Back with a Long Post

After a 2 month hiatus {whoops} here I am! Do I find it easier to fit blogging into my schedule during the colder months when there is less to do outside? Maybe. Or maybe the fact that we have so many projects going on simultaneously is what has me tied up. That being said, lately we've been busy with some finishing touches around this place...

• As covered in another post, we finished the flooring installation & we started nailing in the quarter round - we decided to spend a little extra on the round that matches our Pergo and so far we are very pleased with that choice. Our first "completed" room is the office. It's so great to see it all put back together. Pictures to be posted very soon!

• In the kitchen, we decided to put up real wood for the toe kick under the cabinets {rather than rubber kick that was previously there}. It's hard to post a picture of this, but just trust me, it looks better this way than it did! Check it out:

• So far summer has been waaaaay RAINY, but we were able to stain the deck in-between downpours. We used Flood brand in cedar. It's cheap, durable, and I love it. Below you can see the deck before stain in the left photo, after stain in the right photo:

• We planted flowers, but haven't mulched. Not really sure when that will get done, but I'm not extra worried about it. Who knows, maybe we'll get a really spectacular indian summer this year and it will be done by then {fingers crossed!} So here we see one of the urns from the front stoop, my little potted English ivy, the veggie garden - we added cattle fencing to the corner for taller plants to climb, and one of the larger planters with pine/coleus/ivy/& a flower I can't recall that are on the back patio:

PS: Today the dining room board & batten is being installed, tomorrow I can paint it white & then that room will be finished! So. Excited. Can't wait to share with you guys!

Hello Spring!

Now that our flooring is {for the most part} finished, we're anxious to get outside & get our hands in the dirt. Today is my day off, so I tackled a few projects around the deck. I transplanted hosta all around the perimeter of the deck, built a little path of 4 stepping stones from the deck to the paver patio, then planted my herb garden. I made the stakes for the garden by using steel alphabet stamps hammered into strips of brass {found in the electrical section at Hartville Hardware}

The herbs are potted and resting on a little white plant stand that used to belong to my Grandma Rita. She was great at gardening, hopefully that brings me luck! After giving everything a thorough hosing down, I think now is the perfect time for lunch in the shade!

Thanks for checking in!

Our New Deck

 The deck is finally complete. We capped the 4x4 posts, took some photos, and thought about how great next summer will be when we get to sit back & enjoy all of the backyard renovations. 

To refresh your memory, this is what the previous deck looked like:

Summer Wrap-Up

Summer is over! And I've been a bad blogger this month mainly because we have been outside working so much. Here is a summary of the end of our summer, and some updates on the progress of our outdoor projects. It was a fun {but fast} summer. We worked on projects often. We also enjoyed our fair share of fairs, cookouts, fireworks, birthday parties, bonfires, bike rides, and fishing/kayaking ventures. I'm sure Andrew wishes there had been more fishing...

The vegetable garden was a success. All varieties of the tomatoes did well, and I was able to make some sauces. We are still harvesting yellow tomatoes, and Andrew said he saw another cluster of Roma's that look ready. The cucumber plant TOOK OVER, but after it yielded it died, so I was able to rip it out and let some of the plants around it finally see the sun. It choked out our red peppers, but we did get some surprise green peppers a week ago. Our lone spaghetti squash was a true beauty...but when I brought it inside I noticed it had a small hole. I figured I would just cut that part off. Then when I came home from work the next day, it was soft and leaking. It also smelled terrible, so I had to throw it out. Oh well! Next year we will switch things up a bit - we didn't get as many red beefsteak tomatoes, so my goal is to maximize those next summer for a little more BLT action.

We took a trip to Lakeside, OH to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. It was perfect.

The patio continues to be a great place for gathering and sitting by the fire. The grass filled in right up next to the pavers like we hoped it would. There is one low spot where we might need to add some dirt and grass seed next year, but overall it's come a long way from where we started. We look forward to using it well into the Fall, which we are now ready for & welcoming with open arms. Andrew is already pretty anxious to buy a few pumpkins for the front stoop. Speaking of the front...

We also shuffled things around a little bit with regard to the landscaping. Earlier this summer I had planted some ground cover {a variety of different ground covers, actually} in front of the stone wall. None of them really ended up growing into the picture I saw in my mind. Andrew wasn't really a fan either, but neither of us could figure out what to do to improve things. So we just let it all sit for a while. When we got back from our little Lake Erie trip, I was inspired to do some rearranging! The cottages up in Lakeside have cute little yards, so I returned home with some good ideas. I moved the ground covers and consolidated them around some rocks, used leftover patio pavers to make a little path to our hose spigot, and we planted our boxwood and some mums. We might add a small decorative tree beside the spiral arbor vitae, but for now we are content.

The deck (read about here and here) is definitely coming along! We had family over this weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday, and we were happy to put the steps on it so people didn't have to leap off. We still want to add railings to the steps and caps to the 4x4 posts, but for now it's functional and we are enjoying it. We were able to get a nice set of furniture for it at a very reasonable price, too.

