Back Deck Staining Project

When we moved into our house a new deck had just been put on, but never stained.  We waited and waited, weeks and weeks for a 24 hour period of NO RAIN.  It took nearly two months, but we finally got cracking on staining the deck.

Here's the deck.  It's pretty standard, a little small, but it'll do just fine.

Notice the water?  I wasn't lying.  It rained A LOT this summer.

We picked a stain that was pretty natural looking.  I didn't want anything too red or too brown.  Notice our huge, oddly shaped/sloped yard?  It's a swampy situation.

Here comes the stain!

You have to start with the rails if you want to stain it all in one go.  Painting the posts, banister, whatever-you-call-its is the most time consuming part of the job.  Our deck is only about 120 square feet and this part took a good two hours.

After the posts were done, I painted the actual deck (while Alex pretended he was a photographer and snapped pictures of me painting.

Note: Do not use a roller to stain your deck.  You will get air bubbles in the stain and die.  In my defense, the roller was all Alex's idea.  Also, start your staining in one of the back corners and work your way to the front.  This ENSURES that you won't have to step on your work.

The finished project!  The deck is still wet in this picture.  The stain didn't dry this shiny.  The next weekend we purchased a new patio set and repositioned our grill to complete our outdoor living space!

While I was hard at work, Alex snapped some photos of the annuals in our yard.

Pretty, no?  the boy has skills.

Also, did I mention that my wedding present came early?  Well, it did and I have a brand spankin' new Canon EOS Rebel 2ti to prove it!

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Isn't she pretty?

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I think I'm in love!  

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Our Home: Part I

Alex and I purchased our first home this past February.  It was a complete rehab property that was brought back to its former 1910 glory, with modern amenities.  Crazy me decided that two weeks after moving in, we would have a housewarming party........WRONG!  I must be nuts, but I pulled the house together in those two short weeks (while studying, wedding planning, etc.) just in time for the party!  Not to toot my own horn, but many of my friends and family were impressed by my prowess for interior design.  Some even insisted that I create a blog so that I could showcase my home to the masses...HA.  Well here it is ladies and gentlemen, our home, in all its glory.

The front porch is my homage to the south.  See the ferns and the lazy rockers?  The house has three livable floors and an unfinished basement (or the place I call the dungeon when threatening Addy after she does something BAD).  We have three bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a fully finished attic.....sans air conditioning :(  Anywho, here is our main floor!

Right when you walk in the door, our dining room is on the left.  I glazed and reupholstered some dining chairs that I found at a local thrift store and paired it with a table that Alex finished all by himself!

In one of the corners of the dining room is the sweet little antique chair and rustic bike!

Here's our mantel with some of our  my favorite things.  The frame on the right holds a canvas calendar with our wedding date singled out with an embroidered heart (it used to be a bag but Opie got ahold of it)....

Our living room!  It is filled with light!

I filled the bookcases with various trinkets and some of our books.  Alex's favorite part....the TV!

Our teeny tiny kitchen complete with granite countertops and no counter space!  See that curtain?  I made it.  Aren't I crafty?

Hope you like our home!  The upstairs is yet to come!