It's Curtains For Me

It's been pure joy to see this living room coming together, and so quickly, too! One week ago, we brought home two new couches to a practically-empty room. Despite checking TJ Maxx for the past four months, I hadn't been able to find my lamps. Last Wednesday, however, they magically appeared and I brought them home! Then, when I went to run some errands to stay out of John's way as he worked from home on Thursday, I stumbled across my perfect curtains! I knew what I had in mind and just had to wait for someone to make them! They were the perfect combination of blue and green and would bring some much-needed color to the room. Honestly, who knew perfection could come in such wonderful packages?!

Thank you, World Market!

I ran next door to Target to buy the curtain rod, then called my sister to plan out an installation day. Someone had to iron these things, after all! She was available the very next morning to come help me put everything up. Believe me, it's always nice to have someone double-checking Micah Math.

I am in love with this room. Every time I walk past, I want to sit down to enjoy it. It feels so welcoming...something I've been striving for. We even had the curtains up in time for the waffle party on Saturday, and everyone loved the changes that have been made. It's heavenly to have the first visble room more on par with the rest of the house.

I'm not done yet. In fact, I need your help.

What do I do with this corner?!

Should I hang a beautiful streamlined chandelier to add more traditional elements to the room? How about a huge arc lamp with a linen drum shade? Maybe a tall bookcase? I want something useful and pretty to fill this space, especially vertically.

Show me your design skills and let me know your suggestions! I'm baffled and slightly indecisive...for now.

Not The Ugliest House On The Block

Today was a day I've been dreaming about for months. It was finally warm enough to plant some pretty plants out front. It was high time for landscaping duty!

We went to Home Depot around 10:30 AM after hosting a breakfast waffle party for some friends from church. Patient John let me wander to find exactly what I needed for the spot out front. He was even good enough to voice opinions now and then. I had drawn up a map of where things should be planted (nerd alert!). We needed one big plant (3-4 feet in diameter), three medium plants (about 2 feet) and two small plants (1 foot in size). After checking out the new selection in the garden center, we selected some pretty things to brighten up our yard!

The Lineup

The Big Plant: we couldn't find anything that size, so we ended up transplanting a bush from the side of the house. It will work for now...and if it survives the violent move, it will have a happy home out front to first greet visitors. I like it...it's a pretty light-green color that is different from everything else we planted.

The Medium Plants: three were purchased. First, a sweet Dwarf Mock Orange Tree, which is a dense, beautiful bush. It is already full-size, so we were able to plant accordingly without planning future growth. Second, a Pink Breath of Heaven. It's an evergreen, which means it will look great all year long. It also blooms pretty little pink flowers in the spring, and already some are peeking through near the base of the plant. Finally, we bought a Natal Plum, which has thick, gorgeous leaves and will be any shape we want. I love it and can't wait for it to grow to maturity...about two feet in diameter.

The Small Plants: two cacti were selected to stay true to the Arizona roots. We planted a bright yellow Golden Barrel cactus to add  some color. We also added a mature Crosby's Prolific succulent, and I love the shape and size. It looks like it will bloom some stalk flowers, which will be pretty. These guys are both low-maintenance. Actually, everything we planted will be very little work! That's just how we roll. I wanted it to look good without a whole lot of work from us. No one in our house has time to baby plants.

So it's easy, right? Just dig some holes, throw some plants into them, fill them with dirt, water, repeat. Right? As we were digging the first hole for the big plant, John hit some rock and cement. Apparently, a coi pond used to inhabit this space...and instead of getting rid of all the concrete before filling it in, the previous owners just broke up the pieces a little, then buried it. Awesome. So we dug and dug and dug until all the rock and cement had been removed. After three hours, we were finally ready to start putting things back in! It definitely counted as my workout yesterday.

Once all the plants were in and the dirt was filled again, about four tons to be exact, it was time to water. We soaked it using water cans and our rain barrel...that thing is proving to be pretty handy! After all the babies were soaked, it was Mulch Time! We found a smokin' deal about a month ago for $4 mulch at $0.96. So we got a little carried away and bought enough to hopefully do all of the landscaping jobs we have in mind. I love how the black mulch contrasts against the pretty green plants and our house. It just looks so...finished! Now I just have to be patient to wait for the plants to grow to their mature size. I am sure carrying on lengthy conversations with them will help in that regard.

Even though the project ended up taking a lot more effort than we were expecting, the results were certainly worth it. We are both so tickled with how it looks! The best news of the day? Just as I was hoping, John mentioned changing the other bushes in front of the windows to match. It will look SO much better if we just tear everything up and start from scratch. He hasn't let me tear anything out, and it's been killing me. I think he might be on board now that he has seen its potential. Fingers crossed!

Our curb appeal became a little more appealing yesterday, and I have a strong, patient, hard-working man to thank for it. Just for the record, I was in there digging just as much. Oddly enough, photo evidence is mostly lacking of such endeavors.

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!