Six Years.

Friday was our 6 year anniversary! We don't usually make a big deal about it, but we usually try and do something nice around this time. This year, it felt like we were celebrating for a week! It was kind of awesome! 

Part I - I had planned a date night last Sunday to go out to dinner and a movie because with residency starting and not knowing Zach's schedule, I wanted to make sure we at least did something before he got busy. Auntie Jenn and Brian came over to watch Em (there were only minor tears this time) and we went out to celebrate at Melrose Grill in downtown Renton for dinner. Melrose Grill is a delicious steak place and it did not disappoint! A little spendy, but we were celebrating! We both got the Ribeye and it was so good. Probably the best steak I've ever had. We split a bottle of wine and even got dessert. So fancy! It had been so long since we'd been out to a really nice dinner. Such a treat. Then we went to see 22 Jump Street and it was hilarious. I loved it. CT and Jonah Hill definitely have the Bromance thing down. :)

Part II - Zach had planned to go the Mariners game on Friday night (our actual anniversary) so my Mom came over to watch Em and got her Emerson fix. :) It had been forever since we'd been to a game and it also happened to be Fireworks Night! I'm not a baseball fan at all but I do like to go to a game every once and a while. It was fun sitting out in the bleacher seats, people watching, eating greasy ballpark food and after the game (they won!), watching the fireworks! It was nice that we got to see some fireworks too, since we will probably be at home on 4th of July with Em in bed. Haha. Or maybe we'll get adventurous and see how long she can last out and about... TBD... :) It was such a great night! 

So much fun celebrating how far we've come over the past 10 years of knowing each other. I love the life we have grown together and our little family. Here's to many many more years of love, fun, and most importantly, laughter! :) I love you mister.

DIY Rustic Console Table

Hi guys! I'm back with an awesome DIY for you today! I've been slowly wanting to update our IKEA furniture to more "grown up" and non-IKEA looking furniture. I mean, there comes a point in your life where you start to do that, right? IKEA is great and affordable with modern and minimalistic design, but their furniture definitely doesn't last forever - at least not in my experience. To be fair, we have moved four times in six years... which can be pretty rough on furniture. Anyways, it's time, and the first piece to get changed out (and by changed out, I mean got moved to the dining room and is now being used as our buffet) was the Kallax shelving unit. 

I saw this console table on Liz Marie Blog a while ago and fell in love with it (the actual plans can now be found here). At first, there were no plans for the console, so I went over to Ana White, my favorite source for DIY woodworking projects, and she happened to already have plans for a Rustic X Console Table! We've used Ana's plans before on our end table with success so we followed her plans again for the console table. 

Zach was awesome and built this whole thing all by himself during the last two weeks of busy season. He's definitely getting in as many DIY projects as he can before residency starts! He did such a good job!!! Our family and friends that have come over think that we bought it at a store! It's that good. So thankful for my handy husband!

The plans were easy to follow and he finished the table pretty quickly - over the course of a week, working at night after work and on the weekend. We made some modifications so that it would fit in our space. That's the nice thing with Ana's plans - it's not too hard to adjust them to customize the pieces for your own space. 

All together, I think it cost a little less than $100 for lumber and supplies (we didn't have anything on hand). Such a great price for a large console table that is sturdy as a rock! We used one coat of Minwax Wood Stain in Special Walnut because we loved how the knots in the wood came through. Then, we did two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane on top to protect the wood. 

To say we love it would be an understatement! It's so awesome and I'm so proud of my husband that he made it from scratch! 

The Perfect End Table

Remember last week when I said I had a project to share? Well the time has finally come! I am so excited about this one. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into it. See that beautiful end table up there? That's it! Zach and I made it with our own two hands. What was a couple of boards, is now a sturdy and stylish side table. 

I was really bad and didn't take any pictures along the way. Even though we had step by step instructions, this was very much a learn-as-you-go project! I'm going to try and give some tips on how we made it, but you can find the basic instructions on Ana White's blog if you are interested. She does some pretty awesome stuff over there. You should check it out! 

OK, here goes. Get ready for a text heavy post...

Step 1 - Planning

We printed the PDF directions from Ana's blog. Let me tell you, the planning process takes the longest and is the most important. Ana's plans are great, but we did change a few things to make it our own and customize the table for our space. 

We looked at the dimensions and actually wanted something a little taller since our couch has high arms (about 30 inches). The original table was only 24 inches high. I wanted it just short of 30 inches so there was a little difference between the couch height and the table height. We settled on adding 4 inches to the height of the table for a height of 28 inches. 

