McDougall

Miss Maggie Mack Mack Mack...

2012-02-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

...all dressed in ~~black black black~~ brown. This is Miss Maggie McDougall. She's a 10 week old Australian Labradoodle. She is soft, sweet and always hungry. Note: she has not peed in the house once, so to me, she's perfect.

Stripes

2012-02-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

I love them. The stripes and the kids wearing them.

Valentine

2012-02-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

I saw something similar on Pinterest earlier in the week, so made this for one of our Funny Valentines. To make something look haphazard, it must be haphazard. I am not good at being haphazard. I spent a while trying to figure it all out, and then as I went to carry it downstairs to glue it, the hearts all fell on the floor. I saw an opportunity and took it. I think it turned out as perfectly haphazard as my fluttering heart.

Extreme Couponing Catholic School Style

2012-02-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Uniform pants, shorts and polos for boys and girls - Fred Meyer
~~$19 regular price~~
reduced to ~~$7.99 clearance price~~
reduced by a store 50% off clearance item sale to ~~$3.99~~
reduced by the 20% off women's and children's clothing coupon in this month's Fred Meyer rewards coupon pack making them $3.19 per pair

I bought 10 pairs of pants, 2 shorts and 5 polos in several different sizes for Henry to finish out this year, and Lu to start with next year. The cashier didn't hand me any money on my way out the door, but I still think I got a whopper of a deal. Sale on now...although the South 19th store might be sold out, my fault. Hit it.

Read This

2012-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone who's even remotely interested in design, needs to see this post regarding "Auntie Mame Style", encouraging us to eat, drink and decorate with a zest that pleases who? Us. My new New Years Resolution: Be more like Auntie Mame. Thank you Censational Girl.

Yes you are Henry.

2012-02-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Had no idea Astrology was part of Catholic Education. Glad we're getting our Money's worth.

Happy Super Bowl

2012-02-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

What a mess!

2012-02-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know how everyone else does it, but if I want an area to get really (drawer organized) clean, I can't seem to make it better without first making it messier. I love making this kind of mess. The result is so gratifying. Next up...what to do with that wallpaper??? Oh boy.

Dreams

2012-01-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

I had a dream last night that Katherine Heigl sold me a $411 bottle of perfume, and it was obviously not Nautica, but finding this photo on Google images this morning made me laugh. She was working in a Casino and I strayed from the Roulette table just long enough to find her perfume counter, in a Casino of course. What is wrong with me? I've been out of perfume since before Christmas and have been relying on hair product and deodorant to keep me smelling nice. Sad. Weird. Happy Tuesday.

Coal Shaft to Wine Room

2012-01-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

I finished the wine room today. It turned out just as I hoped it would the day I peered into the dusty little window of what used to be our home's coal shaft below.

This is the shot I took the day we first looked at the house. We didn't have a flashlight, so I used my camera flash to see what was behind the little 2x2 window in the concrete wall.

The guys who were installing our new furnace helped me climb in through the little window you see above to get a better look. The look on their faces when I came out covered in spider webs and coal dust is one I wished I had gotten on camera.

This is the 2 foot diameter concrete saw that Evergreen Concrete Cutting brought to open the window, into a door. They mounted a track for the saw onto the wall and cut up and down each side our 9" thick concrete foundation wall to make a doorway.

After the doorway was cut, they removed almost 1,000 lbs of concrete.

I cleaned like an Eastern European cleaning lady (they are the best you know), painted the ceiling, and had our electrician wire the room with one light and one outlet. Simple. I decided I liked the finish of the raw concrete walls which are still a little stained with decades of coal dust. That left installing a new header in the spot above. My dad gave me a really cool reclaimed beam for Christmas that I used here.

As the room used to contain coal (delivered via truck from the little window in the back of the room), the floor was grated towards a drain at the center of the space. I built a small floor frame and leveled it with the small blocks seen below.

I chose 1x3 Douglas Fir for the flooring and just top screwed them as you would an exterior deck. Three coats of clear satin Poly and the floor was finished. I love the natural color of Douglas Fir.

We brought the wine cabinet my dad made John for Christmas in '99 and all the wine down this morning. What a wonderful room. I may spend all afternoon down here. I hope Henry's been paying attention in the kitchen. He's in charge of dinner tonight.

That's My Girl

2012-01-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

I bought Lucy her first tool today, a tiny vice grip. After a quick tutorial, she has been wandering around the house clamping and adjusting and clamping some more. Girls got skills. If I can help it, my little Lu will never ask herself if she can do something, just get to thinking about how.

