the Square

We had plans of going to the pool today, however the weather was indecisive. It was definitely humid, but cloudy & rainy off and on. Instead, we opted to go to the square. The square is just plain cool if you ask me. It has that wonderful nostalgic feel to it. It has some pretty cool shops on it. These aren't just everyday find it anywhere types, they have all kinds of stuff from yesteryear. While browsing, I saw things from my own childhood, items my mom had, and even items grandma had. It's definitely where I go to find that special item that I can't even find on eBay. I think many of those antiqued items come from the plethora of historic homes that are in the area.

Today, I saw fence posts, old but really nice patio furniture, a very antique tricycle, an old wagon, jewelry and about any old item you can think of. Some of the shops have new stuff too, it's just the kind of things that you don't find just anywhere. I was happy to be able to find a birthday gift at a store called "trinkets & treasures". At another store were these adorable cookies--so adorable that I can't bear to think of eating them. They look so cute and summery in my kitchen.

Other than that, my sweetie worked on that new master bath tile project--grout is done!! We now have a floor =). It is exciting as we move closer to being finished.

I took a few more pics of my garden. If you look, you will see the ultra-tall Marigolds that my daughter planted from seed--they keep getting bigger. Also, are a few pics of my little girls in these adorable outfits (at least I think so) from Gymboree's line called "Tropical Garden".

Something that warmed my heart tonight was when my neighbor was outside. She came out the other night when the girls were playing and took several pics of them with her new camera. My daughter was getting crabby and disobedient. Tonight, she came out and told the neighbor on her own that she was sorry that she wasn't nice the other night. It was really sweet the way she told her.

Eventually, I will be able to post pictures throughout my blog rather than all at the beginning...yeah when I get time to do some more tinkering with it.

Chestnut

It is our 6th "house anniversary". Six years ago today, we moved to our home!! It has come a long way since 6 years ago. We call it a labor of love.

When we purchased our home, it had those giant, ugly bushes all around it. They were on every border, edge, and corner. I think we added it up and we have removed 46 bushes from our yard!! Now, I think that's A LOT! They surrounded the entire house and ran along back/side yard. We had them at the end of our driveway, walkway, and around the front steps. We had to remove the ones by the steps just to move in. There was only 1 foot of space to get between them. Some bushes remain--the pretty ones. We have spirea, bridal wreath, bittersweet, & forsythia. I am fine with all of those, but let's just say I haven't planted any new ones!!

The outside of our home has changed quite a bit as well. We have all new windows, doors, roof, shutters, and siding. We even have dormers now as well. The house was white when we moved here and one story. Now it is sandstone in color and is 1 1/2-2 stories. We have added 2 bedrooms & are working on the new bath as I write this.

The inside has been re-painted at least 2 times since we've moved here and there probably isn't really anything original that was here when we moved here except for the bath tub. We remodeled the kitchen, and all of the other rooms too. WOW--looking back, we have done a lot of work here. Too much to think about moving anytime soon that's for sure!

One thing I have really enjoyed since moving here is developing my flower garden/landscaping. It is a nice escape for me. I have window boxes on all of the LR windows and a couple of others as well. It is so cool to sit inside my LR and see flowers at every window. They are happy looking geraniums. Geraniums do so well because they bloom all year, and they aren't picky flowers. They are heat/cold tolerant and they are fine if you don't water them very often. They usually last from April to November. I have been excited this year because some of those really rough yard areas have started to become really beautiful this year. I never thought it would happen to be quite honest!

Reflections of the day we moved here...it was 103 degrees and I was 8 months pregnant with my first. It was just 3 of us moving furniture and yes I was one of them. That stuff was heavy! We were "welcomed to the neighborhood" by some firecrackers in our mailbox. Before you think it's a bad neighborhood...it's not...these kids were just being not very nice. I think we were pretty overwhelmed at that point with all of the work that lay ahead and what we had to do. Today, however is quite different. It is in the 70's outside and I have the windows open. There are 2 little girls playing in the house as I type. Josh is tiling the new bath and I have just been shampooing the carpeting. We have been really productive on projects lately--thank goodness. The flowers are in full bloom and quite beautiful! I need to water today, though.

Much has changed in our home and our lives since six years ago, but one thing has not...we love each other and our family and our home as well! A labor of love it has been. Enjoy some pics!