Doodlings No.3

Do you ever have one of those days?

Those "I can't really seem to get motivated to do anything today..." days?

Probably not.  Probably only really responsible and energy-filled people read my blog.  The kind of people that hang out with Martha Stewart and play the Cello in their spare time.

But today is one of those days for me.  I don't know why, since it's my "blogging day" and that usually gets me pretty pumped full o' lead and ready to go.  But not today.

Today I have looked up a plant that I would like to buy.  I saw it in Country Living yesterday, it's called a "Paddle Plant" and I want one.  Or two.

Via Country Living

And I am dreaming of a glass shelf or two for my kitchen window, like these ones, to put my new Paddle Plants on (actually I've had this page from BHG cut out for over a year now).

Via Better Homes & Gardens

But then I start thinking "Would that block my view...?" and I get scared.

Here's the bank of kitchen windows before we moved in.  I would put the shelves (1 or 2) in the big center one.  What do you think?  

I have also been working on a project that I started last Saturday.  I was hoping to have it done to share with all of you today, but alas the window casings needed primed and my dog needed groomed this week.  So it'll be on the docket for next week--it's a good one, too :)

Speaking of my dog.

My Dad told me that my Aunt (my dear, sweet Aunt from Crate Storage Bench: Tufted Upholstery) ...

...told him that she hadn't read anything about Jip on my blog lately.
And she wanted to make sure he was okay.
He's fine.  Except that he always wants to be outside and whines and complains when I won't let him out.
He apparently didn't get the memo that he's supposed to be a white girly-dog, carried around in handbags and given bows to wear.
HA!
My dog eats drywall chips and bugs for fun.
Maybe that's why his breath is so toxic.

So for your viewing pleasure, or to satisfy anyone working for the Humane Society who might check up on my blog periodically, or even if PETA might gander a visit on over here, (you should come see my freezer full of meat), here are some recent pictures of our little monster!

And here's where I made him dance for a treat.
He hates it when I do that to him.

He's happy as can be right now, curled up beside me on the couch sleeping.
Ahhh, what a life.
Jip really is sweet and very loyal.  We love him to death and are very happy we have him.

Besides, who can resist that face?

And lastly, though most importantly, our little one is doing very well!
(the baby, not Jip...track with me here...).
Everything is progressing very normally.  We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and got to see some ninja kicks and punches.  I have a little baby bump finally...though I don't have any pictures right now to show you because they're in Joe's cyberspace files somewhere.
Soon, I will have to post some soon.

And I bought a changing table!  That will be revealed in time.  Rest assured there are many projects in the works, they're just not done yet.  Much exciting stuff between now and January!

Have a great weekend everyone.  This Sunday is Joe's birthday, so we're excited to go out on a date and spend some good time together.  Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Oh, and let me know what you think I should do with my kitchen window!

~The Doodle Bug

(Un)Landscaping a Monster

Happy Fall, everyone! 
You may be like me, stubborn and refusing to believe that summer is coming to a close.

But yesterday I did smell some cinnamon-scented pine cones in the store and it brought a little leap of joy to my heart.

Could just be that I've been craving chili for months, though.  

Either way, Fall is here whether I want it or not.  And Joe and I are trying to race the clock and get all our yard work done before winter.  

Here is the latest news on our proclaimed

SUMMER OF DESTRUCTION

This is the post you've all been waiting for.

When we moved in, our yard was...indescribable.

We told our friends to just look for the "house with all the weeds."

One friend could find our house on Google Maps just by looking for the jungle on our street.  

How Embarrassing.

Here she is, in all her terrible glory:

Sorry about the weirdness, this is actually three pictures patched together into one.  


But it does have some eeriness fitting for the sight, right?

This picture somehow makes it look about 10 times better than it actually did. 

 Partially because it was taken about a month before we actually took possession of the house, so the weeds hadn't totally gone out of control yet.

Imagine, though, a huge patch of three-foot thistles on the right side of the picture, next to the road.

Jealous?

But a few weeks after we moved in, one of our other friends came to the rescue.

Remember "L" from An Upholstered Chair Fit for a Princess ?

Well in case you had forgotten, she's awesome.  And she contacted a bunch of our friends from our church small group for a WEED-PULLING PARTY!!!  We were so. excited.

Here are some up-close and personal pictures of the disaster that we proudly own(ed).

I know what you're thinking.  "Wow, I wish someone had gone insane and planted an entire nursery of plants in our yard, then left them to grow untended for five years!"

Yes, that is in fact what we thought, too.  Which is the main reason we bought the property.
Obviously.

But our wonderful friends came to the rescue and came with tow strap, truck, crow bars, reciprocating saw, muscles and smiles.  They were absolutely awesome.

The weed-pulling party mostly morphed into a "Men pulling bushes out with the truck" party.  And they even took out a bad little maple tree in the backyard.
Yeah, they blew our minds.

Here are the results of that one night of mayhem:

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???  In case you didn't realize, this area looked like this before:

There are trees in there!  With trunks!  Who knew??  

