the garden

At least somethings benefiting from all of this rain!  We have a wet basement, but I can look past that since we have a few cherry tomatoes coming in..

garden update

It's actually growing!

I also wanted to post a few "after" pictures of the front of the house.  Not only were we able to relocate all of the lilies, but we also added a little stone to finish it off.

Of course all of this is somewhat temporary as I keep hoping (crossing fingers again) that we are able to pour the new concrete front steps/patio sometime soon, though it's looking like that may have to wait at least another year. 

and the landscaping continues..

We've spent the last few weeks clearing out the yard even more (yet there's still lots to do), planting a little in  hopes that we'll be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor next year, and most importantly we've been taking advantage of our outdoor space.  Because we've spent the last five summers in New York City traffic (like most New Yorkers we left the city every weekend and without fail got caught on the FDR for hours at a time) we are thrilled to be able to avoid major roads, stay home and still get to enjoy the warm weather, smell of fresh cut grass and hamburgers on the grill.  So with that goal in mind we worked our bottoms off trying to get everything ready for the unofficial start of the summer- Memorial Day Weekend.

Our "Privacy" Bushes
Our plan was always to plant along Division Street- in hopes that obstructing Henry's view might bring a little peace and quiet to the neighbors- as much as I'm sure they all enjoy his following them along the perimeter of our lawn barking (more like screeching) along the way.  We opted to go with round arborvitaes- just to be a little different..




I could joke about how you can barely even see the house anymore (I tend to joke about it with Ben all too often), but we're crossing our fingers they'll grow very quickly.. for the neighbors' sake!

The Patio
The patio turned out to not actually be a disaster.  Can you believe it?  Once we got our furniture on and grass started to grow in between the pavers, it started taking shape.  I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like at the end of the summer and whether or not the grass will just take over (there's a lot of finger crossing at our house).  If all goes according to plan the patio will stay, but we're open to re-doing it next spring if need be.
You'll notice above, Ben also planted three of the arborvitae's around the patio (two in the back and one to the left).



The Lily Garden
Originally the yard had a random lily garden in the middle of the yard.  Ben tried to kill it a few times in hopes of growing normal grass, but it didn't work.  So instead we opted to dig them out and plant them in front of the house. 



It took a lot of time and energy, but it was worth it- even if it's temporary.

The Vegetable Garden
My vegetable garden has become my pride and joy.  I call it mine because Ben says it's my responsibility- I think he's worried that I'm going to just give up on it if I don't see any vegetables growing after a few weeks time.  I'm sure he's right, but at the moment it's growing so I'm loving it and the fact that I actually did something right!  We opted to go with a raised bed because we weren't sure if anything would really grow in our dirt.  So Ben built the frame and then we positioned it in the best area with the most light.



I got rid of the weeds and grass underneath and started filling it with lots of different stuff..


Finally I planted all 15 varieties of fruits and vegetables and Ben offered to water for me..

I decided to plant tomato plants instead of seeds (maybe next year I'll get gutsy and go with the seeds), but everything else I planted was seeds. 

Everything has grown a lot in the last few days- I'll keep posting updates, but in the meantime I'm hoping this weekend we'll get back to the interior of the house before we start scraping and painting the exterior.  I'd love to get the rest of the trim work installed and painted and start working on the doors before all of our guests start arriving for track season!

landscaping update

Since I last posted (three weeks ago!) we've been busy working on the yard and finishing up a few odds and ends in the house, but mostly we've just had some really fun visitors.. hence the lack of updates and small amounts of work that have been accomplished.

In the Yard..
This is our attempt at laying a patio..
Sad I know, but this is why.. When discussing landscaping we always knew exactly where we wanted to put a patio. We were both looking forward to taking advantage of an outdoor space, but because patios are hard to do (and very time consuming) we figured it would be a project for next year. Basically the area would have to be cleared of the MANY tree stumps, the ground would have to be levelled- and with all of the other work that still has to be done to the outside of the house, we put that all on the back burner.. until we found this..
What we thought was a random cement slab that we could break up and haul away turned out to be what we think is an abandoned sewer. While it may in fact have served a different purpose originally (if there's anyone more familiar with the history of our neighborhood who knows exactly what it is please email us!), we knew that no matter it was, it had to stay- and suddenly that became the new location of our patio! And not only that- while originally we had opted to be patient and do the patio the right way in a year or so, it suddenly became a priority for us to cover up the horrible manhole. So, we went to Home Depot and came home with a truck load of pavers..
While I won't go into detail about how we actually installed the patio since it was wrong and no one should ever do it that way- I'll share the highlights.. just remember, we had lots of things working against us, tree stumps, manholes and all..

I unloaded the truck as Ben moved the pavers to our patio site..
Don't worry there weren't any pavers in there while he was taking Henry for a spin.
Henry patiently looking on as I unloaded the truck.

As Ben poured a mixture of sand and top soil, I tried to level the surface (obviously unsuccessfully!)..
He then staked out the area..
It looks like Henry was watching Ben's every move but really he was just plotting when he could sneak in and and grab the orange string out of his hands. We wasted lots of time chasing him around the yard trying to get it back!
Once the pavers were down we dumped top soil over them. We're hoping to grow grass in between them to make it a more rustic and almost natural looking patio- not to mention we're hoping the grass will help to mask all the problem areas- and believe me, there are plenty to mask!

While our patio skills aren't exactly up to snuff, I also did a little planting- Ben did some more recently that I have yet to photograph. I was very proud of my work- I planted three peony bushes, two hydrangeas and two rose bushes (all by myself!). Below are the peonies that will hopefully bloom just in time for the summer of 2015..
Don't worry, I can't see them either.

