what's the opposite of a Green Thumb?

Frenchtown Greenhouse

how to make your yard look pretty 101:

go to the greenhouse with a relatively small budget.

BLOW the budget on just 2 large and beautiful hanging plants!

return to the greenhouse with more money that you don't have and blow through a 2nd budget.

plant the plants. 

regret never having replaced the gutters when you re-roofed, 3 years ago, cause now you have to replant several plants that were washed out with the rain:/

regret having told your sister, who is also your Insurance Agent, about the gutter situation...cause apparently gutters are a must for your insurance?!;/

plant the plants...again.

recruit your sister/Insurance Agent to come help you do all.the.things.

- if you're looking for the BEST INSURANCE AGENT EVER...hit me up for information:)

and that's really it! Not so hard and there mayyyyyy even be a few steps in there, that are required of me but that YOU can skip;)

thank gawdddd for Aunt Pigg...nothing would have gotten accomplished without her here to motivate us:) THANK YOU, PIGG!!!:)

gardener attire;)

break for the sprinkler:)

greenhouse outside of Lindsey, WI - we believe it was L&L Greenhouse

and I couldn't have done it without the...wait. Nope...I could have done it much faster and more efficiently without their help but then who would be there to interrupt me a gazillion times and throw the wood chips into the yard and remind me that I have no patience for such things anddddd keep me humble?;)

now here is what I'm working with...what my husband referred to as a turd;) But with a couple flowers and a full day of weeding...she looks prettyyyyyy improved:)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

so.many.weeds.

DURING

AFTER

i've since finished the wood chips but don't have a final photo. BUT this is it and I just think the little bit that we did, made all the difference! I'm really happy with how it turned out! Someday, years from now, we hope to restore or replace the siding and so we just wanted an inexpensive and simple fix to the landscaping...for now:)

and a BEFORE and AFTER right next to each other....

there are also some areas that I haven't gotten an AFTER photo of...this is the before of another corner of the house. Believe it or not, there's a little sidewalk under that mess and you can clearly see it now!:)

BEFORE

this is the opposite side of the house (N side). Jacob worked on weeding. We have no plans for this but to keep it grass, at this point.

AFTER

so there you have it! This project definitely motivated me to keep moving along with some of the things we can DIY on this house - and we are not much for DIY-ing, unfortunately. But I'd like to paint more windows/trim and just keep cleaning things up:) We're also trying to keep the To Do List empty this summer...just chill and do what we want, if anything, and for a minimal cost:)

we hope you accomplish some of those Home Improvement Projects on your list and if you don't...we hope you don't sweat it!:)

sold.

post by Casey

i can hardly believe the day has come. We sold our house...the one we thought we'd sell almost 4 years ago, when we bought our current - forever - home, just across town. Funny how these things work out...or don't;)

i highly do NOT recommend having one home (bought not fixed but now fixed, fixer-upper) and then buying another home (completely un-fixed fixer-upper, currently still not fixed...not at all...not even close) and then dropping to a one-income household with 2 mortgages and 3 kids and an Astro-van. 

lot of love though. A shit ton of that;)

i bought my 2nd Street house when I was just 21. The beginning of some very ugly days years for me. I was really in no position to be buying a house. Jacob and I were dating when I bought the house but we'd soon realize we were both assholes and break-up for a few years.

we were together. i forget the rest. - walt whitman

as of today, I've struggled to hold onto this home for 12 years. Being 21-25yrs of age, with a slight drinking 'issue' and possessing an American Eagle and Victoria's Secret card, turned out to be a bit more than I was able to handle on my own;)

i bought this house, under a Land Contract, from my aunt and uncle. They are basically, saints, for working so patiently with me. I had so much to learn and really had no clue what I had signed up for. Only in the last 7 years - 5 shitty years, 7 very okay years;) - can I fully appreciate what they did for me. Thank you!!!!!

and to my parents, THANK YOU! I bought the house after my grandma was moved to Assisted Living. It wasn't what it is now. It's a beautiful little house because of them. Many of the quirks and character of an old home but the updates my parents have done to this house, made it the adorable little home it is today:) And they worked entirely on x's and o's...;) 

and now a little trip down memory lane. 

my bridal shower and young skin:)

jacob proposed in this house. I was napping (shout-out to naps...you are missed!!!;) in our bedroom and he came home from work and marched right in and got down on his knee and asked. Just like that. And I said: are you sure? - I said that because I'm fully aware of how crazy I am and it was absolutely necessary to give him an 'out';)

we celebrated Homer in this house...before we knew he or she would be a Homer:)

this was Homer's first home - insert tears on the keyboard;'). We're happy that this house is right down the street. That we can point it out to Homer on all our walks. We're happy that we sold it to a good kid, someone that will take care of it and make improvements and whether he enjoys it as his Bachelor Pad or someday, starts a family there...I hope he loves it as much as we did:)

there were so many hard days here. But we got our shit together in this house. We straightened out our messes. We grew-up. 

- it's where Jacob picked me up for our last 'first' date...huge snow storm that night and we shut down the cafe, talking about us and how we were going to take it slow this time (engaged in 6months slow?!;)

- it's where I walked through the door wayyyy too drunk, for the last time...where I started getting better:)

- where I didn't learn to cook, not sure any house is gonna pull that off;)

- where we screamed at each other and where we learned to stop screaming at each other

- where I watched Harry and the Hendersons for the 1st time...it's still completely absurd!

- where I took my 1st positive pregnancy test:)

all the late night projects and early morning walks and sleepless nights and my first maternity leave and...each day has only gotten better. It was good and it was bad, at times, but it always got better:)

having this house has meant so much to me.

butttttt today, I left the kiddos at home and went and signed papers and bought a coffee and a fucking hanging basket cause having had this house and now selling this house is a pretty big deal. Like $6 coffee, $29 hanging basket BIG;)