So far, so...busy

So much has happened since the last post! Here's a brief list (posts and pics on each still to come):

• Popcorn ceilings removed
• New baseboards painted (I learned to use a professional paint sprayer!)
• Hardwood floors and baseboards installed
• Wallpaper removed in breakfast area
• Boys' playroom (fka formal dining area) ready for occupation
• Fireplace painted*
• Tankless Water Heater installed
• Painted all rooms except office, master bedroom, and breakfast area**
• Front garden overhaul complete***
• Patio overhang repair underway

For the sake of brevity (and my own sanity) I won't list all the things I HAVEN'T done yet, or haven't even started.  Just know that there's a future post dedicated solely to my passionate and all-consuming hatred of the master bath.

What I AM posting pictures of today is the front yard! I wish we'd had a sunny day for photos, but it's been threatening rain all weekend.

My bluetheme worked out pretty well, I think. I had to modify the rose selection - I just couldn't find enough positive information about the bloom consistency of the Reine des Violettes, so I went the tried and true Valentine rose.

Hopefully the red won't look too red, and will look more red-blue. I surrounded them with blue grasses and purple flowers to pull the color in that direction.

I filled upwards of 40 lawn bags with plant debris from the removal, and had to call upon my dear lawn guy of old to take a chainsaw to the stumps that remained.

The neighbors keep commenting on how much tearing out those giant ugly shrubs down has opened up the front of the house! I agree and I'm thrilled, but it has also exposed the garage wall which literally hasn't seen daylight in at least 10 years. It was completely covered by those gawd-awful stabby holly bushes and was actually growing moss.

 

 It looks even worse in pictures.

I'm completely at a loss for what to do in that little bed by the garage, so it has a little of everything.

The plant list:

• Bismark Palm
• Altas Mountain Palm
• Agave Stricta 'Live Wires'
• Euphorbia Lathyris (aka Gopher Spurge)
• Santa Barbara Dwarf Mexican Sage
• Azure Bush Germander
• Valentine Rose
• Silver Peso Texas Mountain Laurel
• Canna 'Blueberry Sparkler'
• Apostle Iris
• Louisiana Iris 'Black Gamecock'
• Aloe Striata (from my old garden)
• Agave Weberi 'Purple Heart'
• Agave Parryi
• Elymus 'Canyon Prince'

Now I just wait and see what the summer kills....

*Full-disclosure: I've only primed the fireplace, but it already looks 100% better than it did.

**I have actually completely painted the sunroom but I hate the color. Let's just say that Palladium Blue isn't all it's cracked up to be.

***By and large the front planting is done, save some edging replacement and mulching. 

I heart Pinterest

So much has happened since my last post! Over the weekend we tried various paint swatches on the walls while removing wall plates, window treatments, and giant home office systems.

Don't ask me what color is what. I wrote it on the wall in pencil. All you need to know is that Revere Pewter ain't worth all the hype. I'm liking Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Gray and Sherwin-Williams Modern Gray a lot; we'll see what Ryan thinks.

The popcorn ceiling removal guys started Monday, and WOW what a mess that is! But it's already a vast improvement!

We own a house!

We just closed, and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! We should be able to go over there by later this afternoon (former owner is finishing her move-out), and then the fun really starts! We have popcorn ceiling removal guys starting on Monday, and hardwood flooring going in on the 25th, and then we officially move in on March 2nd. In between all that I have to get the whole house painted, rip out the front shrubs and plan a new front garden, and evaluate what other immediate work needs to be done. (No idea what state the kitchen cabinets are really in on the inside.)

I've been trying to pick paint colors and make other decorating/renovating plans as much as I can without having access to the house. I suddenly understand why Pinterest is so popular! As for sharing my plans/ideas, I figure I'll just start from the outside front and work my way in.

Here's the current front exterior:

Photos: MLS listing

The giant looming shrubs are all going. [Mini rant: why do you plant something and then spend money (or time) to cut it into a shape in which it doesn't naturally grow? Don't cut square hedges. Don't make goofy balls out of your shrubs. If you don't like its natural shape, don't plant it.]

I also hate how dark the front porch is. Obviously better lighting would help, but in the short-term I plan to paint the ceiling area a white color to match the siding and brighten it up. I also plan to repaint the front door:

Which brings me to the front plantings. I love the idea of a blue garden, which would include succulents, agave, and other plants with glaucous foliage. [This blog is fun AND educational!] And of course, I WILL have roses. Here's a collage of plant ideas:

Please forgive the ghetto collage using MSPaint: I just don't have the patience for Picasa today. Or most days, really. All of these photos and their original locations can be found on my Pinterest page here.

