Easy Outdoor Updates

Last week I spent a lot of time talking about simplifying.  Mostly, that had to do with simplifying all of the stuff piling up and so I had started a great purge of my closet.  Living more simply though definitely translates into other areas of your life.  Getting rid of the useless things is part of it but it also means being intentional of how you live.  Not doing things just to do them, not taking on too many busy projects and enjoying the people God has put in your life.  A better life focus, if you will.  We are inundated with the constant desire for more, or are surrounded with the push of consumerism - when really we already have way too much.  So today its about using what you have, making something of it and making it usable.

This plant stand on our patio was by all means trash, rusted, peeling, and old.  Probably something I needed to throw away. But instead, I decided to shine it up a bit and use what I had. 

It took some scraping, cleaning and a little spray paint and it was looking just as good as new.  There is something really satisfying about taking a piece of junk and making it pretty again.  And this was not a fancy project, but a simple one that made a huge difference in how it looked.  

We also spent some time before Justin's surgery to utilize the flower bed next to our house to plant some veggies and herbs.  I don't have a before picture, but this space was so overgrown, neglected, and terrible looking.  But with some effort we were able to clean it out and make it into something usable.  Another completely satisfying project and something that felt like it was worth the time and effort.

The best part about the little garden, in my opinion, is the time Silas and I can spend taking care of it.  He loves going out to water, clean out a few weeds, and watch it all grow.  

Take some time to look around and find something useful out of something that may be old and overlooked!  Sometimes its just the simple things.

Building a Patio - Part Three

Alright, so lets pick up where we left off with the patio.  It seems strange to be writing a blog post for something we completed so long ago (do a few months count as long ago? I guess it does in my mind.)  From the beginning this patio was a team effort.  We have had so many great people give us a hand or two in the building of this thing.  I was blown away that so many came by to help out and so thankful for amazing friends.  Its been so fun to be able to host lots of cook outs and hang out nights here with them on the patio this summer.  We almost feel like we have added an entire new room or living space to our house, we love it.

Ok, now lets get down to the technical - or not so technical things.  Way back when, we first talked about choosing pavers, then we began with our first step of digging out the area (and let me add in again that when I say we here - I'm really talking about everyone else...I made the food and finalized plans), and that was followed by the prep work of adding gravel, screening and tamping down the surface.  So we were all primed and ready to put in a patio.

Pavers - they must somehow find their way to the location you want them to lie.  Pavers - are not light. Pavers - it takes a long time to move from front yard to back.  Did you like my salute to Pavers?  We all took many trips back and forth.  I think I could do one paver at a time, maybe two if I channeled my inner hulk.

Ok, next thing was to determine our paver pattern.  We bought both square pavers and bricks and wanted to use the bricks to break up the plainness of the squares.  We settled with this and liked it.

Now it was just the tedious task of laying them all down, keeping them level, even and precise as possible.  The technical part of this includes the fancy tools we used.  Like a paint stirrer.  We used them to sweep across the screening layer a time or two just to make sure everything was as even as possible.  It worked like a charm.  Also a level is useful for a final check.

I need to add in here that early on we decided we needed a slight incline in the patio - mainly to help with drainage during heavy rain storms.  You can't even tell in its completeness that there is a slight slope at all and it has drained beautifully since its completion.  I think it was a smart move.  I would have hated to have puddles and mess to deal with every time it rained.

Oh, also for tools a rubber mallet came in handy for keeping the pavers tight and crisp.

Silas and Mike had the task of double checking for any loose or wobbly pavers.  We had a few that just didn't meet our standards of levelness so they walked and jumped around and smoothed out anything that felt wobbly or uneven.

And it seems Mark had to do some of that too.

This is a staged shot, I know seems so "real life" right?  This is the moment of the final paver placement - a wonderful feeling for everyone.

Victory run.

But wait, there is more!  Something has to hold all of this together and that's when Paver Set comes in. 

 According to its package Paver set is:

Polymeric Sand Paver Set is specially formulated for the filling of paver joints. It is specially mixed with polymers to harden yet remain flexible. It reduces weed growth but will not crack with weather-related ground movement.

We quickly began dumping it on, then felt like we didn't have enough and then ran to the store and bought way too much.  I guess its better to have too much then not enough?  Luckily it was returnable.  So we just used a broom to sweep and fill the paver set into all of the little cracks.  By the way, have you been to the hardware store to buy a broom lately?  I was totally on broom overload and had no idea which one to get.  Luckily Justin knew.

There was a lot of sweeping involved.

Final thing to do - lightly spray the surface to seal everything in.  It starting bubbling like crazy and we got a little nervous about the bubbles.  There was a warning on the label about the bubbles leaving a stain (that we of course noticed after we started) so this turned into a two person job of spraying and sweeping.  In the end, there was no way to get every little bubble thankfully and it did not stain or mark the pavers in any way that we could tell.  We were relieved.

