Lookin' like a fence

After figuring out the design and tailoring it down a bit to make the process go a bit quicker, my dad and Steve made some great progress on the fence over the weekend.  We got all of our materials (sans the 2x4 joist hangers which came from Home Depot) from Custom Cedar Products on Sandy Blvd and 163rd....they have gorgeous cedar products and mill it all on site-it hails in comparison to Home Depot cedar & we like to support local companies when we can.  It really is beginning to look like a fence and my excitement is growing at the thought of a place for Ben to toddle around this summer, throw his ball, ride on his little toy.

On Friday after my dad & I made the first trip to Custom Cedar Products

After holding the 6' clear cedar 4x4s in place (on the brackets that were already cemented in by Steve & my dad), we penciled where the holes should go and my dad drilled through-had to drill from both sides to get the whole way through

my mom helping out-note awesome outdoor furniture :)

What the "fence" looked like on Saturday morning just before Ben's b-day

After Ben's party (while he took a nice long nap and my mom stayed behind with him), we decided on the design and made a second trip to the cedar store to gather all the supplies and then my dad and Steve got to work putting in the rest of the posts

Yesterday, Sunday, is when the real progress was made and now it actually looks like we have a fence and I am getting excited!!!

Putting in the rails using joist hangers

they had to modify the joist hangers to fit around the brackets by cutting them using the chop saw (that was a scary sight & I was convinced that while my dad avoided losing fingers on Mt. Everest, he would surely lose them while cutting)

Note the custom cut outs they had to make to fit the 2x4 over the brackets

And by Sunday evening (they worked until it got dark out--> I think that the hot toddies I brought out helped)

 lattice made on site at Custom Cedar Products

gap in middle panel will have wire grate so that our garden plants will have a place to grow

A Puppy Party

well, what one year old can do without a first birthday party?  How about one like the new TLC program about outrageous kid parties?  Surely the beer and hot dogs were all for him :)  While the weather did not exactly cooperate (no rain but overall cold with just a short sun break), we had a little party for Ben on Saturday morning.  It was great to know that our house can easily accommodate 20 peeps when they flow between inside and outside.  I realize that our house keeps improving a bit with each party.  At the first party we hosted in our home (an ugly sweater party no less) we had no baseboards, an ugly kitchen, horrid floors, a raw old chimney (meaning old brick with the facade removed) and a piece of plywood for a dining room window. 

Big improvements with the majority of the backyard complete (still need a new deck, a few plants and maybe an even/level grass area) and 90% of the main living space done.  Here are a few pix!  Happy Birthday to our big boy Ben!

One picture for each month of life

homemade cupcakes (yellow, red velvet & coconut) as well as puppy chow, scotty dog licorice, animal crackers & puppy pops made by Ben's auntie

check out the super old deck in the foreground-it's missing half its rail

chocolate zone

fence progress

Well, it has been slow but we're getting there.  With some yucky weather, more yucky weather and a trip to Seattle to visit friends and unload baby gear (we have two couple friends up there who are expecting), we just haven't had much free time.  Ben even had his first swim lessons last week (I know, ridiculous, but he loves the water and had so much fun)!

We got the driveway bracket in last week and even had time yesterday after getting home from Seattle to re-measure everything so that it was even/level/plumb and put in one more bracket.  After having to re-dig a hole and having to cut down all the concrete tube forms, we think that we are now in business and hoping that everything will move a bit more quickly.  My parents arrive Weds afternoon so my dad will be ready to take over the fencing project Thursday.  They will just need to get to the cedar fencing store to buy all the materials and I just need to finalize the plan. 

Steve working on the holes that the quik-tubes will go in-turned out ~12" wide (tubes are 10" wide) and 30" deep-supposed to have ~1/2 of your final above ground fence post height buried  and hole 3x as wide-our posts will be around 5' high

1st bracket in  saw-zaw was used to trim down quik-tubes...we did not use a quik-tube for this bracket being that it was in the driveway and there was already concrete going several inches down

bought 6 of these puppies-4' high each and we cut them down to 30" to fit in the ground

measuring it all up to make sure it lines up correctly-remember geometry?  we used the 3-4-5 triangle rule to check that everything was in line (one measurement was 6' (3x2), another 8' (4x2) and the hypotenuse (diagonal line) is 10 (5x2)...leave it to the engineer to figure this stuff out

Nursery Updates

Lonely little owl vinyl decal from etsy

I have been wanting to spruce up the walls in Ben's wall for a while now but just haven't had the umph to do so.  Well, with trying to clean out the house and simplify, I came across a few things that I thought would do the trick. 

Joann's B-painted up white

I also fell in love with the wooden/cardboard/steel letters that I have been seeing in home decor these days-not so much bungalow, but super cute!  On a recent outing to Joanns ( I know, I am supposed to be reducing, right? -couldn't resist), I came across all different kinds of letters and picked up 3 ranging in size from ~6"-18".  The 18 incher didn't end up making the cut and thus got returned, but the other two are hanging happily above the changing table now.

