Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

today we will be joining some friends for some turkey goodness.  i am thankful to have such a loving and supportive family, a house full of fur babies, and a loving husband.

oh i am also thankful that Boo gets his stitches removed tomorrow and we can go back to a somewhat normal routine.  he misses going outside so much... it will be great.  i hope everyone has fun plans and remember try and be patient if you are headed out shopping on friday... better yet doing your shopping from home on etsy.

cheers.
xoxo
wren.

fall yard maintenance

each fall JD and i try to get out side and do as much yard maintenance as possible and each year we are amazed at how much there is to do.

the week my parents were out they gave us a jump start on the yard clean up by helping to prune and cut back much of the vegetation in our yard.  they worked the entire day and there was still tons to be done.

JD and i got back at it the following weekend and i spent at least two hours inside our large hydrangea which was a serious mess inside with branches chris-crossing each other all over the place.

a few weekends ago it really nice and we took the opportunity to continue the yard clean up.  one of our neighbors moved out recently and had left several trees along our property covered in english ivy.  in the NW english ivy is invasive and will eventually kill the trees.  JD and i took the opportunity to climb the trees and remove the invasive plant while we had the chance. 

the ivy extended high into the tree and the only way to remove it was to climb the tree... so JD went up.  i stayed below and handed the saw up when needed.

i'm really happy how much removing these unwanted plants has tidied up the front area and allowed much needed sunlight into the front yard. i was so happy i forgot to take a "project complete" photo.  next time... next time.

i went, i saw, i loved it - new moon

among the screaming teenagers we sat, saturday night, at an 8 pm screening of new moon.  since i wasn't a big fan of the first movie, i was prepared for it to suck.  i loved the books and i wanted this movie to better reflect just how good the books are.

and guess what?  this movie, not only didn't suck.... it was awesome.  i loved it.  it was entertaining and there wasn't that awkward silence thing they had going on in the first one.  jacob was a huge part of the movie which helped tremendously in the feelings acting category. it was just good.  i would go see it again.  any takers?

so if you were on the fence about going or waiting for DVD.... GO.

chicpea studio - fat quarter aprons; a shop update

morning all.  i know i have been working on updating you all with the progress here at the house, but i want to take a quick break this morning to show you some new items for the shop.  i have been working on a new line of what i am calling fat quarter aprons.  i have three of them complete and so many more in the hopper.

i am approaching each apron individually to figure out what would work best with the fabric and have fun in designing these one of a kind aprons.

i've listed two of them in the shop, the third will be listed tomorrow.


here is the first apron listed:  The Hungry Bird

don't you just love the little bird and the spoon and fork fabric?

The second apron, just listed this morning is:  In The Woods

i really love how this apron worked out.  the pocket is made from a Japanese print I can't get enough of and the orange ruffle at the bottom turned out perfectly.

the third apron that is complete is: Paint Me Blue

this is a retro inspired cafe apron with a hand painted tree pocket.  the buttons on the apron are vintage celluloid buttons that complete the retro feel.

i really am happy with how these aprons are turning out.  in fact i would love to add them to my apron collection!  

8506 - The mud room 3

the cabinets were in and now it was time to fill them up and put the cork flooring down.

we went with a Lisbon Cork floor, the name of this particular blend was Dali Cork.  check out the swatch below.

 

we wanted the cork to have rich tones and be similar in shade to our hard wood floors and this does the trick beautifully.

we also began stocking the cabinets and taking advantage of all our new storage space.
this is my crafting cabinet.  it is a bit out of control in this photo but only because it is seeing a great deal of use.  when the rest of the room is complete (probably in the spring) some of this will come out of the closet and find a home on shelving.

the next cabinet is a life saver.  i now call it my butlers pantry.  ahhh i am in love.  it hold everything from linens, to canning supplies,  to cat and dog food.

this is the top of the cabinet

and here is the bottom

the last large cabinet has room for all my cleaning supplies and our office supplies above.

the last spot in the cabinets will one day house my washer and dryer.  until that time we have Baker's crate there.

