The House on the Hill Blog

Week three and things are starting to take shape! We made lots of progress this weekend/week and I’m feeling pretty good about finishing in the 6 weeks this time.

PATIO

Friday our bulk gravel was delivered. The delivery driver dumped it in the driveway for us which was the most convenient place we could get it. For local readers, we used Southern Mulch and they were so nice to work with. Both the person who took my order over the phone and the delivery guy were so nice and helpful. 10/10 definitely recommend. Originally we had looked at buying bagged stone from Home Depot but we needed to cover almost 400sqft just for the patio area and it ended up being much cheaper to go the bulk route.

I was so excited when it got delivered but I also felt like the pile looked so much smaller than I thought it would and I kind of questioned if I had done my order right. Spoiler alert: I did. Kyle had to inch worm my car out of the garage Sunday to get around the pile so I’d be able to go to the office on Monday.

Saturday morning we were both able to get out and clear the patio area again. We’ve had a lot of rain and wind so there were a lot of leaves and limbs down that needed to be picked up and we had to dig next to a few of the bricks where the dirt had piled up again. We were able to rake everything out pretty quickly and cover the area with landscaping fabric to help keep weeds from coming up through the gravel.

And then OG woke up from her first <20 minute nap of the day (sick infants are fun!) and Kyle was on his own to load up and spread wheelbarrows full of gravel.

He was able to get the entire area spread and even moved the sectional, fire pit, and torches to the space just to see how everything was looking. I still need to scrape the rust off of the sectional frame and touch up with some rust proof spray paint which will probably happen this weekend. I might also spray a couple of coats of high heat black paint on the torches since they are a bit faded from the sun.

And in case you’ve forgotten the before (as if you could ever get this image out of your brain):

Anyway, the real trick over here has been trying to keep the dogs from using it as their pee pit. They have an entire yard to run around in and pee but they’ve been loving using the bathroom over here (another reason we wanted to put some rock down). We’re having mixed results right now and it’s like potty training puppies all over again.

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I was going to stain the adirondack kits that we picked up on end of season clearance at Home Depot and then build them this weekend but last minute I decided to order a sprayer to make my life so much easier. It should get here Friday so I’ll probably go ahead and build them this week and stain them this weekend.

I am already itching to sit around the fire pit and the weather is perfect for it! We might have to start sitting out there after OG goes to bed to enjoy it.

The next big project for this part of the yard is to build the baby swing arbor along the yard side of the patio. We’ve been wanting to get a swing for OG but there aren’t really any good branches for us to use because all of our trees are so tall and there aren’t many low branches. The arbor will be pretty simple and I plan on building it with planters on either side that we can plant seasonally. Here’s a very a professional sketch of what I’m thinking:

I actually started building the first planter yesterday but then I snapped my pilot bit in two places and gave up.

Here’s our updated to-do list for the patio:

-Clean out junk
–Clear ground – pull weeds and small trees, move large stones, rake out area
-Dig out next to bricks to allow space for gravel
-Weed current brick walkway – In Progress
-Lay extra bricks to complete existing brick walkway
-Order gravel to have delivered
-Lay weed fabric
-Spread gravel
-Pressure wash siding and brick
-Build/Stain adirondack kits (purchased at Home Depot during End of Season clearance) – In Progress
-Remove rust from outdoor sectional – In Progress
-Build/stain outdoor console table
-Hang cafe lights
-Finish existing privacy screen? (Decided against this)
-Decorate/Style space
-Build arbor/baby swing stand – In Progress

WALKWAY

We didn’t do much in the walkway area because the patio needed to be filled in first. Plus, Sunday was pretty chilly and dreary for the first half of the day. We are holding on filling the walkway with gravel because we need to pour our pavers first. Kyle was able to put together 2 of the 5 concrete forms from lumber we already had in our garage.

We are hoping to get the forms set in place and pour the pavers this weekend as long as the weather cooperates and once those have cured we can remove the forms and spread gravel. I’m hoping we have enough gravel left over to widen the walkway area so that my planters aren’t sitting on dirt but we’ll see.

Our to-do list remains unchanged for the walkway but we’re hoping to knock out several items this weekend and then I think the hardest parts will be over!

