The Pursuit

I had a great time at the salvage yard yesterday and will have photos to post early next week. But hey it's Friday, after a long week I am ready to embrace the weekend. My weekend plans will start this evening with a new CD: The Pursuit by Jamie Cullum and a cosmo.

If you have heard any of Jamie Cullum in the past and even slightly liked him, you will love this new CD. Critics say he is unconventional and spontaneous as his songs span jazz, pop and hip hop genres. I am not a music critic, but this album is smouldering and through his musical and vocal talents, his magnetism pervades. Even more so with a perfect limey martini!

Cosmo Recipe:
1/2 oz real cranberry juice (no fruit cocktail version please)
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice (no need to measure, just keep squeezing)
1/2 oz triple sec
1 oz vodka

shake with ice and pour into super fine sugar garnished martini glass

Salvage Scavenger

Today the kids have a track meet way over in West Seattle. I am happy to head out on that long journey because we will drive right by one of my favorite salvage yards along the way: Second Use.

I have been scavenging my way through 2nd Use for close to 15 years now, we are so lucky to have this salvage yard in Seattle. They salvage materials from construction sites throughout the area and place them for sale in their giant warehouse. In the past, it was necessary to show up and hunt through their thousands of items to find a gem. A couple of years ago some genius employed by Second Use, has revamped their website and you can now search for items prior to leaving your home. It's so useful to view items online as photos and measurements are included in the description. Also the warehouse is cold, damp and filled to the rafters with materials...overwhelming. Entering with a list in mind makes the experience more enjoyable.

I am redoing a guest/office bedroom and thought the finds in the photos might make great additions to the room:

• A giant chalkboard above the computer desk - I would probably repaint with magnetic chalkboard paint for multi-use. It is only $55!
  
• As a closet cubby, the $10 yellow shelf might be a steal (I am pondering a gray, yellow, white color theme).
• There are a lot of useful looking school cabinets inventoried, this one stood out because of the perfectly sized drawers for storing photos, paper, kids art, etc.
• And finally, the bamboo cafe table looks promising, a small side table is always in need in any room. It may need a fresh coat of stain, but I love the proportions. ($45)

Off to the salvage yard and then the races, I will bring my camera and let you know what I find!

Happy Spring Break

I am off for the whole week visiting Sunriver Oregon with friends. This will be my sons' last high school spring break and I am so glad to spend the extra time with him and friends. I have never been to Sunriver,OR but have heard so much about it. See you next week with photos and information on this great field trip.

Seabrook - Pacific Beach WA

In Pacific Beach, WA a new beautiful beach town has been emerging over the past several years. Over President's weekend, my family and I, drove the 2 1/2 hours from Seattle out to the WA coast to check out Seabrook. While we didn't stay at any of the Seabrook cottage rentals, we drove through the master planned community and also viewed a model home.

This idyllic community is a true coastal town just beyond the Olympic National Park, albeit, the rough Washington coast. In early February, it was 45 degrees, pouring rain and so windy you had to lean into it to walk. However, this little community oozes charm and an east coast summer living sensibility (if you could envision a warm, sunny day). There are different floor plans and ocean view or ocean front options. Also, 90% of the homes are 2nd vacation homes, while 10% live year round. The vacation home owners usually place their homes in the care of Seabrook Cottage rental management as rental homes. While they plan on continuing to add to their town center, there is currently a market, cafe and deli, post office and bike rental.

These are just a few tidbits of information. The website: www.seabrookwa.com is full of information. Check out this community and see if a visit there is in your future.

Glimpse into my Garden - Part I

Side Front Garden - Mid Summer
Gate to Back Side Yard Guarded by Lola
Sidewalk to Backyard Dining Area
Upper Deck
I am revving up for an all out spring/summer gardening bonanza in my yard. Of course I plan on blogging the details. So I thought I would get you started with a glimpse into my current garden. This will be a 2 or 3 part series as I try to find all of the past photos.

Photo #1: The side front yard has a long side bed with a variety of ornamental grasses and perennials. It is pretty much self maintaining but I plan on tucking in more blueberry bushes and getting rid of the lady's mantle (oh but how I am going to manage without that gorgeous chartreuse sprig of color)?

Photo #2,3: I love the weathered gray color of the rickety old gate, it will stay. Down the sidewalk to the backyard dining area, I have ferns, blue hostas, black mondo and bright green Japanese forest grass. In late June, dozens of sorbet colored peonies pop out of the monochromatic landscape. I probably won't change much along the walk, it gets very lush and I like the repetition of plants.

Photo #4: You can see the wrap around planter, probably late spring. One year I had it filled with apple blossom, cream and black colored tulips. Unfortunately, they come back weaker each year. The tulips are an early show, followed by flowering azalea and hardy fuchsia. This entire planter will undergo the most dramatic change this spring and summer. I plan on taking all of the plants out, (replanting elsewhere), and making the planter a vegetable garden. Produce production with flowering annuals tucked in and around is my goal for this planter.

Now that I have posted my garden goals, I will have to follow through and follow up with some after photos. What are your garden goals this summer?

Grammys' "Jarmoire"

To say I love storage solutions is an understatement. I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place, behind closed doors is even better. My incredibly creative mom just sent me photos of her completed garden shed to house all of her garden tools. She decided to "Brangelina" the name of a garden (jardin) closet (armoire) and deem it a "jarmoire". A storage shed this cool deserves to be named.

Using rescued doors and windows, she etched glass with a stencil design to obscure the contents of the shed. It is seven feet wide, two feet deep and eight feet high in the back. It is truly just a closet and took about four days to build!

Her inspiration was this under the eaves storage shed from Sunset Magazine:

What a great use of space, unique design and clever touches to make it her own. Great job mom!

Shed Chic

What a great day! The sun is out, spring is just around the bend, March Madness begins and my kids have their first track meet of the season! Until I head off to their meet, I will be cozied up in a sunny spot devouring this incredible book: Shed Chic by Sally Coulthard. I have touched on backyard structures in a previous Modern Shed post, but this takes additional living space to a whole new level.

Would you create a digital free haven for reading and writing, a purpose-built home office or a guest annex? So many charming possibilities are brought to light in this beautifully photographed book. There are a couple of "sheds" that I could just live in and need nothing else. Add this book to your list, you won't be disappointed.

p.s. If you read the book, I would love to know your favorite sheds. Please send me an email (heather.runners@gmail.com) or comment on this post!