i have to keep reminding myself that it will come together, all in time.  

so until then i am happy with my new storage space... one day i will have a studio space, one day.

fur ball friday - a tail of two vets

picture it seattle 2009.  it was a dreary saturday and our household was up early to take miss Rainier for her yearly vet check up.  Rainier was super happy to be getting out of the house especially without Baker.  we got to the vet, everything looked good except Rainier was having some sort of allergic reaction and she had a rash so we got some antibiotics to treat that.  we also got flea medication for all the animals which was recommended since the cat boys are now indoor outdoor kitties.

so let's review:

1 dog, 1 vet appointment

1 giant bottle of antibiotic pills (4 per day)

4 packs of flea medication

$300.00

we headed home to have a puppy / kitty spa session (more on that in another installment).
it was Bamboo's turn for spa time and JD spotted something on his back left leg.  we took a closer look to find out that Boo had a huge cut.  he must of cut it on something very sharp because the cut was clean and pretty gross.  i ran inside the house and called the vet, they told me they could see him in an hour.  we found the cat crate, packed up Bam and JD ran back to the vet.  several hours later we picked him up at the vet after 1 kitty surgery and 8-10 stitches.

so let's review again:

1 cat, 1 big cut, 1 vet appointment

8-10 stitches

2 bottles of antibiotic (banana flavored which i don't understand - he is a cat not a monkey)

1 blue safety collar

3 days of pain medication

$500.00

needles to say saturday was interesting.  to top it off we were puppy sitting for our niece and nephew dogs Boomer and Murphy.  since Murphy is not at all good with cats we set the guest bedroom up as the cat hospital and kept them separate.  to let Ginkgo out i would distract the dogs with cookies while JD would get the cat out as quickly as possible.  it was like that riddle... if you have a fox and a cow and a bail of hay and you have to get them across the river.  you know that one?  oh well.

boo is doing pretty well this week.  Ginkgo has been spending a lot of time indoors to take care of his brother which i appreciate.  Boo has been throwing fits about trying to get out, but then i drug him with cat nip and he seems to forget about it for a while.

JD has been sick as well this week so i have been a bit busy handing out medication to JD, Boo, and Rainier... thank god JD is feeling better today.

here is another shot of my little boy in his stunning blue collar.

8506 - the mud room 2

we had a plan.

by noon we were unloading the new boxes of cork floor into the mudroom.

before we could begin laying the cork we had to fix the threshold from the kitchen. we had intentionally stepped the wood coming into the doorway so that there wouldn't be a seam at the threshold.

the flooring had to be straightened out and JD did an awesome job making the floor look intended.

it was time to make progress on the room so we decided not to install the cork floor.  (i know, i know, you are all like?  what the heck?  you just ran and bought new cork flooring only hours ago)

we decided to install the cabinets first so that we couldn't damage the cork floor while constructing the ikea cabinets.

the big boxes were put together first then installed onto the wall.

in the days that followed, we worked on installing the doors, shelving, and hardware.

 

 

 

at the end of the week we had shinny new cabinets just waiting to be filled with all of the contents of the guest room.  the cork wasn't yet down but we were working on it... we had a plan.

the washer and dryer will fit in perfectly at the end of the cabinets, just as soon as we install new plumbing and electrical.  like i said it is all a work in progress.

(stay tuned for a sneak peak into the cabinets later this week!)

8506 - the mud room 1

yeah so where where we... you guys saw (this post) about how our kitchen remodel was shaping up.  i also outlined a list of the zillion other things we needed to do.  (thus is life in a remodel)  we have been making our way down that list knocking off one part of the project at a time.

before my parents arrival we focused our energies on trying to wrap up several loose ends around the house.  first on the list was clearing out the guest room which had become the catch all for all things that were misplaced during the remodel.  the room was a mess full of gifts from the wedding that we hadn't yet accommodated, the uninstalled back door, and piles and piles of photos that had been taken off the wall.

to even begin thinking about moving this stuff meant we needed some where to put it - enter the mud room renovation.  as part of our mud room remodel we would be installing an entire wall of cabinetry that we desperately needed.