-Clear junk
-Rake out/remove existing mulch
-Remove weeds
-Remove monkey grass that has regrown
-Transplant plum trees (not enough light in current location)
-Clean up/remove surrounding foilage
-Pressure wash
-DIY large concrete pavers
-DIY concrete pad for trash/yard waste containers
-Build/Stain privacy screen for trash/yard waste containers
-Hang cafe lights? (Might look nice to have some here, too)
-Fill in with gravel
-Build planters

This is what I’m hoping to get done before next week’s post but I think it’s supposed to rain Saturday which is normally our big work day:

-Weed brick border
-Remove rust from outdoor sectional
-Build/stain adirondacks
-Start building planters/arbor
-Pour concrete pavers
-Build/stain privacy screen

Make sure you check out the rest of the guest participants right here!

Today is Thursday which means it’s Week Two of the One Room Challenge!

We did not get a lot done this week but we already knew that going in. We had a crazy weekend and I wasn’t even in town most of Sunday so the fact that anything got done is a miracle and it’s all thanks to Kyle’s parents. They came over on Sunday while I was gone to help watch OG and work on clearing out the walkway.

Here’s how the walkway looked prior to last weekend:

And here’s how it looked after Kyle and his dad cleared it out:

They were able to clear out the junk (which still needs to go to the dump), rake out the mulch, and transplant the two still living plum trees to an area on the other side of the house that gets more sun.

We still have a really long way to go but having both areas mostly cleared out gives us a blank slate and this weekend we should see huge progress assuming the weather cooperates! Our gravel is being delivered on Friday so our plan is to get started early Saturday laying weed fabric down in the patio area and then covering that with the gravel.

Oh and because we don’t have enough to do, I’ve already added at least 2 more projects to our list so I’m hoping I might be able to get to those too but I have a feeling moving loads of gravel to the backyard is going to take most of the weekend and all of our energy. I might have to start taking advantage of the little bit of evening I have after OG goes to bed but we’ll see.

Here’s our updated to-do list including the new projects:

Patio:
-Clean out junk
–Clear ground – pull weeds and small trees, move large stones, rake out area
-Dig out next to bricks to allow space for gravel
-Weed current brick walkway – In Progress
-Lay extra bricks to complete existing brick walkway
-Order gravel to have delivered
-Pressure wash siding and brick
-Build/Stain adirondack kits (purchased at Home Depot during End of Season clearance)
-Remove rust from outdoor sectional
-Build/stain outdoor console table
-Hang cafe lights
-Finish existing privacy screen? (Not sure on this one)
-Decorate/Style space
-Build arbor/baby swing stand – NEW!

Walkway
-Clear junk
-Rake out/remove existing mulch
-Remove weeds
-Remove monkey grass that has regrown
-Transplant plum trees (not enough light in current location)
-Clean up/remove surrounding foilage
-Pressure wash
-DIY large concrete pavers
-DIY concrete pad for trash/yard waste containers
-Build/Stain privacy screen for trash/yard waste containers
-Hang cafe lights? (Might look nice to have some here, too)
-Fill in with gravel
-Build planters – NEW!

This was a weird week. It felt really fast and really slow all at the same time. Part of me thinks “FINALLY the weekend” and another part of me thinks “Friday already?!”

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I said in my last Friday post that I was going to decorate for Fall this week but that hasn’t happened yet other than the 3 heirloom pumpkins sitting on the porch that I bought from Publix the other day. I think this heat and humidity is making me a curmudgeon about Fall even though I’m normally all over it. I’ve also been insanely busy at work for the last several months so when I’m at home I like to just not do much of anything.

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I also said I was hoping to get a post up about our bedroom but I didn’t do that either. Next week, I promise! I want to make sure I have pictures but our room (and entire house) is a disaster zone. Yes, I realize this has never stopped me before but ya know the times they are a changing, I guess. There’s a to-do list down at the bottom of this post if you’re interested.

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Last weekend we went up to Autumn at Oz in Beech Mountain with friends. Kyle and I went up to Beech for the first time earlier this summer and fell in love. It’s a small ski town in North Carolina and something about it is super charming. The views are incredible and the weather has been gorgeous both times we went. The airbnb we stayed in this time could have been better – there were a few issues we either didn’t pay enough attention to in the listing (our fault) or weren’t made aware of (host’s fault). We’re thinking about making it an annual thing although next year I think we want to check out nearby Banner Elk which also looks cute. If you follow me on Instagram (or if you check out my sidebar here) you got to see a couple of snaps from our visit to the Yellow Brick Road at the Land of Oz.

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I am 6 weeks away from my 10k and have been slacking super hard on training. I need to get off my butt and get back to running. Right now I’m maxed out on 3 miles and I haven’t gone on a run in a week or two.

