A few episodes of "This Old House" and Ryan is ready to rock the basement!

One of the reasons we loved our house when we bought it last year was the potential to finish off the basement and add some extra living space. The basement already had a working toilet in what we affectionately called "The Privy", a box that looked remarkably like an outhouse.

A couple weeks ago, Ryan rolled up his sleeves and got to work framing out what will eventually be a half-bathroom/laundry room. The goal is to have a toilet in a nook with a Craftsman style half wall separating it from some cabinetry, a sink, and the washer and dryer.

I've learned that Ryan and I have very different working styles (something that you can probably tell after a few months of reading this blog). I like to have everything planned out with a plan B and plan C just in case something goes wrong. Ryan likes to take things as they come. Needless to say, I'm staying out of the basement project as much as possible. Instead, I've been focusing on the garden (pictures to come) and gearing up for warmer weather.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of the start of the project and the current view of our basement. Enjoy!

Laundry area in full use and The Privy

No, Ryan did not clog the toilet.
I think he's goofing around with a plunger -- toilet jokes get him every time.

The new hallway
The brown things in the photo are some curtains that we've rigged to keep Soma out of the construction zone.

Despite the fact that our basement is in a somewhat major transition, we've decided that we need to leave town. On Friday, we're leaving for Maui to get a little sun and relax after an insanely busy few months (ok, more like two years). Surfing, cocktails, a good book, the beach -- what else do you need?

She's a maniac! Maniac! I know-o...

As of last week, my life began to return to normal. I worked (mostly) 9-5 days and came home with energy left over from my day. I turned my attention back to the garden, and thanks to Ryan's amazing help, we've completely renovated our front garden.

I didn't get a good "before" picture (sorry, Amy!), but I found this photo that was taken when Ryan's folks came to visit in January. The focus of our garden reno was the overgrown mass of shrubs and juniper on the right hand side.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but the garden was completely overgrown and overwhelming.

Ryan unloading dirt after a trip to our favorite place, Pacific Topsoil, which allows you to dump your garden waste and pick up soil in one stop!

The new garden!
We kept the conifer on the right but trimmed it significantly.
Once we get a few more plants and the garden is established, it should look like a natural woodland garden with a few wild and not-so-wild flowers!

And in the rest of the garden...

On top of our garage (a future deck with table and chairs), I put an Evergreen Clematis in a big container with plenty of room to climb.

Loads of blossoms in our tree just waiting to burst.
The 70-degree days we've been having caused this tree to explode. Pictures to follow very soon!

Camellia in full bloom!