DIY Halloween Wreath...

Sorry for the silence again, things have been busy, busy, busy around here. So I will have lots to share with you in the coming weeks. But first, it's that spooky-ooky time of the year... HALLOWEEN! Here is an easy DIY Halloween Wreath tutorial.

The supplies are simple: 

Foam wreath • Felt • Halloween coasters • Glue gun

I started by wrapping the felt around the foam wreath, leaving a seam along the back. It doesn't have to be perfect because the coasters will cover up any imperfections along the front. 

Like I said, easy. 

Now we're ready for the trick or treaters! 

A little paint goes a long way: a facade facelift...

Let's take a walk down memory lane. This is what the house looked like when we first bought it. Overgrown landscaping and faded paint. Notice the brick red door and the faded burgundy shutters. What a palette. 

We took care of the landscaping last year, so this summer, painting the house was on the agenda. Our house is vinyl siding and some of the trim is plastic, so only the wood trim, front door and shutters needed to be painted. Thankfully we had an old can of the trim paint in the basement so we didn't have to play the "does it match?" paint guessing game. The porch itself was one color but the door trim and window cornices were a lighter color. Basically they just blended right into the siding.  

In an effort to make them pop a little more, I decided to paint the trim and cornices the darker color  -- like how mascara makes your eyes look bigger and brighter. And we all know the windows are the eyes of the house. Or something like that...

And pop they did. It really brought the house to life and to my delight, perfectly matched the window trim. It also made the door the focal point of the porch. 

Now there is a differentiation between the siding and the trim. 

Speaking of the door (and the shutters), we didn't try to match the original color exactly, we went a little more burgundy with it. Antique Burgundy from Valspar was the color we decided on. It had a lot more purple and a lot less red/orange. It even coordinates with the coleus plant. I LOVE it!  Color coordination makes me giddy!  

We are so happy how the colors work together to brighten up the facade. 

Before. Sad and faded...

After. Bright and cheery...

It all feels so much more balanced and coordinates so well with the tree in the front yard.

Home Sweet Home!

put your feet up: outdoor ottoman revamp...

The only thing missing from our deck was a place to put your feet up when you're sitting in our club chairs. 

This is a pic from last summer.

 Enter this $5 garage sale find.

It was a stool for a vanity table, I saw it as the perfect ottoman for our patio.

Once I removed the seat, I noticed what they had used for the fabric...

a pillowcase! 

I never would have thought of that, but what a great idea for an easy makeover for your indoor chairs. They just slip right on. Once I got over my excitement, I then covered the seat with some outdoor, all-weather fabric I picked up for $10 (I didn't even use half of it so I have plenty left over to make some outdoor pillows too).

The red goes perfectly with the pops of red I have on the patio. And the detail on the base mimics the detail in the rug on the other side of the deck. 

I was going to spray paint the base to match the table but then I realized the brushed silver finish matched the base of the club chairs exactly. It's like it was meant to be. 

It's really lightweight so it's easy to move around and put your feet up wherever you like. 

Total time: 20 minutes

Total budget: $15 (with lots of fabric to spare)

landscaping update: The backyard...

Now that you've seen the front and the side of the yard, let's take a trip around back. That's where things really get interesting....

This is what the deck looked like last year right after we stained it. 

And this is what it looks like now. 

Many of the plants and shrubs in the back were transplanted from the front, like the two that flank either side of the stairs. They were iffy after the transplant, but came back beautifully this year. 

In the spring, they blossom these pretty pink flowers, then the whole bush turns a maroon/plum color. Some of the other transplanted plants were a Rose of Sharon and some Black Eyed Susans. The Rose of Sharon is in the top right of the picture below and closest to the front are two huge Black Eyed Susan bushes that haven't bloomed yet. They have tripled in size from last year. They are almost too big for the space.

You can see the Rose of Sharon a little better in the photo below. The plant next to it, I originally thought, was a bunch of weeds. But I cut it back to the ground and this year it bloomed the most beautiful yellow flowers in the spring. It was such a nice pop of color. (That I forgot to take a picture of). 

One of our biggest concerns for our backyard was the lack of privacy. All of the yards were visible to one another. 

So our landscaper added the most beautiful island in the back with Arborvitaes, Maiden Grass and a Butterfly bush. This is how it looked early in the Spring.

So pretty and manicured and dainty. And here's what it looks like now...

The butterfly bush is so ginormous that you can barely see the bird feeder and it completely camouflages the the maiden grass between the left and center tree. The trees are going to have to step it up in the growth department to even think of competing with the butterfly bush. 

Needless to say, that puppy is getting cut back significantly before spring next year or our whole yard will be engulfed. But it does make for some nice privacy now. I can't wait to see it 5 years from now. 

And I would be remise if I didn't give some love to my roses. They make the best privacy screen of all. 

Even though they recently got nipped by some kind of bug, they are coming back strong. 

The way the whole yard turned out just makes me so happy. It feels complete and makes our house look so cozy. 

Home sweet home! 

Up next: Painting the shutters and trim! 

landscaping update: The side yard....

Yesterday, we took a tour of our landscaping in the front yard. Today, we move around the corner to the side yard...

 THE SIDE

Many of the plants from the original front were moved to the side landscaping. The only thing that didn't survive transplant was the big purple bush from the front yard. But we (and by we I mean Ryan and my dad) removed it and planted a Japanese Maple. 

I love how they took the edging and jutted it out a bit to give the tree more prominence. We live on a corner, so the first thing you see when you drive up is a big mass of tan siding. So the landscaping was designed to break up that side with different colors and heights. 

This picture doesn't do it justice but this grass is crazy high. I cut it back in the fall and it came back like gangbusters! There is another one that was planted to hide the AC unit, I didn't think it would actually do the job but boy was I wrong. 

I don't know what these plants are but they are twice as big now and well on their way to covering the AC Unit from the other side.

Anyone know what these are called? 

Up next: The Backyard....

landscaping update: the front yard...

when we moved into our house we were fortunate enough to get a landscaping credit from the sellers. They (or the builder) had planted a bunch of great things but they were all clumped together in the front, a little was on one side and the back was bare.

And we had no privacy in our backyard. 

So last July, a landscaper came out, transplanted some things and planted some new items. The edging and mulching alone looked great, but since it was so hot when they were planting, some of the landscaping didn't look so hot. A lot of them went into shock and I was nervous all this work was for nothing.

Everyone kept telling us to wait until Spring and then we'd really be able to see what took. Well, Spring came around and BOOM! It was a landscaping explosion. So lush and pretty and some of the plants are  HUGE! Over the next few days, I'll be sharing a tour of the landscaping. Up first....

THE FRONT

The front is a mix of angelina sedum, boxwood bushes and a lilac tree. The sedum has spread so much, it's great ground cover. I loved waking up in the morning in the spring, throwing up my window and smelling the lilac tree. One of my other favorite things are the three walking stones. 

On the corner of the front landscaping they added a blue spruce. It's a slow grower but once it gets a little bigger it will be a good balance for the front. 

Our front porch rarely gets sun so finding a shade plant that looks nice has been a challenge. Then on a trip to Lowe's I found Coleus. It perfectly matches the maroon in our door, has been growing like crazy and finally hides the ugly electrical outlet on the porch.

It was the perfect finishing touch. 

Up Next: The Side Yard.....