We tackled this hedge first. You can see from the arrows how the cut vs. un-cut looks. I didn’t realize how crazy the hedge had become. The hedge is probably about thirty feet long and the trimming took about half an hour. Not bad for some major results.

Next on the list, was more leaf cleaning. I counted the other day and we have over twenty trees in our yard alone and that doesn’t count any of the neighbor’s that hang over in our yard. To say that the leaves are out of control is a major understatement. When we were cleaning the leaves out last week, we found some large, rock stepping stones that lead to the back yard. I guess we never cleaned the leaves good enough last summer to find them. They were a nice surprise.

I mentioned a few weeks’ ago that Luke was on a business trip. Well, I surprised him with having three truck loads of rock shoveled along the front of our yard.

Here is the before:

My Grandpa took me to get the rock loads. I shoveled and he raked them in to place. What a huge difference it made.

After:

Our list for the outside is as never-ending as the inside.

This year we hope to accomplish:

- Getting our fountain on the back porch to work (need a solar pump?)

- Adding mulch to our flower beds

- Continue to take out dead branches and plants (I think we have about 8 dead bushes to go)

- Beautify the front door area (or start on it) (DIY Topiary?)

- Make our back patio more inviting

- Finish with the gutter guards before Fall

- Make the playset safer by adding dirt/grass to level

I’ll keep you updated as we go along!

Table – Goodwill $10

Chairs – Craigslist $10 (plus $8 for fabric to reupholster them)

White Garden Chairs – Overstock $130 (used a coupon and they were cheaper at the time)

Dip Dye Curtains – West Elm $52

Roman Shade – Home Depot $71

Hanging (PLASTIC) Plates – Marshals on clearance last year $.92

Placemat – Target (only sold in sets online) $3.49

Wine Rack, Vase, West Elm Bowl and Antique glass cup – all already owned

Credenza – Craigslist $100

DIY Ikat Painting – $40

Striped Art Frames – already owned (used to be mirrors, but I covered them with wrapping paper)

Brown wicker vase – bought at Target years ago

Pillow – already owned (made with West Elm napkins)

Paint – Free (had all of it on-hand)

Total = $425.41

So, I think I did pretty well on everything price-wise. One way I always save money is to buy gift cards online before I shop at Home Depot and Lowe’s. I generally buy from Plastic Jungle (although they just stopped their services) and Cardpool. I like the electronic gift cards because you can use them almost immediately. The usual rate of savings is 7%.

I always shop on the clearance isles and will buy something months ahead of time if I think it will work in our house.

I saved quite a bit of money in this room by buying off the shelf roman shades. You would have never guessed it, but the roman shade is about three inches too big on both sides. Since I was layering the shade with curtains, I knew no one would ever know that the shades didn’t fit perfectly.

Do you have any other money saving tips?

Our List:

Updating the Chandelier

Buying and Updating the Table

Buying and Refinishing the Chairs

Adding Garden Chairs

Adding the Dresser

DIY Ikat Painting

Adding Curtains

Painting all Trim and the China Cabinet (taking it from Cream to White)

We came in at just a few dollars over $400 for the whole room (furniture, paint, decor, etc.).

Ok, so on to the before and after.

Before:

Progress:

After:

The trim in person is pure white. Just lovely. You can’t tell as much from pictures, but it made a huge difference.

I’ll do a full source list on Wednesday.

Hope you love it as much as we do. =)

Linking up to:

So, since I have mindlessly been painting on those cabinets, I’ve had a lot of time to think about other projects (Luke is cheering in the background – not). After showing the hallway update on Wednesday, I started really looking at the hallway. The gallery wall is definitely in progress and closing in on completion. I’m planning on leaving it a bit open, so that I can add to it after every trip. We have a larger map for the non-gallery side of the hallway and it just needs to be hung. So, that leaves baseboards to paint and flooring.

The carpeting up the stairs to the hallway is just plain awful. Whenever I mention it to someone who has seen my house in real life, they seem to think it’s not that bad. But, they are just being nice. Well, I hate it. The carpet in the actual hallway is not terrible, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around what I could do with the stair portion and not the hallway.

So, the obvious choice would be replacing it with hardwood. Well, we would like to do a pretty large kitchen/living area update within ten years and I want all my hardwood to match. Call me crazy? I want hardwood throughout the entry, up front and back stairs, living room, formal dining room, kitchen, stairs to upstairs, hallway and master bedroom. I hate to put hardwood in right now when I know it will be impossible to match and we will just have to replace it.

I’ve been seeing painted and stained plywood all over the internet. Some are prettier than others. Some people have installed it fresh as wood planks and those are just adorable. However, to cut costs I’m thinking I could just use the plywood that is under than carpet.

Here are some of the examples that I’ve seen:

via Pinterest via HGTV

via Quarry Orchard

via Pinterest via Lovely Etc

I’m leaning more towards doing a dark stain and then putting down runners. I love the look of runners and it would help with hiding the seams of the plywood. I’m definitely one of those people who would be bothered by oddly-placed seams.

Aren’t these runners gorgeous?

via Pinterest via Souther Hospitality

via Pinterest via Design Indulgence

Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas other than what I mentioned? If this could be done for under $300 or so, then I think it would be a huge improvement.

Decisions, decisions.

(After taking that picture, I realized how ugly the light bulb was as well!)

Solution… chrome-tip globe shaped bulbs.

