The Shafferland Shuffle

First of all, it's stinkin' DST day. If you forgot, HURRY!!!!! You're late!!!!! Or just go back to bed and reclaim the hour you lost.

Not that I'm bitter about it. :)

Meanwhile, a peek into our week!

* Lately we've been enjoying brunch on Sundays, and this past week, Ryan made the whole thing. Food tastes better when someone else does all the work! :) Speaking of "all the work," have I mentioned how much work Braeya creates each day by unmaking the bed we meticulously make each morning? That child. One super fun thing from Sunday? New patio furniture!! I had been busy on Pinterest figuring out how to make patio furniture out of pallets, and here Ryan was planning to surprise me with furniture the whole time! Excited to have it; now if it could WARM UP so we can use it!!

* Monday began my week of hard core writing, where I was determined to knock out a BUNCH of projects and not be sidetracked with a bunch of errands. So I hunkered down at the computer for most of the day. I did watch my friend's 5 kiddos for a little bit in the evening, and they decided to have an Easter egg hunt using my home decor. One of them used ME for a hiding place. No, I don't lay eggs! LOL! Ryan got busy diagramming the kitchen cabinets so he could begin the refinishing project this week!

* Tuesday, I went to a Bible study that uses the inductive study method. I've not done that before, but was so excited to get to use colored pencils in my study! It was a GORGEOUS day out that day. Blue skies, clouds, and the hope that spring will one day come! (Since it showed up for January and February and now we're waiting for it to return.) That night, we had our final Bible study with our small group, and when we got home, Ryan started the cleaning process for the cabinet adventure!

* On Wednesday, Ryan's boss made lunch for everyone, and I even got invited to enjoy some of it. He's a GOOD cook. I came home to resume my writing projects, and had an assistant sleeping in my lap for the majority of the time. And here's a peek at all our kitchen drawers in their new, temporary location on top of the table. Sigh.

* Thursday was a "must drink lots of coffee" kind of day. I was so tired! I love weeks that require much creativity, but they do make me tired! Got some baby snuggles in that evening, and then we had one more Bible study. (How many studies can I participate in at one time???)

* Friday night, I went to a celebration party to catch up with the ladies from one of the retreats I spoke at last fall. So good to see them and hear the stories of God at work in them! Ryan stayed home and started painting the cabinets! Can't wait to tell you more about all those things.

* Yesterday was our "E" date - and if you're keeping track, you are correct in remembering that we have not yet had the "D" date. WHOA. The Shaffers go out of order? It's true! But it was a fun date, and then we came home so Ryan could dive back into cabinet painting - and I helped! This is a lot of hard work, but it's going to be so worth it! :)

Spring Decorating? Anyone? Anyone?

Sometimes Ryan and I learn a lot about each other while podcasting. I fear this week, Ryan learned more about me than he planned to! {Side note: rendering your husband speechless while recording an audio adventure is not a great idea. Ha!} Hope you enjoy...we sure had fun laughing!

Listen here.

Okay, I don't know what it was like in your neighborhood this weekend, but spring descended upon Indiana with much gusto, which quite frankly, just makes it that much harder to admit we're still in January, and we'll still see more snow before winter waves goodbye.

I mean, it was absolutely STUNNING here. Sunshine, blue skies, perfectly fluffy clouds, warmth, perfect weather for walking a visiting Phoebe - it was just perfection all the way around. I wanted to put away my coats and boots, uncover the grill, and head to Lowe's to buy all the flowers.

And that, my friends, is what sent me straight to Pinterest to begin plotting what I should do with our patio spaces in 2017. (What...is this not a common hobby among people???)

Here's the thing.

Last year, when we moved in, we spent alllllllllllll our time and energy on pretty much every nook and cranny of our house. INSIDE, I mean. You read the posts. We painted and redid flooring and knocked out that one wall and did the stone feature and finished off the garage. The patio spaces? Well, we stuck the furniture we already owned out there and called it a year.

