roast beef, cheddar, and horseradish on potato bread is blowing my mind these days.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 62 :: 3.30.11 :: comic lunch
roast beef, cheddar, and horseradish on potato bread is blowing my mind these days.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 61 :: 3.28.11 :: chicago: the drive home
ipods, iphone, and gps ensured we had plenty of tunes, tweets, and turns on the way home.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 59 :: 3.25.11 :: chicago: the drive out
my friend beth and i took a little weekend road trip to chicago. we had a blast.
no flash + bumpy road/laughing + sunset = crazy picture.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 58 :: 3.24.11 :: dance party 2011
she's an incredibly good sport with a full left arm, despite what this picture might imply.
[kristen: ben liked this one the best. i think it's because of the look on your face!]
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 57 :: 3.23.11 :: wishful thinking
and how many inches of snow did we get today? ;)
table and chair details
last week, i posted the big picture shots, but let's talk about that table. blood, sweat, and tears went into gussying up that bad boy. lots of tears, actually. i think the Lord had a lesson for me in perseverance—and finishing things i start!
once the kitchen was "done" (structurally), we pulled out a folding table (which is a bit short) and used that with a tablecloth and folding chairs my parents have been "lending" us (lending for like three years!). this is the way things were for a while.
the kitchen is such an important place. we spend a lot of time there! so much of life centers around food and sharing meals. ben and i want our home to be a comfortable, welcoming place to host friends and family. and i envision this spot being a place where our kids will spread out with homework and we'll put down newspaper and do crafts until we are blue in the face.
so i wanted a dining table—bad. a real one. one that was the right height. and a big one that would seat eight people. but real wood furniture is expensive. so speaking of eight...
the table was a garage sale find for EIGHT dollars. eight. amazing. and it's real wood—ash, perhaps? i still remember the phone call i got from my mom telling me she found the perfect table for us. (i got the call at like 6:30 in the morning and was relieved to find out it wasn't a family emergency!) that was last may.
this is the best "before" picture i can find. i loved the shape of the table—especially the legs—but it was just a touch smaller than what i wanted. it also had a big black burn mark from a candle on the top. so i pondered. and measured. then i took action.
over the summer, i paid the woman who i bought it from (she's my parents' neighbor and i've known her forever) to strip the table for me. then it sat in the garage for a long time while i planned and pondered some more.
this fall (seriously—how slow am i?) i asked our friend bert, who is great with woodworking, if he would consider making a new top for us. he said yes. i planned some more. i bought the planks at menards—a bit thinner than i would have liked, but a good price and the right size. they are oak. he built the top by gluing the six planks together. the old table top was 60" by 36"—big enough to squeeze in six—and now it is about 72" by 44"—big enough to squeeze in eight and put things in the middle of the table.
i sanded, and sanded, and sanded! hours of sanding i tell you. but once i got the top and legs satisfactorily smooth, it was time to bring it in the house for staining.
i'm going to spare the full details of the day we brought it in the house and it got all dripped on by snow melting off the roof. let's just say i shed some tears as i wiped off the first coat of stain and saw dark drip marks all over the top. lesson: do everything you can to prevent untreated wood from getting wet!
i didn't know what color of stain to use—we have oak floors and the walls are already dark brown, so i wasn't really wanting to introduce yet another brown tone. i just took the easy route and finished up a can of stain we had used on the stair rails. because of the roof-dripping mistake, i had to go a little darker than i wanted. actually, a lot darker. and of course, one of the planks was not staining as dark as the others. :)
do you see that on the left? i was about to pull out my hair. but a trip to sherwin-williams brought about a rather outside-the-box solution from our favorite paint mixer that involved this:
and would you believe that it worked? the stain turned out nice and even, although very, very dark. the table pretty much blends in with the brown walls. darn.
so white chairs were the obvious choice. these chairs were ones we could agree on—not too big, not too small, very comfortable, not too modern, not too traditional. they don't make my heart go pitter patter or anything, but i think we'll be happy with them for a long time. plus, the backs match the three stripes on the curtains i made.
but of course we needed more color with all that brown on the walls and table! the chairs came covered in tan microfiber. i searched and searched for the perfect aqua fabric.
i finally covered the cushions a few weeks ago. and yes, yes, that is an octopus. classic amy move—when i saw the sample in the store, it was smaller and i pretty much fell in love with the color and what looked to be a modern, polka-dot motif. when i tried to find the fabric online (its a sturdy outdoor fabric from calico corners), here's all i found on their site:
i kept thinking, "oh, it's just like that fabric except not octopuses." yeah, and the fact that i ordered a fabric called "octopoda" didn't tip me off. oops. i kind of wish i didn't have octopuses on our dining chairs but oh well. i like how they turned out!
