The House.

So we have had quite a few house updates!  And I thought I would post some photos on the blog for all to see.  The BIGGEST thing we did was upgrade our windows!  Wow - what a difference it made.  The original windows were aluminum, black windows and they were so cold and nasty and moldy. And after talking about getting new windows for over a year, we decided to do some research and we took the plunge.  We landed on some white, vinyl windows - top of the vinyl line so my husband tells me.  They have night locks and the screens come off from the inside of the house - goodbye screens falling off the windows!

Here are some photos of the process and the befores and afters.  We did say goodbye to our garden window and I had to find a new home for my plants and cookbooks, but it's a blessing!  We don't have a huge box jutting out the window onto the deck - so no more head banging on that thing.  Praise the Lord!

Before and after...look at the view!

Before and after...aren't the new windows just gorgeous?

And another big project that we did ages ago was refinish our deck!  Let's just say, I'm not cut out for manual labor - thank goodness my husband is.  He loved this project!  And we are so glad it is over and done with. We rented a sander for a day - that was the easy part.  The hard part was getting rid of the paint in between the cracks and on the sides of the deck.  We stained the top and ended up painting the sides of the deck black - made for a much shorter project.  Check out the FIRST photo in this post to see what the new deck looks like now.

And our garden creations...peaches, apples, damsens (thought they were plums, but they're not!), potatoes and tomatoes!  We have a ton of green tomatoes right now, but only a few have ripened.  And our green beans were a huge success, but I didn't get any photos of those.

And we also have dahlias growing - I love them!  And one of my dear friends donated 3 whiskey barrels to us - love those!  What else?  We are brainstorming some ideas for our front entry way - it's pretty bland and boring at the moment, but I think we are ready to move to the front now that we have completed so many projects in the backyard.  Peter even redid our back entry way, which you can see in my last Little Things post.

So that's all for now - things are constantly changing.  Until next time!

xoxo,

Malia

It's the Little Things.

So I know I said I had all sorts of things to post...well I do, but I wasn't very good about posting any of them last week.  And it appears that I let a whole week fly by before posting anything!  Hmm..I really must try to change my ways.  But while I am attempting to figure that out, I figured I would leave you with a little something.

Here are some home updates.  My husband has been a little machine and he has been transforming our house every chance he gets.  This past weekend we repainted and restained our deck - pictures to come later.  He took off the pillar things near our back door.  Looks a whole lot better, but once again - this is the only photo I have!  We also had a bonfire last night after Peter sorted out the lilac tree that fell down in the rain and thunderstorm.  And I couldn't let all those flowers go to waste - so let's just say I pulled out nearly every vase I own and filled them with flowers.  And I had to get a picture of our raspberry bushes and our peas.  Things are growing!  Peter pulled a few blueberries off our bushes and they were delicious - huge, juicy berries that are free - doesn't get much better than that!  He also tasted one of our blackberries tonight - yes we have a blackberry bush.  I know, I know, it may have been the worst thing we ever did.  But let's just say Peter was pretty pleased with that one little blackberry - wish you could have seen the smile on that man's face.  Truly priceless - and as long as we maintain it, it can't get too bad right?? 

Yumm...some things that made me happy this past weekend - sour cream blueberry muffins (I should put the recipe in here, but then that would mean I would have to find it again!!), Indian food - delicious and I ordered it WAY spicier than I normally do - my mouth is salivating just thinking about how good it was, and carrot soup.  I have started making carrot soup weekly - a great way for me to get my vegetables, when I don't really feel like eating them!

