All posts by Sarah @ 702 Park Project

Spring Has Sprung!

Finally!!  We had an unusually cold and long winter this year, so I am happy to see everything starting to bloom.  In an effort to chronicle the yard during each season so that we know what we have, Charles and I went over to the house on Sunday to take a few pictures.  (Special thanks to my dad for letting us borrow his super nice camera, and thanks to Charles for being the photographer!)

It’s safe to say that we have no shortage of “alive and well” plants!!  We have azaleas (both pink and white), dogwoods (both pink and white), pine trees, wisteria, camellias, holly, daffodils, and liriope, just to name a few.  Most of it is overgrown and needs some serious manicuring, but it was all so beautiful this time of year!  You can consider these the “before” pictures!

Here are the pictures of the dogwoods in the front yard.  We plan to remove the pine tree on the left side (it causes a problem almost every time there’s a storm) and replace it with another dogwood to match the right side.

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As you can see, our front shrubs need a little work.  We also plan to take out the tree on the edge of our property line…it’s hollow and is definitely in danger of falling on the house during a big storm.

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We also have LOT of azaleas all over the front, back, and side yard.  They are beautiful right now, which seemed fitting for the weekend of the Masters.    We also found a huge camellia bush along the back porch, and wisteria was growing at the back of the lot.

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And then there’s just a whole lot of random…

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It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m choosing to look at it as a positive.  This yard has SO much potential, and now we know we can grow just about anything in it!  To start, we plan to just trim everything back and get it under control.  One day, I’m hoping for something like one of these:

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If you’d like to see all of the “before” pictures, you can check them out here.

Lastly, I’d like to give props to my hubby for his awesome picture-taking skills!  I’m super impressed!!  And like it or not, you just earned yourself a new job…project photographer! :)

For the Love of Turquoise

I’ve recently started following a blog called House of Turquoise, in which (you guessed it!) this girl professes her love for all things turquoise on a daily basis.  I’m not always the biggest fan of tons of bright color everywhere, but I was in love with her post on Tuesday!

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The post showcased design firm LeBlanc Design.  I love how airy and clean everything looks, without looking too rustic/farmhouse/country, which is not my taste.  Nor would it at all look right in our Park Avenue house.

The living room of our house is spacious, but it will be a challenge to furnish.  On one wall you have the fireplace.  I would love to do some sort of built-ins around it, but unfortunately the space doesn’t really lend itself to that idea.  The guest bathroom is centered on another wall, and a large window on a third wall.  So we will be fairly limited in decorating this space.  I love the idea of sectional, which would really be as beautiful as it would be functional.  I’m especially digging this sectional in the LeBlanc living room!

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I also really love the built-in desk below the window.  I think this would be quite lovely in our office, with some shelves added for extra storage.  We would probably go with all wood finishes instead of painting it white though…we are going for a “moody” and masculine feel in the office.

So many great ideas, and gorgeous pictures!  LeBlanc really knows how to bring in color without drowning you in it.

HALLELUJAH!!

Hallelujah and thank you, Jesus!  We FINALLY got our appraisal yesterday afternoon…and the news is good!!

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We found out we really are getting the house for a steal, and we have plenty of wiggle room to work with.  We are sticking with our original plan and only doing what we can reasonably afford at first.   (Trying to be responsible and all that jazz.)  But we can definitely breathe easier now knowing that we are not wasting our time (and money) on a house that will never give us a decent return.  And lucky for us, we aren’t planning to sell for a VERY LONG TIME! 

Speaking of selling and moving, have I mentioned how much I hate moving?  I have moved every single year since I moved into the dorms for college — that’s 7 times!!!  Charles is the same way, and we are SOOOO tired of it!  We decided that, fingers crossed, this will be our last move until the nursing home or the funeral home….whichever comes first.  ;)

So now the fun part starts:  getting everything in order so we can make our closing date of May 10.  And then the really fun part starts:  renovations!!!

Coming soon….

This weekend, I went to peruse the nearby used furniture shop.  I told Charles he didn’t have to come with me, but I wasn’t there 20 minutes before I called him to bring his Tahoe because I already found 3 pieces I wanted!  I could have spent all of my money in this place!  We bought a vintage settee, a chest of drawers for dining storage (which I plan to make into a bar), and a gold console table.  I was beyond excited!!

But, as the title might suggest, pictures are coming soon.  I…er….”misplaced” my camera over the weekend, so step #1 is to find that.  I’m sure it will turn up when I go through the mess that is our apartment.  I just didn’t have it in me yesterday after work and gym to find it. 

Also, I did try out the gold painted tumblers (see my post on Friday) over the weekend.  Let me tell you…House of Earnest made it look A LOT simpler than it was!!  3M painters tape and me just aren’t friends anymore.  But I did have fun and I did learn how to get bright gold spray paint off your skin (soak in olive oil and then scrub with sea salt!).  That’s what it’s all about, right?  Pictures of that coming soon….after I solve the mystery of the missing camera.

Let’s Have a Crafternoon!

I’ve been in the mood to craft lately, so I’ve picked out a few projects that I plan to do over the weekend.  I’m going to make a run to AC Moore after work and stock up on supplies.  The first is my favorite…gold foil tumblers!  (Y’all know how much I love GOLD!!)  They look so simple, but so fancy.  I can’t wait to put them out on our bar!

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You can find the tutorial here.

I’m also planning to hit up a few used furniture shops around town tomorrow morning to see if there’s anything I just have to have.  Maybe I’ll find a cool, inexpensive piece of furniture that I can jazz up with some paint and cute knobs.  Speaking of knobs, I’m not always a huge fan of Anthropologie, but they have the most adorable hardware ever!  I may have to cave and get a few pieces to add to some otherwise boring furniture.  Don’t worry…I’ll let you know if I find anything good!

I’d also like to spiff up our boring bookshelves that are in the office and our bedroom.  They are just simple black bookcases from Ikea that Charles inherited when he helped a fellow law student move a couple of years back.  I may decide to wallpaper the backs of them, or maybe even apply scrapbook paper since the shelves are cube-shaped.  Who know?  I might even go crazy and paint them!  I’m thinking something like this…

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Even though NC seems to be a little confused about this, it is actually Spring now and warmer weather is coming!  That means more nights outside and more glasses of wine on our little balcony at the apartment.  In light on the new season (see what I did there?), I want to make these cute little lanterns.  I’ll have to wait until I have some cans saved up, but they will be super cute for Spring and Summer!

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Here’s the how-to.

Have a happy weekend, y’all!!

Patience is a Virtue….Right?

So, remember that blog post a while back about how I have become more patient, and learned to roll with the punches, and blah blah blah….?  Yeah, that feeling is all but gone.  I mean, you can only be patient for so long, right?  I think even Gandhi would be getting a little antsy at this point.  I just want to get our appraisal back so we can finally move towards our goal of closing by May 10!

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But, at least some things are moving along.  I got a job offer last week and I have an interview for another job on Thursday, so things might be looking up in that department.  And Charles is only about five and a half weeks away from finishing school.  So at least things are moving.  Just…very….slowly.

But I still want that appraiser to HURRY HURRY HURRY so we can get started on our dream house!!!