Transformation Tuesday-Backyard Deck

Hope you're enjoying this long- awaited burst of summer like weather! This past holiday weekend was amazing here in Michigan and we took full advantage of the temps by working our fool heads off every waking minute until the local Memorial day parade on Monday morning at 9 A.M.

Kennedy-scrubbing the siding

 Emerson-Brecken's friend and my adopted third 'daughter'-earning her keep

We pulled weeds, moved shrubs, shoveled and spread bark, mowed and fertilized the lawn, bought flowers, watered flowers, tore off a deck, built a deck, shopped for outdoor furniture, bought outdoor furniture, opened the pool, cleaned the pool....

All the while on the inside, we actually had contractors-real live contractors, NOT US, doing a project in our house. This is only the fourth hired crew we've had since moving into this house seven years ago, and after the pace of their work and lack of work ethic, I think I'll keep my husband/contractor thankyouverymuch.

I found it ironic that even with the sign hanging in our kitchen says, "You must be present to win", they were hardly ever present.  

I guess slow and steady wins the race-but usually around here that's not the case. more and faster is usually the standard. :)

No complaints now that it's finished, but there was lots of mumbling under my breath during the process.

Remember my old/new bamboo? Water damage from a leaky fridge caused this mess a month ago.

Here's my new engineered hardwood flooring. Very similar to the look of bamboo, but less red, more grey. (The original bamboo was discontinued).

I'm so happy to have my kitchen back.  Not so happy to have to wash floors again. :)

Wanted to show you the beginning of our backyard transformation.  Initially, when we moved into this house, we had built a small 12x12 deck that essentially became just a walking 'pass through' to the cement patio by the pool. We had talked for a while about expanding it to make it more functional for eating/relaxing. 

After being cooped up all winter, this was the year to do it. I am spending as much time outside this summer as I possibly can and what better way than to eat, work and play on a new deck?

Here's the old....

Notice the ornamental tree to the right. I struggled with the decision to remove it or not, but it had to go in order to expand.  We had tried transplanting a similar one last year and it didn't survive, and as much as I love and can be a 'tree-hugger', this one wouldn't be saved either. The root ball was just too darn big and Ken was just too darn impatient. and i don't blame him. That was lots of digging.

This is so not the same angle. I'm such a loser, but hopefully you get the drift.

The pic above shows the exact area where the tree was removed.

 This pic below is a better angle of the length of the new deck.  Its now 14x30.(I think).

Here's the view from inside the slider in our family room. 

 We found this lounging set at Target and were thrilled to find it significantly on sale the day we bought it. (Two lounge chairs and a loveseat). We also bought the outdoor rug and lumber pillows from there. 

Remember this grille gazebo that we found at a garage sale last year? Placed it here over the weekend and that's where it'll stay I think. (Shhh, planning on getting Ken a new grill for father's day).

 Found this outdoor dining set at The Home Depot in Grandville.  This was the floor model they were showcasing with the red cushions. You could choose different color seat cushions and I would've (i burnt myself out on red years ago and can only take it small doses), but I was too impatient to special order it. I do think it ties in nicely with our house color and my 'feel the zeel' sign!

Here are some other pieces we considered before settling on what we did:

Lowe's.

 I want to go back and get this deck box. First night with the cushions out and I was up at midnight bringing them all inside when I saw lightening in the distance!

  I thought these conversation chairs were interesting and unique. They were actually really comfortable. And no cushions to take on and off. Bonus!

 Our game plan for this weekend is to build a pergola over the left side of the deck (seating, not dining) area.  Ken is actually motivated to do this already after we had so much fun enjoying a pool party with friends and family yesterday and seeing how often that area was used, (with people cramming under the umbrella for shade).

Here's a similar style to what we're thinking:

 This is where the pergola will attach to: The white upper trim of the slider. 

 And rest on pillars at the edge of the deck by the loveseat.

We're gonna keep out high pub table out here. 

 But we're selling our sturdy round table here:

Email me if you're interested. $100. I touched up the stain last year, but it needs a good touch up again.  It's sturdy as ever and in great shape. We think it may have been a Pottery Barn collection but aren't sure. Bought it last year at a sale.

Well off to take a nap after the weekend we had. :)

Worth all the work up front if it helps us relax a little more when the work is done for the day. Stay tuned for round 2 this weekend.

