quick snapshot of the landscaping

here are some pictures of the new landscaping. It's already starting to look different from Day 1... stay tuned for updates.

It's all starting to come together

The first step before the landscaping is finalizing and installing the fence. And due to some unexpected rain, we were set back and so we don't have much to show just yet. The fence looks AMAZING and now finally the landscaper can come and start work!

Before:

After:

Landscaping :)

With spring around the corner, Jarrett and I have committed ourselves to making the house look better on the outside. (And when I say "we", I really mean we are committed to it getting done, just not by us). It wasn't horrible...but just not what I wanted. It's become an obsession for me. Here I am with no understanding of plants, what works in the northeast, how much it costs. NOTHING. And yet, I have a vision I want executed. Enter google hell. I don't even know what I should be googling for ideas. "Bushes? Plants? Pretty House?" Boy does our landscaping have his work cut out. So here we go...in a couple of weeks, we'll have a new fence, and a new yard!

Here are some pics of before and current. Since it's just April, we need to wait to plant...but I wanted to get everything that was there GONE. (And remember, before picture was taken in the summer....not March where it's quite the ugly canvas)

So here is our blank canvas:

I am a terrible blogger.

2011 has not been good for my blogging. It has however been good for the hubs and I, which means it's been very very busy. I promise to be better!

In January, we took on Disney World. What a fantastic way to be kids by day and posh foodie adults by night. I have to admit, it was a perfect trip. The weather was good, the rides were extremely fun and the food (Flying Fish, California Grill, Bluezoo...) all awesome!

February had me traveling a lot for work, including a trip on Valentine's Day. But also gave us some insight into our tax returns so we could plan for the home renovations. On the list was:

• New carpet for the stairs (installed, pics soon!)
• New dining room chairs (done!)
• Landscaping (in progress)
  

...I'll have some great pics soon. But as we got into March, we had a wrench thrown into the mix. While outside playing, Lincoln noticed a somewhat week, old fence and took advantage of the situation and "visited" our neighbors. Luckily I found him...but it made us realize we need to fix it sooner than planned. So we are currently getting quotes for that. OY!

I'll follow-up soon with pictures of the transformations and in the meantime we'll be focused on Jarrett's 30th birthday this Friday. What a weekend I have in store :)

Kitchen Renovations Part II

Here are the pics of the finished kitchen. I am absolutely in love with all aspects of this kitchen. Someone told me it looks like an HGTV kitchen, and I blushed. I really think we picked fabulous, neutral but warm colors that make this kitchen rock!

A few shout-outs to the vendors we went with, and our contractor. Awesome, and highly recommend!

Bellew Tile
Hub Stoneworks

Kitchen Renovations Part I

I have some exciting news and pictures! The kitchen is *almost* done. We are waiting for the tiles for the backsplash to come in, and then we'll be done! The granite was installed, the sink looks AMAZING, and we changed the hardware. It makes a HUGE difference and I can't believe how much better the kitchen looks.

Sneak Peek. Kitchen Renovations

the house is a mess. I have cabinets on the floor, dining room, everywhere. I have no sink. I have no faucet. I have two dogs that don't seem to understand not to mess with the kitchen. I have leftovers because we were able to sneak in a dinner at Fat-Cat due to lack of kitchen.

So I share...

Cabinets in the living room:

Messy kitchen and ugly hardware:

Meals and Memories Are Made Here

In a little over a week, our kitchen renovations will finally begin. I simply cannot wait for our upgrades, it's going to look so much better and is really worth the investment in the long run.

We had a relatively painless experience picking out granite and tile (thankfully the cabinets are new and not going anywhere so we didn't have to start from scratch).

I figured I'd give a sneak peak into our choices. We wanted to make our kitchen warm and inviting, but neutral so it will easy for prospective buyers to see themselves in this kitchen in a few years when we sell.

Granite:

Tile:

And then of course a reminder of the BEFORE state.

Exhibit A: (when we moved in)

Exhibit B: (current state)

House Renovations

The Britt household is about to undergo some renovations. We are lucky we don't have anything HUGE to do, but projects that will make our house a little nicer to live in and hopefully increase the value when we go to sell. I feel like all that HGTV watching is finally coming to good use. We've been waiting until this time so we could enjoy our summer, and the advice provided to us proved true--live in your house for a little before you do TOO much.

On the agenda:

1. Kitchen--adding granite and a backsplash. Apparently this means we also need to replace the sink and faucet.

2. Making the 3 season porch 4 season by replacing all of the windows and adding heat.

...details and before pictures to come!

Free Samples!

I've learned the best way to make decisions is to order free samples. We have these plan run of the mill white (really off white/dingy/dirty) blinds on the windows that I haven't got to yet, and I HATE them. Basically, the woman who lived her before put them on every single window and they are gross. And half of them don't fit.

