Yardwork

It seems as though I've spent as much time on the yard in these past couple of months as I've spent on the entire house interior in the past year! One of the reasons I decided on a house over a condo was so I could have a yard - for growing vegetables, raising chickens (!!), maybe having a backyard bbq or two - but man, it is a TON of work to keep up with! I think it's especially hard for me, since I didn't grow up having any sort of yard to speak of...we had a slab of concrete in front of the apartment I grew up in, and dad was the gardener in the family. I remember having tomatoes, basil, and cactus fruit (yum!). There was also a time where we grew some HUGE sunflowers and eating the seeds was fun although not as tasty as the salty ones you buy at the store :P. Oh and we had grapes growing over an arbor, which was very cool in my opinion :)

But no lawn to speak of. And the few bushes that were street adjacent were taken care of by the landlord. Point is, I'm not used to any of this stuff, but it's something I've always (kind of) wanted. Enter my very own lawn...by estimations, I have 3000 sq feet of the stuff. Most of it is grass, but in the back yard there are a couple of small, funky looking trees, some bushes (some pretty, some not so much), and tons of invasive bamboo and blackberry bushes. I think I've got the front lawn mowing down...I go in a square spiral from the edges inward...not sure if it's the most efficient but it works for me! As I mentioned in this post, the back yard was left untouched for far too long, so long in fact that I had to hire someone to just get it down to manageable for me. I've since been keeping up with the mowing, but the ground is uneven in many places, and my mower inevitably ends up grinding down mounds of dirt, which go all up in my nostrils and I end up with black boogers (sorry, tmi!). I've also purchased a string trimmer for the places the mower can't get to, and it doubles as an edger (although I'm not too steady with it yet so I've made some janky looking edges, woops). And my newest yard related purchase is an electric hedge trimmer, which is actually really fun to use! I've pared down quite a few overgrown bushes with that puppy.

The only trouble I'm running into is that I basically fill up my compost/yard wast bin super quick, so I can really only do so much each week. I know there are those big paper bags you can buy for extra yard waste, but you have to pay the disposal company extra per each bag they pick up too. Well anyways, I know that I'm going to need help removing the bamboo and blackberry bushes...those suckers are apparently impossible to get rid of. I've actually contacted a couple of brush clearing companies to get quotes on how much it will cost to just level the back yard. And I mean get rid of everything...all I want is dirt back there so I can start with a clean slate. Of course though once that happens, the next thing I'll need to do is put in a fence. It's almost completely obscured now, but I know there's a chain link fence on 2 sides of the yard (the other side is just a hedge), which I definitely want to replace with wood for privacy. But how many thousands of dollars will that all cost?? Oof. Definitely a project for another time. So for now, I'll continue to mow and trim and compost one week at a time!

My pretty yard tools

Wooo tomato plant! You can see some green ones in there if you search carefully!

I trimmed down the bushes at the front of the house - you can
sort of see how overgrown these were in  the picture below

See? Off to the left? So bushy!

I have also been enjoying cooking more and more on my sexy range. Below is a one-pot creamy sausage pasta that I've made at least a hundred times lately :P

Nom nom!

Well, busy weekend ahead (Wendy and Adam *finally* getting hitched!), but hopefully I'll have the gumption to do more interior work in the coming weeks. I NEED to paint! Somebody kick my butt into gear so I don't put it off any longer!

-Megan

House-aversary!

Well, well, it's been exactly a year since I closed on the house! It really doesn't seem like it's been a full year, but the calendar doesn't lie. There have been many many times when I feel like not a lot has been done, because there is still so much more to do, but then I'll sometimes peruse back into this blog's archives and realize how much has changed!

My top 5 projects from the past year:

1. The Kitchen
When I finally had a fully functioning kitchen, I felt like I had really accomplished a huge project. I was without a range and sink for a full 4 months, so I basically "cooked" with a microwave and used disposable dishes/cutlery whenever possible. I also ate out a ton, which wasn't too good for the wallet or the waistband! I'm still really enjoying the choices I made in regards to materials and specific appliances. I know that there is a bunch still left to do in the kitchen, but I'm most likely going to tackle other areas first. I still need to install a shelf on the sink side, install baseboard trim all around the room, replace the light above the sink, replace the window blinds, replace the windows themselves, and somehow close off the area next to the pantry which now (temporarily?) houses the cat litter box. Whew, that's a LOT! Maybe I'll have half that accomplished by next year...?

2. The Bathroom
I think living without a toilet for a full week (you don't wanna know how I did it...) really makes me appreciate how far my bathroom has come this past year! The paint color is probably the most noticeable change (from pee yellow - ceilings included! - to a calming grey), but having an unsoiled toilet, a sink that's not only pretty but actually attached to the wall (!!), and the removal of the black moldy caulk, really complete the image :) Again, still a LOT to do until I feel like the bathroom will be complete...replacing the plastic tub surround with tile, fixing the window frame, and installing a fan are the big ones. But I'd also like to replace the shower fixtures, the medicine cabinet, and the light above it, and replace that one strip of base trim that I royally screwed up with nails!