One step up and two steps back. :)

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feelin' the zeel-recap of peddler's market

guys!! i'm still on cloud 9 about the peddler's market this past saturday! i'm also still really exhausted and came down with a sore throat so please forgive the lowercase letters without caps tonight! it seems like so much effort! :)

the day was amazing!

i'm not trying to toot my own horn (toot toot)!

really, i'm not. 

i'm giving the proper shout-out to our wonderful city marketing directors, abby deroo and kari van dorp who pulled off yet another incredible event for downtown zeeland.

in all our years of hosting annual 'room for change' november tag sales, ken and i had never participated in any kind of craft show, art show, flea market or outdoor antique market of any kind. but the poster was really cute, we love this fair city of ours and abby's one of my dear friends, so we thought we'd give it a whirl.

so glad we did.

the crowds were great.

the atmosphere was fun and festive.

and the sun was shining. 

yes. you read that right. 

the sun was shining!

spring, not winter, decided to show up for the spring market after all that day!

big bonus!

since we were newbies to the outdoor market scene, we decided to set up shop the night before in our driveway to get a feel for how things would be placed and prepped.

we knew we only had a two hour window to stage our goods on the street (from 6:30-8:30 a.m.)before the 9:00 opening and we didn't want to feel super pressured or rushed.

we already had our 12x12 tent that we purchased last year for backyard parties and camping, so that was our first decision. what would go under the tent (in case of rain) and what could we leave out.

 we knew we wanted to use the doors with shelves that ken made last week as backdrops. we'd also have these tagged to sell, knowing that might be a long shot with people not being prepared to take larger items home, but no worries as we would use them as shelving to showcase items in the booth at not so shabby.

after we were feeling a little more comfortable with set up and spacing issues, at around 9 that friday night, we loaded up most of the tables, doors and larger items in our van and our neighbor's pick up truck so we'd be ready to go in the morning. 

upon arriving downtown on church street at 6:30 a.m. i had a brief moment of panic when i realized the venue changed by a block south and the cones designating booth sizes and placement looked awfully close together. 
how will i fit everything in?!

breathe in.
breathe out.
unload and hope for the best.

 it ended up working out perfectly. my booth neighbor, beth didn't end up needing her entire 15x15 space and gladly loaned me a few extra feet on her side. thank you beth!

 it didn't take us long at all to set up. about an hour. it was quite chilly that morning so i had bundled up with leggings beneath my jeans and layers of under armor and fleeces but after all the loading, unloading, staging, prepping, moving, shuffling, sorting, organizing and greeting people, i stayed nice and toasty!

 abby and i had asked my sister cherie to make some of her fresh baked melt- in- your- mouth homemade cinnamon rolls to sell that day. i briefly panicked again when i had cleared a spot for her rolls and she hadn't yet arrived at 9.

but my worrying as usual, was in vain. she showed up just in time with my nephew cole-fresh rolls in hand which ended up being the hit of the day! $120 worth of dough to go towards cole's mission trip this summer to costa rica! cole decided rolling in dough made it worth rolling out the dough!

here are some random shots from the morning before and during the event.

 and the big announcement squeezed in here right at the end of this entry is that 'not so shabby' is opening a second store in zeeland! 
tiny little booths to start but we're back! i am renting space to have a booth there as well (and keeping my booth on the north side). 
i have heard feedback from several friends and clients that they wish not so shabby felt like it used to where we began downtown zeeland-kind of like a pinterest page come to life.i shared your thoughts with jackie, the owner, and we hear your comments and will try to bring back the charm!
i'll let you know the details of the soft opening which will be any day now! but here's a little, (key word being little) peek at my teeny tiny booth. 

 i'm going to concentrate on small furniture pieces, home accessories and whatever else you tell me you want me to find you, make you or design for you. 

(at the end of the day saturday, we were able to haul the items that were left to my new booth...located right next to the candy store on main street).

 after we had made several trips from the street to store, this is all that was left on church street after the other vendors cleared out and went home. what a day.

 And at 6:00 that evening, this is what we looked like.

thanks to all you champs who showed up to feel the zeel that day. if you couldn't make it, don't worry, you'll get another chance on september 6 for our first (annual?) fall peddler's evening market which will include a wine and cheese stroll! save the date!

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