TV Stand & Dining Room Rug

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. We've actually had a chance to just enjoy the house lately instead of working on it. We still have a laundry list of things we want to do (install window shutters, rain gutters, french drains for the drainage issues, re-side the garage with hardy plank, paint the master bath, fix the automatic gate opener, etc.) but those things can wait awhile.

Trey and Melanie gave me a gift certificate to World Market (one of my favs) for my birthday, so I found a TV stand (on clearance) and put it to use on that.

Remember what was this?

And then this?

Looks a bit unproportional, huh?

Is now this.

Much more suitable.

We also got a rug for the dining room. It was more of a utilitarian issue than a decorating one - we just wanted something to keep the floors from getting scratched.

I've been meaning to get out and about in the neighborhood more, but with all of the rain lately, we have been a bit house bound. Yep, so in conclusion, our lives have been very boring lately. But with all the excitement we had in the first couple of months of being homeowners, it is kinda nice to be lazy.

;)

I still thought the house looked a little stark, so I went and got a few yard decorations.

How do you think this looks?

Front Yard

I took a few days off this week and Jason and I tackled the front yard re-do.

This was the front of the house before we moved in.

This was the front garden bed. We were not impressed. At first, we really didn't care for the yuccas, but I realized that taking them all out would be a huge endeavour.

So, we started to design around the yuccas. We weeded the beds, took out all of the other plants, and I trimmed back the yuccas to clean up the look a bit.

We wanted to go for a very low maintenance design, and I thought that white rocks instead of mulch might be a nice contrast to the orange bricks.

Jason shoveled over half a ton of rocks yesterday. God love him.

We put down landscapers fabric to keep any future weeds out.

Instead of planting into the ground, we decided to buy some colorful pots. They were having a 1/2 sale at Houston Garden Center last week. It took over 2 hours to pick out these pots. When we got up to the register, they told us our biggest pot wasn't 1/2 off. I kinda had a minor fit and told them their ads were misleading - I was tired and hot and the dang pot would have been really expensive if we had to buy it full price. So, we went to our car, potless, and started to drive off. The manager ended up sending the check out girl after us. Needless to say, we ended up getting the pots 1/2 off. However, I can't say that I'm a fan of Houston Garden Center now. We went to Buchanan's in the Heights for the rest of our gardening needs.

The result. The plants have yellow, red, and blue flowers. I'm so paranoid that after the whole pot debacle that they will end up getting stolen (not related to each other, of course, more of a karma thing), so we chained them to each other. We just hid the chains under the rocks. Any thieves will have a nice surprise if they try to take off with them.

We also worked on this bed.

I particularly like how this turned out.

Jason wanted a rock border around this plant, so we got boulders to match the other rocks.

The final result.

Last night I started having doubts about our design because I thought it looked too stark.

So I went and bought some patio furniture to soften up the look. (I found the chair, table, pillow, and pot at Target on clearance and spent about $75 on the whole set.)

The new final result.

We are going to hang some black shutters around the window on the left which should also help soften the look. Today, the look is growing on me. It looks nice as you drive by from the street and it is definitely an improvement from the beginning.

Backyard

We worked out in the yard today.

Remember how the herbs were planted along the garage? We weren't a fan of them being right there. They were full of weeds, and we rather just plant grass up to the garage.

So, we went to Lowe's and Home Depot and picked out some pots and potting soil.

Jason had a pretty good method of getting the plants out without harming their roots. Hopefully, they will all survive.

I also washed our $15 patio set and set it up.

Backyard end result.

We also started on the front bed. It just looks cluttered and messy right now.

Another view. I think we have decided to keep all of the yuccas and add more desert themed plants to match them.

We decided to replant some of the plants in the back.

All of the yellow speckled plants were moved to this bed in the back.

Bedrooms

Well, I think this might take care of showing you the rest of the house since we moved in. I finished putting up the curtains today, so now I guess we're officially done moving in. Maybe now I can actually spend some time getting out in the neighborhood and exploring what all it has to offer. It was a pretty day today, so maybe I'll take a bike ride tomorrow.

Secondary Bedroom

View from the hallway. 

 

For now, I just have my old quilt on the bed. Jason wouldn't let me put my pink college bedding in there and I didn't want his plaid maroon college bedding. I did find a bedding set at Target that I think I am going to order.

I had told Jason awhile back that I really like distressed furniture. Especially the country chic look. After he saw the rug in the secondary bedroom, he told me that he thought this type of furniture would look good in there. 

Master Bedroom

 

View from the hallway.

 

Another view.

I want new bedside tables for this room as well. We don't really like matchy furniture, so I was thinking about a round pedestal table for my side of the bed and maybe a square table with a drawer or drawers for Jason's side.

Flea Update

So Radar's been biting himself a lot today, so I just did a flea check. I found two of them. It's just so aggravating. We've treated inside, we've treated outside, he's taken flea baths, had his monthly medicine, and is wearing a flea collar and there are still fleas! I feel like we are never going to completely win the battle. 
 
