Partial Construction

The other weekend, we pulled together the first few things for our balcony. If we'd known how easy it was, we wouldn't have put it off. The majority of the pieces were pre-assembled. Easy enough.

We still need to seal the furniture, stain the storage bench (rather, decide if we're staining the storage bench) and make cushions. It's a long process still but we're looking forward to having friends over for a barbecue some day soon!

Summer Project

You'll notice that my outfit pic have been taken outside only on occasion this spring. There are two reasons - the first is that after the unseasonably warm winter, we're having a relatively cool spring. Sigh. The second is much more exciting -  after feeling settled in our apartment, we're settling outside our apartment. We're sprucing up our balcony!

Scott's parents generously bought us our patio set as a wedding gift.

Our balcony isn't quite big enough for the whole set, but it was cheaper to buy the set than just the chairs and the bench. Plus, years down the road, I'm sure we'll be glad to have the table, too!

Instead, we got this bench to use as a coffee table AND storage... plus we can use it for extra seating when we have extra friends over!

There are a few issues with the set. First of all, the set is eucalyptus and the bench is pine. We talked about staining it, but that's more of a commitment than we're willing to make (ie: we're lazy). We've decided we'll pull the two woods together (plus the painted and natural wood of our balcony itself) with cushions... which leads us to the second issue: we don't have cushions. Since we're not using it as an "eating set" but a "conversation set," comfy cushions are super necessary. Not to mention with all the wood, we need some colour, so cushions need to be bright. Plus, I'll take a stab at keeping a couple plants alive in a northern exposure with no direct sunlight. Oh, and just in case you believe that decorating is just a minor detail, and think there are no issues with our patio set, take a look:

Just for future reference, never buy a patio set that requires assembly on the weekend before you start a new job.Fortunately, the summer hasn't even started yet, so this can be a work in progress. I'll keep you updated!

Project Employment

I did not complete a project this week. No, that's not true. My project was to maintain my sanity, which I think I did for the most part. I managed to chip away at little projects, but didn't get that "oooh! Look at what I did" feeling all that much. Instead, unemployed Cara:
 - spent Monday doing post-defense revisions
 - spent Tuesday doing a bit of freelance work
 - exhausted herself on her run on Wednesday, lazed on the couch all day and then played with her niece
 - took a typing test on Thursday, scoring 80 wpm with less than 1% error rate.

Today, unemployed Cara gets to traipse across the city with her sister and niece, go for a run (last day of Week 1!!!) and then make pizza.

You should be jealous of my life. (Mostly, because I'm jealous of yours and it only seems fair)