Yard Work!

When we first moved in, our backyard was a mess. These photos are pretty favorable actually, but trust me...underneath a bit of that greenery (read: weeds) was a mess.

See all that gravel? The whole yard was graveled because Mr. Joe used to work on cars back there and park them in.the.yard. And the right side of the yard was completely overgrown with random trees/bushes.

He also had this super.adorable removable carport thing in the back which did not convey. I was super sad as you may be able to guess. Ha.

And, oh yeah, the infamous coal bin. Remember that project?

Well, ever since then our backyard has been slowly evolving. First there was the patio/fence project. 

then there were the other outdoor projects...

and finally a few weeks months back, we got some grass planted and plants put in!

This was when we first mulched and put the plants in and the seed down, hence no grass (except the HUGE tufts that we couldn't mow to not kill our little seedlings!). But, I promise you that now there is plenty! 

One without the dog. 

So we put azaleas in in the back, since they are a little hardier than the hydrangeas that I tried last year (those trees steal all the water). Then we have impatiens in between the azaleas (which are growing like gangbusters now). 

To the right we have three climbing hydrangea plants (ALSO growing like gangbusters, so we are working on some better climbing surfaces for them). And then to the right my hydrangea bush. I had to have one. And it seems to be doing well so far! As you can see int he corner I also added some little fencing in my garden so that the dog doesn't get in there and eat all my vegetables!

Because I know you really do love the dog.

And Bings LOVES the yard. 

Anywho, we have done some other exciting things lately and though the azaleas are no longer in bloom, etc. I will get some update photos out here in a few weeks. Next weekend we have a contractor coming to finally fix the back door so i can update you all with photos of our finished mudroom makeover and the finished patio, with my new navy blue and red accents...and all the grass!

In any case, the transformation so far has been really great!

Before

In Progress

Outdoor Project Updates!

Well, we did get some project-ing done outdoors over the last few weeks. The biggest of which is our new storm door, which I am in lurve with. But thanks to Daylight Savings I could NOT get a good picture of the completed project this morning since it was still dark outside! Gah.

So that project will get its own post here soon. Yay!

In the meantime, here are some other things that we have added to the house/backyard.

To the right of the patio:

Raised bed for veggies and hanging planters for herbs. My veggies are starting from seeds inside at the moment, but my herbs have been moved out there since this photo was taken. 

I will get an updated one soon!

To the left of the patio:

Clothesline, which has since had the actually line added, and has a clothespin bag soon to be added as well...made by yours truly.

And, yes, I realize that our backyard needs desperately to be raked and that it looks like...well, dirt. But, those things (grass, landscaping, etc) are all in the works currently and believe me when I tell you that it is so.much.better than the graveled piece of land that used to be a parking space for classic cars.

Though some might think the classic car look is better.

Not me.

Project: Patio

A long, long time ago...I can still remember...

(Points if you now have American Pie running through your head...alright, alright! Here is the link, don't hurt yourself searching for it)

...when I posted about these photos about destroying our coal bin and old sidewalk in order to put in a patio.

Well, that patio is in!

Austin started by digging all the ground up and laying down  some  a hell ton of stone to make it level...

Oh yes, once we got rid of the coal bin - guess what we found? No siding underneath! Yay! So, we had to special order siding that looks like our historical siding, but isn't actually made from the same materials {coughcoughasbestoscough, seriously see here for more about it}and repair the window sill to our laundry room... none of which has been painted in any of these photos. The hubs has since gotten it together and painted...

ANYWAY, back to the patio.

This was the original pattern - very square and neat...then we remembered that our house is almost 100 years old and isn't so square itself...so plans changed.

Oh hey Bings - did you want to get in the way help?

That's a good boy, kick up all that gravel that Austin spent smoothing out into a level surface...he will be pleased. (Note that I took a photo instead of stopping him)

Once we realized that our house was not square, we (read: Austin and his man friends who were helping) went back and off set every row a bit, which I love so much more.

Once the pattern was set for real, it was time to put down some sand stuff...apparently it acts like cement and seals everything and keeps the pavers from shifting too much, or something.

A few days later, once all the edging stones were in place, our "little" patio that I had requested turned out to be this 200 sq foot beauty.

The stones are wet from spraying down that sand stuff one last time...the little pavers seem to hold water longer, so it doesn't really look like a checkerboard. They are all the same color and finish. Also, those are free chairs the previous owners left behind - score!

See those edging stones being finished along the, erm, edge? Now of course it is all finished and the house is painted, the only thing left is to replace that back door and hang a light fixture (that we already bought) to the right of the door. (I wish we could move that power box - maybe someday I can convince Austin to do it)

It already looks so much more finished than this photo - I will get one up once the door and light are installed - but still, from a gravel filled backyard complete with coal bin to this? All on our own?

