DIY: Birdcage earring holder

This project was super easy and I'm actually thinking about re-painting it a different color. I found this birdcage at T.J.Maxx for $7.99. The color was coppery, and not really what I was looking for. I actually wasn't even sure what I was going to do with it.

So I spray painted it with primer first.....

And then with white spray paint......it sat on my dresser for months until I thought that my earrings might hang nicely from it.

Voila!

It's nice because I had my earrings in a drawer that I hardly ever opened and now I can see my earrings all the time! I'm thinking I might change it to a brighter color to match our bedroom.

Front yard landscaping

We bought our house over a year ago. These two pics show what the front yard looked like...blah....dead grass, tiny shrubs, random rose bushes. 

We really didn't know what we were going to do with the landscaping. Last year we went to Nick's Garden Center and showed a guy some pictures of the front....the ones at the top. He gave us some examples of plants to use. 

Dwarf Colorado Blue Spruce

Magic Carpet Spirea

English Lavender

Pomegranate Yarrow

I estimated that it was going to cost us about 400 bucks to landscape just the front, based on what the guy had recommended. We kept putting it off, not wanting to spend the money......then one day at Home Depot in the dead heat of August everything was on sale! The blue spruce that cost $169 at the garden center was on sale for $39.99, the magic carpets that were normally $45, were $19! I couldn't believe it! I was giddy......but I was also nervous about planting brand new plants in the heat of summer. We planted everything and watered it regularly....and what do you know it all came back!!! I am amazed at how much everything has grown.

Greg and his dad put in a sprinkler system to both the front and back yards. They set it up so that we would could set up a drip system really easily. Greg set that up a few weeks ago. You can see how the shrubs came back!

We put those step stones last year as well.

These pics were taken in April of this year. We got a coupon in the mail from Holland Bulb Farms and we got $25 worth of jumbo yellow tulips. They actually came up! They were really pretty, but only lasted about two weeks.

Every week or so I go to the local garden shop and look at perennials to plant. Hopefully by mid summer the plants will be even more impressive!

Getting back into photography

I took on this new project at work, (I am a registered nurse), where I am going to have to get back into photography. I have been having a hard time finding the time and motivation to get back into it. I tend to do better when I travel because it gives me the motivation and a fresh look.  I started looking at some of my old pictures that I had taken for inspiration....I had forgotten about a lot of these.

Venice, nighttime 2006

eiffel tower, Paris France 2006 

La Sagrada Familia Barcelona Spain 2007

Outside of Alhambra 2007

Denver Zoo 2007

Denver Zoo 2007

Gus 2012

Gus 2008

Erin 2009

Madeliene 2009

Madeliene Hawaii 2009

And this one is one of my very first great photos taken in Mexico. It actually received photo of the day on the Smithsonian for February 21st 2007.

Cielito Lindo 2003

I have a lot of work and relearning to do in order to be ready to start this new project, but looking at my old photos has sparked some motivation. Since traveling is not cheap, I'm going to have to start to see a fresh perspective in every day life in Denver. Getting nice lighting and interesting perspectives will probably mean I have to get out of bed early in the morning or stay out late in the evening. 

Back to Bloggin'

I have decided to come back to the blogging world. I know I took a long break. The layout is going to change a bit....it won't be so much about wedding stuff anymore....more life stuff....house, gardening, random projects, cooking, etc... life. So....stay tuned.

 

here is a picture of our home....

we've lived in it a little over a year