Stump tuggin'

We continued the front garden project that we started yesterday, and we've made some great progress!

First, we finished building the second tier of the side garden. We dug out some of the slope and stacked two rows of stone pavers to create a retaining wall. Then we capped them off with a row of edgers.



I'm really happy with how this wall turned out! (I picture planting some phlox or something similar so that the flowers drape and pour over the wall.)

As often happens around here, our plans then took a little detour and instead of planting and mulching, we decided to rip out all of the dead stumps and dying bushes from the front of the porch.

The previous owners left behind a few unsightly stumps in the front yard.



Not pretty.

After looking at them for the last 10 months, we decided it was definitely time for them to go.



Luckily, we had a pickup truck, chain, and the help of our bff Josh. It was time to tug out some stumps!



After wrapping the chain around the stump, all it took was backing up the truck and the stumps came up pretty easily.



After the old stumps were out, we turned our attention to the half-dead, awkwardly placed evergreen and rhododendron bushes.



We figured while we were tuggin' stumps, we might as well give everything the heave-ho. Those two bushes came out pretty easily, and the change was already huge.



We were left with quite a mess, though. The back of the bushes had apparently been a dumping ground for random garbage. We found everything from an old diaper (seriously, one of the grossest things everrr) to a 3-foot long iron spike.



Some raking was all it took to get the area back in shape. After we had it cleaned up, we got out some twine and stretched it across to get a straight line.



Once we had the twine set to use as a guide, we started laying in the edger stones along the perimeter of the new garden bed.



We then implemented the very scientific method of standing on the stones to level them.



This was followed by the equally technical process of hitting the stones with a hammer to get them in line.



We ran out of edgers just before we could complete the border, but we laid out what we had leftover to get an idea of the end result.


After just a few hours of work today, the change to the front of the house was already pretty tremendous!



And because you know I can't live without a good before and after, let's take a look at where we're at now...

Before:


And after!!:


I'll be sure to keep ya'll updated when we get to planting. Anyone have recommendations for low-maintenance plants that do well in part sun/shade??

Fence is up!

The fence went up this weekend!

It was a big production, but luckily we had help. (thankyouthankyouthankyou!)

First we had to haul over the materials: fence panels and posts, and we rented a two-man auger, which turned out to be pretty invaluable. It made the process go a lot faster.



There's the auger in the background. Next we needed to measure everything and make sure we had a straight, level line to follow before we dug any holes.



Next Branden and his brother dug the holes and plunked the posts in.



We filled the holes with concrete, making sure they're filled completely.





Once the posts were in and cemented, we needed to let everything set overnight. The next day Josh came by to help with putting up the panels.



(Sawing things, like a man)





Because the side of the yard is a gradual slope, we needed to stagger the panels. Our plan is to cover up the gaps in the bottom with some lattice.

We got almost the entire yard fenced in. The only part still open is a 15-foot section on the left side of the house, where the gate will go in. We're still not quite sure how the gate situation works, but we're working on it. :)

Somehow, closing the yard in made it feel even bigger. I was expecting the opposite, but I think it drew more attention to just how HUGE our yard is!



I can't wait to see Lucy frolick around out here!







The next project is staining the fence before we get tons of rain this weekend. We bought a power sprayer which is a pain in the butt to use but is way faster than a brush.



I'll post more pictures when it's done!

Lumberjacks and telephone tables

I've neglected updating this a bit so this will be a big post. We got a ton accomplished this weekend around the house. Sunday was spent chopping down tree branches in the front and back yards. We still need to get a professional in to get down the really big branches in the front of the house (they hang over the roof into the gutters), but we were able to make some progress on some of the smaller ones.

In the backyard, the big pine tree's branches were reaching out over the roof and most of them were completely dead. So we cleaned the tree up.

Here's the best "before" I could find...



Remember the giant shed we ripped down within the first week? And the overgrown rhodedendrons? Yeah, I had kind of pushed them out of my mind too.

Here's the neat and tidy after...



This backyard has come SO far from when we bought the house. It's so different and much more spacious. Night and day back here. The retaining wall that Branden and my brother built has held up really well. We dumped a ton of soil behind it, as well as the day lily bulbs that I pulled up from elsewhere in the yard, and they've already started sprouting behind the wall. Resilient little guys.





You can see Branden's handywork. I'm just glad it wasn't me way up on that ladder. :)

The next backyard plan is to get the fence installed in the next couple of weeks before the ground starts to freeze. Stay tuned for that!

