Summer Reading (part 2)

A few more of my summer reads.

Summer Reading

I’m managed to do a lot of reading so far this spring/summer (thank you rainy Seattle summer!)

Here are some books that have make it onto my nook…a big thank you to the Seattle Public Library – I haven’t had to buy a single book!

finishing off the fireplace

You may remember that our fireplace originally looked like this:

and then for awhile it looked like this…

We decided we wanted to have a simple mantel, something that was modern, finished looking, and pulled the place together.  simple – nothing fancy.  I’m not sure why it took us so long to put it together, because it really was a simple project…although it did take 2 tries to get it right.

take 1: we attached the trim first, then primed and painted, then put caulking on it to smooth out some of the dents and knots, and then tried sanding it back down to paint again.  needless to say, this wasn’t the best approach – and luckily our supplies were cheap because into our scrap pile they went.  our caulk was old and never dried, sanding after priming was a major fail, and trying to do anything on the uneven surface from attaching the trim first was just hopeless.

take 2:  no pictures this time – I just wanted to get the thing finished.  this time we did it in the right order. 

• step 1: sand
• step 2: prime
• step 3: paint
• step 4: attach the trim
• step 5: paint the trim
• step 6: attach directly to the brick using liquid nails!

and it is FINISHED!

Our Home: Now (July 2011)

So I finally got around to taking some “after” shots of the house so you can see the progress we’ve made since moving in. The word “after” should be taken lightly because clearly there is still some work to be done (like finishing the mantle…a project I’m working on right now and will hopefully share the finished product soon). Okay – I admit it – the house was only clean enough to take pictures of because we had people over last night.  I think we should have people over more often just so we are forced to keep the house clean!

Living Room: View from the front door before…

and AFTER!

view from the hallway into the living room before:

now:

another after (without the mantle) of the living room – this poor picture doesn’t have a matching before, but it will survive.  oh..and yes, it is July, and yes, we have a Christmas tree.  that’s how we roll.

view from the living room into the dining room before:

and now!

view from the kitchen into the dining room before:

and now:

master bedroom then:

and now:

and I don’t have a before picture of the master bathroom, but here it is now:

Guest Bedroom then:

now:

and the office:

now:

bathroom 1:

now:

 

Clearly decorating (and adding some COLOR!!!) needs to be a priority, but I think it is so much better than before!!!

Seattle Rock’n’Roll

Today I completed my first half marathon!  Besides a little charley horse in my calf right after the 2nd mile, everything went well.  I was really nervous because I wasn’t very good about getting in my training runs (eek!) but I FINISHED and I did it averaging 12 minute miles – which, all things considered, I’m very pleased with it!

Here’s the starting line at 5:45 am…nothing like being early 

My corral right around starting time…can’t even really see the starting line!

and we’re getting close!

and closer! let’s get this show started!

 

Yeah!!! I’m a finisher!

ugh.

I got stuck with a bunch of these this week:

I haven’t missed work yet, but am definitely not on my A-game.  who gets a nasty cold in the summer??

apparently I do.

Dreaming of the Beach

I’m not going to lie, tonight’s episode of the Bachelorette inspired this post.  Ashley and the remaining bachelors are on the island of Phuket, Thailand and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.  Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand are very high on my must-see list, so consider this a little pre-trip (very pre-trip since it will probably be a few years before we make it there!) planning.  Do you think I can convince Joel that trip planning is the reason I seem to be addicted to watching the Bachelorette?

There are so many places to see in Thailand, I don’t even know where to start. Of course we’ll probably hit up Bangkok and Phuket, and we’ll spend some time in Pattaya to help out 3L Foundation to finally see the hard work my cousin has poured her heard into….but besides that, I don’t know how to pick where to go (in my mind, there is no time limitation on this trip)!  Since some of the favorite places we’ve travelled to are smaller, low-key, less touristy places it seems like Ko Maak, a small island south of Ko Chang might be the place for us.

Who can pass up crystal clear water like this?

And these views?

So beautiful!

The first settler on the island established a coconut plantation.  Most of the island is still owned by the original family that settled there.

Totally a side note – I stumbled across this picture while looking for pictures of Koh Chang. What in the world??  The website didn’t say anything more than that you too can have a close encounter with a whale shark….ummm – I love snorkeling and really all things water sports but I DON’T really want to get this close to a whale shark!