So many updates!

I can't believe it's been two months since my last post. You'd think things had been quiet around here, but...hardly. Last week, my contractor brother-in-law and his sidekick came and knocked out a ton of projects, several of which are detailed below. In the previous two months, we (Todd) battled moles, first with bait and then with little gas bombs, which seems to be more effective and more fun.

I also discovered the cleaning magic of Barkeeper's Friend for removing hard water buildup on the shower tile (and subsequently discovered that if you use it for a long time without gloves, your hands will peel like little snakes...disgusting). We swam a bit, sulked and stayed inside for most of August because of the smoke from horrible fires near Crater Lake, became suburban-official with green grassy front, back and side yards and a fully functional sprinkler system and...sheesh, I don't remember what else. This is why I don't go two months without posting.

Anyway. Here's one of the VERY exciting projects Trevor and Eric completed last week.

This fixture was purchased two years ago on clearance as a floor model at Lowe's and was intended to be the dining room chandelier. It was originally in the neighborhood of $200, and I snagged it for $56. It made a very nice dust collector, first in the corner of the dining room for about a year, and then upstairs in the guest room, where it also collected cobwebs.

I decided it was going to be too big for the dining room, so naturally this hulking, heavy fixture should probably instead be installed somewhere trickier to get to. To be fair, I had also read that it put of a TON of light, so much so that most reviewers said you really had to use it with a dimmer switch. Our upstairs landing is like a cave with no windows, so plenty of wattage was a perfect fit.

And it is! It's totally perfect. It does take up a lot of visual space, but the ceiling is high and I think it works. Plus, lots of light. SUPER worth paying the guys to do, too.

Next, I built this bed for the guest room over the last couple of weeks. We replaced our mattress (long story), gave our former queen guest room mattress to some friends and put our four-year-old king memory foam mattress in the guest room.

Since all we had was a queen hollywood frame and I am not really a mattress-on-the-floor sort, we needed a bedframe. You don't use boxsprings with memory foam, so I wanted just a platform that was high enough to hold the mattress. I've been plotting about building an upholstered bed for a while and decided that if I really thought it wasn't going to be that hard, then I should just go for it. So I spent a couple weekends rounding up my materials and then puttered on it during the week.

As usual, it took longer than anticipated to complete, but I LOVE it. It's also extremely sturdy, being constructed from 2x10s, 2x6s and 2x4s. I upholstered it with a very large wool blanket from the Army Navy Surplus Store, which I've been wanting to visit for a long time.

It didn't exactly turn out to be a cheap project. Even though I ended up acquiring some of my materials for free, which shaved about $40 off, and used some scrap wood I already had, it was still around $120. But it's exactly what I wanted, fits the mattress perfectly and will come apart whenever we move someday so it can go with us. Plus, most importantly, I can now SEE the guest room. This gives some structure to it, so now I know what odds and ends are getting kicked out of furniture purgatory, and soon this will be a finished space.

Speaking of finished spaces, Trevor and Eric also trimmed out Todd's office window and paneling. Sorry about the terrible picture; you can barely see all their nice work.

There's the paneling trim. They used a table saw to rout out a little channel for the drywall. Such a smart solution. This is why I am not a good finish carpenter (plus lack of patience, and I don't have a table saw. Maybe there is more than one reason.)

We've been debating whether to paint the paneling white, and your vote is welcome in the comments. In the meantime, all the trim and doors are going white. We'll see if having them differently finished looks super weird. Foaming and finishing the window made a huge difference in how much road noise comes through, so that's awesome too.

And last on the list, at least for this post, is the casing around Todd's office door and the two attic access doors off the upstairs landing. This was one of those things that I kept saying "I can do that." And I could have. It wouldn't have looked as nice, and it definitely wouldn't be finished right now it we were still waiting on me and my latent ability to cut and install casing. But I coulda done it. Luckily we didn't wait for me, and now it's up and looks great. I painted it this afternoon and reminded myself for the umpteenth time how very much I despise painting and can't wait until there is nothing left to be painted.

So, things keep clipping along and looking better all the time. I have a bunch more updates to post about other stuff we checked off the list. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Kitchen Chairs!

This house has been the catalyst for me developing a number of character traits over the years. Patience is chief among them. I found these chairs in early April at World Market and (patiently) waited a few weeks for a 25% off coupon to show up. Then our friends Thom and Joni went and picked them up for us (thanks, guys!) and I waited (patiently) until last weekend until they could drive the chairs down from Portland.

It's been over two years since we started talking to the contractor about the kitchen remodel. About  a year and a half since it was completed. Five months since I finished my table. And now, FINE-AH-LEE the chairs are in place, furniture is all finished, and the only task left in this amazing space is some art. 

I like the chairs. They're a great deal for the money, especially with 25% off. The seat cushions are super firm and hopefully stay that way, and I think they're a perfect height for the table. Always a bit of a gamble if you can't try out how they fit together before deciding. They're not my forever goal of two perfectly weathered leather wingbacks, but hopefully they wear well for five years or so.

