Awesome Things

No joke, the last few weeks have been a little gray around the farm– both literally and figuratively– but relief from the Plague that took over my lungs last week came at almost the exact same moment that the weather in Michigan decided to finally acknowledge it was spring and stop freaking snowing.

I’m telling you, it was like the clouds parted, the angels started singing, and a ray of sunshine beamed right onto the workshop and the Universe was like, girl, it’s time to get outside and start building things. But, instead of diving headfirst into a pile of sawdust this weekend, I did something even more awesome…

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Filled a couple-dozen plastic eggs with glow-sticks and had a glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg hunt on the farm.

I’ve mentioned a few times in the last couple of months that I recently fell into this group of amazingly fun, crafty friends who inspired my monthly themes, End of the World cupcakes, crazy-ass facepaint, and a host of other projects that have been both inspiring and entertaining.

You’ve never seen a group of grown-ass adults take to an after-hours Easter Egg Hunt so quickly. And there was egg decorating…

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And the best part ever…

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You guys, just deep down in my soul I needed a little time around the fire, with world-class s’mores, glow sticks, sparklers, and a lot of music-making.

Even though I haven’t had a chance to build a damn thing yet, I feel completely renewed, inspired, and ready to go. Particularly because another one of my awesome friends (who has recently introduced me to a bunch of new graphic novels… I’m smitten with the Fables) mentioned he had a few pieces of walnut laying around and wondered if I could use them for anything. That’s what he said, very nonchalantly, but what he actually brought over to my house were these two pieces of awesome…

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I just stood there fucking speechless for like four minutes. I mean, will you look at this? The color! The finish! The live edge!

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Holy shitballs. And dude is like, “Eh, you can have them, I’m not using them for anything.” To me that’s like saying, “Oh, here, have this pot of gold, I’m not using it for anything.”

Seriously.

I don’t even know what to say. I’m stunned, seriously grateful, and hoping I can come up with a use for these that does them justice.

And, since we’re on the subject of things that are stunning (and that I’m seriously grateful for), you know that Dueling DIY Challenge that Sarah and I have been going on and on about for the last few months? Well she totally put the smackdown on me with her “finished” product

(That’s Charlie, who judging by the look on her face clearly wants to come to the farm and play with the donkeys. Ahem, Sarah.)

The idea of a Dueling DIY challenge was just something fun, that turned into this really motivational tool to keep me moving on a project that otherwise would have made my eyes bleed. And Sarah was a fantastic challenger, both for her ability to talk-shit, and her patience when I basically stopped making progress or updating halfway through the challenge because I was too busy unexpectedly hoarding farm animals.

The true story is that some of my lack of progress was due to unfortunate timing, illness, and my life in general being a bit of a shit-show lately. I’ve decided to put the project on hold for a few more weeks because I’ve got a chicken coop to build, like, now. So I’m officially declaring Sarah the winner. (If you haven’t already, head over to the Ugly Duckling House to check out her progress with chosing a runner and congratulate her on kicking my ass and wiping the floor, uh, stairs with me.)

And I know, I know, this post is already pretty much an incoherent mess of awesome shit, but I’ve got one more thing to share with you before I put this beast to bed…

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The Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen + Bath Makeovers came out sometime in the last week, and is awesome because 1.) Unlike the articles I was writing in The Family Handyman last year, my face does not take up half the page, and 2.) I freaking love that bathroom. Love, and miss. (You can see more about the Rustic Beachy Bath in the Memorial House here.)

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It’s always fun and a little surreal to be featured in something like a BHG publication that’s more focused on design than DIY, since at the core, I’m a builder– and a  full-blown power tool junkie– rather than a designer.

The spread also featured projects from bloggers Ashley & Greg at 7th House on the Left, and Jessie from Cape 27 who both did very cool things with their spaces as well.

So that, my friends, is a lot of awesome crammed in to one post. Since I’ve got it all out of my system now, we can get back to our regularly scheduled program of swearing about framing in the chicken coop later this week.

19 Responses

  1. Kit – that fever must have worked some superhero magic on your neurons because, glow in the dark easter eggs = awesome beyond all comprehension. Glad your back and building . . .

  2. I have three dozen plastic eggs that were not used last weekend, and now I know exactly what to do with them – GLOW IN THE DARK EGG HUNT? BRILLIANT!

    Glad you’re feeling better!

  3. awesomeness all the way around, and yeah Sarah’s project looks great. adult easter egg hunts – cool. walnut … mmmm – come on! new feature – you’re groovin’ Kit! Happy and prosperous Spring out to you.

    1. It was SO much fun. Highly recommend. We wrote numbers on the eggs that corresponded to prizes (the sidewalk chalk and lottery tickets were a big hit!)

  4. Great post! Also, a fellow Ann-Arborite who loves Fables? Sweet. 🙂

    Glad things are looking up, and it finally does feel like it might someday maybe get warm around here again too!

    1. Breanne – I can’t comment on your website because it doesn’t have an option for name/URL BUT I wanted to tell you that I loved seeing a fairy door pop up in someone else’s house. Also, looks like we had the same idea about using those cedar fence boards for a raised bed. Yours look great!

  5. a glow in the dark easter egg hunt is the most fabulous idea ever. I hope I get to do this at some point.

  6. I’m glad you’re feeling better and congrats on your magazine feature! I can’t believe you’re reading Fables!!!! Isn’t the most kick ass series ever? I have been a fan since the very first issue. I love the storylines, the art, and especially the modernized fairy tale characters. Great stuff.

  7. Oh my Walnut. Sweet jesus I want your friend. I am agog at the awesomeness you have procured.

    Now. Get your shit together and start framing the coop. I need to steal whatever crazy random awesomeness you are going to pull down and adapt it to my own coop-less situation. Stat.

    And what are these Fables you speak of? I must hasten to the googles to learn more………..

    1. Yes ma’am! lol. I’m on to the coop this weekend. (To top of the awesomeness the walnut is already sanded down and oiled… ah-mazing.)

    1. Chelsie, that’s a good question… I don’t don’t have a public instagram feed (and I really don’t use it that much, I’ve moved onto Snapseed to edit my iPhone pics).

  8. Uh..so my bf showed me this house on the market and it already has a chicken coop and chickens that come with the house…prior to reading your blog I probably would’ve vetoed this gorgeous house because the whole, “taking care of several other living things that solely depend upon me for their existence” would have been too scary…but now…”meh,” I thought, “if Kit can do it, so can I”! We’re touring it this weekend!

    1. Ahh! How can you not love a house that comes with its own chickens? The hoarding of farm animals just became contagious. Good luck with the walk-thru!

  9. We didn’t have an might easter egg hunt, but we did fill 30 easter eggs with LED battery candles to decorate for a party. My 9 year old got really into using them in flower arrangements. Thought it was great to bring this bit of kid stuff to an adult party 🙂

  10. I like your easter egg idea. I was wondering what I was going to do with the eggs after the kids get finished eating them this weekend, but the idea of using them as glow sticks is awesome.

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