On the 5th and 6th Days of Christmas...

...the Happy House gives to you... (I'm playing a touch of catch up!)

The Front of the Happy House:

The Back of the Happy House:

Doesn't it make your heart feel holidayish?? :) I still owe you one day, but I'll make up for it tomorrow! The weekend was a little crazy ;)

Landscaping Update & A Fall Porch Redo

Time to stop being a tease on one front. Our front. The front of our house. And the back for that matter. We had some landscaping done back in 2009. After that, our exterior was pretty neglected. Carl does a nice job of making sure we have a sweet lawn situation, but otherwise, it was getting rough. I have a hard time paying for a service like this when I know we could do it ourselves. But seeing how much work we needed done, and the time it would take, we realized that just wasn't in the cards. Plus, we really like the landscaping company we use, so that helped make up our minds. Anyway! Pictures, I know, you want the pictures.

Before:

The front of the house. I love our Japanese Maple and the Birch, but they were getting out of control. That was one of the things we really couldn't have even done if we wanted to do it. It helped sway us to just getting the landscaper. The Burning Bushes had gotten insane. We tried trimming them back before, but those poor guys just couldn't keep their cool. And it's hard to tell, but our mulch was almost non-existent. The front of the house was pretty close to embarrassing.



This is the back of the yard. Just ignore the guys. I couldn't remember if I had a decent back yard shot and wanted to snag one at the last minute. They were already bringing in some of the materials. We planted the Evergreen and Fir in 2009 and they've done great! But we always knew we wanted more privacy back there. We really enjoy spending time out in the yard in the warmer months, and while our side privacy is pretty good due to other landscaping, the back was still pretty open.
AFTER:
Trees trimmed up, bushes hacked and TONS of mulch was brought into the front bed. They also cleaned up the edging. I should have got some better shots, it makes a huge difference. And you might be wondering what in the heck we're doing with those bushes. It was either this or pull them out. I chose this. I love those bushes and wasn't ready to get rid of them. It'll take a couple years for them to really bounce back, but they will look so much better when they do! They will start to bud up in the spring, so I'm anxious to see what happens with them!


And here's the back yard. We still have more filler plans, but for now, we're pretty stoked about our wall, or soon to be wall, of Arborvitaes.


And while we're outside, you might have noticed in the photos up there that the porch looks a little different than when I posted it the other week. I changed up the exterior a bit. This is one case where more is better. It gets me all excited for cool weather and Trick or Treaters!

So that's that. I'm still being a tease on my other photo, but that won't last long. I'm excited to share that with you too!

Happy Saturday: Teaser Edition

I'm enjoying a cup of Pumpkin Spice Coffee and a Cherry Buttermilk Scone this morning. Hopefully you are enjoying something just as good! Aside from my breakfast, this post has two parts.

Part I:
I'm going to tease you this morning. Yep. At least I warned you. I've been talking about a few things, but giving little details. Annoying, right? Well, I'm giving you the first piece of the puzzle.

We have two projects we're almost done with, and here are the before pictures.




The afters will be coming soon! I promise. What? I told you I was going to tease you :)

Part II:

Short and sweet. My Happy Line is part of Top Baby Blogs. They have a reset on votes a few times a year, and this is one of them. It gives new blogs a chance at a top spot. Currently we are floating around in the teens! Cam would love your vote if you can spare two clicks. Simply click this button, and then the owls on the left. That's it! (you can vote every 24 hours!)

If you are feeling especially clicky, you know I always appreciate your vote on Picket Fence Blogs for My Happy House!

We've had a change in plans for today, so it's time to get down to business. More details on that on Monday's recap! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Monday Morning Weekend Round Up

Man this was a busy weekend, but I must say I'm really glad I planned it out because it kept me on track! Thanks to everyone who participated in the blog hop, and if you are new to it, join us this Friday!

Friday:

• Attempt to deep clean floors- Some got done on Friday, some on Saturday but the only area I didn't get was the family room.
  
