Our IKEA Kitchen- Part II: The Demolition

The first step in getting our new kitchen in, was of course taking the old one out. This sounds like a lot more fun that it is. I was kind of looking forward to beating the crap out of the old ugly kitchen- but all the surprises we ran into kind of rained on the parade.
The thing is, my house was built in 1954, and I'm pretty sure every single owner of it since then (I'm not sure how many there have been, but the wall colors sure have changed a million times, I know that much.) has thought they were really good at DIY projects. Except, they thought wrong because every single professional we've had in here- be it plumbers, electricians, general contractors, etc. has been totally left scratching their heads at what the heck whoever last worked on [insert whatever they're here to fix] last was thinking. Good times.
Several things came up that we really had no way of anticipating until we were well past the point of no return. It was super stressful. Anyone who has ever done a home renovation project knows that "surprise" is synonymous with "unexpected and likely large expense." In our case, we've been lucky enough to- for the most part- have at least one family member proficient in just about every area of construction and home renovation and have been able to remedy most things without totally busting the budget. Our timeline, however, has completely gone out the window. That's been frustrating but I've accepted that it is what it is.
Jon started ripping out the floor first. It was just a blond laminate that was pretty ugly. We found this lovely linoleum straight out of the 70's underneath it. Nest he took off the counter tops, and pulled the lower cabinets away from the wall.
Jon's dad and sister came to our rescue for a weekend to help with this part- and oh man was that appreciated or what! The person who built this kitchen seriously LOVED nails. I mean, he loved nails so much that he probably used approximately eleventy billion more nails than what was actually necessary to mount these cabinets. Getting the upper ones off the walls was tricky. Not to mention the fact that being solid wood they're unreasonably heavy as well.
We discovered all kinds of fun stuff.... like the fact that behind pretty much my ENTIRE lower cabinets, there was no wall. There was a giant flippin hole that they covered by...drumroll please... taping a garbage bag over it! Not kidding. Plus, zero sealing of any kind around the duct work for the vent under the cabinets, no insulation whatsoever. I'm talking hollow shell of a wall, made out of trash bag.
We also had a galvanized pipe that was literally about to corrode through any second, so I'm glad we discovered it BEFORE it sprung a leak. I don't think my basement needs to flood any more times. In fact, I *know* it doesn't, because I might lose my dang mind if it ever does again. We've replaced all the main lines since moving in, and have replaced some of the other plumbing along the way, but this pipe was hidden until everything had come off the wall so we had no way of knowing it needed to be replaced.
We also discovered that a lot of the subflooring was in pretty rough shape- another thing we probably should have anticipated with having an older home, but being newbies to all this, we just didn't.
In addition, the walls behind the existing laminate backsplash were in HORRIBLE condition. Literally, crumbling apart. (probably because the lower half of the wall is missing?) We peeled it off and the wall just kind of started falling apart. It was one of those "uhhh... wasn't expecting THAT." moments.
I reached the point I had to just walk away before I lost my mind. I was having one of those days that everything under the sun made me want to cry (pregnancy is stupid like that) and I was feeling 1. super overwhelmed, and 2. super embarrassed to be so emotional and stupid in front of Jon's family. They probably think I'm a super unstable nutcase.
Once we got it all torn out, my kitchen looked.... well... it looked like a total disaster, because that's EXACTLY what it was. It was dirty, and had holes all over, and smelled funky. I had no idea when we started this project how much work it would really be, or how many surprises would come up- or just how rough of shape it was really in to begin with. This renovation was so much more necessary than I ever realized. I'm glad we discovered these issues before they started really causing problems, though. That's a blessing in disguise- even if I did feel totally overwhelmed the entire time.
But, that was it. Everything was out. There was no going back now. We had surprises, but no choice but to deal with it and carry on. It helped knowing that no matter what I was getting a new kitchen. Staying the way it was wasn't an option, period. At the end of all of it, things were going to get put back together... though I can't even begin to tell you how many times along the way I stood in that room, looking at the chaos and destruction, and wondered if I'd ever be able to make dinner again. Who was gonna clean up this mess, anyway?!


Our IKEA Kitchen- Part I: The Professional Planner

Our IKEA Kitchen- Part III: The Install (Coming Soon....)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part IV: Customer Service [or lack thereof] (Coming Soon...)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part V: The Finishing Touches (Coming Soon...)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part VI: In Summary & Review [A look in retrospect] (Coming Soon...)

