N E E D I T ?

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was in the lowes home improvement store and while they don't have all their plants out yet since the last frost hasn't passed, they do have a ton of patio stuff and goofy yard 'decor'...though i do kind of dig those mushrooms.

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P L A N N I N G

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i thought i'd actually kick off spring with an actual plan on what i'm going to plant instead of just deciding midsummer that i want to replace something and then not finding a good replacement. i'm planning so much i've actually ordered plants for these planters that need something special.

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G A R D E N F A V E S

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we've spent most of the past 2 weekends getting the yard in shape for spring. here's my 3 favorite 'tools'.

smith&hawken adjustable rake. god i love this thing. perfect for small yards like ours and and the distance between tines are adjustable (wide or narrow) depending on what and where you're raking. 

pruners, gloves, coffee

the powerwasher that gets things looking good as new
(sometimes too new...more on that later).

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I N B L O O M : M A R C H

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i'm definitely going to plant more of these hellebores under the tree. 

they looked amazing in this giant window box in front of a new restaurant on prince street.
i'm getting some good ideas!

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S P R I N G C L E A N I N G

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it's slightly springy out lately...50 degrees...so we thought we'd get a jump on some yard cleanup. with hurricane sandy, and multiple snowstorms there's alot going on back there! aside from lots of raking, there was lots of pruning, getting rid of a small stump and digging up some invasive bamboo. filled 5 giant leaf bags with all this!

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T O O C U T E T U E S D A Y

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here's our 'outdoor cat' inhaling some cat food on one of those snowy days last week. poor thing...he looks just like arnold...except totally dirty. i hate to think of this little guy out there in the frigid cold ...he's so skittish so we know he's a stray...at least he can eat well.

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T H E N E W P E T

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the jury's still out on how effective our new roomba robot vacuum is, but the cats are having a bit of a problem with it so we're trying to ease their transition and get them used to it little by little. we're hoping to put it on while we're not home so we don't have any freakouts. 
last weekend poor willis got trapped in the bedroom with it and vented his anger by peeing, pooping, and puking at various locations around the room...and roomba doesnt clean that up! it took him a full day to recover! arnold is intrigued though.

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S M A L L W O R L D S C R E A T I O N

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you've seen the awesome terrarium i bought from sprout in this post.
we thought we'd try our hand at making some of our own with some of the antique bottles we bought last year. they came out pretty good....let's just hope they stay gorgeous! we're definitely keeping our eye on them.

supplies ordered and ready!

a hiker and a campfire to complete it

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D A D L

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missing my dear father in law today on his 70th birthday.

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S M A L L W O R L D S

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i'm loving the new terrarium trend that seems to be everywhere these days...there's even a store here in Gowanus that specializes in terrariums and supplies (havent been yet). 
this is a particularly perfect project for me: i love gardening, adore 'little worlds' like this (especially my dads amazing train layout), mossy/tiny plants...plus it's winter and gardening is out... for a bit.
last weekend i bought this gorgeous, perfect, fabulous terrarium at Sprout in Williamsburg. i can't stop looking at it...and it just makes me smile. more on this topic to come....

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D C B E A U T I E S

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a few month ago we decided to go to dc for thanksgiving weekend...i hadn't been there since i was a kid and was pleasantly surprised by it's beauty, size, and 'city-ness'...it's more than just monuments and the white house! i guess that's all i saw when i was 8. of course, i took scads of photos of some beautiful townhouses, mostly in georgetown which was really lovely in autumn.

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