the War of the Roses

Maybe that's a little melodramatic. It's more like the Neighborly Competition Associated with Backyard Landscaping. As in, my neighbor showed up the landscape party. Even if she had to pay a professional for the invite.

Enough analogies for one paragraph. Here's what "she" did:

We don't have big backyards in Brightwalk, but Spring brought a litany of new landscaping ideas as all the neighbors compete to make their yard "the best." While her yard is obviously still a work in progress, she's off to a great start. And she perfectly executed every idea I had for our backyard (but never shared with her), so when we finally make it happen I'll look like the copy-Kato.

I've been looking forward to installing a retaining wall in the slope below our detached garage and planting a bed from the retaining wall to the garage's wall. With the flat area created below we'll be installing a patio for grilling and summer dining. But that's phase two (or thirty-three...) after we install our fence and after we create an outdoor seating area on the covered-patio we already have.

So where do I stand now? How about a friendly comparison shot, Katie? You know I'd never deny my seven loyal readers, so here's the same photo zoomed out.

I need to stop twiddling my not-so-green thumbs; those six-month-old pine needles are looking very old and gray. At least I still have my bistro light idea to make me feel all original/warm-and-fuzzy inside.

You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war.

On a completely different note, my friend Jackie closed on her Brightwalk townhome today. Congratulations and welcome to the neighborhood!

I Now Present: The Guestroom

AKA: "Did it really take you that long to slap up a coat of paint?"

And yes, yes it did.

Ooooh. Aaaaah.

I'm sure you all have noticed that iPhone photography isn't my forte. We just added a whole other layer by having a dark room with lots of light and white bedding...

Even though we've been sleeping on our new king-sized Tempurpedic for a little over three weeks, I've been really slacking on tying up the guest room. At first it looked like Pat's mom would be coming to stay with us, so I did what every good daughter-in-law does and spent a bunch of money and got myself all worked up trying to prep the perfect guest room. Then she ended up not coming and my motivation flew out the window.

I mean 3/4 painted is better than 0/4 painted. That's just math.

Eventually, Pat we got really tired of looking at paint rollers, ladders, and broken promises, not to mention a certain cat loves chewing on plastic drop cloths in the early morning hours, so I hunkered down and got it functional. Assuming you have a loose definition of "functional."

Just a reminder, this is where we're coming from:

At this point, it's just our old bed and nightstands plus new bedding and lamps. Eventually, once we find a new dresser for the master, our old Ikea Hemnes will go in here, after a coat of bright white paint. For now, we still have one very empty wall.

The best part may be that we finally have a place in our house where our resident ginger #shyLeo is comfortable.

I mean, he may not look comfortable but for him that's practically euphoric.

A Gamely Curio

Our house has an interesting little nook by the half bath. And though it's little, it's a whole lotta nothing.

The last time we even looked at this corner was the move-in tour over six months ago. Pretty much it looks the exact same except the addition of a light gray paint color and a solitary picture of a much loved, but very dead dog.

It's been needing something, a purpose other than collecting Boonebleweeds. So last week, it got a little present.

source

This little gem is from Target. Not only is it a complete lie that it's "not sold in stores" but it's a color and it's in my home. I'm growing up so fast. The idea is to store all the board games that were displaced when traded bookcases for a respectable entertainment center. Around here, we love a good board game. We may even love a bad board game more than a good one (please, please, please try Cards Against Humanity, but don't blame me if you're offended).

The nothing-nook is the perfect location to store board games since it is equidistant to our two primary gaming locations, the dining room and the living room. And a dedicated gaming cabinet just feels like so much fun. So the games got a new home.

Yes, we have Friends Scene It. We're obsessive like that.

 

I think this cabinet is sooo happy! The cheery blue color say "game time!" and I know it's gonna get a lot of action this weekend as we have some Easter visitors.

Happy Bloggiversary!

I really can't believe that it's been a whole year since this little blog started. Sure it's still pretty little, but it's growing and I feel really good about the direction we're heading in.

I mean, we don't even have that "Private Residence" sign anymore. Everything is different now.

I remember telling myself, "as soon as our financing is nailed down, I'm starting a blog." At the time I was crazy terrified of the whole home building/buying process and didn't want to count my chickens before they hatched. Now we're in and I'm just waiting on real, non-metaphorical bird eggs to crack to life.

Maybe some of you will dig through the archives and marvel at how much this blog has changed in 365 days. I feel like I've grown in so many ways.

I'd really appreciate if everyone would help me celebrate by sharing the Woodward Place with someone you think would enjoy it. Just one person (but I won't be mad if you feel inclined to share it with more). It can be anyone. Your mom, sister, coworker, crazy-neighbor-who-needs-a-little-less-time-alone-with-her-cats. You could even share it with a non-female. Remember: sharing is caring.

What a crazy year it's been. Join me in wishing the Woodward Place Happy 1st Birthday!

Someone's Having Babies (and It's Not Me)

Sooo, while I should be telling you about our guest room (spoiler: it's still not done) what I'm actually going to tell you about is our nest. And our four eggs. Yes, four.

They already have names: Easter, Bunny, Twitter, and Momma's Boy. And in my mind, they're already adorable.

Oh yeah, that guest room. Here's the teaser to hold you over until I actually get around to finishing it.

For more up-to-the-minute updates on our nest and our bird's nest, you can follow me on Instagram here.