Random photos

Seems that I've been lagging behind again with blog posting.  There's been so much happening!  I actually started taking an online course for Home Staging.  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do it yet - I'm assuming it's not an easy job to get into.  If I can just somehow tackle homes going up for sale here in our neighborhood - maybe that will be a good start. Who knows, it's a 6 weeks course and it seems to be going rather quickly and I'm not really sure if I will be actually ready to start working once completing this short course??!  

Anyhow, that's probably my least concern for now.  I actually signed up for the golf qualifier for the U.S. Women's Open!  The qualifier will be later in June, the 7th to be exact.  So there's really not that much time to get in shape for it.  It's not just trying to get my game into shape but also to physically get my body in shape because it's going to be 36 holes in 1 day! Yikes!

In the meantime, here are some projects that's been going on around the house. Mostly indoor planting and organizing as Bob's brother came by for a quick visit.  So obviously we had to get this house in order.

I found a couple of jars to put our new spices in (we bought these at Finley Market in Cincy during Spring Break). I mixed the Parmageddon with the Garlic Goodness blend and that seems to be our Go-to spice now.  Smells so good. Yum!

It's always so dark by the front door (upstairs).  This is where the boys leave for school and where all the jackets are being hung.  I finally decided to make something out of this LED string light.  It's almost like art splayed out on the floor. Ha!

... which totally gave me an idea!  I love how Charlie loves to help because most of the time when I do ask him to help me, he would almost immediately start whining about it! I can't imagine what he will be like once he is a teenager. Yikes!

Okay, it's suppose to say "hi".  It's almost looking like it, but if anything - it's a lot brighter during the morning and evenings when we need just that little bit of light. Mission accomplished with a little bit of art and creativity :-D

We were debating about getting the boys a new bunk bed.  We saw this one at a store that was going out of business, but even so, it was still rather expensive. And they wanted quite a lot for delivery and setup too. So looks like they will just have their old bunk beds for now:

Nothing like trying to find more space to put more stuff.  This closet by the front door is large but rather awkward because there's actually a lot of space further inside the closet, but it's rather difficult to get to:

Finally figured out what to do with those metal shelves that you put together.  So many shoes!!! And we've accumulated so many more because of the rain and snow. Sheesh!

Added more hooks behind the door too. Yes, those handbags are all mine. Ha ha!

And oh, check out the ice-cream scoop that we bought from Graeter's.  It's an awesome one! We actually just had to throw out our old one so this one was the perfect replacement :-)

Graham and Charlie still loves doing those handi-kits from the local hardware store. It was so busy at the store to do it, so we've brought them home:

The kit was for a birdhouse. Once we have them painted and hung on a tree somewhere, we'll be sure to share a photo of it! In the meantime, this one already has a tenant :-)

And here's something to chat about - Japanese strawberries.  11 strawberries for $30??! Woah!!! If I didn't say no (like 3 times), Bobby would have totally bought it:

Another sewing project - Bobby ripped his pant's pocket. And coincidentally we got this iron-on patch from one of the boys' comic book (Cat Kid).  He's going to be the talk of the town with this one. Ha ha!

Okay, just mostly plant updates from here on out.  I'm desperately trying to save this one that I had bought from the post-orchid sale.  Looking a bit droopy and sad:

This one seems rather happy. I've been using some of that coconut husk that I had bought recently to use as a pathway for the boys on the deck. I really like how it has a lot of aeration for the plants:

I'm not sure if this little orchid is going to make it.  I didn't realize the roots had mostly rotted out:

I'm going to have to find a different spot to work on my indoor plants but as of right now, the dining room/table seems to be a good spot:

Bought another one of these, let's hope this one will survive compared to the one I overwatered and drowned. Oops!

Trying out this coconut husk again.  I've sort of created a hybrid of sorts from the Japanese Kokedama (minus the moss). I'm kinda liking this.  I wonder if I could sell these??!

I've tied it in a way that it can be hung too:

I had originally planned to buy a fancy trellis for the ivy plant in the guess room.  But while organizing, I found a bunch of old TV cables.  Well, who knew that these old TV cables can be formed perfectly into a trellis!.  I just shoved the end bit of it into the soil:

If you look closely then you'd see those writings on the cable.  So ya, don't look so close. Ha ha!

Ta da!! Looks pretty good! :-D

As for some of the outdoor plants, I was shocked to see new leaves/growth on these dead branches. What??!

So I've found out that these are called Annabelle hydrangeas and you can either trim off all these branches or leave them. But since the new leaves are already growing, I'm just going to pick off the dead flowers. And there's a lot of them:

I loves seeing the new white flowers from the Bradford Pear trees from the kitchen window:

These yellow ones are pretty too - I've forgotten what they are called now:

We have 2 cherry blossom trees! I'm so happy and excited!!!

And the tulips I planted are coming up:

And these little ones too. I thought for sure the squirrel took away all of those seeds when I had planted them in late winter:

Here's another photo of the cherry blossom up close. So pretty! Makes me so happy :-)

I finally planted the two blueberry plants in the ground. I hope they survive the night tonight - it's going to be a low of 31F tonight. Geez! What is up with this weather!!

One day, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with this spot. It's looking rather messy right now. I still can't figure out what's weed and what's not since the weeds can be so pretty sometimes too with their flowers. Ha ha!

We did buy some corn and zucchini seeds recently so maybe we can use some of this space for that. Hopefully HOA won't complain about the corn growing in our front yard.  He he!!

Oh, I planted some flowering shrubs for butterflies too. Maybe I should have bought the actual plants versus these really younglings. I hope these survive the cold and I keep forgetting to water them too since it's on the other side of the house.  Oops!

I bought some pansies and other greenery for the front planters.  Here's the before:

And here's the after.  Love some of that fresh color in there with the pansies:

I have these covered for tonight. I thought we are already into Spring. What's up with this cold temperatures??!