Our IKEA Kitchen- Part I: The Professional Planner

So, in deciding to keep our 1954 rambler for 8-undecided more years, Jon and I agreed that certain renovations just needed to happen. We made a list, gathered our price quotes, prioritized, and got to work. Our modest budget has meant quite a bit of DIY work and getting a little creative with certain things, but all in all I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming together.
A large part of our inside renovation budget went to the kitchen. To make a total gutting of the kitchen even remotely affordable for us at a time that we really should focus on saving, we read all we could about our options. We determined for our budget, wants, needs, and things that were important/ unimportant to us it made sense to go the IKEA route on the cabinets. My former kitchen was simply not functional. I do NOT have a lot of kitchen stuff- at all. In fact, I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to kitchen gadgets, and even I struggled with the serious lack of storage space. Further, the cabinets just had this weird "old house smell" in them no matter how much I scrubbed them out with everything under the sun. Even Activated charcoal- which will get rotten meat stench out of a storage room (we learned when a freezer full of meat came unplugged...) won't get the weird smell out of the cabinets. Add to it the funky flour storage bins that consumed nearly all of the lower storage space rendering them useless to me, the lack of any kind of pantry, and the oven that worked but had a bad temper and a vendetta against me, and this renovation was simply needed. I needed a functional kitchen. Not necessarily fancy, but functional. It was ugly before, but not so ugly it wasn't tolerable. The lack of function wasn't going to work for me anymore, though.
So, off we embarked on our next project! Let me tell you a little about this experience.
We'd seen good pictures, read good things, and felt confident that this would give our awful 50's kitchen the much-needed face lift we were going for, while not breaking the bank. I'm not one to care about keeping up with the Jones' and was excited to have a new kitchen to prepare meals for my family in- even if nothing was custom or designer. -shrug- It would be an upgrade anyway!
I spent countless hours browsing their catalog, walking their showroom, and making lists of things I liked, didn't like, etc. The project quickly became overwhelming to me. (disclaimer: I'm pretty easily overwhelmed when I'm out of my comfort zone, in all fairness) So many options, and I was having a hard time making sure that my measurements were accurate in the online planner program.
Jon and I decided we would go ahead and hire an IKEA kitchen planner to come out, do measurements, and help us design the layout. It's not that we weren't capable of measuring, but I was worried about messing it up. To me, the security that came from putting the measurements in the hands of the pros, and having a "designer" help with the layout to where we literally just had to push a button to make it spit out our shopping list was going to be completely worth the money spent. Then we'd have the plans to go by, and planned to self-install. Not that Jon and I are super handy- we're not- but we can follow instructions pretty well and though a little nervous, were ready to tackle the project.
This is where it started going wrong.
Our "designer" showed up a few minutes late, which is fine. Things happen. I showed him the kitchen, told him a little bit about what I was thinking as far as layout, etc. I had already filled out the requested worksheet provided, indicating things like my choice of cabinet color, hardware, sink, fixtures, appliances, etc. so he could plug all that into the program.

Before- 1950's Dysfunction

I gave him some space to get the measurements, showed him which appliances were staying and going, and he said he'd set up the bare bones of the room in the program and then we'd lay it all out. I sat in the living room and waited. And waited. An waited. During this time he took several phone calls from other clients which bothered me, because when I pay for someone's time (at over $100/hour, mind you) and am on their schedule, I do expect them to respect the fact they are on MY clock. Mine. My time. That I'm paying for. He also was texting on his phone a ton, and when I walked by a few times noticed he had an instant messaging program open on his laptop and was actively chatting away. At the time I wasn't super angry- as long as he also got the kitchen mapped out it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned.
When he called me over, I was surprised to see that he already had all the cabinets, drawers, etc. entered- I was also surprised that he didn't really implement a single change I had said I wanted to make. He had pretty much plugged in a new version of the exact same kitchen I had before.
Not only that, but he literally put every single upgrade in every single drawer and cabinet. He had included every fancy storage and organization solution you can imagine- which, neat as they are, I just have no need for all that. Regular shelves and drawers were plenty for me. I don't have a ton of stuff to begin with, so I wasn't concerned with all that. Not to mention the insane cost it added.

