DIY: Mason Jar Wall Planter

I love the cool, crisp mornings we've just begun to experience here in the Northeast. Fall is in the air and that puts me in the nesting mood to create craft projects to warm up my home. This in-between season leaves me savoring the last greens of summer before the oranges and browns take over the foliage. I love this Mason Jar Wall Planter that CRAFT posted from Not Just a Housewife. It creates a wall of bursting green plants. It’s simple, sturdy and great for hanging vine plants and bringing in a few herbs and spices from the kitchen garden before the first frost (gasp).

Do you know about CRAFT? Their goal is to unite, inspire, inform, and entertain a community of highly imaginative and resourceful people who undertake amazing crafting projects. I look forward to their updates in my inbox each morning. The quirkiness and the diverse array of projects from all over the web makes CRAFT a worthy daily read.

In the mood for more fall DIY? Check out these 3 Fabulous DIY Fall Projects For The Home and 5 Fall Plants To Plant and 5 (more) Fall Projects To Make.

Not Your Typical Tag Sale

While some sing the praises of purchasing used stuff until the cows come home (or the horses, in the case of the tag sale I attended on Saturday), I am not a tag sale extraordinaire like many of my eco-cohorts. If pressed, I would probably choose a deeply-discounted sale, or a decent consignment shop like Designer Resale in NYC, or The Closet in Boston, over rummaging through tossed out duds on a lawn. But every now and then a tag sale whizzes across my radar, and a lonely abandoned chair winks at me, or some junk jewels shimmer in my direction.

A letter piqued my interest in Rural Intelligence, a fabulous online local resource for Berkshire, Columbia, Northern Dutchess (where I live), and Northern Litchfield Counties:

Dear Friends,

Having just had a “milestone birthday” and embracing some of the ideas from the book, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I decided to do more than clear a shelf or a closet. In my usual obsessive way, I tackled barns and attics, my studio, and the basement. Whilst I am not quite going Zen in style (far from it), I am attempting to “declutter.”

This will not be the organized, “pretty” tag sale like the one I wrote about in Veranda Magazine a few years ago, but just your classic old fashioned yard sale, with a mix of things from garden hoses to some of my beloved ribbons and silk flowers. It has been hard for me to give up some of those, but this is an exercise in editing. There is a bit of everything.

If you are around the northwest corner of Connecticut, please stop by.

Best,Carolyne Roehm

What style-guru Carolyne Roehm did not mention in her note, was that a portion of the proceeds of the sale would be donated to Women’s Support Services. I recognized this as an absolutely prowl worthy eco-mission.

Zen style or not…Sign me up!

Now to be honest, I’m only vaguely acquainted with the rules of tag sales. For instance, I read this letter on Thursday, and Saturday around 11 AM I called my friend Juliet to see if she wanted to join me. I knew it would be right up her alley because Juliet is an equine photographer and Carolyne’s address was located in prime horse country.

We meandered through Dutchess County and into Litchefield, Ct. via a healthy lunch on the porch of the Red Devon Restaurant, which is named the best green restaurant in the Hudson Valley.

Any tag sale shopper worth her weight in recycled items knows that when a sale is slated for 9-4, you show up in an empty SUV by 8am. We landed at Carolyne’s around 2pm in my little Jetta Diesel.

We wound our way up the spectacularly stately, and stunning property. (Would you expect anything less?) Juliet jumps out of the car and starts taking pics of horses while mumbling under her breath, “These horses have such a wonderful life.” Bless her equine heart, but my eyes are peeled on the people walking back to their cars with bag loads of goodies. I am now chomping at the bit - worried that we are missing the whole shebang.

one-horse

I left Juliet clicking away and headed up the path to the “sale” barns where I was greeted by a “team” of helpers. One of those helpers turned out to be my friend and neighbor, Mimi. To make an already long story short, Mimi introduces us to the energetic, and ever so stylish Carolyne, and her lovely mother. A charming and serendipitous meeting.

After filling up my little trunk with fabric scraps, a serving tray, signature wrapping paper (not so eco, but the price was right), and a bunch of other knickknacks, some of which Carolyne gave us, we headed home basking in the glow of the thrill of the hunt.

Not your typical tag sale, huh?

