J'acuzz

The husband wants a hot tub. Actually, he wants a pool, but will settle for a Jacuzzi...

A few years back, I was at a home improvement show and they had these really cool "portable" hot tubs. I can't remember the price, but they were pretty inexpensive. They were filled with air and were supposed to be light enough to put on a deck and they were "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

Thinking back on it, I realize that last line was B.S. as NOTHING is ever "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

The subject of hot tubs came up again with some friends recently and few days later, I got a text from a friend: "Amazon is having a sale on hot tubs!" Amazon sells hot tubs?

Low and behold, they do! Those portable ones! Definitely NOT recommended for decks and apartments.

The best part was that the Coleman was on sale for less than $300!  With FREE SHIPPING to boot!

The Husband is happy!

I'm happy!

We've sat in it about three times in the last five days. It really is quite relaxing. It works well, and if we keep using it on a regular basis, we can think about upgrading to a more permanent tub. Perfect for two, three is fine, four is manageable--but not great, beyond that: no. Just no. 

I've been on an anti-Coleman rant for a while, but this gets me back on the Coleman train again... we'll see how well it does over the next year.

Let me know if you have a brand you like (or dislike). 

Have a great weekend! 

Spring Flowers

We did a little gardening a few weeks back and I thought I would share. 

First some flowers for the front porch... I love those little pots!


The Husband Rearranged the furniture: SO much better!


The Husband filled every pot we had with flowers.


Here's my Instagram "filtered until near death" image of the back.
We had dinner out there with my sister and it was perfect for cocktails and dinner!

Happy Summer!

Potting Table

I didn't take a lot of pictures during the process for this... D'Oh!

I had a computer desk I had long since stopped using and had put to use in my garage as a quasi-workbench. Once I got my workbench built, the desk went outside as a quasi-potting bench.

From the "Workbench in the Garage" era.

I remember my parents' old potting bench in their backyard, assembled by my grandfather from found materials. It was battered and old... but really neat. 

I decided to create something similar from found materials. A few 2x4s, a couple of extra composite boards, a nail gun, a few pocket holes, and a whole lotta barnyard paint later: a potting table was born! The nice thing is that I can use the former slide out keyboard drawer to hold tools!

I learned a few things from this project:
1) don't improvise and
2) slow down when painting, otherwise it will go everywhere.

It's not going to hold much, but it's form over function for this...

Meanwhile, The Husband made a bird house! 

Still under construction in this pic, it's pretty adorable.