The rest of the projects

Just another batch of projects from a few weeks ago that I never posted...

This is what every homeowner wants to see when she removes the cover plate of a light fixture that's been in place since 1959. How do I know it's been there since 1959? Because that's the date on the Chicago Daily Tribune in the above picture. This was in a very crispy wad, presumably insulating against drafts. Right up next to a bunch of wiring, on a fixture that got regular use. Apparently, Eisenhower was heckled at London Heathrow Airport, among other top stories. Stevens Budget Shops had a big sale, featuring some rather svelte-looking illustrated women.

This is the dining room window, with a sill and casing reinstalled. Samesies in the living room, though the paint is all touched up in there. Wall treatment till TBD.

A bit hard to see without a comparison (wait, check this, you'll have to zoom in on the picture to see the missing trim) but the dormer is now all trimmed out! Nice to get that checked off.

Admittedly we are still missing grass and the fence still isn't finished, but hey, we have lots of blackeyed susans!

Here is the pool shack, now with new and improved structural integrity! Not surprisingly, all kinds of issues were discovered during the shoring-up of our beloved lobstah shack, but it's all all ship-shape now. Er, mostly. Still needs a bit of paint. But it's not going to fall over if there's a strong breeze anymore.

Upstairs bathroom now has towel bars. Towel bars are expensive. Even my planned DIY-pipe solution was going to cost as much as a cheapish pair of bars, so I got the second-cheapest towel bars Lowe's carried. At $12 each, I have no regard for form here, but they do their job. Plus, I was even responsible and painted the door (but not the trim; let's not be rash) before installing them.

Here's me with Cara and Kristan (two of my former colleagues) at Kristan's beautiful wedding two weekends ago in Jackson, WY. Bride requests cowboy boots, I buy used boots on eBay. :D <3 br="">

Lastly, this is just too awesome not to share. Sunset over Edenvale Winery in Medford last week. Sometimes the sunsets here are just unbelievable. And you can't even see the sun sneaking through the hills in golden beams in this shot. It's really just too much.

Pool shack, patio projects and curtains

It's that time of year...the time when I turn my attentions outside and start doing all sorts of outside projects. Like spray painting pineapples on outdoor end tables. These turned out pretty well, although my stencil work was kind of sloppy. Sharp edges are hard :/

On my time off last week I built this table for the pool shack. I adore my Kreg Jig. The top and shelf are "salvaged" cedar. Does it count as salvaged if your neighbors call and offer you their old fence and pile it in your garden utility area and you use it several years later? I say yes.

I was on the fence (heh) about whether to stain it or just leave it natural and opted for the later for now. Can always go for stain later if I want. Pressure treated legs should last a good long time.

 So now this is what it looks like...

 Pretty good from where it started before I cleaned and vacuumed and cute-d it up! The pool shack is much less "scary" than it was before. (My dad referred to it as scary. Fair enough. There were a lot of spiders.)

Additionally, I added some additional fabric to the curtains my mom made for our Pasadena apartment years ago. They're the striped part on top. I also re-hung the rod so it's closer to the ceiling. Additional height really opens up the room.

The fabric is what I upholstered the ottoman with. It doesn't really look all that great in the pictures, but the extra seam isn't noticeable in person and they're much more billowy and full looking. It ended up being a bit of a time-consuming project, which involved an unplanned visit to Joann's for thread, but I'm glad it's now done and the curtains are back in place.

 Lastly, tune in next time for what I did to this table (it was much less pleasant in real life than this picture might lead one to believe).

Pool shack rehab

How cute is the pool shack these days with the lights?

The "chalkboard" (old door from the attic access off the guest room) has a line from Tip It Back by Florida Georgia Line. Still a bunch of pool-ish clutter around, but the pool itself is almost cleaned up. Todd's worked so much on getting it spiffy. Sparkling and clear!

Please note massive haul of cherries (this is perhaps half) and knife magnet that I successfully installed a couple weeks ago. Drilling through tile is STUPID and the two holes took me 30+ minutes each to drill. Like I said, stupid. I am, however, thankful that I didn't break any tiles and the knife magnet hasn't fallen off.