Flowerboxin'

I have flowers! This isn't on the '30' but still wanted to share. Picked out some annuals at Home Depot last week and planted them in a 36" window box. I decided on yellow and purple Pansies (one of my favorite color combos). Ideally they'd be hanging over the railing on my balcony, but that's on hold until I find suitable brackets. I initially bought these railing brackets but we couldn't get the brackets and flower box to stay securely against the railing. It appeared fairly certain that a medium wind gust would land the flower box atop my neighbor's car. When I went to return the brackets I ended up in a 15-minute convo with a sales guy who suggested I drill holes and fasten the box directly to the rails. I may end up jury-rigging a bracket but first I'm gonna try and find a ready-made solution. I found this Railing Flower Box Holder on Amazon and might just order it if I can't find something similar in a garden store this week. If any of my plant/flower-savvy friends/readers have a suggestion for me I'm all ears! Pictures below so you can see what I'm workin with!

Flower Box's Temporary Home On The Table

Purple & Yellow Pansies

A Subtle Shade of Purple

A few of the '30' are on my 'imminent' list. There's get back on the diet wagon, walk over to the Jewish Museum of Maryland, and paint a wall of my house. As I've mentioned before, even after 4 1/2 years all my walls (with one exception) are still "builder grade" white. The one exception is my power room on the main floor which is a light shade of yellow. It was a messy shade of red for a while after my one and only attempt at painting. It was disastrous hence the "clean up" job which was completed by a professional painter. My failed solo painting attempt really discouraged me from doing my own painting. That being said, I need some color in my life. I don't want to go crazy with paint, after all I tend to be a bit ADD when it comes to decorating, but a little color never hurt nobody. My plan is to start small and paint one wall (with the help of some paint-savvy friends). I think I've settled on the wall behind my bed (see below). I'm stuck on a purple. I'm contemplating both light shades and dark shades. Initially I considered a dark purple (plum) for an accent wall behind my bed and a lighter blue on the other walls. However, I've decided to paint just an accent wall and leave the others white. I'm leaning towards a more subtle purple, perhaps lavender or lilac is the most accurate description. I've put a couple of the samples below. I know it's hard to look at paint on a computer, but if you feel so compelled please chime in and let me know what you think.

Front View

Corner View

Behr Wildflower

Behr Lilac Rose

Juno Beach Evening

A few photo's from last week's Florida vacation. We celebrated my dad's 55th birthday with dinner and the beach.

stroll along juno beach

enjoying the evening beach breeze

charlie loves the beach

 

my awesome parents

Deidra & Music 4 More Make the BBJ

Big congrats to one of the my best friends in the world, Deidra Stevens, who was profiled this week in the Baltimore Business Journal. For those of you unfamiliar with Deidra's non-profit, Music 4 More, I encourage you to check out this profile, visit the website, friend us on Facebook, and come out to the next event. I'm so excited that Dede is finally getting the recognition she deserves. I'm so proud to be on the Board of Directors and elated to see the spotlight on the charity.

Living Social FAIL

I'm a Groupon-fanatic but I just recently signed up for Living Social. Yesterday, I got this Shenandoah Valley "deal" in my email:

$329 for a 2-night (weekday only) stay in the Shenandoah Valley (plus $60 dinner credit and $15 in gift certificates) doesn't sound so bad. I decided to check it out since visiting Shenandoah and photographing Skyline Drive is one of my '30'. But when I clicked "Find Out More" and went to the website for the 'By the Side of the Road Inn' I discovered they offer "Hot Deals" including the EXACT SAME DEAL for $149/1 Weeknight or $248/2 Weeknights. 

The $248/2 Night stay through the Inn's website includes a $60 credit to the same restaurant as the Living Social Deal and includes a bottle of wine. It does not include the $15 in "extras" but last time I checked $15 does not equal $81.

Not impressed Living Social. Not impressed. Always do your research. The good news is I discovered a potentially way fun 2-day getaway, purchased directly through the Inn of course. Or I could suck it up and just go camping...

The State Debate

As you know (or not), 1 of my '30' is to visit 1 of the 10 states I haven't been to yet. Here's the "need" list:

1. Alaska
2. Arkansas
3. Hawaii
4. Iowa
5. Louisiana
6. Michigan
7. Mississippi
8. Oklahoma
9. Nebraska
10. North Dakota

Now the big question. Where should I go?  

I've already nixed Hawaii and Alaska off my mental list. They are the most economically impractical. Never say never, but I'll say unlikely.

Louisiana appears the most practical in terms of a) finances and b) fun. New Orleans is the only city on my "need" list (outside of Hawaii) that I really want to visit. It's a Southwest city and I think I have a free ticket. I LOVE SOUTHWEST. Have I mentioned that? Now, if I want be really efficient I could go to the Syracuse-Tulane football game on October 8th. That would also cross the Syracuse Football Game off my '30'. I know Tulane football isn't a sexy choice but sometimes one must choose function over fashion, right?

Know what's really ideal? Caps vs Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals. That's what I call a great reason to visit Michigan, but I'm not holding my breathe. Another option is to visit Chicago (one of my favorite cities) and just drive to Michigan for the heck of it. You know, take a picture at the "Welcome to Michigan" sign for this blog and then turn around. Not that I have anything against the state that produced Silent Bob...

Kinda bummed that, aside from the Tulane game, the Orange and Ravens did not give me any options to cover both a "need" state and a game. The Ravens' 2011 regular season road games are all in "been to" states and Tulane is the only school that the Orange play in a "need" state. Even the Terps failed to give me any options.

Might as well nix North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Mississippi right now. I have zero desire to plan a special trip to any of the above. My dad thinks it's possible we drove through Nebraska once, but since he really can't remember (and he remembers almost everything) it's probably safe to assume it's still needed. My best friend went to grad school at Iowa. I kept wanting to visit (mostly to see her, but also to cross Iowa off the list), but she really really disliked it there and didn't want to subject me to the area. Now the only reason to go is Dyersville, but not sure that's worth a special trip (don't tell Ray).

Probably safe to nix Arkansas too. I actually do want to visit the Clinton Presidential Library but it's not a top priority. Louisiana and Michigan are higher on the list.

The only reason I haven't nixed Oklahoma is because I'm into any state with endless stetsons and cowboy boots. I'd love to catch an Oklahoma high school football game. I wish I actually knew someone who lived in Oklahoma.

In all likelihood, here's what's going to happen. One of these days a $39 Ding fare will pop up (to Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Detroit, Omaha, Jackson or New Orleans) and I'll book a last minute 1-nighter. That being said, if you have any reasons for me to visit one of the 10... Holla!!!  I'm very open to friend and reader recommendations and suggestions.

Twilight Revisited: Fresh Outlook, Stale Taste

I watched Twilight again. Took 2 attempts to make it through the full film (fell asleep the first try). I thought maybe I'd enjoy it more now that I've read the book. Wrong. Movie was actually even worse that I remember. My point? None other than criticism of poor adaptation. Let's just say you won't see any 'Team Edward' or 'Team Jacob' stickers on my bumper anytime soon. Tis all for now.