DIY: Privacy Wall for Deck

I love having a deck, but the one problem is that it's level with our next-door neighbor's windows.  We all do a good job of minding our own business, but I felt like we needed to add some height to the side railing so we have more privacy.

I didn't plan on tackling this project this month because I have so many other projects to complete, but I realized that I already had almost all the lumber I needed in my basement.  It took almost all day Saturday, and it would have been a lot easier if I had waited for Abe to help me (he was at school all day), but I managed to pull it together pretty nicely.   Eventually I'd like to have some honeysuckle or clematis crawling all over the slats, but this summer I'll just stick with my potted herbs.

More photos that show the project step by step after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Electric Windows and Sunshine

This weekend I battled with a sore throat, but managed to fit in quite a bit:  power washing the deck & porch, refinishing a table, Electric Windows art event, meeting 2 new friends, a coworker's family BBQ with amazing Jamaican food, and a picnic and live music on the Cold Spring waterfront with Piper.

Россия

My grandparents died a couple years ago and I miss them a lot. Sometimes I notice things about myself that I definitely got from both of them - namely not being able to throw things away. You'd think I was the one who lived through the war. I just found some pins that my grandmother brought back from a trip to Russia (maybe circa 1990). She organized all the pins by attaching them to a Russian postcard. There are a few pins missing and next to the spaces are the names of which grandchild took the pin.  I have a lot of things that belonged to my grandparents, but this card was so my grandmother and it really makes me smile.

(Becca, your name isn't on the card. I think it means you're owed a Russian pin!)

It's Always Blazing Freaking Hot in Philadelphia

Went to Philadelphia this weekend to visit my sister, Ezra and Wesley.  It was too hot to do much, but we didn't have a problem eating, swimming with dogs, lounging in the cool water hot tub, or playing Family Feud on Wii.

Abe and Wes waiting for dinner to commence.

A dinner fit for kings.

Post-dinner trip for ice cream.

Me and Wes raced for the tennis ball and I won!

Huevos Rancheros

Jaime is all business when it comes to brunch.

Brunch dessert:  rhubarb, strawberry & blueberry crumble

Wes wanted a taste of that crumble soooo bad.

Dumbest Family Feud category ever.

I Got Color...and I'm Not Afraid to Use It.

Smoldering Hues Shower Curtain - Anthropologie - $118

Silk Screen Art Print (You, Me, and Everyone Else-2) - Beau Ideal - $35

Destiny Womack Original painting - $179.00

Color Theory T-Shirt - Non Fiction Tees - $15.00