And some more house projects...we had this brick container thing in front of our house and I give it the nasty eye every time I walk through the front door - which isn't all that often.  I don't know what it is about it, but I just don't like the bricks - I don't even really like the bricks on the sides of our house, but Peter says those are staying!  So what's a girl to do??  Get over it I suppose!  But we could fix one thing...the little brick container.  Peter destroyed it and put in a little planter box instead (finished product picture to be posted later I suppose).  And then we were left with all sorts of remnants which we eventually got rid of a few weeks later.  And another house project - Peter's parking spot.  It was full of just random rocks, weeds and dirt - and Peter dug ALL of that up and filled it in with crushed rock.  It looks so much better!  And lastly...our deck, this is a work in progress, and we spent this past weekend restaining things and repainting the black sides and the black pillars and Peter has built a new step, which I don't have a picture of!  And it looks so much Peter!  I feel so blessed to be homeowner's and even more blessed to be married to a man that LOVES house projects!  Next project - new windows, complete outer paint job, and a new bathroom (this is going to be my birthday present - new floor tiles, new sink, new toilet, new bathtub maybe?, maybe even new light fixtures - a girl can dream right??).

It truly is the little things...like good food, good company, and fun house projects that make me smile.  To be continued...I promise to post more than once this week!  

xoxo, 

Malia

It's the Little Things.

I'm back and I have all sorts of posts in waiting.  But let's start with a brief recap.  This week has truly flown by!  But it sure was a blessed one!  So let me give you a bit of a recap for those who care...

I got my hair done weeks ago.  Now that I don't work at a salon anymore, I must say, my hair maintenance has been put on the back burner, and it's BAD.  I hadn't had my hair colored in 6 months, and I decided it was TIME considering i started to notice little silver hairs at the hairline, and I was pulling them out with tweezers.  And I decided I didn't want to do that anymore, so I made myself a hair appointment.  I love going into that place - and I miss those women SOO much.  I think I was there for 3 hours and in that time frame I read probably 10 magazines, and got a bit of a haircut - not only is grown out my new best friend but so are split ends.  I can honestly say, I have never seen split ends like mine - it was bad, but I didn't want to cut off too much of my hair.

Here is the before...and the after.  Don't know if you can really tell the difference...but check out those roots on the left compared to those on the right.

What else?  I have been doing Bar method workouts at home...yes it may sound silly, but it works!!  I just watched a few videos on youtube and chatted with a few friends that are doing it, and combined all my new wisdom.  And I must say, I got a workout!  And I was sore!  And this picture is proof that I even worked up a sweat - note the glistening stuff on my face.

Peter and I had dinner at Revel - thanks to a gift certificate we were given as a reward for dog sitting!  Best gift EVER!  It was delicious and we had SUCH a fabulous time together!  We truly don't do that enough.  I must say I was a little skeptical simply because it's Korean food, and I don't think I have ever had Korean food, and if I have...I have never had Korean food like this!  Can't wait to go back and HIGHLY recommend it.  We didn't get pictures of our dinner but we did get pictures of our fancy drinks.

And this post wouldn't be complete without a mention of our deck project.  I'm only going to post a few pictures because project really warrants a post of it's very own!  A few weekends ago, I suggested we finally redo our deck!  I was feeling a little guilty because we hadn't done a house project in awhile, and although we have been in our house for one year - we still have alot of little projects we would love to complete, such as the bathroom, new windows, painting the house, redoing the walkway, redoing the front entryway, creating some type of a parking spot for our second car, and the list could go on.  And even after a full day of work, I can honestly say I'm just not cut out for manual labor.  I think I complained every hour on the hour...oh it's hot, oh i'm tired...how much longer??  Blah, blah, blah...I think you get the point!  Anyhow, I can say that I do love participating a little bit and I absolutely love seeing the final product, but I sure am a complainer!!  Thank goodness my husband is so patient with me.

And for a brief garden update...we have roses, potatoes, peonies, tomatoes, cherries, and sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli, green beans, zucchini/pumpkin/spaghetti squash (not sure what it is to be honest!!), apples, blueberries, blackberries, green peppers, and our dahlias are starting to bloom!  I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but we have begun to harvest the potatoes, sugar snap peas, cherries.  Still waiting on everything else to grow a bit more before we pluck them from their home in the garden!  Stay tuned!

So now you have a little taste of what's been going on in our lives over the past few weeks!  

