Lath Table and Upgraded Kitchen Nook

A few years ago, Willi and I purchased a hacked together kitchen island that had a coat of white primer on it and a partially fitted Corian top. It was very function and sturdy but hardly easy on the eyes. Eventually it was going to have to go or be upgraded.

Since we moved to Oakland, I've lusted after Ariel Alasko's tables but they are sadly not in our budget. After a while of lusting and studying her tables, I set out to make our own lath top to upgrade the old kitchen island. We went at to the Heritage Salvage in Pataluma (one of my favorite places to go for any wood project!) and got a bunch of old lath, looking for any pieces with interesting milling, paint, and weathering. Measuring the top of the kitchen island, I bought a piece of plywood on which to affix the lath pattern.

Invites: Stuffed, Sealed, Stamped, and Ready for Sending!

Willi and I are getting married in just under 3 months, which sounds like crazy talk when you've been planning a wedding for over a year. We are officially in the "home stretch" as Willi's mom says. Weekends are mostly occupied by wedding DIY projects now, and likely a few posts here will have to do with wedding crafting. This weekend's undertaking was the wedding invites.

And man, I can't tell you how great it feels to have the invitations not only printed (we started talking to Abby of Consider the Lilies in August--that's right, AUGUST) but addressed, stuffed, stamped, and sealed. After 54 back and forth emails with Abby, our invites were finally sent for printing in December and in hand when we returned from holidays (and ACL surgery recovery--silly ACL, why did you think this was a good time to tear?) in January. Yesterday, my close friend Katie and I sat down to address, stuff, stamp, and seal these babies. And who's penmanship is responsible for that beautifully addressed envelopes? That would be Katie. My handwriting peaked in 3rd grade.

Adventures: Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty, Utah

Ever since Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty became uncovered again in 2004, I had wanted to visit. I studied art history in college and for a few years time, thought I would return to school for a PhD, specifically focusing on land artists like Smithson. I missed on opportunity while driver across the country to San Francisco in 2006, but when driving over 4th of July weekend to my parents new home in Colorado, I demanded--well, politely asked--we stay an extra day to make the pilgrimage.

Old Mattress Springs are the New Earring Trees

I've been looking for a while for a new earring tree: I have a very old, very ugly one that is mildly functional (earrings fall off and often got tangled) and ugly. At many a past Alameda Flea Market, I set out to find a cute vintage one, but kept coming up empty handed. So, I started to think more about what I needed from this earring tree: 

1. Smaller footprint than my current one
2. Thin branches/rods for earrings to hang from/not fall from
3. Somewhat unique looking

That could be many things! And so I happened upon these vintage mattress springs and viola! You know what they say about one man's trash is another's treasure...

Our Garden Transformation: Part 3

So far, we've written about our front yard upgrades and edible back garden. We also have planted a number of flowers both from seed and starters and we now have a bountiful flower garden. Every week, we have fresh cut flowers from our garden--not to mention a host of happy pollinators hopping into flowers. 

Just as a reminder, this is where we started: 

Looking towards our house.

It's sadly a cloudy day, but I'm going to retake this photo on a sunnier one.

I'm cheating a little here as this was taken far earlier this season when the tulips were out.

This as well...

One day in our garden I noticed an interesting "weed" popping up; the leaves looked familiar so I decided to let the plant grow--low and behold, it was a kala lily! Look at how big that blossom is! I'm so glad I let is grow. 

Shade loving hydrangeas. 

Fairy tail fox glove.

Delphinium.

More fox glove.

Dahlias.

Passion fruit flower vine.

White zinnia. 

Peach zinnia.

Cosmos.

Last year's snap dragon that stayed healthy throughout the winter.

And the beginnings of a sunflower.

And remember that old apple tree? (See below photo).

Looking towards our neighbors house.

Well it was about to fall on our neighbors house,  so our landlord had the very sick tree removed. What was left was the perfect spot for a sink planter, which we filled with Alaska variety nasturtiums. Can't wait till they blossom!

This variety of nasturtium blooms in a variety of colors, including red, peach, and yellow.