I love leftovers! Yes, not having to cook is always a good thing at our busy house… but I’m actually talking about grass! I know… that doesn’t help much and now you might be completely confused. While we are currently working on some pretty big projects there are always small things that sneak in between and sometimes I stop and realize those small things are the tiny wins that get us that much closer to the vision in our heads of how this house will “someday” be.
Back yard of our old house. I couldn’t find one of the front
It was very hard for me to leave my first home (seen above) and move here 3 years ago… not because I wasn’t ready, or didn’t want this house, but because we were leaving some of the best neighbors and friends anyone could have. It broke my heart! Luckily our dear friends are really great about staying in touch with us and stopping by every couple of weeks to see how we’re doing. They have been building a house in the “country” over the last few years (doing all the work themselves) and they just sold their current pad. The buyers requested that they put down sod in a bare area of the yard before they closed and it seems they bought a few blades too many. Lucky for us… they share so good! We took the rest of the grass off their hands and out of their yard and filled in an area that desperately needed some color. uhhhhh, GASP… yes, this area ⤵
While we were getting this wonderful new grass from our friends it made me realize how much this tiny little crappy space on the side of the house has changed. It’s a forgotten area of the yard.. you know the kind… out of sight out of mind. Looking back it made me appreciate how far we’ve come which really was the whole purpose of starting this blog. So here’s a look back for me (and you) at what happens over time when you really aren’t even paying attention. The picture above shows the west side of our house (thank you iPhone compass) 2 weeks after getting it… we were having the roof torn off and everything was really a mess. This side had serious drainage issues and every time it rained the entire area turned into a swimming pool. It was awful!
After the roof went on and debris was cleared, Richie pulled down that little section of fence to open everything up, as he was planning a stone walkway down the side and through the backyard. All of this came AFTER he fixed the draining issues with new french drains and guttering, as seen below. The roof is inverted so everything drains to the middle, down the gutters, into the drains and out to the street. It works like a dream now. There were piles and piles of rock at this house and the more we moved things around the more rocks we found… we had to use them.
You can see here he’s working out the walkway and putting down the stone. It’s staring to look a little better but still all those rocks on the side… AHHHHHH. I’m a girl who likes to ROCK, but this brought on head banging of a whole different kind.
It’s getting closer and we’ve filled in with some crushed granite.
We called a few friends, who called a few friends and within 30 minutes almost all those rocks were gone. We saved a few big ones at the end for a project we still have to do but apparently FREE ROCKS go fast. I’m grateful to say the least. So then we finally laid out the grass left overs so kindly donated to us by our wonderful friends. They have no idea probably how happy this really made me! THANK YOU, Nick and Wanda.
It looked rough at first but a couple of days of good watering and it has really perked up.
Kind of amazing, now that I’m comparing it. HA HA! Blog Success! You can also see at the end of the walkway is a new sliding gate and fence that Richie has already replaced.
Now we have some nice green grass getting started, a walkway that is for the most part finished and it’s looking better and better. The side fence (left) will be replaced and all the siding (right) is getting prepped for stain. So without really noticing, it nice to SEE that even if it takes FOR-EV-ER… the little changes will someday make a BIG difference.
YAY for leftovers! Just don’t send me your rocks.
wow. it’s like night and day and a clear case of “it gets worse before it gets better” (work load wise). it looks fab and totally matches the aesthetic of your clean, simple, artistic design. now, hmm, what to do with the fence….i know of some great handmade swing plant holders! ;)
looks great, guys!!!!!
Oh my goodness… I appreciate that… but clearly it stays “worse” for way too long before it gets better. I wish I had a work crew show up at the house to fix it all while I eat bon bons on the couch and wave my hands to “get it done”. A fence man would definitely be part of the crew!! (sigh!) Someday it will be pretty, but I guess it has gotten better and I’m thankful. Thank you, Tamara. You always help keep my chin up!
Three cheers for sod! I’ve never used the stuff, but I love how it looks like a French pastry when it’s still all rolled up.
Another nice transformation – that de-rocked rock path is great.
And another positive aspect of blogging: you don’t have to sit and watch the grass grow. You take some Before pix, type up some other stuff, make a few comments, eat some snacks (maybe some leftovers) then take some After pix a few minutes, days, weeks, or months later and voila, the next post!
Ha Ha!…. mmmmmmmmm, pastries. Now we’re talking!
You’re so right! That is one good thing about blogging… it’s like fast forwarding on your VCR… who wants the commercials… lets just get to the good stuff. (do people still own VCRs?) The only problem with that is my good stuff takes too long to get here. Thankfully the grass made me look good by getting all green on me in three days. But I did eat some snacks, surf the net, make some comments, yell at my husband and burn some cinnamon rolls in between… so it all went as planned.
I hope my next post is a successful!! (minus the burned cinnamon rolls) Ha Ha! Thanks J.
Looking great girl! And so green so fast too!
Love the old place too from what I can see. Is that a 50’s bungalow? Can’t really tell. What was it? Loved what you did with that area back then though. Seems you all have always had a green thumb :)
Thanks so much! I almost didn’t post that “old house” picture because it makes me sad. That damn house was perfect and I left it for this piece of crap!!! (giggle) Seriously, we worked really hard on it for years so I appreciate that… thank you. I hope this one is equally as nice… some —- day.
