Creep

First of all - Happy Sunday!

Even though the weekend is almost over - there is a little something to be excited about!

Nic is FINALLY starting school tomorrow.

I really need to get him a haircut.

And a back-pack.

OK- enough about that... Feelin' a little stressed about my to-do list today.

Let's chat about something more creepy.

As in my purple lantana.

It's creeping onto the sidewalk.

And I have one creeping into my neighbors yard.

As much as I love summer - and was looking forward to it all Spring-long,

I think I am just about ready for cooler weather now.

There is so much I want to do in the front yard (i.e. replace said creepers) -

but it's way too hot to do it now.

The husband and I want to add more plants/flowers

to help make the yard look fuller and more colorful.

This is our "newer" red push tree.

It needs to be pruned.

Is that the right word?!

All those little "branches" at the bottom of the tree need to be taken out.

I am conflicted.

One person told me to gently cut them off.

One person told me to tear them off, so that they won't grow back.

What do I do?!

Mushroom soup, anyone?!

This is our second mushroom of the season, people.

They freak me out.

I love mushrooms - but the kind you buy at the supermarket.

Not the kind that sneak-up and freak me out.

Such an odd shape, too.

moving on....

My Ash tree is growin' and growin'.

Bet you don't even recognize her.

In January, she was a twig (using the term loosely) with zero leaves.

Now, she's filling out and growing up.

Soon she will want to wear mascara and face powder.

Oh wait, that's Isabel.

moving on...

The husband and I had to drop some trash off at one of the large containers the construction workers use (a blessing when living in a new community and have trash to get rid of). After we dumped our stuff in, we saw two pallets laying next to the container. I've been looking for pallets for awhile. And I didn't want to steal them from behind a store or anything (I don't look good in stripes). But since these were laying next to the garbage, I figured they were fair game.

I made Marcos get them and put them in the back of the truck.

I have plans for these babies.

Plan 1: A sign for my kitchen.

Plan 2: A sign for my porch (for Halloween)

Of course, I think Mr. HOA guy was driving around this morning and lingered his creepy stare a little too long. I am sure we will get a note about these being visible to the WORLD.

I had Alex move them into the garage.

Well, off to get started on my to-do list - which includes coupon cutting, grocery shopping, hair-cutting, and back-pack shopping. Fun.

P.S. The pictures are lonnnnng and skinnnnny. I can't find the charger for my camera and the battery is kaput. So I am using my new KODAK Touch video camera - which also takes pictures. Just not as nicely as my Panasonic.

I guess I should add "find camera charger" to my to-do list.

/sigh

A woman's work is never done, is it?

A little too close for comfort.

Or should I say: A little too close for pruning?!

I love neighbors.
I love trees.
I do not love where my neighbor put their tree.

I think living in a cardboard box behind Costco would be much easier right about now.
See that large EMPTY spot - bottom right of the pic?!
Yep, my sod is gone.

After today - with quite a few dudes working out there - I hope to have better news!

Happy Friday!

Keep your friends close and your trees even closer [evidently]!

A Small Change

I went to WalMart the other day.

I couldn't pass up some green.

So I've moved my twigs & sticks into the entry way.

For now.

And decided I was going to go with a palm.

Well... two, to be exact.

I still need to "plant" them in the planters...

I have to fix the fact that they are not exactly

the same size.

It's killing me.

But once that's done - I think they are a sweet addition to my lovely front yard.

Wait.

I said "lovely."

What the heck?!

Yep. Landscapers are back and they've made a HUGE mess.

This momma is not very happy right now.

But, I will save that for another day.

Happy Tuesday!

I Spy

As I was chatting with my mom last night [hi, mom!] I realized I never shared a pic of my citrus trees. Shame on me. Here they be:

I guess they look more like twigs, eh? But... look at this picture below.

I cannot believe it. When I was out watering and digging and scaping the land yesterday, I didn't even see these little buggers. It wasn't until one of my son's friends came over and I was showing off the greenery that he pointed them out. [I think he was secretly hoping I'd offer to make him a mini-margarita. I don't sever alcohol to 15 year olds, good sir. You have to be at least 16 and a half. I kid, I kid.]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So... I've been working a little bit on this room... Don't judge my metal diamond placements. Eventually there will be a very large mirror back there. And eventually I may realize the diamonds just don't work - and will have to move them. But for now - they show effort. And progress. And that makes me happy. I love them because they are supposed to be square - but I made an executive decision to make them diamonds. Because of the diamond shapes in my chairs. [deja vu - but at least I got a better picture this time!]

