It's Not Easy Being Green

In the words of Kermit, it's not easy being green. Our backyard makeover is still in full-effect with our grass getting its first official mow last night.  Its still pretty spotty in places and we are researching our options to fight the weeds. None the less- this baby has come far and we are so proud. We still have a lot of work ahead of us- but having the green is worth it!

 

I'm busy planning our upcoming adventures in landscaping around the edges and the "back 40." I've been inspecting our neighbors yards to get plant ideas and talking with friends about what does well up here. It sounds like Hostas is a seattle favorite. I  want some color also- possibly a few more rhodys and some peonies.

And because I had to, I'll leave you with my favorite something Green.





31 Days Later

Our grass seed has been on the ground for a month now. I thought it would be fun to look at how far we come.

Again, this is what we started with...

The first ten days seemed to take forever. But we woke up on the morning of day 11 to a gentle green glow.

Since then it has been steadily filling in. We're going to give it another week or so before doing our maiden voyage with the lawn mower.

We still have some bare spots, but I'm hopeful they will fill in. If not, we're planning to over seed this fall. We haven't walked on it since we seeded- I can't wait to feel it under my toes.

The Best Gift from My Best Friend

This morning when I logged on to facebook I was met with more than just friends wishing me a fabulous birthday. The following is courtesy of best friend Erin.

This is my best friend in the whole wide world, this is Emily Elizabeth-Like the cute little girl in the Clifford the Big Red Dog books.This is the two of us before our Senior Prom. Little did we know that we would go our separate ways but still remain life-long friends.

This is Homecoming Spirit Week, our Senior Year of High School.This is in pottery class, she always brought me a bag of peanut M&Ms, otherwise I would just eat all of hers. We broke Matt Carpenters canoe in this class. Aaaaaa when life was simple and all we had to do was paint pots and eat M&Ms and break canoes...

This is Halloween 2002. We decided to dress up as My Little Ponies. Emily's mom sewed our hooves on. We bought two wigs, one for our head and one for our... We won the costume contest hands down and then "neighed, neighed!" and galloped down all the hallways during lunch.

This is us rollerblading on the coastal trail. Emily is one of the most intelligent people that I have encountered however her eye-hand coordination can be a bit wacky at times which is why she is armed with more padding than the rest of us. haha Love you Ems ;) She rocked it down that first hill though, right between a moose's legs!!

Keywords: Paris. Baggette, wine,cheese, bikes, water bursts from ceiling, creepy front desk guy...

This is Moose's Tooth. Our favorite pizza place on the planet. What we order EVERYtime: 2 plates of mozzarella bread sticks, *insert some salad, moose pie (a line must be drawn down the middle of the pie because Emily always eats my half!!) Emily also is a nazi about our water glasses being full-she is convinced that the waitress is trying to cause us to die of thirst.And never forget "peepers" the creepy pizza maker.

This is Christmas at Meechelles ( my moms) just want to squeeze your beautiful face!! She read The Polar Express to my whole family on Christmas eve. This will be a continued tradition when she starts having babies..ah-hem.

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed 17 year old girls :)

This is prior to one of the hundreds of dances we went to back then. Dress swaps, curling each others hair, doing each others make-up, stuffing our bras (Jk..). I think It had more fun getting ready than at the actual dance. Ems you are amazing.

Prom, Prom, Prom!Emily's mom made her pink dress-isn't it beautiful!?! We wear purple and pink a lot i just noticed. (see our unicorn/my little pony costumes) Glad everyone cleaned off the grease (ah hem)

Charlies!!! So excited to be with my bestie on a cruise in France.

2003 Graduation!!! I look like a dweeb. But Ems you look fab. This is when you took a chance and chopped all your hair off-so cute :)

Emily! Emily!Emily!! This is xcountry regionals. I'm grateful for my best friend because she is also my best supporter (and Bretta too;)) there were many supporting events that we were in previous to this. I first met you in a swimming pool when I was like 11 and you mooned my step dad. Straight up MOONED my step dad at soccer practice. That's how she rolls folks-completely unpredictable!!

Erin and Emily do Mikes fat Bike Tours in Paris. Em I'm not going to say another word about your coordination skillz buuuut I love you and you rang that bell on your bike every time you saw some couple smooching on a bench

Future Golden Girls. Cant you see it:Porch swing. Sun setting. pink lemonade. Laughing at good times in the past :) I love you!!

You're the only one who looks cute in this photo but you looked cute with little Bella and Rudolph aaaahhhhaaaaaa ;)

Barcelona. "Aqua, cerveza, Coca Cola, Coca Cola lite" Emily went topless on the beach, I peeled like a disgusting lizard on the plane ride home. We layed on the beach for 3 straight days then went back home to work at Nordstroms for the summer. Emily was like employee of the month all the old ladies loooved buying stuff from her. Me in the lingerie department- not so good, they hid me in the stock room.

