Ebble's Favorite Things: November Edition

1. Van Gogh and Merlot - My office had a private party with Ulysses Mireles, founder and owner of Van Gogh and Merlot in Spokane. Basically, you sit and drink wine while painting, and Ulysses  instructs the group on how to create a fantastic piece of art. Before we started, I was completely overwhelmed, wondering how my final product was going to look anything like the sample, but he has such a wonderful way of explaining how to make a blank canvas come alive - even if you are not an artist or artistically inclined. You can see my finished product here. Check out the website for information on when/where you can join the painting party!
2.  Alba Botanica ACNEdote Wash - As we have discussed, stress has given me a bit of an acne problem these days (#househunting). I have been using Clinique's acne wash for a few years now, but Alba's new ACNEdote wash was recently recommended to me by an esthetician. My skin is far from perfect now, but let me just say that this stuff is rad. It smells fresh and strips makeup off better than any other product I have used, and that includes removing waterproof mascara. After 2 months of use, I am very pleased with this product. 
3.  Aden and Anais Swaddling Blankets - This is a product we have been using since Everett was a wee one. When he liked being swaddled, we would wrap him tight in these blankets. Today, he still uses them as comfort objects. If you peep your head into his room while he is falling asleep, you will see him clutching one close to his face.
4.  Cloud B Sleep Sheep - We started using Everett's Sleep Sheep when he was just a couple weeks old. The Happiest Baby On the Block suggests using sound machines for newborns, as they are used to the sound of Mother's womb. We are still using the Sleep Sheep to create ambient noise while Everett is asleep. It makes our talking and TV watching less obvious when Everett is listening to the sound of the ocean. I like the sounds programmed into the on-the-go version, and it is easy to take from home to the babysitter's house, but I've heard people are also happy with the larger version.
5.  Trader Joe's Harvest Blend Herbal Tea - I like tea, but I would not call myself a tea drinker. On the average day, I would rather grab a cup of coffee or wine, but this impulse buy from my trip to Trader Joe's the other day has converted me. I get home from work, and the first thing I want to do is make a glass of this tea. The taste, the texture, the way it makes my living room smell...I love everything about it. Last night, I fell asleep on the couch holding a cup of this, and I dropped the full mug all over myself and Willow when I started dozing. We smelled like autumn gladness.
6. Pampered Chef Serrated Peeler - This peeler is legit. It has been a staple in my baby-food-making adventures. This guy peels a peach with finesse, and slices through the outside of a jicama like a boss. Peeling produce has never been so fast and easy. However, do not let the kids use this because it is sharp. I can't tell you how many times (after drinking wine) I've cut myself with this thing. Consider yourself warned: don't drink and peel.

I just realized this post makes me sound like a total wine-o. I promise I don't drink that much.

Cheers!

11 Months - Getting There

Eleven months? How is this even possible? My sweet little baby is turning into a toddler!

This month, Everett started having more picky discerning taste when it comes to food, and he knows exactly what he likes (cottage cheese). He throws temper tantrums when I won't let him play in the toilet, and the other day he ate a bar of soap, which he promptly vomited all over the hall. He is drawn to anything with wheels, his favorite toy is the paper shredder, and he does not leave the cat alone - even when she swats and hisses at him. He loves playing with other kids, and got his first fat lip trying to play tag with his older cousins.

While his new found independence and emerging personality are both easy on my psyche and entertaining to the max, I do feel nostalgic for those baby days. Though we have done a good job of cherishing each moment (even the challenging ones), it is still hard not to miss having a little baby around the house. When we put away his summer clothes, it broke my heart knowing we will not take them out of storage for next year. In fact, we may never take them out of the box again, except to breathe in their sweet smell when we are feeling sentimental.

This [almost] year has been one of the most challenging and rewarding of my life. I would not change one moment of it, nor would I ever say I had any regrets. In the year to come, I would like to focus on finding ways to have more "me" time. This will be hard to balance with a full time job, but I think it will be better for our family and my anxiety (which I hate to admit pops its evil little head up every few weeks).

Speaking of summer being over, Spokane had its first snowfall of the season. Is there anything more peaceful than falling snow?

Living Room Plans

I'm all about Plan B. If we can't sell our house, I've got a plethora of ideas for fixing up our current place. My first project (while we have a contractor building a master suite in the basement) will be to paint our living room. I already purchased the paints to use either on this house or a new one.

So here it is: Plan B c/o Photoshop.

Before

After

At first I was worried that the greenish/gray would clash with the yellow in the dining room. However, after driving on the Palouse on a sunny fall day, I witnessed this color combination in nature to be fresh and airy. Photoshop doesn't mind either. 

My mom is sad to see the orange accent wall go. The orange matches the mat of our Georges Seurat painting, but I think the gray really makes the picture pop. What are your thoughts?

Fall Snapshots

Amidst the chaos in our lives, Jeff and I have been enjoying our time together as a family. Life is much less hectic now that he is no longer working at Nordstrom, and it has been wonderful getting to spend time with my best friend. Here are a few snapshots from our fall adventures.

I could go to Greenbluff every weekend and never tire of it.

