Homeowners: Brand New Flooring

It seems as if this project has been going on since we moved in (which is somehow already 7+ weeks ago) but now that our "adventures in flooring" are finally complete I can share with you the final product. 

We are absolutely in looove with our new hardwood and the fact that we did it ourselves is a huge confidence boost in the DIY-department. When I say "ourselves" I really mean J and his dad since my "helping" consisted of picking out boards that I thought were pretty and handing them off to the men. 

Previously the entire downstairs minus the kitchen and front entrance was carpet, and crappy carpet at that. J and my personal preference is to have hardwood in high-traffic & eating areas while still having carpet in living spaces to make it more cozy.

After ripping out the old carpet & prepping the subfloor, the new hardwood was finished over the course of a weekend. In total we laid about 250 square feet and then had the new carpet professionally installed a few weeks later. 

The wood we picked is Brazillian Koa in 5" width and the carpet is Martha Stewart from Home Depot in the color "Ganache". One interesting thing about this hardwood is that over the course of the next 6ish months, it will darken into it's final color from exposure to the air and sun which means we have to keep moving our kitchen table around so that it darkens evenly. (hello puppy nose!)

The wood has such amazing character and I love all the grain variations between boards. This little dark board was one of my favorites so I made sure it was placed in a visible place. We ran the new wood in the same direction as the existing Hickory in the kitchen and I love the contrast between the blonde and red woods. 

This was definitely the biggest and most expensive/time-consuming/nerve-racking home improvement project we've ever tackled and we are thrilled with the results. We love how our entire downstairs is coming along and are so happy we put in the effort with the flooring. Even Ollie's a fan!

Another checkmark in the homeownership department for us!

Homeowners: Bits of Color

Having an awesome backyard space is something that's a huge priority for J and I. Between enjoying dinners on the patio together, having a space for our O-dog to play, and hosting lots of get togethers with friends and yard games we can't wait to get our yard in tip-top shape. 

When we moved in the yard was in rough shape, not quite as bad as our first yard, but it still needed a lot of work. The former owners knew they were selling so they spent little time with anything yard related, even watering unfortunately. I spent a whole day pulling weeds and wild-grass (something that we'll always have to deal with since we back to a green belt) and we're still working to get the grass back to life. Lots of water and some new seed should definitely help in that area. 

But we have been making lots of progress in the yard already and I can't wait to share! We've spent a ton of time getting our planter boxes filled with gorgeous perennials and have made some progress with shrubs around the edges of the yard as well. We wandered around the nursery for quite some time picking out items that we love, things that will fill out in years to come and I can't wait to see them grow!

J named our smokebush Smokey Robinson, such a silly husband I have.

Here's a list of what's in our yard so far!

Double Play Gold Spirea :: Gaillardia // Celosia // White Sage // Coneflower :: Aurora Deep Purple Delphinium // Purple Picotee Dianthus :: Royal Purple Smokebush :: Blue Mist Bluebird :: Rabbitbrush

Now if only we could get our patio furniture and fire pit from the movers. It seems as though the moving truck took a detour to Alaska before delivering our stuff so it could be a while still. Oy vey!

My Husband's Year of Fitness

My husband is an amazing man, hence the reason I married him right? Duh. He is supportive of me and my dreams, encourages me in every aspect of my life and is my biggest fan. He's always telling me how much he loves me and I often hear of him talking about me to other people. Well, now its my turn to brag about him and his motivation, his dedication, his strength just for a little while.

Its no question that weight has been an issue for J throughout his life. He has a big appetite, loves food, hates being hungry and quite honestly, has lived with a girl who eats like a slob (hangs head in shame) and maintains her weight. Over time he ended up putting on more weight than he would have liked, reaching his highest right around the time when we got engaged in 2011.

I hated that J felt the way he did about himself. It got to the point of dismissing some of my favorite engagement photo pictures, negative self-talk and just plain feeling crappy. I knew I would love him for the rest of our days, regardless of weight or hair loss or anything else that is physical but I wanted him to be confident in himself too.

Spurred by the upcoming wedding and a general down-feelings, he spent an entire year changing his life. Changes that aren't small either. Getting up at 4:30am (also known as the horrible-hour) to get in a cardio workout every single day before a full day of work. Then spending close to 2 hours each evening doing strength training. Counting calories of everything that went in his mouth and consistently being at a deficit. We're talking lifestyle changes here.

Now, one year later and 60+ lbs down he's done it. 

The process was not easy, that's 100% sure. He pushed his body to it's limits, made sacrifices and to be honest, it even caused some tensions in our relationship. But it is all so worth it in the end. His attitude about life has changed. He is much more happy, has goals to push himself towards and is so much more healthy which can't be discredited at all.

___________________________________________________________

J: I am so incredibly proud of you and your accomplishments in this huge moment in your life. I look at you each day, at the motivation and dedication you've shown me over the last year, and can't help but fall even more in love with you. I think you are the most handsome you've ever been and I know that this lifestyle change has given us both so much. I am so happy to be your wife, so honored to stand beside your buff self ;-) and so excited for all the years to come.

___________________________________________________________

To read more details about his journey (numbers, workout plans, calorie limits, etc) go here where he's written it himself.

Homeowners: The Backyard of Doom

One of the huge reasons we wanted to buy a house was to have a backyard of our own. So we could enjoy evening drinks with friends around a patio table and let Ollie run in his own space and have a grill we didn't have to share with 50 other people in the apartment complex and so I could plant herbs and hibiscus and whatever I felt like in the garden.

When we moved into this house we knew it was going to be a lot of work back there. The house had been a foreclosure and was therefore vacant for over a year which meant that no one was taking care of the yard. Add that to the fact that they had random cages (we think for animals of some sort) and covered structures throughout the yard and we were faced with quite a challenge.

Step 1: 

*Remove all the random structures. 

(evidence can be seen along the wall behind J)

*Pull out all the dead plants in the planter. 

*Demolish the oddly placed piece of cement in the side-yard 

(which turned out to be a bigger project than we imagined)

*Attempt to remove all the stickers/weeds in the lawn 

(so Ollie wouldn't come in covered in them, but clearly he wasn't in the actual lawn much)

Step 2: 

*Kill off all the dead grass/weeds/etc etc in the lawn

*Rototill the yard so it wasn't as hard as brick 

(rented a truck from Home Depot and two rototillers because our ground sucked that much)

*Lay down 20+ bags of topsoil, that happens to smell like manure 

(J's clothes had to be washed multiple times to get the smell out) 

*Attempt to put in a sprinkler system 

(but realize we don't have enough water pressure for one after all the digging was finished)

*Scrap said sprinklers and fill in the holes

*Spread more top soil and fertilizer

*Lay sod

Step 3: 

*Admire the changes because they are so great!

 *Water sod excessively with our sprayers attached to the hose

*Start to plan out what to plant around the edge of the yard

*Put in red bark along the edge of the patio 

(because the spot was too skinny for grass and Ollie needs a "restroom")

*Buy a patio table to finish the yard off

*Continue to water the new sod

*Dream about all the evenings we'll spend in our new space

We cannot believe how much hard work it took to fix the yard but we are so happy with the results. Now it's time for entertaining of friends and family back there. But for now I'm off to water the sod ;-)