Wanna feel REALLY bad about your landscaping?

Visit the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens and be reminded that your backyard (and maybe your front yard) will never be NEARLY as nice!

Okay I kid, I kid! It's an amazing and breath-taking place that makes you wish you were a wee bit better with the ol' potting soil, if you know what I mean. (Don't feel bad if you don't...most of the time I don't even really know what I mean.)

Here's my little sister at the start of the gardens - isn't she cute? (TAKE NOTE ALL YOU ELIGIBLE BACHELORS IN THE SOUTH FLORIDA AREA):



We wandered through the Japanese garden (which is still being developed and will be even more fabulous very soon):



We sniffed around the herb garden (quite literally in Mr. P's case):





We encountered wildlife:





And we took in the children's garden which has plants you can touch and even taste, and features a super fun corn maze (or maize maze...HA! Get it?):



This month the gardens feature an exhibit of Wonders of the World made entirely of gourds, berries, sticks, etc. The sculptures have been placed all around the Train Garden - is that cool or what? Behold the Hagia Sofia:





We left with a ton of inspiration and maybe a tiny case of hay fever. But if you're ever in town make sure to add the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens to your to-do list!

Before & After: The Front Door

I may have mentioned on this blog that I have a bit of a brown thumb. Things die around me. I mean, not PEOPLE or anything that dramatic. But plants, flowers and the occassional vegetable. (although my tomatoes continue to flourish in spite of me)

Exhibit A - the potted flowers Mr. P's mom helped me pick out to brighten the front door:



Pretty right? Well not after I got done with them:



Nice work, Mrs. P. Anywho, my little sister was in town this weekend and she kicked my butt into high gear and encouraged me to try again. (and by "encourage" I mean laughed at my inability to grow things and said my doorstep looked like something you'd seen in a crack den...ah, sisterly love) And try again we did!



A new light and some house numbers and it looks downright cheerful! No crack sold here, no siree Bob!



Now let's see how long I keep these bad boys alive. Wish me luck!

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Sorry we've been MIA folks! Mr. P, Design Assistant Magnus and I were on a little vacation! It was Magnus' first and he had a blast:

He traveled in style:



He met new friends (cousins Gus and Lily...cousin Lily is a bit larger and his nerves got the best of him. Apologies to Aunt Kira and her lovely rug.):





He celebrated his fancy new surfboard dog collar by eating ice cream. (not too much...D.A. Magnus watches his figure, especially during swimsuit season):



He played on the beach:





He went for a swim with Mr. P. (not his favorite...he's really more of a pool/swim-up bar type of guy):



Can't see him? Here's a close-up...note the look of sheer terror in his eyes:



He dried off with a nice wet roll in the sand:



In fact, Design Assistant Magnus had such a great time that when it was time to go he hid in hopes it would make us delay our departure. Hmm...I wonder where Magnus is? Certainly not under the couch:



All in all the three of us had a lovely vacation! Big thanks Mr. P's parents for being fantastic hosts.

Oh and sorry about YOUR rug, too.

Dining Out in Omaha...

You know how I love to document my food but I was so entranced by the delicious pasta dish I ordered (oh, and the sparkling conversation, of course) that I neglected to take pictures of my dinner. Suffice it to say that it involved pasta and sausage. Of course...I try to find ways to incorporate sausage or bacon into at least one meal a day. When in Rome!

Anywho, no pictures. That's how good Lo Sole Mio is. Aside from the fact that it was voted "Best Italian Restaurant" in the 2008 Best of Omaha poll, the place has fantastic, giant servings of your favorite Italian food, good bread and, I'm guessing here, yummy desserts. (we were too stuffed to even consider the tiramisu) I did manage to snap a picture of one of my favorite parts of dinner:



That's right. The jug of wine. For $20 six of us had more than enough wine to go with our dinner. Is it the best wine I've ever had? No. Is it the worst? No. (that honor goes to Manischewitz. Sorry Jewish friends...I've gotta keep it real.)

Behind the scenes with Design Assistant Magnus...

Design Assistant Magnus is the hardest working pup in show business. His contributions to the home renovation projects have been second to none. And so it's good to know that he's making time to pamper himself and take breaks from all the hard labor.

For example, Magnus is a bit of a foodie and likes to treat himself with the occasional (he's very concerned about his figure) goodie from Three Dog Bakery:







But of course, being the health nut that he is, Magnus loves to burn some calories with a swim in Zorinsky Lake. And yes, he does skinny dip...he's so "Euro":







And when a quick trip to the lake isn't enough of a break for him, he jets cross-country to visit his grandparents in Virginia. He's got a new luxury carrier that he can't wait to take for a test drive:



His one secret? He's a bit of a nervous flyer...but not to worry, he's prepared:



Hey Magnus, lay off the hard stuff, buddy!

Omaha celebrity sighting...

Lest you think that Omaha is too small town to attract big celebs, check out this documented celebrity sighting in the Old Market:



That's right. Mr. P and pal Joe ran into the Robertson Dairy cow!

Jealous? I am....of that dress. Fab-u-lous!

The start of new landscaping...

Slowly but surely Mr. P and I have been trying to make some sense of our landscaping. Sure our home's previous owner left all sorts of pretty flowers but there's really no rhyme or reason to their arrangment. No plan or pattern.

It's sort of like seeing a Hollywood starlet and thinking, "Oh, she's so pretty...why the heck is she dressed like a cracked-out socialite-turned-bag lady?" (ahem...you know who you are....)



What I mean is that it's sloppy. Pretty and sloppy all at the same time. Does that make sense or am I just undercaffeinated? Probably. What I'm saying is that I appreciate the organic nature of our garden, but the anal retentive obsessive compulsive in me NEEDS ORDER.

So we've started digging. And as you know, we removed three large bushes from one side of the house. (see them behind the tree)



This weekend we decided to remove their bigger and bushier cousins on the other side:

Here's the before:



And here's the after:



Okay so it's kind of a hot mess right now. But never fear! Feeling inspired to replace the loofah poof bushes with something a little more sleek we hit Mulhall's, our local nursery to check out their selection. (Mr. P's awesome aunts sent us a gift certificate...we can't wait to use it but we've been slow to do so...primarily because we don't know what we're doing) Landscaping is really overwhelming! There are so many options and if you pick the wrong one you're left with a pile of leafless sticks. Been there, done that.

Anywho, we went to Mulhall's looking for inspiration -and we came prepared:



So many choices!



But I think we've decided on a Royal Raindrops Crabapple tree and some other shrubs. Yes yes...it's all very exciting.





"After" pictures to come in a few weeks. In the meantime, sayonara ugly bushes!