We’re Still Here

I know, I’m horrible. I never posted the after pictures of our yard. But I’m kind of glad I didn’t because now it has been a couple years and plants have filled in and grown to make a beautiful yard that we’re really happy with. Enjoy!

Could It Finally Be?

It has been a couple years since we have done anything major on the house. I have been spent. I just didn't have it in me to do anything on the yard.  No ideas, no passion, no nothing.  It basically stayed the same for the last two years since we did the pergola and the fence....it has perhaps deteriorated a bit, even.

So I told Brian to make it happen --- and I didn't care how. He hired Simms to do our landscaping and so far, so good.  They have been great to work with.  They have torn out all the grass in both the front and backyard.



They have installed an entirely new sprinkling system which won't run under the patio (I've been worried about that) and have graded the dirt so we won't be twisting any more ankles just walking across the lawn. They have installed a few outlets in the backyard (hallelujah!).

They have installed metal curbing to help keep the grass where is should be. And at this point they have started to plant some of the new plants. Grass will be next week. I am particularly loving the new trees and the variety of plants.

At any rate, we've put a lot of work into this house, and even with no grass, finally it's starting to look like it from the outside.  More to come next week.

Patio + Pergola

Last fall we got this hairbrained idea to turn our sideyard into a patio.  This really is Brian's vision because after the long haul inside, my creative juices are entirely exhausted and completely unusable on an outdoor space.  But let us all press on anyway!

We started by ripping up the lawn which required a bit of sprinkler reconfiguration.

Next came a whole lot of sand and pavers.

Then up went this beautiful pergola stained to match the fence.

Next came some outdoor lighting and of course, a hammock.  We immediately started eating outside any chance we got.

 Then came some outdoor furniture (an upgrade from the folding table).

And what good is an outdoor patio without a Father's Day BBQ to top it all off?

The final touch was some friends to help us enjoy it.

I really am surprised at how much time we're spending out here now.  Lunch, dinner, homework, you name it, is spent out in this little outdoor space.  Can't wait ton enjoy it for many many lovely summer nights!

It's Been A While

Well, it has been over a year since I posted last, but that doesn't necessarily mean we haven't been doing anything or spending our hard earned cash on this house just as we have done for the last 12 years.  It just means I have my neglected my blogging duties.

Brian has been chastising me lately about it so out of pure, unadulterated guilt, here I am :).  Although I may mention, Brian, that you also have access to write blog posts.  Just sayin'. :)

For the last couple of years, we've watched our front door deteriorate to the point we just couldn't see it getting through the winter.  You may remember we attempted to refinish it a few years ago to get just a little more time out of it.  Last fall our time was up.  It got to the point that we could actually see light coming through it.  It had served it's purpose for over three quarters of a century. 

We commissioned a new door and storm door from Peach Building Products who did a beautiful job keeping the aesthetic of the old door.  They custom built the door and the casing.  Once it was done, they came and removed the old door and casing, and installed the new one in a day.

 

 Later, they returned to clear coat it.  It is a beautiful cherry wood so no stain was required.

Looks pretty good on this old gal.

In order to help protect the new door, we had them create a storm door that would allow us to show off the beautiful new cherry wood, but still protect it from the elements.  I do love the storm door.  It's nice to be able to open the door on a beautiful day just to let the light and the view stream in.

As part of the redesign, we wanted to do something special with the window.  We had attempted to frost the old one, but I wasn't wild about it.  So I designed something to go along with the view of the State Capitol.  We are, after all, the Beehive State.  We commissioned the glass from, coincidentally, Beehive Glass.  I love how it turned out.   It lets the light in, while still providing privacy, but adds a little something special.

This was no penny-pinching project, but well worth it.  I hope long after we're gone, other families will enjoy it as much as we do.

Geek Chic Nerd Cave -- DONE

We've been waiting a very long time to say this, but our basement is finally done.  For the past few months, I've only been waiting on the finishing touch to our geek chic nerd cave.  I wanted an old, weathered looking painted sign to hang over the wet bar.  It couldn't be just any old sign, though.  I wanted it to look like it had been hanging outside Chalmun's Cantina (the actual name of the cantina in Star Wars).  I decided to make this puppy myself, so if you're interested in how I did it you can see my craft blog. I really do love how it turned out, though.

 

I'm so happy with how our nerdy room has come together.  Since I showed you our nerdy artwork and pillows last time, we've added a few things.  A blanket ladder (which is actually a towel holder I found at IKEA), some fun personalized beanbags for the kiddos (from Land of Nod), and I love the Era C table at Crate & Barrel, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $300 for one.  I found these much cheaper beauties at Bed Bath and Beyond (and totally used a 20% off coupon!) -- score!