It was fine. It worked.

But I know deep in my soul that our two patio spaces are something special and we did not even begin to do them justice with the attention we gave them last year.

With the inside of the house done, I have the time to pay attention to the outside. What I lack are finances. We really don't have much {read: any} money to invest in big, fun things for our outside spaces. This doesn't scare me, though, because we regularly make a little creativity go a long way. We're not afraid to DIY, but I don't know what to DIY.

Any of you out there particularly visionary in the land of patios and porches?

Here's what I have to work with. Tell me what you think!

Our front porch is a lovely little nook that last year we filled with our square wrought iron table and two wrought iron chairs. As temperatures permitted, we would sit out there to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner and watch the happenings of the neighborhood. I like our patio because the railing offers a decent amount of privacy, but it doesn't block the view. It's handy to have the little table out there, because it's easily accessible to our kitchen, making it a logical place to eat.

Having said that, I'm not sure I want to put the table back out there this year. I kind of dream of a little seating area where I could hang out to read or we could just lounge in the evening with a cup of coffee. I dream of cuteness, complete with rugs and maybe even an outdoor-appropriate lamp.

The space is 12 feet long and 6 1/2 feet wide, and has one open side, one wall, one railing that comes up 3 1/2 feet, and one wall of windows that I do not want to block in any way. I cherish my natural light!

Ideas? Something fun and cozy and pretty all at once? AND practical? AND cost-effective?

Our back porch is equally lovely and somewhat of a blank slate in my mind. It's a long rectangle, 30 feet long and 12 feet wide in all, but it's divided into two parts. There's a cement slab that we covered with rubber tile last summer and that part is also surrounded by a lovely privacy fence. (The previous owners had a large table for eating right in this part.)  The other section is a wooden deck surrounded by a wooden fence that is high enough for child/animal safety but see-through enough to not feel closed in. Part of this section also has a pergola (ahhhh our pirogi!) over it.

Last summer we did pretty much NOTHING with this porch. We put our beloved hammock for two under the pergola, stuck a little round table next to it, and called that end done. We put Ryan's grill on the cement slab end, put our old white wooden door (which I painted in part with chalkboard paint) next to it, and that was the extent of our decorating!

So we have the 18x12 deck and the 12x12 slab, and other than knowing I want to keep the hammock and grill back there somewhere, I don't know what to do! Do I make a dining area? An outdoor kitchen that we build around the grill? A living space? AAAHHH!!!

(Side note that may be important: we do have a fire pit, but it's in the backyard, just behind this patio. It needs to stay back there.)

So tell me, Pinterest-lovers, spring-dreamers, decorators-extraordinaire! What should we do? What should we make? WHEN CAN WE START?????

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday we served coffee at church. Most handsome coffee maker out there, don't you think?? The rest of the day was a beautiful, restful Sunday. Braeya napped, we napped, I scrapbooked, and we watched Olympic trials. {ANYONE ELSE loving the trials as much as we are???}

 * Monday was the 4th of July, and Ryan worked all day, but in the evening, we went to Red Robin for a dinner date, and then out to watch fireworks over the lake. Despite a cloudy day and some significant humidity {read: HUGE HAIR}, it was a great night and a lovely date!

* Tuesday night we got to attend our friend's 40th birthday party, which was a lot of fun! Her husband surprised her, and the party was a great success {and can we pause to talk about the ICE CREAM??!!? It was homemade and it's such a good thing I am not proficient in that!}

* Wednesday started out crazy stormy and rainy, and I thought it would stay that way all day, but it cleared up and actually became a really nice day! We continued our garage makeover that night - painting the chalkboard part of the wall. What? Do you not have chalkboards in your garage???

* Thursday, when I was busy making lunch, someone was very interested in what was cooking! She cracks me up sometimes! :) I worked on some craft projects that day, and then that night, Ryan and I installed the pavers I told you about earlier this week. I still can't get over how different that patio looks since we installed them!

