Backyard & Side-yard Renovation Part 3: The Flower Beds

Well we are finally here, the last installment of the Backyard & Side-yard Renovation series! Today I'm going to show you what my husband and I have been up to these past few weeks...planting in our new flower beds! Like I mentioned before, we have two large flower beds - one in the front yard on the side of our house and one in the backyard on the same side of the house. The flower bed in the front yard hardly gets any sun so we decided on planting only flowers in that bed. The flower bed in the backyard gets midday sun, so we decided on only planting fruits and veggies in that bed. Plus, I've always wanted to grow my own vegetable garden and if it works out well enough maybe it will cut down on our grocery bill costs one day...we shall see!

Front yard: Before

Front yard: After

Euryops Green, Gerber Daisy, and Freesia

Freesia

Snapdragons

Petunias

Geraniums in the background and African Daisy in the foreground

'Minifamous Pink'

Lobelia

What's Growing in My Garden?

*Geraniums

*African Daisy

*Snapdragons

*Freesia

*Hydrangea (hasn't come up yet)

*Lots of Petunias

*Gerber Daisy

*Lobelia

*Calibrachoa "MiniFamous Pink' & 'Dark blue"

*Hollyhock

*Dianthus

*Euryops Green (Daisy-like flower)

*2 small bags of mixed seeds (hasn't come up yet)

Backyard: Before

Backyard: After

Blueberry Bush (Ray picked this one out)

Strawberry Crop

Is that a strawberry I see?

Corn

Cucumber

Green Peppers

Tomato 

Our first tomato! 

What's growing in my garden?

*Blueberry bush

*Strawberries

*Corn

*Cucumbers

*Green & Red Bell Peppers

*Jalapeno Peppers

*2 Tomato Plants

I even had my niece Kaitlyn help me in the garden...we planted maybe three plants before she was tired and bored of it all. After planting a second flower she says to me, "Aunt Britty, are we done yet?"

Kaitlyn ready to start digging!

Kaitlyn's pumpkin seeds that she planted, with some extra help from her Auntie.

Any projects that you have been up to lately? What's growing in your yard?

Backyard & Side-yard Renovation Part 2: The Patio

For the past two weeks my husband and I have been working on a major project: tackling our backyard & sideyard and totally renovating everything! We finished putting in new rock, new trees & bushes, two raised planter beds, a paved walk-way, and stepping stones. You can see the first part of our renovation here. Next on our to-do-list for the backyard was to install a patio cover. Having a patio cover is seriously a must for living in Las Vegas. Also considering the fact that we have a large sliding glass door and huge window downstairs that faces the sun the majority of the day/afternoon! It gets so hot downstairs in the summer! Last week we had our new patio cover installed! One guy from DURA-KOOL installed the whole thing in 8 hours! I was totally impressed and he did an awesome job too! We had DURA-KOOL install a solid and lattice patio cover: half & half. I'm amazed with how much light it blocks from coming into the house. It's also a lot cooler in our house too. This sounds really weird, but I'm excited to see our air-conditioning bills in the summer and how much money we might be saving now that we have a patio cover! Here are some before and after photos of our new patio!

Before

After

{Ant's eye-view of the lattice portion of our patio cover}

{Ant's eye-view of the solid portion of our patio cover}

{Our new patio furniture}

{Our finished patio!}

I've decided to make my Backyard & Side-yard Renovation a series in chapter installments. We are still not completely finished with our renovation. In the next chapter, we will tackle the flower beds!

What home projects have you been working on?

What I Wore Wednesday

I found out about What I Wore Wednesday at The Pleated Poppy through my sister-in-law today, and I thought "How awesome is this!" It's been awhile since Fall Fashion Week 2010 and I've missed looking at what other ladies are wearing! Now, every Wednesday I get to see the latest fashions and post some of my own...how fun is that?!

Here's What I Wore This Wednesday

I bought this dress a few weeks ago and I love it! It's cotton and super comfy. 

What I'm Wearing:

*Black & Gray Striped Cotton Tank Maxi Dress: Target ($19.99)

*Black Patent Leather Flip-Flops: Charlotte Russe ($5.00)

*Betsey Johnson Double Banded Cross & Heart Necklace ($38.00)

What I Plan To Wear This Wednesday Evening

Tonight my hubby and I are going out to downtown Las Vegas for a friend of his' going away party. I love days like these when I get to dress up!

What I'm Wearing Tonight:

*Black Cotton Dress with Gray Flower Pin: Target ($11.88 - sale)

*Betsey Johnson Necklace ($38.00)

*Black Chain Necklace (Handmade - $5.00)

*Black Vintage Flower Earrings: Charlotte Russe ($3.99 - 3 pack)

*Bangles: Charlotte Russe ($3.99)

*Express Clutch: Express (FREE - Black Friday Giveaway)

*Nude Patent Leather Pumps: Charlotte Russe ($10.00 - By 1 get 1 for $10)

What are you wearing this Wednesday?

Top 2 Tuesday...My Favorite Drinks!

My Favorite Drinks

***Please note I am an avid water drinker. Water is definitely me go-to drink of choice and it is super healthy for you! But, because it's a boring drink I listed some of my other favorites that are quite fun!***

1. My all-time favorite drink, and the one you will most likely see me drinking at least once a week, is a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino. I would say that Mocha Frappuccinos are definitely one of the little things in life that brightens my day just a little. There's nothing better than enjoying an ice cold frappuccino on a beautiful spring day, discussing life with friends/family nearby. For me, drinking these things is borderline obsessive, an addiction really. However, I've cut down a lot! I love Mocha Frappuccinos, they are just so good! 

2. I also love strawberry lemonade! Fresh and Easy sells a strawberry lemonade that is to die for! It is so sweet and perfect for summer weather! 

I know I've been M.I.A. for awhile, but these past few weeks have been super busy. There's so many projects we've been doing around the house and different events going on that I haven't had much time. But now that most of the projects are finished, I should have more time to post more often! 

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15-

Link up at The Undomestic Momma and join the fun!

Top 2 Tuesday...Songs on My Ipod!

Top 2 Songs On My Ipod!

{Disclaimer: I'm probably the only one you'll meet who doesn't own an Ipod. I laugh at this because my husband is totally into technology and loves his Apple products! You would imagine that I would have one...but no. So, for now here are a few songs that are on my Pandora Radio.

1. Never Let Me Go by Family Force 5

2. Remedy by The David Crowder Band

3. Tiny Heart by Flyleaf

4. Comatose by Skillet

Link up and join the fun at The Undomestic Momma! What are your Top 2 songs on your Ipod or Pandora/Playlist account?