The functionality and comfy-ness they add to the kitchen is fantastic. As I write, I'm sitting in one of them. They make me want to hang out in the kitchen even more, which is totally what I was hoping for.

Lastly, we had a pool company come balance the water after the pool was full. Last Monday the guy knocked on my office door and said, "Don't freak out, I added some ...something... and the water clouded, but it'll clear in a few days." So I went to check it out and it looked like this (it did clear a few days later). In the meantime, it looked like some kind of enchanted blue lagoon.

Cool, huh? Temp's all the way up to 80 degrees due to the ridiculously hot weather we've been having, and I've been swimming four of the last five days it's been open.

Concrete Projects and This Year's Container Gardening

I pinned a picture of a concrete bowl full of succulents years ago and then on our California trip a few weeks ago remembered it was a project I wanted to try. So I read some tutorials online, bought a bag of concrete from Home Depot and some bowls from the dollar store and went to work last weekend.

I broke my first bowl almost immediately because I didn't let it cure, but it wasn't that good to begin with. The second one, I allowed to cure in a garbage bag for almost a week. It was a major exercise in patience. I also broke a vase right away too. Turns out the molds are a lot easier to remove once the piece is dry, instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to pry it out while the whole thing is wet. The great part here is concrete is dirt cheap and easy to experiment with.

So that's what I ended up with, using the bowl in the picture below and another bowl inside of it (not pictured). The waterbottle was the inside mold of my broken vase project.

And here's my little succulent garden. I'm really, really hoping I can keep it alive, because succulents aren't exactly cheap. Also, I love how it came together and would like to enjoy it all summer.

I'm looking forward to continuing to refine my concrete skills. For the successful bowl, I removed all the rocks from the concrete using a strainer, so it was easier to mold. I'll be doing that in the future, and I'm also going to see if there's a rock-less premade mix. I'm betting there is. 

Here's part of this year's container gardens, featuring celosia, ageratum and a sweet potato vine (and my all-time favorite pot I've ever bought, the blue-willow-style one).

Lastly, I couldn't not share this sunset over my new lagoon pool. And check out our craigslisted offset umbrella! 

The Pool Is Open!

It seems fitting that on this, my 150th post for the blog, there should be a momentous announcement. And there is: THE POOL IS FINISHED!!!

Last week, there was a flurry of activity on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the finish went on. That didn't really take long at all.

Then we started filling. We didn't run the hose overnight Thursday because we didn't want to accidentally flood the pool, so it ran from Thursday morning until it was full on Saturday morning.

 Close shot of the steps and the pebbly finish.

 Full :D and freezing. We think it looks like the Wood River (a spring-fed river near Klamath), and it still kind of feels like it, too.

For reference, here is the Wood River...

Maybe not quite so green. But still... you get the idea. 

So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the progression of the pool.

 Before. Ever so slightly worse than what we started with six and a half years ago, but...barely.

 Coping stained.

 Bond coat applied.

 Pebble Tec applied.

DONE!!!

A Master Bedroom Update

I've been working on pulling the master bedroom together according to the plan I created a few months ago. I've gone so slow with this that it doesn't seem like much ground has been covered, but looking at these pictures I realize I've knocked out probably 75% of what I want to accomplish.

Here's what's new:

• Rast hacked nightstands. I'll have to get a better picture of those when it's not late afternoon. I LOOOVE having drawers instead of a cluttery trunk top. The bottom one is just storing shoes right now.
• Closet curtains. The rug placement makes it hard to get them the right length. They're fine for now. 
• New quilt, Freddy's special
• Pineapple lamps with new shades that I made
• Faux fur pillow cover. An Ikea "tejn" -- the $12 fake one, safety-pinned around the bolster pillow. Kind of ghetto, but it's getting the job done.

Still to be finished: art and figuring out how to make those euroshams silver. And I need to rewire Todd's pineapple lamp, because it doesn't work. Good progress. I'm really liking all the changes and think some new art and bright accessories will be the perfect finish.

But the new nightstands look pretty good, and I love that pop of pink and bit of sparkle in the candles. I mean, pink and sparkle while anchored with blue and white? What's not to love?

The Pool, Sprinklers and Miscellaneous Updates

...probably heavier on the miscellaneous updates part. Anyway, let's go in order...

Here's what the pool looked like when we left last Saturday for a week. I'll spare you the algae soup shot of the bottom.

We returned last night to find this, which is the plaster bond coat before the Pebble Tec goes on. I know it's not terribly exciting, but it gives just the vaguest hint at how this whole area is going to be transformed from a ratty, stained, pink-rimmed, algae-ridden antique into a great modern space. I can't tell how fancy it might look, but at a minimum it'll be simple and clean, and I'd happily take that.   

