A New Dream

I've been lusting after this house for months now. It's nowhere to be found online, but I am not complaining... less chance of it being sold by the time we offload the "pig". We don't even know if it's in our price range. We just know we LOVE it. We're trying not to think about it though, so back to our regularly scheduled programming.... :)

Holiday Project Sneek Peeks

As promised, here are some sneek peeks of the two bigger projects we tackled (with a LOT of help) over the break.

Gasp! We have a deck!!!


Our oven/office is an oven no more! More detailed pics and "finished product" shots to come as well as a few smaller holiday projects we tackled.

Weekend Project Update!

We made some progress on the porch this weekend! One coat of white trim paint down, one more to go... well, we're going to wait until after we put the new decking on the porch before we go with the second coat, in case of nicks and bumps during installation.

The bench looks fabulous out there, don't you think? I am a little nervous because the bicycle chain that we bought won't fit between the slats, nor the tabs I sewed into the cushions. Dumb me forgot to measure properly before buying the chain, but another one is not going to be hard to find I am sure.


For now, I will just hope for the best and pray that no one would think of messing with our cute little porch.


In other news I went ahead and painted the last of the coffee table paint onto the dining room wall and LOVE it! There wasn't enough to do the whole wall, and it still needs a second coat, but this gives me a good idea of how it will look when it's done and I love it! What do you think? I know it's not a great color for resale, but we can neutralize it when it comes time to sell.



So far the progress on the spare room is still limited. I did manage to empty two boxes and get them out of there, but if you could see the state of the room, you would know that this really isn't much progress at all in the grand scheme of things. It is literally wall to wall boxes, bags and stuff in there and we're nowhere near to calling that room "done" just yet. I want to make it my mission to remove at least one bag or box per day this week and see how I do with that. It's probably a good thing that my mom is coming out for my birthday in July as I HAVE to have the room finished by then, so that will light a fire under my butt.

Ohhh what the heck... here's a picture of what is becoming known as the black hole...
... don't judge me....

Weekend Project: Porch & Spare Room

Hallelujah! It's Friday!! And it's time for another weekend project to-do list.

This week, we'll be trying to keep the costs down as we've kind of gone a little hog wild over the last few weeks. We have a big visa application coming up soon, so we need to hold back a little on the cash.

In this light, the plan for the weekend is:

- Organize the spare room.

Yes, I know this has been on the list for a few weeks now. But we have now identified the problem. We need to get rid of a ton of office stuff, papers and things that we don't need to hang on to. I also have a secret plan to share some of my rarely used scrapbooking supplies with a friend who actually scrap books and could use some to add to her stash. I know that I need to go through my fabric stash with a ruthless eye and throw out any, and all fabric I am unlikely to use.... ok, except for those pretty vintage sheets... I may decide to throw a quilt together at some point. LOL

- Front Porch Beautification

During our recent trip to Pier 1, we stumbled upon some cute outdoor throw pillows that I love, love, love. It brought up an idea I've been toying with to add something to our decidedly boring porch. Trouble is, my plan involves moving one of my fave pieces of furniture that really doesn't fit in the house to the porch.

Now, the porch is covered, and rarely even gets wet when it rains (which, let's face it, it never does in Texas). My real issue with bringing it outdoors is that the South African in me won't shut up about the possibility of it being stolen off my porch. I know, I know... Round Rock is number 19 on the list of safest towns in the country so what am I worried about right? The bench I have in mind is gorgeous!! It needs some rehabbing, new poly stain, etc. But lately, everywhere I turn I see this bench on display in some magazine, or brochure, etc. It's a hot item, and I want to keep it in my possession, but I also need to make more room in our house.

Enter the master plan... We're going to Walmart to pick up a bicycle chain.... I have already sewn some loops into the back of the cushions, and we will (subtly) chain both the bench, and cushions to the porch railing. Problem solved! LOL Don't judge me! I am a product of my childhood environment.

And look, it's not just me... Here is a picture of my mom and step father's camp site in Calgary, Canada. See that picnic bench? They brought that with them... See the chain attached to the tree? They brought that too! (What you can't see in the below image, is that there is also a fully built shed and a plastic storage/seating bench too!)

Please note the deck in front of the RV... they built that too. You can't be without a deck for the summer,
even if it's only 3 months long in your town, and you'll only be visiting the RV over weekends!
What can I say, it's in the genes people!

I also have plans to slap some fresh white paint on the railings, and possibly also paint the living/dining room wall... But I make no promises on these two, the porch and spare room are main priorities.

My gorgeous rugs arrived today and I must say I am surprised. The leafy one is actually a totally different color to what I thought, BUT.. it's gorgeous and actually I like it more! I want to hold off on showing you pics until I have painted the wall in the dining area and done something with the table top in the living room. Pics on Sunday.

xoxo

Weekend Project: Curb Appeal

Well, we did it! Our first project is now complete... well, it's almost complete, we still have a few other things we want to add before we can completely cross it off our list, but we're just happy to have made as much progress as we did for as little moolah as we spent.

Behold, I give you Operation Curb Appeal.

Here is the not-to-bad starting point.


Here are the spoils of our $200 Home Depot shopping spree.


Here is the (almost) finished product.


I think it's a huge improvement. Everything just looks "fresher", as though our house spent a week at a spa and returned to us well-rested.

Here's what we did:

• Replaced the builders standard, totally 80's house numbers for these slick brushed stainless ones.
• Replaced the beat-up mail box.
• Inserted solar powered path lights in a brushed stainless finish.
• Planted the front bed with some annuals, perrenials and ground cover with interesting leaf shapes and colors.
• Added a bouganvilla plant for some height. Our hope is that it will grow up the soon to be placed trellis and cover up some of that drab grey brick wall.
• Lastly, I cleared an easy water run off round the sides of the beds, so that water can easily drain away rather than sitting and creating a big muddy mess.
• As a finishing touch, we added a hanging fern to soften the porch and
• Threw down a bright, fresh welcome mat to finish things off.

What is still on the cards:

• Repainting the house in a sage green color, with a red front door.
• Adding a bright red bench.
• Replacing those ugly, outdated light fixtures for contemporary brushed stainless ones.
• Planting the facing bed.
• Replenishing grass seed.
• Maybe adding a third bed in front of that little retaining wall
• Oh, and fixing the retaining wall where it has come loose.

We're really happy with our first little project. I know what you're thinking... "What about the inside?" Well, we hear ya. BUT, with closing costs, tax being due and my upcoming visa renewal we need some time to save up for those larger projects. We do have some big'uns on the cards for the summer. I will let you know more as we get to them. But for now, our el'cheapo first project was a good one for us to tackle.

Our front yard is the first thing people see when they get to our new house. It was an instant facelift! We feel that it was the best way for us to spend our $200 for the most bang. What do y'all think?