Those Summer Plans….

I am feeling very ambitious this summer.  Very ambitious.  Probably to the point where I will
over-promise and under-deliver.  But, I like to put these ideas out there and let them percolate for awhile (in other words, get Worker Bee used to the idea), ruminate on them, and then execute.

So.  What are my plans?

1.  Finish the Girls Clubhouse OR turn it back into my Potting Shed.

Ignore the dead plant.  You looked, didn't you!  C'mon people!  You had one job....

Before Baby Bee came along our house came with a playhouse.  Very simply built and we almost didn't keep it, but the idea of using it as a potting shed grew on me and, in fact, it was my potting shed until Baby Bee was about 3 or 4.  At that point it became her playhouse.  A few summers ago we had big plans to convert it into a clubhouse for Baby Bee and her friends to hang out in.  But they don't really go outside much when they are here or they just hang on the patio.

The current potting area - I'm afraid the wood potting bench is probably done for, but I found a great galvanized one I need to assemble.

So, I'm thinking about turning it back into MY Potting Shed.  I've got some galvanized things I would love to put in there, plus reuse a lot of what we put in there for the clubhouse.

This is part of the makeover for the playhouse - I think I can reuse most of these pieces in the potting shed, don't you?

What are the chances I get this done?  About 50/50.

2.  Change the Guest Room into Sweet Bee's Studio.

I've got all the supplies to build this desk/worktable.  I plan to use it for sewing and my cricut.  I am so stinkin' excited to get this project going, but Worker Bee needs to finish up some stuff for school before we can get going on it.  HURRY!  HURRY!  HURRY!

I think our guest room is a very cute and charming room with it's vintage plaid and sort of cabiny vibe, but it serves two masters - neither one of them very well.  It's also where I store all my craft supplies.  Worker Bee has already agreed to this change (and we can use Baby Bee's room for guests if need be and put her in the living room or studio to sleep - she's young - she can take it).  In fact, I went on a road trip to IKEA and bought quite a few of the supplies/pieces needed for this conversion.  However, it hasn't been tackled yet, because we need to completely empty out that room and PURGE!  Oh Lordy, do we need to purge.  Okay.  I need to purge.  Not a weekend project and not one I want to live with for several weeks as I work on it during the school year.

Inspiration for the studio makeover!

Chances of this being my first project and the one I definitely complete?  VERY HIGH.

3.  Paint and revamp our master bedroom.

It's been a few summers since we did this and I really loved it at the time, but it's just a little too dark for my beachy summer look I'm dreaming of.  The walls need to be repainted (they are currently a lovely mocha color) and the furniture we painted black now needs to be white or apple green or something more cheerful.  This will be a pretty simple project because I know what I want to do and I just need to do it.  Plus I'm pretty good at purging in there because it is so small and we have VERY limited closet space.

I do need to get a bedspread or dust ruffle/coverlet, some new lampshades, and I would love to find a comfy reading chair for the room (or clothes piling on chair - you know how that goes) but I pretty much know what I want to do so it's just a matter of getting it all put together.

And the chances of finishing this little dream?  Pretty good - better then the potting shed, but not as good as the craft studio.

4.  Stripping wallpaper - kitchen and bathroom

We bought our little cottage in 1997 and wallpapered shortly after we moved in - and I ADORED the wallpaper then.  The kitchen is a Waverly vintage cherry look and the bathroom is a gorgeous bright floral - all bright blues and greens and reds and yellows with white backgrounds.  But I am done with them.  DONE I TELL YOU! (I keep telling myself and my husband and other people and yet I still haven't done anything about it.)  I am going to look for someone to strip it for us and prep the walls and then we will paint.  I think we haven't done it because we DREAD the idea of stripping the wallpaper.  I think I would rather stick an icepick in my eye then strip wallpaper.  (Any my sincere apologies if I've brought up painful memories for any of you who have stabbed yourself in the eye with an icepick.)

