Thinking of Alabama.

There are no words.

A Southern Rural Wedding.

A couple of weeks ago we made the trip down to Alabama to see two very good friends get hitched. It was an amazing wedding and was great to see friends and soak up some 90 degree weather. Ok. I felt like I was going to melt. But it was still awesome.

The ceremony was held under the pavilion in Perry Lakes Park.

After the "I dos" we took a stroll across the bridge.

And down the boardwalk.

I completely forgot to get a picture of the sign warning people that "too people" have drowned in these waters. The best part is that it originally said one...and they crossed it out and wrote "too".

Ok. I probably shouldn't make jokes about people drowning. But the sign is funny.

At the end of the boardwalk we reached the bird tower. I was determined to climb to the top since I had not been back since it was constructed. So I did. And I did not stop sweating for the rest of the day. Cute right?

I should also mention that each one of these (pavilion, bridge, bird tower) is a past thesis project done by Auburn Rural Studio students. Pretty cool, right? There's no way in hell I could have constructed that bird tower.

The climb was worth it for the view. Only a few people could fit at the top because each platform decreased in size as you climbed up, but I definitely hogged a spot for long enough to catch my breath and take some pics.

After I carefully climbed back down we headed over to the reception. They had a really fun bluegrass band outside...and inside...pie. Yum. After an awesome reception we all headed back to a friends place for pizza and drinks...and then I was pooped so we went back to the Gateway Inn (classy) to crash.

Sunday morning I was able to get a better look at the blue tarp covered contraption outside our motel. Doves and Pheasants. I have no idea why there was a Dove/Pheasant house outside the motel...but there was. Amazing. There were a number of stray cats in the area that seemed to find this pretty amazing too.

After checking out of the dream motel we went to the final event of the weekend. Brunch at Pielab. Yum.

Unfortunately a bunch of friends had already left by the time I had the genius idea to get a pic with my camera, but we did get this pic with a lot of our Auburn Architecture friends. Need to hunt down some of the larger group pics.

Before zooming back to the city one of our friends was nice enough to drive us around to some of the projects that have been completed more recently or are still under construction.

The brides thesis project: 20k house.

This is a thesis project currently under construction. It is a playground made from steel drums that were originally used to transport mint oil...for toothpaste...I think. I'm interested to see how this one comes out. My favorite playground as a kid was constructed almost entirely from tires (CHCS-holla!) so this could potentially be pretty cool.

One level of barrels was for climbing and then another level overhead is meant for shading so that the barrels will not get as hot. I questioned the idea a little when I first heard it, but when you walk into the space it really does cool down a lot. They will be pouring rubber around all the barrels so the kids won't kill themselves.

One of the most amazing recent projects is the skate park. The thesis team that completed this got a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation that paid for most, if not all of the construction. I might be wrong about that...but I think someone said that. You can't really tell in the pictures, but there were tons of people using the park that day. And they were really good. Like, little kids on skateboards doing things I'd never even try.

A smaller area to the side acts as a practice area before you try and tackle the big stuff. Love this sign.

So that was a lot. But it really doesn't even cover it. I forget to take pictures most of the time. There was also, milkshakes, grilled cheeses, toothless ladies, long drives in the dark, mosquitos, bug spray, Lincoln Towncars with really big wheels, sweet tea wine, awesome family members and really good friends. And that was just the part I participated in. We missed the Friday night crawfish boil. Which looked amazeballs.

Upholstery Class 8.9.10.

Oh haiiiiiiii. How are you? Welcome back. You look great.

So, I figured I should wrap up this upholstery class series. And. Wait for it. The chair is not finished. Gasp. I know. I'm super bummed. How will I ever finish without a pro to practically do half of the chair for me? What happened? How could I not finish? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One is that I skipped a class. Class 8. Stupid. I know. It was the day after our marathon moving adventure that ended at 3 am and I was pooped. But I probably wouldn't have finished anyway, the other reason being that all I have to do is look at a sewing machine and it either breaks or the bobbin is empty. Empty bobbin? Wha? I did not even know how to refill a bobbin. I do now. I think. Uhhhhhh. Me thinks I need some practice.

Anyway. Here's what I did get done.

Got the arms all padded up.

Cut the front of the arms out.

Learned how to sew welting and attached the welting to the arm fronts. Broke the sewing machine like five times.

Cut the fabric to cover the arms and then sewed the arm fronts onto the arm fabric.

Stuffed some cotton in the arm fronts and then tacked everything down tight.

Filled in any bumpy spots on the arm fronts then pulled it all tight and stapled it tight. Trimmed the extra fabric off.

Time to pad the back.

Step 1: essentially crumple extra cotton to cover back. This is a dense cotton layer. No holes. No high spots. Maybe crumple is the wrong way to describe it. Accordion fold? Yes, do that.

Then cover that layer with two flat layers of cotton. Staple the edges down along the top and sides.

Cut down a piece of foam and mark the top center. The top center of the foam should line up with the top center of the chair.

Staple the foam around the cotton along the very inside edge along the top and sides. Tight tight tight. Then trim around the arms and tuck in.

And that's as far as I got. Lame, no? Although, I have been noticing a trend in unfinished looking upholstery...so maybe? No? Yeah, I don't think so either. Oh, and I think I will stop calling it the Christmas chair because I found this. And I love love the way that little love seat looks, so this could turn out well. I think.