Project update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I was hoping to have some finished photos of the laundry room, but apparently we have jumped onto the next project first. Bryan got the dry wall up for the pantry and is working on mud now. Unfortunately the weather has been so cold the mud isn't drying fast enough so this might take a while. This is after the first coat. The pantry is only 14 inches deep I think so that makes working inside the closet a bit difficult, but it will be awesome once it's all finished. Can't wait for that!

 

So on Sunday while he was working on that I was hanging artwork in the Living Room. BY MYSELF! Usually I'm not allowed to wield a hammer in the house because I tend to eyeball it and we end up with lots of little nail holes in the wall. Well this time I actually measured everything and ended up with perfect straight and even artwork! I'm so proud of myself. Now I just need to go get some more candles to finish the look.

It looks kind of weird to see something on that wall when it has been bare for so long, but now it's starting to look more finished. I just love that wall, and all the iron and scroll patterns match the light fixtures in the rooms perfectly. Love it!

Now if I could just get my nerve up to hang the dishes I bought for the dining room wall. And I need to finish accessorizing the hutch too. It finally found a permanent home, but I'm not happy with the stuff displayed on it yet.

I need new flowers, baskets for above, and more color for sure. It will be a work in progress that I'm sure I will be picking stuff up for as I find it. That's it for now. Not much work going on this week since Bryan has a meeting tomorrow and we will be getting ready for the holiday weekend. Can't wait for all that fun!

On to the next project

Came home from work to this. Actually the front door was opened with an air hose was running up the stairs and behind the mysterious curtain. Just what is behind the curtain you ask?

 

The wall that will soon be hosting my new pantry! Bryan started on the next project before I could get good before pictures, so this is the best I can do. All my pantry items used to be in the cabinets down in the laundry room. Extremely inconvenient when cooking and I constantly had to run downstairs to get something from the pantry. (Actually the kids had to run up and down the stairs to bring me things. I'm not crazy, that's what I had them for isn't it?)

Anyway, since we took all the extra cabinets down in the laundry room I needed a new pantry. I have been wanting to move the pantry up in the kitchen for a long time, just hadn't figured out how to do it yet. We decided we no longer needed an eating area in the kitchen when the dining room is just on the other side of the kitchen. So that's where my new pantry is going. Then at the end of the wall by the french doors will be a recycling center with a built in cabinet to hold the garbage can & pop cans. 

Hopefully it will be a quick project and then we can tackle the rest of the kitchen. The rest of the kitchen includes new flooring, new countertops & backsplash, and reconfiguring a couple of cabinets to get more counter space. Fairly easy and inexpensive I hope! 

We were finally able to get out to the track this weekend for our first racing of the season. Now that the Bub's wrist is healed it was time to get some racing in before the big races come next month. The weather was beautiful after some morning showers and to be honest we weren't expecting much since he hadn't really been on his race bike, or a track for that matter since last year.

He ended up with a class of 6 racers, 2 were experts that were younger than him, but quite fast. The little guy in green in the photo above ended up overall 1 yesterday. Nick won his 2nd moto, and ended up 3rd overall. He was not that far behind the 1st & 2nd place riders and with a little more track time he should be even closer, if not ahea of them soon!

He is loving his new bike however and was looking really good out on the track. We are so glad to get the race season started and Nick is already talking about summer road trips with the team in a motorhome, and racing at other state tracks . His goal this year is to earn a state plate and I think he's got a pretty good shot at it, provided he doesn't brake any more bones!

The last corner. You can just see the back of the 2nd place rider. Nick ended up 3rd overall which was really great for him. A great needed confidence boost, and his wrist didn't bother him one bit which was great news.

So not happy with me taking his picture. Poor kid. That's what happens when you're a star! LOL

Getting it done one load at a time!

