Garden Tool Hanger

When it comes to garden tools, I am storage-challenged. I have a place in the garage to keep them, but I'm terrible about putting them away - I love to have them handy in the garden, so when I'm ready to rake / dig / weed / trim / etc. everything I need is handy. The sad result is that I've left them sitting on the cobblestones, where they've rusted. My grandfather would be so ashamed!

So when I saw this tutorial in This Old House, I knew it was meant for me. I scoured ebay for old spigots, and found a variety of eight that I loved for around $12, so I went for it. When they arrived, CJ helped me sort through his lumber pile to find old scraps perfect for my project.

And then he closely supervised (and helped quite a bit) while we put it all together in the basement. There was lots of drilling involved . . .

Followed by tightening . . . 

To get these little guys set. We ended up using only six, so I'll have to find another fun use for the two remaining spigots. 

I even got to use CJ's new nail gun! I may have gotten a bit carried away, but the good news is this thing is ready for some rugged outdoor weather!

It was pretty late when we finished it, so despite my excitement we left it overnight so that we could take our time hanging it in the daylight, and make sure it was exactly where we wanted. Just a little history, the back piece of wood where the spigots are attached actually one of our old stair treads, from when we replaced them all WAY back when. It's an almost 90-year-old piece of oak! 

It was great to get it in place on the back of the garage today. And as you can see, it's already working hard. I need to get some leather to attach to more of my garden tools so they'll hang easily. It will be so nice to have them handy, and hanging so they will stay dry when not in use. A few little plants on top of the shelf will be a nice touch too . . . .

So our final project cost was . . . . $12! Everything but the spigots was reused, making this a whole lot of cheap satisfaction. I'll buy some leather to get more tools hanging out, but even then this is a lot of bang for the buck.

Slowly but Surely

We're continuing with progress on the house exterior. Summer was unusually hot, so we took July off from sanding and painting.

With great repitition, the actual sanding has gotten easier. The end result is a smooth, fresh shingle. Painting is the easy part, and takes only a fraction of the time.

We're close to being completely finished with the North face of our house. Next step: South side this fall.

Beet it!

"The natural aroma of the beets drifts into the bedrooms and makes one dream of simpler times . . ."
                                                                                          - Dwight Schrute, The Office

Today is a two-for-one blog kind of day - I guess we're just making up for lost time.

I seem to be in the minority, but I love beets. Like really love them. So, I woke up early today for my first official beet harvest! The beet section in my garden has filled in very thick this year, so I picked all the ones I could see that had bulbed out (probably somewhere between one third and one half of what's planted).
 

I hate peeling vegetables, so I was excited to read recently a different way to prepare and store beets that requires no peeling. First I cut off the roots and greens, then put them in a baking dish, covered and with some water in the bottom, to basically steam them in the oven.

They cooked for a long time (about an hour and a half) before they were tender, and my husband did indeed wake up to the natural aroma of beets, but when they came out I was able to just rub off the stems and skins without peeling. So easy!

I've got beets for the week in the fridge (looking forward to a great beet and gorgonzola salad tonight) and froze the rest of them for later.

Bed & Breakfast House Tour

Notice the gargoyles

First, apologies for the slow blog roll this year. After the whirlwind kitchen/bath remodel last year, our updates to the house will be limited for a little while.

June 29th crept up quickly this year. The significance is our 4th year anniversary.

I suggested a B & B to Becca and she quickly obliged to the idea. My theory is that the fun part of a B & B is the newness of it all. So, I clicked around on some of the main sites and found the 1812 Overture in Westside/Downtown KC.

We go to Westside a lot for lunch and usually walk around the neighborhood afterwards. It's probably one of the best spots in KC for creative types. The restaurants are charming and have all the natural/organic concepts you would expect. The houses are majestic Victorians — their craftsmanship is at a level we might never see again in new homes.

Finally we had a chance to look inside one of these gems.

1812 Overture.

I would describe the current homeowners as bohemians. They seem most interested in offering a creative space, and less worried about 90º angles and order. This "perfectly imperfect" concept goes against my natural tendencies, but its good for me to absorb.

Naturally, the home charmed our pants off. The 12' ceilings and oversized doors, the hand painted flower wallpaper, the winding crooked 3rd story stairs, the absurd over-decoration, the gazebo and hot tub, the gourmet omelet breakfast — they achieved the "we're on vacation" feeling we wanted. All for $119. Not bad for a cheapskate like myself.

Entryway lobby

Backyard grotto

Flan

View of hot tub

Yummy Breakfast

Yes, this is all hand painted

Breakfast spread

View from the hot tub

Our room for the night was the 3rd floor loft. The room's shape inspired us to consider finishing our attic.

I'd recommend the place if you like old homes and you're craving a hot tub. We chose this over a Hilton downtown and have no regrets.

Inspired

This weekend, Chris and I will be sanding and painting shingles, which is a good thing. But it would be better if the sanding and painting were finished and we were installing gutter planters on the side of our garage, don't you think?

Oh well. Instead we'll do our painting and I'll start looking for old gutters on craigslist and at Habitat ReStore. This project is officially on the list!

Chalk a Doodle

Ever since hanging our wine rack and clock, we've been looking for the perfect piece to fill the hole above the light switch. We found it this weekend at Pride's in Westport - a little slate rooster chalkboard. Roosters are good luck in the kitchen, and I like that this one is simple and clean, plus having a little space to write messages is fun. So here's our little friend in his home.

Happy Memorial Day!

Reading Corner

For as long as we've lived here (that's three years as of this month - so hard to believe!) we've wanted the corner of our living room to be a perfect reading corner. We bought a chaise lounge and tucked it next to the fireplace, next to two bright windows, but it's always been missing something.

And that something is . . . . light! Shortly after our kitchen remodel, we got a gift card in the mail from Restoration Hardware, completely unexpected. I called them and was informed that when we exchanged some items, we were credited an incorrect amount. They discovered this during a sales audit, and mailed me the difference. 

 So in late march I purchased the light, only to find out it was on backorder. Fast forward two months (if only I could have fast forwarded!) and the light finally arrived. So, after three years we finally had our reading corner.

We love the clean lines and the contrast of the dark metal with the smooth white glass shade, and it looks great with a little edison bulb glowing. It lights up our little corner perfectly - time to find a glass of wine and a good book!