Thursday, April 24, 2014

jumpstart: 5 minor updates

Nothing has improved on our posting frequency since the last time we posted and this time we don't have vacation to blame! We have been working around the house on little things here and there but nothing seems noteworthy enough to earn it's own post. So here we were are, almost to the end of April, with a re-cap post that will highlight some things we have done since we last posted! 

1. Plants:
We are getting ready to build out our raised vegetable garden and our plants are really starting to look like plants instead of just little seedlings! It will be so fun to have them out in the yard instead of down in the basement. 

   

2. The Shed:
It's gone! There is still a huge pile of broken up cement that needs to be carted off but we are relieved that it's gone. It makes the yard look must larger now that we can see the whole back fence. Once we get the cement removed and the ground behind the pile (photo on right) leveled and back "up-to-snuf" we will build the raised beds and be in business! To see the original shed click here.

      

3. Painting the living room: 
Yes, we painted the living room over... originally it was white and then we painted it a darkish tan color that I (Lindsey) finally came to hate hate hate (you'll notice in the link that I didn't love it to begin with) and couldn't help but paint right over it!! Now, it's a lovely cream color and everything in the room looks much brighter and less cave-ish. It's a much better contrast even though it's not a big bold color. 

   

4. Outdoor patio set up:
We are so thankful that we have been gifted most of our outdoor furniture. The swing came from a client of dad's who no longer wanted it, the bistro set came from Lindsey's grandma's friend and the four metal chairs (there is also a table to come soon) came from Lindsey's Aunt Kathy! It's so nice to have family that love to take care of you and think of you when they make their own upgrades!! The original cover on the swing was gross so we decided to eliminate that altogether and just go with some outdoor pillows for the swing and chairs (9.99/two pillows at Costco!). The bistro set has cute striped cushions but I think I will recover those so everything matches... the jury is still out on that! 

   

5. Outdoor chandelier:
One of my weirdest ideas so far actually came together and Rob was kind enough to play along until it was complete. Now he actually likes the idea and it does makes our patio look a bit more interesting! I took a craigslist chandelier and ripped all the wiring out of it, cleaned it, planted ivy in each cup and hung it from our biggest tree!! (Thanks to our neighbors for letting us borrow their tall ladder :)) We are hoping that the ivy takes over and grows down so it "drips" from the chandelier... we'll just have to see what happens with this crazy idea. 

   

Our check-list is still long as ever as we are currently saving money and making some decisions that will push us in one direction or another with some areas of our house. Once we start working on the bigger things, the posts will flow once again!

Thanks for checking back in with us! Until next time, enjoy the sunshine!