* Friday was a busy writing day for me, and in the afternoon, I spent some time learning about rosemary: a new herb at our house. I don't know much about it! BUT - I used it to cook our dinner. Ryan grilled our chicken and Brussels sprouts: delicious!! And then I hunkered down to watch more Olympic trials, and Ryan worked on reorganizing the garage. His happy place!!

* Yesterday, I had a case of the grumpies. :( Never good. But I perked up as the day went along! I went to a baby shower for Ryan's cousin in the afternoon: it was a Pinterest delight! And Ryan worked more on his list of projects around the house. And even though this picture is really bad, I have to share it. We went for a walk in the evening, and we saw a DEER!!! You cannot possibly know how happy this makes me!!!

A Quick DIY Paver Job

Who EVER EVER EVER would have thought I would cover DIY projects on this blog? Not the pre-Ryan Bekah, that's for sure! But I'll tell you what: having a handyman husband is a delight, even if it means the projects sort of continue on and on! I appreciate his hard work and vision for making our home beautiful on a budget.

Thanks for all the garage floor love yesterday. Glad you liked the outcome as much as we did!

And no, the garage still isn't completely reassembled, so my initial plan to reveal that today will have to wait until next week.

BUT NEVER FEAR!!! We did another project last night. Yep. A whole project in one night.

We have a patio area that we just love, because it's nice and private, and when we moved in, it had outdoor carpet covering the concrete slab.

It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was just fine. Well, it was fine until the first big wind. And then we learned that the tape holding the carpet to the concrete slab had rotted, and the carpet blew right off the slab. After a couple of windy days and trying to push the carpet back in place, we just ripped it off and threw it away. And that left us with this lovely taped and stained slab:

We tried to dress it up, but you can only ask so much of an old door, some flowers, and a rug, you know.

So Ryan's initial plan to fix this issue was to call a concrete stamping guy and see if he could add more concrete over what existed and stamp a pattern into it and call it done. But then we realized that if that ever cracked, we'd have to start the whole thing over and that's such a pain.

So plan B was to go to Lowe's and get stone pavers - the kind with a pattern in them - and lay those over the concrete slab. Then if one cracked, we could just replace it.

A few nights ago, we were at Lowe's pricing pavers and sand and all the things you need for a project of this magnitude, when across the aisle...I spied...

...Rubberific pavers. I had never heard of them before! Have you?

They are made of 100% recycled rubber...the same stuff the rubber mulch is made from, actually. They won't crack or freeze, their website says, and the grooves on the bottom channel water.

And guess what else?

THEY'RE REVERSIBLE!

So for the price of one paver, you can choose either design and have it with one quick flip! This duo design comes in brown and red. We got the red. There's also a cobblestone design that comes in brown and gray. {Our store didn't carry that one so I've not seen it in person.}

Ryan said they did recommend using an adhesive to secure these to your patio, but since ours is enclosed, we elected not to. Plus, we don't have kids, so it's just the two of us walking around on them. But they don't skid or slip, and we like that! And we also liked not purchasing sand and other things to add to it like we would have for the regular pavers. And these just feel so much nicer underneath your feet!

We did have to do one bit of maintenance on them as we installed them. The side we wanted to use had frayed edges from how they were cut in the machine, so we had to snip off the frayed part.

It wasn't hard...just time-consuming. We eventually worked out a system where I cut the edges of most of them and Ryan ripped the staples {that held the tag} out and then he put them in place. He said some weren't 100% square, which again, was probably just a machine cutting issue, but only one was so "off" that he deemed it unusable.

They went down pretty quickly:

{You're welcome for that picture, by the way.}

Ryan was a little unsure, at first, how he felt about the fact that not every paver was exactly the same shade of red.

