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AMANDA CANNON

April 20, 2020

The Back Deck Project

You know when you’re just going to “check” something and then that turns into a big project? Welllll that’s what happened to me last week. A little “I’m just going to check and see if I can clean off the algae from the wood” gave us a whole new updated back deck! Yay!

So. This is what it looked like before. Old nasty deck, landscaping was nothing but weeds and a Juniper shrub in the corner of the deck I really didn’t like.

Our back deck has been this nasty since we moved in almost a year ago, and we haven’t really cared too much about it. But 33 days into this quarantine I guess I was desperate for something to do, so I soaked a heavy duty sponge and went outside and started scrubbing.

And man was it satisfying seeing that clean wood. ๐Ÿคฉ

I started googling power washers and was almost ready to order one when my dad advised me to instead clean it by hand. The deck is SO old, and in such bad shape and rotten on some spots he was worried the power wash would do more harm than good for it.

And to be honest I didn’t mind that much, I was ready for some manual labor ๐Ÿ˜Ž

I went put on my mask and gloves and went to Home Depot to get what we needed for the project. We decided to get a wood cleaner, and we used this one from Behr. We sprayed the whole deck with water and then applied the solution to it with a large deck brush, and then we started scrubbing (used this but I’d probably get this with shorter bristles)! It was HARD work but really didn’t take too long since we were two people. One scrubbed, one sprayed the dirt off with the garden hose. All in all the cleaning probably took just a little over an hour.

This is what it looked like the morning after! SO. MUCH. BETTER.

We let it dry for two more days of full sun before I applied the sealer. I got this one from Behr, I honestly had no idea what color I wanted but that one seemed better than the options they had. I was afraid the clear one would make it look too yellow, and that the other Cedar Naturaltone would be to reddish. So I got the semi-transparent in Chocolate.

I started applying it on the stairs and I almost freaked out because it was DARRRRKKKK. Much darker than I wanted. But after a while, when it dried, it really wasn’t that bad..

And after applying to the whole deck… I actually really liked it! I thought it still looked a bit dark, but figured I’d wait until it dried completely before I made my final judgement.

But still, it was WAY better than it was before, so I was pleased. Next thing I wanted to do something about what was going on on the side of the deck…

This is what it’s looked like since we moved in. Just a sad view ๐Ÿ˜‚

So while Ivy helped me count worms (she loves them), I dug up all weeds and roots I could possibly find..

Aaaaand planted three white peony shrubs instead!

My grandparents had huuuuge bushes of pink peonies when they lived on the countryside when I grew up (I grew up on a sheep farm!) and I’ve always loved these flowers since. I was so excited when I found them at Home Depot!

Next thing I planted some herbs and strawberries in pots on our porch.

We also moved our limelight hydrangeas that I planted last summer from our front yard to the back. Needed something to fill out the space between the plant bed (that I initially wanted to remove, but we decided to keep it) and they didn’t really thrive in the front where it’s shade most day.

Austin dug up a small juniper plant here in the corner and put the last (biggest) limelight shrub there instead. SO much better. Can’t wait for it to bloom! I read that limelight flowers turn more white the more sun they get, which might explain why they were so green colored in the shade in the front yard.

Finally, I really wanted to try grow tomatoes again and Home Depot actually had lots of really good and big tomato plants! My mom and I planted tomatoes in the plant bed last spring after we moved in, and they didn’t make it. The plant bed is in part shade so I’m going to keep this pot in the โ˜€๏ธ sunnnnn โ˜€๏ธ and hope for the best.

Such a fun week project and we love our backyard SO much more now! Now to replace those windows… we have a consultation with a company tomorrow and hopefully we can replace them asap! I love the look of them from the inside, but they are ollllddddd ๐Ÿ‘ต๐Ÿผ

Anyway, I hope this was helpful! The total cost for the deck was $50 which I thought was pretty awesome. So worth it!

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Hi! I’m Amanda

Sweden native living in Nashville, TN! Mother to Ivy and wife to Austin.

