I am not anonymous.  We live in a world where I can get minute by minute location details on Lindsey Lohan.  And I believe without a shadow of a doubt that I am kept safe only by the hand of God.  and having an alarm system, nosy neighbors and weaponry can’t hurt (well, actually that last one can…but you know what I mean).  So that being said…thanks for your concern…I hear you…now let’s move on.

Our curb appeal project is what’s up.  Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine challenged us and we were all “It’s on like DonkeyKong”.  We have been tackling the 20 or so feet of untouched goodness that is visible from our curb and so far we are doing a whole lotta taping and spraypainting.  We vamped up the light fixtures…

And then we painted our hideous mailbox and attached a fallen stone…

Dontcha just love the action shots?  We left it like this overnight….we are definitely getting the classy award this month from the neighborhood…I’d put money on it.

So I mentioned before that we removed the old sticker house numbers from the front of the mailbox.  And seeing as how I really like Margaret our mail lady, I thought it would be only kind to correctly label our house with a proper plaque.  So I ran to Lowe’s and got a cheap natural pine plaque (it cost about $6) and some 4″ Gatehouse house numbers in black (they were about $4 each).  I went with the most plain basic numbers…none of those curly q’s or scripty fonts for us…they also aren’t modern…which is good because I think a super-modern look would clash with our traditional lights and the overall aesthetic of the house.   I also pulled out my favorite stain – it’s dark Walnut by Minwax.

I decided to do a medium tone.  I wanted the numbers to pop…but I didn’t want to risk going too light and lose that rich warm stain either.  So bascially my method was to wipe on three stripes of stain with the sponge and then wipe the excess off with the paper towel.  It gave it just enough time to soak in without becoming too dark.

I also did the sides and back just in case

Then I took it outside.  I wanted the wood to acclimate to the heat…I have no idea why I thought this would help but I figured that if wood was like the pores on my face, it would need to adjust to the Georgia climate.

After three days of becoming one with the south, this bad boy was ready to be sealed.  I could have used a varnish…but honestly, that sounded a little too much work for me and my very alien looking feet.  Is it just me or does that look like a extra-terrestrial mated with a sasquatch?  I swear I shave my legs.

Anyhoo…I decided in the name of EASE to just spray the plaque.  NOTE: this product says to not spray stained wood.  I am not responsible for your jacked up stained plaque.  Peace out.

I strapped on my mask and aimed my Thompson’s Waterseal – giving the entire front side a very thin coat.  Then I let it dry a few hours.  Then I repeated it four times.

After it dried, it looked entirely the same.  Nothing exciting to see here.

Then came time for the numbers.   These were pretty much the most simple to attach…just a little tap with the hammer and a tighten with the screw driver and we had bonafide mailbox signage.

Now comes the attaching part….

Jeremy got some assistance (assistance = back hugs?!) from the sprinkler kid…

So here’s how we did it…

we marked our spots for drilling on the upper corners of the plaque….then using a 1/8 inch drill bit for masonry we went through the sign into the stone.  (Jeremy was it 1/8 inch?)

Then we redrilled the stone holes just to make sure they were as deep as the screws.

Using 2.5 inch masonry screws, we screwed the sign directly into the stone.  Since our stones were definitely not flush with one another, it took some patience to find where the sign hung flat and looked best from the road.  It was kinda a balancing act.

We then took some furniture nailhead accent tacks and clipped off the tack part with pliers.  I used some Liquid Nails to put the little brassy heads over the screw heads for a more finished look.

So there we have it – one finished mailbox and one finished number plaque.  Let’s use lots of exclamation points to celebrate!!!!!!!!

The last task we had on our curb appeal list was actually the easiest…I wanted a tall plant next to the mailbox to hide the transition between our pavers and the neighbors.   Jeremy liked the green – so we went with the cheapest plastic planter that was in stock at Lowe’s that was big and came in green.  One $17 plant and two bags of potting soil later, we have a nice distraction from that weirdo corner.

Ready for before and afters?  Watch out now – the subtely might stun you

I love the new bush.  Isn’t it weird how just the littlest things can make you smile?!  That bush (err tree?) makes me smile every single time I pull in the driveway.

