Bon Bini Back

Ahoy there!  Yes, ahoy-when one spends two weeks in Aruba, removed from all aspects of social media and doing nothing but beach lounging, snorkeling, and gorging on fabulous food, one is permitted to speak as if adrift in the sparkly blue waters of the Caribbean sea. 

I swear i actually forgot how to drive my first day back.  This pedal does what now?  Did my car always make this noise?  And work--what is that?  Oy, i wish every day was a vacation day! 

Pictures, you say?  Well sure, i'll show you some pictures.

The Mill-a very budget friendly and incredibly convenient hotel where we stayed our first week.

Oh yes, take a seat right here why don't you?

Just walkin' on the beach, looking for a stray morsel.

Balashi Beer brewed in Aruba, and later we toured the brewery, where we totally rocked a hair net.

Bitterballen!  We loved it in Holland, and we loved it here!

De Palm Pier-you see that very leftmost portion?  That's where we ate the bitterballen and had our first Balashi.  Behind us was nothin' but gorgeous blue waters and anchored up boats.

 

A very green cunuku (home).

Mangel Halto beach.  Deserted during the week b/c tourists generally don't stray from the tourist area, yet Aruba is completely safe to drive around on your own.

This wreck just popped up during the last major storm.  Thank goodness it wasn't the wreck we were to snorkel on, b/c it's lookin' mighty rough!  All i knew about the snorkel wreck (the Antilla) was that it came out of the water, so it made sense to think this was it.
 
There are more posts with more pictures-too much pretty for only one post, of course!

So congratulations to all of you that undoubtedly announced new pregnancies or job promotions or new homes on the horizons. And a Bon bini (welcome) back to me.

Find me here Craftomaniac, Motivate Me Mon @ Keeping it Simple, It's So Very Cheri, Making the World Cuter @ Making the World Cuter, DIY Project Parade @ DIY Showoff, Met Monday, overflowing w/ creativity @ it's overflowing, nifty thrifty tuesdays @ coastal charm Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, home stories a-z, be inspired @ elizabeth and co, lil luna, organizing party @ organize your stuff now, sugar bee crafts. sugar and spice @ 733, wow us weds @ savvy southern style, wicked awesome weds @ handy man, crafty woman, diy by design, whatever goes weds @ someday crafts, Transformation Thurs @ The Shabby Creek Cottage, 100 and Under @ Beyond the Picket Fence, Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple, hooking up @ house of hepworths, open house @ no minimalist here, share awesomeness @ 36th ave, Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring, Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest, feature yourself fri @ Fingerprints on the fridge, Weekend Bloogy Reading @ Serenity now, Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life, Feathered Nest @ French Country Cottage, Addicts Anonymous @ A2D, frugalicious friday @ finding fabulous, refresh your nest @ making lemonade, show and tell fri @ my romantic home, free for all @ 5days5ways, home sweet home @ charm of home.

Everyday we're shovelin'

Ok, so maybe not everyday, but definitely this weekend.  Shovelin' and reorganizing, since my flowers were planted willy nilly, with no semblance of order.  There's a lot of stuff going on that's just not ok...

 Like these butterfly bushes, placed here temporarily over 2 years ago...and there they sat, growing larger and expanding their roots. 

Much to my dismay we found it wasn't treasure buried under the dirt, just a concrete slab, preventing us from planting flowers in ground here.  I suppose the only upside to that is that the planting possibilites are endless now that i can actually dig there.
 

 Um...i have no excuses, just that this is where i hope my veggie garden goes one day.  Look away.

A few years back we put in the black edging as a temporary solution, since the red brick flower beds were much smaller and less curvy.  But my mad planting skills are non existent, and in the flowers went, willy nilly, clumping on the left there, and then nothing from the holly bush onward.

Willy nilly again and emptiness.  It ain't pretty.

So we finally made the changes that i'd been begging for!  Huzzah, now i can stop pestering the boyfriend (about this particular topic, anyway!)

I don't know where he got this idea, but he mixed our insanely clay filled soil with sand and store bought organic garden soil in an effort to make this transplant happier.

 That's him. 

 And then we watered.  Like mad.  And like magic-see, i'm not even holding it.

And now there are hopefully 2 happy butterfly bushes lining the side of our yard.  I'm happy, i don't know if they are.

 Relocated a Russian Sage from the front bed, and planted two zucchinis in pots.

 Relocated something else over here. 

 Hostas and garage pots with begonias.  Garage still to be stuccoed. 

 Front walkway.  Spikey things and petunias.

Clearly this isn't the most gorgeous garden in all of existence, i still want to add some more Salvia and some annuals. Plus the lawn needs mowing.  And then mulch...doesn't mulch make everything prettier? Then one day a real retaining wall...but still.  Progress!

I just hope those butterfly bushes are alive when i get home or i will have one grumpy boyfriend!  Fingers crossed!!


