stained shed and garden decorations

Can you believe it - I think my autumn chores are DONE!!!! I'll still have to rake leaves a few more times and probably mow the yard once or twice, but everything else looks to be wrapped up. I'm so happy about that! Next on my list is getting the house cleaned. And also on my list is visiting all of my blogger friends. I have been really bad lately, and I want you to know I appreciate very much that you keep stopping by. I can't wait to check in with all of you! :)

Here are photos of the freshly stained shed. I'm afraid I didn't have very good lighting for these photos, but I think you can get the general idea of the color. It's called "Beachwood" - and it's a gray-green or green-gray - depending on your point of view! We'll put a second coat on next spring and then I have a darker color called "Autumn Gray" for the trim. And then, I can start decorating with windows, window boxes, some plantings, and hopefully stenciling. I'm pretty psyched!

I do computer work for a couple wholesalers at the Minneapolis Gift Mart, and every year the Mart has a huge sample sale where the showrooms sell samples of discontinued stock. I get to shop there because I work for these guys - otherwise it's supposed to be for retailers only. I have a couple favorite places that I hit up for garden decorations, and I wanted to show you the fun stuff I have picked up (so far!) this year.

This adorable bird house with roses climbing up the base. It'll be very sweet in one of the gardens next summer.

This chair is unbelieveably comfortable!! It may end up in my gazebo - and I may have to go back and get another one. (They're open on Mondays thru the middle of November and then they do a huge weekend sale right before Thanksgiving - I usually try and do 2 or 3 Mondays and then force myself to stop!)

I bought 3 of these rose stems - won't they be sweet in the garden? I'm thinking I may use them in a vase in the house this winter. The detail is pretty cool for iron.

I also have a sweatshirt place I go to - they sell really nice sweatshirts for $5 each. Some have resort logos on them - and they're all supposedly seconds, but I have never found any obvious flaws. For everyday keeping warm, I think this is a deal!

And I added a new sunburst to my collection. I thought he was kind of cute!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

rainy weekend

Rainy weekend here. We were so dry most of the summer, that it's hard to complain about it! I did get in a couple hours yesterday morning hauling things into the shed. I think it's going to be a really nice size - the lofts are holding a ton of stuff. We stopped Friday night on our way to dinner to look at stain colors. I have a color in my head, so, of course, that makes the job twice as difficult! I think we will try and get it stained this fall yet - but windows, window boxes and stencils will probably wait until next spring. (Maybe I can spend some time this winter working on my stenciling skills!) I managed to free up some shelf space in the basement by hauling all my clay pots and other garden things to the shed - so maybe this afternoon I'll work at organizing the basement. Does that sound like fun, or what?! Maybe I'll watch a DVD instead!!

thanks for the great ideas!

Thanks to everyone for your nice comments about my shed!! I appreciate all of the great ideas you shared. I don't know if we'll start decorating this fall or wait until spring - but I think it's going to look cool when we finally have it done! I am so excited about having that storage space - and I know I could easily fill 2 or 3 of them!! But, for now, I am thrilled to have one.

Kobie and Tess were playing King of the Hill in it today - one of them would stand inside the shed with a leaf or stick, the other would grab the prize, and then they'd chase each other round and round the shed. After several trips around, one of them would jump inside the door - and then the whole thing would start over again. I swear, they play just like human kids! The really cool part is now I have a really fun dirt race track going around my new shed - it's exactly what I was hoping for - lol!

"Knockout" - the rose I had in one of the half barrel planters. I put it in the raised garden by the patio a couple weeks ago. It's doing great - new buds and beautiful blooms. It's in the same garden as "Hawkeye Belle" - I hope they look good together and provide some fun color.

Autumn has come to our yard! This maple tree is our neighbor's - it sits between his garage and our driveway. Everyone coming down the street sees it - and everyone comments on how beautiful it is.

we got us a shed!

It's here!!! Chris came this morning at 6:30. He and Mark unloaded the wall frames, and at 7 am, he fired up his compressor and started building. He took an hour lunch break, and at 2 pm, I had a shed.

Isn't it lovely? This is the side you see if you walk from the patio down toward the lake. The 6 ft wide double doors face the house. Mark put linseed oil on the floor and bottom edges for added protection. When that dries, I can start loading it up!

Here's the inside. You can see the two lofts we had them add. There isn't much headroom in the lofts themselves, but it will be a little added storage space. I don't think I'll have any problem finding something to stick up there. :)

Here's a little better view of one of the lofts. (The black handle is a broom that's on the other side.) Chris said we could stain it right away, but we both have a lot of projects scheduled for this fall, so we may wait until next spring to "decorate."

A few weeks ago, we found some freebie windows on Craig's list. I don't want windows in the shed - I want to make use of all the space for storage - but we're thinking we might attach some windows on the outside of the shed to make it look more friendly. Another idea I have after seeing Kate's project is to stencil the sides. If you haven't checked out Kate's beautiful garage wall, you really should. (Kate Smudges in Earth, Paint and Life - on my sidebar.) When I decide what to do, you all will be the first to know!

This is the view from the lake - it hides the compost bin - hooray!!!! The wagons and baskets will all have a home now. I am smiling from ear to ear.