It has the same affect on our our little Geisha…

And this photo is precisely why you never tell your kid to “smile”….he’s a looker, that one…

Seriously Katie…enough with the Will-as-a-Southern-Belle photos…

And this is just for kicks – but I thought it would be fun to look back at the front from last September and compare it to now….

Check out the roses!

They got much much bigger.  Everything else is kinda okay.  The hollies are better than the Lorapetalum.  Not enough water I betcha.

But overall – not too shabby for 8 months of growing…

So that’s it folks – our curb appeal chronicles are coming to an end.   Thanks for tagging along on the adventure with us…now back to our regularly scheduled program of cheese, randomness and awkward situations with the Bowers

Yesterday I used the feul from a Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine challenge, some Frog Tape, paper and Rustoleum’s spraypaint in Hammered Black to transform the lights…

and today I wanna chat about the same transformative power on our mailbox.

As you can see, our mailbox numbers were uber classy.  like riding an ostrich to a red carpet event.  ugly off center sticker numbers are not exactly fitting for our style house.

I began with the fun task of sticker removal…

I tried out this De-Solv-it first with a straight razor.  I knew it worked wonders on some gum that got on a stroller wheel and then into our SUV’s trunk upholstery so I figured it was worth the try.

I just sprayed down the entire thing and used a straight razor to work the numbers off as well as a paper towel to get some random tape residue left behind from flyers attached to the face of the mailbox.

Around the eagle was the hardest because it was raised but eventually the entire face was clean and smooth.  See how it discolored where the stickers were?  It’s just the non-faded bits and we made sure it was ultra-free of any debris.

Next I whipped out my frog tape and took extra-special care in covering all the rocks around the mailbox.  Mailboxes aren’t that pricey to replace – but since this one is cemented inside the pillar – that option is out.  So spraypaint it is.

I was worried that the overspray could get the rest of the stones black…so extra paper and tape did the protective job.  Between the tape and the paper, my stones were safe.  No glove, no love my precious mailbox

I started on the inside with slow even strokes of the paint can and then worked my way out.

After that was dry, I started with the front of the lid.  I know it looks like there is some pink in the paint but it is just my shirt reflection.

After tape removal – we got a chance to see the finished product…and we ADORE it.  It looks like a brand new box.   Even our mail lady Margaret told us that she loved the new box – and really that is the ultimate stamp of approval, right?!  That’s like Ken Paves telling you he likes your haircut.  High five to me!

While we were working on the box, we also tackled another curb appeal issue…a broken stone from the mailbox pillar.  This isn’t our first time around the stone-repair-block…so we knew exactly what would work.   (here’s a video on how we fixed one before!)

A little liquid nails and a whole lotta pressure got the first piece in place…

Then Jer placed the second piece in and wiped any excess glue away quickly with a damp paper towel.

Note the very fancy support system to hold it in place while it hardened fully.

Some else is learning the joys of Frog tape….also known as Froggie Tape around here

So that’s how we repaired a little stone work, revamped the mailbox and prepped the front for the final beautification efforts….namely a new number plaque and a way to hide that weird transition between our drainage pavers and the neighbors.  Coming tomorrow, mmkay!?

Have you guys been tackling any curb appeal projects lately?  Or perhaps you are working more on inside appeal projects?  Do tell.

Let me explain.  Our monthly challenge from Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine was to improve our curb appeal.

And of course, me being ultra-literal, walked out to the street and looked at our curb.  Appealing?  Not really.  Just a standard ole curb…if you can call the transition from asphalt to our faux paver concrete driveway a ’curb’.  It’s funny how we have a really really big lot in a neighborhood, but the amount of true curb is about 20 feet.  That’s it.  Living in a culdesac gives us a pie-shaped lot and the point of our slice meets the street…not giving us a whole lot to work with when it comes to curb-beautification.

On one side of the driveway we have a stone pillar that has our green mailbox (urgh) and a light that is fine in function and pretty standard for looks.  Yes.  I know you can see our house numbers.  I realize that you crazy stalkers might be thinking this is a fine time to come to our house to get your crazy on.  Let me warn you.  I am Italian.  I live in Loganville.  We go to church armed.  And there is no question in my mind that I am more psychotic than you.  So please do not email me about my house numbers.  Do not come to my house.  Do not come in my yard or my streeet.  This isn’t a threat…this is a promise.

