Dream Backyard - Part Two

Here it is!!

~ Midnight Blue ~

Isn't it dreamy?? Isn't it relaxing?? Isn't it glorious??

I.love.it!!!!

It was probably the toughest design decision we had to make regarding the pool

and it turned out better than we could ever have envisioned!!

But - it took a few days to get there!!

Once they applied the color, which only took a few hours,

they immediately started filing it with water.

Here it is the day they applied it -

It had a chalk-like appearance - oh but don't worry -

we get to brush it all off -

twice a day

for 7 to 10 days.

Quite an upper arm work-out!!



Baby boy checkin' it out - he couldn't wait to get in!!

He didn't care it was only the second week of March

and still cold outside or that the water was maybe 55-60 degrees....

He got in! He got out!!

While all that was going on, we had to decide what to do with our 16 dumptruck

loads of dirt.  What did we want the landscape to look like??  Where do we have them put that dirt??

We had an idea of what we wanted, but due to the size of our yard, we had no idea where to start!!

So, we called in the professionals!!

We actually tried to call several professionals, but they either weren't accepting new clients,

were too expensive, or didn't return our phone call timely. But I think it was meant to be!!

We called Foster's Nursery & Tree Farm and it was a match made in heaven!!

We knew we wanted to do the work ourselves, we just needed some guidance - a plan!!!

So, Jim from Foster's came by our house, took notes of our ideas, took some photos of the yard,

took some measurements and headed back to the nursery. 

A few days later, we anxiously went by the nursery to check out the design plan 

and look at the actual plants and trees.

To say I was excited, would be an understatement......

This after all was the final piece - the decorative piece -

"the pretty" that would pull it all together!! 

Here is our awesome design plan!!

Jim designed our yard in a way that I never could have imagined.

Flowerbeds in places I'd never even considered!

It was beautiful - but a little overwhelming at first!!

What are all those lines and drawings?? How about all those colors??

How did he get it to scale?

It took a couple of days of me staring at the design plan, holding it up, looking out to the backyard

and trying to acclamate the drawing with our yard. 

But once I got it - I really "got it"!!!! 

I knew our yard had potential - but this was beyond my wildest dreams!!!

If you need to purchase plants or need a landscape design or landscape advice,

I HIGHLY recommend Foster's!!

They are nice, knowledgeable, and it is a locally (okc) owned family business!!

Now that we have the design plan, we need to have the dirt moved!!

A little here.................

a little there.......

While they were moving the dirt, we also had them put a couple of boulders in place.

The large rock on the right, is the "dive" rock. 

Instead of a diving board, we opted for this large boulder.

Once the dirt was moved, we outlined the flowerbeds with the waterhoses and began

placing the plants........

The Man - my pool boy, my yard boy, my love!!!

We think we have it where we want it - now we have to plant it all!!

oh my!!! That's manual labor!!

Well, we also need some new grass!!  Bring on the rolls of sod!!

The sod is all down, the plants are all planted,

now let the watering begin!!

Bringing in some more boulders for the landscape!!

Love this moss rock!!!

The Man is creating a rock border for my roses.................

The mounds of dirt are for trees.........One or two will be transplanted from our front yard,

the others will be purchased later on.

The landscaping has been alot of work, and we have so much more to do,

like the edging, planting trees and annuals, adding mulch, etc.....

and patio furniture!! That was a fun purchase!!

If one was rich, you could seriously make your backyard more comfortable than your living room!!!

These pictures were all taken a few weeks ago, so it has changed quite a bit -

I'll get more pictures posted soon!!

We are so in love with this and so excited to get it completed

so we can share it with family and friends!!

This is truly a dream come true!!!



What I Wore Wednesday

Wow! The past week has been crazy busy!!

We have been working in the backyard making lots of progress!

I'll show you photos of that later this week!

Because I've been working in the yard, I only have a few pictures for

What I Wore Wednesday.  I didn't want to scare you away with my

"yard-working" attire, so - lucky for you, no photos of that!!!

Of course, I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy and will post the photos I do have

and hope you will pop-in over there for some additional fashion inspiration!!

Thursday - run errands

white ruffled shirt - gap

cardigan - gap

heart necklace - gift from my oldest daughter

coin necklace - found in old sofa

leopard/heart bracelet - jcp

boyfriend jeans - gap (I've ordered some new ones - hope they fit right!!)

leopard print flats - kohl's

 Friday - hanging around the house

plaid hat - kohl's

black cardigan - old navy

white v-neck - gap

black tank - old navy

jeans - gap

necklace - premier designs

gold earrings - kohl's

black flip-flops - walmart

 Monday - running errands

white v-neck long sleeved tshirt - gap

jeans - gap

pink/white ruffled scarf - The Pleated Poppy

leopard print flats - kohl's

So, there you have it!!

With the weather warming up, I hope I can come up with some better outfits!

Something a little more exciting than a cardigan everyday........but they are so comfortable

and so versatile!! I really haven't met a cardigan that I didn't like, so I figure they

will continue to be a staple in my wardrobe.  But I will try new things this spring -

Maybe I'll throw a dress or skirt in the mix - and I'll wear my wedges -

That's really out of my comfort zone - but for the sake of "What I Wore" - I'll do it!!