I re-discovered a shadow box in my attic that my dear friend gave us as a wedding gift-it had our wedding invitation and a few other momentos in it....only problem was that it was white and did not fit with our decor so I had never put it up.  Well, I put some of Ben's momentos (first foot print, ultrasound pix, birth announcement, hospital ID bracelet) from his first couple months of life, along with one of the wooden B letters and a mini pair of socks that my grandma gave to me.  The socks were given to her when she was first married by the local sock maker/shoe repair man.  He had them as a display item in the store at one time, therefore making them probably almost as old as our house.  My grandma said that my dad's feet were too fat to ever put them on and Ben's were as well but they are so sweet and sentimental and I am so happy to have them displayed.

This little owl is no longer lonely.  Hoot! Hoot!

The last little grouping on the wall is two old door trim pieces.  I have looked all over Portland for these over the last month or so.  They did not have them at various antique shops, including Stars in Sellwood, nor did they have them at Rejuvenation or the Re-Building Center.  But they did have them at Old Portland Hardware (40th and SE Division)-an awesome place that I highly recommend you check out id you have not yet-independently owned shop with eclectic items, old hardware and other awesome things.

Ben with our neighbor Chella, taken last week-note lonely mirror on wall

On the wall by the big cushy chair in Ben's room, I had a circular (~18") 1940's mirror hanging.  It looked adorable but just needed a little more to it.  I have had a close to matching rectangular mirror that was made to lie flat on a vanity.  I have always wanted to group these together but just never had a place so up went the mirror-hung with metal plate hanging hardware. 

Next to that went the little antique baby porcelin baby bowl that used to be on the side table in Ben's room under the lamp.  It was perfect for chapstick and little what-nots in those early days of nursing but became eye candy to Ben when he started standing and was quickly removed.  I just love the little nursery rhyme on it. 

probably need to clean the small mirror, eh?

I luv that you can see his owl mobile (made by his auntie) & vintage bird prints in the mirror reflection

The last item was totally unexpected and was given to Ben Friday night by Steve's parents old next door neighbor.  Her and her daughter came up from Eugene to meet Ben and visit.   They gave him the cross-stitch that Steve's mom had made for her son in the early 90's.  This is just so precious to us being that Steve's mom died suddenly in a car accident just after we got engaged and therefore never got to experience the delight of grand-kids.  It is just so special.  I painted the frame to go a bit better with Ben's room today and up it went. 

taped it off

mixed some paint so not stark white

painted it (3 coats) and...

still need to get a pix for the frame he was given by his great-aunt, the B was a chance find at ikea, the block letters belonged to Steve's dad (same initials) and the owl was made by a friend-needs better organization but love the picture above

Steve stole this pix last week during nap time

 and Woot Hoot (hah)!  There it is!  Ben's room is hopefully done until he needs a big boy/more BOY room in a couple years

Happy Spring!

With spring comes outdoor projects and we are trying to get a head start on them this year.  A month ago, Steve was already outside stripping the paint off the final side of our garage and even got it primed.  We hope to paint once it warms up a bit...I think our neighbors are happy being that this part of the garage borders their driveway and they have been asking us for 3 years now when we plan on completing it.

and I ramble.  Back to spring.  Steve spent much of the weekend digging 10" wide by 24" deep holes for a fence and gate we plan (with the help of my dad) to install over the next few weeks.

 And I went shopping!  We have wanted to get some new porch furniture for a long time.  We already had some super cool Adirondack chairs that Steve's bro made us as a wedding present but the only problem with them is that they did not allow us to snuggle on the porch on warm summer nights while drinking vino (or beer) and the porch could only seat 4 (2 on porch swing which is really far from the two chairs that Steve's bro made) unless people sat on the ground or steps.  SO, because Tar-jay was having a sale on their patio furniture, I we decided to go for it.  I also really took a leap and got the target credit card while I was at it (which I have been meaning to do for a long time since I practically live there. side note: I think Target is where people who have babies go to have fun) and saved an extra 5% of the purchase.  While I spent a lot, I ended up saving well over $100.  Here is what I purchased for our porch:

While I was super happy they came with cushions (main reason why I didn't by the loveseat from home depot which was $30 less after sale price but did not come with a cushion, nor could I find the matching chairs in a finish other than white), the cushions blew right off the first night we had them.  We live on a ridge and it gets mighty gusty up here.  Anywho, after a trip to Joanns to pick up some ribbon type stuff to match the cushions and a bit 'o sewing, we're in business.  Here is the finished product:

 

purchased the pillows last summer at target-notice little ties added to the sides

first sign of spring at our place

Come-on now, just give us some warn weather this weekend so we can have some

friends over to really test 'em out!