Mini Pick-Me-Up #2.. The end of Day 2.

 Kai gathering salvaged wood from my parents house... Driving the tractor.

 Look at all this wood to salvage! 

 The wood that made it to Casa Peterson. 

 Dad... in his happy place on the tractor.

Pushing dirt down the hill. We decided to move 12" of dirt from the top half of the slope to the bottom half of the slope. The garden will be slightly sunken when this is all completed. Should be interesting! 

Alyssa

To go to the next post for this project click here.

Loot. Garage Sale & Farmer's Market.

Avery and I scored today! First at a garage sale.  It was at the cutest house that I just love on Upton Ave. S. I knew they would have some cool stuff. After that we headed over to the new Fulton Neighborhood Farmer's Market. I am hoping to have a booth there from time to time showcasing urban drool.

Enjoy our looting showing...

 Avery got a dog. Fake of course.  ;)  He is actually from Amsterdam. Quite a deal at $0.25. 

 Awww... We are calling him Rosta Dog..Since the crochet pattern looks like the Jamaican Rosta Hats.

 I got a cup & saucer to add to my collection. $3.00 Super deal and very cute.

 I couldn't pass him up at only $2.00! Eric groaned when he saw this. ;)

 

Now off to the farmer's market. It was a welly day as you can tell. 

Even with the rain there were lot's of people and lot's of buzz. This will be an exciting market to watch grow. Only locally grown and hand made at this market, which makes it very fun to shop. I am hoping to have a booth here from time to time showcasing urban drool. It is located next to Woullet's Bakery just off of 50th. Super easy to find. As it is easily seen from 50th. Perfect location.

 Cute market gear as well! A t-shirt is in my future I suspect. Grey and great logo design. Who could resist! Oh, and a cute onesie to boot.

 Of course Avery had to buy some real maple syrup. Below you will notice where it is made.. 

 Arkansaw, WI. This is funny for our family because my husband is from Arkansas, the state, but was born in Wisconsin. Which is where the bulk of his extended family still lives..... 

 Next door was Matt & Garrett's Plants... Where we picked up 2 cherry tomato plants and 2 butter boy tomato plants and some basil. I can almost taste the caprese salad.. Yum..

 We spent a good amount of time with this gal, talking plants... and picked up purple sage and a chocolate mint plant to add to the garden. Avery's picks. I think anything with the word chocolate is worth buying in her world.

 This gal also helped me solve a mystery in my garden. I have this plant growing all over in my garden, front and back gardens. Last year I literally had 1... yes, count that... 1... plant. 1 stem with 1 flower.. only in the back garden. Now it is all over and spreading like wild fire.. I will show you pictures later. What the mystery plant is... Bee Balm. Mine is a dark hot pink. Coolest flower ever. Though I am not sure about the amount of spreading growth. I found out that I probably have the squirrels to thank for the spreading.

Oh, yes.. I also got a poppy plant from this gal. Can't wait to get this all in my garden and watch it grow! 

Well. There you have it. My loot from a successful, but rainy, market morning! I hope you enjoyed the mini peek of the market as well. There is a lot more to see, shop and taste. Oh....I almost forgot.. actually I did forget to get a photo of the booth.. I scored some lamb brats for Eric. Yummy. These were from Braucher's Sunshine Harvest Farm. Can't wait to try them.

Alyssa

Mini Pick-Me-Up #2 - The Morning After..

Need I say more. Yuck. Please no more rain until we get this done.. 

Alyssa

To go to the next post for this project click here.

Mini Pick-Me-Up #2 Part 2. Husband gets in on the action.

Well, now it rains again. This was scheduled for tomorrow, but with the impending rain it got pushed up to today. It was clear for a bit and now it rains.. but a lot was accomplished. As you can see my husband Eric got in on the action and you can tell by his sagging swoop that it is raining and has been for a bit. What a love he is. My daughter wanted to hang out and watch, so she made herself a lovely little nest.

 And.. I just found out that to make this area level we need to remove 24" of dirt from the area at the bottom of the photo which is the "top" of this area and move it elsewhere or create 2 terraces and remove only 12" of dirt from said area. Oye... Oye.. Oye... Either way that is a lot of dirt to move.

 Check out that saggy do! 

Avery in her outdoor nest.

Wow. What are we doing.

Alyssa

To go to the next post for this project click here.

Mini Pick-Me-Up #2. The Backyard Edition.

Well. I have for a long time wanted a deck or at a minimum a flat area to have our dining area on. This summer I have added a fabulous new sofa from the Chesapeake collection at Pottery Barn. So... now I also wanted the fire pit are to be flat as well. I know. High maintenance. In the midst of all this we are trying to decided whether to add on to this house or move to another. We are currently leaning towards adding onto this house. Which makes us have to think about each project we do over the next year and how it will be affected in whatever our final decision is.

Needless to say we are going with the cheaper approach as I mentioned on my house page.  Well, since those photo's were taken, oh, about an hour ago. We have now committed as you can see below.

 Ready. 

 Set. 

 Committed. 

 The furniture waiting for it's new home. 

Wow. Hope this looks good when it's done. We are committed now... ..... .... ...heart palpitations.. ..oye..

Alyssa 

To go to the next post for this project click here.

Things that make me happy on a rainy day.

I am sorry to say I don't know where I got this image.. But I love it. If you know let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.. In the meantime does this not look heavenly. 

It's a warm, sunny, bugless day. Kids playing in the water on this fabulous linoleum covered dock. (What a fabulous color scheme to. Don't you think?) Mom & Dad sitting on land in a chaise lounge made for 2 with lots of pillows for extra comfort. A couple of margarita's nearby and some good books and magazines on hand for when they are not dozing. Ah yes, I have now entered my happy place once again.

