5.30.2013

Patching Drywall: Easy As 1, 2, 3.

I know, patching drywall sounds intimidating. Or at least it did to me. But no joke: It's about a three step process, and the steps aren't even tough. Ready?

First, make a hole in  your wall. I prefer to make mine with a 15 pound, 36" pry bar when wrastling (yes. wrastling.) up old hardwood. Done? Mmkay, moving on.
You can pick up one of these handy dandy patch kits if it meets the criteria of your hole size (about $8), or you can pick up each item singly.
Now all that's left is the work: Stick, spackle, sand and paint. Yep, that's it. Look:
Stick on the metal mesh (really - it's a sticker.)
Load up the putty knife with spackle.
Slap it on, blend it out so it's not a big lump.
Let it dry (this brand is pink wet, white dry). I put up the baseboard too.
Sand lightly if needed, then paint to match. Done!
Not so scary anymore now, is it. The hardest part is waiting for the spackle to dry: Mine said it could take only an hour, but it was pouring rain and the humidity made that one hour about twenty four. Looking back I could have added some texture somehow into my wet spackle to better match the wall, but the hole is behind the front door so I'm just not too worried about it being a little smoother than the surrounding area. You can't even see it looking down from eye level.
Success!

P.S. Added bonus: I only used about a quarter of that little pot of DAP spackle, so I've been using it around the house to fill some other damaged areas that don't require the mesh. Two-for-one, love it!

5.28.2013

Random Round Up: Long Weekend

Gotta love a balanced combo of work and play on a long weekend. Operation Re-Install Baseboard is now about 80% complete (a huge accomplishment) and we managed to squeeze in some relaxation and friend-fam time as well.
Trying to propagate my curly willow in case it doesn't make it.
Sap bubble (and I think the only non-rain moment of the whole weekend)
Cinnamon roll the size of my head courtesy of parents-in-law (yes, I shared).
Sounders FC away game means snacks, drinks, and watching from home.
Eying the Pie
Hope your weekend was equally as fulfilling! Happy Monday Tuesday!

5.24.2013

Don't Forget The Reason.

In the joy of having a long weekend we tend to forget why we're getting that extra day off.
Vintage Postcard - source
No matter what your political persuasion or how you feel about the military, take a moment to reflect, remember, and be very, very thankful for the sacrifices of those who helped create this country and maintain it yet today.

Have a wonderful and safe summer kickoff weekend!

5.22.2013

Tree Trouble

Posting this means it's becoming a reality to me: My favorite tree in our yard, the curly willow, is in serious trouble. And the more it rains, the more trouble it's in.

Not sure if you're aware, but it rains a little bit in western Washington. ...Just a little.

The tree is basically dying: Tipping toward the house, bark peeling and leaves not sprouting on several branches despite the season. I'm so sad about it - It was one of the first things I noticed in the yard when we were shopping our house, and people always comment on it when they come over. We're going to start by taking off a couple of the larger branches to see if the situation will rectify itself, but I'll keep you posted. Cross your fingers for my tree!
The tree is leaning waaaaay over...
...which when wet makes our view to the yard look like this: Leaves.
Peeling bark.
And more peeling bark.

5.20.2013

Random Round Up: The Little Things

Sometimes it's the little things that make me happiest. Like a visit from my dearest Emily this weekend, a cushy new kitchen rug, and watching the bumble bees have a hay day in our flowering back yard.
Bumble Butt
Loving the new rug* - Found at Target.
They're baaaack! Sweatshirt-stamping craft time with Em.
Outdoor mat upgrade.
Also, found this pre-color pic on The Color Run's photo site - We're already talking about next year's race!
My friend/co-worker Jessica, myself, and Nate

*In New Floor News: We found out we can't have anything rubber long-term on our new flooring as rubber stains urethane over time, so we've had to do a bit of a rug redux. It's weird and something we had no idea about prior to purchase, but in the grand scheme of things, not really a huge problem. I'm glad we know so we don't lift our kitchen or sliding glass door rug in 10 years time and find a big dark square! Consider this an FYI for all you laminate-owning peeps out there: It's info direct from the supplier.

5.17.2013

'Tis The Season

...No, not the holidays, but the season where the temps start to creep up and the days start to get longer. I don't know about you, but in our house that means more regular adventures that include the pup. That's why it's so important to be aware of just how quickly temperatures rise inside a closed car:
You don't sit in a metal, airless box in a fur coat for even 10 minutes on a warm day, so don't make your pooch. If you're like me, you want to have your furry friend alongside you whenever you can, but really: If it's warm and you will need to leave them in the car, they are happier - and safer - at home.

