The last two weeks

Happy 4th of July, readers! I've been lucky the last two weekends to get to hang out with some of my favorite family members. Last weekend my aunt, and loyal reader, Barrie came to see us in Austin. It was mercifully not so hot, so we were able to go on a decent hike on Barton Creek without melting. We also tried a Thai place in South Austin that was spicy enough to lead to some melting on my part, although it was also delicious. 

I think we meant to photograph the food as well, but at least we got a photo of Barrie at the Thai place. 

On Saturday, we did some farmer's market peach buying and then (because it still wasn't brutally hot), some yard work. Thanks to Barrie's excellent hedge cutting instincts, we dramatically improved our house's curb appeal. Turns out there were little bushes under the large, overgrown bush, the whole time! Now we just need to update our siding and we'll have the cutest house on the block and can start judging our neighbors with impunity. Thanks, again for all your help, Barrie! You're welcome back in Austin anytime.

The finished product, in as much as landscaping is ever really "finished."

This weekend, Sam and I traveled to Houston and were put to work ourselves. I know many readers will be interested to see some photos of my parent's new house. We hung a lot of pictures this weekend, and it's really starting to come together. Our greatest triumph was the dining room photo gallery:

The Safari Room, as it will henceforth be called, and the architect of the installation. The artist herself is of course not pictured. 

This didn't come out so well, but those plates were a chore to hang, or so it sounded like from my vantage point of reading on the couch while Sam and my mom fussed with them. If the lighting were better, you would see that they look awesome. 

The living room with two longhorns staring longingly out the window at the open range (golf course) just out of reach. 

The last couple of weeks have certainly instilled in me that houseguests are best when plied with wine and food and put to work on house projects. Hope everyone else had an equally productive and happy independence day!