Summer Recap

Hi Friends!!

First and foremost I want to express my sincerest thanks to everyone of you who sent my your condolences on my last post. I shared the tragic news of loosing my dad earlier this spring suddenly, and the warmth I felt from this community is one of the many reasons while I still love to share with you all more than 10 years later from starting my blog. I mentioned we tackled some exciting projects while I took a break from blogging over the summer, and today I wanted to share a little summer recap before we head into fall.

Come and see what we’ve been up to! ~

#1. We made more progress on our Back Deck Renovation!

Last fall, we left off about 3/4 of the way through our back deck transformation. I’m happy to report that we are just about finished, except for waiting until our pressure-treated deck boards are ready for stain. I’m hoping to tackle that before the month is over, but in the meantime, you can see the progress below ~

#2. NEW PAINT for the House & Barn!!

Friends, you know how special this project was for me. I have wanted to paint our house and barn since we moved in. To see this transformation finally come to life over the summer brought so many happy tears to my eyes!

Before

We still have a few things left to do. Add new landscaping around the house, and reface the chimney with stone, but I will be putting together a post to share all about the new paint color and the decision process I went through to find just the right shade of creamy white that’s not too yellow, but feels historically accurate on our 1775 colonial.

Official after photos coming in the full reveal post, but for now, this quick cell phone pic will have to do.

After

And yes, you can see our hydrangea hedge peeking into the picture as well! Last summer, we finished planting the rest of the hydrangea bushes along our rock wall in the front of our yard. Below, you can see them this summer and how well they are filling in. By the end of next summer, they should be almost the same height as the first group of hydrangeas we planted four years ago, which are now 6′ tall.

Read more about our Hydrangeas HERE.

#3. More Garden Progress

Along with our hydrangeas making progress in the front yard, in the back yard, we have started clearing the section of land where we plan on adding more raised beds, complete with crushed stone walking paths.

I’ve shared a little bit about this in my stories on Instagram, including the garden bed layout I have designed for this area.

Below you can see what that same section in our back yard looked like last fall.

It was completely overgrown with weeds, which we have since removed, rototilled, and begun leveling out with our tractor. I’m planning on sharing a more in-depth progress of how we create this new raised bed garden area in the near future, which we hope to have completed by next year.

#4. Teen Girl Closet Makeover

The kids’ rooms have been getting updates here and there as we have settled into the house. Our daughter’s room has had the most transformations, including a new paint color, bed, and decor for her room, and most recently, we gave her closet the makeover of her dreams while she was away at summer camp. I will share the full reveal with all the details in a post coming soon, but for now, here is a little sneak peek of the Before & After.

Before

After

She needed a new dresser, as her current one, which we purchased before she was born, finally gave out. So instead of a new dresser, we purchased this closet organizing system to help make better use of the space. She loves it to say the least!

#5. We Celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary

And while this last one is not house or decor related at all, it was a pretty big milestone in our family. My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this past August!

We celebrated by spending a few days at the most beautiful Inn in Bar Harbor, Maine, exploring Acadia National Park, and the quaint seaside town. It was the perfect retreat after a hard spring and a full summer. It was the first time either of us had visited that part of New England, and I can tell you we are already talking about when we can go back.

I hope you had a wonderful summer, and I look forward to welcoming the Fall season with you all!