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May 26, 2013

Porch Paradise Project

One of my favorite parts of this house is the screened in back porch. In this century old house, with no central cooling, it is often the coolest place to spend time. And although I remember summers rarely breaking 90 in upstate NY, the last couple have been hitting those numbers pretty regularly. This year it has been pushing 90 already and its not even June! So with high numbers expected again, the porch is where me and the Mister can be found.

Since we spend so much time out there, I decided I would spruce it up just a tad. Not too mention, we had some small lighting concerns. With my porch paradise project, both issues were addressed.


I've had the last few days off, so I made it my mission to get the porch in ship shape before I had to head back to work on Monday.

 
Lights! As I mentioned there weren't really any lights out here. I work until midnight, so during the week the Mister and I are out here well into the night. Our makeshift solution had been the Mister's halogen garage lights. Great for garage work, great even for photography projects. A little too harsh for unwinding after work. The new solution, white string lights. These are perfect! They are bright enough to see whatever it is you are doing, but warm enough to allow for some relaxation.

Then I found a tutorial for fabric garland at Sew, Mamma, Sew!  Many of my projects use a combination of green and brown fabrics and leave me with small scraps that I keep around, but never know what to do with. Plus, the chairs I bought last summer were green and brown. I knew that this garland was the perfect project for all those scraps I had hanging around.


Throw in a focal piece complete with felt pomanders, tissue puffs, and origami cranes and you have yourself a summer oasis.


And let's not forget a fully stocked beer fridge, with a wonderful selection of summer craft brews and seating for six. So, who wants to come visit?




May 11, 2013

Happy Mother's Day


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us
When adversity takes the place of prosperity
When friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us
When trouble thickens around us,  still will she cling to us
And endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness
And cause peace to return to our hearts
Washington Irving



Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know. You all make the world a more loving place.


I made these felt Dahlias as a small gesture of appreciation for the mothers in my world this year.


An added bonus...all of these gifts were mailed out before Mother's Day! That never happens.


May 5, 2013

Cinco de Mayo and the First Grilling

I just recently moved to a Monday through Friday workweek. Its amazing. I used to have Wednesday and Thursday off, which didn't leave a lot of time for enjoying the Mister's company or doing other weekend things like festivals and going out for drinks. The new schedule came just in time for warm weather, festival season, and the end of the Mister's semester.

This weekend the Mister and I enjoyed not only Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, but also May the Fourth (alert Nerd!). 


We decided Cinco de Mayo would be a good time to break out the grill for the first meal of the season. What better than grilled flank steak for fajitas. We also picked up some lovely looking serrano peppers to grill.

While the mister was playing with his new grill toy (we recently picked up a chimney starter for his charcoal), I was enjoying the fresh cut grass and snapping some pictures of the beautiful lilac tree in our back yard.


I could really get used to this weekend thing.