JD worked hard to clear out the room on his week off from work. there were a lot of little things to be done before the big work could begin.

1.  the drywall on the mud room side of the pocket door needed hung and taped.

2.  the attic access hatch needed moved.  its original location put it above where the new cabinetry would go and that wouldn't work.

3.  the room needed painted.

4.  the flooring needed laid - and this is where the work got interesting.
it was labor day weekend and JD got up early on this holiday Monday to go rent the wood flooring nailer and compressor. JD got back and we got to work... but for some reason the nailer wasn't working. the nails wouldn't go into the floor... that's when we looked.

yep that is when we realized that somewhere under some old linoleum, for one room in the entire house there was concrete poured on top of the wood supports.  (wtf?)  seriously what the???

we needed to change our plan and fast.  this was one of the first times in our long relationship that i had to the be the voice of reason.

JD was fuming.  (his thoughts below - profanities removed for all age audience reading)

• what were we to do with all the extra wood flooring? - (baker had eaten the boxes and it couldn't' be returned)
• what the hell were the last owners thinking?
  
• what kind of floor could we put down?
• what the hell were the last owners thinking?

 a decision needed to be made and it needed to be made quickly to insure we wouldn't loose the whole day of work.  i stepped up and made the executive decisions.

•  we would use the wood flooring in the bedrooms.  yes we would have to buy more but we could do it at another time.
• we would put down cork flooring in the mudroom / studio / office.  we talked about cork in this room early in the process but decided on the wood to make the house feel larger
• we would go find the cork today and put it down so we could press on with the cabinets.

the decisions were made... now we just had to follow through.

fur ball friday - what ginkgo would look like with blonde hair

now just picture that wig on his head cause you know cats don't let you mess around with them like dogs do.

Lincoln Park

i love lincoln park.

no... um not the band but the actual park.  you see, lincoln park is a park by my house, in seattle, that a band named themselves after.   the park is so much better.   it has a trail along the sound and has trails through the woods.  JD proposed to me there almost two years ago... ahhh how time flies.

when my parents arrived in town a few weeks ago we wanted to get out of the house and get some fresh air but didn't want to do anything too crazy since they had been up for hours and hours... enter lincoln park stage right.

so we went... we took the pups we walked.  i wanted to share some fall photos of the stroll and this park i love so much.

this is my ridiculously handsome husband.

this is my dad who is so cute.  he wore steelers gear everyday just to mess with seahawk fans.

this is my  mom who is cute as a button

our family portrait in the leaves

one amazing tree in the distance

along the waterfront

two cute parents.

i was so happy that they were able to come and see our remodeled home.  it made me so proud to show them all the hard work and design that has gone into the house.

mom and dad, if you are reading thanks for visiting.

annual review

hey everyone no big post for me today.
i have my big annual review at work today, in about a half hour and i am nervous.  i don't know why but these things make me so crazy nervous... so i have been worrying about it for the past two days.

so, everyone cross your fingers out there ok.

i have been working on these vintage inspired aprons and they are so, SO cute i can't wait to share them with you.  i will, i promise as soon as i can get some natural light around here, geez.

later everyone.

xoxo
wren

sheet mulching

our soil here is quite sandy and each year JD and i have added compost and soil builder to help the gardens grow.  this year we are starting our garden building in the fall and have decided to sheet mulch our gardens.

sheet mulching is essentially composting in place to help build your gardens soil and add nutrients.
we got the first steps accomplished today.

first you chop down all of your remaining plant life and let it in place.  this is our vegetable garden so we didn't have to accommodate existing plants that will winter over. 

next lay down cardboard or newspaper then cover with mulch.  we are using the leaves we raked from our yard the previous couple of weeks.

 

 

doesn't this look like glamors work?

next we will be covering the leaves with dirt and compost.  we have an existing dirt pile, from when we dug a patio two summers ago, and then will be adding compost from our bin.  both of these will help the worms and insects start to process the leaves and clean cardboard into dirt.

hopefully this spring our garden will be one step closer to great soil and a successful garden.