it’s about time….

It’s been awhile now, that we’ve been saying we were going to build a new sandbox for the kids.  We have a little plastic crab that we picked up at the reuse center (that worked for a little while) but we noticed that the two of them could barely fit and then once you add a couple toys, etc. there’s really no room, as you can see.

So the other day while we were outside playing I grabbed a shovel and started digging the post holes.  I knew if I did that then we’d be forced to start building.  So yesterday we woke up – went out to get the bags of sand, and returned home to begin our project. 

Of course, it never goes as smoothly as you anticipate – but all in all it wasn’t so bad.  We had some leftover composite decking from both of our decks – so we used that (no splinters, no painting or staining and no rot). 

We’re all thrilled with the results…….

 

The kids can spend hours in the sandbox – it will be so nice to have a sandbox again for them to play in, explore in, imagine in, dig in and simply “be” in.

 

Heat Wave

If you live in the San Fran Bay area you are aware of the heat wave we’ve been having and if you don’t, well, let me tell you it’s been HOT!  It’s been well into the upper 90’s and 100 by our house during the week.  Luckily we’ve been at the pool for swim lessons a lot but boy this heat can get to you.  So we decided to escape the heat this weekend and head to the beach. 

In Northern Cali it’s always cooler at the beach – by about 30 degrees during these heat waves.  It’s crazy!  We watched the temperature gauge in our car climb from 64 degrees at the beach up to 100 degrees by the time we pulled into our driveway!  I know it’s not completely accurate – but it’s pretty close.  

So Dillon Beach was the destination – and what a destination it is!  To get there we drive through farmlands, lots of dairy cows, sheep, goats, etc.  A lot of little farm stands, adorable old houses dotting the hillsides – it’s beautiful!  As you get closer you drive through the sleepy little town of Tomales, which if you blink you may miss it as you drive by and then you come down into the winding little street packed with little cottages as you pull up to Dillon Beach – so picturesque.

This is a great beach for dogs, kids, surfers, everyone.  As you can see by some of the pictures, there’s a nice layer of fog that envelopes you, the sun peaks through here and there.  It’s fun to watch all the surfers and skim boarders and this time I saw some paddle boarders out there too!

We did a lot of running from waves (that’s some coooold water!), a bit of falling into the water as we were trying to run from it, kite flying, chasing Milo (he had a blast!) rock collecting, digging, searching for treasures and just enjoying the salty air.

A much needed respite from the heat! 

 

a much needed rest for Milo

 

stopped by for a late lunch and a tall IPA – oh yummy!

I’d say they had a great day!

Hope you had a nice weekend.  What did you do to beat the heat?  Or are you having an unusually cool summer?

A little side note – I do love this heat for my peppers and tomatoes – I’m hoping I might see a red tomato soon!  Imagine that!

 

Our latest addition

A couple weeks ago I was laying on the couch, feeling miserable and sick, Doug had taken the kids out for the day and I get a phone call.  It’s Doug, he’s at the thrift store down the street from our house and he has found an old kitchen hutch, with no back or shelves and needing some TLC but it was a great price and he thought we could restore it and try to sell it (and maybe make a little bit of money – imagine that).  I didn’t feel like thinking about it so I just said “sure” bring it home and we’ll figure it out.

So he loads this thing in the truck and brings it home.  I finally drag my bum off the couch and peak out the window to see what we have gotten ourselves into……. it’s huge!  Holy smokes – this thing looks like it’s been sitting in someone’s barn for the last 30 years!  This is going to require some work.  But as I get closer and I see the adorable (and original) green glass knobs, the wavy glass in the top cabinets ( I love old glass and mirrors – the wavy look of the glass or the darker look of the mirror – it just screams vintage) and the three dowels on the side for towels – I quickly fall in love! 

