The Side Yard

Behold the disaster zone...

Our side flower bed had been neglected all summer - and by neglected I mean 4' thorny trees weeds had overtaken it.  So this past weekend (while we were getting carpet replaced - pics to come!), I got up close and personal with those weeds.  The short version is this: we cleared them out, dug out the black edging tube, realigned a few bushes and laid the weed block fabric.  (Read: lots of work, sweat, and sore muscles.)  We decided it would look good to have a row of stones along the wall, and cover the rest with mulch.  I'm so proud of how it looks now!  And also happy that it's relatively low-maintenance...  Every time we pull into the driveway, I sneak around to admire it.  Here's the after!

DIY Vintage-style Art

On our recent trip to London, I spotted a tea towel for $15.  Maybe expensive for a tea towel, but not for a piece of art!  I loved the graphic design and the colours.  Recently I've been loving vintage maps and art, especially the ones with wood frames like this one:

When I saw this tea towel, I had the idea to DIY my own version of a wall hanging.  So we bought a piece of wood dowel (I'm pretty sure it was 1/2" - but you could use whatever thickness you want), brought it home and used some leftover stain on it.  Then I literally krazy glued the tea towel to it.  I left a bit of overhang on each end.

Now it's hanging in that empty spot at the coffee/tea station!