Around Our Yard.

I can't get enough.

Our yard and my garden and my baby walking all around, I just can't get enough of it. These days are getting good and better all the time. Moving this past month was kind of rough and I was getting overwhelmed with all of it, but finally, things have calmed down and most of our stuff is in place. We still have a zillion little projects, but I'm not going to let that stop me from living in the moment. Because these moments are so sweet. Everett is walking and talking (you know, baby babbling, but still) and he makes himself crack up laughing and he tries to eat my mums and he's wearing JEANS. I could just die. His little diaper butt all squished into these Levis is just the end of the earth fun for me. This recent weather is pretty much bliss and I've been the cheesy mom as I followed my boys around the yard with the camera. We've had so much fun breathing in the autumn weather and relieving our skin of summer's humidity. And thankfully, Everett still thinks my camera is a novelty so he's letting me over photograph him. At least for now.

Ahhh I am reminded each and every day how blessed I am for these two twinner souls.

Do you have any grand plans for the fall? Tell me all the things you plan to do now that Autumn has hinted that it's just around the bend. Any festivals, activities, or getaways? I am always up for suggestions.

Happy Friday, friends! Hope your weekend is the grandest!

P.S. - Enjoy these internet papers so your desktop can dress up, the Anthropologie fall housewares line is making me swoon, and I'm actually starting to read this book this weekend. Ridiculously excited, since I haven't read anything but parenting books and the bible in a year. Oh sheesh, I hope I remember how to vocationally enjoy a book.

How to Upcycle Furniture + My (old) New Bedroom Dresser!

I'm excited to share this up-cycled DIY project today!

I mentioned a here few weeks ago that we were given a ton of old furniture from a family friend. We were so overwhelmed and grateful to be given so much, especially in the midst of buying and moving into our first home. However, for as nice all the furniture is, a lot of the pieces are pretty dated in terms of color, style and hardware. I decided to try my hand at upcycling the pieces and giving them some fresh life - and fresh paint :) I started in the bedroom.

I was given two coordinating bedroom dressers that are Johnsonville brand and from what I understand from the previous owner, are about 25 years old. The top of one of the dressers was scratched up pretty good, but other than that, these pieces were in excellent condition. They just needed a bit of beautifying, which I'll admit, is something that I love doing. Here are the steps I took for this home renovation/DIY/upcycling project!

To give you an idea of what I was working with. The "before".

1. Choosing the Color.
The first thing I decided on was a color story for my bedroom. I know that sounds so lame, but think about it! You really want to love the bedroom, because you spent 1/3 of your life sleeping in there. I have always loved white bedding and blue accents, and as much as I try to convince myself to branch out and try some new colors, I always come back to these shades for my bedroom. Blues and whites and all the colors in between are just so soothing, so I caved and once again went in that direction. This Anthropologie dresser served as my inspiration for the furniture. I chose the Behr shade "Pencil Point" (based on seeing it at my sister-in-law's house, thanks for letting me copy you, Lauren!) and I had it mixed into Valspar's Chalky Finish Paint at Home Depot.

2. Assembling the Tools.
I used this Purdy 1.5-inch brush and this Purdy 2-inch brush to paint with, several different weights of sandpaper (similar here) to distress the furniture and the Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax to finish the piece with a satin finish. I also painted the furniture on a disposable drop cloth (similar here) and used several old t-shirts cut up to wipe the furniture down in between paint coats.

3. Executing the Strategy.
With this furniture, I was going for a gently distressed look. I didn't want the paint to look too chippy, and I wanted the finish to say "I've been worn in with love, not a chisel" (if a piece of furniture can talk). So I gently sanded the furniture's surface, then wiped everything down with a damp cloth. Next I painted the furniture with two coats, the first coat being ever so slightly sloppy (but thick coverage) and the second coat being more careful to keep the strokes all the in the direction of the wood grain. I let each paint coat dry overnight. Then I went back over the furniture with a heavy-weight sandpaper, and I proceeded to beat up the furniture I had just so lovingly painted pretty. I focused especially on the edges and corners, really wearing it down into the original stained wood. I also spent a lot of time sanding down the hardware and letting a bit of the gold gleam come through. After the piece was distressed to my liking, I wiped the furniture down with the damp cloth again and let it dry. Then I finished the piece with a coat of the Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax. The wax goes on more like a lotion, and I got the best results by applying it in small sections and then wiping it off with an old t-shirt. It basically seals the furniture without any sheen whatsoever, so the pieces maintain an aged appearance.

