DIY Outdoor Lighting

80/365:
on a roll friends, so on a roll…

feeling a bit wired to create…
using bits of this and that, found lolling about the place…
this, our new porch lighting, was practically free…
step one: save a few old jam jars and things of the sort…

minus them of their labels…

add desired amount of sand…

toss in a candle…

& there you have it, instant outdoor lighting for us, at dusk, out here on our new front porch…

Project 365, March 12th-13th

72/365:
pottering about on a sun-warmed porch this morning…
perfect weather to introduce a generous lot of spring flowers to their new forever-home on our front entranceway…

it isn’t finished…
but we’re on our way…
to a place that invites us to sink in and have a toe-up, as we come in from the day…

tonight, after yummy $1 fish tacos, we did just that…
he and I, and the doggie…
he, in his fuzzy billabong hoodie…
me, with my teal beanie and furry boots
two steaming mugs of tea in hand… 

content to watch the sun set duskily behind the horizon...

73/365: Impromptu Dinner / @ RMG

Project 365, March 2nd-7th

62/365: R6Crew

63/365: Simply Amazing Weather for our First Outdoor Coastal Conquest Group Training Ride

64/365: Macgyver

Take a second glance at the picture below…

Did you notice our Macgyver method for mortaring our front porch brick?

Oh ok, now, you’re seeing it…

Detecting the fact that Matt individually taped off each brick so that we wouldn’t have to go back and acid wash rows and rows of new brick…

He’s ingenious like that, my Matt…

And, although I don’t think this Macgyver technique was much of a time-saver, it did accomplish the overall look we wanted… like I said, ingenious…

65/365:
Monday cloudy skies and a drizzly forecast meant one thing, all that tape had to come up today.
Sigh…

One simple thought reverberated in my mind... “She brings him good…all the days of her life...” :)

I procrastinated another ten minutes with my second cup of coffee. Then, arming myself with knee pads, decided I would surprise Matt and get it done before he returned home from work.

Bring him good ladies, bring him good :)

66/365: @ RMG

67/365:
Cooler temps blasting across the valley today…
The itch to paint something white finally got to me and I broke out the white paint…
Even if it meant painting baseboards and trim… :/ because I learned the hard way that there is such a thing as “too white…”

Project 365, Days 28 & 29

28/365:

A tremendous, sunny, warm, beautiful Saturday :)  There was some projecting going on in the front yard…

Matt’s homemade mortar dispenser was tested.  His knee-saving-contraption worked like a charm.

There was a lovely picnic in the driveway and some sunshine basking.

Of course, there was a trip to Home Depot… one we took with the windows rolled down :)

There was ice-cream for dinner… and a belly ache to follow ;)

Beautiful day!

29/365:

A relaxing Sunday with my love.  Church and an Olive Garden date  :)   

Daily Tide 12.11: Brick Porch... Day Four

Almost time for my favorite part... bricks are all down and the porch is almost ready for a lil front porch foofing :)  I'm thinking a couple white adirondacks, potted plants and a place to put my coffee in the morning... 

Daily Tide 12.10: Brick Porch... Day Three

Last Saturday the weather was just lovely.  Exactly what Danielle believes a southern California winter should be... upper 60's & sunny :) Lovely.  The sunshine had me eager to put my elf hat on; to get our there with my amazing husband and help finish what will be a splendid brick porch. 

We made quite the dent in our stack of bricks... But whatever will we do with the leftovers... hhhmmm... the possibilities :) 

We made lots of progress... 

And then, with 3 feet left to go, we ran out of mortar... :/ 
Isn't that how projects go?  You can see the finish line... you're almost there... then... you run out of that last necessary bit of supply and are forced to stop...  You look at the clock and immediately start calculating if you have enough time to rush to Lowes, checkout, rush home, mix and finish before the sun sets...
It happens to us all the time... 

Daily Tide 12.4: Brick Porch... Day Two

 Like his method of brick transport?  Smart man...

Daily Tide 12.3: Brick Porch... Day One

This project = all Matt... 

It was his idea (genius) to add brick to our front porch...

It was at his suggestion we headed out to the brick yard...

He's the one out there working in the cold...

And the result (which I'm confident will be beautiful) will be because of all his hard work...

Either I'm rubbing off on him...

or...

He knows me well, loves me A LOT and is spoiling me before my parents come for Christmas...

Trust me, it's the latter of the two...  

Daily Tide 12.3: Date Day :)

These are the kinds of things that tend to happen when Matt and I go out on a date... we come home with things like this...

And, instead of talking over dessert, we talk, as we empty out the back of the truck brick-by-brick... 

:)

Daily Tide 5.18 = ♥ Shadowy Rain Clouds

I ♥ rainy days :)

And remember that front porch project we randomly started back in January??? Matt found his way back to it while I was in AZ (♥ him SO much)... he and a friend poured this baby themselves :) Next up, overlaying it with loads of purdy brick...

Making Matt's first attempt with concrete = a success (no surprise here), but the yard did suffer some minor collateral damage...

Daily Tide 1.17 = Porch Project Day 2...

Daily Tide 1.16 = Beginning Our Next Home Project...