Weekend Plans, In Pictures

Here's what's brewing for my birthday weekend... And I couldn't be more excited.

My fave sushi spot.

Packing for vacation    (image)

Breakfast at the best local diner (yep, ferry themed and all).  [image via yelp.com]

Lounging outside - Sun predicted!  (image)

Flower Power

Amazing what a little time putting stuff in the ground will do for the mood of your house. Ours is suddenly cheery and ready for summer sun!

Early happy birthday to me: Flowers AND my own Hedgehog!

Front porch blahs.

Much better! Vines are from the backyard.

And a little curb appeal too:

 I wish the pics did more justice to how vibrant and happy these blooms are. Why didn't I do this sooner?!

And yes, you'd better believe the Hedgehog got a nice breaking in too when I attacked the backyard jungle. No photos, but it remains my favorite tool ever. So glad I have my own now!

Random Round Up: Knockin' It Out

Maybe it's vacation motivation (next week, woohoo!), but it was a weekend full of knockin' stuff out. From errands to gardening to cleaning, I finally feel like some of those hanging-over-my-head loose ends have been tied up. Woohoo!

So glad these guys are back in season!

By these and thank me later.

Blooms pre-ground

Tug and blue heron on an overcast Sunday morning.

And have you seen the new Instagram video feature? A bite sized 15 second video is so low-pressure and fun. Plus, I'm loving scrolling through my feed and having my photos spontaneously come to life.
Harry Potter nerds unite.

Here's one of Tuck from the beach:

Happy Hour

After some months of not being totally sold, I've finally come to terms and jumped on the trendwagon of the bar cart. Have you seen these things? They are ev.er.y.where in the blogosphere and available for a serious chunk of change at any trendy furniture shop (helloooo $1500 Pottery Barn version).

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I really wanted to find a vintage version for both the look and thrift store price point, but alas, no luck even though we went hunting on several occasions. So thank goodness for the internet: Amazon to the rescue! Found this guy for a fraction of it's original price and some great reviews to go along with it:

Saving over $300 and free shipping? Yes please.

And thanks to a few gift cards, the price was spot on: $FR.EE

But then I opened the box.

The reviews said the directions were a little complex, but I didn't know I'd need an engineering degree.

Pictographic Hieroglyphics.

But since Nate doesn't have his yet, it was up to me... A couple hours and one complete take-apart later (I realized once done I'd put one piece in backwards - argh!), I had it:

The camera angle is on purpose because the more nice items that surround our janky Ikea table (and three sad chairs) the worse that situation looks... Someday dining room furniture will make an appearance! But until then, I'm focusing on the pretty new bar cart and the storage capacity it's freed up in the pantry. Time for happy hour!

Random Round Up: Girlz Weekend

Apparently I needed an extra day to recover from all the festivities... A fabulous, albeit fast, weekend with my best girls.

Coffee Art

S'mores with Em's family in their incredible garden.

Oh St. Honoré Boulangerie... J'adore.

Em's castle-like abode and dining room view (extra points if you can spot Mt. Hood).

Can't get enough of St. Honoré. Divine.

Just the exhausting respite I needed!

Girls Weekend!

Headed for Portland and a little R&R with my two favorite ladies this weekend.

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I always miss the hubs and the pup, but that just makes it that much sweeter to come home again, right?

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Cheers!

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Attack on the Front

The front yard was starting to look a little ragged around the edges from all the spring growth, so I borrowed my fave tool from my in-laws - the Hedgehog - for a little light saturday morning hedge trimming.

I got a little carried away. And almost three hours later, caked in sweat, dirt, and a little blood, the front yard was out of surgery with a successful mini facelift.

Before #1 - Between the window and the plant bed.

Before #2 - From the front.

My plan was to trim the hedges and bushes, mostly spurred by a weird, perfectly square dead spot that's formed on one end of the hedge (my suspicion is the flooring guys draped some sort of chemical-coated towel there).

