28 Week Baby Post!

Today is officially the third trimester and 28 weeks - woo!
Just ~12 weeks to go!

While we're still not great about taking routine
baby belly photos, I did manage to get some at the 27 & 28 week marks.  Look at that belly grow!  I feel like it's giant now
and I know I still have a long ways to go...

27 weeks

28 weeks

One exciting development that has emerged in the last 4
weeks was that we finally agreed on a name for baby Davis!
YAY!  Drumroll please...

We'll be excited to be welcoming:

made with love using the Babylock Sofia2
sewing/embroidery machine

(I temporarily owned a sewing/embroidery machine
and went to town on some onesies adding baby Walden's
name and Seahawks logos, hehe.  I've since traded that machine
in for a sewing/quilting machine, so sadly no more machine
embroidery for me.  I am, however, really interested
in developing my free-hand embroidery skills.)

Lastly, around the 24 week mark I went in for
what was probably my last ultrasound, (hopefully) barring
any 3rd trimester complications.

So, we got some 3d/4d pictures of baby Walden.
Generally I've heard these photos don't look great before
30 weeks or so because the babies don't start fattening up until around the 26 week mark.  Nonetheless - here's a small glimpse
of what skinny baby Walden looks like... it'll be
exciting to see how he looks when he's born!

So for those of you creeped out by 3d/4d ultrasounds...

WARNING!  GRAPHIC 3D/4D
ULTRASOUND PHOTOS BELOW!
DO NOT SCROLL DOWN!
(I know they're pretty creepy!)































Hehe, for those of you who AREN'T creeped out 
by 3d/4d photos, or can't contain your curiosity - 
here he is!

 

I dunno if he looks much like me or Clint yet - 

but I do see a very noticeable resemblance to my Dad!!

I guess Walden does have some Fontaine blood in him.

:)

DIY - Repurposing a Buffet or Dresser as a Bathroom Vanity: Part 2

At long last I've finally finished 
the buffet to bathroom vanity conversion!  

Well, the painting part at least... I actually finished several weeks ago,  but I've been tired and lazy and am just now

getting around to posting it.  :)  But what better time
to get back to blogging than when you're home sick
...on your birthday...
(birthday fail!)

I'm pretty sure the last time we saw this buffet

(Part 1) it looked like this:

My initial plan was to go with a strong black top,

to counter the white and separate the white base from the

large white sink.  I got the Rustoleum Satin Black oil-based

enamel paint.  Why?  Mostly because it was one of the only

non-spray black paints that wasn't giant at my
local hardware store.

I started by painting the dresser hardware with this shiny

black paint.  You can see it really shines!

Then I moved on to painting the dresser.

At this point winter was really starting to kick in so

I had to move the painting project inside (the outside temps

were too cold for the paint to dry effectively).

Moving the project indoors was a huge pain - not only because

we don't have a TON of space to work with (you can see

that I'm in this narrow area of the mudroom) - but because

there are cats indoors.  3 of them.

3 hopelessly curious cats.

3 curious cats that decided to jump all over the top of my buffet post-painting, regardless of the barriers I tried to put up.

You can see the paw prints below.

Those pesky kittens...

So I redid it.

And redid it again.

And redid it like, 17 times.

Sanding and painting, sanding and painting.

You can see in the shiny glare that the finish 

wasn't even - I'm not sure if it was user error or the oil based paint or what, but for THE LIFE of me, I could not

get that topcoat to look good.

It was streaky, uneven and terrible.  

Stuff got stuck in the topcoat from pretty much everything I used to apply the paint - and I tried a lot of different things!  

I used a foam roller, a regular roller, a hand bristle brush and a foam brush (all several times) and not once did I get something  with which I was even remotely satisfied.

Perhaps the problem was me, but I'll never 

buy that paint again!!

The longer drying time of the enamel also gave the buffet

ample opportunity to collect as much dust and cat hair

as possible.  TERRIBLE.

So after days (weeks?) of frustration, I finally decided

to screw the oil-based paint, and grabbed some of the 

leftover Rustoleum Hammered spray paint from

the tub remodel and decided to use that.

