Zipper Pulls (again); Landscaping

Well, everyone, my grades are submitted--in time, I might add.  And I'm feeling fine!  Now I can breathe a little.  I have some other projects I have been wanting to start on...writing some grants and contract proposals, some manuscripts I need to get submitted for publication, and a big conference coming up that I need to prepare for.  But it's nice to have some breathing room to do it!

Yesterday when I got home, I found a squishy package in the mailbox.  Yay!  My zipper pulls arrived!

I think they're just really delightful.  Each one is about the size of a quarter, and they are so cute!  Sweet Pea asked right away if she could have one.  I said, "Sure!"  She has a friend coming over to play after school today.  She asked, "Can I have one for Maddie, too?"  I said, "Sure!"  These are just too cute not to share!  (SisLH, do you think Bitsy would like one?)

I got them from Jennie and her etsy shop, Zipit.  She threw in a few of her other designs, too.  I really love the black and white flowery one, as well as the plaid ones.  Really cute.  If you are loving these, remember Jackie posted a 15% discount code you can use if you want to order some for yourself.  I am not sure how long that discount lasts.

I took the little ribbon off the pouch I blogged about yesterday (there's a pattern review for this bag in that post if you are interested) and put one of these pulls on instead.  Cute, huh?!  (Oops, I cut off part of the zipper in my photo!  LOL.)

Okay, some updates on the home remodeling, which will probably be starting up here, soon, since classes are out and we have a little more time.  Some of it is outdoor stuff, so it sure would be nice if the weather would cooperate a little.  It's 43 degrees and rainy again here today.  I swear, it's never going to warm up!

As a reminder, when we bought the house, it looked like this....those two big bushes were crowding the house and so overgrown.  We hated the nasty, rickety fence along the sidewalk.

Here's a closer view...you can see all the grass is dead under the fence, and the bushes were so overgrown that you could barely walk on the sidewalk...you were sort of pinched between the fence and the overgrown bushes.  Also, these bushes were green on top, but they were all woody at the bottom.  Maybe you can see that in the picture.  They just didn't look good.  Also, see the downspout running along the brick wall?  We didn't like that.  And the downspout on the right there (which you can barely see) let out right next to the foundation of the house.  There really weren't too many other options...to get the water away from the house, you'd have to run the downspout right across the sidewalk.  (This year, Papa Pea promised me new light fixtures on the garage and entryway, too.  Yay!)

Last fall, we cut down those big, overgrown bushes.  This spring now, we need to get the stumps out.  I think Papa Pea is talking about renting a Bobcat for a day and doing it.  We don't think our 4-wheeler will do it.  He also trimmed up the other bushes the other day, and they look pretty good.  They are sort of woody underneath, too, but we'll see how it goes with them.  I am trying to figure out what we will put in front of the house here.  (And we need to touch up some paint and stain.)  Notice that when we got new gutters we revamped things so we don't have that gutter running along the brick anymore?  Cleans it up nicely.

And the other day, I came home from work, and look what had happened to the ugly bushes!  Papa Pea took the chain saw to them!  Yippee!  He wants to pull up these stumps, too.  We had already pulled up the fence last year.  You might be able to see where the sidewalk looks funky on the right.  Papa Pea tore it up and (this is brilliant), dug a trench.  That downspout along the side of the house now drains underground through a pipe, which pops up somewhere in the yard on the other side of the sidewalk.  It's great. 

Here's where I need a little help and suggestion from all you gardners out there.  We decided that the sidewalk is too narrow, so Papa Pea wants to tear up the whole thing and pour a new one.  I said, if we're going to do that, then we should think about how we really want it to be.  We have talked about a lot of ideas, but here's what I'm leaning toward.  I would like your advice and help.

I think it would be nice to have a more curvey walkway.  I don't like how the current sidewalk is so narrow by the garage.  I'd like it to come down further to the driveway, so people don't have to walk on the grass to get to it.  And I'd like it to be wider.  I think it would be nice if it made a swooping curve from the front step to the driveway.  And I'd like it to widen by the driveway.  Then, we'd have a curved bed we could plant between the sidewalk and the house.

You see the flowering tree behind the garage and in front of our workshop?  Well, the grass gets a lot of traffic there...we walk on it to get to the workshop and to get behind the house, where the garbage is and the cats are.  We have been thinking of putting a little brick patio right there, with brick paths that lead to the garage, workshop, and driveway.  I could see a little wrought iron cafe table and chairs under the tree and on the brick.  I was thinking if we did that, we should brick the front sidewalk as well so there is continuity.

What do you think of that idea?  We'd love to get some salvaged bricks somewhere if any of you are local and know where we can get them.

We also talked about doing the sidewalk in cement but perhaps coloring the cement and then stamping it to look like stone or something.  Any of you have experience with that?  What do you think of that idea?

Finally, I told you I'm a black thumb.  But I do like the front of the house to look nice.  So, I'm trying to decide what to plant there.  I woudl like to raise the bed and put some stone or brick or something along the edge to separate it from the sidewalk.  I love hydrangeas and would love that.  But I need to see if they could hack it here.  This is a west facing house, so it gets some pretty intense sun later in the day.  Suggestions?