I also read all about the table that Jenn made on her blog House of Wood. She dubbed it the Perfect End Tabel and I totally agree! I loved the look of her two toned version of the table and we decided to go with her construction, which meant changing out the top to 3/4 inch plywood instead of a 1x12 + two 1x3s on top to make it a solid piece. 

Ana's plans are nice because they give you a shopping list, tools list, and cut list. It was really helpful, but being the novice furniture builders that we are, it still took us a while to figure out exactly what we needed. Plus, we don't have any tools really, besides a basic power drill and our multi tool (which we realized is not so great with the saw feature). 

My advice... if you change any of the measurements, calculate five times. Then measure five times. Then cut once. There were many a frustration in the Kane household at times, but that's part of the fun of doing it yourself.

Step 2 - Hit up the Hardware Store (a couple a few several times)

We spent quite a bit of time here. My past experience with Home Depot consisted of the paint department. I am clueless about lumber. Husband knows a little more. We must have made at least two trips to Home Depot and three trips to Lowe's over the weekend. Again, planning is key! Here's what we ended up getting:

1 - 4x4 3/4 inch Plywood

3 - 2x2s @ 8 feet long (we used Cedar)

14 - 2 inch wood screws (#8)

4 - 1 1/2 inch wood screws (#8)

8 - 1 3/4 inch wood screws (#8)

Wood Glue (Gorilla Glue)

Kreg Jig (the mini one)

Countersink drill bit

1 quart Olympic flat latex paint in Heirloom Lace 

1 half pint can of Varathane Wood Stain in American Walnut

1 half pint can of Varathane Polyurethane Semi Gloss Interior

Step 3 - Cutting

Since we don't have a hard core saw at home (I did ask for one for Christmas!) we found out that Home Depot does free cuts! It was so helpful! Just make sure you know what measurements you need cut. The cuts aren't guaranteed to be exact, but they are good enough for us! We got the plywood cut for  the top and the shelf. They do charge if you make a lot of cuts, but since we only did about three, it was free!

Bad news was that we cut the top piece an inch wider than we wanted due to some calculation errors. FYI - 2x2s are actually 1.5x1.5! I had no idea. Long story short, we tried to cut down the top piece with our multi tool saw, but it turned into a horrible mess. All jagged and uneven and definitely un-sandable. Although Z and I have different ideas on what can be sanded... he came around though. Luckily we had enough leftover plywood to cut another piece for the top. So back to Home Depot I went. I carried in my piece of plywood and they cut it again for free. Thank goodness, because I may have started crying in front of the guy in the orange vest in the store if not. 

We did cut the 2x2s with the multi tool and it worked pretty well. We were able to sand the ends down to get them even. It would have been ten times faster to use a table saw, but we used what we had.

Step 4 - Put it together

We followed Ana's plans for how to construct the base. It was fairly straightforward and went pretty fast once we charged our power drill and got the hang of the jig. The jig is such a helpful tool! We got the mini version which worked really well with our power drill. From there it was just drilling and gluing and putting it together. Easy compared to the cutting/planning process!

Step 5 - Sand/Paint/Stain

Next, I lightly sanded all the pieces and then painted the base in the off-white color. I did primer first and then at least two coats of the off-white. For the top, I did two coats of stain, applying evenly (and following the directions on the can!) and then wiping off after 5-10 minutes with a clean, dry cloth. I did three coats of the polyurethane on the top surface, then put it all together after it had set for a couple days and did one more coat of polyurethane over the whole thing. 

The wood grain on the plywood actually turned out really cool. I love the texture it brings. I was unsure at first, because it almost looked like a zebra pattern, but after it set it looks really good! Especially with a few coats of polyurethane to make it shiny and durable.

OK, enough chatter (told you it was a wordy post - congrats for making it this far!). Here's some after pictures. I'm pretty much in love with it and I'm so proud of us for making this ourselves! I know it's something we will look back at years from now and be like, "yeah, we made that." :) 

You may remember what used to occupy the space next to the couch (from this post). I think this is a huge improvement! Especially considering what used to be there was actually a desk. I love the wood look on the top surface. It's a nice change from the all white and brings some depth. I am so happy with how it turned out! 

Zach hasn't even seen the full thing in real life yet. Since he is in Silverdale, I had to finish it without him while he was gone. I think it looks pretty awesome! I just love how it's our own custom piece that we made ourselves! There's something very gratifying and satisfying in completing projects like this. 

