The $6.50 Potting Bench

I love my bench..Here is how it was born.. mostly..
I wish I had gotten pics of the assorted materials before we started cutting and assembling.. but noooo.. I can't possibly think that far ahead..
Some of you have aleady seen this.. but for those who haven't.... here ya go!

THIS is the inspiration for my Potting Bench. This pic is from Pottery Barn Last year.. $600+ 

I made mine for $6.50

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Pretty much put together and I'm applying primer so I can *age* it with something..I think I used a stain from when I refinished my table top.
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Here it is *aged* an almost finished.. how funny that I am already loading this sucker up with stuff and it's not yet completed.. hahahaaaa.. LOL

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Here it is pretty much finished... and remember this is last year ( spring or possible summer 2011) so the next picture is from this year just a few days ago.. 

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More junk and a winter later it is still standing strong!

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Lovely things! Pictures as Promised~

welp.. I got my walk in.. It wasn't sunny but the weather was pleasantly cool and that made for nice walking.. i did get some pics.. probably too many.. and in the future I promise to keep them fewer.. hahahaha.. I took many of these for a beginning and plan to follow them throughout the spring and summer to see how things change up and grow..Be sure to click on the photos as they show better on a bigger screen..And keep in mind these are just pictures of random landscaping and things I see on my walk.. there are a couple of pics of my own house ( and pee pee lawn).

LOVE THIS GUY"S GRASS!! it's so pretty and green.. while mine looks like someone pee'd all over it..
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This picture doesn't do the landscaping justice.. one more reason for me to get my good camera out and drag it with me..The over all look is welcoming and cute.. kind of downhome suburbia.

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This may not look great now.. but I can hardly wait til it grows and fills in over the season.

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Lovely blooming tree.. wanted to get closer but  cop car was in the driveway of this house.. hahahaha

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A 'little' over done, but I love this simply for that fact. Someone loves their front walk and I give them 5 seed packets up!

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ABSOLUTELY LOVE  this little corner of someones front yard!

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How cute is this wheelbarrow.. or whatever it is??Love the patina.. I hope later on this season there are pretty vines or flowers cascading over the sides.. I want THIS!

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The blue is stunning, especially against the washed out look of the little bench behind it and the big river pebbles around it..

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And this is my house.. click on it to open it up larger.. I need ideas or something to brighten it up.. it needs color.. 

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Closer pic of my front lawn.. see the pee pee looking grass??

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FAIL!!!

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So.. there is my walk for the day.

 More later tonight.. Loves~

Tu Tu Adorable~

So I'm just getting ready for my walk... woke up late, everything is late.. blah blah blah.. I wanted to post the picture of my handmade gift for a princess.. It's one of 2, as in I haven't made the second one yet.. as I have 2 princesses with a birthday in March...

Its a lil pink and white tutu for my granddaughter Chloe! She loves dress up!! There is also a matching headband.   The second one is purple and white, not finished so no picture yet.. soon tho..
 Loves IT!!
 I'll be back later...
 LUVZ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7aSPMEn7S0

 This is the tutorial I based my pattern from.. I didn't use ribbon tho.. I used elastic and wrapped the elastic around something round and started tying my tulle on using a double knot.. I based the amount of elastic to use on the childs waist size minus 2 inches..I love the ribbon idea but I knew my daughter would kill me if I used a ribbon and she was tying the tutus on 2 little girls alllllllllllllll the time..
 after applying allll the tulle I also went through and tied different colors of smaller ribbon throughout the tut.. and I also plumped each strip of tulle right at the knot to make it even fuller.. Its cuuute..

Kylie playing dress up~

Salsa Party~

The sun has been out for a few hours and the cottony clouds are pretty against the blue sky... this kind of weather makes for gorgeous flowers later!! I LOVE IT!! This weather is supposed to hold out through Thursday!

 As you saw from yesterdays post I had loverly Chicken Breast Tostadas for dinner.. I want to post the recipe I used for the salsa...because that's the best part, all the toppings are the best part I suppose.. but the salsa is the best of the best! Its a copy cat of Chilis Restaurant Salsa... very tasty!!

Ingredients

• 1 can tomatoes and green chilies (14.5 oz can)
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes (14.5 oz can, plus the juice)
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon jalapenos (canned, diced, not pickled)
• 1/4 cup yellow onion (diced) (Really.. that's all the onion you need!!! trust me!)
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

In food processor place jalapenos and onions. Process for just a few seconds. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, sugar, and cumin. Process all ingredients until well blended but do not puree. Place in covered container and chill. A couple of hours of chilling will help blend and enrich the flavor~

Its easy to make and equally easy to keep the ingredients on hand.. .A word of caution tho.. you will probably form an addiction.

