With hopes your celebration today is festive and safe. Remember freedom isn't free and as the Marine's say Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful).

p.s. - Congrats to Joey Chestnut for keeping the Hot Dog Eating championship in the USA.

photo: Santa Monica Fireworks 2009

Summer is in full-swing and hopefully your backyard is ready for the first holiday event this weekend as we all celebrate our country's independence on the 4th of July.

We've gathered some helpful articles to help you prep your home and yard for friends, family, guests, and cooking for all of them.

Last week we re-visited our hometown of Tucson, Arizona to join the family in celebrating Father's Day. It's been 12 years since we've lived there and my how things have changed. We checked out the resurgence downtown and hope the new movie Public Enemies shines some light on an already very cool Hotel Congress as this is where John Dillinger and his gang were first captured and is now celebrated by a Dillinger Days festival.

A stones throw from Hotel Congress is the West University neighborhood which This Old House just named as one if it's 50 Best Old House Neighborhoods. The homes consist of Spanish Revival, Craftsman Bungalow, and Prairie-style which range from $175,000 to $400,000. A light rail system is almost complete that will flow through this neighborhood from downtown and up to the University of Arizona. In a city where cars are nearly a requirement, residents of West University could almost forgo their vehicles especially if they work or study at the nearby University or downtown.

So you've got ideas on designing your own home but don't know where to start? There are some great 3D modeling and virtual room and house planners that you can fiddle with but when it's time to really get serious you'll probably need to start a relationship with an architect.

Dwell has put together an Architect 101 article with everything you need to know about finding, hiring and working with them. Read this article and move forward with confidence that your dream home will be everything you could wish for and more.

Chris from Apartment Therapy turned us onto a great new blog Our Brooklyn Roof Garden. The images found here make us long for New York again but we are still enjoying our outdoor space much more here in LA.

Our downstairs neighbors kept a nice courtyard full of fresh flowers and across the street the Jennifer Bartlett residence had a garden that any New Yorker would covet.

You can find new and used doors all over Craigslist. Many are cheap, flimsy, interior doors but you'll also come across some solid gems that were removed from old homes and built from one piece. Often times the heights and widths of these older doors won't fit into modern door frames so you'll need to modify your existing door frame accordingly.

Dwell shares their favorite pools and we like the above private lap pool but it's definitely cut out for business not pleasure.

Check out more of our favorite pool photo galleries and articles.

Sometimes simple projects are the most satisfying. This homeowner has blogged about refreshing her recent market finds that include outdoor chairs and a table and the easiest DIY firepit made of brick.

These blood suckers are what we fear most at dusk when they are at their most potent. We're spending a few days in Tucson with our Dad and the nice desert evenings are virtually clear of mosquitoes that can be such a nuisance in other parts of the country.

Bob Vila reviews one of the latest tools to clear your yard of mosquitoes and you could always build your own bat house for the ultimate mosquito repellent. We've got some tips for removing other creepy crawlies from your yard.

Update: We will announce the winners of our Father's Day Giveaway as soon as the winners have been notified.

Check it out and enter.

Our planter box (above) didn't come out quite as nice as we had hoped but next time we'll be sure to follow these great instructions from Danny Lipford for building a patio planter.

He recommends pressure treated pine and if you've got the right tools you could finish this project in an afternoon.

More Father's Day goodies from Toolsnob. They've pulled together another Father's Day gift guide and our favorite from the bunch is the Rockwell Jawhorse. This portable clamping workstation is perfect for the at home DIY'er who doesn't always have an extra hand.

You've still got time to make your Dad happy and enter our Father's Day giveaway for a chance to win a 4-piece Combo 18V Cordless Powertool Set from SKIL.

Our friends at One Project Closer have saved us from cracking open the box by doing a great review of the 18V cordless drill driver. The biggest assets? Lightweight and powerful! What more do you want from a powertool!

So what does it take to make your place look great? Not big bucks or a lot of time. ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, shares 10 projects that can be done in a weekend for $150 or less:

Punch up the numbers
Cost $1 to $40
House numbers are practical--and they can also enhance the style of your home. Play with scale by going with oversize numbers, and choose a style that complements your home's architecture-- whether it's a curvy mission style for bungalows or prairie-style homes, or sleek and modern for a contemporary house, script for a formal colonial, or casual, colorful ceramics for a French country or Mediterranean look.

Put out a welcome mat
Cost About $30
The quickest and easiest front porch update is a new welcome mat. It's an accessory that you can change with the seasons or use to showcase your individuality: Go colorful and kid-friendly with bright strips, classic and sophisticated with a custom monogram, or way out and wacky with a funny quote.

Clean up the landscaping
Cost About $150
A few landscaping tweaks don't have to cost a lot. You can bring a patchy yard back to life by seeding bald spots and pruning overgrown foundation plantings. If you decide to add shrubs around the house, choose varieties that won't grow bigger than 3 or 4 feet, and plant taller bushes and trees at the edge of the house to frame it.

Has it really taken the fear of the economy to convince homeowners to reconsider their mcmansion? Regardless of reason this is a welcome trend and we hope it lasts. As homeowners require more accountability from builders the developers will react and move the market in this direction by building smaller homes of higher quality.