lazy sunday and an update

We went to pick out a Christmas tree this morning. That's right, it's October 25. And, to further confuse the seasons, yesterday I visited a much more seasonally appropriate pumpkin patch. But, we can rest soundly knowing exactly what our Christmas tree will look like when we pick it up on December 12. It's family tradition. In fact, I could devote an entire post to my family's crazy (albeit awesome) traditions. Have I mentioned that Chris is a saint?


*Hi. I'm from Oregon and I hug trees. In the rain.*
So stereotypical.

My computer is back from the computer doctor's office. To celebrate my practically brand-new computer, I'm giving you all a long-over due update.

The garage.

If you remember, our garage was a structure sorely in need of a little lovin'. While the rest of the exterior had been cleaned, painted and spruced up over the last couple of years, the garage was lop-sided, dry-rotted and looking beyond repair. See here.

So while I set about transforming our entry way, touring beautiful homes for inspiration and cleaning up our pantry, Chris set about reconstructing our dilapidated structure.

Three months, lots of sweat and a complete overhaul later, we have a beautiful garage:




You can see from the pics that there is a still a tiny bit of work to finish. But the rain came early here in Oregon and we haven't had a dry day, when we were actually home, to paint. So, it's done for now. The best part is that the inside it done. Which means, I have my backyard and my back porch back. Hurrah!

The most amazing part of this project, in my opinion? My hubby has amazingly talented friends and family and we didn't pay a dime to contractors. This means, all the demo, framing, roofing, siding, electrical and painting were done for free. And, Chris took all the siding off the building before demo and then reattached is before we painted. This ensured a seamless look between the house and garage, while also sparing our pocketbook and our local landfill. We could not be happier with the result.