Big XII Battle

My neighbors to the right have had a yard flag out since I moved in.  Most notably during football season when they hang their OU flag.  This past year I got new neighbors on the other side and they now have been displaying a Baylor flag.  Well, that was all it took for me to decide I needed to represent UT out in the front yard.  While I was at Gardenridge grabbing my new chaise cushion, I found the yard stake for $10.  They didn't have college flags but I did grad a basic "S"...

And then I also got an American flag for holidays.  It flew out front this past Memorial Day weekend.

I now have 93 days to locate a Longhorn flag so that I'll be ready for our first game.  I'll show those Sooners and Bears!

Gardening Continues

I really thought I was done buying plants for the backyard after I got all of this done.

 

Yes, there was a lot of blank space but I was counting on several of the items to grow.  But then I saw Whitney's shade garden this weekend and experienced some envy.  I should have taken a picture but just trust me, it looked magazine worthy.  So off to Home Depot I went.

Biscuit was stalking squirrels as I was trying to take these pictures.  I basically added 3 more hosta, 1 addition coralbell and 2 "Tropicanna" Cannas.  The cannas should grow to about 4 feet, provided I don't kill them.  My goal it to hide the ugly gas meter with leafy plants.  I think I may also paint it brown so it blends in more. Most of the things I've planted have the potential to triple in size so fingers crossed!

My wonderful plant out front spouted a baby this season.  Since that plant already gets so huge in the summer, I dug up the offshoot and moved it to the back.

You can see it lying in the dirt in the upper right corner.  I'm hoping it perks up soon.

This thin fuzzy plant is the beginning of my asparagus endeavors.  I've had a few of these shoots sprout up somewhat overnight.  It should be interesting to see how they produce.  Other than that, I'm starting to see blooms on my squash and pepper plants and tomatoes are coming in strong.

I have high hopes for the back yard this year.  It helps that the roses are now so well established and low maintenance.  I'll have some updates on the front yard later this week.

 

Target Continues to Get Me

A few weeks ago I was walking through Target and let out an audible gasp.  I found that they were now carrying paint and removable wallpaper. This picture is sideways but you get the idea.

 

 

 

I had no idea where I needed wallpaper in my house, but I knew I needed it.  I bought one roll of the turquoise Moroccan print and a small paint sampler.  The roll was 20" wide and 16.5' long so I was pretty limited in what I could do with one roll.  I literally walked around my house holding it up to things until I got to my guest room and stopped.

 

 It looked awesome with the bedspread.  I didn't have enough to do a whole wall so I started brainstorming.  I considered doing just the bottom half on the wall and have it act as a sort of headboard.  Then I remembered the scrap of wood in my garage from when I converted the metal trash bin holder into a table.

 It was perfect!  I wanted to paint the edges and went ahead and gave the whole thing a coat of paint thinking that would help the paper stick.  It was so easy to stick on and create an insta-headboard.

 I've been having fun with my scraps too.  I lined the drawers in the guest room.

 I backed the shelves in my closet.  It made me want to wallpaper the whole closet.



 

I also have a test piece hanging in the kitchen.  If I found a cute pattern, it'd be an easy way to cover up my backsplash until the Magic Genie of Home Renovation delivers my Kitchen Remodel Fund*. 

This paper really has so many possibilities.  It's $30 a roll so it would add up quick for a large project but it doesn't take much to make a big impact in a room.  I really have no frame of reference as far as what regular wallpaper costs but considering this stuff is already stick and can be removed without causing damage to surfaces, I really can't see myself going that route.

*No such Genie exists.  Sigh.

Cushion Down!

Most of the winter I've been noticing white fluffy polyfil littered around the back yard.  I kept assuming Biscuit was taking the guts out of her toys and either bringing them outside or "eliminating" them in the yard.  That is, until I noticed this:

It seems squirrels and/or birds have been picking stuffing out from my chaise cushion and using it for nests.  Do squirrels have nests?  Maybe it's just birds but I like to blame squirrels for things.  Luckily I wasn't too attached to this cushion.  I snapped it up on clearance at the end of a season and never really liked the colors.  I couldn't find any affordable cute cushions at Home Depot or Lowe's so this weekend I headed out to Gardenridge.  I swear their cushion selection and pricing can't be beat.  I picked up this cheerful cushion on sale for $23! 

 

It looks so much better than its predecessor.  And if I kill of my real flowers, at least I will have some blooms in the back yard.  I guess I should thank the squirrels, as much as that pains me.

Backyard Planting Finished

After a ridiculous number of trips to Home Depot and Lowe's, I am finally done planting in the back yard.  This weekend I finished the last of the pots.  Hopefully I can get everything established before the crazy heat sets in for the summer.  I also added new rugs, since the cheap and fun plastic rugs I buy for the back tend to disintegrate after a year.

 My tomatoes are growing like mad.  I've also got some peppers, squash, asparagus and various herbs attempting to grow.

 I got several perennials for this corner that I'm really hoping become permanent.  Meaning, I hope I don't kill them.  My hydrangea is doing so much better than the last one I tried! 

 

The pots have quite a variety of annuals in them.  I know geraniums always work for me but I tried to add in some new stuff as well.

 I bought a mandevilla vine for my trellis (since I killed the previous vine) and until it starts growing, I'm using my solar IKEA bird lights to decorate.  They are pretty cute.

 

Hopefully with a dedication to watering, I will keep the yard looking great!

Backyard...Another Year Later