Happy Independence Day!

How are you celebrating? 

I worked this morning, then headed to Lowe's for some plants to finally add around our mailbox. Everything I have tried planting in the past hasn't survived in the hot sun, so I am trying again, with some full-sun Lantana. 

I'm crossing my fingers, watering daily, fertilizing weekly (like the little card said to do), and praying I can turn my black thumb into a green one. Baby steps. Baby steps. I am determined to have a beautiful flower and plant-filled yard! 

I am undecided about whether to make an actual flower bed, with mulch. Since Lantana is a mounding plant, I am hoping once they grow more and fill in the whole area, a defined bed won't really be needed. Only time will tell. I will keep you posted on the progress (barring any plant fatalities).  

This afternoon I caught myself admiring the pretty little wreath I whipped up over the weekend! 

I was inspired by a wreath that I found on Pinterest. Mine turned out a bit different since I had two colors, used outdoor ribbon, instead of grosgrain, and decided to cut the ribbon a tad differently.

I simply tied lengths of ribbon to a metal clothes hanger (bent into a circle). It took about an hour and half to make. 

It definitely wasn't very patriotic until I hung it on our bright red door!

I hope everyone has enjoyed some downtime today and taken some time to thank those that serve! 

I am honored to come from a military family and truly proud to be an American! 

Happy Fourth of July Everyone! 

DIY: Recycled Wine Bottle Torches

I have had a ton of DIY projects collected on my Pinterest boards for a while. After getting bitten by many a mosquito recently in our backyard, Alan decided to make our own "tiki-bug-repelling-torches". I showed him this inspiration idea that I liked, and he agreed that they would be pretty simple to make.


Off to Lowe's he went for all of the supplies. We already had some spare wine bottles hanging around waiting to be recycled. 

We decided to make four torches, one for each post on our back patio area. Since the bug repellent fluid was a little pricey, we decided to make two bug repellent torches, and two plain citronella torches to keep this project relatively inexpensive.

Next, Alan drilled holes into bottle caps and we threaded the wicks through. 

To mount them, we used ceiling flanges, 1" split ring hangers, and a length of all thread. 

The ceiling flanges were mounted to the posts and the all thread was cut down to 5" pieces with a dremel. 

Next, the all thread pieces were screwed to the split ring hangers, then both were screwed into the mounted ceiling flanges. We filled the bottles with torch fuel, inserted the wicks, and hung them from the split rings. 

Finally, we lit them and enjoyed dinner on the patio with only a few mosquito visitors. 

We can definitely tell a difference in the amount of bugs around, so we both agree this really easy afternoon project was a successful one! 

Project pricing breakdown:

4 wine bottles:                         FREE

64oz bottle of bitefighter fuel:       10.44

100oz bottle of citronella fuel:        9.98

4 1" copper split ring hangers:         6.68

4 3/8" ceiling flanges:                 5.68

3/8" all thread:                        2.81

2 2-pk tiki replacement wicks:          4.92

TOTAL:                                $40.51