I should say that if our store would have had unlimited quantities of these in stock, he would have pilfered through the entire pile to find exactly as many as he needed in the same shade. But since they only had a handful more than we needed, we bought what they had.

But in the end, I think the multiple shades gave it depth and character.

What do you think?

We love it!

I loved it most that the project could be entirely completed in ONE NIGHT. And I think it just dresses up the whole patio so much.

I also love it that our projects are dwindling.

Thanks for reading along with our adventures!!!

Slow Goodbyes: Our Pirogi

Well thank you for being so gracious about EVERYTHING as I've bid farewell to our house. {We aren't gone from it yet, to clarify, but I'm in that awkward in-between stage, saying goodbye and hello, so this is part of the goodbye. 

I figured it might border on tacky to bid farewell to the bathrooms in the house. Trust me. You don't want all the stories from those rooms. HA! {Although we could always revisit the orange hair debacle...}

But I did want to conclude my slow goodbyes by bidding a proper farewell to our beloved outdoor living space. Our "pirogi" as we call it. I know some of you are new here and are {rightfully} confused at this point in time.

When Ryan and I got married, we wanted to do something with a cement slab behind our garage, and I suggested putting up a pergola of some sort. In one of our conversations, Ryan got a wee bit confused on the word and started calling it a pirogi. And pirogi it is TO THIS DAY.

Ours is not actually a pirogi at all, but a metal gazebo with vinyl curtains that make the most lovely shade on hot summer days. We purchased it right after we got married and used it to shelter our too-good-to-be-true hammock for two and our little table for two. We parked our fire pit right outside and we spent many lovely evenings on that slab of patio, feeling the breeze in our hair {well I guess that part was just me} and enjoying the serenity of the pirogi.

We put flowers and ferns around to dress up the living space, and I have to say, it turned out far better than I ever would have dreamed. {I wrote about our adventures here if you want to read it.} Pretty much any evening that was nice enough, we'd carry our plates outside and eat there, even if our schedule was so tight that we only had ten minutes to eat. We took naps in the hammock and drank coffee by the fire and invited friends over to share the space with us whenever possible.

We even did last year's Christmas card photo shoot in that pirogi!! What a special place.

People have asked us if we're taking it with us, and the answer is no, and here's why: the new house comes with one of its own!! It will be more like an ACTUAL pirogi {pergola} and we are so excited to position our little bits of furniture under it and enjoy a same-but-different summer.

In truth, I'll miss our backyard. In the last 16 years, it has become a private little sanctuary here in the middle of town. I'll miss Grandma's lilac bushes that smell so divine in the spring. I'll miss the smattering of tulips that pop up here and there, and I have no idea who planted them. I'll miss the breeze in the big tree and the memories of summer picnics with Grandma and Grandpa and the whole family.

It's pretty bare now: our pirogi stands as a naked metal frame, awaiting its spring canopy. And a patch of dark cement is all that's left to show where the fire pit and plant stands were. The grass is just starting to green up for the year, and the first tulips are about to pop through. I'm hoping I can smell the lilacs one last time before we go...they should be popping out in just a few days. Our last spring in this home...bittersweet.

But I am so excited to carry our fire pit into our new yard and begin a new chapter of memories in a new space. {And when I say I am excited to carry the fire pit, I mean I am excited to take pictures of Ryan carrying the fire pit...}

The space will look very different, but the chance for amazing memories is exactly the same. And I'm excited for that.

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, we served in the cafe at church...we are loving this new chance to do something together, and loving it more because it involves coffee, of course. That afternoon I tried a new recipe {which I loved so much, I made another batch later in the week} - apple crisp! It was delicious. And Sunday began our string of unseasonably warm temps and lookie here...unseasonably gorgeous sunsets!! Swoon.

* Monday was our 35th monthiversary - NEXT MONTH is three years. WHAT?! Ryan had to work, of course, but when he got home, we tried out a new-to-us restaurant in our county. We had heard incredible things about their food and they did not disappoint! We both got burgers, and they were HUGE. Mine lasted two meals, actually and probably should have been more like three. It was such a fun night!

