Gussying up the place

Since Cory and I bought the condo almost a year ago, most of the improvements we've made have been on the interior. Fresh paint, new carpet, wainscoting and tile in the bathroom. As far as the exterior goes... we really haven't done much. I planted a bougainvillea and a hibiscus, and we laid down a little mulch. We've done absolutely nothing with our patio, so it still looks really white-trashy.

When we first started looking for a place, we wanted to buy a house instead of a condo-- and if prices had been as low as they are now, we could have done that. After 14 straight years of living in apartments, I really wanted a yard.

Not that I have any idea what to plant in it. It gets way too hot here for most of the plants that I'm familiar with. But even though we have no yard to speak of, I still flip through catalogues, looking for fun things to put in the yard.

I always liked those artificial rocks. No, not the little bitty ones you stick in a garden and stash your spare key inside. I like the big boulders. Now granted, I'd rather have a real one than a fake one, but I lack the cash-- or the physical strength-- to acquire a huge granite monolith for the yard.

And before you get any crazy ideas, I'm not looking for a giant Stonehenge replica to put in the yard. Nothing fancy. Nothing that would attract druids playing pan-flutes during every full moon. Just a nice boulder. Just a couple feet around, maybe.

Sometimes, during my decorating daydreams, I go to websites like the Artificial Rocks Factory and check out the wares. They have boulders in different shapes, sizes, and colors (Yep, colors. You wouldn't want sandstone if it clashed with your slate sidewalk, right?). You can even get faux boulders with address plaques on them.

You know, at work, I spend a lot of times driving around hunting for people's houses, and I'm always stunned at how hard it is to find the house number in front of people's homes! It's become kind of a pet peeve of mine. Seriously, how hard is it to put some numbers on your mailbox-- or even better, get a cool rock with your address on it!

Of course, for me, this is all just a pipe dream. We only have a very narrow strip of landscaping--- not even big enough for a fake boulder. But I like our tiny little yard. It looks nicer than most of our neighbors' entryways. And since it's so little, there really isn't any upkeep!

Maybe they could start making mini-monoliths for condo dwellers.

This post brought to you by: Artificial Rocks Factory