There are many other projects we need to do with the bathroom/kitchen, but those are going to have to wait for a while.  In the meantime, I have to --- I HAVE TO --- make that kitchen reflect my current aesthetic.  Somehow.  Some way.

Chances of getting this job done?  VERY GOOD, if I can find someone to strip the wallpaper at a reasonable price.  And….I have no idea what a reasonable price might be.

5.  Replacing the bookshelf under the living room/sun room connecting window with a set of bench drawers (or would it be drawered benches?) that will be a long banquette kind of thing in the sunroom for the dining table.  Similar to this picture.

Here's what it looks like now.  

Again - it was perfect when the sunroom was like a little family room, but when we kicked the dining room out there so we could have a library, it didn't quite work for me anymore.  (yes, I used the pronoun me, not us, because frankly these are all my ideas and Worker Bee is just along for the ride).  That room was so cute - I had it filled with bent willow chairs and tables, a cute tan and green striped couch and floral pillows and the bookcase was filled with books.  Didn't have a blog then, so I never really took pictures of it - or if I do they are in another project box - so you will just have to trust me.

And will I actually get this project done?  The odds are on this one are the lowest because Worker Bee is not on board.  He is worried that one day we will have a very entertaining dinner party and someone will throw their head back in laughter and go right through the window and die.  (He can be such a party pooper.)  But I have gently reminded him that we have the same set up in the kitchen and no one has found us to be so hilarious that they have thrown their head back into the window and shattered the glass and died.

Plus I have lots of furniture to paint!!!  

Please wish me luck on at least getting the craft studio done!  I'm itching to make some things and I don't want to start if I know I'm tearing the room apart!

Thanks for buzzing by for a visit!  It's always so nice to know you stopped by.  

I Left My Heart at the Beach (Again!!!)

Howdy!

I thought I was back on a roll with blogging and I guess I wasn't (since it's been at least 6 weeks since I've posted anything).  But I am vowing to get going again.  

And what better way to start off than with a another trip to the best beach cottage in the world.  Yes, all of the Sweet Bee Family spent another week at the beach in a small town on the central California coast.  And we get to go back next year too!!! 

Last year I showed you the main floor and the exterior.  Today I'm going to show you the upstairs loft where Sewing Bee (my mom) and Baby Bee (daughter) and Reader Bee (niece) and Cutter Bee (other niece) get to sleep.  

I'm pretty sure the second floor/loft was not original to the house.  You reach it by climbing up a narrow little staircase (not even room for a rail) and, right at the top of the stairs are…

And then you turn around and there's another bed…

I also spied this little lady…

I cannot resist a girl with a curved apron – and aqua knobs! (Does that just sound wrong?)

The family read and walked and ate and played and read and read and read some more.

 (Took these pics while we were driving - I wasn't driving, just passenging - and we loved how the fog just hugged the rock - Morro Rock that is, California's own Gibraltar.)

It was just a fabulous week.  

Came back here to 100º+ temperatures and not much motivation to get things done.  But today…yes today…I plan to clean out our entry way closet.  Maybe if I'm brave I'll even blog about that too.  The last time I did it was about 5 years ago and in the process, I backed up into a drawer I'd pulled out to clean and fell hard.  Broke the drawer.  Just about broke me too.  So wish me luck!  Or, better yet, pray I don't do that again.

Thanks for hangin' in there with me!  Hope it cools down  a bit so I can get outside and do some painting.  

I have been doing LOTS of reading!  I'll have to share some of my favorite ones with you.

Buzzingly,

School's Out! Scream and Shout!

Wooooo Hoooooo!

Friday was my last day of school!  

C'mon!  Sing it with me!

No more pencils, no more books,

No more teacher's dirty looks......

School's out for summer!

I am so excited!  It has been a year full of wonderful progress in my students, but it has been tough at the end because one of my Teacher Bee partners has to leave our school due to declining enrollment.  I am going to miss her so much.  (Don't worry - she does still have a job, just at another school. And she's not that far away so we can meet for lunch or coffee.)