I guess you might want a cost breakdown, huh? I didn't include the tools, since they weren't project specific and can be used for other things.

Cost (rounded):

Plywood - $20

Cedar 2x2s - $18 ($6 each)

14 - 2 inch wood screws - $4

4 - 1 1/2 inch wood screws - $2

8 - 1 3/4 inch wood screws - $4

Paint - $10

Wood Stain - $5

Polyurethane - $7

Total Cost: $70!

$70 for a totally custom and sturdy piece furniture sounds pretty great to me! Overall, it took us a lot longer to make than we thought it would, but I think it would be much faster if we had the right supplies and did a little better in the planning department. This being our first furniture building experience (watch out, we might be going Amish now:) made it a longer process as well. I had no idea what a jig was before this project. But I'm confident if we tackle another furniture building project, it would go a lot smoother (and I will take pictures, I promise!).

Besides our big chair reupholstering project, this is one of our biggest projects yet. What is the biggest project you've worked on? Isn't it fun to make something from scratch? What have you made lately? I'm already trying to decide on our next Ana White project! Thanks to Ana for providing all the free plans!

Link Parties:
Sew Chatty

Hugs + Kisses From the Mrs.

I've been a little MIA this week. It's been a busy week so far (which is good) but I am exhausted already (the late night Olympics are killing me!). I've also been in kind of a funk, especially yesterday. Here's hoping I can snap out of it soon. 

Mostly, I've just been missing this guy.

The main reason is that sometimes medical school sucks. It's hard not only on Zach studying/working/learning constantly, but also on the wifeys! As you know, Z is in his third year of medical school (over half way there!). For year three and four, the students do month-long rotations throughout the year. His first rotation was in Issaquah, so that was great - pretty close to home (most of his rotations will be around the Seattle area). For the past two weeks, Zach's been in Pendleton, Oregon working at the hospital there. The students are basically unpaid interns that get to meet patients on their own and then report back to the attending and discuss what should happen next. He's learning a ton and getting to see so many different things (his first two rotations so far have been in internal medicine, next is general surgery!). 

So, for the past two weeks, I've been a single mama to our furry little boys, and I've finally hit the wall. I do not like this being apart thing. It's been 10 days since I've seen him (although Z would say it has only been 8;) and I'm not liking it at all. I need to see my husband! I miss him so much it's kind of ridiculous.

We did the long distance thing in college (for three years!) and it worked out great. But now, we've been married 4 years and it's totally different. And I don't like it. I want my best friend next to me every night (I may or may not be sleeping with a piece of his clothing because it smells like him). I want my partner in crime back to so we can watch the olympics together and cheer/make jokes together throughout the whole thing.

I definitely have even more respect for single moms out there too (and I only have two dogs - imagine two kids!). It's hard being the only one there and having so much responsibility on you and you alone. 

Anyways, I think you get my point (and sorry if that was a tad whiny...) He comes home TOMORROW! WOOT! I'm so excited! I can't wait, and I think that's why this week has been harder than the first. It's so close, yet time is moving so slowly. The first week went by pretty fast since I kept busy with lots of projects (I'll be sharing some next week hopefully!). But this week is dragging...

So I think you all know that I love to bake (and the husband loves to eat whatever I bake). Last week I pumped out some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (my favorite!) and decided to send my mister a little care package to help him remember his awesome wifey. :) I had seen this idea at weddings before and loved it! So simple and cute. I made a little card to go in there too. 

I bought a bag of Hershey's Kisses, a bag of Hershey's Hugs and a bag of Snickers (because those are his favorites). I was going to put some fishies in there too, but ran out of room after I added the cookies. 

I miss you so much Zachary Michael! Can't wait for you to come home to me! 

P.S. Happy 32nd Anniversary to my amazing parents! We are so lucky to have such great role models! Love you guys!

The Great Wheel

We took advantage of the sun on Saturday after Zach's shift at the hospital (and so it begins...) and went downtown to hang out. Our first mission was food. I'd never been to Ivar's down on the pier, so I suggested we go there. It was so busy! And it was so weird the way you order and pay there. Everyone stands in line, you give them your order (your fried order only!) then you step back and wait. Then they call out your fried order and you go up and tell them you want a drink, etc. and pay. It's just really weird and hectic when it's so busy because everyone is confused, then you have to get back in line and everyone huddles towards the counter in fear that their order won't be called. Weird, Ivar's. Just weird. Anyways, we both got fish and chips and they were pretty tasty. 

