New dinning room table

Our retro table just is not doing it anymore! We have an old laminate wood table with chrome legs that are duck taped together at the top. So I thought it was time for a new table, but tables are really expensive so I thought I might make one. Here is my inspiration!

I want to build a bench for one side! I like this one, but I want a back on mine. And I love the light colored upholstered chairs with it. So I am going to do both.

Here is my beautiful wood it is black or dark walnut. I am think I am just going to seal it because the wood is pretty. But I want to have a dark table so we will have to see how it looks after the top is put together and I condition it.

There are my legs the short ones are for the bench and the long ones for the table.Duh! I go them from www.hairpinlegs.com/ . It was super easy to order from them and they have tons of styles! I hate choices. Right now they are raw steel which will rust so I may need to spray them black or clear.

 

 

 

I have picked out these chairs from IKEA. They have a dark brown/black base with a brown/natural cover which is great because you can change the cover! Check them out at Henriksdal chair from Ikea!

I am so excited about this new project! I am not that great with wood work so I am getting some help. I will be so happy to throw that old table away. And share the finished product!

-Liv

Summer Night Alone

Lights over the top of my deck 

Pandora Station I am listing to. Add a little Tiny Tim in there too!

MacBook for tunes, wine for sanity, and the mason jar as a night light

Drink of choice, almost as good as my Pink Truck 

I love the lights 

A nice spot to rest and relax after working all day 

The patio garden that surrounds me

Things I have learned from Contemporary Folk Music tonight:

1. Let it be 
2. You can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd
3. You can't go fishing in a watermelon patch 
4. Sweet Pea your the reason I keep coming home 
5. Darlin' your heads not right 
6. You were only waiting for this moment to arise

I think Contemporary Folk music could be my new favorite music especially if I am going to lean things like these! To night was a nice relaxing time and I am glad I got to spend it with myself. It is hard to remember that you need to have time to turn your brain off and just pick up on the funny lyrics to calming music. It takes my mind off the fact that all the clothes I have washed are hanging around the Apartment because the dryer is broken. 

My goal for this week is to spend time with myself!! 

Rain catching

I had this wonderful ideas that I would buy a rain barrel, but I do not have gutters so filling up this 50 gallon bucket is not an easy task!

I love my collapsible rain barrel because I live in an apartment and I rent so it is a lot easier to travel. I also love how the top of it is so big so I can catch more rain. That was the main selling point. You can build your own. But you have to find a large barrel first. If you find one let me know I want to make a compost bin in one.

This publication gives the most info about rain barrels!

http://fli.hws.edu/pdf/how_to_build_a_rain_barrel.pdf

I put these guys on the front porch to catch more water. I need more buckets are gutters. Then as they fill I run them to the rain barrel on the back deck. I'm only half full now. Hopefully I'll get a few more good rains before summer.

My new window herb garden loves my rain water! I found this basket to put them in at Hot Line. They look so good. They taste wonderful too. I have dill, time, oregano, and lavender in this window sill. It smells so good over there.

I keep a little rain water inside so that I always remember to water my house plants with it too. It also gives me a good use for all the half gallon jars I found in the old house. They are no longer safe for canning and I am not sure where I would find a canner big enough to put them in. I know I will never make that much juice! As you saw from how I made jelly making juice is hard. 

These guys like the rain water too! Its only May and look how big my tomato plants are. The pepper plant is working on it. I think it just takes longer for them to grow. 

My rose bush is finally growing! I had two in there but i successfully killed the one that was on the left side. Poor thing. Hopefully I will have a huge rose bush growing over the side of the railing soon. Or maybe that is wishful thinking for this year. 

I grew that!

I grew herbs in my window in the living room! They are doing so good. I decided I wanted to use them fresh. Way different from the dried stuff that McCormick sells. Turned out way better. 

I am growing Parsley, Basil, and Cilantro. The basil went into the spaghetti sauce I made. I put the Parsley on the garlic bread and toasted it. OMG! Good! I had a great dinner to night.

I want to grow a lot of my own food. These herbs were my first experiment. I think Tomatoes and Pepper will grow will well on my porch. I have already planted a rose bush that I want to grow up and over the railing. It would give me a little more privacy from the road. 

Wood burning

I have always wanted to try wood burning. So I have these super cool wood burning tools....

I know I don't have a stand so I put the hot one on a shot glass. I made the cutes little sign out of beach fence. I found it washed up on the beach so that makes even cooler looking. Don't judge me too harshly it was my first experience.

Now I have to find some ore wood to burn! I could come up some cute ideas for organization and burnt wood signs. I'll get back to you on that one.

I love growing stuff now!

I have been trying to grow things these days and it turns out my black thumb isn't so black anymore! I think it is thanks to Jan the ag tech at the cooperative extension office where I work. She got a lot of bulbs about a month ago and I potted a few that have grown into beautiful flowers.

They are beautiful aren't they? See why I have taken up growing things. It is not that hard to make things grow like this aloe plant. When I got it it was soo small. I repotted it and now it is getting pretty big. In fact I think it is time to repot it again. It loves the sunlight from our out of place window. The best part is the aloe plant does mind to much if you forget to water it.

I would really like to have one of those really large aloe plants... It is a project in the works. I think I will have to add another aloe plant to this one to make it spread out. This one just likes to grow up.

I bought this herb garden at target. I'm growing cilantro, basil, and parsley. I started them from seeds so I excited to watch them grow. I see this hobbie growing especially when it gets warmer.