Get 'Er Done!

We are getting things done around here.  We're taking our to-do list and crossing things off!  I love doing that!

A big project that has taken us a few months is that yard project, or rather the area around the back fence.  It was overgrown and untamed and frankly, pretty unsightly.  Not only was it ugly to us, but this area can be seen by our neighbors across the street and I'm sure they did not appreciate the view.  Here's what it looked like a couple of years ago when we first put in the fence.

Now, imagine it even worse.  The side bushes were twice that size and the weeds had taken over.  WE basically had to clear it (Noa did a lot of the work, often in the rain), put in some new soil and mulch, and plant new bushes and shrubs.  It was quite an undertaking since neither of us have a green thumb.  So, with a little help from a local nursery, we ended up with this:

I'm really happy with the plants we picked out. We have some davidii viburnum, wax myrtles, nandinas ...(granted, we had to learn what these were) but I think they'll look great once they grow up and fill out.  One plant, that's especially fun is the ruby slippers hydrangea plant. Betcha can't figure out why we picked this one (it'll grow nice and big someday)...

This is our Gold Rider Leyland Cypress, the first tree we planted in the back.

And this is another kind of cypress...a Hinoki Cypress.  This little Japanese tree is really fun and full of personality.  I love the way the branches are shaped.  Eventually this will block a lot of the gate view, which is what we are going for.  Plus, it makes me think of Japan, which makes me smile.

Here's the comparison (and yes, the grass is greener in the first pic...we're looking at the plants, people):

We are pleased with it.  Now we just need those plants to fill in a little and maybe get the grass a little greener.

Other projects have included painting the laundry room.  That was actually done by Mike and Noa.  I love the color.  Now I just need to find a cute way to organize all my laundry supplies.  Please ignore the chaos on the shelf.

And, we're starting to get some furniture in our large living room - which is a huge undertaking considering I'm pretty picky about furniture.   This has been a couple of years in the making here. Thankfully, I'm super happy about finding a couch and chair that we like - in gray - for this space.  The space isn't done, but definitely usable.  Now I don't feel as weird about having people come over and hang out on the floor.

Some of the recent projects have been unintentional, like trying to get wax out of the carpet.  I *may* have had an incident with my Scentsy burner on my way out the door the other day.  Oopsie.

 Thankfully, Google helped me find a solution.  I simply cut up some paper bags, laid them on top of the wax and grabbed my iron.  I set the iron to high (no steam) and ironed the paper.  The wax melted up onto the sheets of brown paper.

After ironing the majority of the wax off, I used basic carpet cleaner to get any leftover residue out.  Voila!  A clean and wax-free carpet!

This photo doesn't really do it justice because of the shadowing, but you get the idea.

Love the feeling of accomplishment!  Woohoo!