I love my crazy backyard. My tiny, crazy backyard. It makes no sense and it looks thrown together by a maniac who's sniffed and sprayed too much paint, but I think that's why I like it.

I can't grow plants. Most start to wilt as I walk in their direction, but for some reason everything grows. I like things to be perfectly spaced and level, and nothing is straight or level. Even the birdbath tilts. I love all kinds of pottery, especially outdoor pottery, but most of the containers are random thrifted items, repurposed for my purposes, i.e. the duck pitcher, the foo dog bookend, the ice bucket, and the random filing cabinet parts. Even the birdbath is made up of pieces purchased years apart that somehow work together in this garden.

And, best of all, it's boy and dog proof. Most of the plants are succulents and get broken off with abandon, only to replant themselves in an even better spot. Sometimes toys even make their way into the garden and take up permanent residency.

Because I love the color and the spirit of the garden, I would love to be able to sit outside. And read. Or nap. But it's so small. And there is no cover. And I can literally have full conversations with my neighbor who lives behind me because her house butts up against our fence. So aside from the full sun, the small space, and the "Hi, Diane!" thing, it would be a perfect place to build a respite spot.

That'll be my next project, figuring out how to spend more time in a place I like. Maybe something a little like ziss:

Just the bath, ma'am.

I've been thinking about finally finishing my tiny bathroom. Like, tiling the shower/bath area and getting a new, deeper tub. And a new window. In the pic below, you can see the old plastic surround and the ancient jalousie window. Both are still there and wreaking havoc on the bathroom in everyway an inanimate object can.

 

I went in search of some inspiration, which is difficult. Because to regular human sized people a "small bath" is the size of my living room. But for my purposes, a small bath is 5' x 7'. And it's the only bathroom. (Unless you count the random stand alone toilet in the basement).

 

For reference, here is the before:

If you want to read about the transformation, click here. Otherwise, after a lot of work, we got this:

But the inside of the shower looks the same. Which is sad.

So I've been pinning my life away and here are my inspirations for my tiny bathroom:

(Design Manifest)

 Marble basket weave floor! Subway tile! Simple, elegant, timeless,...yes, please!

But what if the subway tile were beveled?! Gorgeous!

(Houzz)

And what if there were a niche above the sink for happiness and sunshine and little toothbrushes for boys?!

(Debra Paessler Designs)

The only thing I'm totally stuck on is lighting. I have requested a heater/light/fan combo, but I need to bring the pretty. And no one wants to help. Which is where you come in...

Here is what I want:

(a new found treasure)

Except, only one and centered above the mirror. And maybe not quite so big. Like this:

(schoolhouse electric)

Also? I like this:

(remodelista)

And this:

(Brabourne Farms)

But then I went to etsy and found these:

(1, 2, 3)

All three great. But completely different. I would probably paint the top one. Most likely white. The other two I would leave as is.



 

So. What should I choose? They are all pretty awesome. I like the giant stork leg situations, but no one else seems to grasp my vision. Or be able to tell me I'm nuts...in a nice way with plenty of facts to back it up. Because I need the facts, in outline form, or I will not believe you. I will just think you are wrong.

So, help me online ones. You're my only hope.

Hams and Eggs



 What will get me to type on the blog again? A holiday. A fertility holiday. Eggs and bunnies. And spring break and a clean backyard.

Saturday morning before Easter the boys set about coloring their eggs. Out of 24 eggs, about half remained unbroken and were beautifully dyed and stickered. As were my hands. And all the paper towels. Beckett hands remained dyed a sickly blue, which he loved because zombies.

Easter morning Uncle Bunny and Aunt Mimi stopped by! They were in town because their web series Dark Pool was nominated for an award! Here they are all hunting for eggs!

Hartwell looking like the teenager he acts like:

Beckett looking his age:

And the backyard finally cleaned up for company. We should probably have people over more often, it's the only reason we clean our house anymore.

And for the big finish...the Easter bunny brought the boys a mentos/diet coke geyser dispenser holder thing...

Pretty sure it was their favorite thing ever! Mostly because the Easter Bunny may have just watched a Colbert Report episode with the anti-sugar pediatrician and had very little candy for the kids. It was mostly small change and toys...

At that point, just watching sugar is exciting!