Pots, limbo, and pets… oh my!

 

Yesterday, we had a doctor appointment. (Nothing to report, really. No bad news, but no good news)

After the appointment, we headed out for brunch at IHOP and a trip to Lowe’s, PetSmart, and Target. I got some great deals! The four pots from above total $139.96 plus tax. However, in order to make way for Halloween, they were on sale. (and, they were the ONLY pots left in the store)

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Our cost? $34.94 + tax. (and, I used part of a gift card, so they were actually FREE)  I have been looking for some nice, heavy pots to transplant our house plants into when they get moved back in the house for winter. They’ve been in plastic pots that were used in our wedding four years ago and are starting to smell like old plastic with a heavy hint of body odor :).  They may get painted. I’m not sure yet. The blue one ALMOST matches the blue of the kitchen, but not quite. The two square ones are metal and are a nice brown color. I think I’ll leave them all alone but the blue one.

As we walked through the store carrying all of these (we didn’t grab a cart, duh) Dustin announced that he didn’t think we’d ever be buying so much pot. The security guard walking behind him thought it was funny at least :).

We also went and bought Ellie a replacement Wubba for her Ellieversary. The pink one used to look like the new one… one year and 4 days ago… However, when we gave it to her, she went to old Wubba instead. This may be a slow transition :)

Sophie is also approaching her one year anniversary with us (we’re still working on the name for that celebration). So, we also went ahead and got her a present to beat up and destroy as well.

I’m also gearing up for the room above the garage redo. I can NOT WAIT for the projects we have coming up. I also have been getting a ton of things from my aunt’s shop. I’m waiting to redo a lot of those things until we have the bonus room painted and ready to move into. So, I’m in project limbo for a bit. But, that’s ok :) I still have a few things I could/need to finish up first… like painting the kitchen cabinet…(that I already painted once, and then we wallpapered, and then hung real bead board over :)) Maybe I really SHOULD take this time to wrap up the loose ends around here :).

Frolic in the sunflowers

"Hey Dustin, go stand by Mom's sunflowers so we can see how tall they really are..."

He cracks himself up... and me most of the time too:)

But really, look at those sunflowers! And, this was a month ago!

Some hen and chicks of a different species

I'm cheap.
I don't hide that fact. I brag about it. I love a good find and am giddy about great deals.

It is partially because I like to save money. I don't save it because I want it... or because I want to spend it.. or horde it. I want to be able to enjoy the little things in life and budgeting, being thrifty, and being giddy about deals gives us the chance to work less and hold hands a little more.

I'm also this way because I'm sentimental. I like things with a history and love a good story. If I know the person that the history is about, even better. If I don't, I like to create one in my mind. If I ever write a novel, this will be its essence. (I had plans when I was younger to write a novel before I was 30--- I have 2 years and 2 months! Yikes :)) And, I love a good story about a good find or good story about how a piece was updated, changed, or recycled into something even better.

I am very much like this with plants. Yes, I walk through stores and check out their "half dead, half price" plants and nurse them back to life. But, I LOVE getting plants from people. And, it isn't because I'm cheap.


Yeah, I like free plants, but I like having a part of others in our garden and yard.

I wrote a few weeks ago about the day lilies we got from my student teaching mentor and friend. (They are starting to bloom nicely, so stay tuned for more!!).

We have a rose that we were given when we lost our son. We think of him every time we look at it. And think of the caring people who thought of us when they sent it.

 I recently got these two little cuties from my mom.

They are from a much, MUCH larger collection that was once my great grandmas.

This is only part of it... she has 3 or so pots where the 'jumpers' are now planted.

So, now I have an itty bitty pot of some hen and chicks from my great grandma who passed away when I was in junior high. Not only that, but since Mom dug them up and has had them for 15+ years, they are also from my mom too.

