DRIVEWAY TO HEAVEN

It's been awhile since I wrote about our little casa. We've done so much work over the last 22 months and I hardly have any pictures to show for it. That's got to change! This is what's happening to our driveway as I type this. 

 Finally the day has come to say good-bye to this sad, sad driveway. About once a month our neighbor would ask us if we were getting a driveway soon. I'd always say, "It's on the list."  Happily, we can cross it off by the end of the day. Can't wait to see the results.

All this was done in just an hour. We're using the broken concrete for the back yard. I'll show you that project once we're done.

And there it is with the frame still around it. What a difference. I'll take another picture later.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

While we are almost done with the month of January, I 've decided to share some TO-DO's with you for 2012 for our house. There's still so much that needs to be done our on little fixer but we have come a long way. At this point it's time to focus on the details, because as we all know, it's the details that make a difference.

1. Find a vintage white wrought iron bed frame like the one below. I LOVE this look. Love the natural fabrics on the bed.

2. Figure out our backyard. That means getting hardscape and fencing. We've already started with our Victorian arched arbors with got at Home Depot. They were raw lumber and we painted them. Quite a project to get into all the nooks and crannies. The red arbor looks a little Asian to me, but it was from Smith & Hawkins big sell out sale and was labeled "Victorian". I love both things. The wrought iron chairs are from a garage sale. We want to get them sandblasted and powder coated.

3. Paint our house. To me this looks like Pink. Our neighbor said he didn't think it was Pink... hmm. You be the judge. I'm thinking of painting it white. Mr. J thinks Green. I love green, but really want the flowers to pop out and am afraid they'll be lost with a green background. We'll see. Right now, there's nothing that is popping at all. We put in the cement pavers (free from Craigslist). Everything is a process. Okay, maybe it's really about budget:)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful new year. We kicked off New Year's Eve with an open house party. My first party of that kind ever. I learned a lot after reviewing all the left over food. There were too many sweets and not enough meats. Mental note for next time.

Water Water Everywhere and not a drop...

The house before the shrubs were removed.
Looks a little naked. There was an accident and when the roots were removed, a water pipe was hit which lead to replace the whole thing.
At the end of the day, all got put back together and tidy. Now what to plant there?

LITTLE DETAILS

This was how each window in the house looked when we bought it. The original windows had been replaced with low-e vinyl but hadn't been finished out. Oh so ugly! Until now, 7 months later.

This is in the office. We still have to sand the baseboards and put on the quarter round or is it shoe moulding? At any rate, it's so much nicer to be in here.

AND SO IT BEGINS

This is the first striking visual you see when you enter the house. All these pictures are how the house was when we first got the opportunity to go inside.

This is standing in the raised dining room looking into the living room. The couch on the right is against the wall. We do love the beamed ceiling.

This picture is taken standing in the living room peering into the dining room which she had set up as a family room.

Here is the family room/what would be the dining room.

Turn a little and you'll be able to go down this hall. The first opening on the right is the kitchen and the first opening on the left is a bedroom. Bathroom is at the end of the hall and turn the corner to the left, there's another small bedroom.

I'll continue the tour on another post.

LIONS AND TIGERS AND ESCROW, OH MY!

We are officially in escrow on this little hacienda. If all goes accordingly, we will close at the end of the month. Can't wait to take you along our journey as we fix up this diamond in the rough and let it shine.