In the House..
We've done minimal work in the house recently- with the beautiful weather we've had Ben and I have done everything in our power to work outside! But this past weekend he finished up installing the base molding in the bathroom..
And he was able to repair the window frame and install the new hardware..
I guess that means it's time for me to pull out the paint brush again..

plea to HGTV

I know I owe you all another update- so here goes..

The Interior
Ben has continued working on the window and door casings throughout the house. He recently finished the bathroom window- though our new nickel hardware has yet to arrive so all of his handy work is hidden under blue tape!

the bathroom window- before and after

He also outfitted his closet with new shelves just in time for me to paint it!

Ben's closet before

Unfortunately he hasn't had the time to install the new rod and no organizing has been done but I still think it looks better than the original mint green!

Ben's closet after

And our kitchen backsplash tile has arrived!
I can't wait to get it up!

The Exterior
As promised a few weeks back, we did get gutters! Nothing fancy, but they work. Luckily they've been helping to keep our basement dry!

And then there's the landscaping.. Ben fertilized, spread grass seed and has been watering the "dirt" on a daily basis..
With no success. One side of our yard has an abundance of grass..
So he's holding out hope- but I on the other hand secretly hope that we get a call from HGTV ASAP! Oh we need a landscaping makeover like no other!
I'll admit the interior work was a little overwhelming at first, but never did I think we wouldn't be able to get it done. This stuff- the landscaping work all seems so unattainable. I have visions of sitting on our patio, enjoying the warm weather- with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air, but I'm pretty sure that's only going to be a reality if one of three things happen:

1. We hire a landscaper
2. We move to a house with an already perfectly manicured lawn
3. If HGTVs Curb Appeal comes knocking at our door (you know the show that's always on at the Y while you're on the elliptical)

Since 1 and 2 aren't going to happen (due to lack of funds and trying to maintain our sanity), I'm holding out for #3 and I've been putting together my plea to HGTV. So here goes..

Dear HGTV (and the Curb Appeal crew),

We've put blood, sweat and tears (lots and lots of them) into our home for the past 8 months. We've turned a tired, old house into a livable, functional and sometimes beautiful (depending on if we've had time to pick up after ourselves) home. We've done things I never thought we'd be able to do and we're actually beginning to reap the benefits.

But chances are if you were to do a drive by you'd never guess it. Our yard is more like a tree cemetery than anything else. After years of neglect we were forced to cut down tons of trees and brush. Every now and then we find a random slab of concrete and traces of gravel hidden beneath the dirt- which might be why we just can't grow any grass! We have no front walkway and the lifespan of our "temporary" front stairs is coming to an end. This is a job for an army and unfortunately my husband is at it alone because I have the curse of a brown thumb (it's a real thing) and anything I touch shrivels up and dies. Our dog Henry thinks he's helping by digging up rotten roots, but in the meantime he's turned half off our yard into swiss cheese.. I'm really not kidding.

Oh HGTV you have no idea how much we need you! If you come help us fill our yard with grass in exchange I promise to fill your bellies with fresh home baked goods. You'd love my mothers banana bread!

Sincerely,

me

I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime any landscaping tips are very much appreciated.

winter planting

Ben sent me pictures of the house in progress last night and I'll be sure to post them early next week. By then I'll be able to follow them up with shots of the final product (final meaning primed but still not painted).

In the meantime I thought I'd share our winter planting adventures- for a few laughs!

About three weeks ago Ben was offered a couple of "bushes" and because we are desperately in need of some landscaping around the house, he didn't want to pass them up. Thinking it would be easy to load them into the back of his truck and bring them home, he was more worried about getting them into the ground- the Weather Channel was calling it one of the coldest weeks of the year.

I wasn't entirely sure of Ben's plans and was on my way out the door when he called me and said "get ready, I'm on my way home and I've got two TREES in the back of my truck." Meaning a) they were clearly bigger than bushes and b) I was actually going to have to help plant them! When Ben first mentioned we might have to do a little landscaping he actually used the word "I" and he didn't say it was going to have to be done on the coldest day of the week (I'm pretty sure it was 15 degrees outside)!

Before I get on with the story I just want to mention for those of you who don't know, I have the opposite of a green thumb and made it very clear when we first bought the house that Ben would in charge of the landscaping and I would stick to the interior of the house.

Anyway, Ben pulled the truck up to the front of the house and soon realized getting the "bushes" (particularly the 500lb. one wedged in front) was not going to be so easy.
He started chipping away at the frozen roots to try to break some of the excess dirt off. He was hoping it would lighten the load a little, but it was too frozen and little to no progress was being made.
After much frustration it became very clear that the only way we were going to get the bush out of the back of the car was by tying a rope to it, tying a rope to a nearby tree on our property..
and Ben pulling the truck away.. very quickly!
In the meantime, I was running in and out of the house to warm up.
Once the tree fell off the truck, we shockingly were able to pretty easily dig a hole..
And then the bigger issue became getting the tree into the hole.. as it was way too heavy to drag ourselves.
Ben was able to hitch it to the truck and drag it a little closer and he continued to try to chip away at it with no luck.

After a few more minutes of frozen fingers and toes, we opted to call it a day. We dropped the other (much lighter) bush into the hole..
and decided next time we'll wait for the ground to thaw before we make any landscaping decisions!

Ben was able to cut the bigger bush up and get rid of the branches, but the frozen stump is still hanging out in our yard- as it will until the temperature warms up.