From there we were on a mission to The Great Wheel! I was so excited (as I mentioned here)! I was prepared to wait in line for hours, but the whole process (from getting into line to getting off the wheel) only took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not as bad as I thought. One way to save time (we realized after it was too late) is to buy the tickets online before you get there (tickets are $13/adult). That way you can skip the ticket line and head straight to the wheel line. Since it was such a beautiful day it wasn't so bad standing around in line though. 

We figured a few things out while we were standing in line (we're like that). There are 42 gondolas (we may have counted) including one VIP gondola (it's the black one and it has leather seats and a glass bottom!). Six people can fit into each gondola so if you are with a smaller party, be prepared to share. We were in a gondola with three other lovely ladies and chose to face towards the city.

The ride was surprisingly smooth and very sturdy. Very little swinging at all and there was even A/C! The last time I was on a Ferris Wheel was at California Adventure and it was so scary! The gondola rocked and there was nothing to hold on to so I thought I was going to fly right out! The Seattle Great Wheel was nothing like that (in case you are afraid of heights). Super smooth and while it is high, the views are worth it. We were constantly twisting and turning to see everything around us. 

Oh, and you go around five times - once to load, three full times, once to unload. Overall, it's about a 15-20 minute ride. 

After the Great Wheel, we hit up the Seattle Antiques Market (under the viaduct) and then went up to Pike's Place (we like being tourists in our own town:). I love Pike's Place Market. Just walking around, seeing all the different people and art and flowers and fish. Especially on a nice day, it will never grow old for me. :)

We picked up some delicious raspberries (and later made some delicious raspberry cobbler!) and the mister even bought his lady some sweet peas for the road (they smell so good). The peonies were also out in full bloom and were gorgeous!

On our way through Westlake Center, I noticed the trees in the courtyard had their trunks painted bright blue. Crazy, huh?

The whole day was awesome and perfect and everything that I love about being in Seattle. Such a great city. We love you, Seattle!

Four Years + Lobsters

Four years ago I married my best friend and eight years ago I saw his '65 mustang and fell in love. I love this guy so much! It's kinda crazy how much. You know when you just have so much fun with someone you never want it to end? Or when no matter what you do or where you are you are just happy to be with them? Well that's what I've got and it's pretty sweet. 

One of my new favorite traditions is when Z makes me a handmade card for every birthday/valentine's day/anniversary. He is so thoughtful and comes up with some pretty creative stuff. Today, it was lobsters. That's a little girl lobster (complete with purse) on the left and a boy lobster (complete with watch) on the right. Yeah, they're holding claws. Sweet, right? Inside it says Did you know lobsters mate for life? and then a bunch of other mushy stuff that made me cry and wonder how lucky I got to have the best husband ever. He also surprised me with some flowers this morning (the same flowers we had at our wedding - pink gerbera daisies!). Husband done good.

I'm feeling like a pretty lucky girl today. :)

Half Way There!!!

That's right! Zach is officially half way through medical school!!! He finished his second (of two) board exams yesterday. I almost can't believe it. These past two years have gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday we were packing up our lives, moving down to Arizona, getting our puppy and then moving back a year later. I'm so proud of my awesome husband! He's worked so hard to get this far. Half way there babes! I love you!

Locks of Love

While we were in Paris, we saw two different bridges that were covered in locks (one by the Louvre and one by Notre Dame). I had read about this on a blog before we left for our trip (find it here and more on it here) and thought it was sweet. It's a tradition for lovers to write their names or initials on the padlock, fasten it to the bridge, and throw the keys in the river to declare their love. Pretty corny... but also pretty awesome! Of course I wanted to do it.

It wasn't until our last day in Paris after we got back from Versailles that we found a lock along the Seine at one of the Bouquinistes (Parisian booksellers), engraved our names and attached it to the Pont de l'Archeveche near Notre Dame. We put our names and the date on the front, our wedding anniversary and dating anniversary on the back, and Kane along the bottom. We filled that thing up!

We share a spot right next to Carlye and Dameon. :)

In true Kane fashion, we were giving a little smooch as we dropped the keys in to the Seine, only to hear a big "thunk." We look down and the keys had landed on the edge of the bridge. Cue big boat coming towards us and as we use our umbrella to try and push the keys in to the river before the boat reached the bridge. Go us! The things we do for everlasting love... :)

Now our love will be in Paris forever! (Or at least until they take all the locks down again...) :)