Our Plans for the Backyard Farm-

Updated: 2 more pictures of the front yard

This is the birds eye view of our property, I have outlined it in red to make it easier to see. You will notice that a large portion of our property is in the front, and for right now we have to work around a circular driveway that takes up a large amount of space.  So we have to be creative. 

The front of the Property

Here are our ideas:

• Plant our "bee feed" wild flowers in the center of the circular drive. 
• Grapes will go along the fence at the front of the property.  
• Raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries will line the fence to the north.  
• The south end of the property we have an easement  that has to be unobstructed for bikes, 4 wheelers, and snowmobiles.  We have enough space to either line the easement with trees or maybe it would be a good spot for rows of corn. 

 Any other ideas for me?

Front Yard: 

I would like it to be somewhat similar to the front yard of my old house: 

A+B=C

• The big tree in front is right over the poo tank, which is a HUGE "no no". So it will have to come down.
• Door will be painted
• Grass will be brought back to life
• Hopefully I will have some beautiful flowers growing in the front as well. 

I've got a lot to do! 

Side Yard

 This is where we will put our fruit trees.

• Peaches
• Apples
• Pears
• Cherries
• Plums

Back Yard

animals include chickens, goats, and bees.

current view of the backyard

This is what we dream of doing with the property.  If we can have all of it done in the next 3-5 years, I will be happy!

~marisa

Farm House Dining

Apartment Therapy just did a post on Farm House dining, I  drooled all over the keyboard. I love everything about this picture.

 Then I remembered that I have been promising people left and right for the last couple months that I would post updated pictures of my house. I have been putting it off because it isn't "finished". Then when I thought about it, I realized that one's house is never perfectly finished and exactly how they want it. Maybe some of you have that, but I know I never will. There is always something to be changed or something you are waiting to swap out. So without further adieu here is our farmhouse dining, or our interpretation of it.

  ~marisa

We Found the Poo Tank!!!

I screamed like I had just won the lottery. Never in my little princess life growing up in a well off suburb of Houston did I EVER think that I would one day be so excited to find a sewer. Never in my entire life could I imagine that my thoughts, conversations, and energy would revolve around finding a poo tank. But, this is the new me! And I'm comfortable with the new me.

I told Reece that I would pay him $25 if he found the poo tank. After school he spent a few hours digging. He wanted to take a  break, so I told him that I was going to dig for a while. He was adamant that he do all the digging because he wanted the $25. I told him to give me just a half hour and then he could dig again. Well after a half hour I was just getting into a rhythm, and I told him that if he worked along side me and I found it, he could still get the money. Luckily for him, he came out and started helping just 5 minutes before I found it.

Next problem, it is under the sidewalk. A neighbor has a cement cutter and another neighbor has equipment to lift the piece of cement. We are getting closer!

~marisa

X Marks the Spot

Out here in the sticks we have septic tanks (a.k.a. the poo tank) The previous owners had approximately 18 people living here. The poo tank can get quite full when it is used a lot and can cause issues. We haven't had any major issues YET, but we have a few slow drains. We started asking around and found out that the previous owners never had it pumped. We got a map from the county telling us where the clean out is. According to the map the clean out is directly under the sidewalk. AWESOME! 

It places the clean out, right about here.

 But we can't find it. I feel like a pirate digging for treasure, actually I don't feel like that at all. It actually feels like we are sitting on a ticking time bomb. But when the bomb goes off, it will be a big stinky mess.  I can put up with a lot of things, but I draw the line at fecal matter in my home. 

Luckily we have great neighbors that are willing to offer moral support and help dig.

We are now 4 feet down and 3 feet under the sidewalk and haven't found anything. Now we hear that the maps aren't always exact.

Thus....X marks the spot

I always love a good adventure.

 Till next time.

~marisa

 

I see a red door and I wanted it painted black

Cue the Rolling Stones music...

I don't really want to paint red doors black, but I do want to paint BLAHHH doors. There isn't one room in the entire house that is finished. I love that we can take our time to  finish projects as we have time and money. But, there comes a time when you just have to have SOMETHING...ANYTHING finished and looking cute, right?

That something that anything was my front door. 

Pretty blah, huh? 

I wanted a nice deep grayish blue.

This is what I ended up with.

 It is hard to tell here, but it is more of a country blue and much brighter than I expected. While I liked the color, it wasn't what I was hoping for on my door.

Another trip to the paint store, and here we are currently. I love it. For only $8, (actually $16 because I didn't like my first color), I have a front door that I love to look at.

~marisa

The Great Outdoors-Turning Princesses Into Tomboys

My daughter Maya (7 years old) is was a girly girl.  She can spend a half hour in the mirror doing her hair, she loves dressing up, putting on make-up, and all other girlish activities.

Since we have moved here, I have seen a whole other side of Maya I haven't really seen before.

The other day Mason (5 years old) came running in the house smiling from ear to ear exclaiming that he had "peed on a tree". I followed up with, "Good job! Just make sure that you don't do that in the front yard, and be sure nobody else is around."

Maya came slowly waddling in the house just after with the bottom of her pants completely wet. After inquiring about what had happened, she explained that she didn't bend over far enough. I had to explain that I understand it isn't fair that boys get to pee outside, but she isn't allowed to!

***The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. It reminds me of 4 hours I spent in Saturday detention in the 8th grade, for doing something very similar, only I did it on school grounds.

~marisa

Chaos and Mayhem

It's my life...chaos and mayhem.   I'm going to be very honest and open and show you what we are living in, be forewarned, it is not pretty!  But thank goodness I have the internet so I can take a short break from it all and write a quick post here. 

Quick is the key word here, the longer I procrastinate, the longer my couches will look like this, and the longer the kids will think they are a fort. 

No, I am not going to the roller derby, the knee pads are for tiling the floor. Yes, it is 12:36 pm, my son is still in his jammies and I have no clue what we are having for lunch.

Here is our progress on the living room thus far. 

Before:

The carpets may not look that bad, in person they look as if someone changed the oil of their car on them.

Today:

It's funny, but the picture with just the sub-flooring looks the best. 

 Even with all the chaos and mayhem, my heart sings each morning as I wake to this beautiful view.

Thanks for sticking with us through the journey!

No Longer and Orphan

The Orphan House is NO LONGER an orphan, she has been adopted by us! This family is ready to give it the love and care it needs. It will take some time, but we are willing to put in the time and effort to bring out it's full potential.

Don't be fooled, the picture above is NOT our property, though it would be a dream if it was. 

This is her, down here.

Now, it may look like just an acre of weeds to you, and it is....but it is OUR acre of weeds and we are madly in love.

We have spent the last couple of days texturing walls, ripping up carpet, and painting.

LOTS of before and after shots to come!

~marisa