Oh, one more thing...We'd love to update the look of the house.  We are sort of committed to the dark brown trim (even though we're not crazy about it), because we just got the new gutters and downspouts, and they are white (gutters) and dark brown (downspouts).  We noticed the shutters need to be painted, and I told you last year, we want a new front door.  Do you think we should just leave them dark brown?  Or do you think we could update the house with another color?  I would love to hear your thinking on it. I'm afraid adding a new color will make it look like too many different colors....

Here's a cute story, by the way.  On Sunday, Sweet Pea and Papa Pea were so excited to surprise me with two rose bushes they bought for me.  They yelled, "Happy Mother's Day!"  I told them how much I loved the bushes, but that Mother's Day is next Sunday.  Well, it did't matter!  I loved the sentiment, and it totally surprised me!  I am thinking of putting one of the rose bushes here in front of the house and the other in front of the workshop.  What do you think?

Thanks for any help, tips, inspriation, ideas you can give me.  I tried to google landscaping ideas but all I found on the web were sites you have to pay to see any pictures.  I'll keep you posted on how this goes.  This is one of our major projects for the summer.  (The major inside project will be to rehab a bathroom!)

Until next time,

Mama Pea

Comments

[Candice]

The zipper pulls arrived quickly! (I love when that happens!) :) Your house is so cute too! I can't wait to see the finished landscape plans!

[Donna]

Cute zipper pulls! I don't blame Sweet Pea for wanting one :)
As far as your landscaping, you have some great ideas! I love the idea of a larger and curvy sidewalk. A girls gotta have her curves :)
Hugs,
Donna

[Brooke]

Love the cute zipper pulls!!
I think my hubby would kill me if we had that much remodeling to do!

[Caroll D]

Those zipper pulls are so cute. I love how that one looks on your bag. I'll have to tell Chris about these. About that landscaping, the curved walk sounds great. That's about all I can give you as I'm not really into landscaping. Wish I were. My house needs some help. Love your house and all that room you have.

[Lynn]

I love the curved walkway idea and the brick. My advice is to take a couple of hoses (or rope) and lay it out as an outline for your walkway. Live with the layout for a few days and use it. See if it looks and feels natural. I like walkways to be wide at the ends. It allows ease of access at the beginning and a place for several people to stand comfortably at the door.

When plant shopping, check out High Country Gardens (http://www.highcountrygardens.com/). They are located in Santa Fe and Albuquerque which is how I found them. Their "plant search" feature on the website is fabulous.

[sisLH]

Yes,I think Bitsy would love the pulls. I like the kaleidoscope looking ones and may order a set myself. Re house: Remove the bush closest to the walkway. Put white stone all along that side of the house with your rose bush and some decorative flowers/planters/ statues. For trim, I said before to go to a piant store and match swatches closest to your current color, then see what you like. I think deep green would look good but you'd be surprised when actually at a paint store. We have a wide curving sidewalk at the front door and I like it except for shoveling. PS-You cannot curve bricks as easily as you can concrete.

[Linda]

Zipper pulls are super cute! Looks perfect on your little bag too!!

Looks like you have some fun outdoor projects to look forward to. I love stuff like that!! It was one of my favorite parts after we built our house. Curved walkway is great. We have two of them in concrete. Then you can put Sweet Pea's hand prints in it and date. For some plants, I would suggest some Day Lilies if you have a lot of full sun or some ornamental grasses. For shade, Hostas or Hydrangeas. Or something...:-)

[Jackie]

Man you can sure write=) I can't believe you got your pulls already... i love the plaid ones!!

[Allie]

Those zipper pulls are too cute, I think you picked the perfect one for the kitty pouch. The house looks a lot better in the "after" pictures! I LOVE the idea of a bricked walkway, my favorite thing. I would suggest making it a bit bigger than you think you want it, actually...I've not done this, but I know folks who have, and they all say they wish they'd gone bigger. The cement would be pretty, but I think I'd keep the continuity. I love the curvy idea. Especially in brick. I've seen it done beautifully.

Whatever you plant, do your research! Hostas, day lilies, etc spread quickly. If you have a built up, bricked area for planting, they'll move your bricks eventually. My friend just removed 200 hostas. I'd go to English Gardens or somewhere and ASK, then double check.

[Little Lizard King]

Hope you survived the grading madness!!

[Linda in Calif.]

The zipper pulls are all so pretty - and the one you picked for the purse is perfect. The after pictures look so much better - and just think how much better when you have the walkway and new plants in.

[Linda in Calif.]

We did the color concrete and stamped it. I totally love it. We made the walkway about 3 1/2 or 4 feet wide. (I don't remember I just walk on it each day! LOL!) The only draw back is our porch is still white concrete so someday we will stain it. Just don't have the funds for it right now, and have other things to spend our money on. :-)

[spray foam insulation Toledo]

LOVE the concept of a bricked pathway, my preferred factor. I would recommend creating it a bit larger than you think you want it, actually...I've not done this, but I know people who have, and they all say they wish they'd gone larger. The concrete would be fairly, but I think I'd keep the a continual. I really like the shapely concept. Especially in stone. I've seen it done magnificently.