home is where my story begins...

Welcome to Our House

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I have often said that the inside of my house is a Fall house.  It has the colors and coziness of a crisp Fall day and the smell of warm cookies and hot apple cider.  The outside of my house is another story.  It is, most certainly, a 4th of July house.

Our House 2016

I live by my watering a fertilizing schedule in the Summer and I love my hanging baskets and window boxes.  I fill my baskets with red and white flowers and tuck little flags in everywhere.

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Geraniums line the stairs on my tiny porch and more flags are there to greet people.

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I may have a slight obsession with using flags as decor and it might be time to take the 4th of July decor down and store it for next year.

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I bought a new variety of hydrangea for the front of my house.  This a brand new variety from Monrovia, called Bobo.  It’s a compact hydrangea, so I’m hoping it will stay nice and short.  I also planted some Blue Star Creeper, which will fill in nicely as a ground cover.

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Here’s my Bobo

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I finally got rid of my old benches in the front of the house, and we bought some pretty Adirondak chairs from World Market.  We also dug up all of the overgrown hydrangeas and moved them to the back yard, replacing them with Bobos as well.

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I planted a pretty little basket for the front of the house to add a little color to the white chairs.

 

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I did save two Annabelle hydrangeas, because who can live without Annabelles?

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I can’t wait until my flowers fill in!  They will grow up to be so pretty!

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It’s almost time to start figuring out how to turn my 4th of July house into a Fall house.  Until then, I’m just going to hold on to Summer.  Welcome to our house!

Our House 2016

The Evolution of A Backyard Space

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A few months ago, this was the back corner of our yard.
I took a picture of our old swingset and listed it for free on our neighborhood Facebook page.
Within an hour, a neighbor was coming to  take it apart and give it a new life in a new home. I have big plans for this space. We bought chairs and more wood chips and I started working on a new vision for how we would use this space.

I set out my new chairs and planted a few pots and it was just how I wanted it (in the beginning stages) for about 12 hours.  By the next morning, my kids had a new idea for the space.
They stacked the chairs, moved my planters out of the way, and started re-raking the wood chips so they could level out the space and make room for the pool.  I hung my head in sadness for the loss of my garden area and helped them level the ground.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids work together on a project and I know they would LOVE to get the pool up!  We’ve tried this pool in several different spots, but nothing has been level and the pool needs a perfectly level space.  
Sadly, we spent about a week patching and re-patching small holes in the pool and eventually decided that it’s just not going to work.  I was kind of sad because I really thought it was going to work and pictured the kids having hours of fun since this was a pretty large pool.  Oh, well.  Now, it’s back to the drawing board again with this area!

Creating An Outdoor Learning Space

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The seeds and starts have been planted in our little garden and my attention is turning to how we use our outdoor space.  My daughter is 10 now, and she has used the playset behind our garden, less and less over the past two years.
I always said that, when the kids outgrew the playset, we could get an above ground pool for this area.  It’s a nice flat spot that gets lots of sun!

The problem I’m having is that I just don’t see them using a pool.  We love swimming and go to the local pool several times a week in the summer, but my kids are spoiled.  The pools are really warm. (Side story:  When they were little I would hook up the hose to the hot water heater so we could have warm water in the blow up pool.) We live in the Pacific Northwest, and nights are not warm.  The pool water in an unheated pool is pretty chilly!  I truly think that if we put a pool in this spot, I would go unused.

My mind has been wandering toward the idea of Outdoor Learning in my classroom lately.  I’m kind of obsessed with Reggio Emilia and Reggio Inspired learning spaces.  You can read more about my Reggio obsession on my literacy blog.  I’ve been reading about wonderful outdoor spaces that simply invite kids into nature, and it made me start to wonder if I could create something inspiring out here.
Can’t you image a little arbor or bridge inviting a 10 year old and her friends into a mini outdoor school to play?

I’m picturing a few Adirondak chairs, tree stumps for side tables, maybe a table made from a tree round, a chalk board on the fence, and balance beams made from logs.  Little outdoor lights, hanging from the fence would complete the space.  The little kids (the 10 year olds) might use it to play school, or games on the chalkboard, while the big kids (the 14 year old crowd) could use it as a hang out that’s a little further away from mom and dad on a summer night.  Maybe I’m dreaming, but I think this could be a really cool space!
I’ve created a Pinterest board with ideas for my outdoor learning space.  Some of the ideas are more suited to a school environment, but there are lots of ideas that could be used in the backyard as well.  

I can see using lots of natural materials, which might keep cost down.  Now, I just need to find a neighbor who is cutting down a tree and doesn’t need the wood.
Happy outdoor space planning!

