independence day

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all had beautiful weather like we did here in Minnesota (for the first time all year, it seems). I spent the majority of the three-day weekend either working on house and garden projects or lounging by the lake like a good Minnesotan. So I have all sorts of sunburns and bug bites, but a very happy and clean house. Look for more updates soon!

xoxo LG

name that berry!

Today I discovered a berry bush on the south side of the yard that I don't remember being there last summer:

The berries look like blackberries, but I'm not sure if they're safe to eat.

Anyone know?

PS -- Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone! I hope the weather is as beautiful wherever you are as it is here in Minnesota. It is hands down gorgeous here.

a grecian sea in the living room

I watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader while I was painting. I blame that for the oh-so-brilliant title you just read.

And speaking of painting... guess what I'm done with now? Yep! No more painting for the foreseeable future.

Yes, Apples, I'm getting to the pictures. (Another slightly obscure reference, but Netflix won't help you this time. Sorry.)

So. Two weekends ago, after the first coat:

Last weekend, after the second coat:

And this week, after Keith and Julia helped me re-hang the curtain rods:

The paint color is Grecian Sea, from Dutch Boy, although I used two coats of a paint/primer from Pittsburgh Paints. And I love love love it. Keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well with the sofa that is set to arrive in the next few days!

it feels like I'm moving again

But don't worry, I'm not. In fact, today is reminding me why I hope to not have to move again for many, many years!

With that, a moment of silence please for my beloved red napping couch.

Which these people came today to pick up and take to their beautiful little home across the freeway:

And now my living room looks like this:

And my dining room looks like this (for the purposes of maneuvering oversized couches through teensy tiny doorways):

And this lovely friend will be picking up the love seat shortly.

And then the room will be empty.

And I will sweep and polish the floors, and tape the trim, and paint paint paint, and in less than two weeks, my living room will look nothing like it used to.

If things go as planned, maybe something kind of like this:

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Or this:

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Or even a little like this:

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Which is fantastically exciting, and also a little sad. I guess that's what the word "bittersweet" is for.

And I'm glad the red couches are going to good homes where I'll still be able to enjoy them once and a while :)

the first harvest of the summer

First harvest of 2011 is in!

Kale. Rhubarb. Chives (not pictured because they went straight into the pan).

And peonies. "Harvest" is quite literally the right word for these bushes - one day they're all green, and the next there are white and pink flowers the size of a baby's head just falling all over themselves in the yard.

The only possible solution is to cut them all off and fill every available vase in the house.

They're pretty, and they know it. Diva flowers.

But I love them anyway.

When I've recovered from being back from vacation (isn't the catching up the worst part of going away), I'll have more garden, kitchen and painting escapades to share...

a major(ly) spontaneous purchase

I accidentally pushed the living room project up by a few months/years today ... by buying a new couch. Over the phone.

A dark brown leather sectional, to be exact :)

This isn't the greatest photo (the color is warmer in real life), but it will give you the idea:



(To give you a sense of the size, it's eight feet by eight feet - a slightly smaller footprint than the current arrangement of couches in the living room.)

It was a spontaneous purchase of the best kind. I've had a picture in my mind for months about the perfect couch for the upstairs living room (where the red couches are) - 1) comfy, 2) genuine leather, 3) not too deep or too narrow, 4) armrests on both ends (shocking how many couches don't have this nowadays), 5) curved sectional with connecting hardware, 6) not too ornate or too casual, 7) not insanely expensive. The combination was hard to find. I'd shopped around in Minneapolis, and then given up for a while this spring because I wasn't finding anything I liked. So instead I focused on finishing the guest bedroom, and thought I'd start looking for couches again in the summer or fall.

Then, my cousin and I walked into a shop in the Old Market of Omaha, and that's where I found it - the perfect leather sectional. As close to the comfort level of my red couches as I think I'm going to get. Beautiful walnut-colored genuine leather. Zipper attachments for the pillows so they don't slide out of place. A curved corner seat. Armrests (and pretty ones at that). Best of all? A great price, and a steal on the shipping arrangements.

It won't be here for 4-6 weeks, which is just fine because I have to sell the red couches and paint the room first.

Did I really just buy a couch over the phone from a store two states away? (Not even a furniture store, mind you. Just a random store.)

Yes. Because when you find what you've been looking for, you go for it. Right?

in the garden grows...

"In the garden grows more than the gardener sows"

- Spanish proverb

PS - I love you, ma! Thanks for not only teaching me how to tend a garden, but how to love doing so. I can hardly wait until you can come see what I planted this weekend.