A new threshold (& some baby aerobics)

This past month Ryan has taken advantage of his paternity leave to knock quite a few house projects off the list.  The side door had a 2 inch gap where the threshold met the base of the door. This has required some major attention for ages now and the other day Ryan got to it.  We are all so excited that the door now swings beautifully and there is no longer a draft/rain/snow/outdoor elements blowing through.  The project was completed in a day and the door only came on and off the hinges, oh, about 6 times. 
Meanwhile, someone else has been working very hard on her super awesome full body leg kick moves.

Announcing the best February project there ever was:

She's cute, she's tiny and she's the best little Alice Josephine in the world. 
Meet Ali Jo! 

She loves her newly reupholstered chair. After months and months of sitting unfinished in the basement, we finally dug out the old chair and got busy.  We rebuilt the foam base, stapled on the fabric, and refinished the wood.  After looking for the original furniture bolts in vain, we finally bought some new ones and after 5 trips to the store came home with right size. Viola, cute new nursery chair. 

Valentines Day

Look! Ryan made us a new Valentines day bench for our front door.  Old barn wood never looked so good.  We're also very partial to the old egg crate turned shoe crate.  

Snow day clean up

Sometimes when you're stuck at home for 3 days in a snow/ice storm you decide to listen to your 3 yr. old nephew when he tells you, "Uncle Ryan, you had better clean up that mess."  
Sam, here ya go... garage workshop-tornado-disaster-zone turned into a functional storage and work space that will fit a car!!!!!! woohoo!

Winter Weather

First we have beautiful sunshine, next we have a surprise snow storm.  Heading to the coast for some sunshine felt amazing a few weekends ago, while heading home from work Thursday afternoon was a different story.  After 5 inches and a completely shutdown Portland, we are so excited that the heat works, the kitchen is busy and the house projects are abundant.  Hibernating inside all weekend may not be that bad.

Stairway to heaven

Refinishing the back hallway has been a big challenge that's required a lot of late night work shifts.  Lately Ryan's been spending his time replacing steps and risers, re-building some stairs and creating new molding. 

 Then came the acrobatic paint job. 

Next, he decided to frame out a wall and rewire some of the electrical. This required squaring off the lower staircase and tackling more drywall.  
Then why not add a newly constructed shoe shelf made from the old floor boards pried loose from the original landing? 
Love it!

desperately need a few more new appliances? why, yes. yes we do.

So, after the old dryer broke with 2 loads of wet laundry to finish... we decided to bite the bullet and buy a new washer and dryer. 
Tada! Let the laundry begin.
(We clearly chose a rather basic model without the compatible smart phone app or built in digital touch screen.)