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Thank you guys so much for all the comments and sw Thank you guys so much for all the comments and sweet messages yesterday ๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿค my heart is so full!!!
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Weโ€™re heading into week 12 this week โ€” meaning weโ€™re having another September baby โ˜บ๏ธ I feel like I am about twice as big as I was this time with Ivy annnnd also twice as nauseous. Ha! But, Iโ€™m so beyond thankful for this little babe and excited for the next few months of preggercy โ€” and to take you guys along on the journey ๐Ÿค
Hi baby โœจ Hi baby โœจ
A perfect sunny Friday afternoon ๐ŸŒžโ›„๏ธ #blund A perfect sunny Friday afternoon ๐ŸŒžโ›„๏ธ #blundstoneboots #blundstonestyle #outdoorvoices #outdoorvoicesnashville
This kid is without a doubt half Swedish โ›„๏ธโ„ This kid is without a doubt half Swedish โ›„๏ธโ„๏ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Had to pull our best bribing cards to get her inside this week! Now to wrap our heads around the fact itโ€™ll be t-shirt weather next week ๐Ÿคช๐Ÿคฏ๐ŸŒž
From a Friday that was way warmer and sunnier than From a Friday that was way warmer and sunnier than today โ˜๏ธ
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There are a lot of things I want to do/update in our bedroom.. Iโ€™d love new bedding, new fluffy pillows, a new lamp, linen curtains, an actual bed frame.. oh and replace that poster frame on the wall that we got on sale from IKEA 6 years ago that was already broken when we got it ๐Ÿ˜ plus, those command tape strips are quiteeee the eye sore ๐Ÿคช like once you see it you cannot NOT see it. But now to the important question โ€” what color frame do you guys think we should do if/when we get a new one? Oak? Silver? Black? Just stick with white? This is obviously something Iโ€™m debating on a daily basis ๐Ÿค“
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Anyways โ€” all that to say thereโ€™s also beauty in letting things fall into place slowly, too. One piece at a time ๐Ÿค
Howdy ๐Ÿค  Howdy ๐Ÿค 
A little something on its way to a new mama ๐Ÿ’Œ S A little something on its way to a new mama ๐Ÿ’Œ Some goodies for her (self care for a new mom is a must - you canโ€™t really go wrong with clean skincare ๐Ÿค) + the softest swaddle and cloths from one of my favorite Swedish brands @garboandfriends from @babyshop for ๐Ÿ‘ถ๐Ÿผ
Hereโ€™s a question for you: do you know whatโ€™s Hereโ€™s a question for you: do you know whatโ€™s in your body wash? Or shampoo, perfume, room spray, face wash, body lotion, body spray, candle, deodorant or household cleaner?
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If you take a ๐Ÿ‘€ at the ingredient list on these products, youโ€™ll probably see the word โ€œ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆโ€ (or perfume or parfum - theyโ€™re all the same). But do you know what that word actually means?
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๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป.
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๐Ÿ˜ถ Fragrance can be a cocktail of 3000-4000 chemicals. The majority of them with moderate to high health concerns.
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๐Ÿ˜ถ Manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals they use to make up the scent in their product bc of trade secret regulations. This allows them to pack their products with ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐˜๐—ผ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ and simply slap โ€œfragranceโ€ on the label. Usually thereโ€™s between 10-100 chemicals that make up the word โ€œfragranceโ€ in a product.
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๐Ÿ˜ถ Phthalates are one of the most common fragrance ingredients and thatโ€™s what makes a scent linger in the air and on the body. They are linked to ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ. Many phthalates are banned in the EU but widely used in products sold in the USA.
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๐Ÿ˜ถ Short term effects of fragrance include headaches, migraine, nausea, respiratory distress, allergies and watering eyes.
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๐Ÿ˜ถ Long term effects of fragrance include hormonal imbalances, cancer, long term allergies, sperm damage, weight gain, kidney and neurological issues as well as respiratory issues.
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Thereโ€™s much more to say but these are some nuggets on this topic. I believe in making educated decisions as much as possible in life, and what comes inside our home is no exception. My advice is to look for companies who are completely transparent about their fragrance ingredients โ€” bc letโ€™s be real we all want to smell nice.. but not on the cost of our health. 

Hope this was helpful ๐Ÿ’›
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Sources: ewg.org, safecosmetics.org, webmd.com, fda.gov, ecocenter.gov
Dear dairy, today I overdressed ๐ŸŒž Soaked up eve Dear dairy, today I overdressed ๐ŸŒž Soaked up every bit of this warm, spring-y day and bundling back up for snow tomorrow ๐Ÿฅด๐Ÿ˜ŽโœŒ๐Ÿผ
Sheโ€™s a whole vibe ๐Ÿ’ซ Sheโ€™s a whole vibe ๐Ÿ’ซ
Mama + mini bear ๐Ÿป Mama + mini bear ๐Ÿป
A little piece of home ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช A little piece of home ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช
Hope you all have a good start to your Thursday ๐Ÿค Itโ€™s Ivyโ€™s second day in school today and drop off this morning went perfect. Sheโ€™s been so excited to meet her teachers and new friends. In fact, yesterday in the car on the way home she was in the middle of telling me something when she suddenly stopped and said, โ€œugh.. no too tired.. canโ€™t talkโ€ ๐Ÿคฃ I feel ya girl. Socializing can be exhausting ๐Ÿ˜ #introvertlife but also #enneagram9life ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Anyways โ€” it makes my mama heart very happy itโ€™s been a good start so far ๐Ÿค
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โ€” ๐˜ฑ๐˜ด, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ + ๐˜ด๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ @๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ.๐˜ช๐˜ต - ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด! ๐Ÿฅณ
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โ€”โ€”
 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/35Vnq #LTKunder50
#twinning with Miss Grumperson who threw a fit abo #twinning with Miss Grumperson who threw a fit about not getting to bring Lambie whom she had so carefully swaddled in her *dirty* panties to the playground ๐Ÿ˜Ž Three is fun, friends!
My favorite girl ๐Ÿค My favorite girl ๐Ÿค
Well, there was a Christmas tree here two days ago Well, there was a Christmas tree here two days ago... double tap if you *too* cleaned out every trace of Christmas this weekend ๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿผ nothing like a house free from crispy greenery, amirighttttt?
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Also.. if anyone has any advice on how to get black candle wax off a white wall it would be greatlyyy appreciated ๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿฅด