Active Relaxation

We first saw people at the beach doing this, Stand Up Paddleboarding. It really peaked my curiosity. Then I started seeing and reading about it in magazines and on the web. A sorta craze around it. So last Friday, the last weekend before labor day, B. comes home with 3 boards, oars and life jackets and we were thrilled!

We set out after lunch on Saturday. I love the ease of it. No trailor, no gas, no backing down scary, steep boat ramp. Just throw them in the back and go. The learning curve isn't huge. There is some technique to it that makes it easier but withen a short amount of time you are good enough to enjoy the whole experience. The younger kids rode with us. We let them try it on their own but it was a little hard for the youngest to paddle on her own but she tried.

It definently made me a fan!

And then back at home...the day before I decided it something had to be done with the less than shabby chic look of our white interior doors upstairs. I love a good shabby chic but you know this is not what I'm talking about. No before pix. I have to get more disiplined in my "tear down" phase. I took them all off the hinges and B carried them down to the basement to be "renewed". Here are the pix after two coats. I laid them on wax paper or aluminum foil and then flipped them to paint the other side.

I mixed some Floetrol with the paint and it worked great. Made the finish really smooth.

The color is Backdrop by SW. I have used it on other doors and on my kitchen cabinets too. Great shade.
Now to rehang and on to some baseboards.....

It's the first day!

School....

You got this!

They're off and ready for another year. So great to see them handle new challenges with confidence and eagarness!

Last year many tears were shed a morning by my Kindergartener. This year she ran up the street to meet the bus with her older sister. She even walked herself to class and didn't wait for her sister's escort! What a difference! Of course we promised her the Barbie Wedding Party if she didn't cry.

My oldest started middle school in the same school his uncle and I went to! Really old school

He did great and I know will enjoy the added resposiblities and independance. He's ready!

Kitchen Garden

In this months Better Homes & Gardens there is an article about the White Houses' new raised bed garden. They call it a "Kitchen Garden". That sounds good to me. So if the White House calls it that, I will too. We had a great time watching everything grow in our Kitchen Garden. We have green beans, yellow squash, zuchinni, okra and tomatoes. We sowed cucumber but it must have been a weird variety because they looked more like cucumber balls and they became overipe quickly.

Ginger (beagle) ate most the green beans.

We used fence boards for the raised beds. The dirt was a mixture of horse manure from my brother in laws and bagged soil from home depot.

Outdoor Fun Decor

I recycled this giant chalkboard out of junk from our basement. The trim boards are part of a fence that was removed in our back yard....about 5 years ago. So they sat and weathered in a unseen area. I sanded them, made miter cuts and painted them. I used Valspar exterior paint. I used it on my front door and shutters. It goes on wonderfully with one coat! The chalk board part is a board I bought from Floor and Decor. It is something they usually scrap, it comes on top of a pallet of laminate flooring. They sold me several pieces for $1 each. I have been using it as a drop cloth for other projects. I sanded, primed and painted it with chalkboard paint. I nailed it from behind with my nail gun. The kids love it and it breaks up a large space between our basement windows under the deck.

Great addition so far.

So when outside I say... Bigger is Better!

Need a table, found icky table, turned perfect table

I found a table I could use in my "front room". We don't know what else to call it. I needed a small table to go by my reading chair. So I came across this "icky"one









I sanded it, painted it, distressed it and tightened all the screws. It works perfectly now. So glad it didn't end up in someones trash.

Happy 2011

Looking forward to sharing many projects this year!
Using my Yummy Christmas presents!

Christmas Painting Project

Oh yes, it's days before Christmas and what better time to paint a room. My study, computer room needed to tie into the dining room and I was tired of looking at the existing color. It's a nice color. The foundation color of the rest of the house but I needed a change. I had been wanting to try horizontal stripes. I had done vertical ones in my daughters' bedroom.
I went with the gray in the dining room (SW dorian gray) and white (Martha Stewart Pure White).

I painted all the walls white. It freshened everything up and it gave me a chance to really clean all the molding while I did it.


I measured and came up with 10" stripes because it mathematically worked out. I used a level and pencil to draw the lines because my laser level broke. I then used the "green frog" tape to tape of the lines. It works so great with no bleeding (really).

I really like the outcome. It's fresh and brighter than before and it's finished before Christmas!