Antiqued Hutch & Buffet

As I mentioned in earlier post, I'm slowly filling our new home with treasures.  I really wanted a buffet and hutch, but when I surveyed the house I realized that we have gigantic windows covering every wall in the house.  The largest wall space I could find downstairs (unused by couches, tv's or the big farmhouse table) was only 48".  This really didn't give me much to work with, so I quickly surveyed building plans, and began tweaking them to fit my needed area. On a whim I pulled up my local craigslist, and started perusing through the offerings.  Most were way too big for my area, and then I found a little gem on Whidbey Island for a song.  As a family we had been dying to make a trip there and this was the perfect excuse (I'll post about our fun adventures soon!!)

After bringing home my new treasure, I removed all the hardware, and lightly sanded the entire piece. I then applied 3-4 coats of Behr Powdered Snow to the entire piece, sanding between each coat.  I then applied Ralph Lauren Tea-Stained Glaze to the entire piece to give it that antiqued look. I sealed it with Minwax Paste Wax.   I found the drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby, but no matching knobs. After trips to three different hardware stores, I finally found some rustic iron knobs that worked well with the pulls.

I just love how bright it is now, yet so vintage (which I adore)

Scout Day Camp 2012

Josh atteded Cub Scout Day Camp this past week at Silver Lake.  I was a den leader two of the four days, and my whole crew of kiddos joined in on the fun.  Natalie and Caleb attended Tag-Along camp, and Daniel was a Youth Helper for our den.  We needed the help as we had fifteen boys in our den!! 

Each day our schedule was filled with fun activities.  In Cooking they made dessert bananas, apple crisp, baked cones, and eggs and toast.  Can you guess which one wasn't a huge hit? They did archery each day which the boys seemed to really enjoy.  In Wood, they made periscopes, and piggy banks.  In Leather, they made nametags.  They also did fishing, knot tying, first aid, citizenship, crafts, and sports. 

I think Josh's favorite part was having his friend/neighbor Luke in his den.  They were great buddies, and had a great time together.  They were also the best behaved in the den!!  (Boy was I wiped out after two long days) I think he also really liked having Daniel help, and hang out with them.  Scout camp was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad Josh was able to go this year!!

Entryway Bench & Shelf

Slowly but surely I'm trying to fill empty walls, and spaces in our new home.  Our front entry way was lacking a place to hang visitors jackets, and a place to sit down take off those pesky muddy shoes.  I think this fit the bill quite nicely.

I found the bench plans here on Ana's site, and I had it built in under an hour.  I did make one change though to the plans.  I used (2) 2x6's instead of the 1x12 for the bench seat.  I think it gives it a sturdier feel, and I like the look with two pieces of wood.

The shelf was put together using some scraps from the garage, a 2x8 attached to a 2x10 cut 4 inches shorter.  I then used some moulding to add a decorative detail.  The hooks I found online at Amazon, and were delivered straight to my door.  I painted them all white, and then used glaze to give them an antique look. 

Now I just need some cute frames on the shelf, and a pop of color in some accents.

5th Annual Tash & Trish Excellent Adventure

Trish arrived, and we got busy to planning our fun trip in Seattle.  This is our 3rd year doing Seattle, and having spent one year doing all the downtown touristy stuff, and one year doing a fun Twilight themed trip, we decided to find the hidden treasures of Seattle for this trip.

Our first full day we headed to Ballard, and the Chittenden Locks.  It was so fascinating and fun!! The locks move boats from the lakes to the Puget Sound.  They maintain the level of the fresh water from Lake Union and Lake Washington, and prevent mixing sea water from the Sound with fresh water from the lakes.  They also have a salmon ladder which ushers salmon from the sound up to the lakes.  We had a great time watching boats pass in and out, watching the big train bridge overhead raise to let the large sailboats through, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day. The locks are also surrounded by a beautiful botanical garden with lush greenery and flowers.  Such a fun adventure.



Afterwards we grabbed lunch at the famous Lockspot Cafe.  This is where all the fisherman from the Deadliest Catch boats grab their food, and it ranked #1 in Top 5 Fish 'n' Chip joints in Seattle..Oh yeah we don't play around, we go for the best :) The Fish 'n' Chips were delish, and with full tummies we were off on our next adventure.  We hit the nearby Nordic Heritage Museum, and walked through a journey of the their immigration, their beautiful woodworking, and handiwork, and the impact they have on us today.  From there we headed towards the waterfront in downtown Seattle.  We found an amazing parking space like a block from Pike's Market, and just walked around the market, and then down to the waterfront.  It was so fun to take in the sights, and just talk.



The next day we were ready to get our geek on!! Trish and I dressed in our shirts from last year, and tackled the new venue at the Conference Center in the heart of downtown.  We enjoyed some great panels, and some so so panels, and we're ready to call it quits by late afternoon.  Needing some more adventure to the day, we set off to find the Deadliest Catch boat..which we found the dock for, but it was out at sea...bummer!  So our next adventure was to find the elusive Fremont Troll.  Legend is he was hiding under the bridge, and the sun hit him and turned him to stone. We had fun taking pics with this big guy, and yes that is a real VW bug in his hand.  For dinner we drove into downtown Fremont, and Trish spotted this gem.  We had the most amazing dinner.  Trish got the brisket sandwich, and I opted for the plate with crispy sweet potato fries, baby green salad, and the most amazing brisket.  Our waiter was happy to oblige when we asked for more pickles, and his service totally made our night.



Leavenworth was next on our agenda, and were blessed with a sunny bright (hot) day.  We had fun strolling the cute decorated streets, and visiting the little shops.  We loved the Kris Kringl Christmas shop, the hat shop, and were super excited to see the Nutcracker Museum, which did not disappoint.  Over 5,000 Nutcrackers in the shop, most of them from Germany.  There were so many!!  The traditional ones were my favorite.



After a hot day in Leavenworth we travelled north about 10 miles to Cashmere.  Our first stop was the Aplets & Cotlets Factory Tour & Shop.  After sampling both, we both decided we weren't big fans, and moved on to our next destination, cider tasting.  The girl was so cute, and brought out little sampling cups for us to try the different flavors of bottled cider.  The Lavender (an acquired taste were told) was our least fave.  The Huckleberry, and Plain Cider were my faves. (which I brought home to the fam to share) We then enjoyed the beautiful outdoor scenery, and had fun taking pictures.



After getting our fill of the Wenatchee Valley we decided to head home, and I saw a sign with the word "Waterfall".  Trish loves waterfalls, and this one did not disappoint.  Deception Falls was beautiful, and so serene.  I can't wait to bring the whole family back for a hiking adventure, and picnic.



Our last day together needed one last fun adventure, and "Ride the Ducks" in Seattle seemed like the perfect silliness to end our fun.  I learned more about Seattle, and realized I know more than I thought I did about our beautiful new home.  I also really love this place, and had so much fun exploring it with my bestie.

 

I want to make sure I thank my amazing husband who made this all possible.  From working at home two days, entertaining the kiddos, keeping the house super clean, make us delicious breakfast each morning, and so much more..Thank You!!

And so another amazing adventure comes to an end.  We fall back into our busy lives, each with our four kiddos, and my heart is so happy to know I have such an amazing friend.  I love you Trish!! (Let's get busy planning next year..Canada this time?)