Last September Chris & I became the proud owners of a project house.  The place was in shambles… it was a dirty, gross, disgusting disaster area that only a parent could love.  And we did.  We loved every single thing about it.  It’s old, built in 1929 and has so much character.  Not all of it good character, as through the years previous owners have "upgraded" and changed so many of things that make out house what it is. 

So, when I’m not working I’m working on the house.  We’ve ripped out floors and built closets and painted every square inch (some inches two or three times!)  We’ve sanded and plastered and cleaned the place into oblivion.  And I’m guessing we’ve got another 8-9 years of work in front of it.  It’s the Ten Year Project House.  And I love it.

The backyard was a big problem for me.  The majority of it was wall-to-wall concrete.  Awful.  Not at all welcoming or warm or nice.  Gross.  Chris’ office was closed for the week of Thanksgiving, so we decided that we were going to tear out 500 square feet of concrete.  By ourselves.  That’s insane!  We like to do it ourselves.  It’s fun and we bond and it feels so much more like ours.  We feel accomplished and powerful.  But the thought of 5 days lugging 4 inch concrete and the subsequent chiropractor bills we’d rack up was terrifying.  The day before we were supposed to start, I decided to call around get a few quotes.  And just like that I went from spending five days in back breaking labor to sipping a latte for two hours while a machine did it for me.  TWO HOURS!

I put a camera up on the roof and put together a little time lapse video!

In a few hours, it went from sad concrete jungle to at least the hope of something better!  Hiring someone was, hands down, one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.  And I couldn’t be happier.

The next few weeks are filled with a billion projects: installing a fountain (that I am currently obsessed with!), lighting, planting, soding … it’s going to be quite the project and I’m so thrilled!  I want the backyard to be an extension of our living space, and I want to use it.  So it should feel warm and fluffy and welcoming and lush, just like the house, no?