Steve's Blinds and Wallpaper has been my saving grace. They've done my window blinds and my bedroom blinds, and they offer free samples. So for someone like me that needs about 100 different examples to make a decision, this is key. I order 5-10 different ones and then I can narrow down my options and see the exact colors.

I was thinking bamboo? That might be fun for the stairway/hallway windows. I found these pictures online, so I am really interested to see the samples. I like the idea of the roman shade look too, so I think I am leaning in that direction. These are not windows that can have any sort of drape, so they need something that will stand out on their own.

I love you HomeGoods...

At one point in my life I would have started this sentence the same, but ended it quite differently. Perhaps in my teens I would have said "If there is one store I walk into and just can't walk out without spending over $100 it's.... Abercrombie and Fitch." In college, it might have been Target. Well these days, it's HomeGoods. This store is amazing. I find myself going down EVERY SINGLE AISLE, at lease twice. I buy things I'm not quite sure how I'll use but I feel like I cannot live without. The prices are extremely reasonable and they have an amazine selection from kitchen to bedding to furniture to bath. Evidence of HomeGoods now exists all over our house and as we are making some great changes I thought I would share.

Old closet doors:

The new closet doors:

The new picture courtesy of HG:

The new pillows for the bed courtesy of HG:

The Big Easy

So much has been going on with us, my blogging has been lacking. We've re-seeded AGAIN, as the first time did not work so I do not have before and after pictures. We bought a lawnmower! (we are so domesticated)We've basically spent more money at Home Depot than I care to calculate and I'm thinking of buying stock in the damn company. But, we did return from an absolutely AMAZING trip to New Orleans. I seriously already cannot wait to go back. The food is fabulous, the city is great with some truly amazing people, the architecture is beautiful and the music! We also visited the lower ninth ward, which was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. 5 years later and there are still empty lots with cement steps, remnants of the house that was once there. And run down homes with spray paint still there to show how many bodies were found in the home. I thought I would share some of this with you in hopes it makes you want to visit such a great place too.

welcome to home ownership

I've been away for a few days... week? Well, home ownership is getting the best of us. I'll post some pictures when I have some after pictures (we are almost there). We spent the bulk of the weekend (which actually turned out quite nice) painting outside (my job!) and digging up parts of the lawn and weeds and reseeding (Jarrett!). This leaves us tired and appreciative of paying someone to do this down the line....yes darling, we will be doing that next time whether you know this or not.

I must say, I am excited to watch this new grass come up although it doesn't look like much progress has been made in 4 days and I was hoping it would be a little faster. Yes, I am impatient. Remember cutting open milk cartons and then planting seeds in elementary school? I swear I saw grass in a day or so. Realistically, we've got another week to go. It also leaves us in the place where we cannot let the dogs out in the yard until the grass is coming up because there is fertilizer they'd be sure to eat (mainly Lincoln) and well, ruin (Lincoln). Walking a puppy ever hour or so because he drinks more water than I've ever thought possible is quite a pain, but the prospect of him peeing on my foot to tell me how badly he needs to go outweighs that for sure. And Yes, he did that last night. It was not pretty. Nor was the fact that he tried to lick the paint and got some on his whisker that took DAYS to get off.

I'll try to get some pictures up soon, and wish us luck, we leave for NOLA in 2 days! Hopefully this cold will be gone by then. PLEASE!

Chatty Kathy

Boy do I have so much to update you on. We've been working hard on the house and I'm proud to say the efforts have paid off. Here are some updated pictures of my new curtains and pillows for the living room.

Before:


After:

And here is my lovely patio, with the furniture I simply ADORE. <3>

Yknow what I realized this weekend? I'm married. MARRIED! for months I've been living in this bubble that it doesn't feel all that different. And then this past weekend it all hit me. While it was 60's and sunny and a day I'd normally want to spend bbqing with friends and enjoying a cocktail was spent painting the trim on the first floor, and putting together patio furniture. And guess what?! I couldn't be happier. It's quite funny how your priorities shift so much, and things you never thought you'd enjoy make you happier than ever. :)

love you babe <3

And here are some before and after pictures...

Bedroom Updates

I figured I'd start off the week with a couple of pictures of the bedroom (before and after). We still aren't 100% there yet, but making huge progress. *please note, the before pics are from the previous owner*

BEFORE:


AFTER:








Our next renovation is to get rid of the "mirrored" closet doors and replace with white wood doors. CANNOT WAIT!!! and painting the trim (still white, but it's a little grungy).

In case you are wondering, the color is from Restoration Hardware. LOVE LOVE LOVE their paint!