Adding Some Green

A few weeks ago, I decided that our house needed a little curb appeal. So, I made a trip to Home Depot to purchase a couple planters, some soil, and plants. I was being rather indecisive about planters so I decided to buy two of the wooden variety there, and move on to plan B. 

I have been in a galvanize tub kind of mood and found one for pretty cheap on Amazon. Two days later (thank you Amazon Prime) and this 16 gallon, shiny, trough arrived.

Then it rained. So my plants spent a little time indoors. 

Once it dried up, I was able to plant the two little, green trees that I purchased. 

 One for each side of the garage.

This one is also concealing our gas line (that couldn't be moved for whatever reason the City gave Mr. Contractor during the building stages). I am thinking now that I should paint the rest of it Navy. #mentalnote #todolist

This tree is not big enough to conceal our neighbors garbage can but, I have high hopes for it. 

After that, I was exhausted so, I hired out the rest of the work. No, not really. 

H was very excited to help plant at this stage. 

Having H help is a little bit like having a toddler around. They don't want to shop, prep, or clean up but, they certainly do want to get their hands dirty and jump in for the fun part. 

I call it 'stealing the glory'.  

Maui even decided to get in on the fun. Thankfully, she is a lady and doesn't pee on flowers. 

The ornamental grass and Celocia turned out pretty lovely if you ask me. 

And just in case one of us ever has a tapeworm we can ingest the flower for its medicinal properties to treat it.  

Seriously. Google it.

Spring Has Sprung!

One thing that I love about living in a different climate than I grew up in is experiencing a true Spring. In Jackson, Spring is known as "Mud Season". This is because of the long winter and large amounts of snow that melt away and making everything a little bit mushy prior. Eventually, Summer comes and everything is amazing but, it's not that pretty getting to that point. 

The blooms are definitely my favorite accessory of an East Coast Spring. 

This must be where Lilly Pulitzer pulled her inspiration from. #pinkandgreen

Do you want to know the best part about pink, flowering trees?

PINK SNOW!

I hope you're getting out and making the best of Spring, just like Jack is.

Two of my other favorite accessories of Spring, are ice cream and baseball hats. 

Charlie agrees. 

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

"Frankenstorm" Update:

It's raining. The wind is picking up. Right now, it is blowing at about 30-40 mph. All in all, its not too bad, yet. 

Before I left for work this morning, my weather app's map looked like this.

Yes, I said 'before I left for work', I work at a major hospital that is open for business. However, I was sent home almost immediately because, the path of Miss Sandy has changed. She was once reported to be heading north and striking NJ/NY with the majority of her force. The silly girl decided to detour and hang out in Charm City for a while. Super. Thanks girl.

Yesterday, the city was preparing for the hurricane and things looked like this around here:

The Coast Guard was docked in Fells Point and hard at work in the Harbor. 

 

Dump trucks full of sand were lined up along the Harbor.

Where citizens could bag their own sand to protect their homes.

Lower level doors had been taped off with plastic barriers and sand bags put in place. Many windows had been boarded of buildings that sat on or near the water. 

Basements windows and entrances were covered with plastic and sand bags.

Storm drains were covered (in some places) with duct tape. Classy Baltimore.

Back to today, Monday: 

We aren't too concerned with flooding as we live about a half mile or so from the water and up hill. Oh, and we don't have a basement. sorrynotsorryaboutthelackofmancave

The temperature has already dropped into the 40s and H just reported to me that it is snowing in the Harbor. 

So far we have power. The Governor is saying that wont last for long. 

This tree in our back yard, that on a good day drapes and hangs over power lines may pose a problem. 

Or perhaps the bigger problem is that when Sandy makes landfall, tonight, the winds are expected to be at or around 90-100 mph (meaning she will then be classified as a category 2 hurricane). She is expected to stay, unwelcomely, for 24-36 hours.

We are all home now, safe and sound. Mr. C even wrote us an email saying, if we have any problems that he and his crew are on standby and will be available to help if any house related issues arise. 

Also, we have plenty of booze to keep us entertained so, don't feel too sorry for us yet. 

All Framed Out

Last week, when I stopped by the house the construction crew was working on framing the second floor. I showed you a few pictures of the newly framed first floor then.

This week, I swung on by the house to give Mr. C a check. A big check. No, not the kind they used to deliver to your house if you won the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. (Does this still happen?)

(Anyone else going to miss Kristen Wiig on SNL?!)

When I say a big check I mean BIG as in the largest numerical check I've ever written. It certainly felt a little like playing with pretend money but, exciting all the same.

While, handing over said check I got a chance to see (and snap pics of) the house.

Here are a few more pictures of the first floor:

This is the dining area and door out to the rear "patio".

