trash day, I had the brilliant idea of turning it into a planter. All it took was a little bit of soapy water and some spray paint...and now it's awesome. This is perfect for my backyard and I love my new outdoor space! More info here: http://makelyhome.com/diy-planter/

2. add a table to hold a glass.

3. pop in a few pillows and a splash of color in an accessory or two.

...and you have your OWN summertime retreat to enjoy!

Once upon a time, I lived in my dream house. And that dream house had a wide front porch that just said 'Summertime'... It was the perfect place to hang a swing, where I could sit and work or just relax. Add in a few patriotic decor details and a refreshing summer beverage, and it was truly my haven, my retreat. I enjoyed that porch in every season, but especially in summer!

These photos were included in my 'Sweet ReTreats' column in FOLK Magazine's Issue V, Summer 2012. #SummerStyle #OutdoorLiving

space hiding in the room since we're lacking a pantry. However, our kitchen had about a 6" opening between our wall and the refrigerator. I decided I needed to utilize this hidden space and that's exactly what I did!

For those concerned about heat, the side of my refrigerator does not get warm/hot at all. I have had this since May and it has been a dream come true in my kitchen!

Check out the full post for full instructions with a shopping list, wood list and full tutorial.

http://classyclutter.blogspot.com/2012/05/bu...

#Bestof2012

appeared quickly, I sprayed them with Windex. Watched through the day and kept spraying them. Now ant free! Safe for kids, pets and environment! It is worth a try before you spend hundreds.

sandy so I didn't have to buy sand to level the stones she already had in her backyard. I used a level to make sure the sidewalk was level and the stones next to it level. We bought a 100 pounds of red decomposed grant for $15 and had some left over for another project. I placed her red concrete scalped edging over to the side and around the back to keep the dirt from washing down the yard. I also used an old concrete fountain that I broke up and placed in the ground to keep the low side from shifting or washing down a slopped yard. I finished with rocks around the bushes and added mulch to provide ground cover and nourishment for the bushes. All the rocks came from the desert. Now the walk way looks like the red rocks of Sedona, AZ.

Materials:

100 lbs X Decomposted red granite - $28.00

flat finish. Wrought Iron is a true black that does not require dark wax to achieve the black finish. Woo hoo! I have received no compensation from this company.

I have had a dirty little secret!Everyone always tells me how clean my house is. It's not really. Not since I've had kids. You've seen those cute little signs, Excuse the mess, we are busy making memories or Excuse the mess, we live here? Well that's not really my style. In fact, my house is nothing like the clean it used to be before the kids. I've grown more accustomed to the mess, but so many little things tend to get over looked these days. Many people have exciting goals like running a marathon or skydiving (and I may have just become the biggest loser because I just googled Common goals people have, because I couldn't come up with 2 good ideas), you know what I've always wanted? To put my house on the market and have the ad say, "Mrs. Clean lives here". I'm not kidding, I actually told my realtor I wanted that on my add. She said, your house will sell itself. OK, she was right, but I really wanted that at the time. One thing I've been over-looking lately is my kitchen cabinets. I'm home cleaning today and thought, maybe today's the day to get that grease off the cabinets. Now keep in mind, these are just the cabinets over the stove, and grease is always building up on these cabinets. I wipe down my cabinets frequently, since they are white and show any dirt, but I do tend to "overlook" these top cabinets because I never could seem to get the grime off with much success. I have those god-awful therma-foil and for lack of a better term the surface is "pockey". That means there is a little texture that allows dirt and grease to accumulate. The picture shows best how greasy these cabinets were. I've tried many products before, but today I decided to go for some simple soft scrub and a warm dish rag. I love the lemon scent and use this for a lot of my cleaning. I poured it on my dishcloth and just rubbed it on the grease, and just like that, all of the grease and grime came off. I've tried many other cleaners and de-greasers and seriously never got such great results with barely any elbow grease at all. I might suggest if you are working over your head that you wear some protective eyewear, because trust me when I say, you don't want your break from cleaning to involve trying to get soap out of your eye! Just sayin. Check out the before and afters. It's really pretty amazing!

pickets so I could complete the project. My fenced area is 30' X 40' and I still had pallets left over for other projects.