Xoxo,

Malia

It's the Little Things.

This past weekend was simply delightful and guess what?  We didn't DO anything!  Well, I guess that's not entirely true, considering we did lead Sunday School and we went to church, but outside of that we had didn't have anything planned. And let me tell you..THAT IS RARE!!

And it was truly amazing!  I went for a run around the track on Friday and finished up my workout with way too many lunges, over 250 I think, and I am truly feeling the pain today.  I even signed up for a free subscription of Hulu plus, and I watched FAR Too many episodes of the TV show Once upon a Time.  And I signed up for a free month of Netflix and added loads of movies to my queue and watched the movie Snow flower and the Secret Fan.  I even repainted our bathroom with a teeny tiny paintbrush and touched up the paint in our kitchen.

I redesigned our garden window area - Thanks Sarah Tosti for the newest plant additions - the succulents.  LOVE those so much!  And I added the little candles.  Loving the DIY projects.

Flowers from the yard!  Aren't they pretty??

And this magazine just showed up in our mailbox!  I don't remember signing up for a subscription, but that didn't keep me from reading it.  Don't you just love the pretty pictures and the wonderful DIY ideas.  I love the twine covered bottle vases on the front cover - I think I should try this! 

See - aren't these just so cute??  I think they are super easy to make too!  A fancy use for all those empty beer bottles.  

(via pinterest)

Oh...all these little things just make me so happy!  It was so wonderful to have a weekend entirely free of obligations. It's the little things in life that truly make it beautiful!

xoxo,

Malia

It's the Little Things.

Gosh...as I sit here on my back porch.  I am truly reminded of the sweetness of those little moments.  It has been ages since I have had time to simply sit and write, or maybe I should say it has been ages since I have actually taken the time to simply sit and write.  As I sit here, my fingers can't seem to type fast enough.  I HAVE SOO MUCH I WANT TO SHARE!!

And I have so many posts I want to write...but for now, I want to share with you the little things that I have enjoyed and discovered this past month.

I have realized this past month just how blessed I truly am, and I hope and pray I never lose sight of those blessings.  I know I have said it once and I will say it again...but it truly is the little things in life that make it so beautiful isn't it?

Life is meant to be enjoyed...every last bit of it, even the smallest of bits.  This is something I have really begun to realize, whether it be sitting outside on a  beautiful sunny day, listening to one of my favorite songs, driving around town with the windows rolled down, capturing something truly beautiful on my camera, a good joke, a good book, baking a cake from scratch, a good conversation with a friend, the smell of fresh cut flowers, the sounds of kids laughing next door, experiencing the joy my husband gets from mowing the lawn and pulling weeds - the list of joys is simply endless.  And it is so easy to lose sight of those things in the busyness and chaos that is life isn't it?

So today, I find myself thankful for this time that I have to sit and type...and today, I find myself SO very thankful for the beautiful women in my life.  I feel so blessed beyond belief to be able to walk through life with the most amazing women who simply inspire me with every breath.

I had the privilege to travel to California with some of my oldest friends this past weekend.  And saying it was amazing is simply an understatement.  I found myself missing them dearly - their laughter, the jokes, the love.  We have so much history together and that history and that love run soo very deep!!

I will write so much more about this, but for now, I will leave you with this lovely photo!

And let's just say I walked away from this past weekend so very enlightened.  The girls informed me of sock buns, ribbon hair ties, and the coobie bra.  As you can tell I am slightly obsessed with the sock bun - so check it out!!  And I have already purchased some ribbon hair ties on Etsy, and I have the coobie bra in my Amazon cart.  Thank goodness for stylish girlfriends!!

This past weekend, I got back into my baking groove.  I baked a chocolate Guinness cake with store bought frosting...nasty!  The cake was delicious, but the frosting just wasn't right.  Our hand mixer broke, and I have been putting off buying another, which I finally did so I could make the frosting for the second cake, a spice cake.  And that frosting is delicious!!  Peter and I were off all things flour for lent, which meant I had to forgo all sorts of baked goodies.  And let's just say I found it easier to go without those items when I wasn't baking them all the time!  

