Tag: hidden

Home Improvement

New lattice

Jessica Smith

Today I am tired. Seriously tired. My weekend was packed with an oyster night, painting of built-ins and replacement of old lattice.

If that doesn’t sound tiring to you, well then I am envious. But add 6+ hours of being outside in what seemed like 100% humidity… I guess it is no surprised I could fall asleep pretty much anywhere tonight. Anyway, the important thing is that I can cross another nagging project off of my list! Our lattice.

I of course have no before picture of this project, but picture nasty, rotten wooden lattice hiding our garbage cans. Except it didn’t hide our cans… it came about 6-8″ shy of covering our recycling bin.

Did I mention it was rotten? So rotten that the lattice simply peeled away and the posts came out of the ground with a few good kicks.

Once the lattice was out of the ground and out of the way, my dad and I got to digging new post holes. Our plan was to dig 18″ holes and cement the new posts into the ground for a more sturdier garbage hider.

Post digging

Here’s where I add that my bossy dad did most of the work for this project. I assisted and pointed out when he was building things wrong 🙂 He is awesome.

After we dug two holes up front, we built a frame out of pressure-treated 2″x4″s and attached the lattice — I opted for the plastic version instead of the wooden lattice. We plopped it into the holes and made it level before adding dry cement.

lattice edge

Then we started working on the other side. Same thing… dig hole, build frame, attach lattice. When everything was level, we added water to our cement to permanently affix the lattice in the ground. We then started tackling the brick pavers — we smoothed the ground out beneath the already-existing pavers before adding patio sand. We threw some tarp down and placed the stones back in the garbage area. Nice and flat! Woo!

At that point, the cement was dry, so we put all of the dirt back on top of the cement and around the base of the enclosure.

Tah-da!

LatticeBuh-bye ugly lattice, hello nicely hidden garbage cans

IMG_3860

And in case you were wondering how bad the old lattice really was… here it is waiting to be taken to the dump next to our new stuff. Gross!

Lattice Old V New… Go Ravens!

Life

Beer Scavenger Hunt

Jessica Smith

All my hubby wanted for his birthday was cake and beer. Being the birthday lover that I am, I was a little sad that he didn’t want to celebrate turning 27 with our friends and didn’t want any awesome gift. So I decided to make his request a little more exciting by sending him on a scavenger hunt to find his beer.

So, I snuck out one night to do some grocery shopping and to stop by one of the liquor stores in the area that has a nice selection of craft beers — Perfect Pour is the bomb! I picked out 28 unique beers (one for good luck!), and stashed them in my craft room so he wouldn’t find them. Then, I created 18 clues (they all rhymed!!) and strategically hid all 28 beers around the house and the yard. I also hid one at the neighbors. It was a lot of fun to watch him hunt, and it was a fun way to make his birthday a little more special.

Clue #1: Remmy likes to eat these, sometimes more than treats. Sometimes they are stinky, ‘cause they belong on feet.

Clue #2: All you asked for was cake and beer, I guess you’ll want one cold. Better find the rest real fast before you get too old.

Clue #3: Don’t hate me too much, some beers come in pairs. For your first set of two, go check the Harry Potter closet underneath the stairs.

Clue #6: You know who’s quite the loser? That Steeler’s boy – Big Ben. You know what’s so much cooler? Your beer that’s in the den.

Clue #9: I’d rather have a power tool than a brand new, shiny ring. Good thing they’re all so organized, you can find everything!

Clue #13: Modern Family and New Girl are the bomb. So is HGTV. Good thing ours is a 55 incher, with totally awesome HD.

Clue #15: While you’re outside, you should probably check the trees. Just watch out – don’t step in Remmy’s poop or pee.

I hid about half of the beers while he was playing a video game… so sneaky 🙂

Then, he ran out to get tonic water at the grocery store, so I frantically hid the rest. As he pulled into the driveway my neighbor shouted, “HE’S HERE!!!!!” I tossed the last beer into a pile of leaves, which was really hard to find later, and ran inside to meet him.

Also, to throw him off my sneaky scent, I went out and bought a 12-pack earlier in the day to keep good on my “cake and beer promise.” Haha I felt a little ridiculous buying even more beer when we had 28 bottles at home. Oh well!

All in all, he had a great time. If your man is a beer lover, you should totally do this for him. It’s hilarious to watch them hunt and is a manly(ish) way to make them feel special on their birthday.

And don’t forget the cake! Purple — just for the Ravens!

Wipe that scowl off your face, boy. You loved the hunt 🙂

Happy birthday to my favorite husband. I hope it was a low-key and special day, just like you wanted. <;3 You are always such a good sport.