Have a great day, my friends!!!

What I Wore Wednesday

Here we are and it's already Wednesday!!!

You what that means -

I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for a little fashion inspiration!!

Please join me and all the other fabulous ladies to get out of your sweats and leggings

and throw on something cute each day (well, at least most days!) -

Believe me, I can't do it everyday, but when I do get dressed in my "real" clothes,

I usually feel better about myself and have an extra spring in my step!!

I know, I know - It's all in my head - but that's ok!!

Sometimes it's the silly things like that - that make life happy!!

Thursday - I had a doctor's appointment and went to the fabric store.

 Oh!!! I love the fabric store! Beautiful fabric is one of my many weaknesses!!

When I see all the fabric, I want to re-decorate my whole house!!

So, needless to say - I usually don't tell The Man that I'm going to the fabric store!!

striped pink/white tshirt - old navy ($4 - and I love, love this shirt)

floral scarf - old navy

silver bracelets - 2 are brighton and 4 are cheap wire bangles I've had forever!

 

Sunday - Wow! I look a little mad in this picture -

But I'm not - I was getting ready to go shopping with my sister!!!

Maybe I was already stressing about trying on jeans :(

 argyle cardigan - old navy

yellow v-neck - gap

skinny jeans - gap

gray flats - payless

Love the sweet little flowers on my flats!!

Monday - It was really cold and dreary on this day!

But lucky for me, I bought this adorable navy coat for $38 the day before!!!

I had to run some errands, so I thought while I was out, I would 

deliver some cupcakes to my daddy's work! 

favorite boyfriend jeans - gap

navy coat - gap

striped scarf - the loft

boots - dillards

white v-neck tshirt - gap

gold hoop earrings - kohls

Tuesday - another cold and dreary day, but I didn't have to leave the house except to take

my son to school and drive around my neighborhood because it was big junk pick-up day!!! 

gray leggings - kohls

white sweatshirt - another bargain I found on Sunday - old navy - $8

black flip-flops - walmart

That's it for now!! Again, nothing too exciting in my wardrobe!

I have noticed I wear alot of cardigans and scarves and I really need some new jeans!!!

But I can't find any that fit right!!

 I tried on several pairs at The Gap and Old Navy, but didn't like any of them!!

So for now, y'all will have to continue to see the same three pairs.

Sorry 'bout that!! But I'll keep shopping and looking!!

Thanks for stopping by and please go check out the other ladies over at The Pleated Poppy!!

Have a great day!!!

Spring Wreath

First,  I would like to say thank you for such positive feedback about my backyard project!!

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos and hope you will stick around for the final pool reveal.

It really is our dream backyard and we are anxiously awaiting its completion.

There is still much work to be done and we are working on it as weather and time permits.

We are looking forward to many outdoor get-togethers with family and friends!!

Now, onto the actual post -

It is a dreary day here in Oklahoma - cold and drizzly -

I decided I should spruce up my front door with a new spring wreath

hoping it would brighten my day!!

Because of the weather, I didn't want to have to leave the house,

so I just worked with what I had "stashed" in my craft room.

It started with this regular ole grapevine wreath.

It looked kind of bare just hanging there all naked!!

So I dug through my stash to see what I could find and ended up with this -

I had a piece of upholstery webbing, a spring floral spray,

a couple of skeleton key Christmas ornaments, and a remnant piece of burlap -

Tie it all together -

add a few dabs of hot glue here and there -

and Ta-Da -

A new spring wreath for the front door!

Nothing fancy or expensive - just a little touch of spring!!

What's hanging on your front door to greet friends (and the UPS man)??

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

My Dream Backyard

Hello - hello - anyone - anyone still out there???

Sorry for the lack of blog posts, but here is the reason I haven't been able to focus on any

projects lately!!  We have a huge project going on right here in our own backyard!!

I've gone back and forth with whether or not I should do this post -

because I don't want to seem boastful or like I'm bragging about this

or saying "look at what I have". 

That is not the case at all!!

This is about a dream

and the biggest design project to ever happen in my life!!!

Plus, I started my blog to document the projects I'm working on, as well, as inspiration I find

from others.  This project is all about finding inspiration from other people and sources.

I love all things related to design - great before and after photos and seeing projects completed.

This post is about all of those things - happening right here at the farmhouse!!

The Man and I have many pictures pulled from magazines, dog-eared pages in landscaping books,

ideas in our heads, on paper napkins, on notebook pages, many pictures saved in my favorites file and

much time logged on our back porch visualizing our dream and how great it would be

 to have it come to fruition so we could share it with family and friends! 

Due to the number of photos I have, I will do this in several posts, so please hang in there with me!!! 

The actual project started January 17, 2011 with a spray painted outline in my backyard!!

The perfect blank slate!

 It was a wide open space begging for something - anything - but we had a plan and didn't want to spend time or money on landscaping that we knew would be temporary and/or interfere with our grand plan.

So, for over 6 years, we've lived with the empty backyard - just waiting for this day!

Yay!!! Momma's gettin' a swimming pool!!!!!