We are feeling like home improvement rock stars.

Project Mantle: Budget Breakdown

Um, I wrote this post forever ago...but then we went to Italy and got pregnant. Yay for finally getting it up.

Well, since there was such an overwhelming response to our little mantle project, {seriously, thanks you guys! I love the affirmation}I thought I would do a handy dandy budget breakdown, much like I did for my refinished cabinet a while back.

It is seriously surprising the impact you can make for a teensy bit of money and some elbow grease...and in our case, a good amount of blood, sweat and tears that always comes with home improvement.


Wood...............................$25 (we bought a bunch extra, just in case)
Saw (borrowed)................$0
Caulk/Glue .......................$6
Paint for brick/
inside of fireplace/
woodwork....................... $36
Total cost........................ $67

To go from this:

to this:

More projects coming soon.

Yay for being back to blogging!

Our Navy Bungalow: Fireplace Project

Welcome to this episode of "Our Navy Bungalow". (Just go with it).

When we moved in, the fireplace side of our living room looked like this:

{If you remember from this post, this is not our stuff. 

Except Dennis. He was our Realtor.}

After a few days in the house, I spent a few hours and a few brain cells applying 10 coats of chemical stripper and tons of elbow grease to remove 13 coats of paint on that mantle. When Austin came home, I made him stain it. Then one day I couldn't stand looking at that flat, gross, red color of the bricks and I painted it. 

I know! I know! Sacrilege. Anywho, it came out like this:

It still wasn't my favorite, but it was so much better.

Then, we painted the living room blue.

The fireplace still plagued me. The proportions were just so off. So, I designed a project.

Project code name: Mantle

Some of this...

A little of this...

And a little more, there...

and a fresh coat of paint on the bookshelves....

drum roll, please...

and we have, our new and improved...

After

{feel free to click on these for larger photos}

Le sigh. I love it so much more. What do you guys think?

Just for fun, one more Before and After side by side.

I am bad at negotiation

UPDATE!

I emailed on the sideboard. Yup, this one.

Strangely, the seller's name is also Courtney and she is willing to negotiate on the price.

Sadly, I am bad at negotiation.

Do I low ball it at $200 and hope for the best?

Cut it to $250?

Thoughts. Help. Please.

Life's tough

You see, I have been searching all over for a sideboard for our dining room that I am in LOVE with. Inspired by some others' recent finds I decided to hit up Craigslist and came upon this beauty for $500, right here in VA Beach.

It's crying out for a home in our bungalow! Le sigh.

It does call for it's own movers though, and my husband is well, incapacitated with the whole appendix issue thing. But I may call on it anyway.

While I waver and over think {as I always do}, my friend Lindsey in GA took a little look around the Atlanta Craigslist. Look what she found for $100 obo.

You have to be kidding me, right? 

Granted, the mirror is covered on that one so who knows what the condition is underneath. But still.

Life's not fair.

Project: Porter Pendant

As you may or may not be aware, buying a home that is close to 100 years old typically comes with it's fair share of projects. {I may be rounding up the age on our little bungalow...forgive me. She is close enough.}

{Not that I will want anyone rounding my age up to 100 when i am really only 82}

In any case, our kitchen has been the subject of much contemplation and planning for Austin and I. We are hoping that in the next few years we can do a major kitchen overhaul - cabinets, counter tops, etc. There is so much unused space in our kitchen!

But in the mean time {while we wait for our lottery numbers to come up} we make small changes. One of the biggest things for me was to get rid of our over the sink light. To me it just screamed, "Grandma lives here."

 Sorry these are so dark, we had already turned the fuse box off before I thought to snap them

See? Grandma, right?

In any case, I knew at once that I wanted a pulley lamp to hang beautifully over our sink. I searched high and low. We found this one at Shades of Light in Richmond...

buuut, as $250 a pop, it wasn't quite what we were looking for.

Imagine my surprise when it turned out that the most affordable option I could find was at good ol' Pottery Barn... 

Enter the Porter Pendant

Now, the big one is a little pricier, but we knew that we wanted the small one in the metal finish. Combine that with a 10% off code and our $50 gift card from debit card rewards and it was an easy decision.

I kept waiting and waiting as it was on back order, but then one day I looked and lo and behold there it was!

Just in time for our party. Love that.

So last night, we installed a light.

Yes we installed a light. I promise I was up there too, but how was that photo gonna look?

And here is our lovely new pendant...

Yayy! and before you ask, yes, we do have faux butcher block laminate counter tops and matching backsplash. I long for the day that they will be replaced by beautiful white and green subway tile and real butcher block counter tops. 

Someday.