Welcome to our home!

Cameron and I have lived in our home for seven years this July.  It has been a very happy time.  We spent a short amount of time in an apartment right after we got married, but this was our first home.  We have spent all but those first short months of our married life here and it has seen a lot of changes to our life.  We started our menagerie here, getting our first chickens.  This house saw the addition of our first child, Lila brought home.  It even saw Maggie being born within its walls.  Needless to say, we have a lot of happy memories here.

 When we bought it in 2004, it was a cute little ranch painted blue.  The landscaping out front was not great, but not terrible, either.  Especially compared to the rest of the yard which was mosquito-ridden because of being rather swampy and wet.  The backyard had a "retaining wall" made from an old semi trailer wall.  It was leaning precariously and not doing much retaining.  The front yard's spruce up was low on the list of priorities for us.  

A few years ago, we painted the house a cheery yellow, the front door red, and the porch white.  I painted a "rug" on the porch.

  

 The pathway to the door felt awkward, so a couple years later, we put this in:

We straightened the path.  I really liked the look of the path itself, but it left a large square to the right that really had no purpose.  We kept it mulched with a picnic table, but it still felt awkward.  A couple weeks ago, we decided to break down and replace the porch.  It was looking pretty ragged.  Cam built a lovely new porch using that composite decking that doesn't need to be stained or painted.  It turned out beautifully!  I pulled around a rocking chair from the back of the house and bought a pillow with the red and yellow from the house that also had oranges and green to widen the color palate. 

The post caps are solar-powered and give off a pleasant light at night.

      It turned out so well, we were both inspired to make the front walkway and landscaping look more appealing.  We had an upcoming get together planned and I really wanted to have it completed in time for our guests.  Cam thought that was not going to happen.  He had a lot of things on his plate that were really more pressing than an aesthetically pleasing entrance.  But, I was bound and determined to make it happen.  Cam had started the project a little bit, but it was I, Super Molly, who made it happen.  I'm totally tooting my own horn here, but normally I really let Cam take lead on these outdoor projects.  For this project, I really got the gumption did most of the labor and decorating myself.  I am so pleased!  

We decided to curve the path way, so I removed the landscaping timbers and put down a creek stone border.  I put down mulch, delivered and put down pea gravel for a fire ring area. I toted the stone for the fire pit.  I potted plants for the planters on either side of the stairs.  I was really pleased with myself.  =) (Toot toot)  I went to four stores in Corydon looking for a single shepherd's hook to hang that pretty red bird feeder in the foreground on.  Apparently there was a run on them, as there were none to be found!  My mom came through, though and brought one from New Albany.  I am thinking I may actually use the feeder as a lantern and put either a votive or a battery powered LED light in it.  

At first the front yard seemed like a funny place for a fire ring, but we've already christened it.  Cam, Lila and I even fell asleep under the stars next to it the first night.  It was very pleasant.  It's a very convenient place for it after all!  Our entry way now feels much more welcoming and purposeful.  Won't you come in?