Good.   Now that I got that outta the way…let’s move on.

Besides the light fixture and the green colored mailbox with the ugly stickers, we also were dealing with a broken stone (you can see on the far right side where it fell off and left a spot with lots of dots) and of course, the wonky transition between our pavers and the neighbors (not my choice but hey….you can’t tell your sweet also armed neighbor how to hardscape their yard, right?!)

The other side of the driveway has a flanking stone pillar…this one with only a light.

So when Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine gave us this curb appeal beautification challenge – one of the first things I thought of was to improve the looks of the lights.  The lines and the style isn’t old or horrible or anything….it just looked dingy.  And also there was an issue with the birds.  as in…they kept using these as their personal litter box.  So I figured that with a quick cleaning, a coat or two of spraypaint, and the removal of those weird putrid-colored plastic thingies at the bottom – it would give us an entirely subtle but updated loook.

Jeremy (and the Tinkler) were able to get the plastic things out in a jiffy.  They were actually really brittle and broke and just fell out… so I was able to grab a smaller ladder (c’mon, you know there is no way I am getting on anything higher than a stepstool!)…and pull out my favorite Frog Tape and an Xacto knife to cover the glass.

Okay….about an hour later, I had both lights looking like Halloween decor.

Then I laid out some paper and pulled out my spraypaint of choice – Rustoleum’s Indoor & Outdoor in Hammered Black.  I went with this because:

• I already knew flat spraypaint would end up looking like dingy again
• The hammered texture would cover any imperfections of an older light
• The black would really pop off the stone and would be easy to touch up
• This particular spraypaint brags on stopping rust (which we have!)

A quick couple of coats later, we have a much shinier light fixture.

Note – if the inside arms of the light fixture were really dingy, I probably would have taken the glass out and spraypainted the fixture completely disassembled….but since they were pretty protected from the lid and would have a layer of glass making them harder to see, they were not as vital to get shiny with a new coat.  But if you plan on doing this at home - you gotta assess the situation for yourself, know what I mean?!

Then came time for the lids.  The little finials look like pineapples, don’t they!?  Which is funny because I keep finding little pineapples all over the house (not real ones…although, I wouldn’t put it past me to overlook some old fruit laying around somewhere).

Anyhoo….as you can see, the hammered paint really puts a bunch more shine onto the finish.  It looks so much newer and nicer.

And here she is all cleaned up and appealing to curb-walkers.

Yes – the difference is subtle and not really high impact but I’m thrilled with how they turned out.  Totally worth the $5 of spraypaint and the $6 roll of FrogTape.  Set of new lights for $11?  Yes please and thank you.

The best part about this driveway makeover is that there is more to come.  We gotta tackle that mailbox, the broken stone and hide that drainage paver transition…plus, I gotta show you how we made our house numbers pop on a new plaque.

p.s.  See the plantings behind the mailbox?  Those are the same ones we put in the ground less than a year ago!  Click here to see em as newborns

Last year was our first year for planting a garden.  We have a great slice of yard in the front that is hidden from the driveway and the front exterior by some large bushes (those purpley ones on the left corner below)…and I was THRILLED to be able to plant a little happy garden last year.

By the time the end of the summer rolled around, our tomoto plants took off…as did the rosemary and basil…and the peppers did okay.  Everything else?  Um notsomuch.

Yeah – maybe I was overbearing….or maybe I was just plain unlucky with pests…but either way, the squash were literally squashed the first month…and the cucumbers?  They were like a cast member of Jersey Shore in front of Donald Trump.  They didn’t last a week.

So this year, I was determined to try some things again and to switch up a little to see if other plants did better.

In late January, the garden was looking a little, um, dead.   Except for the rosemary.  It survived.  It thrived.  It did yoga on the weekends just to show off.

And now, after tilling, resoiling, turning, planting and waiting patiently as I stared at the plants wishing them good growth…it looks a little like this:

Above from L to R: Yellow Squash,  Red peppers, strawberrys, and the rosemary transplanted from last year.  Dead bush in the corner – another rosemary.  Rosemary’s baby if you will.

