Home Projects

I like to document our house projects on our blog, mostly for my sake. I tend to get a bit overwhelmed at what we still have left to do on the homestead, but when I look at pictures I am reminded of the many improvements we have already made. August will mark our 3 year anniversary of buying our home, and we really have done a lot. The following projects are more aesthetic than functional, but they deserve a shout out too.

Way back in December of 2009, we commissioned my very talented best-friend-in-law Jake to paint us a picture of an orange tree. Riverside has a very rich citrus history, which we just love. I sometimes need to be reminded that it wasn't always cement and smog down here. My apologies to Jake regarding the poor quality of my pictures. The actual painting is much more stunning.

I bought the frame at an estate sale and then we painted it and gave it some TLC. I wanted to do a family tree of sorts, and I love the end result. In case you can't tell, those handsome son-of-a-guns are our parents on their wedding days.

Speaking of estate sale finds, Steve and I purchased this cedar chest last summer at an estate sale with the purpose of upholstering it. We need all the storage and seating we can get in our comfy abode. This chest is a prime example of how ideas in Karen's brain turn into a huge family affair. I bought the foam and fabric, and we hauled the chest over to Steve's parents on Super Bowl Sunday. My intent was to have the guys watch the game and have Marsha watch the baby while I worked on the chest. In the end, Steve, Doug, and Mikey did the grunt work while I supervised. I think that I make an excellent foreman.

Camera one

Camera two

We planted a garden once again, and it is thriving despite our losing battle with the weeds. Delaney loves to help Steve in the garden, and watching them together amidst the corn and tomatoes brings me the most wonderful sense of contentment. If I could freeze these moments in time, I would.

I've been wanting to do an art piece focusing on our non-human family members for sometime, and I finally got around to doing it. I chose to create silhouettes of Charlie, Imogene, Brundibar, and our human child as well. If you think it's odd that I would want to decorate my home with pictures of my animal friends, we have clearly never met. While they've moved down a notch or two since the arrival of Delaney, our pets are sort of a big deal to us.

All lined up in a row. Just to clarify, Delaney's the one in the middle.

Charlie & Imogene

Delaney

Brundibar

This year, Steve and I celebrated our 30th birthdays. Instead of buying one another something special, we commissioned each other to make something. Steve requested a sign for his garage and I requested that Steve re-purpose an old stereo cabinet that we have into a buffet. I held up my end of the deal; now Steve needs to deliver! Again, the idea for Steve's gift was all in my head, but Mikey and Doug (Steve's dad and brother) are really the ones who did all the work. Mikey found the parts and welded them together, Doug helped me with the border, and assembled the whole thing. I love how it turned out, but I think Steve loves it even more.

Close up before it was hung

Who thinks that our next project should be painting the garage?