Last week, I started working full time on a new production. Woo!!, but full time in the movie business means 8-16+ hour days. I've been averaging 13 hours a day, 5 days a week which leaves little to talk about and even less time to post. Most of my activities happen on weekends, so I'll try to put in extra effort to get something on here. 

I spend most of my free time on weekends trying to get my yard into shape.  It has already come a long way from when I moved in two years ago.

In the image above, the top picture is from when I moved in.  The paver stone area consisted of a line of pebbles, which were cute, but really not functional. The bushes and knock-out roses were overgrown, and that horrible monkey grass lined the walkway. 

The bottom image shows how much it has been cleaned up.. I removed the pebble path and added a layer of paver stones and trimmed the bushes and rose bush. 

Speaking of paver stones, I realized that one layer wasn't exactly cutting it.  The pine straw mulch spilled out over the pavers. Recently, I worked on a small flower bed near my garage and added a second layer of paver stones.

I continued the paver path down the front of the house, but ran out.  you can see the gaps towards the end of the row in the picture on the right. I'll post a full picture once the project is completed. 

I absolutely love holiday and three day weekends.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Groupon to pick strawberries.  I already knew that I wanted visit an orchard this spring and the Groupon just so happened to be for my favorite orchard in Blue Ridge, GA.  Mercier Orchards has a U-Pick program where you can pick strawberries, peaches, cherries, apples, and other fruit at various times during the year.

The Groupon could only be used on a Sunday and last weekend was a huge failure due to monsoon-esque weather all day Sunday; however, today was beautiful and I'm glad we made it out since strawberry season will be coming to an end soon.

 

The store at the orchard is overwhelming. Apple bread, cider, jams & jellies, apples, tomatoes, hard candies, and even strawberries for those who don't feel like venturing out into the orchards.  I personally don't see the fun in that, but to each their own. :)

There is also a small bakery.  We ended up getting blackberry, apple, peach, and lemon fritters. It was a perfect way to end the visit.  It might become a tradition since we ended our last visit (apple picking) with a few fritters.

Friday Photo

Foggy, early morning commute at 4am. 

Friday Photo

After living here for two years (TWO years!!!), this is the first time I've seen this dogwood bloom. :)

New Mirror

New antique mirror for the guest room thanks to my mom! Only $20 at a library yard sale in North Carolina!

Friday Photo

                        Progress. 

Last weekend C and I drove up to check out the Asheville Herb Festival.  I've wanted to check it out for yearsss, and I mean YEARS, and I finally made the trek up there!

The herb fest part was filled with vegetable plants, herbs, flowers, trees, and bushes.  The permanent Farmers Market area had jams, jellies, honey, fudge, plants, and more.

I ended up getting 5 types of tomato plants, a loofa plant (I'll be able to grow my own loofa sponges!), green pepper, lavender mint and peppermint.  We also picked up some cider, fresh cut fries, salt water taffy, and fudge. Yep, self proclaimed fatty right here. :)

It was a perfect weekend. 

Here's a look into what I purchased at the thrift store recently.

I've been spending most of my decorative energy on finishing my Vintage-Industrial guest room.  There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel, but today I focused on finding some more art and framing a print I already owned (pictured in the right column). 

I purchased this print from Nostalgia Fine Art when I visited Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta a few weeks back.

Frames are expensive, so I bought this frame (below) from a thrift store and painted it black.

Unfortunately, the sizing was a bit off.  Quick fix? Burlap!  I cut a piece using the cardboard backing as a template.

It doesn't matter is the burlap is perfect.  It's on the back so no one will ever notice. :)

And the finished result: 

Frame: $2 (It was $3.99, but it was 50% off day at the thrift store)
Burlap: Already owned (it's cheap and can be found at any craft store)
Paint: Already owned (runs around $1 at any craft store.  I used basic acrylic without a top coat)

Total: $2