Also, we have planted some items in our garden, but the potatoes are the things that are truly flourishing.  And we have begun the journey of growing some edible items indoors!  And a picture of our back porch with the lovely hanging baskets my darling husband bought - more on that later.

Until next time,

Malia

*Linking up with Finding Beauty in the Ordinary *

Withdrawals.

I can NOT believe it has been two full weeks since I posted something on the blog.  And as it is Sunday afternoon already, I figured I should get on it!  I have been having blogging withdrawals.  I have been cranky and whiny and extremely reluctant to do anything.  All I want to do is write...all I want to do is type...all I want to do is take time to reflect on the week's happenings, and I haven't had time to do that.  And I can tell.  It is slightly shocking to me to see how much that affects my day to day life.

My caring and compassionate husband has been extremely task oriented lately.  He is fairly task oriented but normally I win that title without even having to truly compete with him.  He has all sorts of projects he is working on and he has needed a helper for the majority of those projects.  And guess who his helper has been??  ME!  And I have been so reluctant to help him, and trust me, I haven't been shy to hide that!  I mean I don't kick and scream, but I might as well...maybe my reluctance is displayed more through my nonverbal cues and my true reluctance to put my shoes on, bundle up with a coat, and step outside.  All I want to do is stay inside and clean the house and fold laundry...and WRITE.  That's not too much to ask is it?  (These are usually the exact words out of my mouth every single time he asks for my assistance with something - isn't that just terrible?)

And the reality is...I have a hard time serving him when I haven't been able to serve myself first.  I mean if he just gave me an ENTIRE day to write and read, then maybe I would be willing to help him for an hour of that ENTIRE day.  Sounds so selfish doesn't it?  Probably because it is!

I mean the poor guy is doing stuff around OUR house - not HIS house, OURS, and I can't seem to serve him and help him with a grateful heart.  That's pretty ugly if you ask me.

So yes, I have been absent these past few weeks from the blogging world, and I have been truly suffering from withdrawals, but God has been faithful and He has been refining me within those ugly moments and my husband has been so gracious.  Thank GOODNESS for that!

Stay tuned this week - I have all sorts of pictures, projects, recipes and thoughts I have been simply DYING to post!

Seattle Homeshow.

Peter and I ventured down to CenturyLink Field (formerly Qwest Field) for the Seattle Homeshow on Friday night.  We had been blessed with free tickets and figured why not right?  I mean it was Friday, and we didn't have plans, but we were hoping everyone else did and we were hoping it didn't involve the homeshow because we were hoping to miss the crowd.  And that we did!

It was a little overwhelming, and we didn't get to see everything.  I mean we didn't get there till 6:45 PM and doors closed at 8 - so I guess we didn't give ourselves much time.  We perused the booths as we sped down the aisles - we didn't even give people a chance to make eye contact with us!

We were on a mission or at least we looked like we were -  and I'm sure many people are when they go to things like this! Our problem was we were on a mission...but we weren't really looking for anything in particular, we were just looking. We wanted to get ideas for our future projects...so down the aisles we went.

We walked away with a free bag, loads of brochures and business cards and some garden gloves.  We received a few quotes for windows...know anyone good in the Seattle area?  And got some great ideas for our bathroom.  We entered our names into all sorts of drawings - fingers crossed we win $10,000 to remodel our kitchen.  Wonder what our chances are??  And then headed home before the clock struck 8!

Fun Friday night for the Drennan's - and of course our weekend included a stop at Lowe's!

Home projects on our to do list...

• retile bathroom floor
• install new bathroom vanity/maybe new toilet?
• repaint bathroom
• start planting edible things and smelly things (flowers) in the garden!!! (love this project)
• lay down pavers in back door walkway
• and more...

Any great home ideas you are just dying to share??  I would love to hear!

xoxo, 

Malia