Visiting Old Homes

Last weekend I headed to Atlanta, my home from 1999-2001.  It's amazing how much the city has changed in the last 11 years!  I'm still catching up from being gone so not much is going on at my current house this week.  You can check out Atlanta pictures over here:  Life Outside the Loop.

Stewart Update

This weekend I got Stewart's DNA results back from Wisom Panel!  It was much faster than I expected.  He is definitely a mixed up mutt. 

Smiling after a long run around the neighborhood

There are 4 main breeds identified in his DNA and then some minor breeds that might be mixed in there as well.

Stewart is a Rottweiler/Golden Retriever Mix crossed with an Irish Terrier/Siberian Husky cross.  Crazy stuff!  He also has a little Bernese Mountain Dog, English Bull Terrier, Welsh Corgi and Great Dane in him.  Stewart, a true Heinz 57 dog. 

He likes to sleep like this

He's been doing very good.  He has met a few new friends.  Sadly he got into a little scuffle with Tucker but I don't think I'm going to have problems with him and other dogs.  We went to the vet last week and got all his shots updated.  He weighs 65 lbs! 

Hank and Stewart - Laser Puppies

Stewart and Tucker, before their disagreement



Pablo comforting Stewart and his scratches, explaining it's rude to fight with other dogs

This past weekend I boarded him for the first time and he did great!  The staff said he was quite the sweetheart.  I was pretty crazy when I got him home this morning but I think he's just happy that I came back for him. 

We start treatment for his heartworms this next month.  I can't wait to get him 100% healthy!  I've grown quite attached to this little guy (who is not so little).

Yard Update

Just when everything was starting to look good....I had a hail storm, a new dog with a penchant for "marking" and a bug rebellion hit the garden.  But all is not lost.  My roses are doing a geat job struggling against hail damage and Stewart's own special form of "watering".

After planting

Current

My lantana is really doing good.  I hadn't had the best luck with lantana in the past but I seem to be doing pretty good.

My weeding skills could use some improvement but at least the plants are all alive!  My neighbor's crape myrtle is blooming over my fence and really makes an impact on my back yard.  It also sprinkles blooms all on my seating and yard but at least it's festive.

The garden is going through a little bit of a transition. After thinking I was going to be eating squash three meals a day for the entire season...this happened.

And now it's completely dead.  I'm not sure if Stewart peed on it or if some bug got it but it's definitely gone.  I'm going to replant these squares soon.  My spinach and green pepper died after a hail beating but I haven't given up on them yet.  They may be able to come back. 

Luckily my other peppers are great, as are my tomatoes. 

I've made a few batches of salsa so far (adding store-bought onions and cilantro) and it has been great!  Yesterday I accidentally harvested the world's smallest carrot.  I think my seeds are a little close together so this guy punched up a little too soon. 

All in all things are still doing pretty good considering all the adverse conditions they have been put through.  Now I just have to figure out what I want to replace my dead squash squares.  And then teach Stewart on to pee on it.

More Free Greenery

We have been having some good turnover with plants at our office.  Most either outgrow the pots they are occupying or just start looking sad because the don't get natural light.  Fluorescent lighting doesn't really take the place of the good ol' sun.

This go round I found a Mother-In-Laws Tongue and a sad tree sitting by the trash in the kitchen.  Both were a little sad looking but had potential.  The tree even had a few new leaves blooming.  I tossed the MIL Tongue into a random pot I had in the backyard.

It's hanging out in my kitchen right now.  The dogs have been ignoring it so hopefully it will perk up soon.  I bought a cheap plastic pot for the tree.  I couldn't find anything I really like so i figured at least this pot is spray-paintable if I so decide.

I've got it in the dining room, hopefully sucking in sun from the front window.  He's not the prettiest plant, but I have faith! 

Bring on the Color Pops

This past weekend was all about color.  I had a shelf full of spray paint and wasn't afraid to use it.  First I tackled my T, E, and S with Rich Plum.

Much better than the black version that just blended into the sideboard.  I went pretty bold with my large mirror and painted it Fire Orange.

It is a pretty bright reddish-orange.  It's definitely loud.  I'm still getting used to it but so far I'm digging it.  The bowl on my table was recently ordered from CB2.com and ended up being a great pop of yellow.  And it works good with the random Z Gallerie yellow flowers that I threw on the table along with some mercury glass votive candle holders.

I'm not very good with tablescapes so I'll probably just shuffle things around until I find something that's perfect or I get bored.  I originally bought this mirror vase and flowers to go on the table when I was at Z Gallerie.

It's funny how things can look so small in a large store and then you bring it home and put it on your table...and laugh at how ridiculously oversized it is for your room.  But I love it so now it just lives on the floor.  My other new addition to my dining room is Mr & Mrs Muse.

I finally got to go by the Dallas Jonathan Adler store and had to buy something.  Most of it was way out of my price range but Mr & Mrs Muse weren't.  They are actually salt and pepper shakers but I'm going to pretend they're art. I think they rock and are right at home in my crazy dining room.

The Master Bath Just Got Classier

Now that the bathroom in my bedroom is all redone, I was starting to feeling guilty about the fact that I wipe my hands on my bath towels.  I guess this is fine for me, but I figure if a guest uses my bathroom they might feel a little guilty about it.  Plus I don't really want other people using the towels I use after a shower.

My plan was to install a hand towel rack near the sink.  This means attaching it to the cabinet since I'm limited in space.  I snapped a towel ring up at Target for $10.

I had to drill through the cabinet to attach it but I was okay with that.  Overall it was pretty easy.  I had made Nutella Banana Bread before getting started and I finished before my oven timer went off.

I picked up the cute hand towel at West Elm.  My bath rug and curtain are from West Elm as well so I figured it would be easy to find something that would match.  I loved the stamped on 'S'.  If anyone loves a monogram, it's me. 

If you look at the top of my toilet, I picked something else up at West Elm.  There were on clearance...and they had my initials so of course I couldn't resist.

So now I have a classy bathroom and my guests no longer have to wipe their hands on their pants.  Oh, and that Nutella Banana Bread turned out awesome!  I highly recommend it.

Unholy Wall

I spent much a the last few weeks literally watching paint dry.  I tried to be productive between coats of paint in the bathroom and on the dining room furniture.  I figured it would probably be a good time to finally fix the gaping holes in my living room walls, left by my good ol' Previous Owner.  It has become apparent throughout the house that PO did not own a stud finder and instead prefered the old fashioned method of trial and error.

These 6 holes in my living room wall were a perfect example.  I could actually stick my fingers inside these huge things.  And as you can see, I painted around them pretty carelessly.  I figured I would either cover up the problem with art or fix it down the road.  I guess PO isn't the only lazy person in this story.  So while trim and walls and table and chairs were drying around the house, I went to work with the pink goop.

While this all dried, I went back to my other projects.  A few days later I managed to sand everything down and slap on some paint.

The holes are now magically gone, like it never even happened.  That pink stuff is amazing.   I will no longer have to answer questions about the massive holes in my wall.  At least in this room.  I think I still have some pretty big ones in my office.