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

(after marrying Clint, of course)

This made the project 100 million billion times easier.

We moved the buffet into the bathroom that's getting renovated

so I could spray paint to my heart's desire without

worrying about the walls or the carpet or furniture,

and we could close the door to keep the kitties out.

I'm not sure why we didn't think of that earlier.

I also went over the hardware with the hammered paint to make sure it would match, since the hammered black isn't as

strong or shiny as the enamel oil paint.

I finished the painting in just a matter of hours.

Then Clint and I spent a few days going over white areas with about 3 coats of polyacrylic (since it doesn't yellow the way polyurethane does), and also went over the black 

top with about 4-5 coats of polyurethane.

Here's some shots of the nearly finished product.

I apologize about the color - it was a little dark without

lights and not much better with the lights. :/

~tada~

And here's just a couple shots with the huge sink.

I love how well the curve of the sink fits the buffet's shape.

Part of me wants to inset the sink since its a bit high and there's a convenient lip that we could drop into the top, but we haven't made a final decision on that yet.

natural light

overhead lighting

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out - I think it'll look great in our black and white bathroom. What do you think?

23 Week Baby Post!

Tomorrow is officially 23 weeks for my pregnancy, so I figured it was time for an update!

We haven't progressed at all with the nursery as we're still working on the bathroom (more on that soon!), but we have started collecting the first few baby items we'll need and we have learned the gender of baby nugget!

While I haven't been good about taking baby bump pictures with any level of consistency... I do have 3.  :)  Apparently I mostly like to do it on holidays as the first 2 were taken on halloween and Christmas, respectively. Then I took one this morning since I think the change from Christmas is far more noticeable than halloween to Christmas!  What a difference 2 and half weeks makes!  Today's picture includes a lovely cameo appearance from my current baby, Puff, who demanded attention, haha.

Oct 31, 2013 - 12 wks 3 days

Dec 25, 2013 - 20 wks 2 days

Jan 12, 2014 - 22 wks 6 days

When I look at the photos now I can't even tell why I felt that I needed maternity clothes at 12 weeks - but at the time I did feel the need to start modifying my wardrobe.  I do remember feeling really bloated, so maybe that made my normal go-to jeans uncomfortable.  
This was my first attempt at 'non-maternity' maternity clothing - back when I didn't really have a bump and I still felt cute, haha. I started by just buying loose clothing - like this 16 dollar sweater from TJ Maxx in 2 sizes larger than normal, and really stretchy yoga pants.  The sweater was a great investment though - I can still wear it 11 weeks later, I just have more of a bump underneath!

But really, who cares about me???  

Most importantly - here's a couple key sonograms of baby nugget. I haven't gotten a 3d/4d one or anything (which is okay by me because I think they're a little creepy looking tbh), but hopefully these normal ones will do.

baby nugget waves!

Baby nugget's face @ 14 weeks

it's a ...

Baby nugget's bottom @ 19 weeks

BOY!!!!! 
Now that we know baby nugget is a boy, we've been hard at work trying to think of names that we like - but are getting nowhere fast.  We had a list of girl names we both thought were dandy, but these boy names are a bit tougher.  Not even born yet and mr. baby nugget is already causing strife in the marriage!!
But, whatever mr. baby nugget ends up being named, he will be dressed for success with this awesome Christmas present from Clint's parents!  Yay!

ZOMG I'M GOING TO GET SO MUCH SEAHAWKS GEAR FOR MR. BABY NUGGET!
Till the next update I'll just keep brainstorming names...  Russell Wilson Davis, Marshawn Lynch Davis, Richard Sherman Davis...
:)

DIY - Leveled Garden Boxes

     Well, now that summer is officially over... (and fall is too) I figured it was just about time to write up my belated garden box post!  

   Our garden boxes are amazing - all 6 of them.  Each box is 6x3 which gave us a lot of gardening real estate, but we managed to use all of it and are contemplating eventually adding 2 more boxes.  We could have made larger boxes but Clint read that if you get much larger than 6x3 you have to start adding support in the middle of the box because of the weight of the dirt, and that was extra work we didn't feel like worrying about.