* Tuesday was Ryan's first day of a new adventure that I'm not sure if I ever told you he was doing! He's trying out the world of Home Health Care as a side job, and Tuesday was his first night of work. That morning before he went to his regular job, he did his last practice run on me - nothing like a BP check at 6 in the morning! While he was busy working, I spent the day in the classroom again! I spoke in three college classes taught by my friend Amy. Oh how I do not miss college and homework and quizzes!! We went to the gym that night, and it was SO WARM, we walked around campus in shorts before we came home. IN NOVEMBER. Crazy. And crazy wonderful views of the chapel, too.

* Though I haven't said so thus far, my other HUGE job this week was writing. I wrote pretty much nonstop every moment that I was home. And on Wednesday, it was so pretty outside that I got to take my writing out to the pirogi and sit in a t-shirt, writing. That evening, kind of last minute, I was invited to help a photographer friend of ours take his family pictures. I was SO NERVOUS because he's really good, and that was a lot of pressure. But I had a blast hanging out with the family, cuddling with their kids when it wasn't their turn to be in the pictures, and I was relieved when the pictures turned out well!

* Thursday was my writing marathon. I wrote ten thousand words in one day, which is a LOT. Braeya must have decided I was going to be a terrible mom all day and decided to eat the sticky notes I used to organize my journaling thoughts. I didn't even care, because I was just so happy the writing was flowing well! I read all 10,000 words to Ryan that night and he fell asleep when I was done. HA!! {Not because of my writing, but it's still funny to make it look that way.}

* When Ryan got ready to leave for work on Friday, Braeya said NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! She didn't want another day like Thursday. He went, though, and she gave up and curled up beside the computer to sleep. I was THRILLED when I decided the first draft of my project could be declared DONE that day. Still much to be tweaked and edited on it, but the main part is finished and I'm grateful. We had to go to the funeral home after work, and then we tried to order a pizza online and their site was down for routine maintenance! Note from a patron: perhaps a Friday night is not the best time for "routine maintenance" for any pizza establishment??

* Ryan was on the road before six yesterday morning to go to a continuing education class with his work buddies. I was excited he found a free class, but I was sad he couldn't go with me to the Feed My Starving Children mobile pack that we'd planned to attend together for the second year in a row. Instead, I went by myself, which made me incredibly nervous. I don't do things alone very well. {Funny for a girl who was single so long, right?} Last night we went to our little nephew's birthday party - a tractor themed celebration!

Fellowship

Kids have told us we have a boring house.

I have no idea why they say this. Surely it's not because we turn into Frank and Marie Barone, covering Mo in blankets before meals. Surely it's not the lack of ANY toys or gaming systems. Surely it's not the chorus of "No no, don't touch" sung by both parents as kids wander through the rooms looking for anything interesting.

Surely not.

Ahhhhh who are we kidding? We are boring non-parents, begging our friends to bring along an activity bag for their poor kids who are subjected to nothing but a hostile cat and her discarded toys for an evening of fun.

Despite that, we love having friends over and wish we had time in our schedule to do it more often. And this week, we were reminded of why we love company so much.

Last week I set up a photo booth in our pirogi, and Ryan's mom came over to take our pictures. It's an annual practice...fall pictures around the time of our engagement. I so loved the way the photo booth turned out, I wanted to invite the whole city to come over for pictures in the pirogi.

{Or at least those whose last names begin with S. Just kidding. We had an alternative wreath plan.}

On a whim, I called some friends...some new friends we just made at church. A family of six, which meant an entourage of four very potentially bored children. But I thought they might want a photo shoot...even though their last name didn't begin with S.

Much to my delight, they were eager for a photo shoot, and I braved asking if they might want to stay for dinner. Nothing fancy. Totally kid-friendly. Grilled hot dogs and s'mores at the fire pit for dessert.