• Dust & Vacuum Living/Dining Room
• Bring up fall totes from basement
• Start fall decor...with a very mobile 8 month old roaming the house
• Make pot roast in the crock pot- I ordered a pizza. What? The rest is green! :)
  
• Take Gibson to the vet
• Meal Plan- Details below
  

Saturday:

• Check out a Mom2Mom Sale
• Head to the BIG Famer's Market with my bestest friend- Details below :)
  
• Bridesmaid/Bridal Dress shopping with bestest friend & Cam :/

Sunday:

• Take Gibson to the groomer
• Possibly go to my local Farmer's Market
• Make some sort of fabulous dinner to welcome Carl home :)
• Work on my newest decorating project, more info to come soon!

Meal Plan:
Sunday: Spiced Beef Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Greek Salads
Monday: Autumn Chopped Salad
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Grilled Burgers, Fries and Salads
Friday & Saturday are TBD


Here are the goodies* I got from the Farmer's Market on Saturday.
*Ugly hosta, drain pipe and weeds not included in Saturday's haul.

I'm only about 50% done with my fall decorating, and when I say that, I mean I'm 50% done with each section, not 50% done overall. That means I don't have much to show you. Whaaa-Whooooomp. But I grabbed a few photos of what I have done outside for the time being. I had these little rattan globe lights in the basement from, seriously, 6 years ago. I knew they'd serve a purpose one day! A little Pottery Barn inspiration along with my fancy pumpkins helped make porch a little more festive.



Doesn't the pattern at night look cool? I like it! My big goal this week is to get the rest of the fall decor done so I can show you all! How did your weekend round up?

Tuesday Morning Weekend Recap :)

I swear I started writing this yesterday, but the day escaped me. Please forgive my lateness.

I kind of can't believe what all just happened was in a matter of 2.5 days. It feels like we ran a marathon! But not really. I can barely walk right now due to some hip pain and running seems reeeeeeeally far away. But I did walk a lot this weekend, so hopefully Zombie Baby enjoyed the exercise :)

Friday:

• Make Dinner- Cheese Tortellini w/Pesto and a Salad
• Prep bulk lettuce for the week- like this.
• Go to Lowe's to pick out carpet for the 2nd story (but it was actually done on Sunday)
  
• Laundry Basket clean (Go around the house putting things out of place in the laundry basket and then put them in their proper location)
• The above includes emptying the laundry baskets of their current laundry.... (The master bedroom was deep cleaned on Sunday)
  

Saturday:

• Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast :)
• Pumpkin Patch to get pumpkins for a carving party next week (this was actually done on Sunday too)
  
• Do a good deep clean of the house

1. Living/Dining Maintenance
2. Family Room Maintenance
3. Bathroom Deep Cleans
4. Master Bedroom Deep Clean

• Possibly treat ourselves for a job well done out to eat?
• Shopping with Carl's mom- got a lamp for the nursery and some needed frames
• Carl and his dad worked on the nursery built-in shelf
• Had Carl's sister and her family over for some play time
  

Sunday:

• Breakfast
• Meal Plan (below)
  
• Grocery Shop
• Bought some fun new fall goodies at the pumpkin patch
  

Meal Plan:
Sunday: Oriental Beef with Noodles
Monday: Pizza & Salad (I couldn't stop thinking about it on Sunday!)
Tuesday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread & Salad
Wednesday: Eating at in-law's for Carl's dad's birthday :)
Thursday: Laughing Cow Chicken with Rice Pilaf
Friday: Planning on being out for the carving party
Saturday: Annie's Chicken Chili

I've got lots of pictures to show off what happened this weekend, but I'll round out today with more fall decor. I rearranged the shelves a bit and went back to last year's centerpiece since my sunflowers decided to check out of the My Happy House Hotel. I also got the rest of the pumpkins for outside so that is complete.




How was your weekend? Enjoying the cooler weather? Perhaps not if you are a southerner, but us northerners are getting out our jackets already! Brrrrr!

My Mums Are Here....

Probably not for long, but I think today was one of my best chances to get a good photo of them. Plus, I thought I could show you the rest of our outdoor decor- what little there is! I keep it simple with orange and white pumpkins and our burnt orange mums. Then this year I added the autumn berry wreath- love it! I don't do anything special for Halloween, other than carving the pumpkins, and we might not even do that this year :(

Oh and Dear Japanese Maple Tree- if there is anyway you could hold on to those leaves for just a few more weeks, I'd love you dearly...well even more than I already do. Thanks!