Here's a sneak peak at the finished boxes:

     Don't they look great?!?  I've really gotta hand it to Clint - he did all of the research on making good garden boxes and did a majority of the work with help from me and his dad.  He found this great blog tutorial on making garden boxes on sloped ground: http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/04/how-to-build-a-raised-garden-bed-on-sloping-uneven-ground/  But if you don't feel like going there, feel free to read on about how to make them.

     I can't tell how evident it is in the picture - but our yard slopes downward and toward the neighbor's house, so we had a lot of slope to work with.  I didn't even really realize how *much* the yard sloped until we were putting in these garden boxes and wanted to level them.  Fortunately it worked out really well and now we have these cute tiered garden boxes!

How to make the boxes:

1.  Have the right tools:

     Make sure you have a circular saw to cut the wood - there is a lot of cutting involved and you would not want to do it by hand. You'll also need 4 L-shaped brackets per box, a ton of 2.5" screws and a power drill.

2.  Choosing the wood:     

     Clint read that cedar was the best because it repels bugs and lasts a long time outdoors even without treatment, but we couldn't find any cedar wood.  Or maybe it was absurdly expensive.  So after some debate, we decided to go with pressure treated wood, but lined the boxes with plastic cover to prevent the chemicals in the pressure treated wood from seeping into our soil.  (Apparently the chemicals they put in it aren't supposed to be that bad for you anymore, but we figured better safe than sorry.)  You'll need a LOT of wood.  For each 6x3 box you'll need at least 18' for the frame, and up to 18' for the side boards, and ~3-6 more for the level supports depending on the slope of your ground.  Plan on purchasing ~40-42 feet of lumber per box.  The more boxes you make, the more likely you are able to reuse some of the cut wood for the sideboards, so the amount of wood per box gets reduced.

3.  Framing the boxes:

     For the initial box frame, we opted for 2x6s and used 6ft planks.  We used 3 6ft boards per box - cutting one in half for the short sides.  To make the frame, use a single L shaped bracket at each corner to shape the boxes into long rectangles and place them on the ground where you want them.

     One thing to note - since our ground isn't level, most of our boxes are well deeper than 6" post-leveling, but each box does have one corner/side that is only about 6" deep.  If you want your shortest corner/side to be deeper than 6" you could go with 2x8s or 2x10s for your frame.    

4.  Leveling the boxes:

     After making the frame of each box, the next step is to level. In order to level the boxes, work on one box at a time and level it specific to the ground below it.  This does mean that you can't move the box after you level it (unless the spot you're moving it to is exactly the same pitch/slope).

     Level the boxes by adjusting the 3 low corners of the box to the tallest corner.  Prop each low corner up with varying heights of scrap wood/items until all 4 sides of the box are level.

   When level is achieved, make 'leveling' support stands at each corner of the box and the middles of the long sides.  To do that, place one of the extra 2x6s into the ground vertically and against the inside of the box.  Kind of shove it into the ground so that it's perpendicular to the box top and leaves an imprint in the ground.  Then draw a line on this 2x6 along the top of the box frame, as a guide for cutting.  After cutting that stand to size, return to the frame and screw the stand into the inside of the frame, using your imprint for placement.  Start in the middle (where you don't have external supports you can knock out of place) and then work on the 4 corners.  On the corners, screw both sides of your box into the corner stands.  Even though one corner is sitting on the ground, make a stand for it anyways as it provides extra strength and support for the box.

5.  Making the sides of the boxes:

     After the boxes are all leveled with your support stands, you have to make sides for the boxes.  For four of our boxes the 2x6's we had were tall enough to fill the gap between the box frame and the ground.  However 2 of our boxes were on such a slope that we bought 2x8s (maybe 2x10s?) so that we could make the side out of a single layer of wood instead of two.

     To make the sides, you'll place your side board on the ground along the length of the side you want to fill, right up next to the frame of the box.  (I should have taken a picture of this, because that was a terrible explanation).  Then you can trace the bottom of the box frame (from the inside) to draw a line against your side board for cutting.  You will have to skip the spaces where your support stands are in the way, but you can fill them in with a straight edge afterward.