Credits: Rural Intelligence, Juliet Harrison Photography, Ted Fink

Backyard Bear

YES, that is a bear in my backyard.

YES, YES, that is a bear in front of the studio/office.

YES, YES, YES, that is a bear eyeing the one remaining birdfeeder we left up.

YES, YES, YES, YES, that is a bear hugging a tree because my dogs caught the vibe and were barking like crazy.

I could not bring myself to write about this right away, as it scared the living daylights out of me. All four of us, and my son’s girlfriend were home when the visitor appeared in my backyard. They were totally smitten by the uninvited guest. I freaked.

My husband and daughter sprang into paparazzi mode, and my son eventually ran out (which made me totally nuts) and scared it away.

I showed these photographs to a few friends. From their gaping expressions, they will probably never visit my home again. In fact, I showed the images to my friend's Janet and Danny, and when Janet visited this week, I could tell that her bear antennae was working overtime as she tip-toed (in her high heels) out of her car. Her husband, New Yorker cartoonist, Danny Shanahan then published this cartoon:

Check out the whole bizarre bear story here and find out what to do if you have a bear in your backyard.

Have you had any experiences with bears in your yard? If so, please tell me before I visit.

Photo Credit: Ted Fink Cartoon: Danny Shanahan for the New Yorker

Report From The Porch: DIY Sun Jar Light

You may have noticed a few things have been on my mind lately: renewable energy, getting the most out of outdoor living spaces, and a seemingly obscure, but wildly popular idea: Ditch Your Lawnmower, Hire A Flock Of Sheep (over 100 comments and 1000 facebook "likes" on this post). At the moment, I could only figure out how to combine two of these ideas. Collecting sunlight to illuminate the screened-in porch is the perfect convergence of two delightful concepts.

What? You were hoping I hired a flock of sheep to munch up my lawn? Stay tuned...

DIY Sun Jar Ligh

sun jar

Creating solar lights that harness the power of the sun are easy to make and maintain. When energy is generated during the daytime, the light will keep glowing into the evening. These aesthetically pleasing lights are perfect for a sleeping porch, pool, outdoor shower, hot tub or garden.

I spied the Sun Jar Solar Light (right) at the MOMA Store in New York City. It was created by designer, Tobias Wong. I contemplated purchasing a few (5 or 6), but at $50.00’s a pop, a “few” seemed a bit exorbitant.

I Goggled around the DIY sites hoping some creative soul had DIYed a homemade version. I found this fabulous Instructables tutorial. Careful, once you dive into Instructables you may never buy anything again.

Enjoy the glow!

(For three more ways to elevate an outdoor living space, check out this post.)

Photo credit: Instructables, MOMA,

Sleeping Out

It is common knowledge amongst my family and friends that no amount of prodding or bribing will get me to sleep outside in a tent. Any thoughts about camping were squelched years ago after a mini-vacation that deposited the four of us, by boat, onto an island during a non-stop rain event. There’s a mention of that fateful trip in this post about glamping. Even if my kids were miraculously transformed into the cutest little campers again (sigh) – there’s still no way I will ever sleep on a one-inch foam pad.

lake-porch

It’s been hot here. There is no air conditioning in my bedroom. I won’t get into the uneconess of air conditioning right now, but if you want to learn more about cooling without air conditioning, check out this NYTimes article. Or,…you could ask my husband who tries to convince me daily that a/c will only make me feel hotter in the long run. Ha! What does he know about being a middle-aged woman?

I will say, that if you cool your home with air conditioning, Practically Green recommends that you shade your unit because you can reduce the amount of energy by 10%.

girl-porch

Anyway, a recent bout of unrestful sleep has left my thoughts meandering. Then my writing goes south - rendering me useless. By late afternoon, I need to close my bleary-eyed peepers. I headed onto the lounge chair in the screened-in porch and was lulled to sleep by the sounds of frogs, birds, crickets, and a cooling rain. I woke up feeling refreshed, connected to my natural surroundings, and thinking about my friends who have a summer bedroom. The first hint of warm weather, they haul their bed out to their porch. Such a fine idea!

Do you have an outdoor sleeping space? If not, here are 10 tips for creating one.

Enjoy a restful weekend!

Credits: Wonderlust Journal, Apartment Therapy