Fabulous eye Doug!  But it just looks so big there is no way we could keep it.  Our house is, well let’s say quaint, and we already have a lot of antiques we have restored and they all have their “spot” and I don’t want the house to feel crowded.  We rope our neighbor into helping us bring it into the backyard to store it until we can start cleaning it up and restoring it.  So there it sits, and there I sit in the sun porch eyeing it.  I think it was on Tuesday morning when I finally went out there and started measuring it up, then I went inside and started measuring the wall in the kitchen that it would look GREAT on.  According to my measurements it would fit perfectly, except there is already a beautiful antique buffet on that wall.  Hmmm, so I start measuring up different spots to start moving pieces of furniture.  Well, after about 30 minutes of measuring and checking and re-measuring I decide – that’s it we are keeping it and moving furniture around so it can fit in the kitchen.

So begins the process of cleaning and restoring. 

 

 

It actually wasn’t bad since we were just going to paint it white and then add the shelves and the beadboard backing.  It’s a lot more work if you have to strip the layers of paint, sand and then stain. 

 

So after two weekends of TLC we moved it into it’s home and now have a place for my grandmother and Doug’s grandmothers China (which have been sitting in our garage for almost a year). 

Oh, I’m so happy with this restoration.  It just feels so good to give life to something that was going to be discarded and keep it alive.  Things aren’t made as good as they used to and I love knowing there is history with this piece of furniture.  Again, we’ve saved something else from meeting it’s demise at the landfill.

 

Garden update…..

The strawberries keep coming!  Yippee!  If you read my post from earlier about the bugs eating our strawberries, you would have thought we would not be pulling in the crop that we are.  Our bug juice worked!  Doug gathers a bowl every morning and today I went out during my gardening time and saw the beautiful little ruby red jewels peaking through the green in the patch – what a lovely sight!

I love the imperfections of growing your own food.  The “perfect” fruits and veggies you find in the store seem (to me) to be nuclear looking.  Like they’ve been pumped with chemicals, given a shot of steroids and then dipped in wax.  I do find some “picture perfect” fruits and veggies in our yard but I love to find all the funky ones, the teeny tiny berries, the gnarled looking pepper – the “imperfect” ones – those are my favorites!

We headed back to the midwest for a week and during that time our lettuce bolted and got bitter, so I had to tear out that crop and sowed more seeds today (arugula, bibb, romain, and salad bowl).  I feel like I’ve been so crazy with other things that I haven’t been focusing on the garden so it was fun to play out there today.  I love to work in the garden with all the bees buzzing around me, the sun shining down on me, the kids playing in the dirt – it’s therapy. 

Here’s what I saw today….

 

 

What’s going on in your garden?

 

pants or a shirt – you decide?

So I have been collecting Doug’s old shirts and mine – that have fun patterns or good pockets.  You ask why?  Well, I have been saving them to make pants for the kids.  Soulemama has a technique she wrote about in her book The Creative Family.  I thought – what a great idea!  I love to re purpose something and give it new life. 

So I busted into my collection and began my project.  Amazingly it is super quick.  I think in total it may have taken 15 to 20 minutes – not too bad and in the end you get a cool new pair of pants.  

Here’s how it goes….. take your shirt, lay out a pair of pants that is the kids current size, trace around it (I actually just cut with the pant laying on the shirt – another way to save a step).  Add a little around the pant to allow for seam allowance, cut a piece of elastic to size, sew it up and you got yourself a new pair of pants.  You can read in detail in her book. 

I place the pants so that the pocket of the shirt becomes the back pocket of the pants.  I recently made Ryder a pair out of an old Ben Davis shirt of Doug’s (they are adorable) and also a pair of linen pants out of an old linen shirt (perfect for spring/summer). 

My shirts don’t work so well b/c of pleating (something to watch for).  I have some jersey shirts I will be using for shorts and leggings.  I did make a skirt out of an old shirt of mine for Saige – it’s now one of my favorite skirts for her.

(and her shirt is a new one I made yesterday – my little Peace baby!)

I love to see the little ones in their handmade garb – and they seem to like it too!  Nothing better than when your 4 1/2 year old says “mama, will you make me another pair of pants”.  I just LOVE it!!!!