Green thumb? Maybe....starting my own seed trays.

I am not sure how this will end since my only experience with seed planting was in elementary school.  You know the science project where you planted the Lima bean.  Brings back a few fond memories and some not so fond ones as well.  I digress. Let me get back to this project.

Why have I decided to take this on?  

Well I won the garden basket I made for the basenji club raffle in February, so I felt karma was saying give it a try.  I should have started early but when Commander came up sick every thing was put on hold.

My basket had seed starting soil, biodegradable pots, and a variety of seeds (parsley, rosemary, sweet basil, forget-me-not, marigold).  I love herbs so of course my basket had several!

As I contemplated planting I realized I had not container for my pots so I had to improvise.  I used a couple of those plastic tops that cover the disposable aluminum pans.  

Each seed had its own directions for planting.  I ended up having to plant the parsley a day later because it said they should be soaked over night. The pot package also suggest covering with trays with plastic to help keep the soil moist.  Sort of like a mini greenhouse. 

I realized to late that I forgot to make a grid of where I planted what. Oooops! I have a general idea but it will be fun guessing.  I am so over perfection these days! Now I am just watering, waiting and on green watch!  Update coming in 6 to 8 weeks.

Outdoor Living

One of the best parts of living in Phoenix is outdoor living nine months out of the year!  Fall, Winter and Spring the weather is perfect for hiking, camping, outdoor dining, and evenings by the fire.  Our new home is set up to enjoy outdoor living. 

The front entrance to our home has a courtyard with a gas fireplace which is perfect for windy evenings.  A love seat directly across from the fire place and one chair on each side fit perfectly.   It has a cozy indoor feel with a night time sky. 

The rear of our home has a covered patio.  Our outdoor table set, two red chairs, and side table landed here. 

The pygmy palms will be removed this this weekend.  They are toxic to dogs and our puppy will not stop chewing on the bark! We will fill this space in the spring.

In this before picture you can  see we had grass on either side of the pool. We decided to replace it the same style paver we have in the front of the house. 

Once that was done we had a lot of space to fill.  The larger area was screaming fire pit.  

It is a propane fire pit but this can be removed and an umbrella placed in it for the summer.  Beside the fire pit seating area we put our bistro table with a couple of chairs.  We eat brunch/lunch out here often.  The next purchase will be a grill to put behind the fire pit seating. 

Our lounge chairs fit nicely in the smaller area.  

The outdoor living spaces are definitely one of our favorite things about our new home. What are your favorite things about your home?

Guest Bath Design

I have finally returned to organizing and decorating the new home.  The guest bath is the first room to officially finished so I am sharing a few pictures. 

It is a long narrow bath but has plenty of room and tons of storage.  The tile and fixtures are very neutral and a tad dark for me.  I decided I needed to add a punch of color to brighten it up and some thing that softened all the squares in the room.

I was struggling with exactly what to do then I happened on a shower curtain with a circle pattern.  The background was brown and the circles were moss green, wheat, and tan.  The moss green was just the color to add color and liven up the room.

I was fortunate to find just the right green towels to bring out the color on the shower curtain. Although you can't see it the pictures all have that some shade of green so it spreads it through out the whole room.

I choose to add very little to the counter tops to keep it clear for our guest to use.
I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Now on to the next room!

A Life Interrupted

Hi ya’ll!  I am in Phoenix or technically Goodyear and love our new home. We moved in July 3^rd (HOT!) 

It has been a crazy 3 months.  I was unpacking and organizing when the call came that my father was having emergency surgery.  My parents live in TX so I jumped on a plane.  Spent 2 weeks in there....most of it in the hospital.  Exhausting!  There have been ups and downs but dad’s recovery is going well.

August was organizing and decorating with our brought items.  I had to get  those in place to assess what we were going to need since we doubled our square footage!  I have a few pics here of the empty house and outdoor areas. 

  Looking forward to those winter nights by our courtyard fire place.  I should  get busy looking for a comfy couch!

 The open floor plan of the kitchen/dining/living area is one of our favorite things about the house.

The pool is a nice size for relaxing or swimming laps.  We converted it to salt water so it is also nice on the skin. 

September brought the arrival of our new puppy, Commander.  

A 9 week old basenji puppy with tons of energy.  He has caused my days to be just a little crazy, the good kind of crazy .  As of now we are on an outdoor potty training mission.  I will let you know when that is complete.  Looks like it could be a long haul.

Next blog will show a few of our new purchases and a couple of complete rooms.  That is it for now.  It is time for a puppy pit stop!