3. The Garage
Clearing the creepy "bonus room" out of the garage was a huge deal, and one I'm glad I got out of the way early on. I was willing to let this go for a while because I felt a lot of other projects were more pressing, but my friend Todd offered to knock down the room for me one day, and I'm so happy I took him up on that! Then, when I rented the drop box and a bunch of other friends came over to help clear out all the crap, I had a clean slate to work with. Admittedly, it looks like a typical garage full of "stuff" right now, but without that space (and the cool storage units from my grandma) the house would still be full of boxes, and I would still be doing laundry with barely any room to move. I have a ton of stuff in there that's slated for a yard sale, or donation, or recycling, so when I have time I'll sort that all out and the garage will be nice and roomy again!

4. The Floors
The very first project I did when I got the keys to the house was ripping up the carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors underneath. I did the refinishing myself, which accounts for the not-so-professional look to it, but whatever, I saved a good $1,500 by doing it that way! I've always been a fan of hardwood, and it immediately made the house look less "cheap". I also replaced the bathroom floor (oy, that was a nightmare) with vinyl tile...which I'll definitely want to redo one day. It didn't turn out quite that great, but again, super cheap! Like, $20 cheap. Woohoo! The vinyl tile I installed in the kitchen was another story...these tiles were more expensive, but sturdier, groutable (which I think was key to making it look like a nice floor), and because the tiles were rectangular instead of square, I think it gave it a more high end look. Still cheap though (compared to stone, wood, ceramic tile, etc)!

5. Paint
You all have heard me talk about it a bunch already, but every single interior surface of the house was covered in a grimy yellowish-white color when I first got the keys. Well, since then, I've primed pretty much everything, and have now painted most of the walls! It looks SO SO much better! It definitely changes the entire feel of the house and makes it feel much more welcoming. I don't know if I've chosen all of the right colors, but the cool thing is that painting is one of the cheapest (and kinda easiest) things you can do to change a room. I still need to paint the hallway and the spare bedroom (for which I have both cans of paint...just gotta get to it!), and I do need to someday paint all of the door and base trims around the entire house.

Now that I've compiled all of the big stuff in a list...wow! I guess I have done a lot over the past year! And by "I", I mean "my friends and I" because seriously, how in the hell could I have done all of this on my own?? I would probably still be sitting in a room with yellowed walls and dingy carpet if I hadn't had the help, encouragement, and support (physical and mental...and monetary!) from my friends and family. There are still times when I think I'm crazy for taking this on, but over the past year I've also had a lot of moments where I feel like I made a great investment and I get excited about the future.

And speaking of the future...here are the projects I hope to accomplish in the coming year (or two...)!
- Backyard - this one's a doozy
- Exterior paint - also of doozy caliber
- Roof - I think you know what I am going to say here

Some pictures for fun!

The house last year

This morning! Please ignore the Christmas light clips still
on the gutters...the lawn looks a lot better though!

Remember that little front yard project from back in March?

Blooms!! Lots of weeds also...but look at the pretty flowers!

Until next time!

-Megan

I'm Alive!

Wow you guys...it's been over a month since I've updated this bad boy! I blame it on vacation, settling into the new job, and well, general laziness :P I have done a thing or two to the place though, check it out!

• Backsplash
  As promised, I'm finally going to reveal my super secret backsplash! It's an unconventional material for a backsplash. Can you guess what it is?

Much better than before!

Colorized!

Color up close

• Towel Bar
  I finally put up another towel bar in the bathroom...this one's for hand towels (oooh fancy!)

Oy what a mess!

Finito!

• Paint
  I painted the living room! I squeezed 2 coats out of one gallon of paint (it's a fairly big room!). It looks a lot like the bathroom color in these pictures...but it's actually more of a brown grey. I'm happy with it! I chose from the same color family as the kitchen, so they bounce off each other well.

Before...

After!

Other corner of the room

• Backyard
  I was a bad homeowner and hadn't touched the backyard since....last summer :-/ Needless to say, it was very literally a jungle out there. I honestly don't know how I would have been able to tackle it myself (didn't have all the right tools for one thing), and after talking with one of my new coworkers, I decided to hire her (very reasonable!) gardener for a one time clear-out. It was SO SO worth it!

I mean, literally, the grass was 4 feet tall...

Now the grass looks like crap, but at least I can walk around out there!

I really enjoyed my vacation to see my dad and family on the east coast, as well as spending the weekend in Chicago on the way back visiting my friend Chris. My new job is going really well so far! All of the people are cool, and most importantly, it's NOT my old job :P

I have a busy month coming up - Wendy's bachelorette party, the Tough Mudder, Sarah's birthday, beer fest volunteering...and mid-July Wendy & Adam are gettin' hitched! I don't know how much time I'll have to devote to the house but you all will be the first to know about any more updates! :)

-Megan

Checking In

Hey all! Well, this past weekend I had plans to physically do stuff with the kitchen, but then my trip to Ikea with Wendy...well, you know how those go :) I did make purchases directly related to the kitchen though! It's just the installation phase that never got completed. I still also need to make a backsplash-related decision before that will be finished, and I'll be able to do the big reveal! In other news, I've been dog-sitting for the past week +, which has been quite an adventure :) It made me realize that even though I now have the space, and now that I no longer have a landlord dictating the choice, I am not ready for a dog!

