#FBF - A Family Visit & Bucket Listing in WA, part 2

This post is comin' straight at you on a #flashbackFriday...I felt it was the only real way to publish (and others to follow) with a little #fbf, considering it was about, um, 6 months ago!

If you read part 1 of Visiting Family & Bucket Listing you might be thinking "How can the fun and delicious food possibly continue?!" Well hold on to your britches because it does continue, for days and days...

After our wonderful trip to Bainbridge Island we still had more adventures to make. Continue reading for our fun-filled visit with Geoff's dad!

Adventure stop #2:

Our house

When we weren't out and about galavanting around the city, we were cozied up inside the house visiting, enjoying home cooked meals at the table (for once), and outside working on the yard. Who puts their houseguests to work while visiting you ask? Well, apparently we do. Welcome to Washington...how about some outside labor during your visit??

Not only does Geoff's dad love being outside he loves getting his hands dirty with a planting/ landscaping project to conquer. And what better way to let him tap into this love then conquer our looked-abandoned-but-wasn't outdoor monstrosity.  I mean, what kind of hosts would we be to deny him of his hobbies?

Over the last few months since we've moved in Geoff and I have been working here and there to spruce up our outdoor living space. We eventually made some headway spending a few hours each Saturday to tame down the shrubs and de-weed the madness called our yard. But what it really needed was something we just hadn't offered it yet, a much-needed mulching job by Geoff's dad. :) While we were at work, he tirelessly laid mulch in our front yard just out of the goodness and love in his heart. Being 6+ months pregnant I was a little limited in my mulching mobility, but I DID help pick up bags, de-weed, and move rocks around for an added landscaping punch (she says guilt-strickened).

Here are the before and after pictures of our front yard...feel free to gasp at the hideous before and jaw-dropping after...

Adventure stop #3:

Chihuly Glass Museum
Alki Beach - Salty's Restaurant

Another item on the ol' Bucket List was to visit the world-renowned Chihuly Glass Museum in Seattle. I've heard wonderful things about this exhibit and know Geoff's dad also appreciates outings like these so off to Seattle we went. Although a little pricey for my taste (and art budget) it was a beautiful museum full of Chihuly's masterpieces of blown glass. They had two displays to show off his breathtaking work; one inside with lights only to highlight the sculptures and one outside strategically scattered throughout a well-kept garden.

Geoff and I wanted to treat his dad to a 'thanks-for-being-awesome-and-coming-to-visit-us' dinner, so off to the Bucket List Book we went. I've heard so many good things about Salty's on Alki Beach so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to try it out and see what all the hype was about. Um, people I ain't even jokin' when I tell you it was amazing. With eye-catching panoramic views across the Sound of downtown Seattle and slap-yo-mamma good food it was a no brainer.

A measly dinner couldn't say thank you enough to Geoff's dad while he was with us. We loved having him as our houseguest and look forward to his return!

We love you DIL

Lemons to Love,

A Family Visit & Bucket Listing in WA, part 1

Recently Geoff and I had the pleasure of hosting my very favorite father-in-law here in WA. He is always a joy to have in town and since moving into our new home off post it was fun to show him our new digs and progress to the house. You might remember our exploring adventures from this post last year. Not only did we go see where Luis and Clark explored the West coast...we were Luis and Clark hopping on road trip after road trip seemingly scouring every corner of the western coast of Washington and parts of Oregon.

This time around we stayed a little more local with our exploring and headed to parts unknown while checking off a few of my WA Bucket List items I've made over the years.

Adventure stop #1:

Bainbridge Island

With this trip I got to check off not one, not two, but three never-experienced items off my list. The trip started off with a fun and relaxing ferry ride across the Puget Sound. As my dad likes to say, this was a "Chamber of Commerce type of day". So the trip across beautiful waters and panoramic views of the city was nothing short of perfection.

Hi, we are mature 30-something year old adults who take fake vomit pictures from the ferry...

We walked the streets of this quaint town, stopping in little shops along the way. We made our way to the delicious, and also view-worthy, restaurant Doc's Marina Grill for lunch. We soaked in the sun, good company and friendly staff while enjoying the tasty treats of lunch and boats sailing by.

I did a little research on places to stop and try while in Bainbridge and this little ice cream shop, Mora, was apparently a must! And wouldn't you know it, a homemade crepe shop was right next door! I like to think I'm not a sheltered person, with all the fun trips and memories I've made over my 30-something years...but then I'm quickly (and pleasantly) reminded of ALL the things I have yet to experience. One of them being crepes. Yep, that's right...I've never tasted the sweet, flattened pancake joy of a crepe. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. So naturally we ordered ice cream from Mora and a few crepes from next door to share, family-style.

The weather was perfect and the company even better during our trip to Bainbridge Island. I can't wait to go back! If anything just for the ferry ride...it was a cheap thrill enjoyed from start to finish. It was the best start to our weekend together.