4. Assessing the Cost.
The furniture cost me nothing. Which is glorious. Here's a breakdown of the other costs:

Paint: $29.99
Sealing Wax: $16.99
Paint Brushes: $8.83 + $10.11
Sandpaper: $2.97
Drop Cloth: $6.69
TOTAL: $75.58

5. Admiring the Results!
I am so happy with the outcome of this project. The furniture looks exactly as I hoped, but somehow even better in person. It adds just the right anchoring element to our bedroom and yet still remains calm and soothing.

I forgot how much I love making old furniture new again! I think I'm embarking upon a new hobby, you know, to go along with my bird watching and whatnot. My garage is full of projects-in-waiting!

Have you ever upcycled furniture? Got any great how-to tips to share?

P.S. In case you missed it, my other recent new-house projects have been planting my first vegetable garden and attempting to stay positive in the midst of moving and live in the moment.
 

Planting My First Vegetable Garden.

I have always wanted to grow a salad.

I used to dream of it. I wanted to live on a pasture in an old white farm house and walk outside, past my chickens and horses and pick the vegetables that I grew from seeds in my own little patch of Earth. Of course, in my dream life I also simultaneously lived in New York City and was a famous actress and wore red ball gowns everywhere. It doesn't have to be either/or in the dream world, right?

Well, I've done the New York City thing, and even though fame was never whispered about my stint as an actress, I had the opportunity to give it my best shot. And now, well, it's no white farm house, but it's my house. My green house, actually. And in the back, there are a few rows of above-ground garden beds that are so perfect for vegetables it's not even funny. It's real. My real, rustic, perfect little patch of Earth for my own little produce community.

I spent a lot of time browsing Pinterest for tutorials, talking to friends who are master gardeners and eavesdropping on conversations between the Pike's Nursery employees and customers like myself. I have found myself consumed with questions about which varieties are best for my climate/zone/neighborhood/backyard, where to plant which items, how much to water or how little to fertilize, how to deter deer from my yield, what kind of soil is best, how long until plant maturity, how to prune, etc. The questions go on and on! My Google searches over the past month have become ridiculously suburban. But finally! The planting has begun! And I must say, I'm pretty proud.

Here's what the garden beds looked like before:

I was ready to rip out all those bushes. Clearly, this bed was made for gardening! But it would be a serious investment to replace all of them at once, so Stevie and I decided to focus on the area where catnip was planted and replace that with my first round of Autumn vegetables. In case you're wondering, the catnip is the crazy green wispy plant that looks like a weed. Actually, it was getting choked by a lot of weeds. I believe the previous owners planted the catnip because it's supposed to be a mosquito deterrent? Whatever. It had to go.

I bought so many seeds. Too many, actually, when I realized how much space they would take up. I also bought some plants that had already been growing in their containers. I transplanted them, along with planting some seeds, all which should produce a fall harvest! THIS FALL.

Stevie's a good gardening teacher. He warned me that the most time consuming and laborious part of this endeavor would be pulling up all that catnip and PREPARING THE SOIL. I sort of laughed at him, like, "Yeah, but I'm AMPED. This is going to be so fun!!!"

I mean.

It quickly became time consuming and, yeah, laborious.

Thank goodness my trusty sister came along for the entire planting excursion and kept me laughing. She had me in stitches while we attempted to wheel the tons of muddy soil and weed-eaten catnip up the hill and dump it in the back corner of our property. And she laughed with me when every single neighbor in our hood came by to say hello while we were working in the front yard. There was a solid hour and a half that we just stood in the sun, shielding our faces, making small talk with my new community. What a trooper, my dear sister. That gal is not only a true friend, but a seriously hard worker.

Oh yeah. And we did crap like this.

Early in the day shenanigans.

All in all, it took two days to get the garden planted. Once the catnip was fully removed and the soil was tilled and added and given some magical growing elixir, we got our plant on. We planted cauliflower, carrots, romaine lettuce, galactic lettuce, radishes, strawberries and two types of kale. I am so excited to watch my baby plants grow! I will keep you updated on how things begin to progress. I have no idea what I'm doing, so if you're an idiotic gardener, then we can be friends. If you're a master gardener, wanna come over and tell me what I did wrong?

Have any of you ever planted a garden? What do you wish you had known going into it? Any how-to's or tips that you wouldn't mind sharing with the class?