     After making your cut, your wood should fit pretty perfectly between the leveled frame and the ground.  We put the cut side on the ground for aesthetic reasons.  Then you can screw the sideboard to your support stands.  Voila!

    Not only do the boxes look great, but the tiers are so cute. Clint did a great job making sure all of the boxes were straight!

6.  Line the boxes:
     If you went with pressure treated wood, your last construction step would be to line the boxes with plastic if you're concerned about the chemicals.  Our plastic started to rip by the end of the summer, so I'd recommend a thick plastic as opposed to a thin one.  I think we used about 3mil plastic. Unfortunately I can't make a recommendation on thickness as ours tore, but if we make more boxes I'll update the post to reflect what we chose.

The finished product:

We added little stakes to use for bird netting,
in case small animals were a problem.

     And a cute picture of our helper Bizzy.  Can't forget her!

DIY - Repurposing a Buffet or Dresser as a Bathroom Vanity: Part 1

We decided to repurpose an older buffet for use as a 

vanity in the bathroom remodel.  We chose this route for a few reasons - we like 'handmade' stuff, we wanted to save money,

and we thought the style would match the farmhouse well.

After weeks (months?) of craigslist browsing,

we finally found the perfect buffet.  Sadly it wasn't as 

cheap as a lot of craigslist finds (350, +25 for them to deliver), but I thought it was worth the investment. 

I really wanted a piece with center doors to maximize the storage we could get since we ripped a closet out of the bathroom to fit a double vanity.  Converting dressers with drawers in the middle requires cutting through several drawers to accommodate the sink drain piping and that kills a lot of your potential storage.

This is the buffet we chose:

I really loved the buffet feet (which remind me of the

clawfoot tub feet) and the woodwork along the base.  Because of the bowed front of the buffet, we've opted to use a single extra large (27" wide) oval sink, which mirrors the curve well.  

Originally it would have been nice to have his and her 

sinks - but it just wasn't right for this buffet.  And let's 

be honest, I doubt anyone had double sinks in 1911, right?  

At the end of the day, a single extra large sink is more 

era-appropriate and farmhouse-appropriate. :) 

 Though I'm not sure exactly what era this buffet is from 

(I highly doubt it's from the early 1900's), I am confident that it will match our bathroom perfectly!

* * * * *

The Refinishing Work

We knew we wanted to paint the buffet and stick

with our black and white theme, but we weren't sure how

much black and how much white to do.  After looking at several (dozens!) of b&w painted dressers on pinterest, Clint decided

that he preferred the 'less is more' look.

We decided to paint the entire buffet white except for the top and the hardware.  We thought it might be weird to have a white sink on top of a white vanity (and the whites might not match perfectly),  so a black top seemed like the perfect solution.

The first step in prepping the buffet was sanding

it and repairing the wood where needed.  We sanded with 100

grit sandpaper.  We probably *should* have gone over it again with finer grit sandpaper to make sure it  was really smooth... but we're lazy... and uh, this would make the buffet

look more 'antiqued' or 'rustic'... maybe? :) 

There were some chips in the top that needed filling,
and one part of the woodwork on the base needed repair.
We used Elmer's Carpenter Wood Filler.

After the filler dried, we sanded it flat and began
priming.  For the priming we used Zinnser Cover Stain Oil-based Primer Spray.

After letting the primer fully dry, we applied

the actual white paint to the dresser.  For the exterior

coat, we used Rustoleum Stops Rust Satin White Spray Paint.

We did several light coats. I think we used about 4 cans

for full coverage of the dresser and drawers.

After the white dried, I began painting

the buffet top - but I haven't finished yet.

I've been having some difficulties with the black

paint we chose for the top, and its been

nothing short of a huge pain! :(

Once I get that last coat finished, I'll seal the whole

piece using polyurethane on the top, and polyacrylic on the

body of buffet.  I've read that polyurethane is a better seal

against water (which is important for the top where the

sink will be), but yellows over time - which is why

we'll seal the white areas with polyacrylic

which isn't supposed to yellow.

I can't wait till it's finished - and to post an update

of the completed buffet vanity!

Stay tuned :)

Check out the final product in Part 2 here!