A Spring Gardening Kind Of Day

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Hello Spring Break!  I really love you!
It was a beautiful, sunny, day in the Pacific Northwest and I spent my afternoon in the garden. My hubby and I went to Flower World a few days ago and I had some new plants waiting for me.
We bought 2 new blueberry bushes.  (This time, I promise that I will remember to water them MORE than the other plants in the yard because they really need lots of water. Lesson learned.)
We bought 2 Raspberry Shortcakes by Monrovia.  I can’t wait to to see how this dwarf raspberry does in a pot on my deck.  Yes, I have visions of sitting of sitting in my comfy chair, and reaching over to grab myself a snack.

My youngest was a pretty good little helper.  We added chicken manure to the garden and she helped turn the garden and rake it out.

I pulled a ten year old ivy plant out of the pot, on my deck, and replaced it with my little Shortcake.  I will FOREVER be pulling ivy out of that, I’m afraid.

I planted lettuce and parsley starts, and I also planted a few seeds.  I planted carrots, beans, and two varieties of zucchini.  I will add basil and tomatoes in May, and I will plant more lettuce and beans in two weeks.  I also have potatoes that will be grown in bags this year. I wanted to try something new, so I’ll let you know how the potato bags do.

The strawberry plants got a little TLC today too, with fresh soil.

At the end of the day, I propped my feet up on 5 bags of dirt, and poured myself a glass of Grape Crush.  
Cheers, to a job well done!
Happy gardening!

A Summer Garden Tour In The Middle of Winter

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I was dreaming of Summer weather this week.  It’s been 60 and sunny for most of the week and I can’t wait to get my garden back in shape. I know the thought of 60 degrees makes our East Coast friends jealous.  (Sorry!!)  I was scrolling through garden posts that I’ve written for my blog and ran across my outdoor tour.  I thought it was a good time to re-run this and we can all dream of Summer together.  Here goes…

We’ve had a rather mild summer in the Pacific Northwest. Mid 70’s and partly sunny has been a good day around here. I haven’t set up a single fan in my house. The air conditioner is still in the closet, and the blow up pool is still hiding up in the rafters. Summer has been pleasant, but certainly not a scorcher.
Although, most of us around here are complaining about the lack of heat, my yard and garden are loving this weather. I thought I’d take you on a little garden tour today.
This rocking chair has been in my classroom for the past several years. It needed a repair job and some paint touch ups. I brought it home, fixed it up, and now I don’t think it’s going back to school. I really like it out on the deck. It kind of reminds me of a rocker someone might have had on their porch in the 40’s or 50’s.
I brought the rooster pillow out to add a little warmth to the chair.
Our grass is still quite green and the sprinkler has only been on a handful of times.

My sweet peas are very happy out there on those window trellises.

Most of my flowers are ready to be divided.
This is the area of free plants from Carpooler Michelle. She gave me starts when I moved in. I think they’ve filled in pretty nicely.

This next little area is a work in progress. Someday I think it will be a patio. For now it’s no-man’s-land. I put my little picnic table out there last weekend, just so I wouldn’t have to look at dead space. I finally got around to repairing my old wagon. Note to self – go to Flower World and buy a few plants to put in the wagon. Ooooh, or better yet, maybe I’ll just wait for pumpkins!
My red Adirondack chairs are my favorite place in the yard. I love sitting here, in the sun, watching the kids play on the swingset or splashing in the blow up pool.
Yep, it’s my happy place. My geraniums are doing the best they have ever done! I think they like the cooler temps.


Dahlias have to be my favorite flower for cutting. Without the heat and sunshine, I don’t have many this year.

Not too bad for a yard that had zero plants when we moved in.
The veggie garden is on the left, perennials on the right. I’m thinking I may only get green tomatoes this year.

I’m hoping these plants will fill in. I bought the three perennials on the clearance table. They look pretty pathetic right now, but I’ll give them a few years to prove themselves. The urn was a roadside freebie. The stump was one of those things I just couldn’t figure out how to get rid of. What’s that old saying about life giving you lemons? Well, now I love this little corner. I’m glad I couldn’t get rid of the stump.

I was very patient and now my impatients are in full bloom. The pitch fork-plant hanger is a new addition this year.
Why, hello there, Annabelle. I’m so happy you’re blooming this year! I planted two Annabelle hydrangeas last year by my grandpa’s old plow. White hydrangeas make me happy.

I picked these hydrangeas two weeks ago and they still look beautiful in my kitchen. (Still loving my $1 milk bottles!)


Thanks for taking an outdoor tour with me! I’m off to pick a bouquet of flowers.

Happy gardening!