And then I thought I'd share a few more inspiration pics with you! They make me want to eat a big bowl of chili next to the fire!



.
*Pics courtesy of Pottery Barn and Martha Stewart

Tuesday Morning Weekend Round Up

Well, I'm a day late on my round up, as expected, but I'm back in action folks! First let's recap.

Friday:
Stop by the PB outlet with our coupon and GC
Get to the cabin and unpack
Make the glaze for my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake so we can enjoy it!

Saturday:
Relax
Make a craft for our Mock Thanksgiving
Relax
Take lots of fall foliage pictures

Sunday:
Relax
Make Beef Enchiladas & Warm Mexican Dip for dinner
Relax

Monday:
Most of the same as above
Clean the cabin really well

All green. It's easy to get everything done when it looks like that! Haha. So let's look at the weekend in photos:

Northern Michigan is flooded with color this time of year. Reds, golds, oranges and greens line the roads. We spotted these gorgeous views on a walk around the cabin.







And I spotted these lovelies at the Pottery Barn outlet, and made them mine. I got all these items for a total of $35!

These vases seemed so versatile, and at that price, were a steal!


And these little acorns and leaves were irresistible!


Last, this gorgeous red throw is the perfect addition to our family room (Carl is using it as I type)

So that was OUR weekend...but how was YOURS? I'd love to hear about it! Today is all about laundry, unpacking, and getting back in the groove of, well, life. Haha. Click here for the results of the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, mmmm!

Monday Evening Weekend Round Up

Ah the start to a new week. Carl isn't traveling, so I don't even care that it's Monday! Let's see how we did this weekend.

Friday
Molly:
-Make delicious Mediterranean Chicken
-Menu plan for next week (you can click here to see it- right side of my food blog)

Both:
Perhaps a little shopping for some candles to make a Fall arrangement- we went, but failed :(

Saturday
Molly:
-Paint the door going out to the garage
-Finish cleaning the last few cupboards that I haven't had time for lately!
-Grocery shop
- I didn't paint, because I had a WAY better task to do...I got to babysit my new godson on Saturday morning

Carl:
-Work with potential new alarm system company
-Touch up paint around the garage and sliding glass door

Both:
-Go to a few stores to price shop plants, shrubs, etc. to put in our very naked backyard
-Get some mums for our porch!
-Take some nieces and nephews bowling

Sunday
Both:
- Sleep in!
- Clean our cars (sort of...I did mine)
-Impromptu dinner party with Carl's parents

Molly:
- Went to Kohls and got the few decor items mentioned in yesterday's post


For the dinner, I wasn't 100% prepared for guests, but since the house was cleaned throughout the week, all I had to do was wipe down the half bath. Then, I chose a meal that had little prep, and a dessert that could bake while we were eating dinner. It turned out perfectly!

I made a baked chicken and potato dish and an apple-cherry crisp.

Overall, this was a really busy and productive but great weekend! I've already put my mums out on the front porch, and am seriously anxious for them to bloom! Note- when buying mums, it is best for the blooms to be closed. So, as you can see, you can't see any color on mine yet, but no worries! I'll be sure to take another picture once they bloom. I think they're going to be AH-MAY-ZING!


Did you jot down the things you wanted to accomplish this weekend? Did they get done? I hope so! Have a WONDERFUL Monday evening :)

I Feel So Exposed!

In my backyard that is. We had a real serious problem in our backyard. Unfortunately the previous owners didn't take care of the lawn- not the front or the back. Luckily enough, the front yard wasn't too difficult for us to handle. So we took care of that. But the back. Oh the back. Perhaps I will just stop typing, and post the pics.




While it provided a lot of privacy, it wasn't in a good way. It was like a weed's paradise back there. And seeing as we don't have tree removal equipment those two dead trees were posing a problem, not to mention the other tree that was completely invading my beautiful maple tree's space! As much as we hate to pay for work on our house, we'd much prefer to do it ourselves, this one was a job for the pros.

