curb appeal

Before we bought our house, the trim was blue. I hate blue trim (personal preference) unless it's navy and suits the neighborhood. Maybe in the '70s, this powder blue did suit the neighborhood. I'm just glad they painted it taupe for us! I'm not glad they did a terrible job replacing the siding, but that is a rant for another day...

Here's a recap of what the house has looked like outside as we've lived in it/were looking to buy it:

Our house - when it was blue and unloved.

Recap from the one year post.

This 'garden' preiously had a hodge-podge of plants in it. We paid our old yard guy to remove them (YAY!). I then moved and reused the rocks elsewhere:

One time, Austin installed a poorly-made (not his fault) railing for the front porch, per my request, and the demise of at lease one hammer drill.
Idea: curb appeal.
Problem: wobble.
Solution: TBD.

This is what was underneath that little garden (back view), Hideous now, but used to be a brick wall. Why it is gone, I will never know. I truly wish it was still a brick wall. I'm sure someone ran into it and destroyed it.

Thursday, I weeded this area - which has been sitting for a year (sorry neighbors/HOA!), and put the some of those stones back over the wall foundation. Planted these Crotons (2x3-gallon containers = $17) on Friday.

Yesterday, I added sod - about 400 sq ft of it - which I get to water like crazy for two weeks!
Here's where it all went:

More sod by the new pathway - we obviously need to spray
the pathway for weeds. :)

After "we" finally removed the dirt (Austin) and frame (Austin) for the old garden area, "we" (I) planted some new plants - which cost around $45 - just in the area in front of the railing. I then laid the sod (solo!) yesterday. Our neighbor told us that grass doesn't grow well here because of the shade, but we are going to try it out anyway. It's what I would prefer to have there... so I am going to be true to my stubborn self and try it!

When the plants were removed, before the dirt was removed.
It's a deceitfully large area.

No sod, just new plants and some of the rocks from above.

Sod + new garden (+hose from watering all that sod!)

The "front" of our house... which is really the side.

And since I had just a little left, I took some to my parents' house. Matt's dog, Tyson, was very happy about the new grass... or maybe it was just that someone was outside with him!

I'm SO happy to be done laying sod, and so are my arms and clothes (though I'm sure the mud is good for you.. right?).

We also had our trees trimmed in the last few months - something we don't think has happened in at least 5 years. Our oak tree was bullying our magnolia into leaning to the right. Hopefully, some new branches will grow on the left side of the magnolia. It looks so naked!

I really hope this stiff lasts after all that work. I'm also hoping for a massage and a hot stone pedicure, but if the grass lasts, that's reward enough! ;) I'm really ready for my husband to be back from his hunting trip, and grateful that my mom watched Ethan yesterday so I could do all that work!

Project costs:

Plant removal: $200

Dirt haul: $0 (Austin did this)
New plants: $65 (after tax)

New Sod: $180 (we had it delivered, works out to $1/piece; pieces are 16"x24")

= $345 for a new yard!

And the final before & after:

I'm ready for some relaxation and some football this afternoon. I'm praising God for this glorious fall weather, too. I was glad I wasn't the only one to bust out my riding boots for church this morning!

xo,

a day in the life

I am a part-time worker-bee, part-time stay at home mom. I like the arrangement we have for right now, because I get more time with Ethan than I would in a full-time position, Ethan gets to play with other children, and someone else battles to feed him lunch (it's a mess whether I do it or he does). It's a win-win, minus all the extra snot which stems from being in constant contact with other little-bitties.

On Friday, I was off. I had just gone to a Noonday Trunk Show with some girls from our church on Thursday here in the neighborhood, from which I did not return until about 11 PM. Yikes! So when Ethan cried to wake up at 6:30 AM on my day off, I said "NOOoooooooo," and rolled over. I hoped he would go back to sleep, and he seemed to. In effect, I 'snoozed' my child (you can start getting judgey now). I justify this with mornings like today, in which my son, who went to bed at 8 PM, has to be woken up at 8:40 AM because he will otherwise just keep sleeping. I know the kid is capable. Of course, his mom and dad were both up at 7:30 AM today, so we just can't win.

Unfortunately for me, Ethan had filled up his diaper on Friday morning, so when I went in to get him at 7:30 AM, he had covered himself - head to toe - in the diaper's contents. By this time, Austin was well on his way to work, so this mama got to wage the war against germs and sickness solo -- including the screaming in the bathtub because somebody was HANGRY! Come on, mama!

All that is to say, having kids doesn't make early mornings easier - it just makes them necessary. Don't you all just want lots of babies?!

I have to say, Ethan is a delightful little boy. I wouldn't trade him for the world, and despite mornings like this, I still want another little human someday. Some mornings, he even wakes up happy and babbles to us through breakfast - it's sweet. But folks, you can tack my Friday morning experience onto the blog post I wrote a while back for those thinking of having/adopting a little human.

Other awesome things accomplished this weekend:

-Austin had a guy's night with his best friend (this is a rarity, but awesome for them).

-New faux mount above the bed. I'm looking for an ornate oval frame (probably will settle for an IKEA one, but I'm not totally sold yet...).

-We finally found inexpensive and plain pillow covers for the Man Cave couch.

-We bought a cheap IKEA desk for Austin to work on so he can stop stealing my sewing table.

-I created a new pathway from driveway to back yard (through our new-ish gate) using leftover decomposed granite from our patio reno, and leftover landscaping stones from the previous owners.

-Austin moved a BUNCH of dirt from the front yard. Next phase is sod and adding more of those landscaping stones around the edge of the area we kept the dirt in. We're also looking for groundcover that does well in our area and in shade. And possibly drought. Any suggestions?