Home

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I always struggle a bit this time of year.  I just can’t stand the dark, gray, gloom that surrounds the Pacific Northwest during the winter months.  (Who am I kidding… it’s most months here.)  Don’t get me wrong, we have beautiful days here and there, but for the most part it’s pretty gray around here.  I love being outside and working in my yard, but this time of year everything has died and there is just a muddy mess of leaves that we didn’t get around to picking up and skid marks of mud where we once had grass.

It’s dreary, Friends.

My husband and I were chatting last week, while we were both home and vacation, and as I looked outside on our muddy lawn I said, “Well, at least we don’t feel the pressure to hurry up and enjoy the sunshine, because we know it won’t last too long, or feel the need to work in the yard every weekend.”

 My attention turns to inside this time of year and making a cozy and inviting place for my family.  I focus more on cooking, baking, cleaning, organizing, and decorating than weeding, planting, pressure washing, and dead-heading.

As I was feeling down about the gray and rain again today, I reminded myself how much I LOVE home.  I want my home to wrap my kids and husband with coziness.  I want it filled with smells of good food and the sounds of laughter.  It’s a happy place, and do you know what?  It’s not so bad to be trapped inside because of the gray and gloom.

 It’s a time to nest a bit and create as many memories inside the house as we do outside.

Home is a good place to be.

Happy Homemaking!

Decorating the Front of the House for Fall

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It’s here!  It’s here!  The time of year has finally arrived for the front door Fall-ification.  Sometimes I jump the gun on this and my neighbor, Tammy, comes outside shaking her head at me.  This year I waited.  Ok, I didn’t really mean to wait.  I was just forced to wait because my brother-in-law had our ladder and my fall boxes were up high in the garage.
I didn’t do anything different this year.  I keep thinking I’d like to add something “Better Homes and Gardens-ish” but every year I put up the same decor. I still love it though.
My Boo and Eek pillows are back.  They have held up pretty well for the past 3 or 4 years.  I painted this burlap with fabric paint and embroidered the boo and eek fabric scraps.  Just a few weeks ago I noticed that they actually sell burlap fabric that looks exactly like this now!  I guess I was ahead of my time.

My front benches have seen better days.  They have been refinished more times than I can count and the seats are finally starting to break.  It kind of makes me sad to see them go.  I bought these in 2000, when I finished my Masters program. I think part or all of the set was given to me as a gift when I graduated.  I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I look at them, but they really are looking pretty shabby.  The chairs I have always pictured in the front of my house are white Adirondacks.  They just look so cottage-like and cute.  I can’t decide if I need two chairs, a table, and a two seater bench, or if I should just get 3 or 4 chairs.  I would love opinions!!!  Either way, the hydrangeas need to be cut back a bit.

I’m kind of thinking I would prefer the same set up with the two chairs and a bench, but maybe it’s just because I’m stuck in my ways.
My hubby bought me a few mums for my birthday and I always love the way they add a fall-feel to the front of the house.

One thing that is missing from the front porch this year is our built-in bench.  Unfortunately, it has rotted out and looks like it was starting to take the support beam with it.  Rather than replacing it with another bench, which we never actually sit on, I’m thinking we’ll just continue with the railing.  It will still have a finished look and be much less expensive.

The rails were not there when we bought the house.  We added those on because the great-grandmas on both sides needed a little help getting up the stairs.

Ultimately, I think it would be cool to put a deck off of that side.  It would be so fun to put my Adirondack chairs there, surrounded by pots of flowers.  I don’t think there is any way of convincing my hubby that a deck would be a good idea.  I guess I’ll just have to stick with spindles. 
Happy fall decorating!

Behr Deckover Update – Over One Year Later

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About twice a month I receive an email from someone about my deck makeover.  It’s usually someone who has done a google search and wound up at my blog.  They read my post about painting our deck and then email to see if we are still happy with the product.  Let me start by saying that I have no connection with Home Depot or Behr products.  We simply needed to do something about our aging deck and I decided to blog about the process.  
So, are will still happy?
Absolutely!  I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!  I love the chocolate brown color.  I think our color was called Coffee.  It is the perfect color to compliment our house and it has held up MUCH better than I expected.  It was starting to look a little dirty after the long Winter and Spring, so I decided to pressure wash it in May.  I really expected some chipping of paint, but it never happened once!  I was kind of impressed!
(Isn’t this area just screaming for a cute outdoor rug?  If only I didn’t live in the wet, wet, wet, Pacific Northwest!)
There were two boards that needed to be replaced before we painted the deck.  We replaced the boards and painted right over them.  I had read that the Deckover product doesn’t take to new wood very well, and this little area shows that it is true.  There is a very small area that is starting to bubble a bit on the new boards. This section is so small that it doesn’t bother me at all.