Before- 1950's Dysfunction

I requested that we move a few things around and he'd tell me why it wouldn't work that way. Me being the clueless novice, and he being the all-knowing "professional" I accepted his reasoning even though it made little to no sense because I was in way over my head here already. If I have a professional telling me something about a subject I know NOTHING about, and no time to learn, I am really left with no choice but to accept. The layout didn't really disappoint me, I still liked it, I'm not picky, so it was easy to quickly let go of my previous thoughts of what I had wanted. In retrospect, I think he just didn't want to edit/ redo his design. I think he was lazy. I've had a contractor, a few family members (whose opinions I really respect/ trust) tell me that his reasoning was completely bogus and had no base on literally every account. I could have had the layout I wanted. Live and learn.
As we were going through the final plans, just a few moments away from that click that spits out our shopping list, I made a few more requests. I really actually LIKE the side of my fridge exposed. The front isn't magnet and Jon and I use it as a message board of sorts. That's where our family calendar goes, coupons, shopping list, etc. I don't care if the built-in look is higher end or more desirable, I like what is functional for me. Plus, those panels were $170/piece and we'd need two. No need to increase cost where it's not necessary to me. I'm more budget conscious than that even if I DO have the money at hand. I also didn't care to pay the price for all the cabinets and drawers to have the "soft closure" add on. Regular opening and closing is just fine for me. Plus, soft closures would totally kill the dramatic effect that angrily slamming the cabinet gives. :-p (kidding. Kinda) Anyway, never had soft closure cabinets, never wished I had them, never thought about them, so at several bucks per drawer/ door.... I requested those go, too. Also, he had slide-out shelves throughout the pantry. Neat as that is, I just don't need all that and it was a lot of added expense. (think $600 in the case of regular pantry shelves vs. ones that pull out. He had also upgraded my corner cabinets from regular lazy susans to some fancy schmancy contraption that was supposed to "maximize my storage space." I explained to him approximately 8,921,284,248,129,001 times that this new design was already giving me literally four times the storage space I had and that I wasn't overly concerned with storage space, nor did I need all the expensive fancy gadgets designed to make every last square inch usable. I also didn't like the Ikea hardware options, and (as I indicated on that worksheet they so desperately stressed the importance of having done before the appointment) said I planned to get them at another time because I was undecided on style/ color at that point.

Before- Laundry in the kitchen?!

He agreed to take it all off and change it to basics. I left him to do so for the last half hour or so of his time.

It was the end of the 20% off sale. We literally had to order the stuff first thing in the morning to get that deal, and in turn save a very large amount on the materials. So, when he was finished, we went over the changes I had requested, which he lead me to believe had been done, and we submitted the order.
We opted to have IKEA deliver all the parts, because they're about 30 minutes away and it would take multiple trips in the truck- not to mention Jon's already slammed weekday schedule. The fee was reasonable enough to make it worth it. Our kitchen would come in early the next week! Yes! The planning part was done, and though we had a few little hiccups and disappointments, I was still really excited! I wasn't even going to have a washer and dryer in my kitchen anymore- it will be a REAL kitchen! I'm going to have a real laundry room! Oh happy day.
I also had no idea what I was in for.

...to be continued...

Our IKEA Kitchen-Part II: The Demolition (Coming Soon...)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part III: The Install (Coming Soon....)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part IV: Customer Service [or lack thereof] (Coming Soon...)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part V: The Finishing Touches (Coming Soon...)
Our IKEA Kitchen- Part VI: In Summary & Review [A look in retrospect] (Coming Soon...)

Progress and Lessons Learned

We have been busy, busy, busy the last two weeks working our way through our first BIG projects in this whole house-to-home mission we are on. There's just so much to do, and I know we are probably biting off more than we can chew right now but we are so motivated to just make this place our HOME finally, after two and a half years of living here. The list seems to be getting longer rather than shorter, though.
It all started with Chase's room. The previous owners had knocked down a wall to make the living room bigger. I never really liked the shape of the living room, it was kind of awkwardly long and made furniture placement kind of difficult to do without just completely ignoring certain areas. Combined with the fact that the second upstairs bedrooms has really terribly drafty windows, we ultimately decided it made sense to put that wall back up. It solved a couple issues I had with the house, and was still more cost-effective than tackling our window situation right now.