This was the home of some low-spreading creepy crawly evergreens which took over this entire area.  Oh, and the log?  It was in there all along, we just didn't know it.  Hey log :)

Wow.  We were amazed.  And so grateful for all the help.  It would have taken the two of us a heck of a lot longer to get that all done ourselves.

Here is the pile of bush bones, not including the tree from the back or the thistles that had already been pulled

And now a few weeks, five truckloads of junk to the city compost pile, some sweat and a lot of work, we find ourselves living in a house that no longer looks like a jungle.  Thank goodness.  I snapped this picture today.

We're not done yet, obviously.  But our neighbors love us :)

We have grass seeded on each side of the drive, and those weeping crabapple trees on the right have some little borders around them.

I suppose for all their...unique...ideas, the previous owners did leave us a lot of rocks to make borders.

We're feeling pretty good.  Though we haven't really beat the thistles yet.  

There's an underground root system that is tough to beat, but lucky for me I married a farm boy.

Chemicals do wonderful things.

Here's a side-by-side for your viewing pleasure:

Until next time, enjoy your fall, don't plant a plethora of bushes, and maybe make a pot of chili!  Yummmm.

~  The Doodle Bug

I'm usually partyin' at these hangouts:

Friday Feature @ Redoux

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Simply Creations Link Party @ Simple Home. Life

It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life

Spotlight Saturday @ Classy Clutter

Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday @ Kammy's Korner

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

Wow Us Wednesdays@Savvy Southern Style

Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

Wax-Resist Stenciled Planter

Part 2 of 2.  To see Part 1, check it out at Building a Wood Planter Box.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Becky.  She liked to make things and especially paint things, but most of the time she just used different tricks she learned from other people.  This was great, but then one day she came up with an idea all her own.  And it. Was. Epic.

Building a Wood Planter Box

Part One of Two

Heya everyone!  Today is an epic day, you wanna know why?  Because I'm about to do something I have never done.  I am going to post twice in one day.

Say What???

Yes, believe it and throw a party because it may never happen again.  

I have a great project to show you, but it involves two different steps.  So I'm splitting it into two posts so that you can easily read only the part you care about, without wading though a post that goes on for miles.  "I'm so thoughtful like that!"  This post is about how to build a basic wood planter box, the second is how I painted it.  I'll explain a little more about why I did it all in the next post, but for now you can just know that this was a birthday present for a friend (and she already got it, so now I am at liberty to show all of you!).

**Update:  Check out the next post at Wax-Resist Stenciled Planter**

Let's get the nitty gritty out of the way first.  Here were the materials I started with, (plus a 1"8"x5' pine board).

Before & Afters and Blow Money Magic

Do you ever have those days when you just want to see some quick results, and you don't care how you get them?  Today is one of those for me.  I was working downstairs in a tizzy not because I'm in a hurry, but because I just want to get something done!!  I finished for now downstairs, and because I can't seem to sit still, I got busy on a post--an "instant gratification" update post.  Meaning I'm going to show you a little bunch of things that won't require you--or me--to think!  Hooray!

Actually my brain is a little fried.  Last night we went over to "Family H's" (remember them?  They gave me the Striped Bench and Antique Wood Box, just because they're awesome.  And they think they're giving me junk! HA!), because they were burning a big pile of...big timbers...and we were up late making sure nothing else caught on fire.  Actually Joe & "A" were up late.  I went to bed, because I'm a diva.

Anyway, as promised, here are a few little stories and pictures to update you on my awesome recent projects and finds.

Up first, this little rocking horse that I bought for CHEEEP!

Shoveling, Shlepping, & Shopping.

Today is the first day of Buffalo's March Occasional Sale, and it's a good one!  I've been working this week trying to finish up a few big projects for the store, and this morning I took in the last two things.  Phew!  It feels good to have a full booth, and I even had time to check out a few of the other stores in town.  We have such a creative little nook here, and it is so neat to see what everyone is doing.  So, here is a summary of my day, a day in Buffalo, Minnesota!

To start, I had to get out of the driveway...and get the snow out of the back of the truck.  This is the life of a girl in the upper midwest without a garage :)

Window Garden

Yesterday and today have been full of exciting decorating fun.  Today, I've been working on a little bench made from a small wood crate--but you'll have to wait until it's done to see it!  For today, I have the results of a long thought-out process that I finally jumped on yesterday.


                      Before                                                                                    After

In magazines, I kept stumbling across pictures like the ones found in these blog posts (I am sorry, but I cannot post pictures from other sites on my blog...they always end up getting removed even if they are credited and linked to the original site...anyone know if that's just the way it's always going to be, or if there's a way around it?  I read blogs that have pictures from other sites up...I'm just not sure how they do it!).  If you have a spare moment, these are the links to their posts; they're pretty cool:

A Garden for the House

ROOST

Budget Wise Home

Don't you love those hanging terrariums?  If I got my wish, I would have some of those puppies--I'm just not sure that I would remember to mist them everyday.  And I love the idea of glass shelving in the window--they give you a place for plants without blocking the light.  Perfect.

But for me right now, I wanted to find a similar solution without having to go and buy anything.  So yesterday I set out to get it done.