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The lights outside Steph's garage were way overdue for replacement. We really should have changed them out when we painted the house a few years back. House painting took place over a hot couple of Florida June days and last thing we wanted to do was more work outside! So it never got done.

But after seeing these fixtures at Costco, we decided these would look great and it was time for a replacement.

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Last year, I participated in the Builders Challenge furniture flip challenge. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to participate again this year.

Prior to the start of the challenge, I happened to see a picture online of a furniture piece by my favorite mid-century designer, Adrian Pearsall of Craft Associates.

The Brutalist Hanging Disc Bar was nothing I’d ever seen before—I decided I'd try to recreate it for my challenge entry.

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Steph has a friend with a kayak that allows her to use it whenever she wants. The friend lives on a lake so it's just a matter of moving the kayak to the water and launching for a quiet, solo relaxing paddle on the lake!

The kayak was stored a ways away from the lake so with the homeowners permission, she decided to create a more convenient storage spot for the kayak near the water. 

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We recently helped Steph's neighbor get his yard in shape. It had become overgrown and out of control. 

Due to the timing of yard trash pickup, we had to start working in the backyard first in order to get all the yard debris out at the curb for pickup the next day. 

While Steph worked in the backyard, I started on the front. You can see that process in the first yard makeover video. 

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Steph's friend, David, lives nearby in her neighborhood. Due to his work schedule and numerous health issues including two back surgeries, he has been physically unable to deal with his yard. 

Steph and I were driving by his house one day and commented to each other on how unkept his yard had become. All of a sudden we decided we could do something to help!

After all, we have the tools and the time. So with his permission, we took a couple of days and got his wild yard under control so that he can now maintain it going forward. 

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It's been a long time since I shopped for a new mattress and box spring and had no idea that the standard size was so deep. Which meant the combination of mattress and box spring on a standard metal frame is much taller than what I was used to.

And that is the reason that after I ordered my new mattress and box spring and put it in place, I found it to be much too tall to be comfortable getting in and out of it!

I tried placing the bed on the floor which made it easy to get in and out of, but let's face it, it looked silly!

The solution was to make a custom bed frame to the style and height that I needed. 

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One of the most versatile concrete objects we've ever made is this base with metal pipe cap in the center. We originally used it for our A-frame Christmas tree and then we reimagined the base in use as the support for an outdoor garden flag stand. We then used it for two night stands and the metal pipe fireworks lamp and for a crate Christmas display! See? Versatile!

The base has never been the sole subject of a post, but with this post we fix that! Read on or watch the video to see how it is made!

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It is always satisfying and cost effective to complete a project with what we have on hand. This is one of those projects!

If you saw the under-bed storage boxes, you're aware that Steph's new bed frame created more space underneath for storage, but then made her existing bedside tables too short!

Rather than build something new, we decided to reimagine the old ones by creating new tops and simply adding a longer pipe to make them the needed height.

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Although this project started because of one of the dogs, it's not a pet project! 

Tosh likes to get on Steph's bed and when she does she sometimes does zoomies. Here's a link to what that looks like. Anyway, the bed frame Steph was using started to squeak annoying her to no end. It was time for something different. 

So, Steph started looking for something new and settled on a metal frame from the Purple company. (Which led to the purchase of a new mattress, which then led to the need for taller nightstand, which leads into more projects!)

The Purple metal frame while nice and strong, without squeaks, is quite tall. Steph decided to make use of that under-bed space and make a couple of storage boxes with a rustic look to blend with the existing headboard.

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Water leaks! They are the worst and have caused the most damage and work at both of our houses. I've had subtle leaks that weren't detected for a long time to the obvious, like the time I came home and water was pouring out of my garage! 

The latest leak was one of the subtle ones. I just happened upon it because I was cleaning around the wood storage area and noticed a dark spot that should not have been there!

After clearing out the area, I realized the water was coming under the outside wall into the garage and potentially into my closet on the other side of the garage wall.

The culprit was the air conditioning condensation drain pipe that was positioned too close to the wall. As it's been very hot, the a/c has been running constantly meaning there has been a lot of water draining. Unfortunately, the water was running down the outside wall into the garage!

​We needed to fix the problem ASAP!

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Part of the plan when installing the elevated toy train train was a way to reach the train to turn it on. Although the LEGO train operates via a phone app, it has to be manually turned on, hence the need for a ladder to reach it!

On Steph's list of "making childhood dreams come true" was a rolling library ladder. She decided that this type of ladder would be perfect for reaching the train.

Here's how it all came together and with it, how she got to have her Belle, Beauty and the Beast, moment!

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I think for a lot of people, especially home decor experts, ceiling fans are one of those love/hate things! They are super functional, but not all that attractive. This enclosed blade fan solves that "not attractive" problem while still providing plenty of function.

Between our two homes, we now have three of these fans with more to be installed in the future! Read along as Steph shares how she installed this fan.