But new walls need to be painted.
And if we're going to paint THAT wall, we should just paint... all the walls.
And if we're going to paint ALL the walls, we need new window treatments
And while we're at it, the kitchen needs gutted.
And if we are redoing the kitchen floor, we might as well redo ALL the upstairs floors.
And if we're redoing ALL the upstairs floors, we might as well redo downstairs, too.

Somehow, our whole house is pretty much getting a face lift. It's overwhelming sometimes. (OK, all the time. A few hormonal sobbing "we-can't-do-this" breakdowns have possibly taken place.)
Jon has worked every single night until at least 10pm on building this shed for our back yard. It. Is. Massive. I need to get pictures of it, and I will when it's all done. It's almost there. It's 8x12 feet, but it's tall as heck. If you ever need to store a skyscraper, we've got you covered. Giraffes, maybe? I'm really proud of him though. No, like I am REALLY damn proud. He's never built anything like that before, had no idea what he was doing when he started, didn't even have the tools that any plans called for, but you know what? He tackled that project, and step by step figured it out and kept working along on it, slowly but surely, until it's done. Mitch and Jared came to the rescue yesterday to help him throw the walls on the frame because they were too heavy for him (or anyone...) to lift alone, and too heavy for it to be reasonable for me to help him with. We're super super thankful for the help- we're really trying NOT to turn our house projects into work for other people and just trucking along ourselves figuring all this out, but that was physically impossible for one man.

I painted Chase's room first, then made curtains for the windows. Now, I am not a seamstress by any means but I figured "how hard could a rectangle possibly be?" It wasn't THAT hard, but the window in that room is also really small, so the curtains themselves aren't all that big... they're like 50x36. I lined them in orange, and I actually really kinda like them.
They are officially the first thing I've ever sewn start to finish. Any other sewing project I've ever attempted has been a disaster where halfway though whatever I'm working on is going so terribly I get annoyed with it and throw it away, swearing off sewing forever. It's just not my thing. It's tedious, time consuming, and I have no use for an iron in my life. I actually didn't even own one or have any need to own one until Jon's mom came to visit once and needed one so she bought one to leave at our house. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have one... so glad that happened!
Since that little mini project went so well, I decided it would be somehow reasonable to make curtains for the living room as well. I mean, I had proven I could sew, right? Plus, I was having a really hard time finding window treatments I actually liked. Everything was just the wrong shade, or didn't embody the warm homey feel I'm going for for that area of the house. But, I did find a fabric at Wal Mart of all places (I hate Wal Mart and rarely ever go there, terrible place) and that pretty much settled it. I was making curtains. And it was going to be easy, right? Hah. Joke was on me.
So, let's get one thing straight. I'm impatient, I get frustrated very easily, and I tend to run hot. In short, it really doesn't take THAT much to tick me off. I'm also a perfectionist and tend to have high expectations of myself and get really annoyed when I let myself down. So yeah, totally a good idea to take on a massive project in a skill I've never really developed or used before with zero direction or help... right?
Everything I read about making curtains said I MUST line them. I didn't know how I felt about this because the fabric was already thick and heavy and I'm a little worried they will end up blocking too much light and making the room too dark, but I also don't want my curtains to get sun rot and fall apart and die after I dedicated two miserable weeks of my life slaving over them. I lined each set (there are three) in a different coordinating color, partly because Wal Mart didn't have enough of any of them to do them all the same, and now it's easy to tell which panel goes to which window. I'm so crafty.
The first step was ironing all of the materials. Have you ever ironed twenty three yards of fabric? Have you ever actually seen twenty three yards of fabric in one place before? IT'S A JOKE! I quickly realized I was in over my head and that this was the worst idea I had ever had, ever. I also learned that I hate ironing and would rather cut off my toes one by one, so Jon better never get a job that he has to dress all nice and ironed like. Screw ironing.
 I also quickly realized that while my little curtains for Chase's little window weren't all that difficult, making one little 50x 36 curtain was a whole lot different than making several 110x 100 curtains. This was a whole new ballgame, and I really sucked at it. My whole downstairs living room was a mess of fabric, some ironed some not, all laid out, draped everywhere, as I worked away at it every. single. day.
 Now, a week later, all that's left to do is hang them up and pin the bottom edges so they are even, and sew those up. I just need Jon to be done with his shed so he can do that. Then I'm making cornice boxes for all the windows! I apparently didn't learn my lesson on crafty projects, and though I've tried my best to channel my inner Martha Stewart, mine is clearly still in prison because I'm just not that good at all this domestic stuff. I think my domestic skills end at crock potting, and mopping. And, considering the awful shape my house is in after being neglected for a week and a half while I was in the basement pretending to know how to sew, I'd say I'm even failing at the mopping part. I can't wait for this project to just be DONE. Like, officially and completely done.
I know all this work will be worth it. I'm already super proud of Jon, and I know that when we can sit back and enjoy our space and know that we did what we had to to make it our own on our modest budget, we will feel satisfied. I also know the color of the curtains, or layout of the kitchen isn't what makes a house a home, but to me it's about being in surroundings that evoke a sense of comfort that I want. I just want to feel like this is our home, because we made it that way. Right now, there's very little personal touch, and that's what I want to change. Plus, I feel like tackling a lot of tis ourselves has been good for Jon and I. We both kind of bit off more than we could chew initially, and took on projects beyond our skill level, and had to figure it out. We relied on each other and ourselves, and ultimately made it happen and I feel we are better because of it. Sure, there have been better-looking curtains made by more experienced seamstresses (like... one that's actually sewn or ironed before in their lives) and there are better-looking sheds to be found, but we did it. We accomplished what we set out to do, and we made it happen.
I'm not posting pictures of any of the finished projects until it's all put together. It's a surprise! I think when everything is all done, we might have a little dinner party to show all the changes we've made. I'd also be really interested in having an appraisal done to determine the value because even after spending what we will on the renovations, we are still coming out WELL below what it appraised for last time. Not that it really matters, we aren't moving for a long, long time.

