Fresh, But Not Easy

The paint job on the house is finally finished!!! It looks great. I told a friend that yesterday may have been the first time in history that both the outside and the inside of the house have been pristine at the same time.

Isabel came yesterday and scoured the inside. Meanwhile, me, Jim the Painter, Elli, Kenni and Vinni were all out in the back yard doing our thing. Jim's thing is painting. Here are the results:

The back - new patio cover, new windows, new furnace door, planters all hoed and replanted and covered with red mulch chips. Let's get a better look at the planter.

 

 

Three rose bushes lead to the patio cover - yellow, pink and huge red cabbage roses. They have all been pruned and shaped. To the right, toward the other side of the yard,

 

 

A chiminea with a gerbera daisy in there, and a whisky keg with succulents. Moving around to the dog run- I have never spent much effort keeping that side of the yard super nice. But right now it is.

 

 

 

There was a wood gate there, but I tore it down. Then I put two trellises and two succulents on either side of the opening. You can see the hoe, shovel, and spade leaning against the chimney. I actually use them - they are not just for decoration. Here's a better look.

 

 

The garden window is over the kitchen sink and now it's all pretty. The door is brand spanking new. The blue tarp way back in the corner covers some extra building materials. There is a tangerine tree back there that produces TONS of fruit. It got all nicely pruned, and I filled the base with more red mulch chips.

 

 

 

 

 

Let's go around to the front of the house. Here are the shutters and the shelf on the garage window.

 

 

 

 

It's light gray stucco with white shutters and shelf trimmed in navy blue. The bottom planter has geraniums - there were red ones there, but I added pink and hot pink. The shelf has three green pots with flowering plants. There are pitchforks on each end by the Italian cypress. They are just for decoration. The front of the house has shutters too, that frame the master bedroom window.

 

 

I put some of the plants in some different containers that I have been picking up here and there. Last, we have the front porch area. I got a new entry mat at Costco. I put the ficus back in its place, and surrounded it with succulents, a Martha Washington geranium, and some other little pretty doohickeys.

So now I am all done working on the house. Onto maintenance mode. Hopefully, I can keep it up, now that it looks so pretty.

Guess what else happened? My March Birchbox came!!!

 

 

The box itself was very pretty. Being a pack rat, I will save it to use for something else. But what was inside?

1) Bee Kind shampoo - I just bought a GIANT shampoo at Ulta, but I will definitely use this tomorrow night when I get ready for the next work week.,
2) Cargo Swimmables Water Proof Bush - I guess some people wear makeup to the pool, but I don't. But this could also come in handy for events that have the potential for tears, like a funeral or some movies. Probably give this away.
3) Embryolisse 24 Hour Miracle Cream- it says that it's a must have, because it doubles as a makeup primer and a makeup remover. This leaves me confused, but I will use it.
4) Fekkai PrX Reparatives Intense Fortifying Masque - a lush treatment for damaged hair. Right up my alley.
5) Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in Cheeky Kiss - A lipstick that goes on with a gloss finish. Must try.


So since it's Saturday, Sheila at www.sheilaephemera.blogspot.com is hosting Shoe Shine Saturday.
I wandered around the house, trying to think if I have gotten any new shoes. Nope. But since we are having a huge heatwave here in Huntington Beach, it's a shorts, tanktop, and sandals kind of day. So I figured that I would just photograph the shoes I'm wearing.

 

 

 

They are from Forever 21, and I bought them for last summer. They still look almost new. They are beige suede with a bow covered in gold studs. They also have a gold trim on the edge of the toe box. I'm glad they're still alive, because I like them.

Anyway, That's about it for today - later on, I'm going to check out all the participants in Shoe Shine. Right now, I'm going to Marshall's to look for a picture frame. Have a great Saturday!!!

Addendum : Here is the picture frame. It's by Laura Ashley. The picture is Doc's card to me for our last anniversary. So cute I die.