The other side has four tomato plants (one big boy, one roma, one cherry, one deceased and dining with Jesus), along the back is a ton of basil, and the two in front are jalapenos.  I also planted two green peppers in the front right corner, but over-zealous Katie put them out too early and the last frost got them.  Surprisingly, they also got all the tomatos and jalapenos but they CAME BACK.

So I’m definitely thrilled…and still considering throwing some green peppers in there, as well as one more tomato plant and one more herby type plant for beside the rosemary.  May isn’t too late, right?!

And just as far as dreaming goes – I asked Jer to build me a nicer fence (the one above works great against the numerous deer and other critters we get, but it’s a pig in need of lipstick, if you know what I mean.) and I also asked for two more beds….BUT with him going back to the office and having limited time here, I decided that I would fulfill my need to put plants in the ground by planting three blueberry bushes instead.

Ideally, one day, like say maybe 2043, I will have a giant garden.  One that has wider pea gravel paths and six beds for all sorts of deliciousness.  It’ll have a nice fence with plantings and flowers around it so that it looks like it’s been there forever.  I would also love for there to be a nearby grape vines (maybe muscadines too since we are in the south afterall) and a beautiful chicken coop with a couple hens named after famous people.  That way, when I’m yelling at the chickens, it’ll put a smile on my face….afterall, who wouldn’t want to tell celebrities to “come eat”, amen?!

What would your dream garden have?  Have you been planting this year?  My dad decided that this would be his “Year of the Tomato”….he’s got six pots in his backyard with Big Boys.  Which is kinda hilarious because I think that the only thing my dad ever grew was a chest full of hair.  But he told me that they are showing fruit already - so it just goes to show that anyone can do this crazy thing called gardening

Basically I was just trying to get crafty with Will.  switch it up from our normal paint on paper routine.

I stole these rocks from our landscaping.  Totally worth it.

Will gives it a very excited thumbs up.

I picked three similar colors so it wouldn’t turn brown.  that would be kinda anticlimactic – brown paint on a brown rock.

While he was doing that, I got half of one done myself.  I think it would work well as a door stop

And I’ll give you a clue on what we are doing with this other one

I also took a few other photos that could be cute printed out and attached to the card to accompany the rock….

And of course, Will’s little signature would go right next to this photo

What are some other father’s day gift ideas for your really little one to create?  Or just for everyday?  I’m trying to build up an arsenal of summer funness….

I see my family.  I see other families.  I see our big mixing pot of Americans.  One big (sometimes highly dysfunctional) and passionate family.  And I see the sacrifice so many families have made for our lives here.  So many men and women, children and mothers and fathers and grandparents, they give of themselves….they give their most precious time, endless energy and tireless effort….they give their lives.  just so I can hum hymns to my unborn baby without fear.  so my son can sit on the floor with his grandparents and play and laugh and enjoy one another.  just so we can have freedom, hope and the ability to worship.

My heart goes out to anyone – man, woman or child – that is remembering a lost loved one today.  To the military families out there – I thank you for your daily sacrifice.  My family thanks you.  You are our heros.  You are remembered.  Your family is flying proudly with our flag today.

We hung a flag at our old house….and when we moved, I had to bring it with me.  No flag left behind.  We left the bracket though.  My goal was to have a flag up at this new house by last Memorial Day….obviously with all my other slacking that got thrown in with the mix.

This year – dubbed by me as Year of Git Er Done – we have it flying high.  Consider yourself here.  We are celebrating the lives of our fellow Americans.

