Handy Man

Over the weekend we decided to fix up a few things in the house...and by a few things really I just mean adding some blinds in the living room (and to the front door...I didn't like everyone seeing straight in...go figure.) So....

My handy man of a husband went to work. (I helped as needed...and apparently so did Maggie down there on the couch). Add installing blinds to the list of repairs beginning with installing a fan in the bathroom, new lights in the kitchen, new fans throughout the house, priming & painting all of the walls, tinkering with things in the crawl space, and helping keep up our lovely landscaped yard. Who knows what is next?? (well, really, we both do b/c we have a long list of updates for the house in the future)


(the finished product...much cleaner than the curtains)

Also....my handy man is now out of town. and I miss him dearly. Sure sure he is doing the work of God but I'm ready for him to come home already.

Trains

I know we said we were excited about living in the city of Bham, as in the actual city, not over the mountain or some other suburb. And along with living in the city comes the sounds of local industry, life on the go, & business.....

...but sometimes I think we are crazy for being THIS close to said noises.

We are slowly adapting to the train that runs immediately behind our house (see photo above as it is a view from our bedroom window at approx. 8 am) but we aren't ready to say that the noise of the train is soothing nor are we sleeping through its random comings and goings in the night. Luckily, it isn't EVERY night. We have, however, started calling it OUR train. I think it's a step in the process of getting used to the thing.

A Day of Rest

Saturday it rained/stormed ALL day long. And it was lovely. Mostly because it meant that we stayed inside and took it easy for the first time in many many weeks. (and I got to stay in the bed until somewhere close to 12 or 1...heavenly)

(the view from our bedroom window on Saturday morning)

(someone else enjoyed the view with me)

Ok...

1. I love my wife. We are bound with the tape of love.



2. I didn't know who Justin Bieber was until 2 days ago.

New Roof

You know you are really an adult when something like a new roof is exciting...

Here is what I left on my way to work Monday morning:

(our poor flowers in the front took a bit of a beating, we are working to revive them)

And upon my return, the roof looked like this:

That is one good lookin' roof.

PS-Did you know that you have to choose the color of the tiles for your roof? I mean, it seems logical, but I'd never expected them to show up and say, "what color would you like?"

We went with the "Charcoal," just in case you were wondering.

My wife tells me I should post on the blog more often.

Adventures in Gardening: Part II

After spending a bit more time destroying and pulling out weeds on Sunday afternoon, we decided it was time to plant our first ever vegetable garden.

Here's the loot:

that would be 1 gerber daisy, 9 squash (we didn't plant ALL of those), 1 red bell pepper plant, 1 green bell pepper plant, 2 Big Boy tomato plants, 2 Roma tomato plants, a strawberry plant, and a blueberry bush, oh and 1 Maggie Mae

Ambitious? Maybe but we don't care.

The gerber daisy found a new home in our Crestwood pot (these come with the purchase of a home in this neighborhood and the pansies that were in it had seen better days).

Then we moved on to planting the garden:

The tomatoes get the privilege of the front since that is where the fancy structure for them to climb is in place, behind them are the peppers, squash, and strawberries....there is also a rosemary bush back there that is threatening to take over...

Here's the ole blueberry bush, it gets a home all to its own so that it can grow and produce lots of fruit:

And last but not least, look at what I found on the fig tree in the back....

Hopefully you can all come over and enjoy some fresh fruits and veggies this summer :)

One more Thing

I forgot about this little lady that shares our porch

If you look in the post below, you can see her little nest up on the corner of our porch columns. She sits there most mornings and evenings....maybe she's laying eggs? I guess we'll find out.

This Old Porch

(props to you if you get the song reference, Court I already know you will)

This:

(don't mind the crookedness of the photo please)

...is one of my favorite places in our new home. I mean how could you not love a big old porch like this? I look forward to many spring and summer evenings sipping a tasty beverage or eating a meal out here. Perhaps you'd like to join us?

Over the weekend I added these lovely pillows to the drab decor. And I scored these pillows for a mere 10 bucks a piece at our (not-quite-as-local-as-I'd-like-for-it-to-be) Target.



I'm in love with them. Especially that flowered green and brown one...not usually my style, but it is this time.

Oh...and one other thing that currently resides on our new porch.....



Our new bikes! (ok at least Matt's does, mine is in the backyard b/c I can't use it everday and I don't want someone to snag my new toy) We have only ridden them around nearby streets (well Matt rode his to work today) but I have lots of plans for lovely bike rides in the near future....

Adventures in Gardening: Part I

We spent some time this weekend working in our new garden.

When the old owners left, they informed us that the garden needed some weeding and tilling before we would be able to plant anything. So....

That is just what we did. While I enjoyed being out in the sun and getting my hands dirty, I have a new found hatred for weeds. (although I do find it particularly satisfying to pull up the big ole gross ones)

That's a pile of SOME of the weeds that we pulled. (I have a lovely blister on my right hand b/c of all of the other weeds we pulled)

Matt snagged this photo of me and the Mags cleaning up the yard.

All in all the day was a succes.

We planted some herbs and flowers last night and now the veggie garden awaits.......

The Boxes are (Mostly) Gone

We moved into our house this weekend.

There were boxes EVERYWHERE.

I mostly worked in the kitchen (and in my closets...it's refreshing to go through all of your stuff, give away what you don't need, and organize what you want to keep)

And....it's pretty great to make a space your own.

Welcome to our home!

(more pictures later...I've been too busy to walk around with the camera in hand)

Spring!

Sorry for the lack of posts...we have been busy painting (and cleaning) at the new house. It really takes it out of you.....

In more important news, Spring has finally arrived! Hooray!! Except for those of us that live in the southeast, we have to deal with the yellow dusting that has already hit the ground running before we can REALLY enjoy the Spring. Seriously, if you've never seen it for yourself, it will blow your mind how much pollen collects on anything outdoors (or touching the outdoors) around this time of year. I know I was confused when I first moved to the ATL (and a little bit grossed out....still am)...

...you just don't see that in Texas.

Home

We did it! We finally closed on our new home. Here is a doctored up photo of our new residence.

We will have many more to come as we begin the process of fixing it up! First on the "to-do" list, paint.

(this photo doesn't even show one of the best parts of our new house, the backyard. It is incredible...I can't wait to take Maggie out there to check it out. We will also begin our first ever garden this summer so you can be on the lookout for more info on that process as well)