So the plan? Remove everything but the maple and the white fir on the right. That included 3 trees, 2 overgrown bushes, and lots of filler and weeds. Lay down all new mulch and new edging. Lastly, give me two new trees! We knew it was going to look bare, and we'd lose a lot of privacy, but we were more concerned about the long term situation. So...exposed I am. But wow! What a difference! And it still looks beautiful!

So that's that. My backyard is all nekkid. But we'll plant some low plants shortly, and hopefully that'll give a little more coverage. Either way though, we did what's best for the backyard. It was dying a slow painful death, but we revived it! Grow babies grow!

Monday Morning Weekend Roundup

I guess I must have blinked a little longer than normal, because it is somehow Monday already :S. Time to see how well we did with our weekend to do list!

Friday
Carl:
* Spray for bugs (this was my requirement, I have walked through 5 too many spider webs lately) Although- this will get done today- Carl wanted the air to be on so the windows could be shut.
* Start working on removing the hardware from the sliding glass door's old vertical blinds, patching and painting
*Instead of the above, he worked on casing the bathroom window- which of course is not perfectly square, so it took longer than anticipated.

Molly:
* Make a delicious dinner :) So we are 0 for 3- oops. BUT with good reason. Carl wanted to take me out on Friday, so he said to hold off on my delicious dinner. I knew there was a reason I married him!
* If it is cool enough, I really am going to clean up my garden! Too hot...
* If it isn't cool enough, I'm going to organize the pantry- food areas always need the most organizing for me as they are always being utlized! As mentioned in my previous post- this was a time consuming project, but TOTALLY worth it!

Saturday:
Carl:
* Finish patching and painting the sliding glass door area
* Continue working on the window casings...another tedious project for him :(
* Cut the grass
* The reason for all Carl's red: he installed blinds for the kitchen window- a VERY overdue project as I am certain the sun that rises on that side has been making our fridge work overtime. Much better now. Although, he says that was his least favorite project in the house. It took him the majority of Saturday, unfortunately.

Molly:
* If it isn't cool enough on Friday night to clean up the garden, I'll get up early on Saturday and do it
* Otherwise, this is when the pantry will get done- it still needed some finishing up on Saturday
* Make a yummy treat to take to my brother's house for a party- I was told not to bring anything :( We ended up leaving right away for the festival behind his house.
* Buy my nephew's FIRST birthday present
(Plus, Carl attended a graduation party for awhile on Saturday...it was a busy day)

SUNDAY
Both:
* Wash our cars- depending on the weather
* Relax and enjoy my nephew's birthday party at my parents' house. Bathing suits required.
* We ended up having to do some unexpected cleaning in the kitchen after the blinds went up!

Molly:
* Make elephant ears with the kids- a HUGE hit with the kids and adults alike!

So, even though we didn't get EVERYTHING on our list done, we were still really productive! And we are finally reaping the rewards of the garden in a steady manner.



I hope your weekend was as productive as ours- even if you veered off the to do list! PLUS: Drum roll please. Keep an eye out this week. I will be featuring my first little giveaway.

Tackle it Tuesday: Washing Windows

I often times forget about our windows. I don't know why, they are some of my favorite things in the house. I love opening them up and letting fresh air in, oh how I'll miss that in a few months when we'll be locked up like Fort Knox trying to keep the air out! But for now, they are open and deserve a little attention. So tonight's Tackle it Tuesday was spent shining the windows!



I not only washed the glass, but the window casings as well. But then I had to take it one step further and utilize one of the awesome features of our windows, the fact that I can clean the outside...from the inside. Oh just wait.

First, you slide the bottom portion up just a bit. There are two tabs on the top of that portion that slide in, and it pops in from the top, like so. Here you can clean the outside of the bottom portion.




Then, you pull the top portion down just a bit. Again, there are two tabs on the top of that portion that slide in, and it pops down from the top...like so. So both portions of the outside glass are easily cleaned from the inside.



Now I don't have to climb through the landscaping or get out a seriously tall ladder. If your windows don't already do this, and you are considering getting new ones, I highly recommend these!!

