Old Porch Posts + Old Deck Spindles

We've been on a bit of a table kick around here.  Not too long ago, Adam refinished a table for our kitchen.  Most recently, he used up our old porch posts and old deck spindles to create a gorgeous new table for our deck.  With the exception of a few cedar boards for the center of the table top and the bench slats, Adam created a whole dining set using repurposed lumber!  All of the old lumber would have just been hauled off to the landfill, but with Adam's hard work and skill, we now have the perfect addition to our deck.  

Allow me to go back to the beginning of the project and give an extremely simplified description of all the work Adam did.  There were too many steps for me to keep track of and I definitely didn't do the best job of photographing all the steps.  (In all fairness, I was wrangling Archer and Lyla so Adam could work on it.)  

In the midst of the pandemic, Adam was searching for projects to do that would keep him busy, but the high cost of lumber limited what he was willing to tackle.  Luckily, he had a pretty good stockpile of random lumber.  Adam had thought to save the old front porch posts from when we replaced them with new cedar columns.  He also saved all the spindles from the deck when we replaced them with cable rails.  This lumber had been sitting in our shed, awaiting the perfect project.  

After tackling the deck, we decided we needed a bigger table with more character and more seating.  So Adam got to work designing a new table and some benches using the lumber we already had on hand.  After he had his design, the next step was to plane all the spindles.  He took these worn out spindles for a trip through his planer... 

...and brought them back to life!  

He then laminated the spindles together to form planks for the table top.  This step took lots of patience.  After spindles were laminated into planks, he sent the planks through the planer again to get everything smooth.  He did have to supplement one cedar plank down the center of the table top since there weren't enough spindles to make the entire tabletop.

The base of the table came next!  He used leftover lumber and our old front porch posts to build the base.  Since the porch posts were already painted white, Adam decided to keep the base white.  Stripping and sanding off the paint would have been quite the job with all those nooks and crannies!  

The white base adds a bit of contrast and also ties in with the white railing posts.  

Adam had plenty of leftover planed lumber to build the bench bases.  Since those were nicely planed, he decided to stain those the same color as the table top.  He did have to grab a few more cedar boards to create the bench seats.  

Finding the perfect color to stain the table top and benches was quite the feat!  We wanted something to contrast the dark color of our deck, but still complement it.  After looking at several samples, we settled on a stain that turned out to be way too orange in person.  Ultimately, Adam decided to use Osmo Decking Oil in the color Thermowood.  It's the same product we used on our deck and have been very impressed with how well it's held up!  

Since we wanted to optimize seating, we decided to add two additional chairs to each end of the table.  Adam's mom was able to use our old patio table and chairs, so we opted to buy some chairs with a smaller footprint.  We also wanted to ditch the chairs with cushions since they would get wet when it rained, despite our covered deck.  The benches can seat 3 adults comfortably and 4 in a pinch.  So we can now seat up to 12 people!  We have already eaten many meals at the new table and enjoy spending time sitting around it.  

(At least Adam will look at me when I trying to take a picture these days...)

Our new dining set is the perfect addition to our outdoor living area!  It fits the space nicely, without taking up too much room.  There's still plenty of room to play and grill up dinner.  

I love that Adam built it.  I love that he saved materials from the landfill.  I love that it brings our family even closer together.    

Not Bad For A Pair Of Old Jeans

It's always a sad day when your favorite pair of jeans decide to give up on you.  I'm someone who finds a pair of jeans that I like and then I wear them every day until they start to fall apart.  When my latest pair of jeans decided to rip, I was about ready to find somewhere to recycle them.  But then I stopped and asked myself if I could use them for something else.  

I briefly looked at Pinterest for some inspiration and saw lots of clever ideas out there.  One idea that caught my eye was a tool belt.  Archer would love a tool belt!  I just cut around the waistband and back pockets.  The original waistband was obviously too big, so I trimmed off the excess and just cut a new button hole.  I didn't worry about finishing off the edges or anything.  

It was a hit with Archer!  He was so excited and couldn't get his tools in there fast enough.  He's worn it all morning and wouldn't take it off for rest time.  Not bad for a pair of old jeans!  

Of course I couldn't leave Lyla out.  I decided she would adore a purse, so I got to work piecing together the rest of my old jeans.  I didn't follow a tutorial or pattern; I just kept sewing random things together.  I used the denim from the legs to make the bulk of the purse and sewed on the little coin pocket to the front.  I braided some long strips together to make the handles.  Then I used some scraps of denim to make some cute flowers using this technique.      

While it's far from perfect and a little wonky, Lyla was delighted by it!  She told me it would be the perfect way to carry her night night (the blanket she sleeps with) so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  

Finally, I wanted to find something to do with all the leftover seams.  This idea caught my eye and I thought it would be perfect to use as a hot pad for hot pots and pans on the counter.  I only ended up with enough seams to make a coaster, but it still turned out pretty cute!  