While Branden and his dad did the tree chopping, I hung out with the dog and worked on inside projects. That bookcase that I mentioned earlier has been the bane of my existence. Despite a coat of primer and two coats of paint, it all somehow easily chips off with practically a light tap. I've taken chips off with just my fingernails accidentally tapping the surface. So I got some polyurethane to seal everything. Fingers crossed that this works, cause if not I'm out of ideas! I was about ready to toss the whole thing into a bonfire this weekend and dance around it like Maleficent's weird goblin guys in Sleeping Beauty. I'm working on adhering fabric to the back and though it's been really tough, it seems to be working. I hope to have a solid after photo to share soon because if not I'm probably just going to lose my mind.

One little project that did go a bit better was our recent Craigslist find. We came across this sweet vintage telephone table with a hidden seat (!) a couple of weeks ago and definitely had to make the drive out to snag it.







Secrets! I just love love love secret hidden things. It was in pretty decent shape when we got it, but needed a good refinishing, and the seat was pretty dingy and beat. That rusty looking hardware wasn't working for me either.

I primed the whole thing (it was a pain in the butt getting in all those grooves with a brush) and then Branden spray painted. Some primer, a few coats of spray paint, and new hardware and we came out with this:









I love it! The table now lives in that previously puzzling blank spot next to our television. Not sure if this will be its permanent home, but for now it works. I recovered the seat with some remnant fabric we had. It's actually leftover fabric that Branden used inside the cases at his jewelry store. It's not quite right (too pink) but for now it works.

Solid project, right? Well... umm, right after the last coat of spray paint, Branden asked me to hold the table up while he sprayed underneath. Somehow I let the whole thing topple over (it's really top heavy!) and smash onto the patio. So now there's this teensy weensy chunk missing off the top...



Whoops. Stay tuned for a post on how to fix chipped wood! This is why I'm not to be trusted with important jobs, people. I know this. It's also why I didn't try to be a lumberjack and stayed inside, far away from ladders and saws and sharp things. I know my limits.

Watching grass grow

Work on the house has slowed down quite a bit since our house was afflicted with the plague. Okay, so it's just bronchitis. But it feels like the Black Death sometimes.

Anyway, the grass seed we planted a few weeks back over the spot where the shed was has finally sprouted. It's coming in pretty well!




It's been so hot and dry that we didn't think anything would grow at all. So I'm definitely pleasantly surprised.

Since we've all been feeling lousy around here, most of the big projects are at a bit of a standstill. There's a stack of tiles in the mudroom just waiting to finish off the floor, for example. We have managed to get a lot of yard work done, found perfect matching nightstands for the bedroom, and picked up some nice accessories to style the living and dining rooms. I'll share those pics soon. Things are coming together!

Also, Miss Lucy turned one year old. And yes, this happened:


She actually didn't hate wearing it! I swear.

For Lucy's big girl birthday present, we got her the biggest bone we could find. It's called a "mammoth bone", though I'm mostly sure that it didn't come from a Woolly Mammoth. I can't be positive, though.

Busy, busy bees!

Things have been so busy since we moved in at the beginning of the month! Every day has been devoted to some project around the house, and we still have tons and tons more to do and plenty of boxes to unpack.

One of the biggest projects has been getting the backyard ready to be fenced in and safe for Lucy to roam and eat sticks. Since dismantling the shed that once stood in the back, we've had to rake up endless amounts of debris (nails, glass shards, wood planks, etc.) and build a retaining wall to prevent the neighbor's chain link fence from toppling in a landslide.

Here's the site where the shed used to be, with the retaining wall in place:


You can really see how having it gone has opened the whole place up considerably. Here's a before and after:



We're getting a delivery of 10 yards of top soil on Monday, which we'll spread over the sand. Then we'll be able to lay some grass seed and get some green growing!

Inside, the living room is definitely the furthest along of all of the rooms. We've still got some things to work out and change, but it's the one room in the house that feels almost complete.



We need to get a much smaller chair for the computer and some new throw pillows for the couch to coordinate with the curtains. I'm actually happier with the ceiling lights than I thought I'd be (and they really don't look like boobs as much after they're installed...) I'm in love with the wall color, which changes during the day from a beige to putty to a deep mocha, depending on the light. Since the room is so big (it's something like 20x13) the rich color works beautifully and doesn't make it seem small, which was one of my fears. Lucy loves having all the extra room, and one of her favorite spots to stretch out and sleep is between the tv and the coffee table.

Yesterday, on a whim, Branden started priming the mudroom. This room had dark brown paneling on the walls and needed to be brightened up.

Here's the mudroom before we started painting:


And here's the mudroom currently, with most of the room primed:

Doesn't look great, but it's already an improvement!

There's still tons more to do. And since moving in, we've somehow lost electricity in all of the upstairs bedrooms aaand I put a hole in one of the windows while hanging blinds. Don't ask me how that happened. We'll hopefully be able to get an electrician in this week to figure out what in the world is going on upstairs, and with luck it won't require any major rewiring. The joys of being a homeowner!