Here are some videos I have made. The first one is my dangerous adventure with my brother Aaron. We went back into the woods to slash and burn our picnicking path back to it's former glory of yesteryear. Smart? Probably not. Efficient? Heck yes.
This video is much more on the mellow side. In fact, you will lose your adrenaline high from the previous video if you watch this. But I wanted to show my wise sensei's the fruits of my labors.
Some of these flowers came from Grandma, Mom, and Sue. The rest I got on sale at the grocery store. (Just in case you were dying to know)
As I was brainstorming different ideas for the balcony I found directions to make your own planter. On mine, I just turned my awesome wooden planter into a plant stand/seating area. Here is the sneak preview of what it used to look like a couple weeks ago...
It took only about an hour and it was super easy. All you need is a pallet or two. I just went to Target, asked the manager, and heisted me some of these free wooden beauties. He was actually confused why a little girl like me would want a "useless pallet."
So I built my planter from these directions. It is so easy and the author outlines all the steps.
But if you own a jig saw, you might be interested in these directions. This one looks way more cool, but requires a lot more work.
So some things I learned about pallets are:
1. It is almost impossible to pull the nails out (they are special nails that are meant to stay in.) You are more likely to split the wood than pull it out
2. Lot's of people recommended to use a table saw and saw the nail off rather than pry it out. (This doesn't sound very safe to me though) (I am envisioning a nail flying off and lodging itself into someones eye.)
3. Apparently some of the pallets are treated so people recommend using a liner before you put the soil in. Especially if you are going to be planting something edible.
If I ever get bored of my new table/planter I am going to put wheels on it and sand it down (I should probably sand it anyway) and make it look like this potter barn crate thing from miss-design.com. Totally do-able.
And what a good excuse to get cute pillows... heh heh
The day I came back from working, our neighbors (John and Delys), were moving out. We came downstairs and helped them move stuff, and clean. By the end of everything their minivan was packed to the brim and they headed down to Texas. We will miss you!
I also have been working on my balcony!! I'm going to wait a month or so to show you the end result. A lot of my plants are still too small to show off. But I wanted to show you this beautiful Begonia. It is much more beautiful than the Begonia's they hand out for Mothers Day at church (see picture below).
Look familiar? It's hard for me to believe that they are related. Yeah, not to bash on this flower, or to be ungrateful but I think this is one of the more ugly flowers of the world.
Ok, enough of the flowers... Last Monday, we invited some of our friends to go have a bbq on Constitution Beach (right next to our house). It was very very hot and we were glad swimming was right there.
Rachel and Job brought these amazing kabobs! I provided some Nathan's Dogs, and Hebrew Dogs (thanks Delys). I think I liked the kosher dogs the best. I also attempted to make Ramen Salad again, this time I didn't screw it up. I need to make more batches of it just for myself, I am so addicted.
Throughout the day we swam, played frisbee, and played.
Catching hermit crabs with the kids...
and then upgraded to real crabs.
We stayed out until 5 and then came inside. We hung out on the balcony, ordered Columbian pizza, and watched Tron. It was a super duper crazy fun day.
And the fun doesn't stop there, wed night Rachel and Job got us all free tickets to go see the Boston Pops Frank Sinatra concert. It was seriously awesome! I loved when they did the song The Way You Look Tonight, and a couple others that I can't remember. So thanks guys!
When I was traveling down to Maryland I was next to a woman who had only flown once in her life and was terrified. She was afraid of every little bump, noise, and started hyperventilating as the plane was taking off. She told me that she doesn't know why she chose this seat (further in the back of the plane) because everyone in the back dies in Lost. What?! So I started talking to her to help distract her and I explained to her all the noises, bumps and other helpful hints. It seemed to work and she told me I should write my flying tips online and she was sure that I will make lots of money.
So here we go...
Jessica's Economy Class Flying Tips
1. Ever notice that the isle seat armrest doesn't come up? This is false! Reach down underneath the armrest, where it connects to the seat and you will find a lever. If you push that lever you can move the armrest! YAY!
2. Do you want as much room as possible? If you do, DO NOT sit in the row right before the emergency exit row or on the very last row. These seats do not recline but guess what? The people in front of you can, leaving you with 3-4 in of less headroom.
3. Another reason to not sit in the very last row, or the last couple rows... it often smells like a portapotty.
4. Does the loud whirring noise hurt your ears? Don't sit near the emergency exit or a window seat (It's louder there)
5. Is there no more overhead space to put your luggage near your seat? You next best option is an empty spot BEFORE your seat, not after. It will make getting to your stuff and getting off the plane a whole lot easier later.
6. During the coldest months of the year, planes are pretty empty.
7. Are you flying by yourself and would like to sit next to an empty seat? Try checking in online at the last moment. The key is to wait until everyone else has chosen their seats and then you come in and choose the one next to the empty one. ha! This is not always guaranteed to work though, esp if you are on a overbooked flight. You may just get a crappy seat and someone next to you.
Well, those are all the ones I can think of right now. If I think of more I will add them to this list. Do you guys have any? Besides drugging your baby?
I also found this hilarious guy on Youtube. All of his videos make me laugh you should check him out!
Window baskets prepped for the aforementioned balcony. Flowers of choice: Daliahs and Petunia Wave.
Two blooms!!... YES! Hopefully my balcony plans will continue without fail! Side note: I also got a bag of Gladiolus bulbs at the dollar store. Never tried dollar store bulbs before, but we will see how the work out.
After helping my mom and Sue with their beautiful gardens, I decided I wanted to start my own little patch of green. Here are some examples of what I'm thinking. I'm not really sure what I'm doing yet but hopefully it will come out good like these.
I am going to try to include something edible and green...
Something full and lush...
(Well, this one below almost seems too much, but hey, if I can get something to grow full and lush like that I would be pretty proud of myself.)
Something that cascades...
and something that gives it seem cute and private.
I'm not really sure what I'm doing but I hope this doesn't turn out to be a plant murdering rampage.
So Boston's spring just happened recently so I thought I would get off of my butt and document it. So I headed down to the Back Bay (the most expensive and lush parts of the city) and just walked around while McKay was in class.
dur da dur
I have never seen these rubbery flower trees before, and I don't know what they are either.
Here's the parking situation behind McKay's school. If you want to rent one of the spots you have to pay 300 a month or some ridiculous amount of money
These two cherry pictures were taken on the Esplanade (one of the few nature walks, next to the back bay)
