The Red, White, and Blue

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, and fun Fourth of July weekend!!

How My Garden Grows (in the heat)

Please excuse the glare, it's been a little sunny here.

So, everything has been growing like crazy, although with the heat they seem to have slowed down a bit.

The daylillies are blooming!

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And so are the daisies!! Hard to believe they were teeny-tiny just a couple months ago.

On another note, don't you hate it when your nail gets a tear in it and you have to cut it off?? Just when my nails were looking nice...

At least I won't be missing many outdoor activities this weekend when I'm inside doing my nails.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Outdoor Inspiration

Okay, so if I did live someplace cooler - like, say the Pacific Northwest right now - then I could be outdoors enjoying places like these... without melting.

This last image would be perfection. A pretty arbor with a nice hammock underneath.

*pictures from: Domino, Domino, Cathy Kincaid Interiors, Southern Living, Domino

How My Garden Grows: An Update

This was my garden a little over a month ago...

And this is it now...

Things are finally starting to grow and get fuller.

My calla lillies have come up and are blooming!

My blue pin-cushion flowers were kind of small...

And now they are big!

The paprika yarrow has just exploded and is huge!

The peach tree is coming along, although we only have 1 peach on it for this year. My daisies, purple coneflowers, and the chinese orchids are still left to bloom, so there's still more to come!

Happy Tuesday!

Hot

Our air-conditioner at work is broken. So I'm keeping this image in my mind, and a tiny fan on at my desk. Here's hoping the guys who "fixed" it yesterday will be back very soon to really fix it this time.

I think that I would much rather be in the picture above than just about anywhere. You?

Have a great weekend!

Pimpin' Out the Porch

Our back porch is nothing to get excited about. Unfortunately, the only thing it has in common with this space is that it's also long and somewhat narrow.

Now that it's warmer and we're spending more time outdoors, I'm on a mission to spruce it up a bit. The new-to-us used furniture from some family friends is really really nice.... but not the most comfortable. And it's not the prettiest shade of brown, either. So I'm going to start with some cushions and pillows:

These are from World Market - inexpensive and colorful. Fun.

We could also use a new rug or mat by the back door. How fun would something like this be??

Accessories... I love lanterns and candles. And pots full of plants. And twinkle lights. And old signs on the walls. Brightly colored cushions. And stone ornaments and statuary.

Hopefully soon our back patio can look something like this: inviting and comfortable.

Have a great weekend!!!

Pictures from: Cote de Texas, World Market, World Market, Dash & Albert, Ballard Designs, Pottery Barn, My Home Ideas, Martha Stewart

This was Texas, y'all

Last Tuesday it was my birthday (woo), so I took a couple days off from work and everything to veg and ostensibly get some things done around the house (which, surprise!...didn't happen). I was lazy, and it was nice.


Once I went back to work, I had some catching up to do, and then THIS all hit. 12.5-inches of snow in one day! In TEXAS! Fun fact: they don't carry snow shovels in the stores here. Oh, and snow plows? Nope. We have sand-trucks.

What was sad to see was all the beautiful large live oak trees breaking under the weight of the snow. Live oaks are evergreen, so the leaves allowed more snow to accumulate on them. We had so many towering trees splintering and bowing over, which then led to massive power outages and road blockages.

But, the snow was so pretty, and such an unusual sight here!!! It took about 3 days for it to really melt off. In fact, if you look, there are still a few very very small patches here and there that still haven't melted!

So, what to do when you're stuck at home with sometimes flickering power and a foot of snow on the ground?

And so now I'm playing catch-up again at work...

Still alive....

Promise to have a real post up soon!

Fall colors

It's finally starting to feel like fall around here.
It's too bad we don't get quite the color show that other parts of the country get.

Right now, this is my desktop wallpaper - I love it. Can you imagine driving down this road like this?

You don't really see covered bridges in Texas. This one is beautiful. Maybe this is what the one in Sleepy Hollow looks like.

Snow mixed in with fall leaves?? This is definitely not Texas.

This is what I feel like doing today, when it's rainy and kind of cold!