if you're still with me you deserve a medal. here's where we are now!
i finished it in a fairly matte poly. it gleams, and cleans up like a breeze! you can see the seams where the boards are glued together, and even though the stain is dark, the grain is visible. i think these things give it character and keeping it from looking like something generic.
we had family over for lunch last sunday. we look forward to many meals at this table with friends and—someday—kids. when i look at it i feel happy, because even though it took me a long time, i finished what i started. yes!
once the kitchen was "done" (structurally), we pulled out a folding table (which is a bit short) and used that with a tablecloth and folding chairs my parents have been "lending" us (lending for like three years!). this is the way things were for a while.
the kitchen is such an important place. we spend a lot of time there! so much of life centers around food and sharing meals. ben and i want our home to be a comfortable, welcoming place to host friends and family. and i envision this spot being a place where our kids will spread out with homework and we'll put down newspaper and do crafts until we are blue in the face.
so i wanted a dining table—bad. a real one. one that was the right height. and a big one that would seat eight people. but real wood furniture is expensive. so speaking of eight...
the table was a garage sale find for EIGHT dollars. eight. amazing. and it's real wood—ash, perhaps? i still remember the phone call i got from my mom telling me she found the perfect table for us. (i got the call at like 6:30 in the morning and was relieved to find out it wasn't a family emergency!) that was last may.
this is the best "before" picture i can find. i loved the shape of the table—especially the legs—but it was just a touch smaller than what i wanted. it also had a big black burn mark from a candle on the top. so i pondered. and measured. then i took action.
over the summer, i paid the woman who i bought it from (she's my parents' neighbor and i've known her forever) to strip the table for me. then it sat in the garage for a long time while i planned and pondered some more.
this fall (seriously—how slow am i?) i asked our friend bert, who is great with woodworking, if he would consider making a new top for us. he said yes. i planned some more. i bought the planks at menards—a bit thinner than i would have liked, but a good price and the right size. they are oak. he built the top by gluing the six planks together. the old table top was 60" by 36"—big enough to squeeze in six—and now it is about 72" by 44"—big enough to squeeze in eight and put things in the middle of the table.
i sanded, and sanded, and sanded! hours of sanding i tell you. but once i got the top and legs satisfactorily smooth, it was time to bring it in the house for staining.
i'm going to spare the full details of the day we brought it in the house and it got all dripped on by snow melting off the roof. let's just say i shed some tears as i wiped off the first coat of stain and saw dark drip marks all over the top. lesson: do everything you can to prevent untreated wood from getting wet!
i didn't know what color of stain to use—we have oak floors and the walls are already dark brown, so i wasn't really wanting to introduce yet another brown tone. i just took the easy route and finished up a can of stain we had used on the stair rails. because of the roof-dripping mistake, i had to go a little darker than i wanted. actually, a lot darker. and of course, one of the planks was not staining as dark as the others. :)
do you see that on the left? i was about to pull out my hair. but a trip to sherwin-williams brought about a rather outside-the-box solution from our favorite paint mixer that involved this:
and would you believe that it worked? the stain turned out nice and even, although very, very dark. the table pretty much blends in with the brown walls. darn.
so white chairs were the obvious choice. these chairs were ones we could agree on—not too big, not too small, very comfortable, not too modern, not too traditional. they don't make my heart go pitter patter or anything, but i think we'll be happy with them for a long time. plus, the backs match the three stripes on the curtains i made.
but of course we needed more color with all that brown on the walls and table! the chairs came covered in tan microfiber. i searched and searched for the perfect aqua fabric.
i finally covered the cushions a few weeks ago. and yes, yes, that is an octopus. classic amy move—when i saw the sample in the store, it was smaller and i pretty much fell in love with the color and what looked to be a modern, polka-dot motif. when i tried to find the fabric online (its a sturdy outdoor fabric from calico corners), here's all i found on their site:
i kept thinking, "oh, it's just like that fabric except not octopuses." yeah, and the fact that i ordered a fabric called "octopoda" didn't tip me off. oops. i kind of wish i didn't have octopuses on our dining chairs but oh well. i like how they turned out!
if you're still with me you deserve a medal. here's where we are now!
i finished it in a fairly matte poly. it gleams, and cleans up like a breeze! you can see the seams where the boards are glued together, and even though the stain is dark, the grain is visible. i think these things give it character and keeping it from looking like something generic.
we had family over for lunch last sunday. we look forward to many meals at this table with friends and—someday—kids. when i look at it i feel happy, because even though it took me a long time, i finished what i started. yes!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 55 :: 3.19.11 :: so fein
i might be the only person who gets excited about rigging the mini shop vac to the fein while i sand a door jamb. a built in dust collector, my friends.