Can't get enough of our fun family ventures?? Check out part 2 on the blog...there's more adventures to be explored.

Lemons to Love,

DIY Spotted Cowhide Rug

During the holidays I was bound and determined to start on a partial one room makeover in our kitchen.  Because it's a rental we can't do much to the cosmetics of the home (ya know, like tear down walls, rip up floors, knock out cabinets...the little things), so I revert to my basic need to make our house a home with small DIY and decor changes here and there. I started small by getting rid of a few things I no longer needed (or liked!) and redesigned some furniture we already had.  One of those being our Saarinen-inspired table I gave a fresh new (marbled) new look to! (Reveal on that coming soon!) I also finally completed my thrift store chairs with new glossy paint and some beautiful greek key fabric.

To ground all these projects together I wanted a new rug in the space. Unfortunately all the rugs I've been eyeing have been slightly over our 'kitchen makeover' funds...and by kitchen makeover funds I mean we have none. :) With living in WA, the constant rain and two pups who love our backyard investing in a nice rug for the kitchen isn't a wise purchase for our current lifestyle. So off to my creative planning I went and thought of this idea for a DIY spotted faux cowhide rug.

I got the idea to use a large drop cloth as my rug from blogger Gorgeous Shiny Things. So with her tutorial I was inspired to make my own. I love love all the different styles, colors, and prints of the animal hides right now. I love them layered, solo, upside down, and right side up...they can do no wrong in my eyes. So using the size and shape of my current cowhide I laid out my drop cloth and started tracing.

After a few free-handed tweaks I was happy with the shape and gave it a good ironing. The lazy voice in my head screamed...no one will even notice! While the OCD in me screamed and won. *sigh* ok, iron I did. I laid down my plastic painter's sheet under the new 'cowhide' before I began my painting process. I used some leftover glossy black (oil based) paint I had left over from another project and two different sized foam rounds to create my spots.

After a few hours of dipping and dotting and about a day of dry time our new rug was ready for her new home! I really like how it came out! and not to mention the overall ease and low cost!

Drop cloth - $10.98
Paint - already owned
Craft supplies - already owned

Total - a whopping $10.98 (easy math, huh??)

(My 'after' pictures are actually taken from my Christmas post...the full before and after will be posted soon)

I love the contrast the rug gives to the white table & chairs combo. I really wanted to open the (tiny) room up a bit with neutrals and whites, so by keeping the rug it's natural 'drop cloth' shade I was able to accomplish a brighter appeal to the dining nook. Granted, it doesn't have the soft cushion of a 'real' rug, the visual effects it offers me will do just fine for now. :)

I can't wait to show you the before and after on the chairs and table for an eventual overall room before and after reveal!

Thanks for reading and y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Lemons to Love,

The Peacock Chair

This post has been a long time a comin'. I first spotted this fun peacock chair on craigslist and had to have it in my possession! I am totally digging the 70s decor sneaking it's way into the new millennium, and into my home. I love the flirty 'feathery' details of this piece...the handcrafted touches of design make this chair so special.

{Craigslist score!}

I orinigally invisioned painting the peacock in a flashy 'Florida' hue with a leafy, palm fabric - think Palm Beach. Instead, what I got was this ... get your sunnies on people, it's a bright one.

The paint color was called coral reef. Sounds pretty right? Well, it came out to look more like Pepto Bismol Peacock...not what I was going for.  My immediate instinct was to ask other people's opinions of how the color came out.  (You know it's a bad decision when you repeatedly need the reassurance from anyone who's listening. I should go back and read my 'Gut' post from last week!) When I asked Geoff what he thought, he lovingly described it as 'a chair he'd find at a retirement home in Boca'. (sigh) After temporarily being offended by his honesty I eventually agreed with his description and repainted it. (double sigh) Thanks for always keepin' it real in my life (and furniture design decisions) hunnnnyyyy! :D

I decided to embrace the Peacock for what it was and stop trying to make it something it wasn't...Floridian. I found this pretty blue shade of paint (in the discount section at Lowe's, halla!) and went to work with the Wag' and came out with this!

To make it a little more of a comfy seating option I wanted to make a cushion for the tush. I'm still working on collecting all my materials I need to pull it all together, BUT I did get something in the mail recently that I'm pretty excited about!! The fabric from fabric.com! and it's not the cheap-o quality  fabric that can sometimes disappoint on delivery day. Once I knew I was committing to the blue, I knew I wanted to go for a floral-ly, watercolor-ly type pattern for my fabric. (professional design words there, folks. you heard it here first.) I really love the warmth these colors bring to the chair! I think it gives it a more 'grown up' look I was going for...that the 'coral reef' just wasn't bringin' to the table...or seat ;)

Here's a sneak peak to to seat...

Painted peacock chair (check), fabric picked and delivered (check), seat cushion to complete this project (in progress). Check back soon for the final reveal!

Thanks for reading!

{This piece is currently for sale}

Lemons to Love,

Lindsay

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