Today a stray cat came and sat on our front door step and meowed for about 10 minutes. Something tells me that the old owners must have been feeding it. I'm usually an animal lover, but not when they are bringing fleas into my yard and house. 
 
Jason and I realize that if we had found two fleas on Radar a year ago, it wouldn't have been a big deal at all. Wash his bedding, make sure he was current on his meds, and that would be it. Now though, we are just sooo paranoid that it is going to become as big of issue as it was when we moved in. We just can't go through that again. Ugh. Can fleas survive winter? Please tell me they can't. 
 
Ok, I'm done with my flea rant. 
 
Next week I need to buy clippers and learn to groom the dog. Since we moved, our groomer can't come visit us every 6 weeks anymore. And I hate taking Radar to the groomer's since he isn't a big fan of other dogs, so I'm determined to learn to do it myself. I'll be saving a bunch of money too. Wish me well in that endeavour. It should be an adventure in itself.

Jason's New Present & The Gate Fiasco

So I've been debating on whether or not to post this because of how ridiculous I think it is, but here we go. Jason decided he needed something new for the house. You see, Jason and I still have the TV's that we've had since we were mere kiddos. I personally like the TV's. They work. They've been by our sides through thick and thin. But, conveniently, Jason's TV developed a nice little sound as soon as we moved in. I didn't mind the puttering. Turn the volume up a little, and it was barely noticeable. Jason only used the sound to help his cause. I never quite agreed to this purchase, but somehow, we now have a replacement for Jason's TV.

Our old TV. I love it. It is great.

The replacement. Apparently, they don't even sell sets like ours anymore. Who knew? Jason wanted a 3D flat screen, but settled for a "regular" 46 inch LED. Ridiculous, I know. This is now the reason we are never able to open our blinds again. To me, it's only a big invitation to people to rob our house. (Disclaimer: If any robbers read this blog, please do not come take our TV.)

If you look at it from this angle, it is like it isn't even there.

So, in conclusion, happy birthday, Christmas, and anniversary for the next 3 years, Babe. I hope you enjoy your new present.

On another note, our automatic gate opener decided to stop working this morning. We didn't know how to manually override it, so we had to borrower Ferryn and Steve's extra car to get to work. I decided to take the bus home instead accepting rides from friends and co-workers. I'm paying for parking downtown right now, and I thought riding the bus would help me make a decision on whether or not I could cancel my parking contract to continue to take the bus or ride my bike. Here's the pro and con list I put together after my fun ride.

Pro's

1. Cheaper than paying for a parking contract.

2. Environmentally friendly.

3. I would be walking nearly a mile a day. (0.5 miles from my house to the bus stop twice a day.)

4. During the walk, it would be nice getting a little sun.

Con's

1. I still haven't come up with a solution for bad weather days.

2. The bus goes through the ghetto so it is a bit stinky and crowded.

And the possible deal breaker...

3. I got honked at 3 times and a "hey you want a ride" offer on my walk home today. I wasn't even wearing my "Honk if you dig this" T-shirt.

So, we shall see. Luckily, Jason found a way to temporarily work the gate, so this isn't a decision I have to make today.

Dining Room & Reading Room

Whew! I'm exhausted today. I think the move has finally caught up with me. Last night we spent the evening cleaning our apartment. We are officially moved out - handed in our keys and all. We are 90% done moving in and unpacking the house as well. We have some more curtains to put up, but that is about it. Of course, we will never be done with all of the projects we have on our list, but I guess you could say that we are officially moved in. Here are some more pictures of the progress we have made unpacking and decorating.

Dining Room

It's finally feeling like home. :)

We still want a size appropriate rug and eventually a new dining set (not that we don't love and appreciate our garage sale find, Mom), but this is works for now. I like that I can finally use my cabinet as a buffet. It will come in handy for serving guests if we ever have family or friends over for real meals.

We have used this bookshelf as a visual division between the living room and dining room. I thought our floors were going to be nearly as dark as this wood, but boy was I wrong. We LOVE our refinished floors by the way. Totally worth it.

Reading Room

This room was one of the reasons we bought this house. It is so nice to just sit down and enjoy cup of coffee and a good book while looking out the windows. The pictures were another garage sale find by Jason while I was in San Fran. I think they really brighten the room up.

Another view. The book shelf only holds about 1/2 of our books. Eventually, Jason wants to build a new shelving unit that holds more. I am still debating if I want to bring the piano from my parents' house over. If I did, I think I would put it where the book shelf is now and move the books to the opposite wall.

Don't I look comfortable?

Okay, I'm headed to bed soon. I have a 6 am flight to Atlanta tomorrow to meet with a customer. Another long day - and days - ahead of me. I'm looking forward to a quiet Memorial day weekend.