A visit from the Shaws

 We had some friends visit us for a few days, whom we hadn't seen in a long time, it was nice to catch up and have more visitors! We went blackberry picking and came home with lots!

 Sarah braided Aubrey's hair and it was so cute!

 We went to EMP (Experience Music Project). We hadn't been since we moved here so it was nice to go again.

 They have a demo room where you can play all the instruments. They even had sound proof booths where you could play an instrument or sing privately. Aubrey waited patiently for the drums.

 Finally!

 Jared had a co-worker kind enough to watch Aubrey so the four of us could go out for dinner.

 She even brought Aubrey these little guys, which she is (still) super happy about as you can tell from the photo.

Last night we went out for some Chicago style deep dish pizza which I had never had before, but it was really good. One slice was filling enough for me!

They left this morning and my parents arrive on Friday - it's been a fun busy month of visitors!!

I took some newborn photos today and afterward Aubrey seemed in a good mood so I tried to get a few of her. It was short lived, but I got a few!

You can see how long it took her to get annoyed! Pure Diva - from smiles and posing to ordering me around and telling me what photos she wants to take!

We had our friends Dana + Brad with their little boy come visit us this past week. We had a lot of fun hanging out, shopping and visiting the zoo!

 The day they arrived, we went out for some Mexican food - this was Jared's meal.

 checking out Pike's Place and all the huge fish!

 Having some chowder

 and a little Piroshky!

and the zoo. So sad they had to leave today!

New friends arrive Sunday - it's been a busy summer!!

THE DESK!

I'm so excited that we (I mean Jared) finally finished our desk. The work space is soooo much more useful now! I'm not in love with the legs (I wish they were plain metal hair pin legs - we may have to eventually upgrade) but this works for now. I just need to tidy up those annoying wires underneath (any good tips??).

NEXT PROJECT . . .

I have Jared lined up for a new project - a new desk! We have this built-in shelving space in our hallway that we've never finished. I have been looking for pieces of shelving at the Ikea As-is section to build a custom size desk to fit in it and it's been 1.5 years and nothing! I was really close once when I found the perfect piece on craigslist for $20 and when I showed up to pick it up she had mistakenly sold it to the wrong person - I was mad!
But this week I had a few ideas and we finally found one that will work. After visiting a local salvage yard type store, we picked up some reclaimed thick wood that we will use as a desk top and I've been on the hunt for some legs. I'm looking for something metal and industrial looking. I haven't found anything used so I foresee a trip to Ikea to get something!

I came across this photo here and the wood is similar to what we bought (for a whole $5 by the way!) and the legs are from Ikea. There's a few options for table legs, it all depends on what will fit the best as the desk is 6' long but only 15" deep. I'm hoping to get it done asap - I can't wait to have space for both the computer and the sewing machine, side by side!

NEW (TO ME) CHAIRS

I found 3 of these chairs on craigslist for $15 and the vintage in me couldn't resist. Especially since we only have 4 chairs around our dining table and I had been wanting 2 different chairs for the ends or a bench - whichever I found first.

 The original

 At first I wanted to spray the metal white and recover the seats, but after a trial on one of them, I found spraying all the tiny surface was a pain, so was putting the chair back together! The white made it look to shiny and new and I kind of liked the well worn look, so I settled on just recovering the seats. It's just a dark cream natural fabric with white piping (can't see it too well in this photo). I made replace them with something better later - like a vintage pattern. I searched and searched for something but couldn't find anything I liked.

As for the white chair I sprayed, I decided to recover the seat with some vintage chenille blanket and orange piping and put it in Aubrey's room. At least if we need to pull out another chair for entertaining, we can!

SUMMER GUESTS + SUN

 We started out the weekend saying goodbye to friends who are moving across the country with a BBQ in the park.

 Then more house guests arrived and we took them to Kerry Park for the view.

 Fall Day? No, just a summer day in Seattle.

 Then we took them to the Locks

 And the next day we went to the Museum of Flight - Aubrey needed a break.

 Waiting for the big kids in the flight similator.

 Then that night we all went to a ball game.

 This was my view - didn't really matter as I don't think I even paid attention!

 The next morning our friends left and in the evening we went for a bike ride and stopped at the beach for a while.

Next week we get to do it all over again with new friends!!