Weekend Snapshots

Hope everyone’s having a relaxing weekend! I wanted to share a few snapshots from the past couple of days. Here in the US, it’s been a long 4th of July weekend, and there are many ways to celebrate this holiday. For me, it’s all about taking a step back from life, being grateful, spending time with the people I care about and trying to remember that it’s summer. It’s been a busy one, and I don’t have a big trip planned so it’s all about the little moments this year! Later in the post I’ll talk about the crazy invention above called the Kosmic Kactus, but for now, here’s how I’ve spent the weekend…

People who know me well can vouch for the fact that I LOVE spending time outside creating little plantscapes in my yard and garden. Above is a spring planter I put together, and it’s struggled a bit after getting over-saturated with the heavy rains we’ve had this spring and summer. I removed the dead plants and tried to bring it back to life a little this weekend. I also added the large rose quartz that my dad gave me a few days ago (thanks Dad)!

Speaking of family, I spent a lot of time with them this weekend. Above is a photo of me and my husband Todd, taken on the 4th of July just before we left to see the fireworks. We had my parents over for a special holiday appetizer and drink session (goat cheese with lemon, roasted tomatoes with thyme, citrus-chili corn, orange mint iced tea, specialty beer), then grabbed a bite for dinner. For a glimpse at my retro-modern 4th of party July table, check out this post.

Above we see a shot from the hilltop where we watched the fireworks. From this vantage point, we could see about 4-5 different fireworks displays at once (from all over the city), and there was hardly anyone else there. No traffic, lots of neon firework action…my kind of night! Too bad my camera freaked out and didn’t let me get any good photos once it got dark! I just maybe might have watched Independence Day this weekend too. You know, back in the day when actors like Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman starred in movies where they were romantically involved with women roughly their own age. By today’s standards, that was the bigger phenomenon than the alien invasion.

And what long weekend would be complete without a trip to the nursery? It’s a jungle in there…

I headed to the Home Depot garden center because I also had to pick up a hardware supply (convenience counts when it’s this hot outside, right?)! Little did I know I would be introduced to a paint-covered wonder called the Kosmic Kactus. Say what you will about this freakish concept, the plants definitely photograph well! Yet I can’t help but wonder what happens when there’s new growth. I imagine something kind of like a bad manicure.

And there you have it! But the weekend is far from over. Tonight is a new episode of Halt and Catch Fire, and you’ll be delighted to know that later this week I’m posting my interview with Lance Totten, Set Decorator for this ’80s-set show about the PC revolution. Stay tuned!