From the kitchen looking at the living room. Old sally port on left, window center, and front door on the right.

View of the garage from the mud room.

Looking up from the rear "patio" to the master bedroom.

Next, I climbed the ladder (no stairs yet) to the second floor. The old "shell" was too damaged to venture in. So, this was the first time I've been able to see the house and our views from these vantage points. Very exciting!


This is one of the bedrooms.

Here is the other.  The second floor has high sloped ceilings that are going to be amazing!

It may be difficult to tell because things were a bit cramped but, this is the second full bathroom.

Here is the master bathroom. The vanity and toilet latrine (lets class it up a little) will be to the right. The half wall in the center of the photo separates the big walk-in shower. On the far left side is the master bedroom.

Speaking of the master bedroom. 

Ta da!

It was hard to capture the entire room because it is so long (close to 24'). But, I did manage to squeeze in all three glorious windows!

I spy with my little eye something GREEN! 

It's not the tree that once stood in the rear of our house but, it still makes me happy.


Something else that makes me happy is walk-in closets!
View #1

View #2

Try not to be too distracted by the 'sexy and he knows it' construction dude.


Thinking that maybe this is where the old garage doors should go? We could convert them into sliding closet doors like I showed you here.


As we near the end of the all framed out house tour I decided to save the best picture for last. It's a picture of where the stairs will be. 


But first, a little info: The stairs will be centered in the heart of the house. You will come up from the first floor there and be able to head to the roof top deck (RTD) there. That means the RTD will be accessed internally. A little something special in the land of city living as most RTDs are accessed via a deck off of the rear of the house. In our case, that would mean if people wanted to head outside they would have to tromp through our bedroom. Most likely carrying food and drinks out and tracking dirt and water in. Sounds like a recipe for a messy disaster/lack of privacy. So, internal access is a huge bonus!


I'll let you in on a little secret; H and I weren't positive that we would be able to get the RTD ($$$). But, we are officially getting one. Alleluia! More outdoor space! More light brought into the house (because of the proposed glass door and window)! More places to enjoy a frosty beverage!  More views to take in (city-scape, water?, parks?, fireworks?)! More places to share laughs with friends and family! More places to tell the tales of a cowgirl living in the big city.


Oh, sorry, I think I got lost in my daydream there. At long last, please, feast your eyes on this.




Can't you just hear the angels singing down from above?!
"ahhhh"

"A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees."

Let's bring it back, old school style, to our Sesame Street days and play a game: 
"One of these things is not like the other"

Picture 1

Picture 2

If you guessed that H was missing from Picture 2. You're correct. Although, that wasn't actually the answer I was looking for. Please try again.

See what's different?

If you guessed that there is a giant tree missing from the back of the property you win a CHAINSAW! (No, not really)

Here is the story of the tree as I know it: as I say, begin at the beginning. 

Below, is a picture I took on the day we first looked at the "shells" from the roof-top deck (RTD) of a neighbor . The neighbor was allowing us get an idea of what our future view would be, (from the roof-top deck we are hoping for). This neighbor I speak of also sold us the property which, is why he led a couple of strangers through his house and onto his RTD. This situation, I imagine, doesn't happen too often in Big Bad Bawlmer, (Baltimore if you prefer. Just trying to fit in with the locals). 

You can barely see the tree (because it was winter) but, it's there. 

While on the RTD, our kind neighbor offered up the suggestion that we ask the owners of the house behind us to remove the tree so we could have a better view of the city. (Did he really just say that?) My response was something along the lines of, "Ahhh, hi, I know we just met and all but, are you freaking crazy?! Take down a beautiful green tree that may provide a small distraction that I am actually living in this oh, so 'charming' city?" I do, after all, prefer grass over concrete and trees over power lines.

"A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees." - William Blake

So, just thinking he was a (lunatic) city-boy with a heart of steel, not like mine that's all dewey and green; I buried the awful thought away in the back of my mind and tried to forget all about that unspeakable act. 

Until, on Sunday, when I saw this.

GASP! 

Dying to know what happened, I bugged Mr. Contractor. He said that he knew I would be sad but, the owner of the tree was adamant about its removal.  Mr. C (always with words of wisdom) said, he thought the roots of the tree were damaging the other home's foundation and in time, would most likely also disturb our fence, patio, foundation etc.

After boo hoo-ing for a bit I decided it was for the best and I would just have to green up my own outdoor space and move on.  

But, before I get ahead of myself and start blabbering about future outdoor space ideas; It's only right to first pay our respects to the beautiful tree that once was. 

Here is my tribute. (I adored it so, I even took pictures of the tree before I knew of its fate.)

RIP tree

(I did recently hear that Costco has a lot of beautiful options for young trees right now!)