So once that guy was cut out and the hedge shaped up, I moved on to the plants flanking the other side of the walkway... then the bushes in the plant bed.... then the rhodie on the far right... then the low bushes in the front plant bed. Now that I had my mojo working and my yard waste bin filling, I figured I'd just quickly pull out this decorative grass plant that's driven me crazy since day one.

I'm looking at you, crazy grass under the tree.

An hour in, my foe had a name - Sedge.

Previous planters were great about leaving tags... Now that we're unearthing them.

After another hour, I was victorious. But tip of the day: You like sedge and want to plant some? Don't. Just don't. It's like a tattoo: If you think you may ever want it removed in the future, it's not worth it in the first place. That's the most hard labor I've put into less than two square feet of space EVER.

Finally mowed down the grass to get at the thatched bottom growth.

Buh-bye.

But with that out and all my trimming done, look how pretty!

Decorative rock border - Who knew?!

Oh and just because it cracked me up once I looked back over the pictures - Did you notice the observer in the window in the first few photos? Let's zoom in...

Puggle photo bomb!

He loves that window seat.

Random Round Up: Busy as Bees

I think I've already mentioned it, but June is shaping up to be one busy month. This weekend was all about yard work and cramming in any chores I could on Saturday, then to my home town for an early Father's Day celebration on Sunday.

They're coming! Can't wait.

Roses are finally blooming - Counted 131 more buds on the bush too.

I love this. Buy the original print here.

Did battle with this guy - More on the results later.

Time with dad on my home course - Gorgeous and on the saltwater.

Next weekend: Girlzz Weekend with my two besties in Portland! So excited.

Ottoman Reupholstering: Lid & Results

Last time we covered (literally, ha) reupholstering the bottom half of the ottoman, so today let's put a lid on it.
Shall we?

Bias tape - You can make it yourself too.

A quick once-around with the sewing machine for me; By hand would be fine.

Make sure your corners look pretty from the top and sides.

 And ta-da! Fill 'er up, set the lid on top, and we're done. For the record, I chose to use bias tape on my raw edges instead of a standard fold-over hem (like on the body) in order to cut down on bulk. I wanted the lid to remain as flush as possible to the body of my ottoman when perched on top, so trying to reduce fabric stacking up wherever possible was key.

 Since the original design of the black ottoman had more pieces sewn together, mine looks a bit softer and rounder - Not as square. Personally I like squared edges, but the amount of work I would have had to do to keep that design element in tact was outweighed by the option of the wrap-n-staple easy road.

I think it's pretty cute, and so happy with the upgrade. Bonus: I even have a good swath of extra fabric left over, so there may be a coordinated accent pillow for the couch or armchair in my family room's near future. I'll  keep you posted. For now, one in the win column for D.I.Y. upholstery!

Ottoman Reupholstering: The Bottom

I've been intrigued by the idea of reupholstering something for a long time, but a quick Google search for instructions always left me feeling intimidated. Granted, most of what comes up is for gutting and completely making over great-grandma's antique tufted sofa, so it might be a little more intense then what I had in mind. But still. Scary stuff.

So I screwed up my courage and decided to start small in the form of a $17 faux-suede storage ottoman from Target. This piece of furniture has been a trooper, and the black color was fine for apartment life when nothing went with anything else, but now with our espresso colored furniture and richer tones... Nope, not working. Aesthetically speaking. Functionally it's nearing Mick Jagger rockstar status.

One trip to the fabric store later, I was home with a gorgeous yard of upholstery fabric and ready to go.

The cream is the "right" side, but I liked the teal better. Well made fabric can be flipped!

Geometric pattern = Easy lines to follow for cutting.

So easy to pull one section too hard. Make sure it's square as you go.

I stapled into the wooden supports under the black faux-suede.

 And that completes the bottom half!

We'll pick it up here on Friday with the lid and the finished product. I'm sure there are a million and one ways to approach this, and I'm certainly no expert, but we've been living with the results for a little while now and I must say I like it more every day! So much fresher than that dingy black ultrasuede.