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This is our flowering crap apple tree we planted last year. I was so excited to see all the flowers on it this year. When we were at our old house, we planted a flowering crabapple in the front yard and it took it until the week we moved out to flower.

You can see pictures here.

So I was pleasantly surprised when this one flowers. Granted, this one was bigger and more matured than the last one was. I still worried I wouldn't get flowers.

It was this gorgeous for a little over a week. Then they all blew away. Bummer. But that's ok. This tree was the first to flower of our plants. And I love those first flowers that tell you Spring is here.

This was the tree I talked about yesterday that we moved. We decided it was just too close to the house. It's in a much better place now.

Now I am checking on all my other plants everyday looking for blooms. (And some have!) It's about as exciting as it sounds...kind of like watching paint dry. But when I do see a flower, I am giddy the rest of the day! So it's worth it in my mind!

We also put screen doors on the front and back doors this Spring. It's so nice to open the door and see out the front and let some fresh air in.

We did a little more planting over the weekend, so I'll get some pictures taken of those plants (when it isn't raining) and share!

Posted by Andrea on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 7:13am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | 1 comment

We had a great Memorial weekend! Thursday we went to a party for Chuck's mom who is retiring this year after years of teaching! It was nice to meet some of the people she has worked with for so long.

Friday...I have no idea what we did on Friday. :)

Saturday I got up and went for a jog. 1.8 miles around the neighborhood. This was the same path I ran on Friday. I was so proud! Then we ran some errands and came home and made ladder golf. It has many other names, but you throw two golf balls attached by a string at three tiers of pvc. It was lots of fun to make!

Then we went to our friends' house for dinner. What a gorgeous night to hang out on the deck and laugh with friends. We played some Rock Band well into the night!

Sunday we went to Gertens and returned a plant that died over the winter and picked up a few other things. We came home and planted and moved some plants around and moved a tree and planted some more. It was exhausting, but it looks so nice now that it's done. Then we went to Noodles for dinner and then went to see Iron Man 2. After the movie we went to the grocery store to get some goodies for our party on Monday. It was a perfect day.

Monday Chuck cut the grass and I cleaned the house and put down the rest of the bags of mulch we had to spread. Then one of my best friends came over and we went to the pool for a little while. We finished getting all the food ready then had a bunch of neighbors over to play games and eat in the back yard. It was a great way to meet some of the people in the neighborhood. They were all so nice and friendly, and I know we have made lots of new friends.

Then I promptly fell asleep on the couch watching tv.

The End. :)

Posted by Andrea on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 6:52am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

Three houses down from us, a house like ours recently sold. This means we get even more new neighbors. Our little neighborhood is filling up!

They are building houses like crazy and I get so excited to come home and see I'd they have been purchased! I am strange like that! :)

I am really looking forward to warmer weather so we can get to know all the new people better and congregate on our porches like you see in tv shows! Just preferrably something less dramatic than Wisteria Lane! :)

Posted by Andrea on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 7:42am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

A number of weeks ago...the house next door FINALLY had a "Purchased" sign in front of it. That meant that new neighbors would soon be following.

Then, one day, a couple weeks ago, Chuck emailed me this picture:

Why am I so excited about this? Because when that bow goes up...they are really moving in soon! And sure enough, the following weekend they moved in.

We brought over some treats and a card for them to introduce ourselves. They are a young couple (around our age), with two young boys. I am so excited to hang out with them as time goes on and make some new friends!

So yay! It's always a little nerve wracking wondering who will move in next door. And from what I know of them so far, I couldn't be happier!

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Posted by Andrea on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 6:07pm. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

One more thing before I let you stop reading this post about fabric. The curtains in the living room are from Ikea as well. And believe it or not....they were only $14.99 for a pair. I was sold.

This second picture shows the back of them because some people apparently care how the curtains hang on the rod. I do not. But it is also a nice closeup of the pattern.

The thing you can't see in that picture is how adorable the pattern is. So I have supplied this picture to fill that void. It's a simple pattern with these tiny orange dots. I love them.

This is the road they are hanging from. (Only $6.99 from Ikea!)

This is also the rod the new green curtains will hang from.

So I am sure you want to see what they actually look like in the house, huh? Ok. Fine. I suppose you deserve that!

This is the way the curtains are most of the time. Just hanging there. We got three sets to cover all the windows there.

This is what I like to do with them when we have people over during the day. It brightens up the whole area. Which is funny to say when you see this picture because it's so dark. But it's impossible to take a picture with all the light coming through the window. So I will note that I need to take a picture at night so the flash works.

All I did was cut some ribbons the same length and I tie them around the curtains. They just sit on the floor behind the couch when they aren't tied back. It was really simple, but makes them look completely different. And I didn't have to make holes in the wall for tie backs. And I like the look.

The only downfall to these is that they block about 1% of the light that comes through them. So if you are watching tv and it is even a little glimmer of light outside, there's a glare on the tv. So we have Chuck has started to do some research on cellular blackout blinds that will go in the windows for when we want to watch tv. Then there's a chance that the curtains will be tied back like this all the time and we'll just close the blinds when it's light outside.

