T.G.I.Friday :: Foto & Favorites

A supplement to The Steele Dossier, each edition composed of a candid photo, caption, and five(5) personal favorites selected at random. Enjoy!

• A clean house...

• Iced lattes

• Browsing bookstores

• Our blog's 1-Year Anniversary

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in theaters July 15!!!

Our Room of Requirement

The Room of Requirement, a room in Hogwarts that only appears when a person is in great need of it. The room then transforms itself into whatever the witch or wizard needs it to be at that particular moment. It is believed that the room is unplottable, as it does not appear on the Marauder's Map, nor do its occupants.

In his sixth year, Harry used the room again (as a Room of Hidden Things) to hide his copy of the Half-blood Prince's Potions textbook from Professor Snape. He found that many other students had used the room to hide a multitude of other objects, including the Vanishing Cabinet. HarryPotter.Wikia.com

As you can see, we also have a room of hidden things, complete with its very own "Vanishing Armoire..."

Landscapers' Challenge :: Phase I

Professional landscapers will tell you that flower bed design and maintenance is more an art than a science. There is comfort in conceding defeat, and regardless of whether it is art or science, we have proven to be failures. Therefore, after four summers of planting, digging up and replanting in the hot Oklahoma sun, we decided to pass the reins to the landscaping professionals.

We enlisted the help of a local husband and wife team. The first order of business was to knock out the retaining wall that "dated" our house. This was a great excuse to buy an enormous sledgehammer to knock down our 1.5 foot brick wall. What we didn't know was that a retaining wall is like both icebergs and ogres: 90% of the mass is below the surface and they have layers...  So, needless to say, five hours later the wall was destroyed and all that remained was 2,000 pounds of shattered rock and concrete slab.

Two primary goals permeated the design thought: year round good looks and ease of maintenance. This meant a focus on evergreens and plants with a very limited dormant period. The walnut shell mulch ties the entire look together by complementing the brick nicely.

After having lived in this house since we were married in 2004, this was the first true renovation project we have undertaken. Liberty was given to the designers and we feel that it resulted in a great "update" to the house.  At first glance, you must admit, that's a niiiiice boulder!