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Steph is making her LEGO childhood dreams come true one project at a time! First it was to establish a LEGO room in her house, followed by the ultimate Wall Control storage wall, and now--an elevated train track! 

Did anyone see that one coming? I surely didn't know she had always coveted rooms with elevated train tracks since watching the movie Casper back in the 90s. 

Since it is way too hot to work on anything outside, this was the perfect summer project. Follow along as we show you the build from beginning to caboose!

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The single reason we purchased this DIY trailer from Harbor Freight was it's ability to fold for compact storage. 

Finally, in this last video Steph shares how to fold and store it. It's not just simply folding it in half and standing it upright, there's a few steps to perform before you can do that. 

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This is part five of the six part series on building and using the Harbor Freight Utility Trailer. You can see the entire playlist on YouTube.

In this video, Steph takes you step by step through the trailer "before you use" safety checklist as well as how to hitch up the trailer to the tow vehicle. 

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Rarely do I see a pin on Pinterest that makes me go, "wait, I want that!"

The pin below stopped me mid-scroll! I saved the pin and pondered how I could do a similar design in my small primary walk-in closet. 

Well, one thing led to another and I figured out how I could make it work using primarily what I already had on hand. 

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We are continuing the series about assembly of a Harbor Freight DIY Utility Trailer. With the framing and wiring completed, it's time to add the plywood decking.

The addition of the plywood decking signaled that the work on the trailer was almost complete. But, there were still a few more things to do and ultimately we decided we needed a couple of tweaks to some of the previous work.

Along the way, we discovered and purchased a couple of really useful tools!

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I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this particular project. Yes, the planter needed to be removed, but it was going to be a lot of hot, hard work. 

We managed with a little help and learned a few things along the way. 

​Read on and add your tips for concrete removal in the comments below.

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When Steph was assembling the Harbor Freight Haul-Master utility trailer she was doing great UNTIL, the lighting would not work! Even with all the troubleshooting she tried, still, NOTHING.

She almost called it quits, but decided to confer with her friend, Stephen, who has the same trailer, to see if he could offer some advice.

Well....you'll see what happens.

Take a look at how Steph wired this trailer. She's never done anything like this before, but reading and watching YouTube videos on the process gave her the confidence to try.

I must say, I was very IMPRESSED with all the tools, techniques, and supplies she used. Even if wiring a trailer is NOT in your future, these techniques and supplies can be used in other wiring projects.

I would say, that you should just watch the video as my written "tutorial" is not going to be nearly as comprehensive and detailed as what Steph has put into the video. I'll try my best, though!

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Steph's been using the Ryobi cordless battery powered lawn mower for about a year, so we thought it was time to do a review. 

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We're following up on our Scotts 2-bag yard improvement project.

Earlier this year, we applied Scotts Turf Builder Triple Action South to Steph's yard. The second bag was to applied eight weeks later. 

So, it's eight weeks later and time to apply the UltraFeed, to keep the yard green all season long! Check out the video to see the progress we've made in Steph's yard and on mine!

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So, you're going to either get a DIY kit or buy a trailer. That's all there is to it, right?

Wrong! There's a whole lot of stuff that you have to "know before you tow."

In this video, we break down everything we learned about what you need before you ever hitch up your new utility trailer and go. 

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When Steph bought her house there was a water feature in the backyard. It wasn't working at the time so she hired someone to fix it. He sort of fixed it, but it truly was never 100 percent. Plus, the electrical situation was a nightmare. The person who put in the pond didn't hire an electrician to put in proper wiring so the pond pump was powered by an extension cord that snaked across the backyard.

When I discovered THAT situation, I encouraged her not to run the pump for safety reasons.

We enjoyed the pond but over time, the rocks fell into the water and with the water no longer moving, it was a haven for mosquito breeding.

A neighbor helped with that situation by putting mosquito fish into the water. Those fish thrived in spite of the dirty mirky water!

Two factors that finally pushed Steph into removing it was 1. her second greyhound, Tosh, really wanted to get in the water and 2. grandson, Andrew, practiced rock skimming and created a hole in the liner. Overnight the water dropped a foot. It was time!

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It's been a year since we installed the temporary fence in Steph's backyard. Since the weather has been so nice this spring, we've been working on projects in her backyard including assessing the condition of the fence. 

When the leaves were raked away from the fence, we did find holes. We're not sure what they are from--could be wildlife, branches falling on it or just age. 

Steph researched some options for repair and this is what she thought would work best.

Be sure to watch the video to see what the dogs were up to while we were trying to work and later trying to tape this video!

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Steph built a trailer!

When I bought a new car three years ago, we had a hitch installed with the idea that at some point we'd buy a utility trailer to tow. That way, we could easily bring home sheets of plywood and lumber. 

Steph happened to see a folding utility trailer in her friend's garage and was instantly interested. A folding trailer would solve the storage problem associated with trailers. 

She did the research and off to Harbor Freight we went to buy the trailer and accessories.

I would suggest watching the video of the build as this tutorial will only touch on the highlights.