Tag Archives: outdoor

Mar15

Erin Go Bragh

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This past weekend featured amazing weather and a short road trip to N. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to visit my family. The impetus for this trip? The St. Patty’s Day Parade (of course)! While North Myrtle Beach may not be the most cosmopolitan of places, it does know how to party. The parade featured several wacky participants like the dancing, beer drinking cockroaches.

The “Hillbilly Club”…

…and grown men in wee cars.

It also featured awesome bagpipers.

What parade is complete without a kazoo band from New York? They were surprisingly entertaining, by the way.

Our little man and his cousin had an awesome time collecting candy and waving at the passer-bys.

After the parade, we went to the festival portion complete with dozens of food and goods vendors, live music, and tons of people I haven’t seen in ages. Of course, no trip to my old stomping grounds would be complete without a visit to the beach.

It was absolutely gorgeous and made me miss the beach a bit; at least I always have a place to stay when I get the hankering to visit again!

Jan3

Boxing Into the New Year

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Happy 2011 folks!  The holidays are over, the decorations are put away, and we Randall’s are super excited for what this year has in store.  Aaron and I are starting the new year off in that do-it-yourself style that are our hallmarks.  For years now, I have requested and patiently waited for Aaron to make me window boxes.  His excuse was always the same: he needed a table saw in order to make them.  Since he didn’t have one, my request was delayed time and again.  That is, until this Christmas.  Aaron must have been a very good boy because Santa (aka Aaron’s Dad) got him a table saw.  Needless to say, I think Aaron and I were equally excited about the gift! 

Now that Aaron had no more excuses to put off my window boxes and he was itching to try out his new toy, I was going to finally get my wish.  Aaron’s Dad kindly came over to help him and within just a day and half’s time, my boxes were created and hung.  Whoo-hoo!  Let’s take a look at the before, shall we?

Ho hum, hum drum.  Boring exterior prior.  With the new boxes, however, the house immediately became more inviting and welcoming.

As you can see, there is no flora yet.  I’m waiting until the last frost to plant so that whatever plants I end up with (I’m thinking ivy and dusty miller) will be afforded maximum survivability. 

Aaron and his dad used wood salvaged from one of the tobacco barns dotting the family farm to make  the window boxes.  We all adored it’s patina and rusticness, so it was left raw and unfinished. 

Then Aaron lined the boxes with landscaping mesh to minimize soil loss over time.

After a quick run to Lowe’s, Aaron devised a method to hang the boxes using eye hooks.  I would detail his design, but in all honesty I forgot to inspect it myself.  Originally, we were thinking to hang the boxes at the bottom of the wood panel under the windows.

After careful consideration and observation, we all agree that they should be mounted underneath the glass.

 It looked better from afar and will make it much easier to plant and care for since I can just lean out the window to water.  I adore how it turned out and am quite looking forward to getting the plants in and enjoying the full effect.   On a side note, I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year’s and are looking as forward to what 2011 holds as we are.  Cheers!

Dec5

Tree of Life

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What a busy and fun weekend!  These last few days have been pretty much dedicated to getting in the holiday spirit.  We went to the Festival of Lights in Downtown Greensboro on Friday night.  There was a good sized crowd and it was a wonderful experience to count down the tree lighting in the company of so many smiling folks.

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so we could pick up Aaron’s parents and head on up to Boone to cut down our Christmas trees.  We were all excited to say the least to go choose and cut our very own evergreen.   By the time we arrived, the first snow fall of the day had just started.

Aaron’s parents selected a real beauty for their house, while we chose a sweet 4 footer for our living room and very full 6 footer for the basement.  By the time we finished walking the grounds, choosing, cutting, and paying, the snow was starting to come down something fierce.

The snow lasted the whole way home, giving us beautiful landscapes to enjoy but no icy roads to face since it wasn’t that cold yet.  When we made it home, we were all exhausted although I’m sure we can agree it was a great experience.  The trees smell absolutely amazing and, as my MIL pointed out, will probably stay green until February.  We’re still in the process of stringing popcorn and hanging ornaments so I’ll post pictures later this week of them all trimmed and decorated.  Until then, I’ll leave you with a photo of our backyard dusted in its first snow of the season.

Nov22

Homeward Bound: Road Trip!

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We decided to spend our weekend in a place we used to call home: Charleston, South Carolina. We were looking forward to a relaxing weekend spent with friends, catching up, and revisiting some of our old haunts. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, with sunny, blue skies and a temperature hovering around 70 degrees. I’ll admit that I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I guess that means that I was just having too good a time, right?  Anyhoo, one of the best parts about our quick jaunt was hitting up the beach at Sullivan’s Island.

You are able to bring your dogs this time of year to run around the beach and Hutson had an absolute blast. It was awesome to watch him run free and be able to act like the puppy he is, no worries about constraints.

When we walked down to the beach, we were met with an interesting spectacle: the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) officers trying to get a buck out of the water. Apparently, the overdevelopment at Isle of Palms is eliminating the deer’s habitat, forcing too much competition for limited resources and driving the animals to seek less competitive feeding and breeding grounds. This poor buck had to have crossed over some pretty treacherous waterways not matter where he originated and he was obviously exhausted from his journey and subsequent battle with DNR.