So there's more information than you ever wanted to know about my curtains in the living room. If you suffered through both curtain posts, I am sorry and thank you! :)

Posted by Andrea on Sat, 11/21/2009 - 8:25am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

I haven't posted anything house related in a long time. I thought I was due! I was recently thinking that I should post some pictures of our house now that we are moved in and there are things on the walls. I have a few pictures taken already, so watch for those soon.

Last night I ordered curtains for our eating area in the kitchen. Now that Paige and Brian are staying with us, we have been eating dinner at the table in there more often. By the time you eat dinner, it's dark, and I just thought it would be nice if our neighbors didn't have to see us throw food at each other have a nice meal together. Also, the kitchen and living room are at the back of the house and where we spend the most time. This area also has the most windows and therefore we can spy on our neighbors see our neighbors and they can see us.

So I had Paige help me. She's been watching LOTS of decorating shows recently in preparation for their new place. So I knew decorating was on her mind. And I thought this might help distract her for a couple minutes.

First, this is the space in case you can't remember or have never seen in person. I'll be doing something to the door at some point. I just haven't decided what yet.

(And yes, this was the best picture I could find. The other ones didn't have any furniture in it or didn't have our furniture in it...from staging when we first saw it. I clearly need to take more pictures of the house!)

Anyway...these were our first choice.

I liked them because they were red. Our house has a nice shade of tan painted on all the walls, and I haven't felt like painting yet. Maybe one day. But I don't have to. So I was trying to add color with curtains. Red seemed like a good neutral choice. And since we have patterned curtains in the living room (the area with the couch in the above picture), I didn't want something too crazy or they would look a little unruly together. And I love stripes....these have subtle stripes.

Of course, when I went to buy them online, they were all out. And yes, I had I buy them online because those windows need 95" curtains. Not the standard 85".

Off I went to do some more looking and came back to the same set after I realized they had them in other colors.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the green would be lovely in there since our counters have flecks of green in them. (Which you can also kind of see in the picture above.) They also have the subtle stripes and aren't blackout curtains, which I liked.

So these are the ones I ordered.

As soon as they get delivered, I will be hanging them with the same rod the curtains in the living room are hung with...a silver rod from Ikea. And obviously posting a picture. :)

The added bonus....I had my final birthday celebration last night and got a Target gift card and used it when I bought these. I am always a happy person when I get a discount!

If you are inspired to get curtains and want to possibly get these, they are from Target. I believe you can get the standard lengths in the stores.

I will post the curtains in the living room tomorrow. I know you'll be holding your breath until then!

Posted by Andrea on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 11:43am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

We got our first snow fall last night! I am so excited to have snow! Look at how cute the yard is!

Our grass and driveway have a nice coating of ice on them along with the snow from the sprinklers running last night. Whoops, sprinklers...whoops.

So on this day when you want to curl up next to the fire place and look at it from inside...guess what we are doing?

Planting trees! Obviously! Doesn't everyone plant trees after the first snowfall?

We bought a couple this morning and we are off to plant them! I'm so happy to have some trees at the house. It makes it feel more lived in and more like home! Hope you are staying warm and doing less strenuous activities than we are! :)

Posted by Andrea on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 12:17pm. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

Yes, it was necessary to title this in all caps! It's THAT exciting!

We got trees planted on the boulevard. (I mentioned this last week.) The ones they gave us are HUGE. They are really nice looking trees. I am so excited!

There are two on the side of our house (Sugar Maples):

And one in the front (Linden):

The best part is that Chuck sent me these pictures while I was still at work. It was such a fun surprise email from him!

Now we need to hurry up and plant one more this fall in the back! I think we are leaning toward a Crimson King Maple. We love the way they look. There aren't many of them around either. And they have such a gorgeous deep purple color.

Posted by Andrea on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 8:40am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

There are so many things that would be funny and fit this title better than this picture does. But too bad. This is what you get!

I found this in the yard. Of course, since it's a weed (the unwelcomed guest), I had to pick it. But it was cute, so I also had to snap a picture of it. :) It's a nice bonus to find something pretty mixed in with all the ugly weeds!

I should really stop using my iPhone as my primary camera. Then I could zoom in on the cuteness of the flower. But until I stop being so camera lazy...this is what you get!

Posted by Andrea on Fri, 10/02/2009 - 7:34am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment

I just found out what trees we are getting on our boulevards. These are ones that we don't get to pick, but I emailed the landscaper to find out what they were putting in.

On the side of our house we are getting two Sugar Maple trees.

And in the front of our house we are getting a Redmond Linden tree.

This is exciting! I am so happy to have some more trees. Plus, I was waiting to pick what tree/trees to plant in the back yard until I found out what were going on the boulevard. I didn't want too many of the same tree. So now I can start thinking about what I want to plant. And expect some pictures of the trees when they are all planted! :)

Posted by Andrea on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 10:50am. | Permalink | Andrea's blog | Add new comment