So the laundry room is ALMOST complete. The walls are painted, the floor has been tiled, the cabinets have been hung again and the washed & dryer replaced. We just need to put the sink back, hang a few accessories, do some prettying up and trim work, then it is finished. I love it so much already. Such a happy color I might actually enjoy doing laundry. Well, let's not push it, but at least it will be a more enjoyable room to be in now! Won't be long now, but first.... I have some laundry to do!

Mother's Day Adventure

I had a glorious Mother's Day with a family outing to the Columbia River Gorge. I wanted to go somewhere fun for the day that was a little out of the norm for us, and gave us an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather we finally had. I finally decided on a trip to see the beautiful waterfalls in the Gorge. We haven't really spent much time there as a family and it sounded like a good idea to get out and be one with nature. 

We took the scenic route which takes you by all the waterfalls and gives you the picturesque breathtaking views of the gorge. My absolutely favorite time to be there is fall when the leaves are turning colors, but spring is equally beautiful when the wildflowers are blooming and everything is such a bright shade of green.

The Crown Point Vista House is so incredibly old dating back to the early 1900s, and was recently refurbished back to it's original glory a couple of years ago. It has exquisite views, and they have all kids of fun historical facts about the building and scenic highway throughout the years.

Here is the view from the Vista House looking across the river to Washington. Bryan asked Gabi what separated Oregon and Washington and she said "a border". Nick pipes in with the Willamette River. Yes, I know. Geography still needs a little work. They both knew the correct answer, just took a couple of times to get it out of their mouths.

Here is the view looking east up the gorge. 

The first falls we hiked to was LaTourelle Falls. A beautiful location and one of the higher falls in the region.

The bottom of the falls. 

I actually got to be in a picture!

My favorite falls was Bridal Veil Falls. The upper portion falls into a pool, then drops again to the creek.  Very cool. We wanted to swim in the pool, but since the water is melted snow we decided that wasn't such a great idea.

Here is the creek & trail leading up to the falls. Just a beautiful spot.

Of course no trip to the gorge is complete without a trip to Multnomah Falls. Apparently half of Portland had the same idea because it was crazy crowded there. We didn't run into a lot of traffic or people anywhere else, but because you can access Multnomah Falls from the scenic byway & I-84 it gets more traffic I think. Plus it is the 2nd largest waterfall in the US, and one of the iconic landmarks in the Portland area. I was hungry by the time we reach the falls so wasn't up to the mile long hike to the top so we skipped that. 

Horsetail Falls

We were going to head into Cascade Locks or Hood River to eat and window shop, but there was a major traffic jam and I didn't feel like waiting in the long line of traffic for who knows how long so we headed back to Portland. Gotta love the road construction season in Oregon! We ended up eating an early dinner/late lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ since we worked up quite an appetite with the hiking we did. 

All in all it was a great Mother's Day doing exactly what I wanted to do while spending some great quality time together as a family. And we got home just in time before the rain started. At least our weather was perfect for our adventure!

A sneak Peek!

Just a sneak peek to what I came home from work to yesterday! Yes, Bryan painted the laundry room, and I LOVE the color! So bright and happy. Still have to paint the ceiling, but with the white trim and accents in the room it's going to look so fun! Now if only I could convince him to let me paint the cabinets....

Happy Earth Day! (Better Late than Never!)

I finally finished my placemat & napkin project! I just love using cloth napkins and cute placemats for meals. So much nicer looking than paper napkins on the table! And more environmentally friendly than throwing away paper napkins all the time. So what kind of started as an Earth Day project, turned into a great excuse to use my new serger!

I had been wanting some new everyday placemats for the table that went with the new colors I was playing around with for the living/Dining room. When I found this fabric at Fabric Depot the last time we were there a I knew it was perfect! It is now the inspiration for not only the laundry room, but the kitchen makeover as well! The placemats are reversible. We have the light springy side for now, and the dark chocolate brown for the fall and winter months.

The napkins were a super breeze to make. I love rolled hems! My new serger makes them so easily, with just a flick of a switch - gotta love that! I could make those all day long! Now I need some cute new napkin rings worthy of the new napkins.