A Little Surprise

I was completely delighted last week when I walked out on the front porch and noticed a pretty little bloom on the liliums we planted this Spring! I've been patiently waiting for them to bloom, after what seems like months and months of sprouting green stalks (which are now over 2 feet high!). Apparently the last week of sunshine and  90 degree weather was exacty what these little guys needed to come out of hiding! Which is more than I can say for our tomatoes, which, if we're lucky, will be ready to pick when we return from Seattle...but for now, I'm happy to enjoy these pink beauties while they last!

Exterior Motives

We spent the better part of our long weekend getting our hands dirty in the front yard! Despite the on and off rain and overcast skies, we were able to get quite a bit accomplished and the front of our house is looking so lovely! The majority of our work was put into replacing the nasty old ground cover with fresh new top soil and digging up more unsightly plants for ones that better suited our taste. There are still some tweaks we would love to make, but it's a work in progress I suppose.

Before:
Not much to speak of in the way of looks. What with that eye sorer of a bush/plant that looks like a pile of sticks, the misplaced fire pit...

The ugly wooden well we inherited with the house, the abundance of potted plants that needed to go in the ground (there were many more not pictured)...

The nasty combo of old bark/rocks/ugly dirt and overgrown Camellia... 

And finally, the out of control rose bushes lining our front lawn, much needed to be changed!

After:
Trimmed and healthy rose bushes...

Fresh top soil, manicured camellia and budding lillies...

Blooming dahlias, snap dragons and peonies...

A much cleaner patio...

And our newly planted succulent garden! Hoping these guys continue to grow like crazy and spread out in the planter box.

Next on our list is to have the exterior of the house painted, along with the trim and door, new light fixtures and some kind of seating so we can enjoy our hard work!

A Blooming Surprise

While the overall landscaping of our house needs some serious TLC, it's pretty evident that someone, at some point, really loved this house. I say that because little surprises keep popping up all over the place. The most recent find has got me all sorts of giddy!

This weekend (before all the rain came in), we spent some time planting several Spring bulbs as well as replanting some other previously potted plants. Here's a picture of what it looks like after taking out a large, unsightly bush and planting our gardenia and hydrangea. Keep in mind this is after it rained loads, before we moved the huge pile of green waste and that there is still much to do...

See that gigantic plant in the corner? We had no idea what it was and actually talked about replacing it with something else. That is until my Mom, in all of her gardening wisdom, suggested that it looked like a camelia.

So we left it alone and patiently waited for it to bloom. Well cripes, I am just head-over-heels with what I just discovered about our front yard friend this weekend! It is indeed a camelia with these hot pink blooms!

I am ecstatic to have another beautiful choice of fresh flowers from my own yard. Imagine how much money I'm going to save on blooms this year! While it still has plenty of time to show its beautiful self, I was able to cut off two vases worth!

So I would like to say thank you previous homeowner, whoever you are, for leaving us this pretty little surprise!

Tis' The Season

The season to plot out our garden! PS-We are that couple totally geeking out in the garden section of Home Depot-we're cool, we know. On the top of my gardening list this Spring - planting a Meyer lemon tree! It's been one of those desires I tucked away for when we were finally homeowners. And now that it's a reality, my garden department geek-ness has only grown. I bet you didn't think that was possible.

It has only fueled my obsession that a few friends have generously shared heaps of their excess crop. Which, of course, has got me dreaming up all the amazing goodies that could come from having my own supply of lemony goodness, like Meyer lemon marmelade and Meyer lemon pancakes. And if I'm in the mood for savory, Meyer Lemon risotto with Roasted chicken with Meyer lemon sauce. And don't forget about sweet endings like Meyer lemon cake and dare I even go there...Meyer lemon brulee! Sorry, have I gotten carried away?

I didn't think so either. Thanks for understanding.

So lovelies, with Spring right around the corner (18 days, to be exact!) what are your gardening aspirations?

image/via

Dreaming of Exteriors

With perfect weather just around the corner, I've been daydreaming way too much about how to transform our backyard into an oasis. In California, we are big on dining outdoors, especially in the midst of Summer when the Delta breeze brings an ease to the hot daytime temps.

Our backyard is a pretty blank slate right now, which is a visionaries dream because the posibilities are endless! Of course, that can also mean pricey. I have to accept that it won't be complete as quickly as we would like, though I hope to find a large and reasonably priced patio table soon. So the search is on. Until then, I'll be dreaming of sweet Summer nights...

Check out these awesome exteriors!

all images via Sunset magazine

Stop and Smell..er..Cut the Roses?

This weekend was such a productive, fun and relaxing few days! In large part, we dreamed about future landscaping plans for our front and back yard! I suppose the much welcomed warm streak we're having has got us focusing our attentions outdoors. Not only have we been itching to get our hands on our new yard, but the warm weather has got us drooling for Springtime!

With our home, we inherited a very large collection of rose bushes that desperately needed to be cut back. Remember them from the days of yore? While they had definitely seen better days, there were still some blooms when we bought it in early fall:


After getting some solid advice about rose pruning, this weekend we got to work on cutting down the old muck to make room for some new growth. What a great feeling to begin the process of beautifying the outside of our house!

After taking a beating of rain and frost this winter, here's what we had lining our front yard.



Pretty sad, huh?

But with the help of my parents, we were able to chop the old growth off pretty quickly!

And we're thanking our lucky stars that green waste pick-up is today because as you can see, our can is pretty full {ahem, understatement of the century!}.



The finished product is a slightly more bare front yard, which in a few months will be producing a bounty of lovely roses!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Happy Monday!

