And I thought my kitchen was small...

Avanti Complete 30" Compact Kitchen

I kind of wish I had found this before I planned out my kitchen. Kitchen cabinets are for losers.

(I obviously don't reeeeally think that. But I am experiencing some kitchen design fails that I will share with you as soon as my pride recovers.)

Happy Two Months, Little House

It's been two months since we've signed our closing documents.

What a strange, wonderful trip it has been.

Our team has ripped out the walls, tore up the yard, installed new pipes and plumbing and electrical.. We sealed the cinder blocks, framed the sides of the house, removed the chimney, fixed the power line, patched the roof, and insulated the whole thing within 2 inches of its life. And I've planted strawberries, rhubarb, 7 different types of herbs, mimulus plants, and a 64 square foot garden.

And it's safe to say that this is the happiest I've been in a really, really long time.

Here's to our sweet little crusty house, which is starting to look less crusty as time goes on, and more like a home. Our home.

Happy two months, Casa Crustante.

Kitchen: Purchased! And Chicken Obsessing.

We bought our kitchen today! And while we were waiting for our order to be processed, we had a good 30 or so minutes to wander around and admire some of IKEA's offerings. And of course, all I could think about were chicken coops. I'm starting to see chicken coops in EVERYTHING. Garbage can? It can be converted into a coop. Red Flyer Wagon? I could build a gypsy wagon style coop on it! Old pickup truck? I could use it to haul wood to build a coop with! You get the idea.. I've been obsessing.

And since I was in the kitchen section, I got to thinking... "Why couldn't you make a cabinet into a coop...?" And as soon as I got home, I fired up the Google Machine and did some research.

Check out this sketch-up for an IKEA style cabinet coop from a group of architects in Paris, via The Poultry Project:

Image from The Poultry Project-
(many more awesome mockups of this at the link above)

Could you imagine how great it would be to swing by IKEA to pick up a flat packed chicken coop?? I think they're onto something great! No way could my hens live in my kitchen though...

And as I kept browsing, I found this gem built out of a 30" sink cabinet they found on clearance posted on the Backyard Chicken forum:

The forum thread can be read Here

Check out the sweet interior:
It's a bit too small for my future flock of three I long to have someday (maybe I should get bantams?), but it still serves as a great inspiration. What I love most about chickens is the amount of creativity people are putting into keeping them. There are so many fantastic ideas out there.. and I can't wait to see what we end up with.

We have walls!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you.... our walls!

A Brief Photo Tour

Husband took these photos today of our house. Let's take a tour!

This is what the interior of our house looks like at this moment: New framing, new insulation, new pipes, new electrical.

Photo of our hallway.

Our zucchini plant has zucchinis!

Roses are blooming in the front yard. I pruned them back a bit aggressively, and they've responded by bursting into blooms.

My little garden is my favorite 64 square feet so far. :) Grow plants, grow!

Chickspiration

I should be in bed, but I'm not. I'm too hyped up on caffeine and inspiration. Chicken inspiration. Chickspiration? Okay, so that's a word now.

Anyway, guess who is totally chickspired, especially after participating in Seattle Tilth's Urban Farm and Coop Tour today? This gal!

One of the highlights for me was this little New Orleans styled coop:

And the inside, complete with cocoa husk bedding. This coop smelled like a brownie! I was skeptical when the owner urged me to stick my head in there and breathe, but was pleasantly surprised!


And after hanging out with nearly every chicken breed imaginable, I've discovered that I'm a huge fan of ear tufts (apparently they're called 'muffs') and toe feathers. Who would have known?

I think I may just end up with a flock of salmon faverolles ladies. Adorable, gentle, great layers even in the winter months- I think we might have found a winner.

And seriously, those muffs? Priceless.

Photo from Faverolles Fanciers of America,
as I'm not awesome enough to have any of my own... yet.

And in other, none chicken news, my garden is growing and growing and growing. When I'm at the house I could swear that I hear the plants grow.


And speaking of the house, our new plumbing and electrical has been inspected. Drywall will be going in on Wednesday! New gutters on Thursday. Things are moving along. I can't wait to live in our new home. Patience. Patience. Patience.

This is what our front yard has looked like for the past week or so:

I should really just be thankful that the Grand Canyon in our front yard is gone as of Friday. Not having to leap to my garden over a 4 foot deep chasm with 4 gallons of water? Priceless.

Dachshund + Firepower

One of my favorite sites lately is Animals Being Dicks, a great compilation of animated gifs full of mischief from a variety of non-human species.

And this really takes the cake! Really glad nobody was hurt in it, that could have ended very badly!

Hope you survived Independence Day with the same number of limbs you started it with!

Boom City!

Every year the husband and I end up at Boom City. I'm not sure how the tradition started, it's just been one of those things that we always end up doing. We always walk away feeling more alive than ever, and since we have never lived in a city together that allowed large fireworks, this is a great way to get the urge to blow sh*t up out of our system.

Boom City is on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. It is an expo for pyros- stall after stall full of fantastically colored fireworks at relatively inexpensive prices (bartering encouraged!). And if you're looking for some not so legal things (*cough* bombs and drugs *cough*) those can also be found. Although they're cracking down hard, for a good reason. Drugs in a place where you can light off explosives...? Yeah, not a great idea. This little slice of heaven is right along a monstrous field that is open to light off your newly purchased wares... it can become a bit of a war zone - children firing roman candles at each other, mortars (sometimes falling on their sides and shooting into the crowds- we see it at least twice whenever we go), and wind-blown fireworks that blow up too low to the ground, often next to someone's head (the first year it was me who this happened to... my ears rang for a week after).
This year they had a great staff of people who were wandering the area making sure nobody was getting too rowdy... and since we visited on the 2nd of July, less people were running around firing off stuff simultaneously... it felt like a much safer experience.

Can't picture it? Here's a video that nearly sums it up:

Need a bit of an adrenaline rush? Head out to Boom City just before sundown today, bring a lawn chair, dress warmly, and watch people blow up their money in celebration of our fine country. :) Hope you have a happy (and safe!) Fourth of July weekend!

Living Small - Inspiration

As you know, I'm a big fan of small spaces.

I love the idea of having mobility, being nomadic, and making due with what you have. And as you know, I love Tumbleweed Homes. So it should be no surprise that I've been inspired and amazed by what Collin & Joanna from Our Wee House have done: Built their own 130 square foot movable 'Fencl' house... and it's lovely!

Check it out:

Our Wee House

It's beautiful on the inside, too.

Our Wee House

Through the rubble of our own renovation, I sometimes stop and have a moment of panic. We bought a house! And compared to the national average, it's small.. Outside measurements have put the square footage at less than 660 square feet.

In 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average square footage of a home was 2,392 square feet. We'll be living in a house that is 70% smaller than the national average. But I look at what Collin and Joanna have done and I can't help but be inspired. They can do it! And so can we.