Find me here Censational Girl ,Craftomaniac, Motivate Me Mon @ Keeping it Simple, It's So Very Cheri, Making the World Cuter @ Making the World Cuter, DIY Project Parade @ DIY Showoff, Met Monday, overflowing w/ creativity @ it's overflowing, nifty thrifty tuesdays @ coastal charm Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, home stories a-z, be inspired @ elizabeth and co, lil luna, organizing party @ organize your stuff now, sugar bee crafts. Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design, sugar and spice @ 733, wow us weds @ savvy southern style, wicked awesome weds @ handy man, crafty woman, diy by design, whatever goes weds @ someday crafts, Transformation Thurs @ The Shabby Creek Cottage, 100 and Under @ Beyond the Picket Fence, Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple, hooking up @ house of hepworths, open house @ no minimalist here, share awesomeness @ 36th ave, Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring, Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest, feature yourself fri @ Fingerprints on the fridge, Weekend Bloogy Reading @ Serenity now, Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life, Feathered Nest @ French Country Cottage, Addicts Anonymous @ A2D, frugalicious friday @ finding fabulous, refresh your nest @ making lemonade, show and tell fri @ my romantic home, free for all @ 5days5ways, home sweet home @ charm of home, remodelaholic. funky junk interiors

Bracing for the Flood

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Flood Wood Care for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

How many of you have wood decks?  Oh, how i wish i could raise my hand as well.  I just have grass.  My table and chairs...just sittin' on some grass. Flower pots...plopped on the lawn. If i did one day get my low platform deck that i'm pining away for, i'd love it to be along these lines.

Look at how divine these are!

Love the clean and modern lines...

and the built in seating and planter boxes.

the perfect zen spot!  Where are the binoculars?  I'd become a bird watcher if i got to sit out there!

and round!

So how does one protect and make these spaces shine?  With this!

Flood® Wood Care are known as the wood care specialists, having been founded by painters in 1841.  Their quality products have been recognized in the industry for their long lasting results and performance. Whatever wood care projects you're working on, Flood® is the best solution for any we may undertake this summer.  Flood® will protect, preserve, and beautify those projects and products you already use every year, like your patio sets or decks.

They also offer wood strippers...which would have been very helpful during my first attempt...maybe make it a little less crime scene.

The stripper says it will "remove all finishes, even 100% acrylics," and there were at least 4 finishes and paint layers on my poor little plant stand.  Oh well, good to know for next time...though there hasn't been another stripping project since this one turned out so darn lovely.

So what sort of wood products do you have outside?  Fences (how i wish i could raise my hand here, too)?  Patio furniture?  I love those teak sets, but they're pretty pricey.  How bout a good ol' picnic table?  

deck images via bhg

Organic gardening with Whitney Farms

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Remember last year when i had my giant zucchini, and the year before that with my container eggplant? 

Sadly, only a handful of peppers have ever taken...and maybe that's because of the amount of sun, or the soil, or where i have them placed.  But i'm always on the lookout for something that could make my gardening easier or more fruitful (or veggie-ful, if you will) and now that i've found out about organic soil and organic plant food, i hope to have a better turnout this summer. If eating organically is better for us as humans, why would't it better for our plants and veggies, especially since we will in turn be eating said veggies?

Enter the folks at Whitney Farms®. 

With more than 25 years of gardening experience, these guys must surely know their stuff.  The food is easy to apply and contains beneficial microbes and nutrients that your plants need to grow, as well as low to no dust, and no manure odor.

Click for a Whitney Farms® $3 coupon!

How are your gardens growing so far?  We came back from vacation to see flowers in bloom, but have yet to start on any veggies.  I think i'm going to do my containers this weekend if it's nice weather.  Fingers crossed!

 

 

 

 

It's like Christmas morn...

or, like, the 8th day of Chanukah or something. 

 Free samples and magazines galore that amassed during vacation.  I think i'm single handily keeping the magazine industry employed thanks to super cheap subscriptions.

There's the key necklace i won from Jena @ Involving Home.  Can't wait to wear it.

And while we're chatting in a random fashion, many of my recent posts have been giveaways and reviews. I am not out to make money on this blog, i don't have any sponsors-am i even worthy of them, would enough people see their pretty little picture on my sidebar, would anyone even PAY to be a sponsor, etc, etc.

But what i do promote and love is social spark, and how you can pick the items you review.  I honestly want you guys to know about the products i review, i'm not just accepting anything that comes my way.  There are lots of computer promotions, or iphone products, and kids stuff, that i choose to not post about (and therefore receive no reimbursement) because i don't know much about computers, and i don't have an iphone, and i don't have kids.  But home stuff?  And garden stuff?  That i have, that i strive to better, and that i blog about, so to me...it makes sense to review, promote, and post about those items.  I hope you don't see those posts as annoying or money grubbing, but if you do, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it.  Just as i am entitled to carry on my way.

I'm thinking of making another blog that would be specific to reviews/giveaways, but the offerings are based on pageviews and all that good stuff.  If no one saw the other blog, then i would not get the items to review/giveaway, and that would totally defeat the purpose.  You see what i'm saying? 

Anyway, that's a lot of words and few pretty things to look at.  I promise I'll be posting pictures and talking vacation soon.

What's your favorite part about coming home from a trip? Reuniting with pets and kids? Sleeping in your own bed? Or picking up your pounds of mail and magazines?