I'll be back later tonight to share a picture of a gift I made for a princess~
see you then..
LUVZ LUVZ LUVZ~

No walk today~

Nope,  I called it last night,  no walk today. The weather is weird, sometimes it's over cast, sometimes the sun peeks through. There is just enough humidity in the air to make me fee sticky and ick. Over all the biggest reason for no walk is I'm just lazy today. I mostly want to piddle around my house, watch a little television.
   I did wander around in my own back yard, and it seems to me the leaves on my Japanese maples have exposed themselves overnight!  I walked out to a burst of pretty green and red color from my trees and bush. I love my trees,  the artful and delicate way the limbs grow, each tree has a personality of it's own and I love to watch their slow growth year after year.  I took a quick pic ...It's so amazing and hauntingly beautiful..at least until it rains again.

 Beyond loving my small outdoors, I've been fondling the idea of starting up an Etsy shop. I've always loved crafts and handmade items, It's nothing I'd try to make a living at, but more for just the pure joy of making something pretty and sharing it with the world. Finding joy is one my goals.. finding joy in everything i do..
If you've never visited Etsy before then you are truly missing out. It's kind of like an internet galleria of mini shops. Each little *shop* is owned by one person or a group of persons. Items up for sale have to be handmade or vintage. There are specific outlines but the boundaries aren't so strict that you can't enjoy making a few things and posting them to sell.  So much nicer than eBay in many ways. Cheaper to operate too. Not  trying to dis all up on eBay.. it certainly has it place.. but think of eBay as the Kmart of online biz and compare to Etsy who appears calmer and more upscale. So if you are an eBay fan don't be hatin' on me.. I'm just pointing out the difference.

http://www.etsy.com/
  If and when I open an etsy shop I will for sure post it.. but for now..I'll continue to fondle.

I have errands to run and hair to cut so I'll be back later..
Big Luvz~

Peace and Quiet

Maaaaaan, I ‘m tired tonight. I don’t think I’ll be walking in the morning as it’s raining so hard now. But who knows maybe there won’t be a morning... or maybe the sun will be out, or maybe the rain will just go away for a bit, or maybe I won’t care either way. But for now, my house is quiet except for the little doggy snores coming from Teddybear… who btw hates the rain and instead of peeing outside when I tossed him out, held it and for a brief moment when I foolishly took my eyes off of him he snuck off and pee’d in the hallway.  I found this out because I stepped in it. And you know what? HE KNEW!  He was already shaking in his lil doggie fur when I went to find him. I wagged my finger at him telling how shamey he was for piddling on the floor and, he at least had the good sense to look humiliated, staring up at me with his big, liquid brown eyes.  So I picked him up and loved on him. Bless his doggy heart.  I can’t say that I blame him much... after all who wants to pee outside in the dark, cold, rain?? I’m so weak.. lol

  There wasn’t a new episode of TRHOC on tonight! I was more than aggravated because they don’t tell you that in advance, and if they do I somehow didn’t get the mssg! I wanted to know if Vicki Gunvalson’s daughter has cancer or not. (I think she doesn’t, I googled it and  based on everything I read I think she is going to be ok, but again it’s google  so who really knows??))) Either way I wanted to HEAR it on RHOC!! I love that show, I always want to go stupidly blond after watching it!

    I am kind of tired of Vicki looking nuts and yelling at Gretchen about Slade being a dead beat dad though, but having said that if Slade does have a job and is actually paying some kind of child support why don’t they parade that info out there and just put that old debate to bed?

In the end, I enjoy watching it for several reasons, but the biggest reason is how sane they make my life look. The second biggest is, it gives my head a vacation of sorts.

   The rain is pattering and I can hear my wind chimes playing their windy music. I guess it’s time to snuggle up with my snoring dog and hope the wind doesn’t blow that stupid wheelbarrow over that I left out on the sidewalk in back…

 Good night~

Deeeeeliciousness!!

Chicken Breast Tostada

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Ok.. So I entered The Pioneer Woman giveaway. She is giving 3 iPads away and all you have to do to enter is post what you would have for dinner tonight if you could have anything you wanted. I doubt if I will win.. I never win anything, and its probably because I always doubt. The universe hears me , I know.. *sighz*.
   But anyway, I entered and just to make sure my post actually posted, I spent 30 minz searching for it, and it did. Am I detecting a touch of OCD in my behavior??? I posted for dinner I am having Chicken Breast Tostadas.. because I love MEXICAN FOOD!
 Also, I managed to get my square painted in my closet. Which isn't as huge as I made it sound in my previous post, and it isn't really square as much is it is rectangular! Stay tuned for the finished project.

