some happy changes in July...

Well, July is ending on a high note thanks to a recent visit by my parents.

dining in Newport Beach with the parents. 

Sometimes things just pile up. Do you know what I mean?

It's not that one stressful thing that ends up affecting you, but it's one little thing after another and... the next thing you know you're walking around feeling depleted. 

Off your game.

Or at least that's how I was starting to feel during my recent injury.

I realize now that being on crutches for ten-plus days ended up depriving me of all the things I do that typically replenish me, the things that keep my creative juices flowing. 

Sweat. Wood dust. My tape measure and miter saw.

These are some of the things that make me happy these days.

Before my ankle sprain I was busy changing out the door trim and baseboards throughout our home.

I also finished my hallway--replaced all the trim around the doors and replaced the tiny baseboards. 

And all the bedrooms got new window trim

and six inch baseboards too.

I was quite the busy bee.

And the great news is that I'm back to normal again.

I plan on sharing some better pictures but here's an IPhone shot.

And here's another project I'm working on right now:

Built-in bookshelves around the French doors and vertical planks on the walls.

Project: Vertical Planks

I decided to install vertical six inch planks on the walls to add the illusion of height--the previous owners dropped the ceiling in here--and it's always felt like a dark cave to me.

I need to do a post on what I learned installing these planks upright instead of horizontal. I still used the plywood but ripped into six inch strips instead of the eight inch I installed in my living room.  Also the gaps needed to be different.

I know what you're thinking.

Why not just use sheets of beadboard?

my dining room

Well, truthfully, I regret hiring someone to install the  (4 inch plank) beadboard in my dining room--even though it looks pretty enough-I realize I prefer the wider plank look in this house.

Also, because I would be installing it myself I didn't want to deal with putting up the sheets of beadboard by myself. 

The individual planks seemed easier to me.

(But definitely more labor intensive as I soon learned)  

Once again, my Dad was my  hero.

While he was here he showed me how to build bookshelves around the French doors. And as soon as I finish the shelves I'll show you.

I've decided the planked walls will be painted white and the bookshelves will be BM's Dior Gray:

 While my parents were visiting, my Dad and I also worked on a custom mantel for my living room.

This is our fireplace before the mantel.

And just for fun, here's what the fireplace looked like one year ago. I hired someone to run the bricks down both sides and then I painted it and waited until now to install a mantel.

sneak peak at the beginning of the process

I had been lugging this wood remnant around for years; I found it in an antique store and had no idea what to do with it.

I watched my Dad carefully remove it from the old wood it was attached to, and then piece it together on plywood backing so we could fit it on my mantel. 

I plan to do a tutorial on how we built the mantel, I took lots of pictures.

Before Dad left he also fixed one of my beginner "mistakes."

I didn't have a table saw at the time and couldn't rip the right size planks so my lines on this wall were slightly off. He ended up pulling off the problem planks and used my new saw to cut the right widths.

Now all I have to do is paint them.

It was a busy week and when we weren't working on projects we were on the go-- eating out at wonderful restaurants, antique shopping in the city of Orange and being on the water.

Yesterday my parents arrived home safe and sound (grateful) and today my Dad is on the golf course (grateful). Mom says they can't wait to visit again--and that makes me happy.

How's your July been?

I hope it's been filled with some wonderful moments and that you're able to slow down a bit and enjoy it all.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time you take out of your busy life to stop by and visit my little blog. 

Peace and love to you,

xo

Leslie