DIY Restoration Hardware Planter

Y'all.  I am tired.  So tired.  DIYed out.  I have so many projects going on that I can't really focus on one and the thought of starting another project makes me want to run away.  Sadly, I am also really cheap and need planters stat.

For Christmas, I bought Brian an avocado tree and I bought myself an orange tree at a local fruit tree sale.  Have y'all been to one?  Within 30 minutes everything was gone and I thought elderly people were going to start throwing bows.  It was intense.  Anyway, this was in January.  Our little trees are growing fast and are desperately in need of a larger home.

Here is the problem.  Planter pots are expensive.  Crazy expensive.  Even large terra cotta pots cost a lot for the size I need, and they are kind of ugly and not really the shape I want.  Attractive, large planters are usually $100+.  I can't.  I can't spend that much money on something that sits outside all day with dirt in it.  I can't.  Plus I need 5 of them.  $500+ for planters....no thank you.  I'd rather get roundtrip tickets to the Caribbean.

Then I found these beauties.  The Reclaimed French Oak Staccato Planters from Restoration Hardware.

DIY Dock Progress - Part 3

There is light at the end of the tunnel!  I can see it!  We are so close!

This weekend we finished up the framing for the dock AND we started putting down deck boards.  Sunday afternoon we ran out of stainless steel screws so we were forced to stop.  It was nice taking the evening off and resting.  After two weekends of work, and I have been working on it some during the week, we are tired.  Can't wait to relax out on the dock!

DIY Dock Progress - Part 2

In Dock Progress - Part 1, y'all got to see the main frame of the dock coming together.  Over the weekend we also got our tie backs done for the boat lift.  Don't know what a tie back is?

Don't feel bad.  I didn't really understand them either when we first moved here.  Tie backs are an anchoring system for posts along the bulkhead.  Even though the posts along the bulkhead and the 2 posts we installed for the lift are really deep in the ground, the ground is soft and there is constant current that causes movement and erosion.  Also, the weight of the earth against the bulkhead causes tons of pressure on the posts and for the boat lift posts, the weight of the boat puts stress on the them.

To help with strength, the poles are "tied back" into the yard.  Posts along the bulkhead are connected to a buried post in the yard with a metal rod.

Here is how we anchored our boat lift posts.

DIY Dock Progress - Part 1

Happy Tuesday morning!  I hope everyone had an amazing weekend.  Ours was filled with tons of work but we finished it off with fun, crawfish, and friends.

Last week, Brian took Thursday and Friday off to work on the dock.  Here is a reminder of our sad original dock.

DIY French Drain

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter!  We worked all weekend.

I can add french drain to my list of DIY projects.  This was not an easy task and was very labor intensive but hopefully worth the effort.

Several neighbors and friends have asked why we did it.  So for those of you who are wondering why we went through all this trouble, here is the answer.

Our backyard is sloped.  You can't tell from previous pictures I have posted but there is definitely a slope.  The closer you get to the water, the more severe the slope.  Here are a few pictures from our neighbor's yard.  Excuse the mess in my yard.

Instagram

Happy Friday!  No furniture today but I do have something to share.  I opened an Instagram account. Well, I opened an account years ago but never used it.

Truthfully, this is not something I wanted to deal with.  I have plenty to do and the thought of one more social media to keep up with gives me a headache.  But here is my problem.....

I have 750+ Facebook followers.  Facebook is my main source of sharing and social media.  Anytime I post pictures, share other's pictures, or share links and blog posts, only a small fraction of my followers will see the post.  EXAMPLE:  Yesterday's post, Polishing Brass Tutorial, was published at 11:00 AM CST and only 65 out of 750+ Facebook followers saw it.  65!  Some of that is because of the time, who is on Facebook looking at their news feeds, who has chosen to get all notifications, etc. but a lot of it is Facebook hiding posts from followers.

Polishing Brass Tutorial

In yesterday's post, Brass is Back, I showed y'all a few accessories I have inherited recently.  Both are brass pieces and were tarnished.  I cleaned and polished them to the shiny, brass they were meant to be.