Friday, March 18, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 54 :: 3.17.11 :: spring thaw
is a full thaw upon us? what do you think—are we done with snow for the season?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
before and after: the dining area
remember that table i was working on in january? it has been done for a while, and it's time for pictures—especially because i finally got around to re-covering the chairs we ordered. enough dawdling—here are the before and after shots of that side of the kitchen! let's take a trip down memory lane.
before (february 2009):
after (march 2011):
we did a lot. a lot. but i'm just gonna let the picture be all for now. i'll be back with more details about the table. stay tuned.
before (february 2009):
after (march 2011):
we did a lot. a lot. but i'm just gonna let the picture be all for now. i'll be back with more details about the table. stay tuned.
capture2011 :: no. 53 :: 3.17.11 :: i made a bulletin board
so i can hold on to things like these. thanks for the sweet note, kaylee!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
california continued: my grandpa's shop
way back in december i promised to share more pictures from california. oops. story of my life.
but i'm circling back to post them, no matter how much time has gone by. these shots i took while ben and i investigated my grandpa's shop are just really special. his shop holds so many items that are like "moments" from his life. his shop is kind of like a time capsule spanning 80+ years.
this is my grandpa. he's standing next to a ford built in the same year he was born: 1922.
he has a lot of tools. he began building and working with machinery after world war ii.
he is a welder.
he has nuts and bolts and elbows and wrenches in a million different sizes. ben was pretty amazed at all the cool gadgets my grandpa has collected over the years. the two of them talked shop for a while. my heart just melted to see them like this. i wish i understood machines and mechanics better than i do, but it was really sweet to see the two men connect in that way. i just stood back and watched—with my finger on the shutter button, of course.
capture2011 :: no. 52 :: 3.15.11 :: beverage bender
yesterday, i broke my own rules and worked on my laptop on the couch in the afternoon. it was gorgeous outside and i wanted to face that beautiful sunshine!
i amassed quite the collection of cups and mugs—and a pitcher?—by the end. a few waters, some tea, some coffee. and no, there was no syrup in my coffee, buddy the elf!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
diy bold stripe curtains
again, i certainly did not intend for the capture2011 posts to be all i post on this blog. i've actually been quite busy finishing up the kitchen, so here's a project i finished a while ago.
let me again state that window treatments are my decorating nemesis. i was stuck on what to use to cover our sliding door in our kitchen. i wanted something soft, but functional. after all, it's a door. i like white, but i wanted some color, too. then i saw this picture of kate spade's bathroom.
and there was my answer! a bold stripe. so great. and i liked that it would not involve white fabric touching the floor—the floor gets dirty, people!
i already had a pair of white curtains to use. we had them hanging behind our bed in the apartment we were renting before we bought our house.
i bought a yard or two of fabric on sale. there was measuring. and cutting. and pinning. and sewing. and ironing. and some seam ripping.
and here's what i ended up with. i'm really happy with how they turned out. they could be a bit wider, but it always feels good to save money and use what i already have.
let me again state that window treatments are my decorating nemesis. i was stuck on what to use to cover our sliding door in our kitchen. i wanted something soft, but functional. after all, it's a door. i like white, but i wanted some color, too. then i saw this picture of kate spade's bathroom.
i already had a pair of white curtains to use. we had them hanging behind our bed in the apartment we were renting before we bought our house.
i bought a yard or two of fabric on sale. there was measuring. and cutting. and pinning. and sewing. and ironing. and some seam ripping.
and here's what i ended up with. i'm really happy with how they turned out. they could be a bit wider, but it always feels good to save money and use what i already have.
happy saturday!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 49 :: 3.10.11 :: first day of school
ben enrolled in a mini mba class at st. thomas. i ironed clothes for him last night and he shined his shoes (although i think he ended up wearing a different pair?). he should be back any minute! can't wait to hear how his first day went.
capture2011 :: no. 48 :: 3.7.11 :: it really was real simple
but the best part might have been that i got a double helping of tomatoes, because ben doesn't like them. what what!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 47 :: 3.7.11 :: a plant for black thumbs
this guy (and its counterpart over on the dresser) is just a trooper. it can handle neglect. droughts. dark corners. in short, it can handle me as its "keeper" and still be green and happy.
i'm crazy about the colors in this picture. i love aqua blue!!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
capture2011 :: no. 46 :: 3.6.11 :: rubber ducky, you're the one
i took some maternity photos of bert and beki yesterday, and this cute little rubber ducky was watching.
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