I think the occasional orange aloe bloom will coordinate with the orange-ish brick nicely, and since blue and orange are opposites on the color spectrum I'm feeling pretty designer-ish.

Photo: author's own

I'm also considering California poppies for both their blue feathery foliage AND their orange blooms, but when they die they look so ratty. I don't want ratty in the front of the house if it can be avoided.

The tricky part will be the watering requirements. Some of these plants will rot if they get too much, and others (like the roses and palms) will need it fairly consistently (especially in the hot summer). Our new house has a sprinkler system which is SUPER exciting for keeping the lawn alive, but I don't yet know where the sprinkler head placement is. Obviously that will be key to optimal plant survival.

I might bring my old blue pot collection to the front porch as well:

Photo: author's own

Exciting things happening, at least in my head!!

Hello...?

It's a tentative greeting because we made an offer on a house, but we're still in the option period so things could go off the rails at any moment. We've had what feels like a ba-jillion people out to inspect the house or give us quotes on work needed/wanted, and we've been on the phone with twice as many people or responding to emails going back and forth like lightning. We're both exhausted by it and it isn't over yet, but we're also excited about the home we found. We/I have grand plans, and since I can only make him listen to me yammer for so long before his ears start to bleed, I figure I'd better use this blog for what God intended.

[Side note: I'm saying "we" and "us", and you might be wondering who the other half of that is, since I haven't mentioned Jason in a while. Jason and I parted ways in early 2011. I met a wonderful guy on Match.com, and we've been shacking up since February of this year. I haven't decided yet if I'll share his name on the blog. Maybe he'll be like Norm's wife on Cheers: you never see her or hear her; the only window you get into that part of Norm's life is what he says about her when bellied-up to the bar. Well, and you know her name is Vera, so I guess I'd have to share his name if I'm really going to parallel Cheers.

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to look to a sitcom about a bar, and specifically an obese alcoholic who frequents said bar, for guidance on how to blog around my relationship. Frankly I've already spent way more time on it than I planned. Now it's awkward. Sorry.]

Um, yeah, so a new house!! Maybe. Hopefully. I'm nearly bursting at the seams to get in there and start planting and painting! I've been making Pinterest boards like...like...well, I can't think of an analogy for something that collects pictures on the web and groups them by theme on virtual cork boards. But whatever it is, that's me (or I'm it)!

I figure I'll just start posting about the various plans I'm pondering by area/topic. Hopefully it will help me work some stuff out so I can move in and hit the ground running! And if the house doesn't work out, we'll have bigger problems than me being massively disappointed: we have to be out of our apartment by March 2nd. Yikes! I could be sleeping in the park instead of blogging about gardening my own!

Goodbyes (part 2)

When I finished the floor I still wasn't certain I'd be selling my house, and I was still agonizing over the backsplash. When I made the decision to sell I knew it wouldn't fly to have the hardibacker as a backsplash, so I tried to find something neutral. What I chose was kind of a cop-out, frankly. If I had it to do all over again I'd have gone with something coordinated better with the floor. I had to outsource it though: I didn't have 3 weeks to spare if I did it myself.

Fast-forward: here are the pictures my wonderful realtor took of the house when posting it for sale!

 

Goodbyes (part 1)

Sorry I've been away for so long, I've been kinda busy. I sold my house and my beloved garden in Feb 2013. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. As scary as it sometimes was to own a house all by myself, I loved it dearly. I think it turned out pretty well and I hope the new owners love it as much as I did!

Anyway, I'm now looking at buying a new house with my BF, so I thought it was time to catch things up before I start posting things about my new house!

Here are pictures of the floor as it progressed! It took me about 3 weeks, which isn't bad for my first time and the complicated layout I chose.

Surprisingly, this was the easiest part (and it wasn't easy). My mom helped me match up the edges. It was a little like a puzzle where the whole thing is a blue sky.

The borders were a bit of a challenge. I called my BF in a panic because (in a nutshell) I'd done some bad math. He helped me come up with the design you see here. He totally saved the day.

The finished floor, including the transition to the living room. I'm pretty proud of it!

The grass IS greener...for about 2 months

As as side-effect of living on the sun, my St. Augustine grass did not survive last summer (which went well into Fall, as always). This Spring I decided to spread some grass seed, I think it was Zoysia? I called the little shoots grasslings.

No matter: it was adorable and green, and then it got hot. End of story.

Here are Spring garden pics. This was the first year I didn't do a whole lot of radical planting. It was kind of nice and also sad, because I love that process of creation.

March:

 

May: