Crazy Summer in Seattle

Seattle - it's the place to be!

It's been a fast, fun-filled summer, but I'm glad there's finally some downtime. Our house has been like a busy little bee hive lately. We had Mountain Man's mom for a few days at the end of June and our niece and nephew for the month of July. Their family joined them on the 5th week. The day our family left, my sweet friend (and college roomy), Molly, came over with her family for a fun evening.

At the same time that the kids came, our good friend, Matthew, from Colorado got a job here in Seattle and moved in with us. He's been here since July 4th weekend. His wife (Mindy) and baby came up the day after Molly & her family left and they stayed for a week to look for a place to rent. Then, they went back home to pack up their belongings for the big move. Two days after Mindy and baby left, my long-time friends, Codie & Jennifer came in for a girls' vacation. They left yesterday. Mountain Man and I now have four full days to ourselves until Matthew, Mindy and baby return on Thursday to live with us for about a month, or until they find a place to rent.

CRAZINESS, I say, but it's been A LOT of fun. I've loved all of the energy buzzing around, but I'm not gonna lie; I love this normal workday at home! I'll be posting quite a few pictures of all of our summer activities soon.

Spiders

Cloudy, drizzly days are still here, with sunshine and blue skies occasionally peeking through. Add in the 50-60 degree weather and it still feels like Spring, although the calendar says it should be Summer already! Apparently, the animals and insects also feel that Spring is in the air.

Just the other evening, Mountain Man spotted these baby garden spiders on the lid of our chiminea. Doesn't that rain drop hanging in the web look big compared to the baby spiders? I don't think I've seen that many spiders in one place before.

How about you? Any signs of summer yet?

Colorado Springs

I just got home from visiting friends in Colorado Springs last week. It was such a fun week and I loved my time there. We went hiking, went to the zoo, celebrated Canaan's first birthday, played games, and went to Pike's Peak. I also ended up getting to see a friend that I hadn't seen since high school. We had a wonderful time catching up. All in all, a fantastic trip!

Colorado Springs Trip

Enjoy!

Bridal Veil Falls

I met some friends for a hike at Bridal Veil Falls over the weekend while Mountain Man worked at home. He hiked with some coworkers on Friday, so he needed to catch up. We only ended going about half a mile up because some little legs gave out, but after a picnic lunch back at the trail head, I decided to go all the way. The hike is only 2 miles and it was rainy on & off throughout the afternoon. I was surprised that it was actually a fairly easy hike until I got to the 101 steps going up to the base of the falls! Let's just say I got a pretty good aerobic workout in that last leg! Bridal Veil Falls was amazing, even though it was a cold, wet, gray day. The force of the water is unbelievable and I was freezing while admiring the massive falls. There was a constant spray of water and I was worried that the camera would be ruined, but so far it's okay. I actually saw a little wildlife that day (emphasis on LITTLE), too. We saw a gorgeous burnt-orange-backed hummer while having our picnic in the parking lot, and then I saw a cute little plump mouse, scurrying around the falls. The rain cleared up a little on my way back and I actually saw the sun and a glimpse of blue sky. It was a wonderful day!

From Bridal Veil Falls

Follow the link for more fun pictures of our day!

A little trip through Blogland

Fasten your safety harness, grab your snacks and a steaming cup of coffee and enjoy the ride (through Blogland, that is). 

Some of my favorite sites recently (that have been added to my Google Reader):

Knock-off Wood - If you've ever had the desire to build something from scratch, you've GOT to see Anna's site! She's got knock-off plans for all kinds of high-end furniture. I really want to attempt a few things, but I'm so nervous to even try. I don't even understand her easy-to-understand lingo, nor do I have the tools. However, this hasn't stopped me before, so who knows - I might jump right in!

Remodelaholic - Cassity has some awesome tutorials and beautiful inspiration!

Funky Junk Interiors - Donna gives a whole new meaning to "from trash to treasure!" I'm truly blown away by her creativity! I think her stairs are my favorite thing in her awesome house! {I'm really not sure how I can have just one favorite thing in her house...}

Alchemy Junk - Stephanie features some neat techniques (of which rusting is on my list to try), gorgeous creations, and of course, tons of inspiration. She was certainly blessed with some major creative genes!

So You Think You Can Decorate - 10 decorators, 10 challenges, 10 weeks - SO FUN to see their creations each week!

There are more, but I don't want to overwhelm you all at once!

I'm working on my mud room right now and I'll have before and after pics, hopefully by the beginning of next week! Now go get a refill of coffee and get to creating!

Coffee Filter Wreath

I found this simple, frugal coffee filter wreath on The Little Brown House, and headed to The Dollar Store that same day! I absolutely love it on my teal wall!

Now that I'm looking back at her post, I realize that my wreath is lacking in cuteness. I didn't "scrunch" it at all. Hmmm. Just a minute...Scrunching and fluffing.

There we go, that's got a little more character.

So, Miss Brown House, where is your wreath-making school? I need some skills! LOL She has detailed instructions on her blog, just follow the link above. I used the same wreath base, brown coffee filters, and safety pins that she did. I'm going to try another one with white filters, but this time I'm going to use the u-shaped floral pins she refers to. If I mess with it too much, the safety pins start to come out. I'm not sure what I did wrong or how to correct this problem, but as long as it just hangs there looking pretty on the wall, I think it will be fine.

Total Cost: <$5 ($1 wreath form, $1 safety pins, $2-something for the coffee filters and I had the ribbon

I'd love to see one if you make it!

Now we're cool

We're not just becoming cool because we're finally getting hip - we all know that will never happen! We're cool because we finally got new ceiling fans! The old 1980's white/gold fans have now been replaced with new bronze/walnut fans from Hunter. It really makes such a difference, especially since they work! :)

Before/After Pics Here

I've been really into doing some home improvements lately, so there are more posts to come on this topic!