A new outdoor pillow

Back in early May my family made a little overnight trip to a waterpark.  On this trip, I stopped into a "JoAnn Fabric" store.  I found this outdoor chevron fabric marked 50% off  and had to buy some. 

Here is a pillow I made for our currrent plastic adirondack deck chair.  I am still hoping to buy these little beauties for the deck ( see full post here).

If I should manage to acquire  a couple of these "Tucker Bend" benches I already have two outdoor pillows ready to go on them.  Don't you think the colors on the pillow will work great on the Tucker Bend bench?

I have some more big plans/dreams for the deck.  You can check them out on my pinterest board, "Fun Outdoors" (click here).

A New Succulent Garden

my new succulent garden

Well sadly, my aloe plant that I have loved for over five years is no longer.  The plant outgrew itself and pieces started breaking off due to sheer weight overload.  I moved the aloe plant off of the dining table and over to a nearby chest.  I was thinking that this would put the aloe in reach of my two year old until it was too late.  Innocent curiosity from my son finished the aloe plant off one quick tug.

Overgrown Aloe, about a week before it started breaking under its own weight.

Being one not to dwell on this loss, I quickly decided it was time for me to try a succulent garden.  I've noticed several of the magazines I read have  featured succulent gardens recently. 

I found some really neat succulent plants at Lowes.  The tallest plant is called "blue chalk sticks".  This plant is aptly named, because that is exactly what it looks like.  The smaller plant in the foreground is a sedum.  I added two moss roses on each side of my pot.  I had these moss roses left over from a six pack that I purchased for my new pallet planter.  My total investment was just $7 + tax. 

Hopefully with some tlc I can get several years of enjoyment out of this arrangement (keeping my fingers crossed).

Any tips for caring for a succulent garden?

Rascally Rabbit?

Well it is the first week of June and I am past due for a garden update.  Back in early April I planted my 2013 raised bed garden with romaine lettuce, spinach, flat parsley,and a cherry tomato plant.  My husband built my raised beds out of cedar last year,click here for more on our first garden.

Recently I added some sugar snap pea and cucumber seeds. Just last week I added a "mortgage lifter" tomato plant.  This tomato plant is supposed to produce a meaty, mild flavor that has few seeds, and is ideal for slicing.  The unusual name of this plant is credited to the fact that a radiator repairman from the 1940's was able to pay off his $6,000 mortgage from his sales of this tomato plant. He developed this plant by crossing four of the largest tomato plants at the time: German Johnson, Beefsteak, an Italian variety, and an old English variety . The information above on the "mortgage lifter" was sourced from the "Bonnie" plant tag that came with the plant and http://www.veggiegardener.com/mortgage-lifter-heirloom-tomato/.  Having such a colorful history, I can't wait to try the first "mortgage lifter" tomato.
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All of the rain and sunshine has really gotten things going, but I must say that it seems that some rascally rabbits  are enjoying my garden even more than me.  It started with my romaine lettuce.  Every day I would go out to check the garden and find another lettuce plant mysteriously missing.  It didn't take long for all nine of my lettuce plants to meet their dismal fate.  It may be prejudicial, but we do have several rabbits running around so they are my "usual" suspects.  I know that I could have tried wire fence to keep the rabbits out, but I didn't get anything in place  before the crimes had all been committed (these guys are too quick for a busy mom).

My spinach plants seemed to be immune to the "sneaky green leaf eater" aka "rascally rabbit", that is until today.  I went to do my daily garden check and to my dismay two of my spinach plants have been vandalized.  I have got to come up with a battle plan quick!  Suggestions anyone?






Garden on April 8, 2013.  I had just planted the spinach and lettuce. 





Garden April 22, 2013.  The lettuce vandalism had begun.



Aside from my troubles with the my lettuce thief the garden is doing great.  The flat parsley has doubled in size and my cherry tomato plant has some little green tomatos on it. 

 

 

Cherry Tomato Plant

Flat Parsley

 

I added some marigolds to the garden for color, but I am also told that these flowers can help deter pests.

 

Last but not least, one lesson learned from my garden last year is that the plants take a lot more space than I expected.  With this knowledge I realize that my garden is pretty well filled for the season.   Hoping for a good harvest again this year.  I am sure to share photos of all the fruits of my labor. 

 

I would love to hear what my readers are planting this year.  Have a great week!

 

 

 



Organizing on a Dime

Garage Sale Find-$3
I was told this is from "The Land of Nod".

Lately I have been on an organizing spree.  I was recently able to pass on several of my boys' baby things which got me kicked in to gear for an organizing clean out.

I will be back with another post on the full clean out results, but for now I wanted to share some really budget friendly things I found for organizing my oldest son's closet.

Pictured above is a closet organizer found at a recent neighborhood garage sale.  This fun guy only cost me $3.  I was going to offer less, but the lady selling this told me it was from "The Land of Nod", Crate & Barrel's children's line, and she seemed unwilling to budge on price.  As you can see, this is great for toys, crayons, slippers/shoes, you name it.  I love the child-like drawings on the pockets and the bright colors.

My second find was some plastic bins from "Dollar Tree".  Yes that is right, "Dollar Tree" has some really cute plastic bins that are perfect for organizing play hats, toys,  and whatever else you can think of.

Whose says organizing a closet can't be fun, good cheap fun? 

Rain Showers Call for Cut Flowers

This week has been filled with scattered thunder showers.  My peonies and irises haven't been able to take the heavy rains. 

I decided to salvage what was left for some in-house flower arranging.  Twice this week I have been able to enjoy fresh-cut table arrangements.

I love this perk of owning a home and being able to grow your own flowers.  Has anyone else been salvaging blooms from the rain?

A Pallet for Planting

I am over the moon excited about the pallet planter my husband made with a little help from our boys.  I am one lucky wife/mother.  A couple of days ago we found this nicely weathered pallet on the curb waiting for the trash truck.  We picked it up and in no time my husband turned it into the swanky planter you see above.

First he cut the pallet into two pieces, then he used the boards on the "material" half of the pallet as the base/bottom for the shelves on the "finished" half.  Once the final boards were hammered into place, he anchored the vertical pallet planter (with a 2'x4') to the side of the steps which lead to our deck.  The last step was to line the shelves with "weed fabric" and potting soil, which you can find in the garden department of any home improvement store.

I plan to start vegetable seeds in the top shelf and add some more flowering plants (probably some trailing ones), but here is what it looks like now.

Vinca Flowers

Adding some Miracle Grow Potting Mix
to the Weed Fabric Lined Shelves

Here are some more Pallet Projects that I found on Pinterest:

Source: thisoldwarehouse.blogspot.com

 

Source: theinspiredroom.net

Source: audaxdesign.co.uk

Wow, the possibilities within a pallet.  Has anyone else "up cycled" a pallet into something lately?

Have a wonderful weekend,
Laura

Love it for less, Installment One

 Tucker Bend Bench from Lowes

I thought I would start another new series of posts.  In addition to the "Fab Finds" installments I started back in April (see here) I thought I would share some good "second best" products that are much more reasonably priced than the original design that caught my eye.

I have been a long time admirer of this chair from "West Elm". 

Montauk Nest Chair by West Elm

I love the structure and texture of the Montauk Nest chair, but the $679 price tag is out of my reach.  I think this may be the reason I am so excited  about the Tucker Bend bench from Lowes, which is just $65.

Mind you the Montauk Nest chair is much larger in scale, but the Tucker Bend bench is still very substantial. 

You are welcome to check out theTucker Bend bench, along with some other fun outdoor ideas that I have been collecting in my Pinterest board, here.