Sunday Means Yard Work

The Best

....weekend activity.

Keeping the bathroom "fresh"...

I'm really glad we painted the bathroom at neutral gray. We have plans for some major bathroom renovations (as I mentioned here) like new floor tiles, new vanity, etc, etc, etc. Though I want to keep the color the same... and that's because a gray, white and black bathroom allows me to make small changes (whenever I want) by accessorizing.

If I want a summer- beachy thing going one, all I have to do is add some shells and stuff...






We have some great floral towels from Anthropologie, so sometimes I go for a floral thing....

(Painting by me!)

Or if I'm feeling particularly white..... (or boney)...





Or sometimes I'm not feeling white, I'm feeling blue! (And maybe even like a sailor?)








And like Doctor Seuss, I have my many colored days....









Oh, and yeah... sometimes I'm just feeling weird.




Is that a plaster cadaver foot, you ask? Why, yes! I made it in Art School.



Or, you know- I need to make a phone call to Jesus...




So yeah, that's why I'm keeping my gray bathroom.

Fire it up

As noted in a previous post, we finally ripped out the rest of the ivy. The original plan was to make a very large and very mod graveled area. That plan may still be in the works.... eventually.

But to be honest, we really don't have the money to do that project right now. And since I didn't want to leave the backyard looking like this:


So after reading an article in Martha Stewart Living (yes, I read Martha Stewart Living), I was inspired to come up with a temporary solution that I could live with- financially and aesthetically.

We decided to make a small bed for the fire-pit using gravel and some large stones that were dug when we built the patio. We planted grass in the dirt-enveloped area, but obviously, that's gonna take some time to grow.




Then we needed some seating, and we had just the solution sitting in our garage collecting dust- tree stumps! Yes. Tree stumps. Tiago got them from his boss who was throwing them out. I had been looking for some for a different project (that I never actually brought to fruition) so he snatched 'em up. Well of course they have been abandoned in the garage for several months, so we were excited to put them to use and clear up some much-needed space in the garage.


We also decided that we needed a hammock to relax.

Exhibit A; hammock:


Exhibit B; Tiago in hammock:


(Notice that he wishes he had a beer there on that stump.)

Exhibit C; Tiago in hammock with a beer on that stump:



Here's the complete scene (sans the grass that needs to grow):






Let the bonfires and relaxing ensue.

Happy Mother's Day!

Last night, my parents flew home from their vacation in Ireland. They were flying into NYC, so they stopped in Philly for the night. So while they were sleeping off some serious jet-lag this morning, I put together a yummy breakfast. We had sausage strata, whole grain english muffins with cream cheese and heirloom tomatoes, fruit salad and grilled red potatoes with onions. I have to say. I was kinda impressed with myself. We ate outside, since it was beautiful!!






I love my mom SO MUCH and she is my greatest inspiration and my biggest advocate. Thanks mom for all that you have done for me, all that you have sacrificed for me and for all that you continue to do for me. You are wonderful.

What an herb...

Spring has sprung and it's time to get planting. I love gardening, and I especially like planting herbs each spring to use for cooking in the summer months. I have a perfect spot in the backyard slated for an herb garden, but its unfortunately right next to the still-unfinished-patio. I wouldn't want to plant an entire garden just to have it trampled on or potentially dug-up during patio construction, so my herbs will have to be potted again this summer. No biggie, at least I can bring them in easily and keep them away from squirrels and cats better than if they are in the ground. I'll just have to water them a bit more often.

Today was the perfect day to start planting. (The weather was fan-flippin-tastic.) I started by getting all of the pots our of the garage and mixing the old and dried out soil with some new organic potting soil.


Once the soil was ready (above) I was ready to start planning which herbs go in which pot. As you can see, I used a variety of herbs including Martha Stewart Organic herbs and Burpee brand organic herbs. I planted mint, cilantro, purple basil, sweet basil, oregano, dill, rosemary, parsley, chives and lavender. There isn't much of a science to choosing which pot to assign to each herb... just figuring out which plants are tall, which are heartier and fuller, and which I don't need a ton of. I also kind-of factor in the color and look of the herbs with the pot it's going in. After I figured it all out, I placed the herb packets in the appropriate planter and got started.





Here they are all planted and ready to grow. (Get it? Ready to "grow" like ready to "go". I'm a real comedian folks!) Rather than using what I consider unsightly plastic or wood indicators, I simply use the ripped-off top part of the paper packet to stick in the dirt so I know what's what.


I can't wait to see these guys and girls start sprouting in the coming weeks. But what I'm really excited for is when I can use them for grilling this summer!!! Oh. Yeah.