I found this cuteness over on Etsy. My chihuahua would love it.

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. I feel better today as last night I was able to sort out, organize, and de-clutter our medicine cabinet, as well as under our sinks! That gave me a big sense of accomplishment. I know everyone gets down once in a while, but I try to remember how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. And some of the internet connections I've made on here are part of why I can feel so lucky. Thanks :-)

Is it hot enough for you?

Detailed Local Forecast

Today: Plenty of sunshine. Very hot. High 106F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Warm. Low 81F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow: A mainly sunny sky. Hot. High 104F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow night: Clear. Low 79F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.

Wednesday: More sun than clouds. Highs 100 to 104F and lows in the low 80s.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs 98 to 102F and lows in the upper 70s.

Friday: Scattered thunderstorms possible. Highs in the mid 90s and lows in the mid 70s.

Just in case some of you in, I don't know.... anywhere but here, think it's hot outside. Thank Jesus you haven't lived in Texas the last few weeks. Or, for the next couple. It's freaking hot. Like, get-into-your-car-that-has-light-gray-upholstered-seats-and-still-burn-yer-ass-hot.

I know, I know, I live here. Have lived here for over 20 years. Shouldn't gripe - I know what's coming when summer rolls around. But I think this summer is one of the worst that I can remember. It's just brutal out there (and it's a Monday) and I just needed to gripe to somebody.
So, thank you.

You may go and enjoy your air-conditioning now.

P.S. - I like how today is described as "Very Hot", but tomorrow is only labeled regular ol' "Hot" because it's only going to be 104!!

Our weekend adventure

This past weekend we drove out to Wilson, TX (pop. 562) for our niece's 2nd birthday party and to spend some time with Chris' side of the family.

Wilson is just about 20 miles outside of Lubbock, and is a good 5 hour drive for us from Dallas/Fort Worth area. What a drive!

Unfortch, I did not take out my camera to take pictures along the way because in all the previous times I've tried, they..... well, they sucked. So, these pictures are not from me (as if you couldn't tell because they are actually pretty good!).

To give you a better description of the area to an outsider, which I am to this part of Texas, I found this account on another blog that I thought really summed it up well:

Yesterday began southeast of Lubbock with a nice sunrise to the left and dense fields of cotton to the right. Smell was the dominant sense, though, as I passed through a long dusty cloud emanating from a compost factory. Whew. That was followed by long sulfur-y miles, apparently due to the petroleum being produced at closely spaced pump jacks.

This is not to say that it stinks out there - it really doesn't. It's just that you'll get these "whiffs" from time to time. It's a dry and pretty flat terrain, with cap rocks and wide valleys. You can see for miles and miles.

Along the way, just as you pass out of Abilene, you will start seeing and come across the "wind farms". Giant windmills to harness wind energy for electricity. Did you know that Texas produces the most wind power of any state?? This picture below doesn't do justice to the sheer size of these things!

This is ONE blade being transported.

All in all, we had a great - albeit HOT - weekend. It was nice to get out of town and see his family, and I can brag that my cooing/moving baby-doll present was a hit with our niece!

Picture credits: Photos 1 & 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photos 5 & 8, Photos 6 & 7

Outdoor living

On beautiful days like this, where it's sunny and about 70 perfect degrees outside, with the daffodils starting to come up, I start itching to get outside!

I'm what I would call a "fair-weather" gardener. Just like a fair-weather friend, I really only like to garden when it's like this. Mostly, I love to create. It's the upkeep, while it's 100 degrees out, that's not so fun.
This year I'd really like to focus on our back yard and porch. Right now it's not very pretty. There's some grass that's grown into the monkey grass that needs to be weeded, and there are patches in the monkey grass that need to be filled. Add to that the weeds in the yard, the 3 bushes that need to be transplanted to a sunnier location, and a couple bushes still in plastic pots... well, you get the idea.
But, it's always fun to look and lust and get ideas, so I've pulled a few images that inspire me. A few that I wouldn't mind having out my back door (especially the second one).



Is anyone else starting to gear up and tackle their yard or porch area??

*above pictures of outdoor spaces from Domino!