Bringing Down the House (Um...Shed, Really)

Six hours. Fifteen millions screws and nails. Forty species of spiders. These were just some of the components that made our task for the week so much dern fun. The goal: to take down the monstrous old shed in the backyard.

When we moved in last summer, I envisioned this beast coming down and a smaller version built elsewhere out of sight. It was a mystery to everyone why I didn't want to keep such a huge storage shed in my yard. It really comes down to how much I already love my future children. I want them to have a place to play when they go outside! And, unlike the former owners of this home, we don't have a landscaping business and therefore don't need a huge shed to store all of our equipment.

John humored me yet again. When I got home from errands the other afternoon, he was busy out back with a hammer and screw driver while humming his favorite songs. Evening came on a little too quickly, and he had to finish tearing out the floor the next day. He plans to use the good wood to rebuild a smaller shed down the side of the house. It will be large enough to store all of our yard tools, as well as the lawn mower and wheel barrow. Newbie will have tons of storage space while not robbing us of precious landscaping potential for previously-mentioned future children.

No, I am not pregnant. But anyone who knows me knows I'm a planner. I'm just looking out for the well-being of my future kids' imaginations here, folks. No announcements being made.

I am so tickled with the results of the shed being gone. I hate having the yard a mess with all of the remnants, but it's nice to know it is only temporary. John has been designing the new shed for weeks and is finally happy with the blueprints. Tomorrow, while I'm hosting a Waffle Party with some gals from Church, he will be outside starting to lay the foundation for Newbie. It will be a wonderful day! I love how the yard is coming together. I thought it would take years, but speed is always a good thing for me!

Have I mentioned how much patience I'm learning as a homeowner?

Let There Be Light

I have been patiently searching for months, MONTHS, I say, for the perfect lamps to shed some light on our living room. After getting our beautiful couches on Saturday, the room was begging for some color. We had tan sofas on a brown rug near taupe walls. The side tables were stark white. We needed some pop!

The perfect lamp appeared at Homegoods about a month ago. It was green with a crisp, white shade. I loved the shape and the color. It was slightly retro yet had that updated look that made my heart skip a beat. Yes, I get that excited about lamps. What of it?

However, there was only one little lonely lamp on the shelf. I needed two and didn't dare buy one and hope for another to magically appear. That's the beauty, and challenge, of that store...you get what they have and nothing else! So I decided to wait for its match to arrive. I checked every few days, just in case. In true teasing fashion, my lamp never disappeared but happily greeted me each time I popped into my favorite store. I'm sure many people were in the same predicament as me...two lamps were better than one!

Eventually, about two weeks ago, someone decided to give it a better home. My lamp was gone when I arrived at the lighting section. I was bummed but also knew waiting would be worth it. Yesterday, after spending the afternoon with my sister helping her hang tons of curtains in her large family room, I decided to check the store on my way home. And lo and behold...two lamps were there yet again!

Of course I grabbed them. I've learned too many times at that store that you don't wait on perfection. I rushed home to plug them in and knew the decision had been right. They are exactly what I wanted for this room. I am so tickled with them! After adding a few more accents to this room, and a few more pieces of colorful furniture (two blue arm chairs, baby!), this room will not be tan on tan on tan. It will be a bright, welcoming space that I have so been desiring! I like how the lamp almost looks like a green extension of the table on which it sits. Pretty nifty!

Next mission of searching: curtains. Hopefully it won't take months to find the perfect window treatments for the gigantic wall of light!

My Rain Gutter Man

Saturday ended up being a very busy day for us. We spent the morning retrieving and assembling our beautiful new couches. I am in love with them. And then we spent the entire afternoon installing rain gutters on the back patio of our home. These puppies were necessary for several reasons. First, the rain comes pouring down off the roof and drills holes into the lawn where the concrete wasn't poured. It's been digging holes next to the patio ever since we moved in...and probably before that, too. Second, with rain gutters to protect the patio, we could actually sit out there to enjoy a storm. I love watching thunderstorms wreak their havoc, as long as I'm safe, warm, and dry. Having rain gutters in place will make the patio usable even during a nasty downpour!

We've been wanting to install gutters for quite some time but didn't know if we would need to hire someone who knew what he was doing. We are rookies when it comes to anything House, after all. Conveniently, we stumbled across the do-it-yourself rain gutters at Home Depot and went home to take some measurements! Saturday was the day to put everything up before another storm was set to hit that evening.

I married a hard-working man. John worked tirelessly to get everything in place. I love the end results. The rain barrel at the end of the line will help us keep the soon-to-be-built garden boxes watered all summer long...without my water bill going through the roof!

An additional barrel will be purchased this week (for $4, mind you). One small storm filled the barrel completely with fresh rain water, so we need to have another ready to take over during Monsoon Season. I'm so excited to have this project finished! We can now use the patio come rain or shine. And we did the entire project for around $80. Not too shabby!