Whew, we couldn't wait to get our furniture on the patio and start relaxing.

Its all old stuff we already had but I still like it. I feel like the new patio makes everything look pretty anyway.

Ok, so now we need a quick reminder of how this backyard used to look...

I can't end on that picture.  I think we have come a long way...

So final thoughts... It was a lot of work, took a lot of help, was a lot of fun to do and completely worth it.  We have enjoyed so many great hours out here already.  

Tomorrow I'll try to get in some detailed shots and also fill you in on some more backyard updates we have been working on plus some future plans.  Sometimes its the little things that really bring it all together.

Have a wonderful day!

Building the Patio - Choosing Pavers

Its definitely time for an update when it comes to the patio.  Things have been moving rather slowly around here - well at least when it comes to patio building.  Over the weekend our goal was to pick out, purchase and lay down the patio - that however did not happen.  Seems as though choosing a paver took a little longer than originally thought and then loading them and unloading them took longer than expected as well.  Its just the way projects go sometimes.  So, I don't have a finished patio to show you yet but we do have pavers.....

As you can gather we actually have two different kinds going on.  I wasn't necessarily planning on choosing a paver and a brick but when I saw this brick I really kind of loved it.

Its called Old Towne Blend by Pavestone.  I love the variation of colors and after some deliberation we all (Me, Justin, Mark and Buddy) decided that it would be a nice accent.  

Now, on to the main paver.  Originally I was just thinking of going with something really plain.  I didn't like square and I didn't want anything that would be rough and leave an uneven surface (its surprising how many pavers are bumpy...who wants to sit on a bumpy patio?)  But everyone else wasn't feeling my decision.  So we kind of went back and forth several times.  

After finding the brick and agreeing it would make a great accent I was really liking this square paver - this one is Nantucket's Yorkstone Tan Variegated.  The variation of color is really nice and it has a slight texture to it.  Its plain with a twist I would say.

We have been playing around with patterns this week - we are kind of liking this.  Honestly, I'm sure we will re-arrange and arrange again before we decide on the final pattern.

Slowly this week our plan is to start moving the pavers from the front yard to the back (something we haven't started yet).  This patio job is a ton of work from start to finish.  Everything is heavy and labor intensive.  I'm so thankful my toughest job yet was choosing which pavers we wanted.  Man, that was difficult/I'm kind of spoiled.  Someone has to make lunch though right?

 Hopefully we will have a finished patio by the end of this weekend!  Can't wait to share the finished project with you!

So have any of you guys ever started a project and have it take way longer than expected?  Do you have trouble choosing your project supplies sometimes?  Share with me!

Have a great Wednesday!!

PS - You can check out our previous patio posts here:  Building a Patio Part One, Patio Part Two

Building a Patio - Part Two

Time for more patio building today.  Our patio is slowly coming together - its just the nature of our lives.  We have pockets of time on the weekends to complete steps between student events.  I'm pretty sure you could do this project in a weekend.  This next step did not take all day like the last, but don't get me wrong - it was still labor intensive - as I'm sure every step of this project will be.  So let's get going...

We left off with a big pit - and a nice pit at that.  It was now time to start filling in our base for the patio.  The first layer is a type of gravel.  We used a gravel called "crush and run".  This is a mixture of driveway gravel and fine sand.  We purchased it at a local place called Mulch Masters (where we get our mulch).

This step included a lot of wheel barrowing and shoveling.  So, I have to say how blessed we are to have amazing friends.  Mark was here again to help as well as another good friend - Buddy.  Even though this is back breaking work, you can still enjoy yourself.  Note that Buddy is wearing a white headband/red shirt and Mark is wearing a red headband/white shirt (headbands are the sleeves of the others shirt).  You know, common patio building uniforms.

Ok, so back to patio building.  Once you have all of your gravel mixture in place its time to tamp it down.  You could do this with a hand tamp or you can rent a tamper.  The place we purchased our gravel had tamp rentals - $39 for four hours.  We totally went with that.  It was sooooo worth it.  If its in your budget - rent a tamper.

After tamping it will look all smooth and pretty.

Buddy and Mark were not the only helpers for the day.  Silas pulled his weight as well.  If only that was a real lawn mower - our grass weeds are needing a mow.  Sowing grass will definitely be in our near future - we have a mess back there.  

So, after your gravel mixture is all tamped you need to add the next layer.  In our case we decided to use screening.  A lot of people use sand - either will work.  Screening is similar (its really fine crushed rock) - it provides the drainage like the sand but gives a more compact and hard base...so we went with that.

Then it was time for more tamping...you can see how the rental tamper came in handy, sped up the process and was worth $39.