Aww but look how cute he is...

Kahlua wasn't a happy camper, but she got over it after a day or so. They even will put their faces next to each other without her hissing or him barking! He goes back to his mommy this evening, and then it's back to normal for me. I'm not sure how much I'll get done this weekend, if anything, because it's my last weekend before I go visit my Dad on the east coast. Plus, if you haven't heard the news already, next week is my last week at my current job! I start my new job the day after I get back from my trip. So basically, this weekend/next week will be busy and emotional. Oh and also I'm watching Wendy's dogs while she's in Disneyland. Oh and also I'm jealous that Wendy's going to Disneyland again :)

I had a plan to have a big party for my 30th birthday at my house, which will be the weekend after I get back from my trip/the weekend after the first week at my new job, but with all that's going on I think I'll do something else, and instead have a big party for my 1-year House-aversary sometime in late June! Hopefully I'll have a ton more done on the house by then too, and it can be my official housewarming party :)

-Megan

Happy Spring!

Hellooooo! Is anyone still out there? There hasn't been much to say lately, so I wouldn't blame you if you stopped following along! I did actually make some progress this weekend though - long overdue (like, LOOOOOOONG overdue) - I mowed the lawn...for the first time since last summer! It was really bad...a good foot high in places. I don't have a before picture because it was just too embarrassing :P I will say it was so bad that I got a lawn care business card stuck in my mail box...oof!

Freshly mowed!

See all those clumps of grass? Yeah, I don't know what to do with them...they'll probably just die and fertilize the lawn. Those purple flowers were a nice surprise! I honestly wouldn't pin the previous owner for someone with a green thumb, but there are bulbs everywhere in the front of the house, and it's really pretty! Who knew!

In other news...Wendy came over last night and helped me with phase 1 of the kitchen backsplash! That's right, progress has been made in the kitchen :) I thought about posting a couple of pictures of what it looks like so far, but ultimately decided that I'll just post a bunch of progress pics when the whole thing is done. The hardest part is definitely over,  but some decisions need to be made before the next phase can be completed. I'm going to try and get a bunch done before I leave for my NY/PA/IL trip in just under a month...I'm planning on having a big party for my birthday and I won't have much time after the trip to prepare! Commence - April house blitz!

-Megan

The Evolution of a Pantry

So way back last fall when I was installing the kitchen floor, I didn't complete the part where the pantry was going to go. I had grand ideas that I was going to knock out the wall that made the little broom closet separate from where the refrigerator used to go, therefore making a big, luxurious pantry. Well, after crunching the numbers and figuring out how annoying/difficult/expensive it would be to knock out that little wall, I decided just to keep it (for the foreseeable future). My friends had already helped me demo the door to the broom closet, so now it's just an open icky thing that I keep the litter box in for now...gross, I know!

Annnnnyways, I ordered some shelving, and over this past week I finally finished that little part of the floor and set up my new pantry!

Unfinished pantry floor

Tiles with spacers

Grouted!

So now that the flooring was finished, I was able to set up the shelving and semi-organize my pantry goods. Below, you will see what I lived with for an embarrassing amount of time...

I'm not proud of this...

Perfect fit!

It won't stay this organized for long...I can promise that!

So there you have it! Also, not sure if you can tell in these washed out pictures, but the pantry area is painted a creamy off white/sandy color for a bit of contrast from the grey/blue of the rest of the kitchen. It looks much cooler in person, I promise :) Off to the right, you can see the "broom closet" which I will have to figure out what to do with. Short of hiring someone to come re-build a door onto it, I'm thinking a pretty curtain to introduce pattern to the space, which could look really cool if I do it right!

I know I'm in dire need of base trim...but I think I'll tackle the backsplash first (yes, that's right, I still haven't gotten to it...). Sometimes I feel panicked that I'm not completing these projects fast enough, but then I'll go back and look at my archives and see that wow, I really have done a lot! I can also thank my friends for helping me notice that :)

-Megan

Little Bit O' Yard Work

Thanks to some prodding and help from Stan, I got a little yard work done yesterday! There's a little patch of dirt right between the kitchen window and the driveway which was all torn up when the floor was being leveled. The guys who did the work filled it back in but with lower grade soil and there were tons of rocks scattered all around, then bunches of weeds started sprouting, and it was basically just a sad looking little space. In an effort to make it sort of pretty, we tilled the hell out of it, removed as many of the big rocks as possible, removed weeds, transplanted some of the actually decent looking plants that had started growing, and then finally scattered some wildflower seeds. Hopefully by summer I'll have something to show for all this work! :)

Before...ish...this was after quite a bit of work actually...

This was about half the amount of rocks we pulled out

After!

That was pretty much it for housework this past week. I have purchased my backsplash but I'm keeping it a surprise until I put it up! I'm aiming for this weekend but you know how that goes...

-Megan