August in Review

it's september 5th and i'm finally posting about august, and even then, only to get it off my to-do list. so that should tell you how i feel about it being september 5th. so, here's what happened in august:

•  Celebrated 8 years of marriage, choosing one highlight from each year [pictured].
• Gardening this year hasn't been as productive as I'd hoped (thanks, crappy weather), but we've had an onslaught of strawberries, snap peas, and salad greens. Also saw a few carrots and radishes. The tomatoes are finally doing something, and there may be a bumper crop of spaghetti squash.
• Finished up our kids summer serving projects. Each month during the summer, we hosted a kids serving day on a wednesday morning. The kids did everything from picking up litter in the neighborhood to weeding, organizing and cleaning. Donuts seemed to provide the proper motivation, and we really enjoyed all three of our serving adventures.
  
• Took 5 kids on our annual top secret BC Bash, to a trampoline gym called SkyHigh. Fun. Exhausting.
• The end of the month was rough for some people I love, who had loved ones pass away. My heart hurts for them all, and I'm reminded, as cliche as it may sound, that life is but a vapor.
• Christmas party, complete with white elephant gift exchange, with the staff to get in the mood for planning our Christmas season at Creekside, cuz that's the way we roll.
• In other Creekside news, we're all nose-to-grindstone to get ready for the launch of our new campus in Lynnwood. I'm loving getting to know the KidMin team there and working to bring unity in the way each campus will function.
• Hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Lani, who has since welcomed baby Lilly into their family. Sure, I like hosting parties with others, but I also like hosting them by myself. #ControlFreak
  
• Ongoing back problems made life a little more difficult to enjoy this month. The chiropractor was able to help a bit, but things seem to be taking a turn for the worst, and I'm not feeling as spry as I used to. Time for a specialist. *sigh*
• Started laying out cardboard in the back yard to kill off the grass where we'll extend the garden next spring. So, yeah, that's pretty much the most redneck thing we've ever done. Except for that time we owned two boats.
• Sold the second boat. Or rather, the 1st boat. Whatever. We're down to one boat. Praise Jesus.
• Paid cash for our trip to Disneyland (booked for November). Hooray!

Highlights of our July

• The garden is producing a bit, not a lot. Tons of strawberries, a handful of greens and snap peas. Carrots, tomatoes & radishes are slow. Not sure we'll ever see squash. The corn gave up around 6" in height.Started planning our trip to Disneyland this November!
• Celebrated 4th of July with family at the lakehouse. Loving this tradition, blowing stuff up on the lawn.
• Last-minute camping trip with friends, including crabbing and an awesome thunderstorm, to Saltwater State Park.

• After a harrowing 15 minutes in the garden with a slug, a spider and a dragonfly, we decided it's time for chickens. In research & development.
• Bartered a box of jars on craigslist for 20lbs of Rainier cherries. Happymaking. 
• Participated in a focus group for Starbucks. Get paid to sit around and talk Starbucks for an hour with 7 like-minded people? Sign me up!

• Painted our shutters. (They were green when we bought the house, grey a few years ago, and are finally their destination color: black!)
• Built a vertical herb garden out of two pallets and some great plant-hangers.
• A little updating in our living room: new area rug and replaced the bookshelves with dyed crates.

Some Almost-Finishing Touches

When we moved in, our bedroom got the treatment I hear is common among those who buy fixer-uppers. It got ignored.

Sidenote: That's not entirely true. As soon as we had the keys, we discovered than the flooring in the master bedroom had completely rotted through thanks to the over-watering of a rather questionable indoor gardening hobby.

But other than new subfloor and carpet, a fresh coat of paint, and a matching bedspread, it really did get ignored.

Reminisce Gag with me. Here's what it looked like when we moved in. Check out that carpet. And those baseboards. And the creepy lock on the door - like we're trying to keep curious children out... or in...?

Before we moved in, the flooring was replaced in two rooms, the baseboards were tossed, and everything got a fresh coat of paint. We picked chocolate brown for our bedroom.

Somewhere along the way, we got a new bedframe/headboard and added a little artwork, but it never really felt like "us". I guess you could say it just took me 3 years, and the advent of Pinterest, to decide what to do with it. Here's what it looks like today:

 

 

I don't ever have an original idea, but I'm great at adapting other people's ideas. So, what you see here is largely inspired by Pinterest. The headboard was inspired by this thing of beauty right here, and the wood-grain pattern was painted on the wall in a high gloss mix of our same chocolate brown, thanks to this idea here. The mirror/photo combo was inspired by a beautiful bedroom, but now that I need to find the photo, I can't.

I call it "almost-finished", because we still need to do some more fixer-upper things - like replace the nasty old baseboard heater and put in real baseboard trim. (Yeah, 3 years without baseboard trim. Don't judge me.) Then it will be finished. Or at least ready for me to paint again. I'm also weighing my options toward spray-painting the side tables and dresser, but there are other projects higher up on my list right now.

 

Couldn't/wouldn't have done it without this guy - handsome AND handy: