back online.. and what's been happening..

Hi girls, where do I start? It's been so long.. partly my fault, partly not but I won't bore you with  my computer problems which have been totally frustrating.

So what have I been doing? Well let me go back to before Xmas. I did change my family room out, which I will post some pictures of soon. I really like the new look but it has thrown a spanner into the works abit and I have also been feeling a little ... well... not sure really, perhaps overwhelmed.. heavy.. and just feeling the need to declutter a little.. so I have simplified my buffet/hutch in my dining room and gotten rid of a tea trolley with all its bits aswell. More on this later.

The majority of the changes have been outside. Hubby took a week off over Xmas just so we could finish off (or nearly finish off) some of our 'unfinished' projects.
I'm afraid I can't show you before pics as they are all on my old computer but they are mainly of mud anyway so you're not missing much.

We have been working on our home for the past 10 years andI have hated the driveway for all that time. It was an eyesore.  So we finally finished the top part of the driveway by laying a border of pavers either side right out onto the pavement area. These all had to be cemented in and then we ordered a total of 65 tonnes of crushed aggregate.. or crushed cement and bricks. Much cheaper and only 1/3 of the price of pebbles or similar stuff.

Our biggest mistake was not ordering it all at once. We first ordered 30 tonne... which we spread .. hubby with the bobcat and me with the rake, and let me tell you that was hard bloody work!
Anyway, I was liking it as the overall colour was white which is something I really wanted but didn't expect and it looked great against the house. But this was not enough.. so we then ordered another 35 tonne.. which to my disbelief was not the same color! It had way more red crushed brick in it giving the overall look a creamy colour so we had to go over the whole lot againg trying to mix in the new with the old. Let me tell you something if you ever...ever.. have the desire to renovate... nothing .. nothing.. goes to plan! Just be warned... anyhoo this is how my driveway looks now.. and  I am loving it. It looks clean and bright and even when it rains it looks delightful..

 I love the 'crunch' it makes when you walk on it.. like the homes you see in England in that show 'escape to the country' on channel 7 two (one of my favorite shows!)

looking from the back of my yard towards the front.. that netting is in my neighbors yard covering his pear trees.. the cockatoos here can be quite destructive buggers!

towards the road..

towards the back .. we also got someone to cement infront of the garage..what a difference now.. so much cleaner as we only had loose gravel in patches before!

oh.. and here is the newest addition to our family.. meet timone (yes, out of lion king)

this is my herb garden, doing very well I must say..I have rosemary, sage, basil, flat leaf parsley, chives, thyme and mint.. which against my better judgement I planted in the ground..big mistake as it is now spreading everywhere.. should have left that one in the pot..

another project we finished was the front rockery, we had only done one half and the other half was still all mud, so we finally did that too, put in all the plants and laid the crushed rocks and pavers

we have had so much rain these past couple of months everything is growing really well and lush.. the plants are already catching up.

we have been triming trees.. which is a regular job when living on property, they tend to take over the place if you don't. To my delight my windflowers which haven't flowered for a couple of years have finally made a show! I had forgotten what colour they were!

and here are some pics I took this morning.. as I mentioned it has been raining alot lately to the point it is flooding in certain places in NSW .. some not too far from where I live.

look at the front of the house today..

left hand side of extension..

this is the right hand side of the extension.. this is the side we haven't finished yet.. as you can see it holds alot of water.. thanks to council we had to leave 40cm between the ground and the house which made this ground level lower than the existing house. Funnily enough I remember saying back then when we were buiding we should turn it into a mote and throw some goldfish in.. looks like my idea might turn into a reality!

ok, maybe not so funny, we still have to put a drainage system in so this doesn't happen again.. and that's our next project!

take care girls, will visit soon,

Maryann xxx

 

Computer problems...!

Hi there girls,  just wanted to let you all know that I am having lots and lots of computer problems. For the last 2 months I have had trouble either connecting, uploading pictures, slow speed issues and dropping out.. just to mention a few. I have tried a couple of times to do a post but it's just not working. So as soon as these issues are sorted out I will be back with all that I have been up to.  Thanks to you all for not dissapearing on me!
take care, Maryann

spring.. in my garden

It is finally spring here!! Yay!  We have had quite a few wet and dreary days here lately but today was just so lovely I decided to take some pics of my garden, even though my camera is not the best. If there is one thing I love to do is stroll around my garden every morning and just take in the pretty colours of the flowers and just the feeling of spring. I never ever tire of it and could easily spend all day pottering around. It is in need of some tlc at the moment but couldn't resist sharing.. there's quite a few pics so I've just thrown them in random order..

I am in the process of redoing my family living area. It is quite different to the rest of my shabby home, more of a modern  french farmhouse style.. if you could call it that.  The kids love it and to be honest so do I. It's not finished yet but I'll post some pics soon. I have one corner of this room however that has me stumped as to how to decorate it so I am hoping that you will come up with some ideas for me.
Bye for now, take care, Maryann

lounge room progress...part 2

So, thought I'd let you see whats going on in the lounge room. The flooring is done.. HALELUAH... Thank you Jesus!

I've started to put a few things back but I am still painting the french doors..

The fireplace will remain as is until I get round to putting some sort of insert in there or heater. Spring is just around the corner so there is no mad panic for that.

My theme is french provincial with cream, gold and touches of blue. The sheer fabric you see is actually chiffon, dress material. I purchased this a few years ago originally for the other part of my house but changed my mind on the blue and went with pink and green. I still love this fabric though and have held on to it just for this room. I will be using it on the 2 front windows and am thinking of putting a plain blue fabric curtain for the french doors so it's not all matching.

I don't know why but my spirits are lifted when I enter this room, it is so bright, light and airy and that is exactly how I want it to remain.  Even though it will be quite formal,  I still want it to be a usable space. Anyhow, here are some pics. Some things have been placed where they are just temporarily, but this will give you an idea of where I'm at.....

The club chair has been with me forever so will go into this room now in the corner. It used to be in my bedroom covered in teddies! For the main lounge I picked one up for a song.. that you can read all about here. It still needs to be reupholstered .. whether I do it myself or get a professional still remains to be seen. I am leaning more towards getting it done by a pro as the last thing I want is to stuff it up!!  
take care, Maryann