24 February 2013

designed: the backyard fence

Soooo yeah... we got a dog. And he is totally awesome and all kinds of cute. But its winter and having to let him out every morning at 6 am is a very cold way to start the day.






















We've decided now would be a good time to finish the fence in the backyard.  Its a been a little tricky trying to figure out how/where to connect the fence to the house. Here is what the backyard looks like now... btw- don't judge me. I haven't done anything out there. Its sad now, but I've got a few ideas... anyway... I think this side is pretty easy. We are just going to run the fence up another 4' or so and turn towards the house with a gate. Can you believe how big the neighbor's new garage is?!? That's all I'm going to say about that monstrosity... I want to bury the white pipes that had to be added for basement ventilation. I need to figure out a patio surface too. I think concrete pavers could be cool...






The fence is in good shape. I want to plants all along the fence and I'd love to have a livestock tank pool here. Something like this would be perfect

This is the other corner, it looks pretty bad now, but in the summer is all full of ivy and bushes. 
And here is where we keep the garbage cans for now. I'm going to have a screen for them put in when the rest of the fence goes in. Here is part where it gets tricky. Our long single lane driveway is right next to our neighbor's long driveway. I want to cover as much of that view as possible, but we need all of the driveway for car parking...so I'm going to have the fence come across, just in front of the raised bed. I want to clean up and fence in that area for a kitchen garden.





a metal fence like this, is what I'm thinking
Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


Here is the awesome view of our own private parking lot.  Isn't that, um... ugly! The wood pile won't stay there. I think we are going to lower the fence and put the gate opening onto the concrete sidewalk. Like this maybe

I'm not crazy about the fence style, but since it's in really good shape- it makes no sense to replace it. If I were starting from scratch, I'd do something more modern and perhaps with mixed materials. I really love how these look
Source: remodelista.com via Lea on Pinterest


Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


I want to mix it up a little bit, while working with whats existing. I think I can do a more fun gate. Something a little more modern. I'm going to use these images as inspiration and see what I come up with. I'll share all the progress as it happens!

Source: remodelista.com via Lea on Pinterest


Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


If you'd like to see more of my outdoor ideas and inspiration, check me out on Pinterest. I've got a couple of pin boards for outdoor landscaping, gardening and entertaining.

xoxo Lea Hart






09 February 2013

loved: my Saturday morning routine

So now that my wild and crazy all night partying days are behind me... I find that I quite enjoy my early Saturday mornings. I usually let M sleep in, so its just me and the kittens. And now the puppy, too. The little black cat is Dizzy and the striped and white girlie is Blossom. They are named after a few favorite jazz greats.
I've been in love with Blossom Dearie since I discovered her in a London CD store many moons ago.



And the newest edition to the Pino clan is Zozo, he is a 1 year-old Springer Spaniel mix. We named him after Carrizozo New Mexico, the town where M's family is from and where we got married 2 summers ago. Awwwwww, he is so cute! We adopted him on New Year's Eve from the Washington DC Humane Society. He is a funny smart sweet little pup. Actually all our little critters are adopted from there. I strongly recommend/beg/plead for anyone considering a pet, to PLEASE adopt!!! There are so many sweet little buddies that need loving homes. And I think, they know you rescued them and they are always so loving and grateful. 


Ok, now back to my Saturday routine...
First, I'll play a little music and make my chocolate-y cream-y all natural latte. It is sooo good and so simple and not bad for you. It sounds weird to put maple syrup in coffee, but trust me - it doesn't taste maple-y at all. Seriously, try it... you'll never go back to Starbucks. Promise.

And then I read design magazines, design blogs and online magazines to my heart's content! Here are a few of my favorite online magazines:

Perfect for a lazy Saturday morning. 
xoxo Lea Hart