We were now left with a nice smooth and compact base - ready for pavers.  The final patio step to come soon!  I can't wait to be relaxing back there!

Thanks for stopping by today!

PS - Here is our Part One of Building a Patio

Building a Patio - Part One: Digging it Out

We started a new project over the weekend - we are building a patio.  We are so excited about this one. Our yard has been in desperate need of help and attention since moving in and we are finally at a point to start showing it some.  We are starting with pretty much a clean slate - as far as landscaping goes...well, nothing but weeds.  We have no real sitting area outside so installing a new patio will definitely add so much to our yard.  So let's get started!

Here's the before shot - its a mess and in need of help!

First things first, we determined how big we wanted our patio to be.  So we - and let me stop here and state that when I refer to we I mean Justin and our friend Mark.  I was there for moral support and to bring out drinks and make food.  Ok, so "we" began by measuring out the area in which we wanted our patio and then marked each corner and used spray paint to mark it off.  Simple enough.

Next they determined how far down they were going to need to dig.  It depends on your gravel/sand layers.  You will see as we go but you need several base layers before you begin laying your stone or brick.  By the way - we are going with stone.  We are using 3" of gravel, plus 3" of screening (stone) plus our patio stones which are 2".  So our depth was 8" total.

After that was all calculated and confirmed (measure twice/dig once) - we were ready for the official ground breaking.

Now the fun really hard part began - digging.  Basically now that you have your area and your depth determined you just dig your butt off.  I would like to add here how thankful I am for friends like Mark that will come and help like this.  You also need to make sure as you are digging that you keep the distance fairly even and level as possible.  An un-level base will equal and un-level patio.  The next process will include lots of leveling and tamping.  So, just make sure you are digging a fairly level pit, stopping to measure your depth as you go is a good way to insure that- and sometimes you will need to adjust and spread dirt around to get it right.

The next piece of this process is carrying away or relocating all of the dirt you are digging out (its got to go somewhere).  Since we have pretty much zero landscaping we had the plan of using the dirt we dug out to fill in and create new plant/flower beds around our yard.  This actually ended up working perfectly for us.  The front, sides and back all now have plant beds ready for some pretty landscaping...which will have to wait until we have our patio built.  Mulch will be soon to follow.

So after measuring, calculating, digging (making lunches), lots of sweating, burning arms and hauling dirt you will have this...a big pit.

And what a great pit this is.  Soon this pit will be filled with good things that will lead to a patio - which we can't wait for.

So that was our weekend, we have more work to follow so stay tuned in the next few weeks for part two of our building the patio project.  Tomorrow I'm finally sharing about painting our house.  Woohoo, that's been a long time coming and I'm so ready to share that process and end result with you.

Any other landscaping or outdoor projects going on?  Share with me!!

A Fun Two Year Old Activity

I have gotten ambitious this year and decided to start a garden by seed.  Not only was this something I was eager to try but it also turned into a really fun activity for Silas.  I know nothing about gardening so this is really a learning activity for both Silas and I.  Even if we never get any veggies, fruit or flowers from our seeds it has been fun to do with him.  The cool thing about doing this is that it doesn't cost that much at all to start - you need seeds, planters, soil, markers and water.  I really didn't have much of a plan when we started and just went with it.  So here is our little planting seeds activity...

We did this a couple of weeks ago when we had a shot of warm air and it pretended it was becoming spring for a moment.  It was nice being outside, and was a big tease.  Something I learned is that its really hard to get pics when you are covered in soil and are also trying to keep Silas from dumping the soil everywhere.  That was probably his favorite part, playing in the dirt.  So to get started on this activity we headed over to the dollar store (yes, the dollar store) and grabbed some seed packs - we chose sunflowers, tomatoes, watermelon and oregano.  While there I also grabbed some seed starter planters - these are cool because they can go right into the ground when you are ready to plant.  We already had some soil- its just regular garden soil nothing special.

I didn't realize however that I needed way more seed starters for the amount of seeds we bought.  So, I improvised and used some plastic punch cups that I had.  I also didn't think about plant markers until about halfway through - luckily I had a bunch of clothespins which worked perfect for this.  

Honestly I really had doubts that we would see any growth from our seeds but after about a week we started to see little sprouts come through!  Silas was so excited and checks on them every day.  We have them sitting in a windowsill and water about every other day - not much because I'm afraid of over-watering. 

Now the next step will be planting them outside - which I'm also really unsure about.  We still have some time before we can - especially since the weather has been so cold.  If any of you have some great tips for gardens I would love to know!  

Even if we end up getting nothing from out little sprouts it was still a fun activity to do together.

So how about you, planting any seeds this year?  Have you ever started a garden before and had success....or maybe not so much?  Share with me!