I went outside tonight to water the garden. . . and then I saw:

The first little baby tomatoes of the summer! Other seattle folks were posting about starting to have some but I hadn’t seen any on our plants until tonight, woot!

What you see in this photo is approximately the sum total of what we got all last summer, so things are already looking up!

One of the projects we’re hoping to tackle this summer is the redesign of our fireplace and mantle. When we moved in we knew there were several elements we didn’t like, so we didn’t even take the time to paint it. That greige color is what the whole inside of our house was painted when we moved in.

Anyway, you’ve probably noticed in some of our monthly mantel posts that things are looking a little rough. We try to cover it up with cuteness, but there are some pretty glaring issues to be dealt with.

On the to-do list are:

- Remove diamond medallions and patch back plaster.

- Remove upper applied small mantel since it doesn’t match the overall style (the fireplace is sort of mission style and that scalloped mantel is much more colonial). We will be leaving the alcove, although it, too, needs some plaster patching.

- Install light fixtures (there are active wires in those sconce locations)

- Install new reclaimed wood mantel

- Paint the plaster

I took these photos so we could throw them into photoshop and finalize the design. We’ll share the process as we go. We actually already have the wonderful light fixtures (a gift from D’s parents), and the reclaimed wood for the mantel (an estate sale purchase) so we need to get moving on the rest of it!!

Any suggestions/thoughts??

More polaroids. A day spent puttering about the house, cooking for the week ahead, working in the garden, getting a few long-awaited tasks completed. Nothing too exciting, but it felt good

Check out Rebekah’s blog for a lot of other sets

Filtered sunlight

Iced Coffee

Garden out the window

Books on the mantle

Painting prep

Frontyard Fescue

Yesterdays project (Details forthcoming)

Bok Choy Harvest

Dinnertime Grilling

Well Deserved Beer!

I have missed writing and hitting publish.

Last week I was without internet or phone or electricity.

And instead surrounded by nature’s beauty and 150 7th-12th graders and youth leaders.

Most days we rafted the Klamath River. 

But one of the days we always hike out to this spot called Clear Creek.

And spend the afternoon swimming and jumping off tall rocks. 

I loved every second.  Well mostly every second.  But the awe and amazement and laughter of this trip quickly made me forget how hard setting up tents in the dark rain was with all those kids. 

It feels good to be back, energized and ready for leaps ahead.

Foxglove is going CRAZY in our yard this year. Last year it was in the neighbors, and its migrated its way west this year (Foxglove is a biennial so it seeds the first year and blooms the second). Even though the flowers are poisonous and best to keep away from little fingers and curious puppies, the plants are super pretty and add a maintenance free dose of color to the perimeter of our garden.

Today I stumbled upon this print from RedBeanDesign on etsy and love the bold graphic nature it brings to the delicate foxglove. I think this would feel like summer all year round. I also love that you can order it on a gallery wrapped canvas for instant art with no framing needs.

What summer art are you loving?