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We’re also just a few weeks out from the Fall One Room Challenge and we have officially decided on our space which means I really, really need to finish up our bedroom. Off the top of my head here is what needs to get done:

• Move sconces
• Move rug from foyer
• Finish closet tv nook
• Paint doors
• Touch up paint walls
• Hang art
• Move over-sized mirror out of room (it just doesn’t fit now that we’ve moved the bed)

It’s really not a long list it’s just buckling down and getting it done!

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Hope you all enjoy your weekend and stay safe if you’re in Florence’s path!

I feel like I should come up with a clever title for these posts but my brain is basically mush these days so for now “Friday” stays.

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We’ve got exciting weekend plans but I’m not going to go into those until next week. I’m sure you’ll all be on the edge of your seats until my next post, right?

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We rearranged our master bedroom last week to try to see if that sparked any desire or motivation to get the room done and while we still have a lot to do (and we’ve even added a project or two to our list), I definitely think the new furniture layout feels better. I didn’t think it made any sense when I thought about it but now that we’ve lived with it for almost a week it definitely feels more natural. Hoping to have a progress post on that next week!

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I can’t believe we’re already a week into September! OG is 8 months today and we should be right around the corner from the Fall One Room Challenge. I have a space in mind for this year but it’s a space I kind of want to have done before the challenge even starts so I don’t know, we’ll just have to see what happens! If we don’t finish the bedroom soon we won’t have time to work on it until the challenge anyway so it might be a moot (moo?) point.

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Football is back which means our Sundays are pretty much all planned out for the next several months. It also means fantasy football has started back up and I cut down to two leagues this year so we’ll see how well I do at managing them.

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I’m going to start decorating for Fall around the house next week and I’m so excited! I normally start September 1st (I know Fall starts on the 22nd but whatever) but I just haven’t had a chance or the energy. Just a few more weeks until we pull out the Halloween decorations!

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Hope you guys have a great weekend!

 

 

I can’t decide if this week was super long or super short. All I know for sure is that I’m so glad it’s Friday!

Work has been crazy lately. This is one of my busiest times of the year and I have a ton to do but I’m having trouble finding the motivation to just get it done.

Sleep has been hit or miss lately which probably doesn’t help the lack of motivation.

I finally moved the new lamp into its place in our bedroom and I’m not digging it. I love the lamp but I think the shape of it might be too similar to the shades on the sconces on either side of our bed so it just looks like a row of lamps. I feel like I need to move the couch in our room to the wall instead of in front of the windows so that the lamp is not in the same view as our sconces but then our large standing mirror doesn’t have a home. I realize you probably have no clue what I’m talking about since I haven’t shown any good (or current) photos of the space.

We harvested a bunch of japalenos from our garden the other day and need to figure out what to do with them this weekend. I think we’re between jalapeno popper dip, stuffed jalapenos, and pepper jelly. I love pepper jelly but we’ve never canned anything before and the recipe calls for other peppers too that we would have to buy but I kind of like the idea of having something that will last us a while versus something we eat in one sitting. On the other hand, jalapeno popper dip is freaking delicious and we haven’t had it in forever.

I am so over summer. Sorry heat lovers but I’m ready for fall! I’m tired of sweating behind my knees and having to run first thing in the morning (but I can’t even get out early enough to beat the heat most days because of my pumping schedule). Give me cooler temperatures and warm beverages ASAP.

We’re going back up to Beech Mountain in a few weeks for Autumn at Oz at Land of Oz and I’m so excited! It’s such a cute park and this time we’re going with a couple of our best friends and their daughter. Plus it’ll probably be in the 60s and gorgeous and I wish we were going now. I’m hoping we can make it an annual visit.

Things we’re hoping to get done this weekend: mow the yard, get some work done in the master bedroom, go swimming. We’ll see how it goes!

Happy weekend!

 

• I have been sick for 80% of this week and it has been terrible. I’m finally on the mend and was able to eat solid food at every meal yesterday but oh man it was rough there for a while. I lost almost 1.5lbs in 3 days so silver lining, I guess?
• Our garden is exploding and I’m so excited! Summer in the South means we get at least one pop up storm every single day and our plants are loving it. The downside to all the rain is that our grass grows an inch every day and we have limited mowing time. We also desperately need to weed around the box and add rock to keep things neat and low maintenance.

• I’m 90% sure we’re going to end up foregoing crown in the master bedroom. Right now it seems like a lot of work for not a lot of payoff. The downside is that I didn’t paint all the way to the ceiling because I thought it would be covered so either way we’ll have to put in some work. Painting seems easier though. Hmmmm.
• We bought the dog gate for our bedroom so now  all we need to do is lay the floors in the sink area and then we can move the dogs over! I’m so ready to get the giant dog crates folded down and put away.
• We bought this lamp during a sale at Target for our bedroom, too. I’m usually not a big brass fan but don’t mind touches here and there (like the mirror in our foyer) and I think it’ll look really pretty with the navy walls. I tried putting it together downstairs yesterday but failed miserably. Luckily I have Kyle and he put it together while I was nursing OG last night. Now we just have to figure out how to get it upstairs because the marble base is HEAVY.