I can't wait for mine to be pouring out of this pot! I eventually want to have a little succulent garden and these will make a great centerpiece when they grow up and have chicks of their own :)

Dustin laughed when I brought them home. "Now we both have some hen and chicks!"

I heart free stuff!

It doesn't matter what it is-- if it is free, I'll take it!

Well, if it is furry and cute, I WANT to take it, but I know my hubby would keel over if I bring any more critters home....

On Sunday, I scored big with some freebies.

My aunt recently purchased a gift shop and has been doing some cleaning in a back room. She has a yard sale box where she's putting some stuff. Is it really stealing if you say, "hey, I'm stealing stuff out of your yard sale box" as you do it? I didn't think so either...

The little boxes/crates are going to get their labels peeled off and a coat of paint. The labels aren't as cool looking in real life as they are in the pics. They are basically a paper/plastic sticker and are super shiny. I may try to see if I can make them look better before I attack them with a scraper. The little canister is getting a coat of paint.. or something. The basket is just going to get it's liner washed, most likely. I only have plans for 2 of the 4 pieces right now though.

Then, I went to my mom's to pick up the puppy who wore herself out playing there all day and then swimming. (we already bought the pup from the shelter, so she wasn't a free find on this day... but the puppysitting was :))

Mom has one greenhouse this year and we have been slackers haven't decided where to plant things yet. So, I went through before we left and got 12 tomato plants, 6 yellow bell peppers, 6 green bell peppers, and 6 jalapenos. I planted them today in a bunch of pots we had around here. We have a great yard, but we have a lot of trees, so there isn't a "best" place to plant a garden.

The vine in the front is loofah. I got some from her last year and it stopped growing after 2 inches. This already has a leg up on that!

Not a bad day for free loot!

Asiatic Lily Love

Remember me when the flowers bloom in early Spring.

Remember me on sunny days in the fun that Summer brings.
Remember me in the Fall as you walk through leaves of gold.
.

And in the Wintertime, remember me in the stories that are told

 

But most of all remember, that each day, right from the start...
I will be forever near, for I live within your heart

Yesterday, we spent the day landscaping. 

Well, kinda... we newspapered and mulched all day and planted a few things too. 

 

We started this garden in our back yard last year. After we lost Lane, we received a beautiful rose from my school and decided to start a  back yard flower garden/patio for it. It was bloomed out perfectly yesterday for his birthday.

All of these day lilies were planted last year. We got them ALL FREE from a good friend of mine who was also my mentor when I student taught. He and his wife have a local day lily farm. We didn't want to spend the money at that time to complete a backyard patio, so we just planned it. That's why we have a big L of flowers in the yard :)

We also didn't want to lay plastic and mulch over it. Day lilies grow and spread and we wanted to give them room and make splitting them easier on us. So, we laid newspaper down and then mulched over it. We have pea gravel in the front, but for the projects we did today, we didn't want anything permanent; so we went with bark mulch. The newspaper and mulch will eventually break down and add to the soil also.

The mulch was less than $25 per scoop. 1 scoop = almost a truck full = a lot of punch for not much $.

Our backyard has always been so blah, so we're trying to make it a nice area where we can hang out. We do plan to put pavers down in the L and create some walkways. I found some old bricks on craiglist, but we still aren't ready to fork over the cash to complete it. We are doing things a bit backwards, but we had the flowers and needed a plan. Lane's rose is in the pic above... it has the big board by it. (the blooms were too much for it this year and it's leaning... the board is the temporary crutch for that. We didn't want it to break).

We akso started a petting zoo in the back while we worked. 

They got to hang out in the chicken coop/run. It wasn't what they had in mind, but they were troopers. 

We also mulched around the grapes so Dustin could stop chopping them up knicking them with the weedeater.

Before mulch

After (we're still on the same truckload of mulch too!)

 Our bluberries are about to explode too. We recently bought 2 more plants. They were in the 1/2 dead so they're 1/2 price section at Lowe's. They just needed a bit of TLC. They look GREAT.