What I did on my summer "vacation"

Ok, so it's been awhile since I updated my blog but as you can see below Tom & I have been a little busy... Besides the obvious (getting used to life with Benjamin), Tom and I have been fairly busy this summer catching up on all those projects we wanted to do since we moved into the house 18 months ago. Here is a glimpse of what we've been up to in our "spare" time...

Project #1 Backyard
We contracted with one of the local garden centers (Sollecitos - http://www.sollecito.com/) to design a garden for behind our house. The layout they came up with is amazing, it's part of their "we design it, you dig it" program. Here are some before & after pictures. Honestly I don't even recognize our backyard anymore! I can't wait to curl up with a book and sit back and enjoy...

Before:

After:

Project #2 Organize "craft" room/ basement

Tom & I decided to turn my "craft" into some actual usable space. First we moved all the boxes out of the room, cleaned the carpets and then purchased the bookcase & cabinets from Home Depot. We then moved the futon that was sitting on Tom's side of the basement to the empty wall (this way we can actually use it when we have guests) and replaced it with Tom & Sophia's chair that was in the loft at his old house. So now all I have to do is finish "organizing" the various craft stuff that I have - but at least now I have room to work on stuff and it won't require me to clean the kitchen first!

Project #3 Organize the Storage Room

This was yet another must have for our house - Tom & I purchased a bunch of black metal shelves and put them along the outside wall of the storage room. It was pretty fun going through all the boxes that never got unpacked... it was fun to find all the stuff that I either thought was lost or never remembered having in the first place!

Project #4 Refinish the Hardwoods

The first step in this project was removing my "wall of boxes" that occupied one wall of the kitchen. It's amazing how much room it looks like there is now. We contracted with a local company (NHance; http://www.nhance.com/) and they did an amazing job over this past week to bring new life into our floors. Now we just have wait until tomorrow to put the first floor back together.

Project #5 Organize the Garage - still in progress

We are still working on this one, but we are about halfway done. The plan is to finish putting up the garage cabinets we purchased at home depot and then empty all the boxes labeled "tools", "camping gear", "sports" (yes we have a box labeled sports - not that either Tom or I are coordinated to play sports but we have fun trying), "garden stuff", etc.

We are really excited to have all this stuff done finally, we had been putting it off for some time now and since we both go back to work next week (boo hoo) we have been in hyperdrive to get the rest of "the list" done. Looking back at everything we've done I think our theme for this summer should have been- EMPTY THE BOXES!

... and since inquiring minds want to know here's a quick Ben update- Ben started DayCare this week and has won over the hearts of all the ladies there. The last two mornings we are barely through the door when the teachers are pretty much grabing Ben out of our arms saying "I'll take him!". Needless to say, Benjamin is loving all the attention & adjusting quite well. Mom & Dad are adjusting ok too, but next week will be the true test! I'll let you all know how it goes - wish us luck :)