It's Just a House (the Before)

This will be post 1 in our House to Home series of posts.
I remember when our really awesomely nice real estate agent brought us to see this house two and a half years ago. Our criteria were pretty low, we were just looking for a house that would have a mortgage super comparable to the rent we were paying at the time. (~$825)  Compared to all the other homes we saw with their itty bitty rooms and closed off floor plans, this place was awesome. We instantly fell in love with the huge living room, the wood floors, and huge bedrooms. Being built in 1954, and few things updated since then, there were some old house quirks we didn't particularly love, but all of them were either fixable or livable.
We were looking for a two year investment. We got an amazing deal on a foreclosure, and everything went through in one weekend. The difference between this house and other starter homes we considered was that we could actually see it working out for much longer. I mean, the POTENTIAL this place has is crazy. So we bought it, and moved in.
We quickly learned we weren't allowed to change the fence line as per city ordinance that says it has to be X feet from the sidewalk and it already was. We accepted that, but it left us with a really inadequate yard for our needs. But, we got a permit secured from City of Orem to do it anyway now, and though we have to do some serious work in the front yard (removing part of the driveway) it will be worth it. Just add another weekend of work to the list!
But then other than paint and some plumbing, we didn't really DO anything. We did nothing that changed the functionality of the house. We went with whatever hand me down furniture was given to us, and somehow fell into a black/white/red color scheme that I've hated since the beginning. It's just not us, it's not home. It hasn't been working for us, because we haven't worked for it. Since we have decided to stay, we are working diligently to turn this place into home.
We are on a budget. We have a very modest budget and will unfortunately have to DIY most of these projects, (all of which we really have NO idea what we are doing, so this should be fun!) Jon is taking care of a lot of the "heavy lifting" (like driveway removal, fencing, building a shed, etc.)  and I'm taking care of most of the aesthetic decor things. (making window treatments, wall decor, painting, putting together the nursery, etc.) Both of us are in way over our heads. Painting is rough on my tailbone, and I am terrible at sewing. Jon hasn't ever really built anything by himself, and has no idea how to install a fence. We are figuring it out, together, with Google and YouTube. I think we are both most intimidated by building the fence, which is a shame because it really needs to go in ASAP so all the dogs can be home officially full time. They need to be home, this is where they belong. It's not home without them.
We won't be inviting guests over during the next couple months as we work hard to get as much done before Chase's big arrival, ( ha, like we ever invite anyone over anyway.) Unless you want to help! Help is much needed and appreciated. We also pay in pizza, donuts, and cake. Score, right?!