We've accessorized minimally with only a few of our favorite photos in the window sills.  Family photos with Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Billie Piper from our favorite TV show, Doctor Who.

We have had a few months to settle in a bit and I cannot tell you how much we love this room. Friday nights are the best night of the week when we can spend time together down here.  Izzypop and Vulcan's favorite is the fireplace.  They curl up together on a beanbag right in front of it and cuddle all night.

Skeeto likes the popcorn machine, drinks and straws.  I love that all my components are hidden nicely away.  But my most favorite thing about this room is all the fun times we have had so far.  I am so grateful we have a space to laugh and make memories together.

I am also grateful this little adventure is over.  We have loved renovating this house and are so blessed to have had the means to make it what we envisioned, but it has been a long haul.  Our next adventure will be the yard -- it never ends!

Feathers, Vinyl And A Whole Lotta Nerd

There have been a lot of little decorating projects that I have been wanting to do for a while.  We are finally at the point where we can start focusing on the little things, so I went out to my parents' house all day Saturday to get some vinyl cut.  I wanted something to spice up the laundry room and this does the trick, I think.  Now the laundry room is officially done.  We have thoroughly enjoyed doing laundry in this new room.  It is so much more functional.

 

We love how the folding table turned out.  It was the perfect place for that piece of soapstone.  Much better than sitting in the garage.

The second vinyl project was for the trash can we bought for cans and recycles only.  The kids have been putting whatever they want in this thing.  Maybe a reminder will help.

This next project I have been thinking about for a few years now.  I just haven't had the time.  I wanted a "Water Closet" sign for the upstairs bathroom since we put the old door with frosted glass on it.

 

The next project was some wall art for the TV room.  We are going for a geek chic look here, so we picked some icons from our favorite geeky things.

 

 We have the Star Trek command logo, the Jedi symbol, the Deathly Hallows...

 

...the Tree of Gondor and the Zelda Triforce and master sword.

 

You can see from the pictures above that I have also been busy with pillows.  I am proud to say that I made all but 4 of these babies.  Again, we're going for geek chic here so I spent a bit of time finding the right fabric.  There were some great finds on Society6.  I love it when I can find exactly what I want and don't have to put any effort into it besides typing in my credit card number.

The first was "The Chosen One".  Arian Novair has some amazing nerdy splatter art.  It was hard to decide among them, but this one had the color scheme I was looking for and....it's Vader.  We had to have it.

The next is "Star Wars Vehicle Mellenium Falcon".  Again, Nicholas Hyde has produced some really cool artwork here.  Had a hard time deciding between the AT-AT and this one in particular.

And last but not least of the Society6 loot is "the lord of the rings" which features a quote from a family favorite, Gandalf.

 

While these were great finds, I was looking for A LOT of pillows.  Three was just not going to cut it.  And I was looking for something specific.  Unique, nerdy, AND pretty.  Was it too much to ask for all three?  There's nothing nerdy about Pottery Barn, so that was out.  So I went on the hunt for fabric.  Joann's has plenty of nerdy fabric, but none of it is pretty.  So I turned to the internet.  I found Spoonflower and got excited.  I couldn't believe it when I found the first one.  A beautiful damask...but wait....

This damask is actually made up of our favorite Nintendo characters. You can see Princess Zelda, Link, Ganon, Mario, Bowser, Koopa, Navi, Bob-omb, Boo, Cheep-Cheep, the Ocarina of Time, and the Triforce.  Super cool.

The next is this french script-type pattern called "intergalactic scrapbook" .  Its part of a collection of fabrics (including the cheveron print behind it) that look like linen.  Brian and I have spent some time trying to figure out where everything in this pattern comes from, but I guess we're not geeky enough.  So far, we have recognized references to Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Dr. Who, and Firefly.  

And lastly, I found "tardis toile de jouy grey".  This print features a Dr. Who dalek and the Tardis in a pretty grey and white toile.  Too funny.

I love how the "nerd cave" is coming along.  There are only a few things left we are waiting on.  We'll keep you posted.

Finally, we hung a few other pieces to finish off the area at the bottom of the stairs.

 

And I couldn't have a blog post without including at least one rugrat.  Izzypop volunteered to wash the windows and I happily obliged.  Here she is, way too excited to be doing any sort of cleaning in my opinion, but I will not argue.  And yes, if you're paying attention, that is a signed picture of Adam West and William Shatner in the foreground :).