And now I say good-bye and hope you are in your happy place too. 

Alyssa

Exciting New Farmer's Market!

   Exciting news for  Fulton Neighborhood in Minneapolis and those who live near by. Their new farmers market opens this Saturday! That is tomorrow for you slow pokes..  I am so excited as this is so close to me and now I won't have to run downtown and deal with all the crowds. This farmers market is just a few shorts blacks away. The following is an excerpt from their website with the pertinent information. You can also access their website here. I will be uploading some photo's to share my new found joy on Saturday. Here's to no rain in the AM on Saturday. Though if the rain must come you will see me out there welly and raincoat clad still enjoying the day! The weekly neighborhood farmer's market is what make urban living so easy, fun and of course cozy. I also am excited to see the craft vendors..  :)

The excitement centered around the opening day of market has been tremendous. The organization has been busy completing the many tasks for a successful season. We want to thank again all the folks who have volunteered their time to assist with the market.
We have over 20 vendors committed to the market. Vendors include – general and specialty vegetables:  Weed Patch, Waxwing Farm, Uproot Farm, Peter’s Pumpkins, Garden of Egan, Pine Acres Farm, Yer Yang and Savanna Vue.  Fruits and berries:  Mary Dirty Face Farm, Sweetland. Meats and eggs: Alaska Organics, Brauchers and Singing Hills for cheese.  Bakery and prepared foods:  Sunstreet, Patisserie 46, Big River Pizza, Gai Gai Thai, Chef Shack and Public House Coffee.  Jerry Stanton for pickles and canned goods. We will have a variety of plant vendors for the early weeks of the season and craft vendors for your enjoyment.
We expect that the market will develop into the local gathering spot for  neighbors to get to know each other and have a cup of coffee or prepared foods while buying their locally produced vegetables, fruits, cheeses, breads and pastries.
The Fulton Market values your input and thoughts. Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@fultonmarketmn) and our website for additional information.  To volunteer at the Market or to help staff the FNA table, e-mail fultonfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

When:   Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. from May 21 through end of October

Where:  Lake Harriet Methodist Church Parking lot, 4901 Chowen Ave. S.

See you there... Alyssa 

Weekly Addictions!

Every week I will share a blog with you that I really love. Today's blog is called This & That and I know you will love it. Especially if you love home blogs as much as I do. This blog features a young couple, in a modest home, doing great things on a budget. We could all learn from them!

You will find out how to turn this:

Into this:

You will also see how they made their kitchen look like this on a budget:

 

And if you have the most recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens you may recognize her from this:

This blog is lots of fun. I love that they have a modest home, like mine, and they do big things with it. Happy blog reading, and I'll see you next week with a new link!

Stacy

Pinterest - Baby Style!

    I must have baby on the mind. I keep finding the cutest baby images, furniture and graphics. Either that or maybe I am just attracted to the people on Pinterest with cool baby boards. At any rate today I have for you a cool cradle, rocker combo. Maybe not the coziest thing for mommy or daddy to nap in while rocking baby to sleep but definitely a cool piece for baby's room. The next item on the docket is a very cool tree book case painted green to boot. Love green, love nature, love books. Perfect for my babies room. If I had another, that is. :) The last photo is a surprise. Wait, you scrolled didn't you? Oh, well. This is the cutest, black and white babies room with a huge graphic of a deer on the bedding. I love it! Makes me want to have another, just to have the room.

Enjoy the show!

So cool. Made by Ontwerduo.

(The logo, I could not recreate. You'll see what I mean when you go to the site. Check out the d.)

 What is not to love?  Especially the photo with the cute little boots at the base of the tree. Adorable. Unfortunately, I cannot give credit to this as the link takes me to nowheresville. boo. :(

 Yummy. I need another one just to have this room. How can one not be attracted to such a cool large graphic! This room is so rockin' it gets 3 clicks. 

A Cup of Jo - Where I found this first.

The Boo and The Boy - Where A Cup of Jo found it.

And finally the photographer. Kjerstis Lykke.. Thank you for such a great photo.

 Ok. I added a photo I know. Is this thing not a hoot! Ok, a cluck. Since it is a chicken after all.

I love the whimsy and color of it. As long as it doesn't scare the kids. :)

Found at the Modern House.

Made by: Hayon Studio.

Have a great day!  I am off to shower, shave and head to work. Pottery Barn for today. On another note. Sad news, my sewing machine died mid-burp cloth yesterday. Thankfully it sounds like it only needs a tune-up... and won't be going to the sewing machine pasture. 

Ciao for now! 

Alyssa

Pinterest. Statements to live by.

 Be strong. Be Yourself.

 

Yep. Who doesn't think this every day. Houses are meant to be lived in.

 Karma wins in the end. Every time. Grumpy people beware!

 So true. So true.

We all are and should be making the most of it! Enjoy yourself and the life you create!

Have a great day folks! 

Alyssa

You look fancy...some great finds to wear to all of your summer events!

Summer is coming and it's time to get your party dress on. Here's a great summer outfit that will get you through all of your fun summer outings. It's pretty classic so you can wear it next summer too.

The classic shift dress is great on all figures. You can find this one at

Anthropologie.

Now head over to Macy's and get these sexy summer shoes. Buy them in nude so you are understated, yet elegant. Your legs will look a mile long!

Etsy is the perfect place to find great jewelry that is original and handmade. These earrings are perfect since you won't need to wear a necklace with the dress.

If you want to add a bracelet, I think this one is divine! I found it on

Etsy just like the earrings. It's the perfect mix of bling and vintage!

I hope summer is coming to a town near you, now go get dressed up!

Stacy