Hope y'all had a happy and totally glamorous weekend, too!

xo,

PS - someone tell our neighbors we're sorry our trash can is on the street. The City told us to put it there. The trash guys broke it and it's just sitting out there, lidless, collecting water and stinking it up with all those diapers. We are awesome neighbors.

master bath renovation: week 2

What a week! We are still sleeping in the full-sized guest bed (rather than our own king bed) because the dust has been flying everywhere in the bedroom! They've laid 99% of the tile, all except for a couple of pieces at the entry threshold. They've grouted the main floor, and I think tomorrow/Tuesday we should have a fully tiled shower, too. They say they'll be done by the end of the week! We're also having them tile our kitchen backsplash (we just don't even have one!) when they finish the bath, but that should be pretty quick!

This is where the vanity and lights are going to go.
The below pendant light is across from this area in the
same room.

There will be a pendant light there, above an IKEA Isala
cabinet across from the vanity. They've primed this room
for paint.This corner is where a linen closet was, backing
up to the shower stall.

The toilet will go where the black thing is, so we'll have
added privacy along with a door to the restroom which
actually closes AND locks!

That's the travertine for the shower floor!

Here's a walk-through of the space:

I also took 8 hours to paint 12 doors and 2 shutters in our house. Whew! I am officially burnt out on painting... but I still have closet doors to paint in the guest bedroom. I'm tempted to just take them out :)

That weird shadow at the top is the pull-cord to pull down the attic stairs :)

One more week!!

xo,

master bath renovation: week 1

We just got back from a FABULOUS vacation in Colorado. I'm really not sure how/why we came home. I mean the weather there is just fantastic. Who knew "Summer" could be a high of 75 and glorious days surrounded by mountains?

One thing we learned: no more flights with babies... at least not for a while. It's just not enjoyable, folks. We'll be leaving the screaming baby behind on future flights, including our trip to Germany this December. We're thankful to live near our parents and grandparents so we have that luxury!

Anyway, on to the bathroom renovation!

Uneven floors where terrazzo was ripped out
(and my mom's pedicured foot)

Our contractor got to tearing out our bathroom while we were gone, and there were two weird things they found when the walls came down and the floors came up: the previous remodelers had stacked terrazzo on top of terrazzo, so a lot of terrazzo had to be torn out, and the vent pipe from our dryer... just ended in our wall. It didn't vent anywhere and it was so dented and full of lint that it was probably an unbelievably risky fire hazard. Hooray! So glad we remodeled! Oh, and there was also a potential disaster waiting to happen in some corroded pipes. Yeah, just awesome stuff in these old homes.

Dented, damaged, useless dryer vent pipe

Now, for some Before|During photos:

Former vanity area, future toilet area

Former single sink + toilet, future double vanity

Former shower, future open space (!)

Former creeper tub with mirror, future HUGE bathroom!

Excited to see what happens in weeks two and three!

xo,

backyard patio makeover

There are still 3 major projects on our list (master bath, wood floors, replace some siding) after this backyard makeover. We did it ALL ourselves, and still wish that our contractor/landscaper hadn't screwed up and lost our work order to have the granite installed. It would have been $100 well spent.

How we installed the new patio:

Step 1) Call 811 so you don't accidentally cut of your cable or kill yourself (luckily only one happened, and it wasn't our fault because Comcast should have buried the cable 6" instead of 1")

Step 2) Rip out decking. Have hammers, crow bars, sledge hammers, and big strong arms for this.

The chairs the dog ate.

Step 3) Dig out posts. Have shovels and big strong arms for this.

Step 4) Dig small trench along the back edge for the edging (black stuff). Again, call 811 and don't cut off your cable/internet.

Step 5) Level out dirt, and compact it by walking over it and spraying with water. Leave overnight to dry.

Step 6) Lay your liner out. If you're putting in any pavers, put down paver sand & lay out your pavers. Fill cracks with sand, too. (Sand will compact with water, so watering during installation is ideal.)

Step 7) Pay someone else to put in the decomposed granite. Get upset that your contractor lost your order, be happy they can still deliver the material, and prepare to install it yourself.

Step 8) Person One (A) uses wheelbarrow to bring over granite; Person Two (E) levels it with a hoe or rake, and then uses a tamper to stamp it down. Fill entire area.

Step 9) Repeat. Once you do this twice, fill in the areas that seem low, especially toward the house. Water it down and let it dry so it compacts.

Step 10) Wait one day, then water it again, looking for puddles that indicate low spots. Fill it in there, too.

Step 11) Let dry. Then decorate & ENJOY! (Even when it's wet from a torrential downpour and you wish it wasn't so mushy...)

The yard is almost totally cleaned up!

We also added a little garden area in the back in an attempt to hid the utility area. we think it's cute.

Placement. Red Sisters, Daylillies, and later, Begonias.
That is about twice as much mulch as I needed...

Planted!
We later had to move the Red Sister & Begonias. I thought this area
got less sunlight than it did... I'm trying to save them, and have
transplanted them to the front yard.

New plants.
Red sisters and Begonias now live happily in our shady front yard.

Loving our new little oasis! It is so nice to get to sit outside and enjoy it after over a year (almost year and a half) of avoiding a nasty, overgrown backyard!

Next up: MASTER BATHROOM REMODEL! We are in the process of finalizing our quote and sourcing products, so get ready, because in mid-August, we'll have a GORGEOUS new bathroom, just in time for Ethan's First Birthday Party! We're thinking herringbone wood tile, bronze accents, no tub, walk-in shower, moved toilet, adding a second sink... it's going to be a BIG deal, y'all! To see some of our ideas, visit my master bathroom Pinterest page.

xo,

PS - look for Ethan's nine-month post tomorrow!