Happy 4th!

Hey there, Happy 4th! How was your holiday weekend? Ours was full of fireworks, sunshine, grilling out and of course some DIY projects. I desperately needed to start on several projects so I don’t turn into a furniture hoarder. My side of the garage (honestly, there is a line down the middle) is quickly getting full of furniture – I’m calling it my “DIY Queue”. So on Saturday I started the hard, sweaty, make your back hurt prep phases on several pieces. On weekends like this that are very “preppy”, I like to squeeze in some instant gratification projects (i.e. cut trees down and make new pillows).

The first project of the weekend was a little unconventional but what a workout! When the builder of this house cleared the plot, he strangely left 3 trees in the middle of the yard. Although oddly placed, they looked fine until they recently started sporting dead limbs all over, so we decided to chop those suckers down. Please re-read that sentence and focus on the “we”. I can rock a power tool as good as anyone else but this gal’s not operating a chain saw – not-gonna-happen. I still have a lot to learn and with all of the clumsy things JD sees me do on a daily hourly basis, he knew he had to literally man up to this one. I also think Bo wouldn’t mind the extra room to you know… do his biz.

Special shout out to my hottie of a hubby who worked this chain saw like it was his job. I’m not sure how he knows how to do every project in the DIY book, but he does and I dig it. He’s been such an awesome teacher!


I’m amazed at how big the yard looks now!

After hauling all of the chopped trees into the woods, it was time to get clean. Unfortunately I’m not talking about myself, although I was covered in sap. As clean as primer can make a piece of furniture feel, at the end of the day you will still know there’s mildew, funk or dirt living underneath and that just creeps me out. Chances are if you bought the furniture from an antique store or yard sale it probably needs a good bath! Soap and water usually does the job, but I’m really loving Zep Fast505 Industrial Cleaner. It was a cinch to clean the Adirondack chairs and wicker table – I was even able to catch a few rays in the process, but after it hit 95 degrees, I was ready for some inside projects!

So recently I’ve been feeling like something is missing from our living room. Everyday I look at it, sit in it and just feel like something’s not quite right. While browsing the aisles at Hancock Fabric last week it finally occurred to me what’s missing… COLOR! So I bought 2 yards of 2 different fabrics and made 5 pillows to add a much needed splash of color. I conveniently had 5 old throw pillows that I didn’t like anymore so they were the perfect filling.

After measuring the throw pillow, I cut 2 pieces of fabric adding 2 inches to all sides for the seam. I then simply pinned the two pieces of fabric together so they were facing. I say “simply” but Bo actually made this part a little difficult

I then sewed all 3 sides, flipped it inside out, stuffed the old pillow inside and then carefully sewed the last seam.

Sometime this summer I also plan to make a frame gallery over the sofa. Below is a rough sketch of my plan. I promise it will not be all pictures of Bo, although I think that would be a fabulous idea!

We ended this fabulous weekend with fireworks on Lake Anna! Happy 4th y’all