This whole weekend comprised of hot muggy days outside... Our goal was to remove some of the trees that were growing too close to the house and prep it for painting. We ended up doing a LOT more than that...

Proof that I worked and didn't just take pictures the whole time :)


Antonio with his big boy toy:


1st task: remove the fence swallowing tree:


aaand scene!

Next task... a little bit larger

I gave it a nice little haircut:

but it wasnt enough for antonio and he completely removed it :(

playing with trees

daddy came out and was a tremendous help with those stinkin stumps!

the next up on the chopping list (while maria temporarily fixes the broken door):

removed:

massive overgrowth:

massive trimming:

massive yard mess:

next up on the list:

-haul away all those branches

-pressure wash the house

-paint the house

oh and we hit a slight little speed bump.. our water bill is showing a possible intermittent leak.. either that or the 2 times we flushed the toilet so far in the house consumed over 2000 gallons of water... so really THAT is the priority on our "to do's".. darn.

paint, paint, paint

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best mom in the world!!! We are going to have a celebration when she gets back because she is in Venezuela for Abuela's funeral today.

As for house matters... we have been agonizing all week over what to paint the exterior! Here are the inspiration pics:

tan with black shutters and red door:

or same concept.. gray with black shutters and red door:

pale yellow with white trim

light coral:

sage green:

light blue with white trim

i really like them all!! but I think we ultimately decided on sage green, with white trim/doors, and black for the iron railing and decorative shutters around the windows. Can't find a picture online of how I see it in my head (which makes me nervous)... but let's hope for the best :)

Abuela

Today was a tough day, as we received the news from my mom that my abuela had passed away. We are relieved that her pain has been taken away, but grieved that she will no longer be able to share her stories, songs, and dances with us. She was truly one of a kind, the life of the party, and always made sure to look beautiful no matter the occasion. Abuela, you will be missed... I hope you know how much we love you.

Safety First!

So today we were very excited to embark on our first project... the plans were to change the locks (since the previous owners rented it out and we had no idea who might have keys at this point.. we only got 1 copy in closing) and then maybe trim some of the landscape to prepare for painting and actually decide on final paint colors...

But somehow the seemingly small task of switching out the locks took much longer than expected! and it was all we got done... Part of that was my fault though... as when we pulled up to the house and tried to get in- I quickly remembered that I had locked the door from the inside with the lock that we did not have a key to!

SO... we had to figure out another way to get in! First idea... back door. It was obviously locked too but Antonio thought he could push in the security screen behind the glass.. and as he pulled the glass open it immediately broke!:


bummer... at least we will be getting a new door anyways!


when that obviously wasn't working, we remembered the window on the front side of the house (in the guest bedroom) that never could close all the way.. so in front of some of the new (probably now suspicious) neighbors, antonio managed to pry the window open and irreversibly bend the screen in so that he could slip through.. and SUCCESS! we were back in :) and now the guest bedroom window has moved to a much higher spot on our to-do list!


now that we were back in the game, we got all of our materials out and ready to start!

front door "demolition" haha:

antonio working hard and looking at me like an idiot for taking AWESOME pictures! ;P

the old ugly knob:

the pretty new shiny knob!:

and we did it! one whole set on... try not to get distracted by the hideous door it's on... it is a temporary fix till we get a pretty new front door!

and another speed bump... the bottom inner frame piece does not fit:

so we left it off for now.. this will have to eventually be fixed- too ugly to leave alone:


on to the back door:

he had some issues getting the old knob off lol:

but definately more quick and efficient the 2nd time around! and again, sorry for the gross door... just focus on the pretty shiny locks!

after all this we sorted through some stuff in the garage and found some really neat things! crazy old pictures and paintings and more china and letters from the 1880's.. here is an original st pete times from 1963 when kennedy was assassinated!:

well even though this tiny little thing took way longer than it should have, and it's still not completely finished.. it feels good to have done our first project! i'm a little nervous about the bigger things- like gutting the master bath and remodeling the kitchen... but we are prepared to just take things one at a time and hope for the best!

Pictures!

our street!:

never thought we would be living on a cute little cul-de-sac!

our house (the ugly duckling on the street):

it was pretty surreal having the key in our hands :)

front porch:

living room (antonio looks like he is marking his territory lol):

living room again.. looking back towards the front door (with some owners furniture they left):

the enclosed porch off the back (owners furniture):

dining room with poop brown walls.. and owners furniture:

our criteria was to have a garage... and we got a huge 2 car one! with left over tools lol:

part of the kitchen.. the previous people moved the washer and dryer from the garage to inside.. we will most likely move it back into garage and add more counter space...:

puke yellow kitchen (but nice cabinets!):

little breakfast nook area off of the kitchen:

main hallway with big closet:

peachy pink hall bathroom:

nice sized guest bedroom:

love the closets in this room:

master bedroom:

walk in closet! woo hoo!:

ugliest master bath in history:

nice big backyard :)

back of house showing desperately needed paint job:

and the best part... our front door is about 2.5 miles from THIS!

so as you can see... we have a BIG project ahead of us... but we are both excited to dive into the world of DIY and watch this house transform into our own :)

1st plan of action: exterior paint/new entry door/lots of landscape trimming...

COMING SOON :)