• I don’t think we have a lot planned for this weekend. We might check out a local farmer’s market we haven’t been to yet and we definitely need to get the lawn mowed and some cleaning done inside. Work on the master bedroom would be awesome but we’ll see how our timing works out!
• Happy weekend!

• I don’t post a lot of memes but this one really spoke to me this week and every week for forever. I have been insanely busy at work and I don’t really see that changing in the near future.

• Last weekend my mom took us and OG out to see Madagascar at the children’s theater. We didn’t think she’d last very long but she did better than we thought she would. She definitely preferred the upbeat musical numbers to the scenes in between but we got a good 30 minutes out of her before calling it a night.

• We filled up the tiny baby pool on Sunday and spent some time letting OG splash around and it gave us major pool fever. I used to think that I wasn’t really a “pool person” but it turns out I’m just more of a private pool person. I’ve been pinning a million above ground pools but we have things to finish up inside the house before we even think about moving back outside.

 

• On the house front, Kyle installed a Nest thermostat downstairs. Very exciting stuff here but now I have to re-paint the hallway wall because we painted around the old thermostat which was much larger. Whoops.

 

• Monday was my 30th birthday and I took the day off to get a long massage, have lunch with a friend, and chop my hair off. For anyone who might be curious, 30 doesn’t feel much different than 29 so far and it has a lot of competition for best year ever but I think it’ll be a good one.

 

• Today is Gatsby’s 8th birthday! He’s the first pet we ever adopted. Here’s one of my favorite photos of us from a million years ago when he was probably 1-2 years old and we lived in an apartment full of free furniture and I was skinny. Those were the days! I promise he loves me even if his face says otherwise.

• We have exciting plans this weekend which I’ll talk all about next week. In the meantime, I’ll just keep pinning pools we can’t afford and putting off finishing the foyer and master bedroom because that’s what I’m best at!

Woah buddy, am I good at disappearing for weeks at a time or what? I’ll be honest, we haven’t done anything since my last ORC post other than planting the garden and installing the barn door. We’re still not even finished with our ORC space but there’s a reason and I’ll get into that in a later post.

For now, I thought it would be nice to check back in on our 2018 goals since we’re almost halfway through the year and talk about how plans are changing going forward.

Let’s get to it.

Master Bedroom

I’ve been thinking a lot about this space lately and how I want to get back in and finish it off. There’s really not a ton that needs to be done and with the amount of time I’ve been spending in there snuggling with OG before she goes to bed it would be nice to have a more finished/polished space. This is definitely still on the list for this year and we just need to talk and figure out if we want to go back and finish this room before finishing the foyer.

Outstanding projects:

• Add crown moulding
• Build in dog crates
• Add shelving above dog crates
• Paint doors
• Hang art

Master Bathroom

There are a lot of giant question marks here. Do we just have the tub re-plumbed? Do we go ahead and build in a shower instead? How far do we go right now?

Still in the cards for 2018? TBD. Depends on what we decide. At the very least I’d like to get drywall up and our toilet put back in.

Foyer

This space was our Spring One Room Challenge space and it has come so far but still has a long way to go. Definitely finishing this one this year.

• Remove mudroom bench and re-do floors in foyer (I’ll explain in a later post)
• Patch wall where new thermostat was installed
• Buy/install longer barn door track and re-hang door (our track is a little short and doesn’t allow the door to open fully)
• Install/Paint new baseboards
• Install/Paint new crown moulding

Family Room

I’d still like to knock this room out this year as well but for now saying TBD.

• Paint
• Replace all trim (baseboard, crown, window, etc)
• Built-ins for TV wall
• Purchase decor (curtains, rug, etc)

Guest Room

LOL Nope. Maybe in 2019. Kyle did finish installing the new flooring at least.

Linen Closet

Yes, this is happening because I’m tired of our towels being used as cat beds.

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So, to recap:

2018: Master bedroom, Foyer, Linen Closet
2019: Guest room
TBD: Master bathroom, Family Room

Bonus item: We are hoping to fence in the rest of our yard this year. The lattice is failing and our dogs like to spend a lot of time outside so we need to make sure we have a safe, secure place for them.