Friday Night Must-See T.V.

My eyes have been glued to my T.V. screen every Friday night for the last few weeks.  That is unlike me, because with the exception of "Downton Abbey",  I can't think of many shows that qualify as must-see T.V. for me.


The reason for my interest is admittedly biased.  My little brother is on T.V. !  It is true.  He is one of the cast of a new reality TV series called "Bering Sea Gold" on the Discovery channel. 

Like most reality T.V. shows, there is plenty of drama and conflict.  There are some rascally characters who have a hard time keeping their language family-friendly.  So I recommend it with those caveats.

The weird thing about having someone you know really well on television is that it should feel really weird, but it doesn't.  At least not to me.   Maybe that's because I love and respect Ian so much.  For once, someone who is actually a good person can be quasi-famous.


Which is not to say that anyone has shown any interest in keeping up with our family anytime soon--which is a good thing.  Unlike my brave brother, my idea of hell would be to have someone filming my life for weeks at a time.  I have too many moments I'm not proud of.


I am proud of him--not so much for being on T.V., but for being secure enough with himself to let all of America into his life--the good, the bad and the ugly.  He didn't do so lightly.  He has been  a little worried, hoping that the way he was portrayed on the show would accurately reflect the Christ-like person he is trying to become.  That speaks volumes about the kind of man he is.  


Although to be honest, as a big sister, I somehow always remember him as a little kid (he's the one on the far right in the picture below).  You've gotta have someone keeping you humble, right? :)

Busy, Busy, Bathroom

We are busy, busy, as usual.  We also started having our master bathroom remodeled this week.  I wish I could brag that it is me and my husband sweating it out, but I have to admit that we have hired a contractor and it is nice knowing it will be done soon, with minimal stress on our parts, other than enduring the noise and mess that comes with remodeling.

So I've been able to concentrate on the fun part: the design.  I want to feel like I stepped into a sunny day at the beach every time I go in my bathroom.  I also want a more contemporary look than I normally go for.  I just like a bathroom to feel (and hopefully be) clean.  Here are some inspiration photos I pinned:

Via Decorpad

via Google Images

I love the open vanity and beachy feel.  

Love the outdoor tropical shower

Here is a sneek peek of what we are doing:

Shower tile (Silver vein-cut travertine for $3/square foot from Craigslist)


Floor tile (Grey limestone, $4 a square foot, another Craigslist find)


Vanity--just waiting for cute baskets of towels, etc., on the bottom:

Showerhead:



Paint Color:



Right now we have a hole in our kitchen ceiling, and everything in our bathroom is gone except the floors and the wall.  We had our rusty, galvanized pipes replaced as well, and we are loving the water pressure in our one working shower.  They installed the Hardiboard in the shower, and we are now living in a house that looks basically normal except for the light coating of drywall dust that has settled over everything.  I never thought I'd say it, but I just really want to be able to clean my house....  Right now, there is no point.

But man, am I glad that we can afford to remodel our bathroom right now.  It is going to function and look sooooo much better.  I'll post some more progress pictures in a few days.

Coin "Tiled" Mirror Frame

During our snow days a few weeks ago, I finished a project that I've been planning to do for a while.

Several months ago, I bought an IKEA mirror at the Goodwill.  It looks something like the one below, except with a completely flat frame.  When I bought it, it was turquoise, which although lovely, was a bit brighter than what I wanted.  So I spray painted it antique gold, then lightly with a silvery champagne color and hung it up.  I've been wanting to bring more silvery tones into my living room, but it just didn't look good.  I liked the shape, but not the color.  Also, the flat frame just looked too contemporary for my shabby chic/junk market/aspiring Miss Mustard Seed-style living room.  So I left it on the wall and just felt cranky and confused whenever I looked at it :).

One day, one of my friends, Genevieve, hemmed and hawed, finally summoning up her courage to tell me: "Uh--promise you won't be offended--but I think that mirror doesn't look so good there..." We do decorating projects together and bounce ideas off each other all the time, so this wasn't completely out of the blue, but it was pretty bold of her to say.

I laughed in surprise--I wasn't at all offended, and we we brainstormed about what to do with the mirror.  Then Genevieve, genius that she is, reminded me of my plan to do a table top of international money something like the penny counter I had pinned a few months ago.  What about putting the money on the frame?