The good news is that DNR successfully pulled him from the water without having to tranquilize him. They were extremely gentle and professional and I was duly impressed with their handling of the situation. The deer was simple bounds at his legs and put in the back of their pick-up, to be taken to one of the national forests in the area for release.

After this spectacle concluded, we spent a good bit of time just walking, building sand castles, and shell hunting.

Since I neglected to photograph a lot of what we did, you will just to take my word that it was a wonderful weekend indeed. A big thanks to Hip, Tanya, and Mia for being gracious hosts (as always)!

Nov9

Raking It In

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We had our first frost the other morning and was cold enough to motivate me to turn on the heat to knock off the chill.  While I love this cold weather, there is one aspect of this season that I don’t look upon with gusto: dead leaves. 

Let me be clear.  I love when the leaves change colors.  This year the trees simply popped with reds, yellows, and oranges.  I just don’t love it when they fall.  As of Sunday morning at 9 am, this was the state of my front yard; you can’t even seen the grass!

Since we had spent a relaxing day Saturday in Boone, I had all kinds of pent up energy to tackle this project.  After church on Sunday, Aaron got me started on this task by blowing off the roof.  Such a sweet man!

I then blew off the front porch and front beds.  With Little Man’s help, er, encouragement, I had the front yard raked and leaves bagged in about 2 hours (I took a few breaks). 

Did I mention that I used the entire box of 21 bags for the yard?  Who knew Pin Oaks shed so much?!

Not only did our yard look much improved, but there are several other positives as I see it:  I engaged in some good cardio and exercise; we saved money by not paying someone else to do it; and Little Man and spent quality time during this chore laughing, playing, and enjoying each other’s company.  So despite a few more calluses and some blisters (ouch!), I’d say it was a morning well spent.

Nov8

Extra, Extra: Fall Has Arrived!

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If you didn’t get the memo, then please let me be the first to tell you: Summer is over and Fall is here! Three cheers for cooler weather!  Now that we are entering into colder months, Aaron and I have been simply itching to go to Boone.  It’s a relatively short drive away and a wonderful town.  The people are friendly, the food is good, and there are so many quirky shops and people (and I mean that as a compliment). 

When our original plans fell through for the weekend, we decided to take a trip to this idyllic little spot on Saturday.  It was relaxing drive that resulted in a 20 degree temperature drop from High Point!  When we finally made it to Boone, there were snowflakes in the air and, well, we weren’t exactly prepared for that cold of weather.  Instead of walking the trails we hightailed it over to The Dan’l Boone Inn and got our grub on with their family style lunch.  It. was.  delicious.

I absolutely gorged myself on the ham biscuits.  They were utterly divine.  Once we finished stuffing our faces, we ventured out to enjoy the sights.  In a nutshell, the mountains were breathtaking and entirely worth the drive.  Here are some photos of our day:

It was nice to take a day to just relax and not worry about a to-do list, to simply go with it instead of adhere to a strict agenda.  We just enjoyed each other and our beautiful surroundings;  what more could you really ask for?  After such a perfect day, we were a bit tuckered out from the driving.  We all nestled into our pajamas and enjoyed our first fire of the season.  Bliss!

Oct7

Country Adventure

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I wouldn’t exactly say that High Point is defined as city living, but it does offer city sewer, water, and garbage pick-up.  I think for most people, there comes  a time when an escape from urban surroundings is necessary to revitalize one’s spirit.  Hence when I was informed of a farm open house and harvest fest by a coworker, I immediately knew a day in a rural setting would do everyone in the family a little good.

The Goat Lady Dairy was on first on our stop.  I’ve never been there before, but I knew how much I loved their products.  Going to see where it was actually made was going to be quite the treat!  After a 45 minute leisurely drive, we were there and marveling at the beauty of the place.

The first thing that caught our eyes was a pottery area, where local potters were helping visitors make their own clay creations.  We thought Little Man would love it…

…but it turns out he wasn’t such a fan.  Perhaps because he was being encouraged to get dirty and that was too much of a foreign concept?  Whatever the reason, Aaron quickly took over and tried his own hand at pottery and he is a natural.

After our arts lesson, we walked the grounds, enjoying the beautiful gardens, samples, and livestock.  Little Man even got to pet a chicken!

The goats themselves had loads of personality and were adorably friendly.

As we walked around, we quickly realized that there were no food vendors and we were starving!  Being out in the middle of nowhere essentially, we were doubtful about the possibility of getting our grub on anytime soon.  That is until the parking attendant informed us of the Harvest Fest at Rising Meadow Farm two miles down the road.  We were relieved and felt surprisingly lucky to be able to go to two farms in one day (and eat yummy food)!

When we got to Rising Meadow, I was immediately taken aback at the beautiful day.  It couldn’t have been more gorgeous!