Next, we have sprinkler liftoff!!!I realized this afternoon that this meant I could actually plant a ton of blackeyed susan seeds and they would grow, because they were watered on a timer and didn't depend on me to help them turn into little plantlets. I am not very reliable with watering.

And now, miscellaneous updates. Seriously, the iPhone panorama shot knocks my socks off (or would, if it wasn't 99 degrees outside, and I was wearing socks). This is from last Sunday at the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, where we visited my very oldest friend Laura, her husband Zack and their Yorkie Artie for a few days. They took us on a tour of the city and this was our first stop.

 Next picture stop, Sutro Baths. Hi :)

And a gorgeous, clear afternoon on Monday; this is the view from their super cute apartment. 

Tuesday morning, we packed up the Q and headed south. We took the 101 for a change of pace. Neither of us can count how many times we've done I-5, a route most noted for its incredible boringness, so the 101's more varied landscape was a welcome change of pace. Tuesday we landed in Glendora, half a second where we went to college, and caught up with some friends (one of whom we were there for meetings with, since this was actually a very productive business trip we were on). Cue quintessential California palm tree shot...

And a few housey things... I enjoyed an afternoon by myself poking through Old Town Pasadena and nearby stores and found some fun ideas to bring home. Like these lanterns, which I'm totally going to make myself. I found a tutorial on someone's blog a while back and decided it'd be a worthwhile project. Fun additions to the pool shack area.

I also found myself enchanted by this fountain. I want to make one, or buy one...HAVE one. I also wanted to sit in it, because it was a bit warm and it looks like an amazing natural bathtub. You can't quite tell in that picture, but the water spills down the sides and into the rock bed below; it's like a zero-edge swimming pool. UGH. Want.

I was also kind of taken by all the succulents everywhere. I think I'm going to do a bowl of them out by the pool, where I unceremoniously murdered a fern last year. Few plants can be so visually fascinating, with all the textural variation.

Then, we went home. By the time we'd been in the car for 8 hours, I was feeling a bit antsy and convinced Todd to stop at the Olive Pit in Corning, CA (olive country), which we'd driven past a zillion times. I enjoyed sampling a wide variety of offerings and wished they'd had a few varieties of Castelvetrano olives, which are my favorite. (BTW, how amazing is my pineappleologist hat? Amazing. Bday present from Todd.)

And lastly, no trip to California is complete without a stop at In N Out. This may have been my third stop at In N Out (I also had Chic-Fil-A twice ❤️ and it was spectacular.)

Oh, wait, one more thing. I bought a mug at Anthro to commemorate my trip, because I like having an assortment of mugs to pick from and tying them to specific memories.

Obviously, blue, white and yellow is kind of my jam, but I think what sold me is that bright coral color inside. I love that color, but I don't think I really wear it that well. Looking at it elsewhere is the next best thing.

So, LA, you weren't nearly as terrible as I remembered. Here's something I never thought I'd say: looking forward to the next trip back. (Gasp.)

Side Driveway Entry Facelift

Last weekend I knocked another item off my list: cleaned, sanded and painted the side driveway entry railings. Despite what the image would have you believe, they actually weren't that rusty. No, my friend, someone, somewhere in the 70-year history of this house not only hatched the idea to paint these railings orange but actually acted on it. Not that many things about this house leave me befuddled anymore, but this did. Seriously, WTF. An orange wrought iron railing?

So obviously, it looked delightful. There was some rust, some orange, and mostly a lot of chalky old black. And some moss on the steps that I sprayed off with the hose.

Knowing that spray paint was absolutely the way to go for this project, I prepped the living daylights out of the side of the house and the steps. Black spray paint next to a white house is not the time to mess around.

Even so, the overspray was ridiculous. RIDICULOUS. Like, shot four or five feet ridiculous. Got all over my hands.

 

I've used this paint before and haven't had an issue, but apparently I got two dud cans because the one that made the mess was the can that actually worked. The sprayer in the other one was clogged, so I ended up using the messy one for both cans. (I pried the top off the first can and put it on the second. Sometimes spray paint acts up; it's not terribly uncommon that I end up having to swap out nozzles to get something to work.) Yay...

I'd probably use it again at some point but I'd want to test it in the store before going home with it. Not really fun to have to take a bath in mineral spirits to get the paint off your arms, hands and feet, and then have to scrub the side of the house with mineral spirits too. Five feet of overspray? Come ON. How was I supposed to prep for that?

But it did come out looking really nice. The black is crisp and because the finish has a little texture in it, it hides the unevenness where the paint partially flaked off the railing.

I'm still getting used to the shininess of it, too. It's been dull and awful for so many years. Still kind of a lot to tackle on that side of the house. Bit of white touch-up painting, paint door (white? Black? I feel like it should be something fun but I'm not sure what.), and I'd love to add a window box to brighten things up.

But there's always another project left, right? In the meantime, look, shiny! And not orange. And that's almost always a win.