January 18, 2011 - I was so excited this on day!!!

It's actually happening!!! 

   

They weren't messing around!! We had this huge hole in our backyard the first day of digging.

My baby boy!! He can't wait to get in - water or not!

Boys will be boys - no matter what age!! He loved "playing" on the dirt pile.

By the way, they dug up about 16 dumptruck loads of dirt to create this dream dirt pile for my son.

We asked to keep the dirt for our landscaping project!!!!  That's ALOT of dirt! Hope we can use it all!

The re-bar, electrical and plumbing were all set -

This was a busy day on the cul-de-sac!!!

Three huge trucks showed up to spray the gunite (concrete type stuff) as the pool base.

All this only took about 4 hours and was a little messy!!

They had to place a temporary tarp wall to keep it from blowing on the house.

This was an exciting day because we could actually see what the pool was going to look like!!

We had them create a suntan ledge and a few benches into the walls.

(see how large the yard is)

We had to make a trip to the rockyard to pick out the stone we wanted as the coping around the edges.

 I wanted stone instead of brick for a more natural look.  Picking out the stone was easy!!

The tile - not so much!!!

I had a really difficult time with this and wasn't confident in my decision

 until the pool was filled with water. 

Here's The Man watering the gunite!! We had to keep it wet so it wouldn't crack. That was a little

nerve wracking to know that we could be the cause of a crack so early on in the project!!

I love the flagstone we picked out and most of the time it looked great with the tile.

But there were days when it appeared peach, instead of tan. Not what I had envisioned at all!!!

Well, we got to this point really quickly - then it snowed - twice!! This caused a 2 week delay.

The pool full of ice and snow.

The snow finally melted, but there was still ice. Thick ice in the deep end of my pool!!

Yay!! It's finally melting!

Let's get this party started again!!



Doing a little dirt work in prepartion for the patio and decking.



Wow!! That's going to be a big patio!!!

The patio and decking are completed and I'm freaking out!!!

You know how things looks all "wonky" in a funhouse mirror??

Well, that's what my new patio and deck looked like to me. It was a sea of wonky concrete!!

I cried!!

We paid extra money for all this concrete and it looked ridiculous!

It slanted and sloped -

and how was someone going to sit upright in their chair??

I called The Man

I called Greg - our pool contractor -

Greg said it looked fine. I called The Man again - I cried.  He called Greg.

I wasn't happy!! Not sure what could be done at this point, but I WAS NOT happy!

Greg came back out and looked at it again and surveyed it to make sure it was ok -

I'm sure this was just to satisfy this hormonal crazy woman -

but again, he said it was "slanted and sloped" the way it needed to be for proper drainage

and assured me it would look good and I should just wait until it was all completed

to make my final determination.

Oh yeah, right?? Wait til it's completed so nothing could be done??

So, that's what I did!! I waited and waited!! 

And I'll give you a heads-up. It did turn out looking great!!

Greg did know what he was talking about!! I should have believed the professional!!

On top of being unsure about the patio and decking, we had to pick out a pool color.

Not by looking at life size pools, but looking at 2x2inch color samples.

What?? You think picking out paint colors is difficult - this kept me awake at nightt!!

 We didn't want it too dark, we didn't want it too light, didn't want it to look like

a motel swimming pool, and didn't want it to be a "trendy" color that would be outdated in a

couple of years. I wanted it to be the color I visualized in my mind, but what "color" is that??? 

I can decorate a house, but take me outside and my mind goes completely blank!

I can't visualize the space -

Everything I know about decorating my house just comes naturally -

but outside -

NOT SO MUCH!!!

So, this is where I'll leave you for now - contemplating a pool color!!!

I'll post more later this week.  Thanks for hanging in there!!

I promise the "after" photos will be worth the wait!!

What I Wore Wednesday

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!!

Last week was Spring Break and I wasn't very motivated to do much of anything

and this week I'm trying to catch-up on everything I didn't do last week!! 

I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday.

I did have to get dressed a couple of times over the past week, so this post didn't

require much imagination or motivation, which I seem to be lacking lately!

I hope to get my "groove" back soon!!!!

Thursday - St. Patrick's Day

Get your green on!!!

I had to run to the grocery store for a few items.

I did wear green - but no make-up and my hair was in a pony-tail!! 

It was Spring Break!

green/white checked snap front shirt - old navy

green tank - old navy

boyfriend jeans - old navy

flip flops - born

Friday - went to the airport to pick-up my aunt and uncle who flew in from Alaska!!

I love them!! They are wonderful people!!!

favorite jeans - gap

blue v-neck tshirt - gap

white tank - old navy

blue/gray grandpa sweater - clearance for $7 at gap

shoes - my bobs!!

Sunday - ran errands with The Man!

I love him, too!!

favorite jeans - gap

green cardigan - old navy

yellow v-neck tshirt - target

white lace trimmed tank - old navy

necklace - premier designs

shoes - burlap toms (love these shoes!!)

Love the writing on my shirt!! 

It says - imagine, love, dream, believe, happiness, dream, imagine, love, believe, happiness

Please go check out the other blogs over at The Pleated Poppy for a little fashion inspiration!!

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse!!