Dining Alfresco

One of my TBC's that I really wanted to finish was my little bistro area in the back yard.  The original footprint was just a little too small.

September 2011

You could only get two chairs out there and they were always being shoved on to the grass. This year I took the opportunity to move out all of the rocks and put down weed blocker. It took forever but finally we have a useable patio. We've had the chair set forever. I think Costco still carries them though.

My mint went crazy this year!

I love sitting out under the lights and enjoying the evening.

You have to enjoy Seattle summers while they last.

Cheers!

A New Screen Door and Another Check

Ok, so this wasn't technically on the To Be Completed list but it needed to happen. When I fixed the screen door two years ago I didn't actually finish it (yeah, not a surprise really). I never put the trim back to secure the screen and eventually it came apart. So for a year I had a screen door with no screen. Not exactly serving its purpose. This time when I stapled on my screening I actually added the trim (you can see the thin trim on the back of the screen but not the front).

Now the screen will stay put!

I used the same paint left over from the front door (Ben Moore in Wales Green). Originally I wanted to paint it a bright citrus but Daniel nixed it. Oh well, this is fun and cheery too!

 I am also happy to report that my painted rug is holding up quite nicely.  I am thinking of repainting both porches but for now they got a good washing and we are calling it done.

Slowly ticking off the boxes. Now I want to paint the back door. What do you think? Super high gloss black? Deep dark blue? A rich mocha? All I know is I want it dark.

Cheers!

 

Welcome to my Life

The floor tile came yesterday but it was too hot to do anything but laze about. The Guinea Pig and I played on Pinterest and then planted some strawberries. It was a good afternoon. Today I'm off to go thrifting with my new IRL friend Megan from The Baroness. Wish us happy hunting! I'm looking for some dining room chairs...

Grillin' and Chillin'

Because you know, that's what we did all weekend. If only that were the case right? We are up to our eyeballs in drywall dust but it looks like the project just may be wrapping up soon. I did have time (while Daniel was sanding) to eek out this little project.

First, some back story. About two weeks ago I was telling Daniel how I'd love to have a grill but I didn't think I'd use it enough to warrant buying one. Later that day we were taking the dog for a walk and there it was. Sitting on the side of the street, a little worse for the wear, with a sign that said "free- works". You had better believe I stopped that walk right there and wheeled that baby home.

It languished for a few weeks while other projects took precedent, so, without further ado, some before and afters.

Before- all rusted and gross

After

It is amazing what a scrub brush and some high heat spray paint can do right? Now I just need to find time to light this baby up.

Anyone else think the weekend was way too short? Yeah, me too.

Updating the Back 40

My parent's house actually has a back 40 but ours is rather smaller. Still, I did finally finish planting it which is something to celebrate!

We added this cute little Japanese maple from Costco ($35!!) and some nice ground cover. My hydrangea from last year is looking good too. I also put down some weed block so hopefully it wont all get over grown again.

That spindly stick is our silk tree which apparently doesn't even get leaves until mid summer. Who knew?

But since this space looked more like this 6 months ago...

I'm excited for the rest of the progress.

My Irises are finally blooming too. I was not expecting these color combinations but I think they are pretty sweet.

And finally, a full picture of the yard. You can see by the upper corner I've got some branches to get rid of but I am keeping that spot free of plants for my shed. Hopefully we can break ground on that when we get home.

It's a pretty far cry from what it looked like last year before we left for our honeymoon.



The painting saga continues. With a minor miracle they will be hung before we leave so hopefully I will not disappoint!

Anyone else been working on yard work? It is the time of year for it here. We've had some great weather.
Cheers!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The sun came out for a few hours last week and I decided it was the perfect time to putter around in the yard. Gotta catch those rays while you can right? We did most of the planting last fall when I went a bit crazy ordering bulbs. All of my daffodils are up and some of the tulips are starting.

I also seized a 50% off sale at Home Depot to add some fruits and veggies in. I got rhubarb

And strawberries

The classic tomatoes

And a few sweet pea plants that will hopefully grow up over the trellis

I planted zucchini and cucumbers by seed but I've never planted that way so it will be interesting to see what grows. We also scored a blueberry bush at Costco.

With some luck we will be feasting this summer (that is if Norman doesn't strip all of my bushes clean). My yard has come quite a way in the last year. Can you believe it used to look like this?

Yikes! But it least it goes to show how far a little work can take you.
Cheers!

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