Hope you are able to enjoy your long weekend too.

p.s.  At our first appointment (12 weeks) the doctor said he thought it was a boy but “he wouldn’t put money on it” – and I figured we get that confirmation at this past Thursdays appointment.  Unfortunately, the baby wasn’t in the right position to see (I blame a very full bladder) – so we have to wait four more weeks till we get the chance to see the private bits again.  And then we’ll start picking out names.  And think about nurseries.  And start imagining life with a baby brother or sister.

p.p.s.  I wasn’t disappointed – how can I be when I get to see that little heartbeat again?!  just impatient.  I’m so ready to name the little stinker.

p.p.p.s.  This baby is like the Karate Kid.  Kicking up a storm.  I should just call him Daniel son :)

I’m weird.  That’s kinda obvious.  But sometimes I get a genius idea…at least it’s pretty Einstein in my book….and in college my big idea was to hotglue foil wrapped chocolates to the wall.  I was my own version of Willy Wonka.  Sortof like lickable wallpaper – except more hygenic.  I have no idea what my roommate thought as I stood there with a giant bag of Hershey kisses and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups but I was so wrapped up in my own sweet idea (pun intended) that it didn’t matter.  I gave myself a gold star for that one.

So you can imagine my joy when wall decals became more and more popular.  Afterall, I am obviously a huge fan of sticking things on walls.

Enter Evgie Nev – they are one of our long time sponsors and they have adorable decals for any room in your house.  They have tons for nurseries -

and then they also have ones for bigger kids…

even ones that cover an entire space!  (hardy har har)  And so so much more.  Oh and yeah – most everything is customizable

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

• PRIZE : A $80 gift certificate to use at evgie Nev
• DESCRIPTION:  Removable Wall Stickers for kids and grown-ups spaces made from high quality vinyl – evgieNev is wall graphic shop. We offer handmade large and small vinyl decals with our designs and ideas:
• Nursery themed wall stickers
• Giant trees falling leaves decals
• Wall decal letters and inspirational quotes
• Floral wall decals
• Animals, birds, and more…
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) One
• TO ENTER : Leave a comment with the phrase ”Sticky Situation” and let’s chat about the funnest thing you’ve ever stuck on your walls….
• PRIZE SHIPS : USA and Canada
• NITTY GRITTY : This giveaway ends on Saturday, May 31st 8am EDT. Only one contest entry per email address. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and emailed to claim their prize.

GOOD LUCK!

p.s.  You can like them on facebook and hear about other discounts, contests and more!

This is just a brief interuption because I need a little brain dump.

First up….I have obsessed over patio furniture for the last, oh, forever.

So I did it.  I ordered.  More to come when more actually come.

Next – I hung some stuff on the living room wall.

Obviously I didn’t take the time or put in the effort to switch out the ugly photos, paint frames or do pretty much anything else.

I figured I’d show ya because….yeah, it’s coming down.

I got something big (literally and figuratively) that’s going up….something that makes my heart beat fast and gets my sexy-and-you-know-it vote.

Just keeping it real.

Tomorrow is the day.

Tomorrow we find out…for sure….whether it’s baby blue or pretty in pink.  And when I say for sure…I mean, maybe…as long as we get the little one to give us a proper crotch shot.

My apologies to those googling “proper crotch shot” and getting this post instead.

Which leads me to a phone dump.

Some are super old….like this one from our very first appointment when we confirmed that Will indeed exists and it wasn’t just a weird case of the runs.

Did you know that when I was about 15 weeks pregnant with Will, I cut myself really bad with a rusty box cutter and I was certain that I would indeed either contract a flesh-eating bacteria or my baby would end up with a third head?  It’s true.

Go Steelers!

This is Will at zero days old.  He was so swollen.  This kinda explains why the first thing I said to Jeremy after seeing Will was “I swear he’s yours!”

Tinkler the winkler…just a few weeks old.

Cousin Cole giving some love.

My sister’s car.  Yikes.

A little reading time.  I love that Will has both the paci and lovey and has his arm hooked under Coles.

Thanksgiving foursquare nighttime tournament with the family.

We were in the thrift store and Will put this helmet on before I could shriek – BUGS!

And yes…I find chunks of ice all over the house.  Will has learned that he can open the freezer, pull out items at his leisure and leave me cubes wherever he pleases.  At first I thought he was pulling some kinda Houdini act with the diaper….so I took great precautions cleaning up the mystery puddles.  That’s until I saw the chunk that sank the Titanic on the living room chair and this drifter on the stairs.

dump complete   what a closing remark, huh?!