Creating some new items for my kids was the perfect use of this rainy day!  And it was the perfect use of a pair of old jeans!  I really do enjoy doing crafts and putting my creativity to the test.  Doing these projects reminded me I need to make more time to do stuff like this.  It's important for Archer and Lyla to not only see me doing things I love, but to also model how to use our old items in new ways.   

I was also able to find another pair of my beloved jeans on Poshmark!  Poshmark is an online marketplace for secondhand items.  I found another pair of my exact jeans that had only been worn once and cost a fraction of what they would if I were to have bought them new!  Not too shabby. 

These Are My Confessions: Threenager Edition

I'm back with more confessions!  As the mom to two feisty three-year-olds, my parenting skills are tested daily.  I adore so many things about this age!  I can have some pretty in depth conversations with Archer and Lyla now.  They aren't shy about telling me how much they love me.  And I love watching their unique personalities develop.  But good grief do they know how to test my patience!  The speed at which they can switch from being happy-go-lucky to supremely pissed off makes my head spin.  So allow me to share some of my most recent confessions: 

I don't understand how they manage to always have their shoes on the wrong feet given the 50/50 shot they have of getting them on the correct feet.  I try to tell them to switch them around, but sometimes I just don't care.  If they wish to walk around with their feet feeling all funny, then who am I to judge?  This is not unique to shoes.  For instance, Archer and Lyla just checked the mail with me.  While they ran ahead of me, I noticed that Archer's pants and shirt were inside out and I'm pretty sure his underwear were on backwards.  And Lyla's shirt was on backwards too.  

Speaking of clothing, I've been known to ruin Lyla's whole day by picking out the wrong shirt for her to wear.  Sometimes if I just lay out an outfit, she'll put in on without complaint.  But heaven help me if I verbally ask if she'd like to wear a particular shirt.  Geez!  

I tell the kids how important it is to be honest and tell mommy when something happens.  But also, sometimes the grocery store inexplicably runs out of ingredients for cookies.  

 

I often wonder how my children can find a tiny green marble in an I Spy book, yet be completely oblivious to the socks directly in front of them when I'm asking them to put on their socks and shoes. 

I'm impressed with Archer and Lyla's willingness to own up to their behavior at this stage.  "Archer, why did you flip your mattress over?"  "I did."  "Lyla, why did you get water all over the living room carpet?"  "I did."  "Archer, why did you push your sister over?"  "I did."  I'm looking forward to hearing what reasons they come up with for their behavior in the future.    

I don't understand how they can make a mess out of anything.   A tiny nubbin of chalk can end up all over their outfit and face and hands.  One tiny insignificant puddle can result in an outfit change.

I've considered writing a parenting book.  I plan to have people ask me questions about their kids for me to answer.  Except my answer for every question will be, "It depends on the kid."  

When we were working on potty training, I bribed/positively-reinforced Lyla and Archer with candy when they went poop in the potty.  They still get candy every time they go poop.  I'm afraid of what will happen when I stop giving them candy. 

Apparently I say the following things on a regular basis, "Ope!"  "Whoopsy!"  "It's good to share."  "Maybe tomorrow."  

My neighbors probably think my children are insane with the amount of screaming that goes on while we're playing outside.  Luckily it's generally not me screaming.  Not usually.  

It takes so much freaking patience to let them do things by themselves!  I try really hard to let them be as independent as possible, but sometimes it makes me want to pull out all my hair.

I usually turn into a crazy person when I'm trying to take a picture these days.  My ornery children will not look at me when I'm trying to take their picture!  So I usually end up yelling, "Look at Mommy!  Please just for one second?"  And then I'll try to make a funny face or dance some sort of jig without making the camera wobble.  Yep, I'm sure I look ridiculous.  But I do have 1,347 pictures like the one below if anyone wants to see them.  

Archer and Lyla have these kitten Beanie Babies that they love.  They like to pretend they are the kittens and talk in the the most obnoxiously annoying high-pitched voices, because apparently that's how kittens would sound if they could speak.  They were driving me bonkers!  So I might have told Adam to hide the kittens while I distracted Lyla and Archer.  Then when they asked me where their kittens were, I might have said, "I don't know where you put your kittens."  *See previous confession about honesty.  

I have a new appreciation for pockets.  I don't think I ever used pockets before I had kids.  I didn't really even like to put my cell phone in my pocket.  But we recently went on a walk while I was wearing jeans and a jacket.  I had my keys, dog bones and two snack cups crammed in my jacket pockets.  And my jeans pockets featured my phone and wadded up toilet paper.  But my hands were free!  

My kids know me too well.  They know I'll always pick them up or snuggle if they ask.  Sometimes they will ask me to pick them up or they'll snuggle up in my lap only because they need a tissue and will proceed to wipe their nose the length of my arm.  

Sometimes my kids drive me so crazy that I don't speak to them as kindly as I should.  Then one of them will say, "Maybe you will feel better if I give you a kiss?"  And then my heart melts and I feel horribly guilty.  And they are completely right.  I do feel better after they give me a kiss.