Source

 I knew this was a good plan instantly.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  By the way, this technique would work on any other flat surface (picture frame? small table? etc.?) you want to cover with coins.  The guy at nubcakes.blogspot.com used resin and a framed counter, but I knew I didn't have the time to do a project that was quite that intense/messy/smelly/required somehow adding a lip to contain the resin all around the edge of a round mirror.  

So I went with what I had on hand (or could borrow from Genevieve).  I absolutely loved how it turned out.  

Pretty cool-looking, right?  Despite the lame pictures?  I need to invest in some better equipment for taking low-light interior photographs in Washington. A light scoop?  A tripod?  (Gulp) a different lens?  I am not exactly experiencing sun-drenched rooms this winter.

Anyway, technical difficulties and insecurities aside, here is the tutorial:

Other than a surface to decorate (flat mirror frame?  picture frame? etc.?), you'll need:

• Silicone adhesive (I used Dap Clear Silicone Rubber Sealant)

• Modgepodge Hard Coat
• Foam brush
• Lots and lots of coins (more than you think you'll need--I was literally raiding my kids' piggy banks--I did pay them back, don't worry...)

Step 1.  Arrange your money on the surface in whatever way pleases you.  I kind of sprinkled all the international money evenly around, making sure to make the silver/copper balance roughly even, then filled in with American money.  Incidentally, I put all the American money heads down unless it had a year that was significant to our family (birth years, year my husband were married, years we graduated from high school, etc.).  My kids liked helping me find coins that had special years on them.

Step 2.  After you have it all arranged to your satisfaction, start using the adhesive to stick the coins on.  You might experiment with how much sealant you need.  I found about a pea-sized dollop was about right for a dime--more for larger coins.  Do all the coins.  It took me about two hours to do all of mine spaced out over a day or so.

Step 3.  When you think you are done, pick up your frame and turn it upright.  If you are like me, a few coins will fall down because you forgot to glue them.  Better to find this out later than never.

Step 4a.  Let the sealant dry.  I left it overnight just to be safe.  Then break out your Modge Podge Hard Coat and foam brush.  Brush a generous coat over the top and between the coins.  Don't worry if it looks a bit gloppy (see picture below).  It will dry just fine (see other pic below).  Just spread it all out there.  I was a little conservative around the edges, though--I didn't want any drips.




Step 4b.  Let the first coat dry completely.  Then add two more coats, letting them dry thoroughly between coats.  Voila!  You will be done and have a unique, valuable (har har) home accessory to be proud of.

A few braggy pictures:


Ooooooooo!





Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Let me know if you try this technique.  I'd love to hear how your project turns out!


I'm linking up to:

Not Just a Housewife's Show Me What Ya Got

Portland Getaway

Hello one and all,

The snow melted--and just in time.  We've had a weekend getaway to Portland planned for a few months, and were hoping/praying for clear roads.

Aaron's been hankering (yes, hankering) to see Jimmer Ferdette play some basketball in the pros, and since Seattle doesn't have a pro team anymore (sniff, sniff), the Portland Trailblazers are the closest we can get.  We stayed over night at a hotel downtown (thank you, Hotwire).  The kids loved swimming in the pool Monday morning.

We had a great day eating at some fun restaurants, shopping a little and doing some fun things for the kids.  Aaron and the kids went to the game with his brother and our nephew, and Lucy and I went to Target (a pitiful lack of imagination, I know) and picked them up when it was over.

All in all, a great little mini getaway.  And I've got the pictures to prove it :).


Sawyer didn't want to come in the pool at all.  Here Sophie is trying to convince him that the water's fine...

He had a great time throwing the ball around and lurking poolside. We probably need to get this kid some more swimming lessons.  He needs to feel the fear and swim anyway :).

 Lukas in midflight.  Most of my pictures of him are blurry.  His nickname is Forrest, because everywhere he goes, he's a'runnin'.

Lucy and Aaron exchanging some loves.


We ate breakfast at Tasty and Sons.  The food was scrumptious.  I forgot to take pictures of it because I was too busy eating...

 The interior of Tasty and Sons has a cool, urban loft vibe.  Loved it.

We stopped by the Doc Marten store.  I haven't been to a dedicated Docs store since I used to go to the one (now closed) in Covent Garden when we lived in London.  I deliberated about some pewter flats, ultimately deciding no, and took a picture of these gorgeous cushions.  I think Sarah from Modern Country Style has one in her dining room. I may have to shamelessly copy this style and make one for our family room.

