Photo by Jessica Hibbard Our rain barrels, made with repurposed containers from good ol' McCutcheon's.

The biz section is at it again, with an interesting story about eco-friendly ideas for the garden. This time, it's rain barrels.

Rain barrels are incredibly inexpensive to make yourself, and the project is not very difficult. For our own barrels, we purchased two containers from McCutcheon's that had originally been used for something apple-flavored. After cleaning them out, we found some instructions online, and purchased some hardware, silicone, and  mosquito screen. We also needed a couple of new gutter/drain pieces to redirect water into the barrel.

The whole project probably cost us less than $20 per barrel. Now, if we get more than a quarter of an inch of rain, both barrels are full. That's over 100 gallons of water that we can use for watering plants or filling bird baths. (Please note: It's not safe for drinking or cooking!)

During last year's water ban, the supply in our barrels really came in handy. Even when the city's water supply is at normal levels, we still enjoy knowing that we don't have to pay for our rain barrel water, which would have otherwise just washed into our lawn area ... Or worse, down a storm drain.

Of course, there are more attractive options than the blue plastic barrels that we made. Wooden barrels are available at many garden centers. Or you could cover yours with a screen or vine, like this barrel I spotted on Apartment Therapy yesterday.

The FNP Business section does a great job, but it's not often that I have the pleasure of linking to a biz story with a home & garden angle.

If you missed Jon Stewart's "Back to Basics" story on page A-15 in today's FNP, click here to read it online.

It seems the Emmitsburg Business and Professional Association has been hosting monthly Green Living Forums. This week's event featured presentations by Pax Gardens and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The topic? Native plants and DNR's Backyard Buffers program.

Despite several attempts to find a useful link to Backyard Buffers on DNR's web site, I came up short. To learn more about the program, which offers free seedlings to qualified applicants, call 301-416-7261 or 301-791-4010.

	Photo by dominomag.com This treehouse is pretty, but a little extreme. I'm thinking electricity and running water are pretty much out of the question?

Green, sustainable, eco-friendly ... The buzzword for this super-hot trend has many incarnations. Regardless, environmentally-conscious home design has finally earned a reputation for its aesthetic advantages as well as its ethical and practical benefits.

In case you missed it, our very own FNP offered up a great story earlier this week. (On the front page, even!) Click here to read Adam Behsudi's "How to go green in the historic district."

Looking for more? The current issue of Domino magazine has a green theme, and Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney offers the swanky shelter mag an online exclusive of her favorite affordable** eco-friendly accessories.

If you're into sustainable solutions that are a bit less frou-frou, there's always Treehugger, Home By Sunset, EcoSpace, The Green Life, and This Old House.

** "Affordable" is a term used loosely in this case. I don't think $76 for a bowl made out of a log is that much of a deal. But there are still some neat ideas to glean from this roundup of products.

	Photo by Shannon Lee Zirkle 'Tis I, in front of my dining room window.

Loyal blog readers will recognize the bathroom doors (and the face) on the cover of the FNP's Next 72 Hours. Yes, it's me, and those are the faux stained glass doors ("Life in a small bathroom") that I posted way back in December. Lauren LaRocca interviewed me at my home, and talented writer that she is, she uses the physical setting to help describe my music. Click here to read the story online.

Some of the things that didn't make it into the story:

• The framed "art" you can see in the print edition photo is actually a Yoda t-shirt. My husband is a Star Wars fan, and he has a penchant for framing strange stuff.
• We love music-related art, too. Over the past few years, we've accumulated a small collection of vinyl records with artwork (and music) that we really like ... Including Carole King, Massive Attack, Chemical Brothers, and The Beastie Boys. We've framed the album covers with these exceptionally affordable record album frames from Target. It's a great way to get some art on the walls without breaking the bank.
• I have three cats, and the onslaught of cat hair drifting around my house almost killed Lauren, who is allergic. Oops.

Disclaimer: No, the FNP didn't write a story about me because I write this blog. Actually, because of the whole stage name thing, Lauren didn't even know I was a citizen blogger.