Getting our hands dirty

We've been knee-deep in projects around the house lately.  Owning a home means a continuous list of to-dos {at least it does for us}.  I have to admit that it's chock full of things I'd like to do, not things that are necessary.  Nonetheless, we were able to cross off a really big & necessary job recently.

We had have a yard full of trees. Too many trees. And it was due time to take some of them out for the sake of liability and our sanity. Tree branches creeping closer to the house & hanging over the road do nothing but cause anxiety for a girl who works in the insurance world. I saw disaster written all over it. So Jake put on his gear & went to work.

We're left with 6 in the yard now, down from 8 I believe. And there are plans to cut one other small one & trim branches in the fall when it's time to prune.

I also added some color to my flower beds. The beds are a work in progress. Landscaping is not cheap so it's a process....one thing at a time.

Digging in the dirt is therapy for me. I've found that I definitely have a little of my grandmother's love for flowers in me. Definitely not as good at it as she was but I sure love it. Next in order is bark or cedar chips.

We've had some big changes in our house in the past few weeks also. My sister & her puppy Daisy are our newest temporary residents. She's occupying one of our extra rooms for a few months while she waits to see how God will orchestrate her next steps in her life & career. I'm really excited to have her around for awhile. 

In preparing for her to come, I painted the back room a gorgeous greenish-gray color that matches perfectly with her decor & I had a mission to paint my blue-gone-bad bed from my college days. This is what the room looked like before:

A couple of coats of paint can make all the difference.

Jake helped me paint the bed. I like it SO much better antique white than I did that crazy blue :)

There's more! I've been needing some wall decor for my bedroom for awhile now. I've played with different pictures I wasn't finding anything that satisfied me. So I went the free route & decided to create my own.

I took scrap pieces of wood, acrylic paint, scrapbook paper & modge podge & went to work.

I really like the way they turned out. And I really like that they were free!

I've got two more projects in the works, but haven't completed them yet. I'll give you a little sneak peak & then I have to hightail it in cleaning mode {Jake's Nana will be here tomorrow & my house is not even close to being ready for her}.

Project 1: Computer desk to Wardrobe - I forgot to take a complete "before" picture

Project 2: Recovering dining room chairs with this fabric - SUPER excited about this!

One more thing before I go. Jake & I want to wish my bestie Shanna & her hubby Jonathan the most wonderful 2 year anniversary tomorrow! You guys mean the world to us. We couldn't ask for better friends! Have a great time on your vacation!