 Cool old building.  I am a sucker for them!  This one was for sale, and I had a fun time imagining what it looked like inside, and how if money were no object, I could convert it into a block of posh flats.  Yes, I know I'm a little strange.... :)

 Lucy on the swings.  You can't tell, but she is actually swinging in this picture.  She is the most daring baby we've had and loves to go high on the swings.  Heaven help me!

 Damon performing feats of skill and strength.

 Sophie taking the shorter but harder path into the playground.  She's so cute.  And I really wish her jacket came in my size--isnt' it darling?

 We have been hemming and hawing about tile design for our master bathroom shower.  We stopped into Ann Sacks tile and saw this display.  Both of us love it.  Miracle!  I'm not sure if this color scheme is the one we will go with, but at least this is progress.  Woo hoo!

We ate lunch at Hot Lips Pizza and couldn't resist an opportunity to ham it up.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  Sawyer had a great time with this pulley and in the water engineering area (as you can tell from his shirt).

Cool view from OMSI out to the Columbia River at twilight.

Over and out,

Snow Days

One of the great things about living in Western Washington is that it doesn't snow very often.  The weather is rainy, sure, but it is also blessedly mild.  You can practically wear the same clothes all year, just adding a jacket when it gets cooler and subtracting it when it gets warmer.

However, when it does snow, everything grinds to a halt.  Most cities do not have snowplows, you see.  It's probably hard to justify expensive equipment that you typically only need once a year at most.  Without snowplows, and with temperatures that are usually trampolining around freezing, it means that the snow on the roads melts during the day and then freezes at night.  The treacherous road conditions are compounded because so many drivers are inexperienced snow drivers.  Really, once it starts snowing, it is better to just stay home if you possibly can.  People try to keep enough groceries on hand so they won't need to go to the store.  After that, you kind of burrow in for a few days.  It kind of reminds me of Laura Ingalls Wilder's description of her childhood winters in Little House in the Big Woods.



As a child growing up in the 19-80's, snow meant tuning into a special AM radio station where the announcer would read off all the school districts and whether they were cancelled or delayed.  Delayed meant school would start a few hours late--which was better than nothing.  But cancelled is what you really wanted. Cancelled school meant a surprise holiday with built-in entertainment in the form of playing in the snow.

In addition to school cancellations, most activities that are not essential just get cancelled when there has been any kind of snow accumulation.  So snow in Western Washington means you have an excuse to stay home and get cozy.  Sigh.  Staying home and getting cozy is my favorite thing to do no matter what the weather.  So what could be better?  

My parents live in a semi-rural area, so snow storms when I was growing up often meant power outages.  We heated our home with a wood stove, so we were still warm even if the power went out.  We could cook on the wood stove as well--we had one memorable Thanksgiving where had to cook our turkey we on the top of our wood stove (moistest ever, by the way).  It was both cozy and fun to feel like we really were Laura Ingalls Wilder, stuck at home because of the snow, cooking on a wood stove.  Although maybe my mom has different feelings about those power outages...

My family had a great day yesterday.  The kids who were old enough spent the day playing in the snow with friends, coming in to de-thaw, then going out again.  It's was like a party out there with all the neighborhood kids coming out to play in the snow.  Usually, the wet weather means everyone in the neighborhood digs into their houses like moles and we don't see each other until the Spring.  I enjoyed the luxury of not having to go anywhere for a change, and just plain puttered: helping the kids, doing laundry, making copycat Great Harvest bread, making homemade bread crumb mixture out of leftover pita bread, cleaning the kitchen, making granola and decorating a mirror frame for my living room.  I love puttering around my house, and snow days let me do it to my heart's content.  Here's a sneak peek of what I'm doing to my mirror frame:



We learned some important things yesterday.  For example, Nutella hot chocolate is delicious.  And Washington snow is much wetter than Utah snow.  Playing with friends is fun.  Taking some extra time to love my home and get caught up on chores makes me feel happy.

We lived in Utah for about 15 years.  There, snow is an expected and regular part of winter.  For the most part, life goes on as usual, and it just means inconvenience--only extreme weather gives you a break.  I'm grateful to live where I do and to have an excuse to slow down and enjoy my family and home once in a while.  Thank you, Mother Nature.

And today?



It's another snow day.  Oh yeah.