They. Said. Yes.

And so we got ready! We set up the photo booth for a non-S family....

We watered the flowers to perk them up...and rearranged all the pumpkins...

Ryan started the grill...

...and we had a photo party. I climbed around on ladders and zoomed in and out...Ryan held tree branches out of my way and arranged kids in front of parents so I could snap memories.

They were great to photograph: no blinkers, big smiles, and non-protesting kids.

And that was just the beginning. Because after the photo fun, it was dinner time. Hot dogs and chips and fruit...

And a fire for s'mores...

And we had fun. So. Much. Fun.

We chased paper plates and napkins around the yard. We sat on straw bales and told stories. We caught marshmallows on fire and sipped coffee in the waning sunlight.

Kids piled on the hammock to talk and swing. They tried to see Braeya, but she was up to her hissing tricks, so that wasn't as much fun as any of us hoped.

But the night was lovely. New friendships formed, fellowship underway, and the promise of much more to come.

Ahhh fall. How I love the friendships you forge.

The Shafferland Shuffle

Pausing at the start of today's shuffle to wish my Dad a very happy birthday! :)

* Last Sunday was our 3rd engagementversary...and we started the celebration by helping to serve coffee at the little cafe in our church. It was our first time to help with that and we really enjoyed it! That afternoon, we went for a walk in the park and Ryan taught me to play frisbee; I was terrible, but I got better! And we rounded out the day with frappes and coffee, because our addiction holds fast!. :)

* Monday I helped serve a funeral dinner at our church, and while the circumstance prevents me from saying I enjoyed it, I did enjoy being able to help in a time of need. It was such a beautiful day, and I surprised Ryan with a lemon cake when he got home from work, and we enjoyed our dinner out in the pirogi. It's sad, really, how little time we spent out there this summer. :( And Ryan mowed. It had been something like a month since he had to mow. I guess that made up for the start of the summer when he did it about twice a week!

* Tuesday was my big bad dentist day, so I spent the morning distracting myself with writing projects, and then after I survived the filling, I rewarded myself with a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby, where I bought the fancy pants metal monogram for my Pinterest project. Ryan let me take it easy that  night, as I had a decent amount of jaw pain, and he even made popcorn for us while we watched TV - to be chewed on the opposite side of my mouth, of course.

* Wednesday I found a praying mantis on our window! How fun is that! It's the little things that bring a smile. :) I enjoyed my time with Bible study ladies, and am learning so much. It's nice to be a participant! Ryan and I went for our last training run, pre-race, and we both had a good last hurrah.

* I had a special treat on Thursday - my friend Amy came to spend the day with me! She had a day off work and decided to hang out with me! We went to Kokomo and I took her out to lunch, we visited Ryan, we went out for cupcake treats, and she even surprised me with a box of Rise n Rolls! We had a great time! And Ryan's mom came over that night to take our pictures for our Christmas cards. We miss long evenings filled with light! We had to hurry, but we got it done and had fun.

* Friday I hunkered DOWN and did writing projects all day. It's the first time in a long time that I have absolutely exhausted myself from writing. {Yes, it really can happen.} My one break in the day was watching the Little House on the Prairie reunion on TV that I stumbled upon at lunch time. Ohhhhh how I loved that Albert Ingalls. Anyway. After a long day of work, I was so glad that Ryan had plans to bring home ribs for dinner. They are so good. There's a church that makes them for a fundraiser, and he loves them so much, he always gets some!

* Yesterday was RACE DAY!!!! We ran our 5K and I'll give you the full scoop later, but let's just say we had a great race. Ryan KILLED THE THING and I didn't get killed BY the thing, so it was good all the way around. It was fun to be back in our hometown, see friends, and enjoy {yes, I said enjoy!} the run. And a bonus - my mom came to cheer us on! I was glad she came. :)