Welcome Fall

The fall wreath is only part of our fall doorstep.  It barely seemed to stop raining in September, hence the wet, overcast photos. 

 I've never seen two-toned mums, I had to get the purple and yellow ones! I'm hoping they'll be hardy enough to come back next fall. 

                  

I've never planted ornamental kale but these green and purple ones seem fun.

We loved these little (non-eatable) peppers.  They were used in the awesome Bellagio conservatory display from our frist wedding anniversary trip.  And they can come inside once the cool weather hits. So fun! 

 

Do you have any favorite fall flowers?

Campy

Have you ever had a Camp Pie?  Have you ever even heard of a Camp Pie?   Until a few weeks ago, we hadn't either.  Then we went to our very DIY-savvy friends' house.  That afternoon they had built a lovely firepit.  Our friend is from upstate NY where, apparently, camp pies are traditional.

sorry- photo was with my iphone and there is no "after"...wait till later in the fall season, I have a feeling there will be more camp pies in our future 

What is a camp pie?  Well according to dictionary.com, it is an Australian word "tinned meat".  Clearly we were not enjoying tinned meat.  A camp pie is 2 pieces of bread with a filling- they can be sweet or savory.  On this particular night we enjoyed pizza camp pies (shredded motz and pizza sauce) and apple camp pie (canned apple pie filling).   

They were tasty and I already have ideas for different combos: Nutella with...well anything, using croissant dough, using cinnamon bread, etc.

Want to make your own Camp Pie???  This site is dictated to Camp Pies.

What camp fire food do you like?  Really, I want to know...my friend is planning a camp fire dessert party.

A La Cart

While I was busy painting the outdoor tables and chairs, I heard the saw going.  John had decided we needed an outdoor bar.  I wasn't sure if we needed a bar, but it certainly would be helpful to have a prep, serving and storage space for grilling and summer-time entertaining.

We added casters so it could really be multi-functional. 

Three hooks and a bottel opener are nice additional features.

 That white hose is a special potable hose, so that it is safe to drink from.  It is the same hoses as on RV's.  The flower pot is to catch excess water.

I've asked a for a swim-up bar to be the next project.

Memorial Day

Part of our holiday weekend was spent car shopping (my transmission died, and it isn't worth fixing)...but most of it was spent like this

actually most of the time people (and dogs) were in the water, this was after Monday's dinner.  

I made a delicious strawberry rhubarb pie.  

What did you do with your long weekend?

Getting Ready For The Season

Oh, my-where have I been?!  A whole month flew by without a post- opps.  I've been up to a lot (not blogging clearly), so I have much to share in the coming weeks...get excited!

One thing we've been busy doing is working on our curb appeal.  Chester has found a new way to help with the gardening.




And we John spent a week getting the pool ready.  Our holiday weekend plans are to lay around the pool- Chester is already enjoying it.  (he was so excited to have it open again, he has been doing nightly laps)

How are you spending the three day weekend?  

Whatever you do- have fun and stay safe!

Blooms

Our Clematis is blooming!  And it is slowly being trained and climbing the post.

Have a great weekend!

Front Yard

Before I share all the projects my mom and I completed, I need to show off some of John's hard work. A few weeks ago, I shared this "teaser" image. 

This is the exterior of our house as seen last spring.  The two sides are mirror images.

Early this spring John removed 8 bushes/trees from our yard, so we had a blank slate.

Notice the changes?  One thing that never changes- can't get Chester to move out of picture.  

We hung new shutters- they are a different color (black instead of white) and the panel style (we had the slates before) and are correctly sized.  We also replanted the front beds. 

I hope everything grows fast!!  The poor ivy is almost dwarfed by the flowers!

The bed on the right side is longer, which is why it has the evergreen at the end (see photo above) but otherwise they are identical.  Next to the steps are dwarf albert spruces then two Korean boxwoods and finally variegated holly.  In front of the bushes are purple creeping phlox.    

How is your yard work going?

Addendum and Travel News

John so enjoyed driving the boat on during our little sailing adventure, he has now decided he wants to own a boat. I'd just like to get the house thing settled.

In other news, we are taking off for the Windy City in the morning! Be back in a week! :)

photo

4th of July

To celebrate July 4^th, we took an extended long weekend to the Roanoke area of southwestern Virginia to visit John's family. While there we spent a day on the warm waters of Smith Mountain Lake. We rented a little motorboat; it was Chester's first boating experience. He loved it! After all it is a combination of his two favorite activities- swimming and riding in the car with windows down and sunroof open! Even with sunburn, it was a wonderful day!

Summertime Classics

Last night we took part in summertime classic, a (Red Soxs) baseball game. Even though, it was a bit warm, it was a really nice time. And for the 1st time (in two years) the Nationals (huh, what DC has a baseball team?) played in a sold out stadium. They put in a decent effort, but of course the Soxs won.

*** Notice our conflicting hats! ;)

Spring Crafts

Last year I spent time enhancing our backyard area, by late August it was pretty decent.  But there was one last thing I really wanted to add.....outdoor lights.  Not hard to find or pricy right?!  There are lots of great options and either of these would be super.

both photos- Pottery Barn

There was just one thing standing in my way- we have no outdoor outlet.  So I was very excited, when shopping with my mom, to find battery operated paper lanterns. 

They were perfect but a bit plain and unsummery for my taste, I had to add my own personal touch. 

Cute, fast, cheap and perfectly coordinating with my outdoor decor.  

We also found a nice springy, gauzy green table runner.  It also needed a bit of 

Leigh-bellishment.

It was such a nice treat to spend a day shopping and crafting with my mom!

Tourist Season

Early spring in DC means cherry blossoms, which is a synonym for tourist season. However, this year was a little different, my parents came to visit.  We (and many others) did the typical tourist things- saw the cherry blossoms, and visited the American history museum.