I’m still impressed with the product because, even though that one area is bubbling, our deck is huge and there is only one tiny area that is having any sort of problem.

Ok, this is where we need to talk about one more little deck problem.  Please note that the problem has nothing to do with the product.  Do you see those gray-ish marks on my deck?  Well, there are a few of those on my deck now.  I scrubbed it today, to see if the marks would come off, but I was out of luck.

Last week (in our 90 degree heat) my hubby and kids built this little grilling patio off of the deck.  It’s a great little space that seems meant to have a grill (or two) ready for a BBQ.  Well, to set the pavers you need a special sand that will stick everything together like concrete when wet.  There was lots of sweeping, tapping, and watering going on, but we didn’t really think about how the special sand would affect the deck.
Not only did we walk on the deck, but there are LOTS of paw prints all over.
(By the way, what sort of step would you put right there?  It needs one.)

This guy seems to be the culprit when it comes to paw prints all over my deck.  

“Sorry, Mom.  I’m really, really sorry.  I’ll just stay right here on the grass.  And then maybe roll over for a tummy rub.”
I hope that answers a few questions about how we are liking our deck!  Yes, I’d do it all over again!  I’d choose the same color too, except this time I would be more careful about paw prints with sand/concrete that won’t wash off.  Oops!
Happy painting!

Garden Planning – It Might Be A Gardening First For Me!

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I love to garden.  
Every year, right about this time, I start to go crazy.  I’m dying for the rain to stop, the ground to thaw, and the huge mud puddles to evaporate away.  I’m ready for the days to warm up a bit, the sun to come out, and I’m excited to get my hands dirty again.

 
I’m also really excited to not have to mop floor several times a day.  Thank you, very much Mr. Laboradoodle. (Rain + Dirt + Big Fluffy Dog = Mopping)

I’m always looking at garden plans, but I’m never much of a planner myself, when it comes to gardening.  That always surprises me about myself because I tend to be a planner, except when it comes to the garden.

When it comes to my garden, I plant whatever catches my eye at the garden center or replant whatever needs to be divided.
 This year, I think things will be different.
 I’ve been ordering seed catalogs and free planning guides online.  Over the past few weeks they’ve been arriving in my mailbox.  I do have to deal with taking myself off of their mailing lists after the catalogs arrive, but the small hassle is worth the large amount of inspiration.

This year, I know for sure what I want to plant.

I know the month I need to plant the seeds in.
I have a plan where I’d like to move any plants that need to be divided.

I even have a plan for those special little plants that don’t like our damp Springs and Early Summers.
 
I can’t wait to get started planting!

For now, I’ll have to settle for planning and dreaming.
 
But, it will be time for potatoes and peas before we know it, Friends.
Happy garden planning!

Front Door Fall-ification Phase 1

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The outdoor fallification has begun at my house.  About a week ago, right around the first day of fall, I put my wreaths, garland, and mums out.  My next door neighbor always cringes when I put my fall decorations out.  I usually do this way before fall is even in the air, and she says I’m ending our summer way too soon.

This year, I was just procrastinating waiting for the right time.  The downpours have started, and the kids are asking for hot cocoa, so I figured it was time.  There are a few remnants of summer on the front porch.

(Can I even call it a porch, or is it just a landing? There is a chair and a built in bench, so I’m allowing myself to say I have a front porch.)

 I still have the leftover petunias from my home’s summer look.  I bought those in the “plant hospital” section at the garden center at the beginning of summer.  They looked horrible, so I brought them home, gave them a huge haircut, and started fertilizing.  Not bad for a $1 plant!  They have lasted all summer, and then some.

The pumpkins will be part of Front Door Fall-ification Phase 2.  I can’t jump the gun too soon on that one. Plus, my kids want to spookify the house when we decorate for Halloween.  I really dislike spooky Halloween!  Pretty fall decorations are great, and spooky is just not fun and inviting.  My kids beg to differ and I’m not really looking forward to the battle.

 
 
 A few years ago I whipped up these little pillows with some burlap I had on hand, fabric paint, fabric scraps, and my embroidery machine.  I recovered outdoor pillows I already had, so I didn’t even need to make a trip the craft store! Even though they are Halloween decorations, they made it into the cut for Phase 1 decorating, simple because they are so cute.
I saw this idea on Pinterest and couldn’t resist.  This is probably one of my all time favorite projects because it was SO easy, I had a reason to use my embroidery machine, and I love burlap.


They are the perfect outdoor pillows for fall!

Have you starting Fallification at your house yet? 
Happy Fall Decorating!