If you are interested in competing with me and several thousands more ppl for 1 of  3 iPads  from Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman.. the link is below~

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/03/pw-ecookbook-ipad-giveaway/

Luvs and More Luvs~

First of all.. sorry for all the typos on my first post.

Now, today's walk was a quickie. After all of yesterdays excitement one would imagine I woke up totally pumped up to walk, but the truth is, I had to force myself to do it. However, I wasn't let down either. Again, I didn't have my camera because I forgot to charge it the night before, tomorrow I will simply take my phone and get pics with that for now..

Even tho it was overcast, windy and cold outside I still walked. After about 3 minutes.. and a farther from my house, I took in the cold wind on my face.. the smell of rain in the air and forged on. I paid less attn to the scenery and tuned into my thoughts. 

  I've been increasingly unmotivated to do ANYTHING in the last 3 or 4 months. I feel a little crazy because of it. My motto has been , "always find the joy", but it gets harder and harder each day. I guess it takes practice and respect and thoughtfulness and this all leads back to being unmotivated to do ANYTHING. It's a crazy merry-go-round.

  I suppose the fault isn't entirely my own, but I'm hesitant to use the word fault, or blame, or any word that transfers responsibility to someone or something else.

But if I did, I'd say it was the economy, my relationship with my husband, the lack of a job, or any number of things. I know there can be extenuating circumstances, but my reaction and how I deal with life is my choice, my call. So why aren't I dealing with it??

 So since I sat down to write this post, my son has text me, needs an umbrella, so I had to find that. The dogs want in and out to pee. Fed ex has just delivered golf balls. And then I had to pee. I'm thoroughly aggravated that I can't seem to be able to do ANYTHING from start to finish without stopping to do a million other little things.

This is the son who constantly calls me for everything he always forgets..BUT he is my retirement plan.. LOL so go figure~ maaaan!! I love this kid~~

and his fed ex delivered golf balls~

and these are the three amigos who endlessly need to pee, poop or wander around outside. I love them! the Yorky is Abby, the lil brown dog is my Shih Tzu, Teddybear, the white maltese is Lilybelle. 

 Anyway, I have to find ways to get my *motor vated*! So for now I am going to paint a huge square in my closet in which to use as a frame to hang necklaces so I might actually remember I have them and start wearing them. I will post pics when I am finished!

LUVZ~

Until tomorrow.. 

Some of my flowers.. it's early and we are just getting started~

~For more of a back story on this bench, click on my post titled The $6.50 Potting Bench~

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The First Day~

  I got up this morning and decided to start daily outside walking again. (as opposed to the dreaded treadmill) I've walked on and off for years... probably more off than on. The reason for walking today was mental health related....but it turned into a rediscovery of  my neighborhood, the houses, the landscaping and scenery. I love anything blooming. Actually I find beauty in the leafless skeletal tree whose form is artful and graceful as well.
  I started out with my head down and just concentrating on walking, telling myself that my lil flab roll would thank me later, and the further away from my house the higher my head lifted.
    I have driven these streets for 5 years.. noticing occasionally the change of house colors, or a for sale sign, but I never really loooooked at the small details. I also tend to stay on same route to wherever I go. I have a pretty much same plan for getting where I;m going and I stick with it. Its a small town anyway, there are different ways to get to the same place, but for whatever reason, I take the same path most of the time.
 Today, as I walked..  my eyes opened more and more.. and I started seeing spring. I looked at everyones landscaping (or the lack of) as I passed each home. Some over done, some underdone, some tastefully done, some sadly neglected. I realized I should have taken my camera with me.. another long forgotten joy and hobby I had let go to the wayside. Before I knew it I was already planning to bring it the tomorrow, on my next walk.
  So filled with the beauty of spring I got excited thinking of the flowers and trees and beauty I was going to capture that I also decided I was going to write about it, and a hundred gazillion other things. I decided to write for my self esteem, my self discovery, self forgiveness, self healing, and a hundred other self's I haven't yet figured out.
And for the first time in a very long time I am happy~

I didn't get any pics of other ppls flowers and beautylushishnous but I will be posting a few of my own favoreite things from my back yard.

LUVZ~