Been off enjoying life...

...

...Talk to you soon....

hmmm...spray paint!

Yummy!!
There's nothing like popping the lid off of a fresh can of spray paint! I don't know what it is (the instant gratification?) but I've always loved to spray paint things. I spent a good part of yesterday transforming the look of various pots I got on sale--as well as the look of a few innocent bystander items!


Spray Paint Goes 360: New Krylon Spray Tip Covers All the Angle - Watch a funny movie here

This new style of can from Krylon is pretty cool, it really has a lot of coverage. It's funny cause I actually just found out that the nozzle adjusts from watching this little video a few minutes ago! Would have been nice to know yesterday! "Directions? why would I ever have read any of those?"

This little screen used to be black--I think this ivy green is an improvement!

A few more of my victims! Don't worry, there were several items that I painted a neutral antique white, they just weren't very photogenic.

Lost In Blogland

Oh my gosh, I can't handle this....I've been lost for HOURS! My head is spinning, my eyes are blurry, I'm thirsty, I have work to do, I have to pee...at least I've had a little snack chocolate right next to me to provide proper nourishment and energy for my online travels! This has been happening all week where I go to check on a couple of my favorite blogs just to see what's going on, then I decide to start tweaking my own, then I decide to check out a few new blogs, then I decide to check out some flickr stuff, then I decide to finally make a new post of my own, but I look at the clock and it's like 2 AM! and I realize I'm just too tired to do it! Then I get annoyed at how long I've spent online, think about all the work I've been doing outside, then think of something garden related I should look up while I'm online, finally shut off the computer, remember something ELSE I NEED to know about, log back on, surf a little bit more, check one more thing on my blog, then it's like 4 AM and I will finally go to sleep. SO, to avoid all that, here's a quick post, and I promise to be off here now, at a tender 11:06 pm.

Yard Sales and Yard Work

First, some yard sale loot...not too much out there this weekend, of course, that could be because I'm a late riser and catch the tail end of things when it's all been picked through. I tell myself that this is actually a good strategy because I get a better deal on the stuff I do find and it cuts down on all that I would want if I went earlier. Got this cute little wicker thing that I'm either going to hang in the yard with a couple of small pots in it or spray paint it glossy black and put in my room with the mirror I found a few weekends back. I was super excited to find this old metal bean masher, been looking for one since Elena and I moved. Even mom was on the lookout, checking every Mexican food store around!

Last weekends' finds include a new mini ironing board for $1--think I'm going to see if I can find a pattern and make a cute drawstring cover since this one isn't washable and will only come off if I cut it. Not sure what the little rack is, the shelves are only deep enough to rest a plate on, but I couldn't resist it's scallopy cuteness or its $2 cost. I'll probably put it in the yard and find a way to put trailing flowers on it.

This little chair was rescued from a schoolhouse fire in either Ferndale or Fortuna, notice the little burned corner. I love the faded and crackled paint and even though it's really rickety, it will be a perfect stand for a pot of flowers.

In between my yard sale adventuring and my days at work I've been busy working in the yard. At a glance it looks okay...



but there's a lot of brush and leaves that have been left by either the landlord or previous tenants and the weeds are quickly taking over! All together our yard has 8 trees plus one in our neighbor's yard that hangs over into ours. I got on a ladder and trimmed ALL of them!

Then I hauled the trimmings away. That's a five foot tall pile! My hands were swollen and my wrists and arms were sore all week, not so good when you make a living using your hands. But the reward is worth it, I want my yard to be pretty and cute.

It's so nice to cut my own little flowers and stick them in a jar to enjoy inside!

Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend was pretty mellow. The weather was just so/so...overcast, big suprise. On Saturday night at work I came across a classified ad and garage sale map. There were several listed to last into Sunday so I circled the few that sounded good and decided that I would do a little treasure hunting. I am super stoked over my finds here

I got some of it for free (late bird special!) and the rest I got for $26. Ahh, my heart sighs! None of it looks as cool in the picture as in real life, or maybe even then it only looks like treasure to me.
Later on in the day I went over to mom and dad's for a BBQ, yum, yum. Then on Monday stopped by to see the kitties.
He loves his baby...
this one is Buster...and this is Stewart.
I spent the rest of the weekend in the garden...now, how do I get the dirt out from under my nails?

My Nursery & Nana's Birthday

My backyard is looking like this right now...




...it's like I have my own personal nursery! I love it! I've been out "gardening" every day for the past week. I say "gardening" because mostly what I do is just rearrange all that I have bought so that I won't plant the wrong plants in the same pot. You'd be amazed at how much time I can take up doing this! I drag this set of flowers over there, those pots closer over here, regroup collections of flowers by their tags...is sun/part sun the same as light shade? How about part sun/part shade, is that the same as the one before? I can spend SO much time doing this but when I actually get my hands in the dirt I am very happy. Sigh.

On Sunday I went out to dinner at Larrupin's for my very special sis's birthday. Happy Birthday Nana! Here she is ready to attack with her weapon of choice. Beware. Always be on the lookout when she's packing cuz you don't want to be caught on her myspace looking like a deer caught in the headlights!

A little shot of her and I with the beautiful Brandy. What a fun night!

Cooling Down

I never thought I'd see the day where I would be thankful for cooler temperatures here on the home front. It was so nice today, just perfect at around 78. My accomplishment for the day was to tear apart a jasmine plant that I dug up at mom and dad's house. It took about an hour of ripping, tearing, trimming, and cutting at the roots to end up with about 5 individual plants. I hope they will grow!
On my way to work this afternoon I saw at least three different yard sales that I would have loved to stop at. It was probably a good thing I couldn't because I was driving dad's truck and who knows what I would have drug home with all that space to fill up! I'm really itching to do some serious yard sale-ing this summer. I'm not sure why I like it so much. It's kinda like a treasure hunt. I have made a couple of yard sale purchases so far this season...

found these gorgeous vintage buttons--like I need any more of those! But aren't they SO pretty?!

And then there was this little bounty. Love the crates! Love the aqua glass! The yellow bowl is so perfectly suited to our little yellow kitchen it's just sick. The ceramic squirrel, well, you'll just have to stay tuned for what we have planned for this chipper little guy.