Already looking better…

After putting the new bulbs in, we took down the grate, smoke alarm and attic fan. They all got washed and spray painted. The grate and smoke alarm looks brand new. I didn’t realize it, but the attic fan has some streaks (?) in the coating. It’s definitely more noticeable in the picture than it is in person. I’m still debating on whether to take it back down and re-coat it.

I’m so in love with those light bulbs! They have regular shaped one’s as well and they are 1/2 off right now. I’m trying to figure out where I could put more of them. =)  Maybe I should just start a stockpile, since I know I would never pay full price for them.

Ok, so why the recipe? To be honest, we worked in the yard this weekend and caught up with family. That was about it. So, when Luke told me (because I asked for it for Mother’s Day) he was going to cook Steak Chimichurri, I immediately knew it was going to be my blog post. This recipe is just too good to pass up. Seriously, you must make it!

Found via Pinterest via The Noshery

Skirt Steak and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry with Chimichurri Sauce (adapted from Food & Wine May 2011)  (Serves 4)

Sauce (makes 1 cup)

• 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir-fry

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp adobo
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound skirt steak
• 1 red onion, halved and slivered
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 8 ounces frozen sweet potato fries
• 1/4 cup sliced sweet peppers
• 1/4 cup cilantro

For sauce: Puree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to bow, set aside. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, cumin, coriander, adobo, garlic and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Cut the steak into 4-inch pieces; slice the steaks across the grain 1/2 inch thick and add to the bowl along with the onion. Let marinate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bake sweet potato fries in the oven according to instructions on package or until golden and crispy.

Heat a large griddle until very hot. Add the steak and onion along with the sliced sweet peppers and stir-fry over high heat until the meat and onion are cooked through and lightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the sweet potato fries and cilantro and flip with a spatula to combine. Serve right away drizzled with chimichurri sauce.

Back to the yard part…

I have a pretty large list of things to accomplish both short-term and long-term in our yard. I haven’t committed them to paper yet, because I’m scared to see how much work its going to be. So, be prepared to see some outside updates soon (I’m sure our neighbors will appreciate it).

While we were in San Francisco, I fell in love with these.

A local told us that they were called “hen and chicks”. I figured they wouldn’t grow in Missouri, so I just marked them off my list. Guess what I came across at the Farmer’s Market? Yep, a different version of them. $2. Yes, I will take two. Love them. The lady at the booth said that they will grow (not near as large as the above ones) up to about a baseball size. I only need to water once a week (score!).

Look how lovely they look on my patio table.

It’s all about the little things.

]]> http://biggerthanthethreeofus.com/pinterest-made-me-luke-do-it-food/feed/ 3 http://biggerthanthethreeofus.com/almost-there/ http://biggerthanthethreeofus.com/almost-there/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 05:15:19 +0000 Ashley Mayes http://biggerthanthethreeofus.com/?p=175698373 I feel like I’m kickin’ butt in the dining room, but I am SO TIRED OF PAINTING! See all the arrows below?

Those are all in the process of being sanded, primed and painted.  Well, actually the window (you can only see one pane in this picture) is completely done. The door jam looking in to the dining room is also completely done.

What you can’t see in the above picture are the baseboards. We can’t leave those guys out. We have carpet in the room, so we decided to use packing tape along the carpet (hoping there wasn’t any seepage). I’m here to report that it totally worked. Much easier than taking all of the baseboards off to paint (I only wish I knew this two rooms ago). =)

You all know what I’ll be doing this weekend…pulling the “It’s Mother’s Day” card and asking the hubby to finish it. Just kidding. He hasn’t worked on any of it yet, so he is actually due to put some work in. I’ll let you know how all of that goes down. =)

Have a great Mother’s Day.

ps. I’m making some serious progress in the formal dining room, but don’t expect a reveal tomorrow. Next week, for sure though.

It’s hosted by: Young House Love, Bower Power, Red Bird Blue, and Sparkle Meets Pop.

I’ve been intrigued by people painting rugs. I have a few different pins of painted fabric rugs and doormats. I saved this pin because I loved how economical it was.

via Pinterest via The Kross Roads

They used a cheap indoor/outdoor carpet rug from Home Depot. We desperately needed to start sprucing up our front porch and I knew this was the place to start.

While thinking about the design I wanted, I thought of this on Merrypad.

Isn’t that hand-painted closet killer? I’ve been in love with it ever since I first saw it.

Now, to implement that on a rug. I headed to Home Depot and bought a 5×8 indoor/outdoor rug for around $15. Then, I bought outdoor white paint for $8. We started taping off lines and started from there (all people with toddlers do projects at night, right?).

We had to have a little break for wine and scotch. =)

We stopped at that point and decided to finish the next day.

Finished! So, the design isn’t perfect, but I think it still looks great.

About 3 hrs of work and $24 dollars. Not bad. =) Now, we need to add plants and some color to our porch.

Also linking up to:

via Pinterest via Curbly via Design Sponge

I had the washi tape leftover from using it with my office decor. I only needed the art or picture to put inside the washi tape. Quite some time back, I came across Stamen Maps. It’s a free online resource for beautiful (watercolor, terrain, toner, etc.) maps. You just type in the place you want and it generates it. After trying a few locations out (some weren’t very pretty), I decided to do a map of Italy. Luke and I went there for vacation in 2008 and just loved it.

I did 2000 x 2000 pixels and printed it at home (regular paper looks fine). I took some green washi tape and just taped around it.

truth: I don’t love it, but I like it enough to try to incorporate a little more washi tape in the gallery. I’m not sure if the “frame” will stay or not. I do really like the map.

#making progress #progress is good