Our plan for Fall and Winter is to switch gears and work on a few things inside of the house. So check back in periodically to see what we're up to next.

Thanks for reading!

Phase III - The Rebuilding Process

Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the fact that rebuilding a deck is hard? Maybe not if you are in construction by trade...but hard for a biologist (Andrew) and a nurse (me). But that will not stop Team Farber! I'm a sucker for doing things myself and so is Andrew. It takes a lot for us to want to wave the white flag & pay a professional. Sure, we'll gripe a little along the way if the project isn't coming together as envisioned. But fact of the matter is, we love the feeling of admiring the finished product we made with our own two (four?) hands {and the hands of others who pitch in. Fist pump for the pitcher-inners!}

   

Andrew & I originally set out this summer to completely renovate the back yard. We built and planted a raised garden bed, leveled earth and laid a paver patio, and last but not least: THE DECK. So here we are in September, with Fall peeking right around the corner...and we basically blew our original deadline. Yep. Blew it. But are we 80% finished? Heck yes we are.

Things have been kind of weird & unpredictable this summer with regard to inclement weather. Rain kept pushing work on the deck back a day...back a day...back a day. Well summer is made of days, and we started running out! Additionally, we like to get off the property every once and a while for date nights, baseball games, mini-golfing, ice cream runs, bonfires & cookouts with friends. Those are all crucial parts of summer, too.

Luckily, we did some major damage on the deck over the three-day Labor Day weekend. The deck boards and 4x4 posts were already in place. Andrew and I spent the majority of Monday building the railings. 11 sections with 6-7 spindles each. At the end of the day, his wrist was numb from drilling and my thighs were burning from squatting & holding wood plumb with the level. But we felt totally accomplished & went out for celebratory wine and eats at Gervasi!

Everything is coming together and looking even better than we had hoped. All that remains is installing the railings and adding the two sets of stairs. The end of the Farber Backyard Update is in sight. When we're totally finished, we want to have a big bash to celebrate our new outdoor spaces.It will be nice to sit back and appreciate all of the hard work!

Thanks for reading!

Phase III- Deck Demo

The last portion of our "backyard renovation" is replacing our deck. The current deck measures 12 x 16 feet and has one set of stairs on the side closest to our paver patio. The deck is probably as old as the house, and the previous owners had it painted blue and white. After this past winter, followed by a rainy Spring and Summer, it was showing considerable wear. We're going to replace the boards, add a second staircase, and go with a slightly different style of railing. It will still be 12 x 16.

With the help of Andrew's dad, we tore up the deck on Saturday morning. The underlying frame is still in great condition, and since it doesn't experience weathering like the top, we are choosing to keep it. The guys used crowbars to pry up the boards and I hauled them to the trailer. The process was pretty quick - it only took us 3 hours. The most tedious part was pulling the old nails out of the frame with pliers. We plan to buy lumbar and get building within the next two weeks. Here are some pictures of the old deck:

Garden Update

Hey everyone! 

I haven't posted in July at all yet - it's been a busy month! We enjoyed a 10 day vacation at Holden Beach, NC with my family {such a wonderful time!} and when we came home, we had a little bit of fresh produce to greet us: 3 cukes, a jalapeño, and some beans. We're still eagerly awaiting our tomatoes, and as you can see, they are on their way. 

Hopefully you are all enjoying summer!

PS: The cucumber plant has almost entirely taken over the garden - which is good & bad. It will likely choke out the peppers, so we aren't expecting (m)any of those. But hey, this is our first season and we're learning. Next year we may create a different planting plan, but for now we're rolling with the punches & looking forward to making some bread & butter freezer pickles!

Outdoor Pallet Bar

The pavers we got for our patio were delivered on two pallets. I recently pinned an idea using two pallets to make a cute little outdoor bar. I told Andrew about it, and he agreed this would be a great & inexpensive project for us - the best part is we feel ok leaving the finished product outside year round.

 

Andrew stood the pallets up and screwed them together for stability, and we bought 4 square pavers to put on the top. I painted the pallets with a durable outdoor paint. I chose the color "Firecracker" by Valspar. {Fun name!} 

To make the top sturdy and level, we did add a few shim boards...but other than that, this project was fast & easy. 

It's a nice addition to our patio, and a good place to set plants or pitchers of iced tea. We love the little pop of color!

Making things out of pallets is such a cool trend, thanks for reading about how I used mine!

Keep creating, DIYers!

Patio Reveal

Andrew and I worked super hard, and now we can reap the benefits. Here are the before & after shots of our new back patio. We look forward to the memories that will be made here now and for years to come!

Here is the space BEFORE:

And here it is NOW!

Veggie Time

We finally planted our veggies!

Four varieties of tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, jalapeño peppers, bush beans, spaghetti squash, pickling cucumbers, and basil.

Having BLTs with tomatoes fresh from the garden is one of our favorite summer traditions. I'm also looking forward to trying my hand at making salsa, pickles, and pasta sauce from our heirloom roma tomatoes!

We look forward to harvesting our produce.