It has also been a very hectic end of the year.  I have not had time to post much (there hasn't been much to post about either) and I have not had time to visit with all of you.  I miss that very much.  

But........I have some plans for this summer!

I'll start of with this.........

 Ahhhh.......the bliss of a lovely cafe mocha........

 in my very own special cup.......

designed and made by me!  

Have you ever been to one of those do it yourself ceramics shops?  My cousin and I went with our kids and I made this a few years ago.  I've had it at school, but I rarely drink coffee at school so I brought it home to enjoy!  

As I sit here and start to make my list of all the things I want to accomplish this summer, I'm thinking it just does not feel like summer - at all!

Here's why.....

It's raining!  In June!  In California!  It rained all day Saturday and we had thunder and lightning last night and it poured!

I know - cry me a river baby - all you midwesterners and east coasters and southerners are saying.  You've had it much rougher than us with the weather.  But in my defense, I'm just saying it doesn't feel like summer - it feels like spring.  And I do love that we haven't had to run the air conditioner hardly at all this year!  But I'm sure we will hit that 100 degree mark soon - and then I really will have something to cry (or sweat) about.

I have been hitting up estate sales and thrift stores for my little etsy shop.  Wanna' see some of my latest finds?

 I'll be putting these treasures up on etsy soon.  

If you're interested, I'm running a 10% off School's Out coupon.  

While at an estate sale this past weekend I stumbled upon these great pillows!  My wicker chairs in the living room have needed a more substantial look - 

as you can see here.  Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy (pillows that is)!

And now look!  

Doncha' just love 'em?

There were four of these pillows and through a series of events, I ended up getting them for free (not on purpose, but they ended up letting me have them).  Aren't they fabulous?  This estate sale was phenomenal!  So many wonderful treasures and this was on the second day (when everything was 1/2 off)!  You guys would have loved it!  It was like wallowing in vintage heaven!  I could have spent tons of money there, but I resisted.

Okay - on to the list of things I hope to get done this summer.

(Luckily all of Baby Bee's dance classes and swim practices are in the evening so I'll have whole entire days to get things done!  Yeah!)

1.  Paint living room. 

Currently all the walls are a Laura Ashley yellow, but I want to go a little more neutral.  I'm leaning towards the top color, even though it looks a little dark in the picture.  I think the lower one won't be enough contrast with my ultra white trim.

2.  Figure out a way to smooth out the stucco walls in our dining room.

It isn't pretty, is it?  You see our dining room/sunroom was added on to the house and 2 of the walls are exterior stucco and the other two walls are cinderblock. (We bought it this way - we didn't add the room.)  I saw a technique using joint compound to smooth the texture that I might try, but I'm open to suggestions.  Please share if you have any!  

3.  Do not get sick or have emergency surgery in the second half of July. (I'm praying for that one!)

In July 2009, right after we returned from our 13 States in 15 Days trip, I had to have emergency surgery on a strangulated abdominal hernia.  YUCK!   In July 2010 I got a horrible virus - fever for days, lost about 16 pounds, and very lethargic - and the doctors thought I might have lymphoma.  I ended up being just fine but for the past two years I have lost a good portion of my summer!  I really don't want that to happen this year.

4.  Read these books (and more I hope) and repaint the back of the library bookshelves.  I want to paint them a soft blue or aqua.

(hard to see the dark green in this picture, but you can go here to see what they look like)

5.  Paint the banquette in our kitchen nook.  I've had this custom built piece for about 5 years and I have never painted it!  I was so excited to get it that I immediately started using it and never painted it!  (Don't tell my Uncle Dump Truck that I haven't painted it yet - he built it for me and he would be very disappointed.)

Sorry!  No pictures of my shame!  I can't bear to show you.  

