Category Archives: Front yard
Summer lantana
I have been enjoying our front porch garden so much this summer. Nothing makes me smile as much as our orange and pink lantana. It is the prettiest color combo.
As Nate put it, it’s like rainbow sherbet. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it does fit. 
Rainy May?
Well, obviously my plans for warm weather were a little premature. Currently we are in middle of a big storm that even shut down the Amgen bike tour for a day and a half.
Can you see the tiny hail balls? These little guys are about as weather crazy as it gets here in Sacramento. But hail in mid-May? That’s plain insanity.
Luckily, Nate knocked out the trim right before the storm came in. We chose our favorite Behr white – Frost for the window and door trim.
The front porch is coming right along. Now, we need to get some plants in the flower bed and finish the look.
This includes the bed along the full length of the house as soon as the weather improves. I am still thinking a mixture of grasses and shade tolerant flowers. Perhaps some ferns in the porch bed.
And for a bit of fun
Here’s us hamming it up at Senior Ball Saturday night. Nate and I usually chaperone two dances a year and the formals are our favorite. There’s a lot less drama and of course its fun to see everyone dressed up.
Our mailbox looks good
I caught myself saying the title of this post as I drove to work this morning. Boy am I a dork. But our new mailbox really does look fabulous.
Here’s a comparison shot of the old vs. new mailboxes. There is certainly a difference in size. Is this a reflection of how mail has changed in format since 1952? I really don’t know the answer to that, but it does make me wonder.
After removing the old mailbox, Nate and I decided where to hang the new one.
With concrete block construction, it is much easier to drill into the mortar than the actual block. After we picked the proper alignment, Nate drilled holes and then we installed the mailbox.
The mailbox came with an optional privacy screen. Here’s with the privacy screen – kinda blah, but I am sure it necessary for some homes and apartments.
And here’s the mailbox without it – much better! We decided to leave it out to show off the decoration since we were not too worried about people taking our mail.
So there you go. A few more projects and I think we may have a kick-ass front entry on our hands. Watch out!
What a tax refund bought me
I was really lucky to get a tax refund this year. I decided to spend it on two purchases I have been thinking about for quite awhile.
A new mailbox
First up is a new mailbox for our entryway. Its been hard for me to find a nice looking, long lasting mailbox. I first tried to update the original one with a new coat of paint, but it isn’t holding up. If it was the right size, I may have spent the time refinishing it again, but we really wanted a larger mailbox that could hold periodicals. So the search began.
What we were looking for in a mailbox:
- Modern, but house appropriate
- Wall mounted
- Stainless steel or Brushed nickel
- Big enough to hold periodicals
- Well made
My quest lead me to the Salsbury Stainless Steel Mailbox. I love the satin stainless steel finish and the decorative pattern across the front. Although for $80 it is an investment, its going to do wonders for our curb appeal. It’s just fabulous and can’t wait for it to arrive in the mail.
Vitamix Blender
Next up, is a huge purchase for me. A new blender. For someone who has a smoothie for breakfast almost every day, a blender is a necessity.
I have been contemplating buying a Vitamix blender for quite sometime. The $400-500 price tag was very difficult for me to justify. Really, for a blender?
Well, last week my one year old Black & Decker blender went kaput and I had to figure out what to do. Do I buy another “cheap” model or do I bite the bullet and invest in a Vitamix? Although it is a steep price, the Vitamix really was the best option for me.
Reasons why I purchased the Vitamix 5200:
- 7 year warranty
- Power – a whooping 2+ peak hp motor
- Amazing reviews on Amazon
- Makes my daily smoothie quickly
- Replaces my food processor
- Replaces my coffee grinder
- Can “Dry” blend to create meals & flours
- Makes nut butters & soup
Hands down the Vitamix can just do more things than the average blender. I like multipurpose appliances. I don’t have the space nor money to spend on many appliances.