Loverly Luli

2012-01-24T13:00:00.001-08:00

We are so happy to know this squirt.

Laundry Basin

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

Basking in the orange glow of my newly spruced laundry basin.

before

after

Wool Wins

2012-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

I have been seeing vintage wool everywhere, or maybe I'm finally looking for it. I love it. Warm, wonderful wool is winning me over. I can't get enough of it.

The "It's Not All About Me" Chart

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

He's the cutest, right? I love him. Well, lately he's been boiling my blood. He's 5. He's big. He's a baby. We are battling selfish behavior of epic proportions. Reminder, I love him. We made the following chart, which I insisted should be titled, The "It's Not All About Me" Chart. Henry's red cheeks and moment of sweet transparency, won it a less bitter title. Again, I love him. Pray for me and my blood temp.

Like it Never Happened

2012-01-22T22:08:00.000-08:00

The snow has finally lost it's battle with the sun over here. I have to remind myself that three days ago, this is what we were faced with. We live on a hill. We have a wimpy milk man. We had fun. We ran out of milk.

Sad to Sweet, Lucky Me

2012-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

I rescued this sad little chair last week. How could I not? Can't you see how sweet it could be?

Well I did. And now this sweet little chair sits at my desk waiting for me to get back to work. I chose a soft green wool (Goodwill fabric) for the seat and a leftover quilting cotton for the accent (which I Armoralled the Bee Gees* out of). I don't know how long the black and white fabric will last in our house, but I've kept the very simple pattern I used to upholster it and will just re-do in the future should I need to.

Gift-Wrapit.com

2012-01-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

I like this. Simple page design. Free printable wrapping paper. Paper designs I would actually pay for in roll form. Gift-Wrapit.com

Silliest Snow Day Ever

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

Everyone else will show you the super snowy slopes of the PNW this week. We, however hit the tired and muddy slopes of T-Town hard earlier this week. There was no snow at first, really. We went sledding anyway, because my two favorite people thought they should. It is amazing how much fun they have when they get to act out their own ideas.

Making Do

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

We do a lot of that over here. This time, I'm documenting it as a reminder to myself that s/he who is most resourceful wins. Here's the story:

Once upon a time...I found these loverly white ceramic bathroom hooks. They did not come with the original 1960's hardware. I had no luck finding the hardware after a couple days of searching. I loved these hooks. I would not give up. Now what?

This shape looked familiar.

Maybe I could take the hook out,...

...and saw the 'nubs' off.

Yes, it was a snug fit. Now, the only problem was the distance from the modified 3M hook and the wall.

What sticks better to tape than tape itself? So, I stacked 6 strips on top of each other.

And voila!

The hook is sturdily in place and I didn't even have to put holes in my tile.

And I lived happily ever after. The End.

Girl Talk, Take Two

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Second game, spinning the wheel together at the Beach House. We all love this very silly game. Nothing better than hearing Metro Henry shout, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's play Girl Talk!" Lu declined "calling a boy she liked and singing them whatever song was on the radio" and I failed to "guess the correct shoe size of the player to left". We both ended up with Zit Stickers. I had to remind everyone that if you stay up all night playing this game, or fall asleep with a Zit Sticker still on, you will surely have a real zit in the morning. Trust me, I am an experienced player. No shame.

One More Thing

2012-01-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

I also found this super duper 1950's sunburst clock in Seaview this last weekend. Hopefully it will add an hour to my day 'cause I've got a lot of projects going on over here.

Beach Treats

2012-01-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

My favorite 'upcycle' shops at the Beach yielded well this weekend. I was particularly pleased to find the Hudson Bay Point Blanket above. It's very old, very soft and very clean. A perfect trifecta. The Mack sign off one of their trucks was too me to pass up now that I am officially "Mrs. Mack" at school and the solid ceramic towel hooks will be perf in our new white bathroom (if I can find the vintage hardware required to hang them). Stand by on that news, and the makeover of two little chairs I also picked up this weekend. Here's a list of my favorite places near our Beach House:

Hobo Junction - Seaview WA
Vintage Hardware - Astoria OR
Farm House Funk - Astoria OR
Commercial Street Antiques - Astoria OR
North Coast Antique Mall - Seaview WA
Seaview Antique Mall - Seaview WA

Working From Home

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

I love it. Thank you Jack. In my defense, it is 10:30PM.

T-Town

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

"This is Tacoma and it's city flag." - Lucy Mack