Big Flower Bed

 In the back left corner, we decided to put in a big flower bed.  Within this flower bed will also be an area for a small table and chairs and also for the hammock stand.  We calculated how big the area was going to be so that we could get enough mulch and edging.  Just under 400 sq ft!!!  That's huge!

BEFORE:

Not much going on.  There use to be lots of bushes and trees here.  Now - just lots of dirt.

 Pretty sad looking.

As we took out bushes and trees in the whole yard, we kept finding round stepping stones!  Random!  I took the stepping stones and made a path through the 'soon to be' garden.   

 These bird feeders will be emptied in ONE day!!!  Yes - the squirrels dump a lot out, but there are a TON of birds that visit.

 AFTER:

 So much better!!  All of these plants were dug out of my mom's yard - Thanks mom!  Later, I want to add more plants, more color, add bird houses, etc. 

 Love this sitting area!

Obviously, grass is still needed just outside the garden.

 We got a little dirty......!

This was a LONG, HOT day, but totally worth it.  

I'm excited to add more to this area and watch it all grow.

Back Yard Adventures - Before and Afters!

 There have been many projects on our 'to-do' list since we moved in our home back in January.  The biggest one - the yard.  The previous owners did NOTHING in the yard, so we really were starting from scratch.  To really show how far the yard has come, I decided to post before and after shots!

This area is on the side of our house near the A/C and the garbage cans.

BEFORE:

 (Almost dead bushes, patchy grass)

AFTER:

(We removed the bushes, made a new flower bed, built an enclosure for the garbage cans - that will be another post - grew grass!  The shed that you can see on the other side of the fence is there temporarily - It's moved there because our house is getting painted very soon!!)

This is in the back yard - back left corner.

BEFORE: 

 (There used to be LOTS of bushes, dead trees, weeds that were overgrown.  In fact, you couldn't even see the back fence!)

AFTER:

(SEVERAL trees and bushes have been removed.  We haven't put sod down so there are still gaps in the grass.  That's still on the list of things to do.  For now, it's filling in pretty well!  There is, however, a new garden in the back corner - again, that's another post that will be coming soon.)

This is the back right side of the yard.

BEFORE:

 BEFORE (#2):

 (almost no grass, lots of trees - again, you really can't even see the back fence)

AFTER:

(Almost all of the trees have been removed.  The last two pine trees are getting cut down this week!  Where the boat is sitting, we are going to build a shed and a covered area for the boat.  

The grass is filling in very nice.)

Left side of the back yard near the house.

BEFORE: 

 (No grass....  actually, there's not much of anything over there!)

AFTER:

 (Grass!!  There's a flower bed under the tree and a vegetable garden along the fence.)

It's crazy to see how far the back yard has come! 

Putting our house back together... (Part 2)

Once the tree was cleaned up, the insurance company brought in a company to check for water damage.  Turns out, the laminate floors in the craft room and down the hall were damaged from the water that poured in our house.  Within minutes, these guys pulled out the floors and several of the baseboards.

They left behind several fans and dehumidifiers to help dry out the concrete floors.

Then we had a contractor come in and pull down the rest of the drywall, fix the broken trusses, and put everything back together.

Putting our house back together... (Part 1)

My blog has been neglected....  One big reason - a tree threw us for a loop!!!

A few months ago, a storm passed through and the top half of a pine tree in our backyard broke off and fell through my craft room.  Here is a series of how we put our house back together.

The craziest part: although we had been in the house maybe 2 months, we had only made one mortgage payment."Welcome to Home Ownership!"

The branch pierced all the way across the room and touched the other wall.  It broke several trusses in the attice, punched holes in our hallway and in the linen closet as well. All the insulation and sheet rock fell down and covered my stuff on my work table.  The plus side:  Our house smelled like Pine Sol for quite some time!

A neighbor who saw the tree on the house called the tree company who was JUST at our house five days earlier, so by the time our 'freak out' moment finally ended, they pulled up in the drive way with their truck and started to remove the tree and tarp up the roof.

The next day, we put on our gloves and pulled out the chain saw and ax and started to cut up the tree.

Once everything was pulled away from the house, we noticed exterior damage (most of the damage is hidden under that tarp the the right of the picture)

Here's the top of the tree that broke off.

I think we have plenty of wood for the up coming winter....

(Stay tuned for part 2)

Updates

Almost everyday, I think to myself - I need to update my blog... I need up post pictures of the house projects that have occurred, I need to post before and after pictures.. Yea - none of that has happened!

So here's what's been going on:

• The backyard has been getting a face lift. Mike has been working like a mad man cutting down dead trees, replanting bushes, pulling out dead bushes, etc. Today, we have a company coming in to remove 3 very large dead trees. We knew when we bought the house this was something that had to be done. trust me - I would rather spend this money on the house and not on dead trees! It will be interesting to see what it looks like tonight!

• The painting in the house is almost done. EVERYTHING in the house needed to be painted. I started off with the vaulted ceilings before we moved in. ALL the trim, window sills, and baseboards needed THREE coats of white paint (shoot me now!) Then the living room, halls, kitchen and all three bedrooms were painted next. And lastly, I painted the stripes in my bathroom (worlds longest project ever!! I'll never paint stripes again!) I still have the guest bathroom to do and the laundry room... but that's gonna have to wait for the day I don't wanna throw up by looking at a paint brush.Master Bath Stripes
• ALL the doors need to be painted... There are 15 doors total - trust me... I counted. Now, I work with a painter at work, so I'm pulling a favor and he's gonna come over and do them for me. He has a spray gun which will make the job SO much easier. Did I mention they are 6 panel doors??? Yes - that would be a paint in the you-know-what to paint with a brush!
  

• The master bath shower needed to be re-grouted. You see, when there are gaps in between your tile without grout, water can get back there... which can cause damage. This was not something I wanted to do.... but rather had to do.

• Also, the tub faucets in both bathrooms were leaking. That day, I learned to be a plumber! With a fancy tool, I managed to take apart both faucets, replaced a part, then put them back together.

(Fancy Tool)

• The living room ceiling fan and one bedroom fan weren't working when we bought the house, so those had to be replaced. Thanks to a friend, we both became electricians that day!
• Our poor dog isn't use to laminate floors.... So my mom treated me to a day trip to Destin, FL for some shopping! I picked up many items needed for the house - the BIGGEST purchase was a rug for the living room (8 ft x 10 ft). I also bought a few smaller ones for the front and back door and the bedroom. The dog is much happier now that he isn't sliding all over the place!
  
• Most of the screens in the house were broken, ripped, or missing all together - not a good thing when you want to air our your house! All of these were fixed.

I'm sure there are many other things that have been done - I'll try to get on here a little more frequently to post the pictures I have.

Big News!

With all fingers and toes crossed, Mike and I will be signing away next week to buy this house!!

Let me back up.... on our one year anniversary (October 23rd) we put in an offer on this house. Yes - our traditional paper anniversary gift was putting in an offer!! After going back and forth with the sellers, and patiently waiting for the bank (this was a short sale), we finally had an accepted offer!

We've had inspection after inspection.... and lots of paperwork!

Once we have keys in hand, there are MANY projects just waiting to be done! Several of the trees/bushes that you see in the picture have plans to be removed.

Our goal is to move out of our rental by the end of December!

The property is located out Bucklake Road - pass open fields, cows, and horses. It's a little bit of the country - which we both love! It's a 3 Bedroom 2 Bath on a half acre, laminate flooring with ceramic tile in the baths and kitchen and vaulted ceilings!

Here is the view of the street:



Living room (with the seller's furniture):



Mike and I are very excited! I will keep this blog up to date on improvements as they happen!