what a difference a year makes

We moved in a year ago yesterday! When we were unpacking and settling in, we (erroneously) thought we'd live in the house for the first year before tackling any projects. Our thinking was that we needed to get the feel of the house and we didn't want to make any rash decisions. Well...that didn't really pan out. In the first year of Schil Haus, we have tackled over 30 projects, both big and small. Things like changing out the front door, installing a fence, painting four rooms, adding insulation in the attic, switching out light fixtures, removing carpet, putting in a dog door and replacing two kitchen windows. We also didn't do things, specifically, we seeded the front and side lawns and let 'em grow. Amazing what some sunlight and fertilizer can do! 

Our project list is alive and well, and we add/subtract things as we go. The first major project we want to accomplish is having a gas line run to the house. That would allow us to then upgrade to a gas stove, switch to a tankless water heater (thus freeing up valuable space in the laundry room), and maybe get a generator. We also want to replace the kitchen counters; the counter choice will dictate what color we paint the cabinetry and walls. I'd like to replace the granite counters with a recycled glass counter. Redoing the bathrooms will happen some day, too. 

Let me be clear: there's nothing wrong with either the kitchen or bathrooms. They're perfectly functional, but the tile colors/patterns just aren't anything I'd choose. They weren't deal breakers at all, and we can live them until the time is right to change them out.

Speaking of deal breakers, as an avid HGTV watcher, I always heavy sigh at home buyers that have a massive list of deal breakers and absolutes. Brian and I each had a list of deal breakers: I needed to have two bathrooms and central A/C, while Brian wanted structurally sound and in a safe neighborhood. We won the house jackpot!

Now, the first week we moved in vs today pictures.

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year of the yard: planting things, watching them grow

Petunias, vinca, and marigolds.

Impatiens.

Impatiens, begonias and begonias.

The patio.

Onions, tomatillo and cilantro. Sweet peppers and jalapenos. Sweet basil and garlic.

year of the yard, status update

Here's where we started about a week after moving in and installing the fence:

Not great, but not the worst, either. Then we DIY'd a patio:

We continued the patio to the edge of the house (three more rows). But the winter was not kind to our yard, and we ended up with a muddy mess. Said muddy mess required wiping Joey's feet a dozen times a day - something he HATES.

Not fun, not pretty. We debated the pros and cons seeding the yard or laying sod. Seeding the yard would require keeping the dog out of the back yard for at least a month, defeating the purpose of having a fenced in yard. Sod it was. The problem with sod is that it requires prep work, and the amount of prep work is determined by how uncrappy the yard is. Unfortunately for us, ours was/is MEGA-CRAPPY. The previous ownder, Hoarder Tom, didn't believe in yard maintenance. At all. The yard is uneven, incredibly rocky, full of random stuff like lengths of chain, roofing nails, broken dish pieces, you name it, all with a web of thick vines and roots lurking just under the surface. Had we hired a landscaping company to prep the ground and lay the sod, it would have been an obscene amount of money. Brian decided to buy a tiller and do it himself.

He probably tilled this main area of the yard half a dozen times over the course of several weekends. Then we had sod delivered and put it down ourselves.

And now it looks like this:

I think Joey is the happiest about the new yard:

looking ahead

I love a fresh start, a new calendar with blank pages, a do-over. That's how I always feel at the beginning of a new year.

For us, 2012 was another good year. Since the beginning of our relationship (2008), we have been transient and constantly expecting/planning/executing/finishing a move. We lived in four different places in four years. FOUR. And for someone that likes to be home, have a routine, needs order - ME - that was a lot of change and constant never-quite-settledness. A-ha! But now we can finally take a deep breath and know we're not moving for a long time.

The purchase of our house was definitely the highlight of our year. Since moving in, we've focused on getting unpacked and really making it our home. 2013 is the Year of the Yard. We have some major projects that need to be tackled: pave the driveway, have the remaining dying/dead trees professionally removed, till the yard and start fresh. The tilling of the yard is probably the most unwieldy project on our list but it desperately needs to be done. The entire yard has layers and layers of roots and vines under the surface and there's no way we'd be able to remove them by hand successfully - or in a timely fashion. Given the state of the yard when we moved in, and how happy our neighbors have been over the teeny tiny work we've done so far, we figure we've got a while before they start to get antsy about the lack of real progress, but I don't want to press our luck. We're one of the first houses you pass as you enter the neighborhood and we really do want to make a good impression. All the projects must wait a little longer, however, because the weather here in Alexandria is wonky at best.

Christmas decor - photos!

Joey is quite taken with this ornament. I hear the little jingle bells jingle throughout the day

 

Santa band!

Joey tried to eat this one today.