Goodwill shopping a few weeks back allowed me to score something pretty COOL!

It is, I believe, an old radio cabinet. I think. That's what I am calling it.

It's a lighter color than my table & chairs. But when I really look at the two, side by side, they do share some of the same tone. I just wasn't going for an all dark, all wood room. Remember, the other half of this room is the formal living room. Which we hope to make-over into a little library. And totally copy her design, here.

I plan on take some dark wood tones into the "library" in picture frames and books. And then I need to somehow bring some light, cream colors into the dining room to try and make this all work.

The cabinet does need some help. The insides were torn out and it has no back. Mr. is going to help me fix those problem areas and then we have to decide on if we are going to leave it alone, or paint it or stain it.

I originally thought I could paint it the color green that is in the curtains. I saw a REALLY cool example that I loved. And now I can't find it on the net, anywhere. Then I wondered if I should play with the indent, and paint that cream - and the rest green?!

Then I wondered if I should sand and stain the top, the beveled part of the doors and the bottom trim piece a nice mix of ebony and dark walnut.

Now I am wondering if I am out of my ever loving mind.

Do YOU have any thoughts on the subject?! [on the cabinet, not about me being out of my mind.]

I have plans to put a large framed picture above the cabinet... and maybe add a lamp... Give it a bit of height. The room will also, eventually be getting crown molding. So, weigh in. Let me know your ideas [so I can steal them, too].

Alex and Isa both had a friend spend the night - so I am off to get breakfast started. The line at Dunkin Donuts is sometimes long - need to get there early. =)

Have a fab Sunday, people!

P.S. WAIT - don't leave. I just thought of something. Do you think I should bring that light fixture [above the dining room table] down a bit? Is it too high?! Thanks! ;) I owe you one! Anytime you want some design advice... Well. Nevermind.

Two Tipus and an Ash Tree

You were supposed to read the post title to the tune of one famous Christmas Carol. Can you guess which one? Moving on. It's Spring! And as a new homeowner, I am LOVING the color green!! I know we don't get Winter as bad as some folks do, but we do get our share of brown.

The Mr. and I have been working really, really hard on our backyard landscaping. We thought the toughest part would be getting the digging dug (hehe) and the plants and trees in the ground.

We. Were. Mistaken.

The hardest part??!! Keeping those suckers alive. We have a different watering schedule for each type of plant and tree. We haven't yet put the watering system in the backyard (like we have one in the front)... so for now, the kids and I ARE the watering system.

I planted a new vine this morning!! It's a Lady Banks Rose vine. The mini-rose (which really look like carnations, I must say) are yellow - my favorite!

Isa has a game today - so we will pause on the scaping of the land to go cheer her on, but once we are back home, it's back to work. I LOVE the idea of Spring Cleaning. Actually getting to it is another thing. But I am feeling very motivated today! Here's a tour of our GREEN! - staring with the front yard.

My boxwoods. Love them. Here's what it looked like 4 months ago...

And now!! I love that white flower!!

Remember this bad boy?! A few months ago he was all nekkid...

Look at him NOW!

Now... moving on to the backyard. We recently put in a dog run... and wanted to hide it a little. So we purchased five bushes to start. Eventually they will grow together and form a hedge of sorts. We hope.

And CONGRATULATIONS to us - it's TWINS!!

We recently bought two Tipu trees. Up first is Twin A.

And here is Twin B.

Dead.

Okay, not really dead....

I spent some time outside this morning giving it some TLC and all of a sudden I noticed this...

I swear it wasn't there when I started out! Maybe the extra love really worked!!

When we planted the trees they were exactly the same. Now that we know how to properly care for them (thanks to the fine folks at our local nursery) I am sure they will flourish in no time. They are in the evergreen family and when full grown are considered lush shade trees. They will grow to a very large size!

Anyway... tour's over! I have to get Isa to her game! I will post pics of that tomorrow...