Bedroom Talk

After living in our house for nearly 2 months, I have a nagging urge to finally paint our bedroom. We initially decided to focus on the downstairs since it's the area everyone sees the most and also to get a feel for what we wanted in our bedroom. I'm not gonna lie to you, it's been really hard to wait on this project! But, it gave us ample time to not only live in the space, but get a better grasp on how we wanted the whole project to go down.

I'm not saying I know exactly what I want for the master re-do just yet, but one thing I do have is a paint color and I'm excited! Details to come as this little project unfolds!

Now to find a free weekend! Happy Thursday!

Because I Owe It To You

This weekend consisted of projects around the house! Mostly little things that have been piling up, just waiting for a full weekend to accomplish them. It finally feels like everything is coming together-a great feeling I might add. And because I've been promising you pictures for some time now, I thought I would share a few of the house along with some of our Christmas decor!

And because this week is mapped out with several other projects, more sneak peeks shouldn't be far behind!

Our mantle all decked out in Christmas cheer!

Our 11 ft. tree!! Still missing its topper, but beautiful nontheless!

The dining room, which as of last night is close to complete!

Some Kitchen details:

Shelf for my most used cookbooks.

And apron holder!

More to come soon!

Nesting

Nesting: It's a Chic Thing

by Ame Mahler Beanland & Emily Miles Terry

Last night I decided to do some reading before bed and picked up this little read. I purchased it on a whim at Goodwill several months ago-it was one of those "I'm at the checkout stand but this looks cute" buys. And I am very glad I did, because even though it's taken me a while to finally skim its pages, it was well worth the $1 I paid!

It's pages are beaming with real, honest-to-goodness advice about nesting and making your home an inviting haven for loved ones. I already love it and I'm only on part 2!

Being a new homeowner and wanting desperately to make my home feel just as cozy and inviting as our little apartment was, I am struggling with enjoying the process of "putting together". But last night I had a moment of calm, reminding myself that the process is never really ending and the journey is the fun part! Below is a little tidbit from the book that I really loved:

"Interesting houses, like interesting people, evolve, so take your time and enjoy the process. Keep building your room off the special things you've chosen, the palette you've established, and the personal style you're developing. Never try to do a whole house at once. And remember that in decorating, as in life, the rules are meant to be broken."

So there it is, my new motto:) I have given up any anxiety I may have had over not knowing what I want to do with several rooms in my house and instead, will enjoy the process of feathering our new nest!

image/via

We're Alive

Hello, lovelies! Just wanted to pop in and let you kow that we're alive and all moved in. But it seems we won't have internet at the house until next Friday...explaining my lack of posts and pictures:( Don't worry though, I fully plan on sharing our home transformation as soon as possible!

Naturally, we've acquired quite a few stories and new homeowner bloopers over the past few days, so be sure to check back next week! And in the meantime, have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Delivery!

The last few days have been like Christmas. And not just because we now own a little piece of our beloved California(!), but we have had a few packages delivered to the house!! I knew they were coming, but there's nothing like getting to the house after work, seeing it's progress and then noticing that in a corner of the garage a new little brown box has arrived!

PS~Overstock.com is my new best friend!!

A few of the lovelies that have already shown up on my doorstep~

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And last night we got a delivery date on our new appliances!! Am I a complete geek for being so excited about this?? Who knew that a new gas range or fridge could make a girl so giddy?!

Come Monday, I will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of this beauty~

Coming Right Along

Merry Monday! Phew, I am tired today, but we are coming along quite nicely at the house! Though I should throw it out there that my posts may be a little irregular the next two weeks as we continue getting ready for move-in and get settled into our house. Thankfully I took all of next week off, so moving should be a little less stressful.

And can I just say, thank you all so much for your kind words via comments, Facebook and in person! We are so very grateful for the wonderful people in our lives-especially our family! Seriously, this whole process would be a nightmare without their help and support! My father-in-law is here from the bay area for almost a week painting, helping install floors and the million other big projects we have for him. It definitely helps to have a licensed contractor and professional painter in the family:)

Just wanted to share some pics of the house while it's under construction. And please, pardon the dust~

A Very Good Excuse...

First of all, I must apologize for my complete blog neglect this week! But believe me, I have a very good excuse. Let me just get to it...

We Bought a house!!

Allow me a second to pinch myself, because I still almost don't believe it! Actually, this has been going on for close to eight weeks, but we decided to keep it quiet until it was a done deal-imagine the buzz kill if it would have fallen through (which it almost did)! So we would officially like to shout from the rooftops that it is ours!!!

Many of you know that we have been on this journey of house hunting for almost two years on and off. It's been immensly frustrating at times, but we were sure that when the perfect one came along, the wait would all be worth it . And I think we would both wholeheartedly agree that was the case.

Pretty much from the first time we set foot in our house, we knew it was different from the rest, and not to mention more space than we were expecting to get! And even though the whole process took some time, it was definitely worth it as we were able to negotiate a brand-spankin' new roof!

So now's the time to move on to all the fun aspects of being homeowners! And let me tell you, we are like old pros-picking out paint swatches, doing an indecent amount of virtual shopping, and dreaming up a ridiculously long and exciting list of projects we would like to tackle. Let me just say, we've had a permanent smile glued to our faces this week!

So, what are some of our favorite things about the new house you ask?:

• It has character and charm oozing out of every inch
• It has a pool and a big yard for the pups to run and play!
• There is a huge, mature gardenia at the front door and about 13 full grown rose bushes lining the front yard!
• The house is set back on a quiet street with a long, semi-enclosed front patio
• You walk into the large, open living and dining room with really high ceilings, making it feel so open and airy
• Th way light filters through the entire house is just heavenly!
  
• It has a breakfast nook!!
  

Have I said that I love our house? Our official move-in day is next Friday, but we will be in there this weekend getting our hands dirty with painting and the installation of new hardwood floors! Looking forward to sharing our new adventure as homeowners with you!