Have the happiest of weekend to you, friends!

Moving Weekend.

This weekend we moved!

We are so, so happy in our cozy abode. We've only slept here a total of two nights, but it already feels like home. Our home. OUR GREEN HOME. By green, I mean the color, not the eco-conscious. I keep looking out in the yard and seeing MY TREES and MY GRASS and the little baby playset in the yard. EVERETT'S PLAYSET. Gosh I guess this is what suburbia and domesticity and the American dream feel like, all rolled into one. I never ever thought I would want these things, like a house with a fence. I actually used to tease Stevie and tell him that he got lucky with me, because I was thrilled to live in tiny city apartments forever, but oh, now I'm the girl with the house and the fence. And how I am loving this fresh new season of life. It's just sweet and wonderful.

I knew this house was The One when I went into the backyard. There are at least ten birdhouses tucked in the trees! Back in January, I vowed to birdwatch as part of my New Year's Resolutions, so walking through this yard and seeing all these rustic wooden birdhouses was A SIGN. I love watching birds. And now I have homes for them! Guys, I'm not a cat lady. So bird watching is okay. I think you can only be into one of them, otherwise that's crossing into some testy territory...

Though, I will admit. It's been challenging through out moments of this process. Because what an absolute CRAZY few weeks its been!

Every day, starting last Monday, I've been taking Everett to "preschool", which is actually a Mother's Morning Out program. Because of his first-day-of-school behavior (incessant, top-of-the-lungs screaming for a seriously extended period of time), the administration thought it would be a good idea if I helped "immerse" him by going every day with him until he feels comfortable. He won't normally go every day, but the hope is that my presence there will help him feel safer around his teachers and the environment, so we have been there every week day. Together. I am back in preschool. And proud to say that my coloring skills haven't rusted even a bit. After spending just a little bit of time in the classroom, I am convinced that those preschool workers are goddesses. I am exhausted and I'm only there a fraction of the time they are. Goddesses, all of them.

On top of this big transition for my son, we have been in the process of packing and slowly moving over loads of stuff to the new house. Last week I started driving a car load of boxes over each day, unloading them, unpacking and working on the house. Starting loads of laundry, running the dishwasher and unpacking my beloved long-lost teacups. And I have been doing all of this with Everett, usually in the Ergo. IT'S EXHAUSTING. That kid is so heavy. I actually feel old and decrepit. I have got to get to the gym more and improve my lack of physical strength because goodness, I am feeling it.

This past weekend was the big kahuna; the final move with all the legit, grown up furniture. We were SO LUCKY AND BLESSED to have our family come over and help. I am so outrageously proud that I inherited so many amazing, muscled brothers and cousins. They took care of our stuff as if it were their own and stayed with us until the last large item was moved. Thank you guys SO MUCH! I didn't give you enough donut holes, I'm sure of it.

Now here's for the TRULY AMAZING PART. We had a family friend who is in the process of downsizing from their home. They were generous enough to give us their ENTIRE HOUSE OF FURNITURE. When I say entire, I'm not embellishing. They gave us a dining room set, bedroom sets, lamps, pictures, mirrors, tables, chairs, THE WORKS. We are still flabbergasted and a little bit overwhelmed by the sheer generosity and kindness of this family, who wouldn't let me pay them for any of it. They simply "wanted to bless us" and they wouldn't let us do anything more for them. Thank you Mr. Gary and Mrs. Angela! You've made our house already feel like a home!

We are living in the house now, but mostly downstairs. We have new carpet getting installed upstairs next week, so we are keeping the furniture up there to a minimum. Our bed in on the floor and not much else. It will be fun to fully move in, but for now, I am just focused on the downstairs. Between that and keeping up with Everett's school situation, I'm feeling like the days are endlessly full. But it's all wonderful stuff, so I am tired, but really happy!

Now we are onto rearranging, decorating, and purchasing for the house! Everything from rakes to bathroom towels, rugs to extension cords. Houses are expensive! And the project list is getting loooooong with each passing day. Don't worry friends, I will be including some in-depth home tours as the rooms get put together.

Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes. It means so much!

If you like moving stories, there's the time I moved right before our Euro Trip, and the time I was so hugely pregnant that I didn't lift a finger. Good times, all of them.

Moving Weekend!

Today! We move! Huzzah!!!

Prayers please, friends. We are starting the day off exhausted and it's going to be a long one. Happy weekend to you!

XOXO