My curb-shopped concrete fountain

Look what somebody threw out!

A 5' concrete tiered fountain, that's what! It has a broken spot on one of the pillars and some small cracks in the bottom bowl - but I think that concrete and silicone epoxy should take care of that.

I'm so thrilled! I've been wanting one of these for a long time, but could never be the first one to respond to any Craigslist ads.

And I really like the price of this - $ZERO. Fit's my budget to a "T"!

Just feel like posting some front walk pics.....

This is just a temporary spot for the fountain. It will go in back, on the patio when the bricks and concrete are done. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the water noise right outside the front door.

Fountain and Patio are coming together......

I've been searching Craigslist for the last several months for an outdoor fountain. Found 2, but both were cracked, so not good. Finally went to Lowes today to see if their's were on sale.

This one was originally around $300, marked down to $210, but they didn't have any left. Except the display. So I asked how much for that? Got it for $125! Bought an additional pump, since I know this one has been running all summer. Yes, it's dirty and needs a good cleaning - but I love a bargain!

Hubby is just about ready to pour concrete to enlarge our back patio.

That square is the spot for the fountain that will be filled with concrete. Hubby will be installing an electric box just behind that square for the fountain pump and for some landscape and Christmas lights. But I'm getting ahead of myself. A row of evergreens will be directly behind this patio edge to make a backdrop for the fountain. During the winter, when the fountain can't be ran, I'll have sparkly Christmas lights on the shrubs to brighten our view.


The corner piece is for the bbq grill....


The perimeter will be concrete and the interior will be vintage bricks.

More pics as this project gets further....

A little more curb appeal

Being a lover of earthiness, like brick and stone....this week I decided to build 2 brick columns in front of the garages. Using antique bricks that FIL game me, I dry-stacked 7 layers...


And topped them with "aged iron look" urns....


Later, I will mortar them for more permanence - like when the weather actually gets cooler and I can stand being out there for more than 15 minutes at a time.


I think a fat pumpkin in each of the urns would make a nice fall display. And come Christmas, I will use cut some holly sprigs from my bushes. (Yeah, I'm thinking COLD weather!)

Potting up some plants...

This is the best side of the house for planting because of the southern exposure. (The brick patio and the stone-walled garden were made from recycled material gotten from another Freecycle member.)


This is my first attempt at food growing. I have tomatoes and peppers here and a zucchini in the back yard. Planted some marigolds because I heard that they keep some insect pests away because of their aroma.


I've potted some sweet basil, boxwood basil, thyme, rosemary and cilantro. Oh, and a pot of a sweet potato vine. In the back is a coleus that I will either plant in the ground or in a bigger pot.


Cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder. And I'm getting my first rose on the Knockout Rose bush that I planted last week. The metal headboard that the greenery is climbing on and the birdbath were both from Freecyle.



Another Knockout Rose bush planted in the front yard. This is going to look so sweet in front of the picket fence section.


Got this nice potting table on the curb a couple weeks ago. The wagon wheel was a gift from sister KK and the folding door in the background was a curbside find.


Now I need some plants for my shady porch. I'll check in with Freecycle to see if any generous friends with give some to me....

Deacon's bench in fall colors....

I'm taking full advantage of these wonderful days and dressing up the front porch. There's a place for you to sit and I'll bring you a cup of hot green tea. I have a cherry pie in the oven, too!

Deacon's Bench - Craigslist find

Hey guys, this is my 200th post! And I celebrated that today by getting a nifty deacon's bench for the front porch. It fits in perfectly and will hold pumpkins in the fall and a garland of mittens in the winter. It was just $35 and it will be fun to decorate it during the seasons.



That purply door is about gone...I'm repainting it a gleaming white. Won't that look fab against that black bench? Don't I sound all Hollywoody, darlinks?

For now, a simple green wreath will do.

Springtime sprucing under the South window

What to do with a big ole ugly concrete fish? The gaudy colors are kinda scary - the poor thing came like this from Freecycle. I tried to give it away...but it came back.

But a little dark hobby paint and now it swims happily amongst the holly in my little flower garden.

I added a nice, heavy bird bath (also free from Freecycle) and a hummer feeder. The cats are gonna LOVE their view now!

This is only May, so when the flowers come up (Pink Fountain Guara) I'll take another snap for you. All of the building stones came from Freecycle and some of the plants, too! I put this garden bed together all by myself. (So don't look too closely - it's a little crooked) The shepherd's hook and the metal headboard were both found on the curb. The red bricks were also from Freecycle. Can you tell I'm a bargain hunter?

This is my DD - also enjoying the new view. Hope we attract a whole herd (!) of hummers!

A tisket, a tasket.....

Look what the Easter Bunny brought me today - a truck load of antique bricks! These babies are about 12 lbs. each and are 4x4x8". And I'm told that there are about 2 more truckloads coming later! Bricks are right up there with chocolate in my book and I thank Bunny PapaLu for this wonderful gift to us.

Old wagon wheel for the front trellis

Sister KK gave this wonderful authentic iron wagon wheel and today I placed it in front of the front porch step for the vining plant that grows there. Hubby and I did some spring trimming around the yard and this plant got a good shearing so it should soon be sprouting long, healthy vines to beautifully accent this antique. I won't let it completely cover the wheel as I think just a small percentage will work the best. Ahhhhh, Spring brings out the human need for rebuilding and cleaning the nest.

A great blog site for you: Completely Coastal

Wow - In case you haven't visited it, Completely Coastal has some wonderful eye candy pics that you will simply drool over! This is one of them and I may just have to paint this for my dining room. And have you ever seen a steel igloo? For that sight, you have to go to her site!

Nature's Winter Sculpture

Front Arbor and Pickets

Yes, I am one of those ladies who loves a picket fence. I planted a vining perennial last fall at both bases of this arbor and can hardly wait to see the result this summer, as the vine will creep over and around the arbor and pickets. Today is a mild and sunny winter day, so this is the perfect "before" pic. The bush in front of the left picket is a white Rose of Sharon.

I NEED to live here, right on the pier, thankyouverymuch

A cozy vacation home on Martha's Vineyard. Yeah, it's mine.... NOT! But go ahead. Click on this to get a full picture of a wonderful vista! If you love this pic, Go over to Julia's
Hooked On Houses blog to see all the pics she's posted from the movie: "Sabrina" and to enter her giveaway. I'm certainly hooked on THIS house!