And I will also have a post about my formal living room. I bought a Radio Cabinet (I believe) at Goodwill a few weeks back and I need some advice on what to do with it. Paint? Stain? Both? Nothing? See? I will definitely need your help! So be prepared!!

Happy Saturday - and Happy Spring!

You Pick

I couldn't decide what to title this post.
Spring Break for us peeps = A TON OF BACKYARD LANDSCAPING
Which is why I've been MIA.
We had to rent an auger. Whatever that is.
We found some very neat things deep in the ground, in our backyard.
Including rock, clay, metal plates, etc.

Isa helped a ton. So did Alex. But on this particular day, Alex had a baseball game.

So... now that you've had a chance to looky-looky, which title would YOU have gone with?!

Dem dar granite in dose holes!

Armageddon

The little girl that could.

I am not going to lie... picture #2 had me singing a little Aerosmith...

Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you baby and I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you the sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you baby and I don't want to miss a thing

And yes... Just like the movie, our first auger broke. We had to take it back and trade it for a new one. So, our little backyard adventure took a bit longer than expected.

Besides dirt, we now have 2 Tipu trees, 1 Lemon Tree, 1 Lime Tree and 5 bushes of some kind - all neatly in their little dirt homes. YAY!!

Suh-weeet!

Yesterday was a sweet day. Nic and I ran around like CRAZY people trying to get our day in order.
First, we went to Wally-World to grab some V-Day cards for the fam.  My shopping cart MADE ME go into Lawn & Garden.

Bad cart. Bad cart.

I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. Instead I settled on a few things:

Green pillows. Which I love. A lot.

Just a shot of the yard - cuz I am lovin' it. Well, except for the almost dead plants and bushes.

We are working on those, though.

I got this plant because it looks easy to take care of - it's a cactus. And it matches the house!!

And the pillows.

Someone pa-leeeze call HGTV.

And this is a gardenia bush/plant/thing. I thought it looked nice.
And it cost me all of $5.00.

After that shopping trip, I came home and made dinner (Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom lasagna!) and a cake. Then I got the call that the man who stole my heart was going to be later than usual coming home from work. No worries, we waited for him. Everyone was wonderful and suh-weeet and polite - and then everyone opened up their V-Day cards. There were tears and fist-pumps. I did good. =)

Okay, let's go back. I DID do good. But that's about it. I really tried to make it a special occasion. But leading up to it there was whining, crying, yelling, stomping, threatening, and epic fails. Seriously, I went to remove the cake from the pan and it FELL APART on me.  I iced it anyway and served it to my peeps. Nic sure as heck didn't care.

Oh well. I tried, that's all that matters.

Speaking of signs (okay, we weren't even on the topic)... I had an old frame-thingy that I got at Goodwill a few months back - it was a picture of Raggedy Anne and a wooden rocking horse. I spray painted the sucker to match the green/blue/spearmint/aloe color in my kitchen. For a while it's just been sitting on top of my cabinets. NOT N-E MORE.

 

Wait a minute - forgot to put the flowers in (and take a pic with my camera). Here's a shot from my droid.

I found that dragonfly paper in one of my craft boxes - No idea where it came from, but it works.
Until Isabel said that it was kinda gross  -  as if we were eating the dragonflies.

Before & After

Ladies & Gents...
I give you....
My before picture!!

And now, for your viewing pleasure...
The afters!!!

We have six spotlights (now I just need a microphone!!) - so I will take a picture this evening, to showcase those! ;) Lovely!

I am spent... this was hard work!

In case you are wondering - the bushes (ha!) in front of the columns are hibiscus (pink!), we have purple lantana (ground cover), some Boxwoods (ground cover), some honeysuckle bushes (orange), and some kind of bell vine (orange). The tree will be a big ol' Ash (when it survives this cold winter!).  Can't wait for the Spring!!

Warning: Nekkid Pics Enclosed

This post is rated R.

As in RADICAL!!
We are getting somewhere!!

But my poor, poor Ash tree. He's got no clothes on. Darn winter! He looks so tiny, but he will get sooo big. Which is why he had to be planted 12-15 feet away from the house!! ;)

UPDATE: Got Sod?! I do!!

You're most certainly welcome...

Sharing our landscaping progress pictures is the least I can do... =)

Rumor is we will be done by Friday...
And seeing as there is generally some truth behind rumors, I will be sure to post a final picture when all is said and done!