-Remove 15 feet of driveway, fill with bulch and soil, plant fruit tree
- Put up 130 feet of solid wood fencing (this project makes us weep. If anyone knows how to do this and would be willing to help, you'd be my hero.)
-Build a storage shed
-Gut kitchen, install new one
-Install Trafficmaster flooring through upstairs
-Replace bathroom floor, install new toilet
-Paint.... everything
-Set up nursery
-Make curtains for entire living room (so dreading this. Yuck. I HATE sewing, and many of these are 8'x4')
-Make cornices for windows
-Build coffee and end tables
-Build dining room table


Come spring we have a whole new list of projects to get the "people side" of our backyard set up. It will involve more fencing, getting patio furniture, planting privacy vines, laying sod, and in general just creating a welcoming, relaxing outdoor space we can enjoy. That's put of til Spring, partly for time's sake, and partly because we already are stretching to budget everything listed, and may need to compromise on some things already, can't get it ALL done this fall.

We live here: 

 The side yard that's getting the driveway removed and being fenced in for lots of space for the dogs to play and have outdoor space of their own, in which they can dig and be as rowdy as they want.

Our living room. I *HATE* the color scheme (but don't be fooled, I love my red couches) Black and white are two colors that shall never be in my home decorating pallet ever, ever again. The gray I don't mind so much except for when combined with my red leather, it kinda fell into the black/ white color thing, which to me doesn't feel homey at all. It feels cold and sterile (when it's not covered in dog hair...) Plus, the window treatments make me cringe. I really detest vertical blinds, a lot. I like curtains, they feel warm and homey and comfy. THese windows are seriously massive though, and I've never sewn anything before start to finish because I get so annoyed with how tedious it is and give up, so this will be interesting. (I'm making them rather than buying, partly because I can't find any I like, and partly because it will be cheaper)

Another view of the living room "before" work. A previous owner knocked down a bedroom wall to make it obnoxiously long, and we just put that wall back up, and that bedroom will be Chase's. Also, that awesome custom painting of miss Annie on the fireplace is the color pallet for the room. Blues, reds, browns. I love it. I absolutely positively love it. 

Our Kitchen. It's much less painful if you don't look directly at it. There's nothing to be salvaged here. It's all coming out. It's all being replaced. And it won't be all white and ugly. I can't wait to have an oven that cooks evenly, counter space, NOT have my laundry in the kitchen, and actual storage space that's not old school flour bins. 

That little red half wall is being removed, and a breakfast bar put in perpendicular to it, to use up that awkward little space by the back door. I'm not sure where we will put puppies when we have them, but having a functional kitchen is more important than that. 

 Also going to paint our bedroom a more neutral scheme so we can change our bedspread up without losing the put together, cohesive feel going on in there. I love the green, but it doesn't go with anything and I'm ready to change it up. 

 Upstairs bathroom. I already have new peel-and-stick tiles to replace the floor, and we are getting a new toilet that's not a stupid water saver that you have to flush 348723424 times. Other than that, as ugly as it is, it's functional and didn't make the cut on renovation projects for this year due to budget.

Crowded, cluttered garage. And this is even missing all the Dane-sized crates. Jon is already working on building an 8'x12' storage shed in the back yard with shelving to organize all this stuff, and then the work bench (that never gets used) is coming out, a ton if insulation is going in, and then all the crates will go back out here and not be inside the house. The garage is right off the kitchen, so it's not like they'll be off in some other building.We will JUST have their crates, all their feeding supplies, and beds, blankets, etc. will be stored out here.  

Downstairs living room/ bathroom/ bedrooms. We aren't doing anything with right now. I want to gut the ugly bathroom and put new carpet down throughout the living and bedrooms, but it's just not happening this year. Maybe next year. We'll see. 

SO I guess we will just keep living here for 8 or so more years. We do eventually want land, but I think with these renovation projects we will be much, much happier with our current place. It's just a matter of making it our home and changing our mindset from "cheap 2 year investment property"  to "our home, where we will begin raising our family" and make the necessary changes as budget allows. I can't wait to put the front yard garden in in the springtime, too. 

Uhh... all the pictures were taken for our home listing, so they belong to... someone that's not me, I'm just not sure who. I hope I don't go to prison for using them.