We wound our way down the gravel road to the festivities and were greeted with delicious lamb burgers in pita, tons of artisans, and sheep galore.  We soon discovered that this farm breeds all kinds of sheep for their meat and their wool.  The artisans were all the local folks who buy the wool, dying it, spinning into thread, and turning it into useable items all themselves.   Just the varieties of wool surpised me!

Did I mention there was bluegrass?  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE bluegrass?! 

All in all, it was an amazing afternoon and provided us so many special moments as a family to experience new things!

Jun22

Paving the Way

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Long ago I had discussed carving out some steps into the steep slope in our backyard.  Not much had been done to finish these steps since this task three months prior.   Instead, nature had taking her course in reclaiming her space and in no time my steps were barely discernible amongst the overgrowth. Please observe.

Obviously I had let things get a bit out of control.  It’s not like I was eating bon-bons instead of doing yard work, but I will admit I consciously avoided tackling this project.  That is until we planned for Little Man’s birthday party, the majority of which will be spent outdoors enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, and a slip-n-slide.  Since it’s coming up this weekend, I knew that procrastinating on remedying the outdoor steps issue was not longer an issue.  So, I called up a local quarry and scheduled a delivery of 2 cubic yards of gravel.

This is what greeted me as I returned home from work on Friday.

I woke up early Saturday morning, around 6 am or so, and went to work in an effort to beat the heat.  I went to work pulling weeds and laying landscape mesh where my rocks would go.  About 50 or so wheelbarrow loads, 15 glasses of water, and about a dozen rest breaks, the steps and even a pathway were completed.  Behold the glories of my labor.

And finally one more shot to show off my handiwork.

Needless to say, I was a bit sore the next day.  The pain is worth it though since next weekend during Little Man’s birthday celebration the yard will look on pointe.

Jun2

Keeping up with the Jones'

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There are some things in life that you just are not prepared for or understand until you experience it for yourself. Being a home owner has brought a whole new dimension to my comprehension of what it means to be the sole party responsible for an abode’s upkeep.   Even if you love your home the second you move in and don’t want to change a thing, there is still plenty of things to keep you busy.  Between lawn work, cleaning, random fixes, and the infrequent huge repairs, a home is a lot of work!

Not that I necessarily mind.  The only downside with maintaining a home is that besides the normal, everyday stuff there is so much I want to change and add!  There never seems to be enough time, energy, or money, but I guess having your own home is its own reward, right?  Anyhoo, I had lots to keep me busy this weekend with just lawn maintenance. 

So what was on the agenda?  Besides the regular routine of mowing and weed eating, there was edging, weeding, and pine straw spreading to be done.  The first task to be completed was trimming up these tad overgrown and very prickly holly bushes. 

I chopped these bad boys from the bottom because I wanted to give them a more manicured appearance without cutting them down, since they had just started to grow back after the previous owners hacked them into near oblivion.  A half hour and numerous scratches later, I was done, and had perky little bushes to show for it

On to the next fun chore:  weeding the brick pathway.  It looked like this before I started.

I hand pulled the crab grasses and random weeds out of the cracks and in no time this little pathway was looking much better.

Finally, it was time to smother some more weeds in the backyard with my Costco mesh.  Slowly, but surely I am eliminating the presence of noxious plants in the backyard as environmentally friendly as possible.  This little area was all I had the energy to tackle this weekend, however.

Of course, this is only one weekend of work.  Next up its ordering a troakload a pebble that will be used to line the steps seen above (lined with mesh to prevent weed growth of course), the pathway out to the garden and another set of steps.  At least my biceps will be rocking, right? 

The whole point of this post is really to say that while a house is a lot of work to keep in good condition and make it your own, it is a privilege to have a roof over one’s head and a comfy bed to lay in at head (particularly after a long day of yard work).

May20

Colonial Living

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We’ve been working like crazy to revamp the front of our house through a series of cheap projects.  We started off with an unpainted brick exterior and pine straw everywhere.  Here’s a very old picture for reference (notice Christmas lights).

Doesn’t look very inviting, now does it?  Two weeks ago we revealed the newly painted front.

Big difference, right?  The only downside with painting the house was that the area around the garage doors suddenly looked very plain.  We’d love to add flower boxes, a trellis, shutters, and other goodies, but all those projects take time and money that we don’t have a lot of.  Of course, there are plenty of other things that we can do on the cheap to jazz up the front.  Like accessorize the garage doors. 

You’ve probably noticed lots of garage doors being dressed up to look like barn doors with colonial style hardware.  This adds a bit more appeal to otherwise functional yet not necessarily good-looking doors.  Hubs managed to break away from work for a bit today to stop by the Overhead Door Company in Greensboro.   He picked up 8 hinge appliques and four wrought iron looking handles for only $72 smackaroos.

It took a matter of 40 minutes total to apply the pieces to the garage door.  The additions gave a bit more charm to the doors and couldn’t have been easier to install. 

Here’s a side by side of a finished and unfinished garage doors. Are you impressed yet?

Let’s move in for a close-up of the thin metal appliques, shall we?

And one last photo showing both doors pimping their hardware.

So, what do you think?  Do you love it as much as us?