I’m not really sure what you would call that house. It wasn’t 50’s… it was built in 1924, so it was an oldie but a goodie. We had the inside all mod-ed out of course. I’ll have to post some pictures some time. I loved that house.
That green grass took me by surprise too… it was happy in just three days!!!!
Oh wow! 1924? That’s awesome! I would love to see more of both the inside and outside. What I see was perfect!
I only ever really had one place of my own before here.It was a new 2 story town-home in the middle of town filled with shaker & mission style furniture that my ex wife and I both collected together. Sent that stuff with her when she pulled the plug on the whole deal :) Wish I had taken photos of it though. I was just learning about design and would love to know if it looked cool or if I just remember it that way.LOL!
Yes free rocks go fast b/c when you see how mch they cost in store you start to kijiji your front garden stock of them. That’s looking really good!!
Oh Alex, you are so right! Rocks are so expensive. (and heavy). I’m sure the weight and dollar amount must go hand in hand… I figure I gave away at least a million dollars in rocks. HA HA! DANG! I should have sold them. :-)
Seriously… free worked for me and it’s a great way to get rid of stuff. I was amazed at how fast it cleared the area. MAGIC!
Wow… you had said before about moving a lot of rocks… and, uh. You weren’t kidding. That IS a lot of rocks.
Reading through the post, I was WELL aware of just how much work all of that was. And it seems like there should be a better way to express that through blogging. Like, while reading you have to do some sort of grueling exercise. Or endure something incredibly nervewracking. Because just looking at the before and after gives the reader a false sense of ease.
Instant gratification in any form is spectacular… and that sod made a BIG difference. Once you get a new fence and your siding spiffed up, you and Richie may just start hanging out there. He’ll probably ask you out on a date, to take place on the side of your house!
I do remember that conversation! That was just one of 4 piles tha big or bigger. Victoria, I’ve never EVER seen so many rocks. They were EVERYWHERE and buried under everything. I imagine all said and done there were thousands of dollars worth of rocks on this property. We used them everywhere and when we ran out of ideas (and steam) FREE seemed to be the way to go!
That is the bad thing about blog pictures… how warm and fuzzy it all seems. Sort of like watching HGTV or something. Wow, good job… time for tea! (yeah, right!)
YOU certainly know first hand… it’s all ass-kickin’ hard. Advil, please.
That hideous old fence and the worn siding almost kept me from posting.. but screw it… it’s about the small wins and it felt good to see something besides brown mud. YAY for green grass… the rest will come (probably later, than sooner… but…. ya know!) I’ll mention that to Richie. Maybe I’ll just serve a candlelight dinner at the side of the house one night. That’s if the mosquitoes, squirrels, raccoons and bluejays don’t mind sharing. HA HA!
Looks great, Stacey! Gotta love free stuff…
Hey Kelly! How are you? Thanks for the visit and YES, free stuff whether giving it away or receiving it seemed to benefit everyone in this situation. Funny thing is the free rocks went to the son and daughter of the couple we got free grass from… SO COOL! (and it all took place months apart) Good Karma!
I too have a huge rock problem, free rocks, who knew, think I will follow your lead on that one! It’s looking fantastic, I think your going to get alot more use out of this strip than you think!
That is hilarious! We should be in rock therapy together…. well, that is if your rocks have caused you as much pain as mine have. I’m damaged goods!! HA!
I highly recommend FREE… it was a great experience waving bye-bye to those back-breakers.
Thanks!
Holy cow… that’s amazing!! That first photo makes me want to cry… so much hard work lies ahead. But you did it! And the result is stunning. Well done!!
You just about made me cry, Danielle! I remember that week from hell (that first photo) like it was yesterday. I had a complete and total meltdown while they put that roof on. It’s a semi-flat roof so it’s tar and paper (you know that horrible smell!) They were trying to get the first layer on before night fall and the whole neighborhood smelled horrible and people were PISSED! (great way to move into the neighborhood!) One guy got so mad we shut it all down only to have it rain the next morning and water was pouring into the house all down the hallway and the areas they didn’t get a chance to finish. So cry, indeed… That first picture made that last picture seem like heaven… green grass and all!
Thank you for that!
Totally know the feeling. Cookies. Cookies make everything better… for the neighbor and for you. Cookies & Alcohol… that works too. :)
What an amazing transformation. Your home is already gorgeous, but by the time you finish, it will be a real showplace!
Thanks Dana! I try to show the pretty parts because they make me smile… but there are LOTS of ugly parts too. I’m always happy when they get a little less ugly and I feel the need to share. Ha Ha!
I don’t know about a showplace but I think if I could just get to a point where all I have to do are the dishes and the laundry I’d feel really happy. (burst of laughter!) I’m happy you’re here helping me along. You’re so sweet!
Are you sure that “before” picture wasn’t taken at my house?!?
HA HA! I guess we all have those “HORRIBLE” areas we wish would just go away. It was awful…. but we’re slowly getting there. I have a hard time believing your place would ever look like that. You have such a green thumb and beautiful yard.