(Ahhh....not really.....I'm just too comfy sitting on my couch writing this and I forgot to take pictures and I'm not going to get up to take more pics.)

6.  Organize my hall closet, my entry closet, and my garage cupboards!

Now I would be too embarrassed to show you these horrors!  

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list - I am always overly ambitious.  I'm not very good at estimating the time involved in getting these projects done, especially once I get started on the first half of #4.  

But - maybe since I'm sharing with you guys what I plan to do - I'll get more of it done this summer!

So here's to a wonderful summer - full of promise and opportunity!

What are your plans for the summer?

I promise to make lots of iced lattes for you (and me) and to visit with you all.  And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by a visit or just a quick hello.  I always love to hear from you too!

A Working Weekend...and a Bunch of Random!

Lots going on this weekend.  Only 9 more days of school and I got caught up on grading - or I'm almost caught up and I'm playing hooky right now to write this post.  And my mother-in-law is flying out in two weeks and I need to get the guest room/craft studio in shape.  So some projects that have been on the back burner are now hot, front, and center.

Like this....

And this....

Oh you want to see what's going to happen with those?  Well you'll just have to wait for another day.  Soon, I promise.

I'm also getting ready for a little change in our bedroom.  This is what it looks like now above our headboard.
Oh my stars!  Do you see the crooked ceiling fan light?  Must add that to our list of projects!

Love that sign.  

Found one in person at this sweet little shop in Minnesota but didn't buy it.  Then obsessed over it and couldn't find it online and already sold from the Minnesota store - so the ebay quest began.  I bid and lost and bid and lost and bid and lost on several of these.  Then I found this seller who custom made them in the colors you wanted.  (Wish I could remember who it was, but this was several years ago I'm afraid.) 

I was so happy to finally get it.  Have you ever obsessed over something you didn't buy and then tried to find later?  

Okay, I digress, I show you this because a few weeks ago I won a fabulous giveaway from Cathe at one of the most inspirational blogs, Just Something I Made.  It was a custom monogram of my husband's and my first initials.  It's a vinyl transfer and it's going right above our bed but I need to prep the wall and that will take a bit of time so I haven't put it up yet.  It looks so beautiful.  Just perfect for our 20th anniversary.

Thought I'd show you the view that enchants me every morning when I wake up.  

We have a Japanese maple right outside our window.  Just beyond it are three coastal redwoods and at the back of the yard is Baby Bee's playhouse.  I will definitely have to blog about her little house soon.  I've got some changes in mind for it too.

This is just the start to a summer I hope is filled with projects.  

What do you plan to do this summer?

Thanks for stopping by.  Your visits are always such a pleasure.  I hope you had a relaxing weekend and that you were able to honor those who have gone before us.  

 

P.S.  I must really NOT want to get back to that grading since this is such a long post.  :)

Summer Smoothie Giveaway

Is it hot yet in your part of the world?  It usually is here, but we haven't had to turn on the AC yet this year.  Oh no, I've probably just jinxed it for us.  Oh well, it's bound to get here eventually.

Well one of the best things to help you through those really hot days (besides a swimming pool, which  I WILL NOT be giving away) is a nice cold refreshing drink sipped through a straw.

So - my Summer Smoothie Giveaway includes:

A vintage - in jadeite green even - style straw dispenser (straws included)

A package of summery polka dotty napkins (to help keep your summer frock spotless)

And some smoothie mixes (now you know I wouldn't send you straws with nothing to drink through them)

And there might even be more added to this refreshing treat fest!

So what do you have to do to enter this slusherific giveaway?

Just leave a comment on this post.   You do not have to be a follower to enter - but feel free to join in the fun if you want.

I'll draw the winner on Friday, June 4 and announce the winner on Saturday, June 5.  So sorry but for this giveaway I will only ship to Canada or the United States.

For one extra chance to win this giveaway, mention it on your blog and leave me a comment letting me know.

Good luck and happy sipping!