Herbs and Curtains

I know, I know... Ive been terrible about posting updates and pictures on my blog. I never knew how much time and energy it took to move in, unpack, settle in and start some renovating projects in a house!

One of the big things that we did was install a herb garden. As you know me, I am a huge fan of gardening and having an oasis where I can escape to. We have quite a large yard and we decided that a good place to start would be a herb garden by the garage.


When we moved in, the small plot was just overgrown with weeds and junk. It had a really rickety, rusty metal "fence" around it. It was such a pathetic sight.

*Rosie says hi, you can see her wagging tail in the corner*


We torn out the metal fencing and dug up all the overgrown weeds. The dirt was rock hard from being neglected for so long. We ended up taking some dirt out and replacing it with rich topsoil. We had to let the dirt "sit" for a few days before planting our new herbs.



The result looks so much better! Its much cleaner and isn't overgrown. We installed small wood fencing around the edges to keep the dogs out. We planted basil, oregano, cilantro, lemon balm, and cat nip. We plan on planting herbs more later, but want to see how these plants fill out first. I am thrilled to finally have some dirt to call my own and I cant wait to see it all fill out and go crazy.

Here's a peek at our new rose bush. More about that tomorrow!


Today, Paul and I went to the fabric store and picked out several yards of fabric for curtains. I was so excited to dust off the sewing machine again! Paul picked a very cool tweed-ish fabric that is really dark grey (almost black) with white thread running through it. I sewed the fabric into simple panels and hung them on brushed nickel hardware. It looks really sharp and Paul is a happy guy (mostly due to his new Xbox, but I digress...)

Not too bad, I think...

Part Two...

I promised a picture or two of my brand new oven. Yes, you are seeing correctly... there is not just one oven, but TWO of them. The top one is a small one, perfect for a pizza or baking cookies. The one on the bottom is a larger one for larger dishes, such as casseroles, breads, and turkeys. Its energy efficient using a smaller oven for smaller dishes, and the bigger one for bigger dishes. I cannot wait to fire up that baby!




Ive struggled with taking a good picture of the living room. I decided to try it again with the blinds partially closed, so there is less light. This picture is much better- you can see the woodwork, the french doors, hardwood floors, and of course the lovely windows themselves.




After putting 2 coats of primer on in the dining room, I cracked open the paint that we will use in this room. Its called Sandstone Cove. Its very similiar to Mom's Pale Almond. What do you think? Too light?

A peek!

Today, I am priming and painting the living room and the dining room. They are both painted a dark Olive green. Its very ehhh, so I am painting over it and it will be a soothing, neutral color that allows all the woodwork to pop out. Here is a peek of what the rooms look like.



This is the living room- it is dominated by very large windows and two stained glass windows. It receives A LOT of natural light, which is why I cannot get a good picture of the room. Its just simply too bright!



This is the dining room. You can see the Olive green color on the left side and the white primer on majority of the walls. Isnt the woodwork just beautiful?


Here is one of my favorite features in the house. Its a swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen. It is very cool with its own stained glass window.

Now going back to the house to finish up a few things and take more pictures...

First Glimpse...

Hello!! Its hard to believe I actually own a house now! Its very exciting!
We immediately started working on a few projects before moving in next weekend. One was tackling the kitchen. All in all, it isn't a bad kitchen. Its actually pretty large with many cabinets. It does have yellow walls and an ugly fruit border. That has to come down, pronto!




I headed to the local Home Depot and rented a wallpaper steamer to remove the border. They gave me this primitive-looking weapon. I eyed the guy and asked "what is THIS for?" He just rolled his eyes and said, "Thats for scoring the wallpaper. It makes it easier to take down." Really? Ive taken a LOT of wallpaper down in my lifetime and I have never seen something like this before. Have you???


I decided to try it and see if it worked. At first, I was unsure and used it very lightly. I just didnt want to waste my time spackling little holes all over the walls. You know what I mean? In the end, it made it so MUCH easier taking down the pesky border!


The next project I had was taking down the obnoxious breakfast bar. It just took up too much valuable space and we just simply don't like it. So, that meant DEMO TIME!

I couldn't find my cordless drill (go figure) and used Paul's instead. His drill was very weak and took forever to charge. So, I decided to take this bar apart by hand. Oh boy... took forever and my fingers screamed the whole time. The bar was bolted into the floor and it took a lot of effort to unscrew the bolts out. When taking off the sides from the "leg," I discovered that they actually cut into the floor to built this darn thing. What a disappointment!


When I finally torn it all out, you can see how much space we gained! I have many cute ideas of what to do with this cute little niche. That will come later. Anyway, as you can see, I need to spackle and fix a few holes in the wall. Im disappointed about the hole in the floor. I dont understand why they needed to cut into it. I plan on either matching the wood pieces of the parquet floor OR cutting a small piece of plywood to fit into the hole and covering it up with a rug. This will only be a temporary fix until I replace the entire floor in a few years.



While I was doing demo, the delivery guys arrived with my beautiful new fridge!! Its so nice being able to open the doors and actually have the lights turn on. Our current fridge in the apartment doesnt have a light inside, so I have to dig around in it and hope I come up with the right item. Ha!


Isn't it a beauty?

Rosie's Measurements

As you all know, Miss Rosie is not a small dog. Newfoundlands are in the extra-large category for dogs. Rosie is well on her way to being a HUGE dog. I found several pictures through the last few months where you can see her growth, using the blue beanbag in comparison.

This is where Rosie and Sam sleeps. Sam favors the beanbag, where it is warm and cozy. Rosie favors the kitchen floor where it is cooler.


(Please feel free to click on the pictures to get a bigger view.)

12/7/08
This is the first day we brought Rosie home.
I don't remember her being that small! She is about 1/4 the size of the beanbag.
Sam looks so big in this picture!

12/20/08

01/06/09
Starting to look the same size as Sam.

02/06/09
She is now about half the size of the beanbag.

03/15/09

4/18/09

04/26/09
This was taken today, and you can clearly see that Rosie is the same length as the beanbag, from nose to tail. She is only 8 months old and is still growing!

Poor Sam, he looks so tiny in his favorite beanbag. He is 45 pounds while Rosie is now over 80 pounds.

I wanted to take a picture of Rosie's paw, so you can see how large they are. I had nothing nearby to use to show the scale, except for a knitting needle that was on my desk. As you can see, her entire paw is just about the size of one whole knitting needle.

Apologies and an Update

Well, its been a while since I posted something on this blog. My apologies for being so lax in that area. I've been preoccupied with work and the house search. I have a feeling that my blogging will become a daily/weekly occurrence after I buy a house- Ill be sending in updates about painting, any renovations, etc that I will do.

Speaking of the house hunt, I think it is going to come to a close within the next week or so. Ive found a charming Bungalow that was built in the 1920s and fits our needs perfectly. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. It is loaded with character and woodwork. The dining room and the foyer with french doors are just examples. It is a beautiful house and I am hoping to hear within the next few days if it will be mine.

A House

Today I will be putting in an offer on a house. Its a beautiful brick colonial that was built in the 1930s. It has a lot of character and charm. There are some circumstances associated with this house that may lead to my offer not being accepted, but I am going to try anyway. I should know by Friday, the 10th, if the house is mine or not. Keep your fingers crossed!

Here is the large, spacious living room with beautiful leaded windows, natural fireplace and expansive hardwood floors. It has a lot of light and is very relaxing. I can just see myself living there.

Time will tell...