And also, because this cracked me up and it's Friday:
Happy weekend friends!

*I found both of these images on Facebook the past few weeks - If anyone knows the original sources let me know!

5.15.2013

Color Run Recap

I trained, I ran, I partied.
If The Color Run is headed to your city, get up early (ours sold out in 6 hours), slap down the money, and get ready for a good time, because it's completely worth it. And I've got the pictures to prove it!
Pre-race packet pickup on Saturday.
Color Run Seattle!
After-party explosions
...That left me looking like this by the time we got home.
So glad we had the GoPro to use!
Boom. Color.
Completely coated.
And, just to give you a better taste of the full experience: A GoPro video Nate took during the after party (it's only a minute and better with sound, turn it up!):
I'm pretty proud - I hate running, but with Nate's encouragement I trained and was able to run the whole thing AND keep up with a coworker of mine we ran with who's training for a half marathon. I call that decent!

Now what are you waiting for? Sign up!

5.13.2013

Random Round Up: Hustle

It was a weekend on the move: Mother's Day with each mom, prep and completion of The Color Run, and squeezing in putting the house back together whenever possible.
Puggle in Profile
Adding to the Sperry stash.
A couple stellar spring days in a row.
What's a Friday night without a little extra long baseboard wrangling?
One of my fave deco-style buildings in Seattle Center.
I'll be back with a full recap of The Color Run in all it's glory later this week. Happy Monday!

5.10.2013

Completely Floored

As promised (drumroll please)... The new floor!
Dining room - In need of a non-Ikea table, stat!
Incredibly thin hearth surround.
Hall (laundry/garage on right, powder room doorway on left)
Kitchen, dining beyond, as viewed from family room.
Semi-put together living room/dining room.
Powder room (sans toilet)
Light-flooded sewing room.
Even Tucker's coming around.
You can see things are still in transition a bit with the uninstalled toilet, the piles of crap stuff on the kitchen counters, and the baseboard up in only some of the rooms (I actually polished off that project last night, but some of the photos were snapped prior). And as for the white baseboard with the "pickled oak" (yep, that's really the color name... gross) cabinetry, oh the plans we have. Those puppies will ultimately be all kinds of white and hardware-d hopefully by the end of the summer. Same with all the doorjambs - all Decorators White by Benjamin Moore, same as the newly spruced baseboards.

If you're in the area, we highly, highly recommend Evoke flooring (ours is the style 'Gustave') through Metropolitan Hardwood. And I cannot say enough good things about our installer: Alex of A.S. Hardwood - He's licensed, insured, and awesome. I was so impressed at the level of care and quality he and his assistant poured into their work.

But for now, reveling in the new floors and how spacious the place feels! Thrilled.

5.08.2013

Shuffle [base]Board

You guys, I'm such an unintentional tease. Here I promise floor photos and am not at all delivering! Well here's one little kitchen glimpse of the before and after:
More to come, I promise! But with a family birthday and both visitors and The Color Run this coming weekend, things are getting lost in the shuffle over here. The current pressing project is getting the baseboard sanded, painted, and re-installed. Caulking and filling the holes will have to wait until next week/end, but for now we're just shooting for protected sheetrock and getting my car back in the garage. Check it out:
Yellow-y cream to clean, pretty white.
s
Gloves and sandpaper (not a disembodied hand, despite appearances...)
Drying in the garage
Paint Creature
The baseboard in the living/dining rooms were that yellow-y cream color pictured above, but most of the other stuff is a super shiny kind of orange-y wood. It surrounds all the doorjambs too, so guess what the next project is....
Floor pics are coming. Really. Someday soon!!

5.06.2013

Random Round Up: Macro Moments

First things first: YES, the floors are in!!! And I can't wait to show you more this week. For now, let's get up close and personal with a few weekend moments...
A little Sunday a.m. Starbucks cinnamon roll action.
Swiffer floor duster is my new BFF.
Painted baseboard in waiting.
Cheap, bright sunnies to wear during The Color Run... NEXT SUNDAY!
Lots of paint touch-ups = Very. Small. Brush.
I'll get some pictures together and get you the floor reveal asap! Stay tuned...