to make some guac and pico de gallo to plop on top of mine, but so far have been too lazy. I’ve been eating them almost every day for like a week. And now I need to go running more. =)

Peace!