Thanks for all your hard work Cynde!!! We loved having you here!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Cynde was here!
Matt's mom was here a few weekends ago visiting. She was such a big help to us with our house! I want to get a few more things together before I post pictures of all our work, but here are a few pics of Cynde and Matt one night we went out :)
Thanks for all your hard work Cynde!!! We loved having you here!
Thanks for all your hard work Cynde!!! We loved having you here!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The sticks are back
Hurricane Irene came to Vermont with a fury and left the state with more damage than many of us anticipated.
Flash flooding washed out these two historic bridges in southern Vermont.
You can see more pictures and stories here.
Vermont wasn't the only state affected I know. We had friends in Virginia with property damage and there are still many without power up and down the east coast.
We were incredibly lucky at our house compared to the rest of the state. I am so thankful that my smart husband made me spend the extra money to take down the dead one out of our 20 trees and to have a bunch of limbs removed during renovation. I'm also thankful the remaining 19 trees in our backyard didn't fall on our house.
However, the sticks are back. Remember this pile?
We finally got rid of it but now there is another one.
Willow is really the only one excited about it.
Our prayers are with those who were affected by this storm.
Flash flooding washed out these two historic bridges in southern Vermont.
You can see more pictures and stories here.
Vermont wasn't the only state affected I know. We had friends in Virginia with property damage and there are still many without power up and down the east coast.
We were incredibly lucky at our house compared to the rest of the state. I am so thankful that my smart husband made me spend the extra money to take down the dead one out of our 20 trees and to have a bunch of limbs removed during renovation. I'm also thankful the remaining 19 trees in our backyard didn't fall on our house.
However, the sticks are back. Remember this pile?
We finally got rid of it but now there is another one.
Willow is really the only one excited about it.
Our prayers are with those who were affected by this storm.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Dog Love
I'm sorry for my absence...My computer was at the computer doctor getting a check-up :) She's running great now though! Things are getting busy around here so it might take me a while to get up to date but I have lots to catch you up on as we've been doing lots of fun things!
I'll start with some Will cuteness. Willow has a new love. This plastic orange buoy is her absolute favorite thing in the world. To give you a little bit of background on them...Will doesn't like to fetch sticks in the water (my mom thinks she can't see them to get them). Early in the summer she decided she would pretty much exclusively chase rocks instead. By the middle of the summer, we were in a difficult situation because she would only go after those thrown perfectly so that she could ALMOST catch them, but not. Anyway, she loved swimming but wasn't much of a fetcher, more of a rock catcher.
My mom bought her these plastic orange things on clearance at Orvis and they are a HUGE hit!
Dock jumping has returned :)
Check out this video of her new favorite activity!
xo
I'll start with some Will cuteness. Willow has a new love. This plastic orange buoy is her absolute favorite thing in the world. To give you a little bit of background on them...Will doesn't like to fetch sticks in the water (my mom thinks she can't see them to get them). Early in the summer she decided she would pretty much exclusively chase rocks instead. By the middle of the summer, we were in a difficult situation because she would only go after those thrown perfectly so that she could ALMOST catch them, but not. Anyway, she loved swimming but wasn't much of a fetcher, more of a rock catcher.
My mom bought her these plastic orange things on clearance at Orvis and they are a HUGE hit!
Dock jumping has returned :)
Check out this video of her new favorite activity!
xo
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
DIY Chalkboard
I love chalkboard walls. When we started our renovation I thought I would want an entire wall in our kitchen painted with chalkboard paint. Then I realized I really only had one wall of color in the kitchen...so I had to reconsider.
Of course I went to Pinterest and looked around for some things...
A smaller, framed chalkboard area? This was a serious option for a while.
A chalkboard door? Hm. Old doors are expensive.
Then I saw this chalkboard out of an old window. My mom mentioned that we had some old original windows from our camp at the lake I could use.
It needed some major love.
Ick.
First, the glass had to go.
Then we were left with the frame.
My mom cleaned it up, sanded off some of the white paint, and then finished it with this.
It looked great!
I was in charge of going to Lowes and getting luon pieces to fit inside the frame. It was harder than it sounds. I lucked out and found a nice salesperson willing to cut them for me in the store.
I read online that luon is a good option because it is much smoother than most plywood. It's cheap too. I brought those home and painted them with chalkboard paint.
A warning about chalkboard paint. I'm not sure if some brands are better than others but I had some trouble with it. I was also painting in the direct sun, a no-no. It came out a bit bubbly so we tried painting the other side of the board in the shade. It was only a little better but you can't really tell from a distance so I decided to deal with it.
Next we cleaned up the hardware. It was beautiful but RUSTY.
First we cleaned them with dish soap, then soaked them in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. After that we scrubbed them with steel wool. The ones on the right had been soaked.
They didn't come out completely clean, but they were much improved!
The finished product!
I had to wait a few weeks to hang it up in the kitchen, but it's finally ready to show!
xo!
Of course I went to Pinterest and looked around for some things...
A smaller, framed chalkboard area? This was a serious option for a while.
A chalkboard door? Hm. Old doors are expensive.
Then I saw this chalkboard out of an old window. My mom mentioned that we had some old original windows from our camp at the lake I could use.
It needed some major love.
Ick.
First, the glass had to go.
Then we were left with the frame.
My mom cleaned it up, sanded off some of the white paint, and then finished it with this.
It looked great!
I was in charge of going to Lowes and getting luon pieces to fit inside the frame. It was harder than it sounds. I lucked out and found a nice salesperson willing to cut them for me in the store.
I read online that luon is a good option because it is much smoother than most plywood. It's cheap too. I brought those home and painted them with chalkboard paint.
A warning about chalkboard paint. I'm not sure if some brands are better than others but I had some trouble with it. I was also painting in the direct sun, a no-no. It came out a bit bubbly so we tried painting the other side of the board in the shade. It was only a little better but you can't really tell from a distance so I decided to deal with it.
Next we cleaned up the hardware. It was beautiful but RUSTY.
First we cleaned them with dish soap, then soaked them in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. After that we scrubbed them with steel wool. The ones on the right had been soaked.
They didn't come out completely clean, but they were much improved!
The finished product!
I had to wait a few weeks to hang it up in the kitchen, but it's finally ready to show!
xo!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Summer...Please Don't End
I have to go back to school on Friday. Where did summer go? There are so many things I love about this season...
Sunny days
Tired dogs
Sunsets
Fresh vegetables from the garden
Boat rides on the lake
Not working. Ha! I have to tell myself there are lots of things to look forward to this fall. Babies being born. A new job and fellowship. Weddings.
Including our friends Katie and James here next weekend...
My first in this place since our own :) So exciting!
xo
Sunny days
Tired dogs
Sunsets
Flowers
Fresh vegetables from the garden
Boat rides on the lake
Not working. Ha! I have to tell myself there are lots of things to look forward to this fall. Babies being born. A new job and fellowship. Weddings.
Including our friends Katie and James here next weekend...
My first in this place since our own :) So exciting!
xo
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