Hotdogs over the Fire Pit...

A while back, Sam did a job for some people where he pulled a whole lot of bricks out of their landscaping. Well, they have been sitting in our backyard waiting to be put to use. We have been scheming about what we could do with them, and one of our ideas was a fire pit. Sam loves fire, and I like the idea of sitting around a fire with friends. So yesterday was the first day that we have had any free-time to work on this idea and here is how it turned out...

Sam dug a big hole, and then lined it with the bricks. Here it is all lined and ready...

Because we dont have much of a back yard, I really didnt want to give up any space to a "hole in the ground." Also, I didnt want to have to worry about kids playing in the hole or falling in and hurting themselves. So our compromise (and Sam's brilliant idea) was to make a grass top for it that could be removed and replaced.

Here is the top before we put the grass on it...

Here Sam is figuring out some handles so that he can easily remove the grass cover. By this time, it was getting dark, but you can see where the pit is under the board, which is holding up the grass lid.

Then when it was all done, we had to try it out. So we made a fire and heated hotdogs over it for dinner. I am so excited about this addition to our outdoor entertainment area. I cant wait to start having people over for BBQ's and sitting around the fire. Next time though we will have to start a little earlier so that we can get some shots in the daylight.

The growing garden...

I love going out every morning to our garden and checking on its progress. Just this morning, I noticed that all our tomato plants have little green tomatoes on them, our bean plants are producing beans that will be ready to eat by the end of the week, and our cucumbers are starting to flower. Soon it will all be ready to harvest...

32 Weeks...

I have been meaning to have some photos taken of my growing belly, but I keep forgetting. So this morning, thanks to the help of the self-timer, I took a couple. Sorry they arent the most beautiful or professional looking photos. But Beckie will be home this weekend, so maybe I can convince here to take some better ones.

For those of you who are wondering. Yes, I do look a little drawn and pale. That is because this week I have started having trouble sleeping through the night. I know that this is preparing me for when I will have to wake in the middle of the night to feed the baby. But I am still adjusting to the broken sleep. Other than that, everything else seems to be coming along just fine, though I have a doctors appointment later this week to confirm that.

Projects...

Over the last few months, I have been working on a few projects around our home. The following ones were all to do with the Baby Room. I do have to say that most of the time, I am so excited to get into the project that I forget to take "Before" pictures.

The Crib:
After I found out I was pregnant, I started looking at Craigslist (an area specific website for people to buy and sell or trade) to get a general idea of what people in my area were selling things secondhand for. Initially I didn't have anything in specific that I was looking for, but it soon became apparent that you can find some amazing deals if you know your prices, and check on it frequently. Obviously, you do have to be a little wise about things as Craigslist is known for its scammers. But so far, I have not had any problems. All that to say, after checking Craigslist regularly for months, I stumbled across a post for a crib for $25.
Initially my thought was that it must be a scam, or it was in really poor condition. But I checked it out anyway. The lady had a picture, and she was including the mattress. This was an unheard of deal. Most cribs that I had been looking at were in at least $100, and most without mattresses, which can be another $50 or so. I emailed her to see if she still had it available, and she did. So Sam and I went to check it out. Not only was it in really good condition, but she threw in the bedding and stuff as well. Her daughter had grown out of it, and her husband just wanted her to get rid of it. So we were the blessed recipients of her need to get it out of her house.

The crib was a honey wood color. It was nice, but when we got it in the room, it had a very pink color to it. So I had the bright idea that I wanted it black.

And here is the end result...

The Bedding:
The bedding that came with the crib was a light pale pink color. When we picked up the crib, we did not know whether we were having a boy or girl. But it was so light, that I thought, if we end up having a boy, I will just dye it a boy color. A few weeks later, it was confirmed that we were going to be having a boy. So I bought some dye, and dyed it right in my washing machine. I had never dyed anything before, and this was so simple.


Here is the end result...


The Craft Desk:
Before it was a Baby Room, it was my craft room. Before I knew that I was pregnant, I had purchased a table secondhand for $5 to put my sewing machines on, and to have a large workspace for cutting out patterns and such. I have no pictures of the actual desk, but this one is a fair representation of what it looked like.

After we got the crib, I realized that I did not have enough space in the room for my table and the crib, and the other furniture. So I brainstormed. And I concluded that if I cut the table in half, it would fit along the wall in an unusable space between the wardrobe and the wall. So while Sam was at work one day, I pulled out his skill saw, and chopped it in half. To my relief it fit perfectly with one half on top of the other half. It also still fit my machines on it. It has been working well for me, but in order for it to fit in with the rest of the decor, I decided it needed to be black also. My only problem was that it covered half the window, and if it was black, then it would make the room more dark than it already was. So again I brainstormed. Again I concluded that if I cut the top portion in half, then it would fit better. So that's what I did. Below is the top portion once I cut it in half. Also by cutting it in half, I got an extra shelf!


And here is the end result... I still have a little organizing to do with it, but I love all the extra room it supplies.

So the baby room is coming along nicely. I am also working on a couple other pieces that I got off Craigslist, but those are not quite finished yet, so will have to wait for a future post. Here is a preview of the "Before"...

The bottom portion of my China Hutch...

The side table in my living room...