Best photo I've ever taken

While feeling a little artsy tonight, I clipped a rose off the rosebush and brought it inside. Then I took a photo of it with some tomatoes that came off the tomato plants. And it's totally the coolest photo I've ever taken. Just sayin'.

Lazarus



The dead shall walk again. Or bloom, at least.

I bought a mallow plant at the beginning of the summer.  At least, I believe that's what they are called. I'm referring to those gorgeous, dinner-plate sized blossoms that you see in people's yards around this time of year. They look ike a giant hibiscus (and are probably in the same family), and I have always wanted one.  So I bought one at Pettengill's earlier this summer, with dreams of these gorgeous blossoms gracing my yard.

The woodchucks decided that mallow meant marshmallow, and felt that this was the most delicious plant they had ever eaten.  What had originally been a lush, thriving plant was chewed down to toothpicks.  I was not pleased. 

Now, for some reason, they are leaving it alone.  Probably not enough to floss with at this point. But because of that, my little friend has made a come back.  I thought it was more than dead, so to see this quarter-sized blossom really tickles me. I named it Lazarus, even though I think it's a girl. And for all those of you who skipped Bible class, Lazarus rose from the dead, thanks to a miracle being performed on his behalf. I'm not sure what the miracle was in this case, but this baby just isn't going down without a fight. 

And yes, I need to pull that grass out that is hiding behind it.

Happy anniversary to us



Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

This week marks the anniversary of our first year of living in our house.

I am completely gobsmacked  that time has gone by so quickly. At the same time, though, it feels like we've always been there.  Maybe that's how it's supposed to feel. Either way, I know that Josh and I are both totally blown away by the fact that we are home owners, that we have this little oasis to come home to at the end of the day. A place where we can plant whatever plants we want, decorate however we want, and maintain however we need to. We can also walk around in our underwear whenever we want, so let that be a warning to anyone who feels like dropping by. (Yeah, like you people don't do that. Right. I know my readers.)

We have certainly learned a lot about home ownership.  And maintenance. And cosmetics. And entertaining. And how to keep the cat from getting locked into various closets, rooms, cabinets and so forth.

 



This is easily the nicest part of our lawn.



Years ago, I was in a friend's wedding and she had a Victorian themed cake with the traditional charms that are embedded in it.  (For those who may be unfamiliar, it was a tradition to have charms that symbolized various wonderful things baked somehow  into the cake or layered on in the frosting or however its done. Each charm is attached to a ribbon, and then each member of the bride's party gets to pull a ribbon to see what her fortune or charm would mean.) 

One friend pulled a charm that was a little engagement ring, indicating that she would be the next to get married -- and she was. Another friend pulled out a four-leaf clover for luck, and she has always seemed to have good fortune in her life. I pulled out a teddy bear, symbolizing that I would have a happy home.  At the time, that didn't feel quite as impressive as being the next to get married or having incredible luck for the rest of my life. 



I realize now that as long as I have these two to enjoy a home with, I made out pretty well on that cake thing. Pretty well indeed.





He's all mine, ladies.







Napzilla.



Not quite dead yet...

Two posts in one morning -- what am I thinking? I wanted to pay a quick homage to the lone pansy that we had remaining in the bed before the mums were planted. This one had spirit and spunk. Not bad for a flower that had chewed down about five times by the woodchucks, survived a horrendous heatwave and is technically a spring plant.  You made us proud, little one.

Mum's the word

Now the attack ants have mums to hide under.

Over the weekend, I decided that our front garden bed needed a little bit of love. Our pansies, though beautiful (and delicious, according to the woodchucks) had more than gone by, so it was certainly time to spruce the place up.

I got a gift certificate to Home Depot for my birthday, so I headed over there to see what they had flowers. They seemed to have every size mum you could imagine, and I picked out four in little pots and then two six packs of yellow and orange. I took these photos in the evening after I planted them, and it's funny how bright the yellow ones seem! Exactly what I was going for. Little balls of sunshine. I need that as it seems like we're already heading towards Daylight Saving again. (Is it dark when anyone else gets up, or is it just us since we get up so darned early?)





Here's a few close ups to get you ready for your fall planting:

Yellow, orange and pink tones all in one. Love it.

This one feels sophisticated to me.

Love this color.

These look so fuzzy and pink!

Little balls of sunshine.

This ain't no disco

Target is starting to put some of their summer goodies on sale -- I spotted this lovely, shiny orb and grabbed it since it was half off. $6 worth of joy. I hope the woodchucks don't haul out their leisure suits and start doing their best Saturday Night Fever routines.

This ain't no country club either.

Tips from a Tagger, or Fun with Spraypaint





I'll have a large pepperoni and garlic, please.


Here's a fun DIY Friday riddle for you: What do you get when you combine decorative  objects with blue spraypaint? Answer: Pretty things! We had this star when we lived in Ipswich and our color palette was red/gold/green.  Our house is now blues/grays/whites, which is interesting to me as those are not colors that I tend to gravitate towards. But the house was like that when we bought it, and I really love it. Anyway, I felt that this star needed a bit of an update, so it was spraypaint to the rescue. 



This is smurfy!




I have a few recommendations for when you are spraypainting stuff.

1: Wait for a non-windy day.  There's a reason this is #1 on the list.

2: Make sure you have something you DO NOT CARE ABOUT to put your object on while you are spraypainting. Because that thing you are laying your object on will never be the same again. (Thus the pizza box.)

3: Spraypaint is pretty stinky for a decent amount of time, and I don't care if you buy the "less stinky" kind -- it all stinks. Make sure you have an outdoor area that is free and clear for airing out your object.

4: Try to get the paint even. If you hold the spraycan in one place for too long, the paint will pool up.  Keep the spraypaint moving!



Star of wonder, star of fumes, how lovely you look in our living room.

I had originally intended for this star to
hang outside, but we had an empty spot over the fireplace during the summer. So here it is, in all its Hipstamatic glory. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. And since it is spraypainted, it could go outside at any point. 

So if you find yourself bored this weekend and searching for a great DIY project that's pretty cheap and makes you feel like a graffiti artist, I recommend hauling out the spraypaint! I felt accomplished and just a little bit naughty all at the same time.