In college, I had a secret dream to be a photographer for National Geographic.  It’s true.  I imagined that there would be nothing more glamorous than traveling to exotic locations, patiently waiting, scouting, emersing myself in local culture, and being able to capture it for the whole world to experience with me.  Of course, I didn’t have much experience, seeing as how I had never left the good ole US of A.  But I did have a dream.

So when the fine folks at Novica contacted me to host a giveaway – I was excited for a ton of reasons.

1.  They work with National Geographic (yeah how cool is that?!)

2.  They find artisans across the planet and make their dream come true through the miracle called internet.

3.  They wanted to give me the choice to pick out a little somethin-somethin

Peeing in my pants doesn’t begin to start how excited I felt.  I love presents.  I do not hide that fact.  I won’t apologize.  I do.  I love them.  I also love jewelry.  I have simple taste…sometimes no taste at all…but seeing all the options at Novica made me positively giddy.

I ended up picking the Aventurine long beaded necklace and the Lapis Lazuli stretch bracelet.  Both were created by a lovely woman named Ritu…who actually started jewelry making after her husband encouraged her to do it.  Isn’t that one of the most romantic things a man could say?!  Hey honey – you should craft beautiful things to go with your face!

But the Novica hand-crafted goodness isn’t only jewelry for us ladies.  Oh nononononono.  They make pretty much everything.  Silk fans, gorgeous shawls from Indonesia, cufflinks from India, Alpaca wool shawls, painted silk scarves, even home decor!  Are you excited now?

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

• PRIZE : A $75 gift certificate to use at Novica (total must include shipping)
• DESCRIPTION:  Novica wants to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, they want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.  At the deepest essence of their philosophy, they want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) One
• TO ENTER : Leave a comment with the phrase ”I have a dream!” and let’s talk about your dream…anyone wish they could be an astronaut or a marine biologist (that was a big one for my friends)…or perhaps you thought being a mom or a designer would be the bee’s knees?
• PRIZE SHIPS : Anywhere!
• NITTY GRITTY : This giveaway ends on Saturday, May 31st 8am EDT. Only one contest entry per email address. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and emailed to claim their prize.

GOOD LUCK!

p.s.  Novica also does Home PARTIES!  You know…like tupperware but way shinier Check it out here!

It’s plain as day that I have a thing for my camera.  It’s deep in my loins people.  Not the camera.  That would be gross.  The love that I have for taking photos…that’s deep….deeper than my loins…deeper than my cells…it’s like in my very essence.  That’s deep.  So it comes as no surprise that I was really excited when the fine folks at NeverCenter contacted me to review their new CameraBag2 product.  It’s basically software….but EASY….like beginners software with extreme results for your photos.

Seeing as how today is the last day to enter their camera giveaway - I thought I would do y’all a favor and give you a heads up to get your hineys over there and enter to win.  Yup – the Power Day isn’t supposed to start till tomorrow but that would be too late to win a camera just like mine.  That’s right – they are giving away a Canon 5D Mark II to one lucky winner.

But back to the software – it’s kinda like Photoshop but geared toward photographers who like to have fun with their photos.  It gives you the ability to change things REALLY easily…with drastic results.  It’s purely addicting.  And did I mention the filters?  It comes with filters…loads of them…and so you can make one photo into endless pieces of art!

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

• PRIZE : Free Full License ($30 value) to CameraBag 2
• DESCRIPTION:  The new CameraBag2 features a full suite of photographic tools, from simple exposure and cropping to advanced vignetting, color correction, and curves.  You can watch their trailer here.
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : (5) FIVE!
• TO ENTER : Leave a comment with the phrase ”In the Bag!” and for clicks, tell me - what’s your favorite piece of photography equipment?  A tripod?  A certain lens or body?  A software program?  Anyone love their extra battery?!
• PRIZE SHIPS : Anywhere!
• NITTY GRITTY : This giveaway ends on Saturday, May 31st 8am EDT. Only one contest entry per email address. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and emailed to claim their prize.

GOOD LUCK!

p.s.  Bored?  Check out the camera contest photo submissions on flickr…intriguing stuff.

p.p.s.  ENTER THE CAMERA GIVEAWAY HERE!  NeverCenter is on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter!