The Garden & Stairs

When we moved in there was no stair rail (remember our house was an old milking barn). This was a huge safety concern for Ella, so we immediately sought after a handyman to install a custom stair rail for us. Five weeks later and we finally have our stair rail in and Ella can now safely walk up and down the stairs (with our watchful eyes and arms ready to catch her). We still have to paint it, but at least the rail is up. I’ll post pictures of the painted railing, next blog.

This week we were lucky enough to have Ken’s parents visit, as we took on some fun outdoor projects. We’ve decided to take advantage of our extra acreage by creating a garden area. We’re starting out small, as Ken and his Dad put together two 4x8 garden beds. We’re hoping the garden will do well and we’ll look at expanding later, as we become more experienced gardeners.We're really hoping to be able to eventually grow all our own vegetables to sustain us through most of the year. Here are a couple photos of our raised garden beds taking shape….

Check back in a few months as we report how our garden grows.

Ken’s Mom was also wonderful, helping Maria pull all the weeds and overgrowth in the front planting beds and walkway. They spent two solid days working on the beds, laying landscape fabric, planting some perennials and annuals, and putting down come nice natural mulch. The beds look wonderful and Maria looks forward to watching the flowers bloom and planting even more in her newly defined planting beds. The new flowers really make the outside of our house feel like home.

Thank you so much to Mom and Dad, we know it wasn’t easy working in the sweltering heat, at a heat index of 100+ degrees and temperatures of 95+ and it didn’t let up. They were great sports and really helped us get a handle on our garden and yard work.

Well, we closed on the house in Summerville on Friday, May 25th and it’s been non stop since. We took the weekend after closing to finish packing, move Ella’s toys to the new house, and clean up the disaster that was left behind from the Seller. The new house was filthy and although I called a cleaning crew out to attempt a good scrub of the home, apparently their idea of clean and mine were very different. At least, we finally have a home again to call our own:

Home

We were extremely lucky to have my Mom volunteer her time to come out and help with the move and Ella. My Mom was paramount in making this move so easy and manageable with a toddler. She kept Ella entertained when I was too busy unpacking boxes, mowing the yard, or cleaning and Ken was working. My Mom was even able to put her great designing skills to use and helped me make our house feel like home, putting some nice finishing touches in the house. We are so thankful for all her time and energy!

Family Room

Dining Room

Our greatest pleasure within the home is definitely the kitchen. We finally have a wonderful pantry, where I can see all our canned and boxed goods. No more searching around when making the grocery list. Ken laughed and said I made our pantry look like something out of a model home, personally I think it’s very functional.

Pantry

The kitchen island and overall kitchen design is extremely functional. The only changes we would like to see in the future is maybe stainless appliances and a gas stove, but that’s on the bottom of our list for now. I enjoy being able to look out at the pool when doing the dishes and talking to Ken when he’s at the desk, or even watching Ella while in the large Great Room. I couldn’t have asked for a better design for our family.

Kitchen


Desk

We knew we would have a few projects to complete immediately, when we purchased the home. The first of course was a pool fence for Ella and the fur kids. We had a 5ft mesh, “Guardian” removable fence installed just this past weekend. The fence is extremely secure and it doesn’t distort the view of the pool. If anything, I think it made the swimming pool look even larger.

Pool and Fence

We also have a wonderful covered screen porch off of the dining area, which needed some attention. The carpet was stained, dirty and was just an extremely dull dark grey. So, this became our first major home project. We went to Lowes and managed to fit the 12 x 26 ft roll of carpet in the Minivan and Ken spent Saturday evening tearing off the old gray stuff….


Sunday I helped him lay down the adhesive and lay the carpet. A bit of trimming

and we were done. A good weekend project for both of us, which helped break us into our homeownership role again. Here’s the new carpet all done, just has to dry for 24 hours……


We’ll be purchasing a nice all weather wicker set and putting some of Ella’s outdoor play gear out there for all of us to enjoy our screened in porch.

Stay tuned as we take on our next home project……

Let's Do It Again!!!!

Wouldn't you know it....as soon as we start to get all settled into our new home, we may be moving again. Ken and I decided to start house hunting and just fell in love with house in nearby Summerville (35 minutes from Ken's work). The house started out as a milking barn at what was once a large dairy farm owned by the daugther of an old plantation family and her husband. In 1975 it was purchased and turned into a family home. After 5 owners and many poor renovations, it was purchased by an interior designer. Here are the before and after photos of the exterior rennovation:

She completly gutted the interior and removed both the front porch and the back shed porch. She replaced all the doors and windows - doubling the windows on the first floor and adding an eight foot french door wall to the new back porch. Retaining the old, cottage flavor there are wood floors throughout the main level. There are old beams still in place and stand out beautifully between the washed beadboard. It has a very large and open floor plan plus and oversized granite island for serving and teaching Ella how to cook. Oh, did we forget to mention that the house is located on 1.6 acres and has a pool, screened porch and deck. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, as the price was just right in this outrageous market. We just put in an offer, so wish us luck!

Here are a couple photos of the interior:

Great Room

Kitchen

Pool

Hopefully, we'll be seeing you all in our new home soon!

Settling In

I can't believe we've been in South Carolina now for almost two months. Time sure does fly! Many of you have asked for pictures of the new house, so here are a few:

Family Room

Breakfast Nook

Kitchen

We will probably be settled in, right about the time we need to move. :) Hopefully, we'll be seeing many of you soon. I'll take a few pictures of the guest suite, maybe that will entice some of you. Remember, the best time to visit is during the Winter and Spring!!!

The South Comes Calling

Ken has been in South Carolina now for over three months. He's enjoying his new job with Blackbaud and of course, really enjoys the warmer weather and visits to the beach on a weekly basis. Ella and I will finally join him in just over a weeks time. We will be leaving on January 12th and will venture out East. We look forward to reuniting our whole family (kids, parents, and dogs)! It's been a long three months for everyone and we decided it was time.

We found a wonderful family to rent our home in Colorado and we also decided to rent a beautiful home in Mount Pleasant, SC (about 10 minutes from the city of Charleston, but closer to the beach). The home has a nice fenced in yard for the dogs, 4 bedrooms to include a room for Ella and a big playroom for her as well, and some nice upgrades from where we are now. The house is just over 2700sqft and perfect for us, while we get to know the area.

Maria's Mom, will be braving the trip with Ella, Molly, and Maria. Mom will be around for a few days to help everyone get settled in and help with Ella. We hope this will be the first of many trips for Mom, to come and visit.

You are welcome anytime to come visit and/or stay for nice vacation. We're only 5-10 minutes from the beach, excellent seafood, and warmer weather. Hope to see you all soon!