Privacy Please: Our Quick Deck Makeover

One of the best features of our new house is the deck. It's spacious, comes right off the kitchen, and unlike a lot of decks in the area, it actually has stairs to the ground level for the pups. We spent the majority of Saturday basking in the great sunlight it gets which was all it took to convince us to invest in some privacy!

This is what you see when walking out the back door. I'm sure the neighbors are nice, but I really don't want to see their backyard- even if they have gotten rid of the piles of old furniture and the rusty 50 gallon drums.

When deciding how we were going to solve this little problem, we ran through a few ideas. The first was a row of tall potted evergreen trees- like this:

I was thinking a long, sleek, rectangular plantar to line one side of the deck. Of course, this idea was a little too costly and we probably aren't going to be in this house long so it wasn't ideal.

D's idea was to put up some lattice work.

Not really my style. And if we were installing it ourselves, it would have lovely unfinished edges I'm sure- we're not exactly equipped to do a project like this correctly. I want something nice to look at!

So, off we went to Lowes and we found the perfect solution- a privacy screen! It had a sleek look to it, matched some of our other furniture, and we can take it with us the next time we move. And the best part- it hides our neighbors perfectly! D attached it to the deck railing with some screws and wire so it wont go anywhere. He's so handy!

In addition to the privacy screen, we picked up a couple of black pots and trellises with clean lines. To climb up the trellis, some jasmine that will smell great when it blossoms and some trailing petunias and dusty miller to fill the bottom. They will provide us with some extra privacy and a pop of color.

To make the deck look more inviting, we arranged this little nook with all of the potted herbs and the rocking chair. Very cozy and it gets great sun for the plants. 

Here's the view from the back door after our little makeover:

The deck that once felt too big and exposed is starting to feel intimate and inviting- and after only purchasing a few items! Sorry, no before pictures- the neighbors were out in their yard when we were putting the screen up and I felt bad! 

The next task is to pot the tomatoes and peppers and put them along this rail. They will still get long days of sun and also provide more shading from the neighbors on the other side. Also, I think we're going to put a tall evergreen in the corner where the grill is so you don't have to see the neighbor behind us when you're standing at the kitchen sink.

Is it obvious that D and I came from the Midwest where backyard privacy is a given? Now this place is starting to feel like home!

Link Up

The Shady Porch- Rock 'N Share

Cozy Home Scenes- Your Cozy Home Party

Read more »

My New Toy

Let me introduce you to my new little friend:

Meet Little Red, my Imperia hand crank pasta maker from Williams-Sonoma. Makes fettuccine and linguine and flat sheets for ravioli. Many good times ahead with this one! Stay tuned!

Read more »

Get Started Gardening!

It's not too late to get started growing your own produce! I have been dreaming about getting to start a garden in the new house in Maryland and I didn't waste any time. The day after I got here it was off to the home improvement store to pick out loads of seed packets and seed starting trays!

If you've never gardened before, like myself, you may be wondering where to start. Start doing some reading! Not only do you need to know where to begin but also what is in store for you the rest of the growing season. As always, Martha Stewart is always a great reference- check out her Vegetable Garden Guide as a starting point. I also picked up a couple of great books that I highly recommend.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible tells you everything you need to know to start gardening, including an index of every plant you can think of and how to make it grow happily. A great reference!

I also picked up the Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook because I am a person who needs step by step lists! All you need to know to use this book is your date of last frost, then open up the book to the right week and see what you need to be doing. To find the average date of last spring frost for your area, check out this chart.

Another vital piece of information for any type of gardening is learning your hardiness zone. Your zone  will let you know what kind of plants will do best from year to year, taking into account your region's high and low temperatures. You can input your zipcode into this website to easily find out! You might be surprised to know that Tulsa and Frederick, Maryland are actually in the same zone- 6B. I'm thankful that it doesn't get much colder than it did back in Oklahoma!

To make it really easy on yourself, you can use this tool from the Farmer's Almanac to input your zipcode and find out when to start your seeds indoors and outdoors. It even tells you moon-favorable dates to plant! I wonder if that makes a difference... at this point I will do anything that might help! If you've started seeds indoors, this tool will tell you when to put those babies in the ground.

I hope this post will help you be motivated to start your own garden- it's easier than you think! I've already picked up 23 seed packets- I got a little carried away! Next post I'll show you how I planted my seeds and what is already growing, in the mean time check out my collection of gardening pictures and articles on my Pinterest board- Gardening.

Read more »

Our Engagement Story

The weekend of November 3rd, 2011 was a big one indeed. We got engaged, decided I was moving from my hometown in Tulsa all the way to Maryland, and bought our first house together. Keeping in line with how I like to do things- as soon as possible.

We were visiting Frederick, Maryland on a house hunting trip after Darren had been promoted to a position there. He knew I wasn't going to move without a promise of forever and I knew he was running out of time to pop the question. It had to happen that weekend. And even with that anticipation, he still surprised me!

Fooling me into thinking we needed to pop into the office before dinner, I got all done up and started researching local restaurants. A text came from Darren telling me to come downstairs, so I grabbed my things I walked out the front door of the hotel to find a limousine and a man named Jimmy. "You must be the lovely Lauren," he said and I got in the car. Still no Darren. Where could he be?

We drove through beautiful neighborhoods and then came to a stop in front of Baker Park in downtown Frederick. There, standing under a gazebo, was Darren. I walked up to him and he promptly got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I said yes, of course and the tears started flowing.

But the night just got better. We shared some champagne as the limo drove us all over Frederick's quaint downtown where we would soon be moving and we admire all the gorgeous old colonials. Then we headed to dinner at The Silver Maple, built 1790 and patronized by George Washington. Darren knows I love old things. This place was perfect! The dinning room had gorgeous murals of the surrounding landscape and the food was divine! Darren's cider-brined porterhouse pork chop was perfectly cooked and had just the right amount of sweetness. We will be going back to celebrate other milestones in the future.

So, since then it has been a whirlwind of packing, planning and organizing everything for my move and also for the wedding. The date is set for April 20th, 2013! Yes, I realize it's a bit early but it's easier to do everything now while I'm here.

Lot's more to come!

Read more »

I'm Back!

I've had a lot of people asking me when I'm going to start blogging again. Well I am back!

A lot of life changes have occurred in the past few months, some good some bad, and blogging became too much to keep up with. As D so wisely said, it shouldn't become something that felt like a chore. So, here I am refreshed and ready to go!

Now, I'm going to share some exciting news with you! On November 3rd under a gazebo in a gorgeous park in Frederick, Maryland, Darren got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! The date is set for April 20th, 2013. Yes, I know it's quite a ways away but that doesn't stop me from beginning lots of planning...

Dinner after D popped the question

Some other big news- I will be moving to Frederick in the spring to join Darren in our new home! As sad as I am to be leaving my family, friends and my dear Tulsa, I am very excited for all that lies ahead. Being only 45 minutes away from Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as well as many historical sites, there will be plenty of exploring to do. Not to mention all of the charming shops and eateries in Frederick's darling downtown. And the landscape is absolutely picturesque out there!

A covered bridge in Frederick

This will be our regular view driving home from the airport!

So, stay tuned. Lots more to come!

Read more »