Walter's Fruit Ranch is one of our favorite Greenbluff stops.

Everett loves his Grandma.

I think the feeling is mutual.

Jeff was searching for the perfect pumpkin.

Found it! Double pump.

We also found this one.

Out for one of our weekly family walks to Manito Park

The church by our house.

This guy is feeling much better, but now Mom is sick.

Our autumnal decor. Pumpkins from my garden.

More pumpkins from the garden.

I found this little gem in the $1 bin at Joann's.

House Hunting...Again

Why didn't anyone remind me how TERRIBLE this house hunting business is? Seriously, this is no laughing matter. If you are one of those people who think buying real estate is a good investment, you are dead wrong. Unless you can afford to pay cash for your forever home, do yourself a favor and stay in your rental house because betches, it's not 2006 anymore, and your house is NOT an investment.

To top it off, I don't know how the real estate market is in your neck of the woods, but in Spokane the pattern follows:

• You find a house you sort of like.
• You look at it and decide it's not perfect because the pantry is in the wrong place.
• You find a house you LOVE.
• You make an offer.
• The house has already sold.
• You find another house you LOVE.
• You look again just to make sure.
• You make an offer.
• The house has already sold.
• You have looked at every house on the market, and eventually go back to the first one. I guess we can live with that misplaced pantry...
• The house has sold.

And here's our most recent house hunting sob story. We found a house we loved, but it was out of our price range. Jeff got mad at me because I sent him the listing for an expensive house, we fought, then moved on with life. A couple weeks later, the same house dropped $15,000 in price, putting it right in our price range. So we made an offer, it was accepted, and we put our house on the market. Yahoo!!! Not so fast - 10 minutes after a burly man pounded a "For Sale" sign in my front yard, we got a call from our realtor saying the new house fell through.

In conclusion, anyone with tequila is welcome to pour it down my throat. Also, please find me a house. And make sure it has a pantry.

Also, I need a facial. But I mostly need tequila.

P.S. How do we feel about split-level houses?

Buy Me!

This is HAPPENING! Our house is on the market. Tell all yo friends! Here's an example of what a little blood, sweat, love, and tears can do to make a house a home:

Front

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Nursery

Bathroom

Basement

Backyard/Deck

Getting a Deck Over

We've really fallen behind when it comes to house projects. Mostly because we both work full time, have a baby, and we have been on the fence about buying a new house. However, we are full steam ahead now that our schedules are a little more free - Jeff is no longer working 2 jobs, and my employer is letting me work a day from home (Thursday lunch breaks = baby cuddles and house projects).

When Jeff finished his employment with Nordstrom in August, the first thing we did with our free weekends was re-stain our deck. We chose this job not because we wanted a fresh-looking deck, but because it was literally going to fall to pieces if we didn't fix it before another winter.

The owners before us chose to paint the deck boards black, and the paint started chipping off about a week after we moved into the house (can we say "house flip"?). I am not even sure if they used exterior paint for the project, but I am thinking not since the deck boards started cracking and rotting last winter.

We decided to try out Behr's DeckOver product from Home Depot to breathe new life into our cracking, chipping, warping, rotting deck. This product was perfect for us, as we needed something to fill chips and cracks, update the color, and protect the deck boards from harsh Spokane elements.

To start, we ripped up the rotted deck boards that could not be salvaged. We then stripped the peeling paint off the remaining boards using this product from Home Depot:

Make sure to read all the instructions on this product before you leave the store, as you may need to purchase a couple items (aka rubber gloves, ventilation mask, coarse brush) to make this product effective. This product worked like a charm at removing the paint that had not already chipped off. Next, we neutralized the stripping action by using this:

The additional items needed for the wood stripper can also be used for the wood cleaner.

After the wood was sufficiently cleaned, we applied a liberal coat (this stuff is goopy) of DeckOver with rollers, then let it dry for 24 hours.

Next, we used a brush to fill in some of the smaller cracks, which also made the bigger cracks appear smaller. After waiting another 24 hours for this to dry, we did a second thick coat with the rollers and called it good.

Note: we did not strip the railings and slats because they were in pretty decent shape, all things considered. We simply applied the DeckOver right on top of the well-preserved paint.

Finally, it was time to paint the new deck boards and screw them into newly reinforced joists. We used this method. The end product...

Pretty good...

When it was all said and done, making over the deck took us about 2 weeks of nap times, bed times, paint-drying times, and waiting-for-it-to-not-rain times. Because the DeckOver is goopy, be sure to buy more than you think you will need. We used just under 4 gallons for our entire deck. Here's a rundown of our total expenses for this project:

Deck Renovation
4 Gallons DeckOver	$139.92
Wood Stripper	$19.96
Wood Cleaner	$8.99
New Deck Boards	$24.98
Coarse Brush & Handle	$8.99
Deck Screws	$9.37
2x4s to Reinforce Joists	(can’t remember exact #) ~$10.00
Paint bucket, brushes, etc.	~$15.00
Rubber Gloves	(already had) $0
Ventilation Mask	(already had) $0
TOTAL	$237.21