I like the reliability. The Vitamix brand has been around since 1937. I can’t think of another machine I own that has a 7 year warranty. If I am going to pay the big bucks than I expect it to last all 7 years if not longer.
So after much deliberation, on Monday I took a big breath and purchased the Vitamix CIA Professional Countertop Blender on Amazon.
Later that same day, I stopped by Costco and found basically the same model for $100.00 less. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two, is 1) the CIA branding, 2) a 20 Recipes and Techniques from the CIA Master Chefs cookbook and 3) the color selection. So, I purchased it and am returning the Amazon model.
I have used my Vitamix for breakfast smoothies the last two mornings since I purchased it. I have to say I am impressed. What took me about 5-10 minutes of cutting up fruit and mixing the contents when the blender “froze”, now takes about 2 minutes. This thing pulverizes ice in seconds. Looking over the standard cookbook, I can’t wait to try out soup, dip and even making my own flours.
Overall, I am very excited about my two purchases. Although its a lot of money to spend, I do know that I will be enjoying both purchases for years to come. And you know that the Federal government is thrilled that I used my refund to stimulate the economy.
Spring is here
With the warming temperatures, Nate and I tackled a few more items both on and off our Spring To-do List.
Trimming the tree. (NOT on The List)
Our poor dogwood had a butcher of a trim job years ago that resulted in some gnarly limbs. I really wanted to get this guy pruned before its leaves came in.
Luckily, my parents are experts at this sort of thing and came over with a chainsaw to help me get the situation under control. There are still two giant branches that will need to come down, but at least we made some progress.
Painting the Front Door (ON The List)
Our new front door is pretty on its own. Everyone loves the orange color of the front, but the back was a little too cream for us. Nate painted it our favorite white – Frost from Behr.
Install Door Knocker (NOT on The List)
I purchased this door knocker from Anthropologie about a year ago for our old door. It’s been waiting to be installed since.
I think it works so well against the orange door. Plus without a door bell it is very functional. It was so satisfying to get this up!
Removing the remaining glue from the kitchen floor
(ON The List)
Last year, I removed most of the glue from our kitchen floor. You can read all about the process here. I have been meaning to move the stove and fridge to finish the project since. It only took a couple of hours to soak the adhesive and scrape it off.
Painting the bathroom counter apron. (ON The List)
This was one of final projects for our bathroom. The apron was installed after filming Bath Crashers and still needed a couple coats of polyurethane. Again, this project took a couple hours to sand, paint and waiting for each coat to dry. I pretty much moved from back and forth between the kitchen and bathroom to get both done.
Painting the pocket door. (ON The List)
We have a pocket door between the dining room and mini hallway. This came in very handy during the Bath Crashers shoot. We sequestered the cats in the back part of the house to keep them out of trouble.
Nate doesn’t think we have enough color in the house. He said everything is green, blue and grey so he painted the pocket door a lovely cranberry color (that totally works with the cool tones in the rest of the house). Now, he has easy access to a shot of color whenever he needs it!
Woo! It feels good to check off these hanging projects! We only got a few more weeks until Nate’s Spring Break to finish the list.
Dreaming of Mondo Grass
The last two weeks have been a blur. I had a nasty flu that turned into a equally nasty cold. Thank god for Netflix and Hulu so I could spend countless hours with these guys in my Sudafed haze.
I have also been dreaming about my gardens. Nate and I are so ready to finishing painting the exterior trim around the windows now that the weather is getting warmer. I can’t wait to plant our empty flower beds in the front yard.
What do you think of black mondo grass, green forest grass and some cascading pink and purple flowers?
For the sake of art
I woke up to a foggy, winter wonderland this morning. The fog was deliciously dense. The kid in me wanted to stay and play. Bummer, I had to go to work instead.
Luckily, the drive was pretty spectacular.
I propped up my camera on the steering wheel and took a few photos.
Which was certainly not defensive driving. Perhaps it may even be reckless.
But the drive through the park was so dramatic. I was compelled to capture it.
Caution be damned.
