Garden Dreaming...

This week was sort of a restful week- although I did manage to get quite a bit done. I FINALLY started my collage wall paper wall in the master bedroom closet. Before which I completely repaired the access hole in the wall they cut to perfection. I was actually more proud that I repaired a huge drywall hole, then I was at the start of my wall paper collage.

Slowly I have been falling in love with my home all over again… I have been thinking that I have been going about all of my repairs in the wrong way. I really need to get more organized about the progress I am making and post more before and after pictures on here so I can have a running record that wont get lost or damaged. While it may not feel like it, we really have made a huge dent in making our home look better.

I have noticed my to do list gets longer each day. Theres a grand oak behind our home… taller then all of the other trees that surrounds our house. Both my husband and I fell in love with that tree, and thought it would be cute to build a tree house or maybe hang rope swings for our children some day. I was recently told by a friend that the tree is dying and must be removed… and with hurricane season approaching it needs to be done soon. Sigh* So much for tree houses I suppose. With the removal of the tree comes more sunlight in the back yard- paving way for a beautiful rose garden I have been dreaming of.

The yard which was so neglected before we came is really starting to look much better- each weekend I do as much work as I can but with the long summer days and muggy rainy evenings it will be a while before things start to take much shape.

Last weekend we finished taking out that dreadful philodendron in the front yard. It was just way too close to the house… and had probably been there for… 50 years. That thing was massive.. like five feet by five feet.... what a monster. Yes... that whole thing is one gigantic plant. And the roots went out about... 10 feet in every direction.

I keep going back and forth between what kind of a fence i want to install around the house. Well, its more so of a where to install rather than a what. I really fell in love with the Cape cod style fencing... like these...

Here is the general layout of what I plan on doing in my yard... with some pictures of the described areas. Lots of work and im sure many years down the road... it will look just like this!

at least I hope it does.

Ever since I was a girl I was always drawn to long walkways through winding gardens- and my mother and several of her friends have always had exemplary gardens… in fact, we married in the garden my husband and I tended to. I started gardening … probably when I was in first grade, and through my mom and extremely knowledgeable neighbor.. have really learned quite a bit of useful information.

Just to name a few plants I plan on incorporating….

and here are some of the ideas / photos that inspired me...

I can see it already. sigh*

Slow Progress...

I have been slowly working on the house, yesterday I finished up the little corner garden I had been working on for... 3 days. Summer is always the hardest time to be dedicated to gardening for more then an hour or two- especially in Florida when the days range from 98* to 105*. I was really proud of my little corner that i managed to finish despite the irritable weather conditions. Home depot managed to get in the mexican heather plugs I wanted to line my solar lit pathway, and i will most likely be tilling that this afternoon.

I finished my porch, curtains and all, but I realized that it was too much white- so I have to go back and repaint the ceilings black to add contrast and hide the imperfections in the wood. I suppose we can consider the white coat I put on as a primer. Other then that I love love love that porch. The curtains really need weights since they always blow in the wind like crazy. I google searched Ideas for curtain weights and they had a diy idea to stick mis-matched butterknives in the sleeve to weigh the curtains down. Now all that remains is a chair and a good book. ;)



Heres the old pictures of the porch....

-V

Elements of Design...

Just browsing the internet and I cam across these Stacy Nash pillow designs. I think I might make one or two I like them so much. Considering how old my house is, I think they will fit right in.

I will say that I haven’t been out of the house in a while, so I might make a special trip this afternoon to Michael’s to pick up supplies for it. As if I don’t have enough projects going on at the moment right? Its been a little less than a month since we moved in and Jon is already asking for a pajama day- which usually consists of us staying in PJ’s all day watching movies and chilling out. I might take one day this weekend to that, I always feel guilty when I do though. Its like eating chocolate for me when I know I shouldn’t, kind of guilt trip.

>

I do have plans to pick up this bed I found on Craig’s list for $50 bucks.

I know what your thinking, I really do. It’s hideous. Lol. But when I’m done with it, it will look amazing. It will be going in the guest bedroom and once its painted to match all of the rest of the furniture- viola! I really am excited about that guest room, its nearly finished… kind of a mix of old and new world décor. I’m starting to like it a little more each time I work in it.Anyways- the bed comes with the frame, and canopy- so I am super excited to see it all come together.

I think the room I have been dreaming about for so long its ridiculous is my Office room downstairs. Oh man. Big, big plans for that room...

Photos finally!

It is a rare day when I am able to make time to do two entries-but I have been meaning to post a butt load of pictures, and If you were wondering exactly how much a 'buttload' is- heres your answer:

The Adventures of Copper ...

Copper and Aidan visit...

Before and After shots...

Exterior Front... still needs some work but it looks a lot better!

Livingroom area... originally just a blank space.. now its warm and inviting...

Last.. since its really all I have time for tonight is the guest bedroom I have been slaving over the last few nights... This is the before shot of a vintage vanity build circa 1930's- I have since repainted and reasembled it and put it in the guest room, so far I have one corner done. This weekend we go to pick up the canopy bedframe and headboard! EXCITING!

Tomorrow my goal is to hang all of my small white pictures around the vanity to soften the edge around the mirror. Here are some of my fav's...

More soon I hope! -V

More House Stuff...

The Fourth of July was actually a big success and while some parts were totally hectic- it was really sweet hosting the shin dig in our new home. I actually took pictures, and have yet to upload them to anything. I did get a lot of things accomplished this weekend, and despite everything- I am rather proud of how handy I have become. Even Jon has become a Mr.Fix it and managed to repair the garbage disposal all by himself. Though I will admit I have no idea how people could get by with out ehow.com.

Still haven’t finished the balcony upstairs. But, I did paint the door red up there. And install a hang plant, and plaque- which reads “House of Major Est. 1900”. Is that not totally rockin? We picked up a couple pieces of furniture this weekend, and I started painting it last night. I painted the guest bedroom purple- Im not too keen on the color yet since I got it on the walls, but im thinking its because there is no furniture in there. I found some cute little night stands in the garage that I plan on repainting to match the rest of the furniture that goes in that room. Here were some ideas I liked and might take inspiration from…

We decided to go back to Tennessee for my 21^st birthday this year. I am more excited to go antique shopping there and bring a load of stuff back home. What could be better than antique shopping for an entire week in the mountains of Tennessee? It beats the hell out of nursing myself back to health after a night of binge drinking. But whose to say I wont enjoy a beer while I’m in Gatlinburg? J

I am still torn about what to do in my closet. Very conflicting emotions about the whole collage thing, since it is a tight space. And since I really have to drywall in the exposed pipe and air duct system, I figure I have some time to mess around and see what I like best- I might do some samples on the wall and see what looks better. Wall paper is so incredibly expensive! More inspiration for my closet…

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kandeland.typepad.com/.a/6a00df352113fd8834011570ce6f9c970b-500wi&imgrefurl=http://kandeland.typepad.com/&usg=__wz9jqGY0_Vi5g37A_k6OEHWL0Rk=&h=375&w=500&sz=42&hl=en&start=6&sig2=2nFS52q9Qy_ZJUgA_5zt1g&um=1&tbnid=yjKFVQN59YO4nM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcollaging%2Ba%2Broom%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS277%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=ZhZSSqzeGNmfmAfRmZCjBA

Anyways, my mother inlaw has been inspired by me, and wants my help designing her livingroom color scheme. Very cool. More pictures later- I promise! -V

More stuff...