Fools..

 This is before xmas Cotillion dance. The ladies preparing for another dance out on the town. Notice Im the only one wearing 4 inch heels Inside. None of the dresses we are wearing are our own. haha.

Conclusion: Emily you have made my days brighter and filled with laughter for a long time. Anyone would be grateful to have you as a friend and I'm grateful to have you as my best friend. You're brilliant, kind, hysterical, thoughtful, and just an amazing human being. Thank you for holding my hand when Ive cried, making me laugh just by looking at me, and talking me through every predicament that I find myself in. You've made a beautiful life for yourself with an amazing man and two kittens, and I'm so happy for you! Happy Birthday Emily Elizabeth, I will be there for you until the very end :) xoxo Charlie

I cried my eyes out and cracked up at all our funny jokes and memories. It was the best way to start out my birthday. And a great reminder that the best things in life aren't things. Thank you Erin.

Off to celebrate another year in the books and a million more adventures to come. xoxo

Rattlesnake Ledge

Wasn't this weekend gorgeous? The sun and mid-70s was just perfect!  We didn't have any adventures planned, so it was one of those wing it weekends.  

We woke up Saturday morning and headed out into the sunshine. Greg was eager to break in his new hiking boots so we headed up Rattlesnake Ledge.

It was our first time out there this year. I was expecting mud, but the trail was surprisingly dry. We got there relatively early (10am) but still had to park about 1/4 mile back from the trail head. By the time we were done, cars were parked everywhere.

We hiked up with lots of families. Greg was eager to go faster, but I was very content going at the kid pace. I was busy checking out all the baby backpacks/carriers/tricks for future use.

The view from the top was breath-taking. The lake was so blue. It reminded me of the ocean in Fiji.

Greg wanted to keep going another 2 miles to the East Peak, but I was too tired :)

There were lots of other Seattle-ites enjoying the sun from the Ledge.

And when I say lots I mean A LOT!

It sure felt good to stretch our legs and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Next on our list is Mt. Si.

Do you hike around Seattle? What are your favorite trails? I'd Love to hear your recommendations.

Silly High Heels

Oh my goodness, aren't these shows amazing. I would love to wear a pair with a little black dress. So funny but still chic.

These ones remind me of my best friend Erin

The sling-shot is my favorite. Of course the Mallard would be Greg's favorite.

Pictures from Kobi Levi- Footwear Designs

Beautifying My Goodwill Goodies

Um, don't you just love three day weekends? It was so fabulous to have that extra day at the ranch this week. Have you ever noticed another perk of those holiday weeeknds? Killer sales at Goodwill and Value Village.

I'm a long-time thrifter. My best friend still tells the story how in 7th grade I had the coolest GAP logo hoodie that I had gotten at Value Village and how she secretly went to see if she could find one too. Somethings never change- I'm still a junkie for second hand goods.

When we got home from the ranch, we quickly un-packed the car so I could head out in search of some bargains. I was pretty intentional in my searching-- lamps. I love the cozy feeling of lamp light and we had zero in our house.

I found success right away at Goodwill and headed straight to the check out with these two beauties.

One was a blue tag (40% off) the other was a pink tag ($.99)- so they set me back $11.

Next stop was Home Depot. Ever since reading on YoungHouseLove about their plans to spray paint door knobs with oil-rubbed bronze- I've been intrigued. This was just the project to experiment away on.

I picked up one can of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint and one can of Rustoleum Gray Primer and headed up the hill.

Before going to work with my spray paint, I wiped down the lamps with a wet wash cloth, and removed all the stickiness from the labels. While the lamp bases dried, I started taping the cords and around the light socket.

With the lamps all taped up, I headed out to the garage. In a matter of minutes they were primed. I followed the directions on the can, and did two coats of primer within an hour- then left them for the night.

The next night, I repeated, this time with the oil-rubbed bronze. It was a little different than standard spray-paint- reminded me of a spray tan. I gave it one quick coat, and then anothe shortly after. This paint was a stickier than the primer, so I made a moment-of decision to hang the lamps- rather than set them on the plastic to dry.

This actually ended up providing a very different angle- showing the spots I had missed. I did a few touch ups and then left them to dry over night.

Here is the finished product:

I picked up the lamp shades at target for $15 each which brought the grand total to about $47.

$23.50 per lamp isn't bad compared to some of the similar styles I liked at Crate & Barrel and The Company Store.

I'm now on the lookout for a floor lamp to match!