The beginnings of a craft cottage =)

 It has been raining ugh! So I had to find something else to do with my time this week instead of yard work. Yes, I probably could have painted in the laundry room, or the guest bath... but instead I headed out to the studio. Where to begin?! Oh my! This has become a catchall since moving over Christmas. Everything was placed out here that we didn't know where to put quite yet.

 Ooh, there is Jessica's table! Hmm, forgot I even had it! Sorry Jessica!

 There is a couch under there somewhere and a faux fireplace!

 I wonder where the drawers are to those plastic carts???

 I decided the easiest thing to do was move all the tubs with holiday decorating stored in them into the other side of the studio, the garage side.

 I bought more tubs for the items that I purchased this year or to replace a few tubs that were falling apart.

 I began filling them and labeling them, then decided to move them ALL into the house to take up to the storage area off the den/office. The hubby and I decided it would be easier for me to access them from there rather than the storage above the studio.

 Uh hmm, it's starting to come together =) I am making two different areas, one for crafting...

 and one for hanging out with my crafty friends =) My friend Andrea gifted me this vintage couch and the previous owners left the wool rug with the house. I would have loved to have painted out here first but it will be a HUGE project, one that I am just not ready for right now. So I will make the best of it for now.

 In the mean time my poor plants that I bought to plant are getting lots of water! Hehe! I think I have a thing for pink and purple this year. All the roses I bought are some shade of pink too.

 I had such good luck with the artichokes at the other house I bought some to plant here.

Guess I better finish lugging these up stairs. The hubby is going to help me get them into the storage area tonight. The other half of them are already upstairs 22 tubs all together, ack!

Yard cleanup.

 We had a gorgeous day so I snapped a few pictures of the yard after I had spent 3 days raking and cleaning up. This is the main pond area and the side of the driveway.

 I plugged in the waterfall yesterday, but it has been raining for two days straight... so a picture will have to wait on that! Ha! I cannot wait until spring/summer to sit down by the pond and listen to the waterfall, watching the birds and drinking iced tea with a friend or the hubby. I have been searching for the perfect cushions to go on those chairs. Once I find them I will make a couple pillows. I will be adding some flowers to the basket, and I am trying to talk the hubby into making me some metal fish to stick out of the pond.

 The other side of the driveway. The grass area is next on my list to clean up, if it ever stops raining!

 While waiting for the hubby to return from California on Saturday morning I ran to the nursery and picked up a few plants to plant in the yard. Unfortunately his flight was cancelled and he didn't make it home until Sunday afternoon. Which gave me a chance to clean up the kitchen garden area.

 This is the courtyard area.

 The leaking pond in the courtyard =(

 The hydrangeas in the courtyard.

 The lion fountain.

 Fireplace area. I have picked out the perfect outdoor sectional to go out here! (Notice my seedlings placed in the sun?)

 I am searching for a cushion for this chair. Will add a few homemade pillows, maybe a throw and a basket of flowers for the table.

 This birdbath was left by the previous owners of the house, it leaks. The hubby has offered to fix it... but I kinda like it filled with flowers!

 A few close ups of the flowers =) I bought these at the nursery too.

 A close up of the fountain turned on.

 It even lights up!

I think it will be really pretty this summer when all the vines are green. Can't you just picture sitting out here with the sun setting, listening to the water from the fountain, maybe a fire in the fireplace, roasting marshmallows to make s'mores and a glass of wine or your favorite beverage? You could choose to sit on the sectional, the farmhouse table and chairs or the hot tub! Have you been cleaning up your yard for spring?

Garden notes... and yardwork

 The hubby has been out of town in California, I have been cleaning up the yard around the cottage... this pile came from all the fallen pine boughs from around the driveway and main pond area...

 This pile too! It was soo nice to sit in the hot tub at the end of the day! =) I forgot to take a before and after pic of the area I cleaned up... will try to get one today ha!

 I started some seeds for the garden... can not wait to see them start to sprout! I recycled several containers that I already had.

 I am going to try to can my own salsa and tomato sauce this year so I planted lots of tomatoes and jalepenos.

I also used my recycled TP and paper towel rolls... I haven't ever done this before but hope that it works well.
Yesterday I cleaned up around the courtyard, and filled the courtyard pond up with water... it has a leak, so I need to decide what to do with it. The hubby wants to cover it up, I love having water features, so I am considering maybe a fountain or something easier to maintain. I do have a fountain already the lion head one... but it needs some repair as well. Again no before and after pics... today I am going to continue cleaning the yard if the sun decides to show... otherwise I may be headed into the studio to begin the first step of using the space - ORGANIZING. I'm not sure I even feel comfortable showing how bad the before is in there! Wish me luck! Haha!

Garden notes...

 While doing some  Christmas shopping I came across these herb pots at Restoration Hardware, I ordered one of each for myself and a couple for Christmas gifts ;)

 I decided today was the day to get them started.

 These will be fun to keep in the kitchen window, I am also going to plant a small herb garden in the rose garden near the kitchen. The other house has chives that are growing really well and need to be thinned out so I will transplant some to the new house.

 These turned out so cute! They even came with the cute little scissors and sticks to label them.

 Can not wait to see these sprout.

 Then Koko and I headed outside to work in the garden. It appeared to be a sunny day... but it kept sprinkling on me! When it started to hail I decided maybe it was still too early to plant anything more ha!

 I did get potatoes, garlic and asparagus planted.

I used some extra 2x4's I found in the chicken coop to help define the new garden space, when the hubby gets home from California I will have him cut another 2x4 for each of the sides. This afternoon I will plant some seeds in my recycled toilet paper/paper towel pots. Thanks for stopping by!

Last full day with the kids...

The last full day with the kids was an early start. We headed to the local Bagel place for breakfast.

Then we headed to Deception Pass and saw a seal!

They were getting a little tired of my wanting to take pictures! Haha!

Then we headed to LaConnor for some shopping at the purse store and the antique store.

Then had a yummy lunch on the water.

LaConnor was very quiet for 2 weeks before the Tulip festival!

The daffodils are just starting to open! Still beautiful! Should be perfect in another 2 weeks! 

Dinner was a HUGE seafood feast cooked by yours truly =) we started with shrimp cocktails, warm rustic bread with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and roasted garlic. Salad with choice of dressing, lobster tails, scallops Provencal, Manila clams in butter wine sauce, BBQ oysters, and dungenous crab. Dessert??? Chocolate fondue with marshmallows, rice crispy treats, bananas, strawberries, pound cake and pineapple dippers.

It was so fun to have them here. We missed having Jestin here and hope that he can join us next time.  The time went way too fast! 

Can not wait til July to see them again... in Reno when the grandbaby is born =)