A few tips for washing your windows:
*A great green window washing solution is vinegar and water- 1 gallon of water to 2 tbsp of vinegar.
*Rather than use paper towels, try newspaper. Sounds silly, but just do it. Although, I recommend wearing rubber gloves if you do.
*Wash from the top down, and don't forget the edges and ledges!

As I mentioned before, our new sliding glass door was installed yesterday by my wonderful husband and father-in-law. It's not 100% done, but here is a sneak peak. It has shades between the glass so no more cleaning blinds! I love the sleek look and even though the vertical blinds didn't take up a ton of space, it looks so much more open! It got it's first good cleaning today :)

Here it is with both shades down, but open- not the easiest thing to photograph.



And here it is one one shade down and closed and the other completely up.

Monday Morning Weekend Roundup

There isn't much to roundup this weekend as we were on vacation. I'm looking forward to a normal week of being home and getting things organized again! We, along with a slew of others, went to visit my sister in Chicago. But getting back from vacation always means I have to bust my rear to get ready for work the next day. So last night we played a little catch up from not being home for the weekend. Carl took on the grass, not surprisingly. I unpacked and started the laundry. To me, that's the best way to do it. The suitcases don't even make it up the stairs before they are emptied. So now I have a great jump start to this week's cleaning.

BUT- my biggest concern was my flowers, plants and veggie garden. I didn't arrange for anyone to water them because I knew it was supposed to rain, but I was still worried. Well, to my surprise, everything still looked fresh and hydrated, and to my even bigger surprise, this was a big weekend in my garden.

This was my first year trying my hand at a vegetable garden. I planted 3 different tomato plants, green peppers, jalapenos, parsley and basil. So far, I'm calling this a success! There was some major growth, and I now feel confident that I'll be making fresh salsa in no time. Due to the climate, I had to wait until the end of May to plant anything, so if all is on schedule, I should be picking things at the end of July, maybe early August. Grow my pretties grow!

Are these not the cutest green pepper and jalapeno you've ever seen?



The top is a hybrid tomato and the bottom are cherry tomatoes...mmmm.

Our Tolerable Landscaping

Last year, our only focus was the inside of the house. Every wall has been painted. Every piece of brass has been removed and replaced. The floors have been refinished. The list goes on. The one area that hadn't been touched, up until a couple weeks ago, was the landscaping. Apparently the person before us hadn't done anything with it, so that meant 4 years of an unkempt yard. People knew they were at our house because we had "the bushes that were half way over the sidewalk." Seriously, they were. The trees were overgrown as well and there was a hodgepodge of bushes scattered through the front area.

Here is the only before we have :(


Here I've added captions so you can try to see the overgrown areas:



We really just weren't ready to tackle it until this year, and wow- what a time consuming project! It definitely isn't done, but it is tolerable now. We can see the entire sidewalk, YAY! The weather was just too good today to not spend it outside, so we put our final 4 hours in and finished it up. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures along the way, so the only one I have is from today. Notice those huge rocks in front of the large tree aren't even visible in the before picture.




So what did we do?
*Tore out the 4 VERY overgrown bushes in the section next to the garage
*Tore out probably 3 more random bushes on the opposite side
*Cleaned up the roots from the tree on the left of the photo (you can't see how much was done from the photos...but just trust me on this one! It was growing OVER the edging.)
*Cleaned up the trees (Again, you can't tell because our before photo has leaves, but they were dangerously close to the house and there were many dead sections)
*Raked and added new soil to the entire area to even it out
*Planted 4 Hosta bushes
*Planted 2 Rhododendrons
*Laid new black mulch
*Added two pots with some lovely pansies and tulips to the porch
*Poured a new concrete step up to the porch. When we moved here, there was only the bottom step. It was quite a jump to get up there, much better now.







The mulch looks like it's different colors but it's not, some was dry and some was wet.



I can't wait until the trees have leaves, especially the Japanese Maple on the right. The bushes up near the house are burning bushes and look amazing in the Fall, but I'm just excited to see some green on them soon!

So what is left to do? Really, this list is way too long to type out, but we need to help the grass quite a bit. We also have more cleanup, but for this year, the mulched area is done. We will level it out more and add a small retaining wall next year....yup it has to wait. But don't worry, we haven't even started on the backyard yet, and this time I will remember to take the before shots!