Sod Summer: Part 3

Today Tal got two truck loads of mulch from the landscape landfill:

After putting down landscape fabric on both sides of our house, 

Tal (and his cute helper) spent about 4 hours dumping

 and spreading mulch for weed control:

Now the sides of our house look well-maintained!

On Monday, Tal and I have an appointment to get our underground irrigation system repaired/replaced, so we can (hopefully) till our front yard next weekend in preparation for new sod.   

Tal and I are making progress as we spruce up our yard: : 

• Remove the 5 holly bushes in our front yard
• Repair or replace in-ground irrigation system
• Till the front yard to remove the top layer of grass, roots, and leaves 
• Put down compost
• Lay down sod in front yard
• On both sides of our house, remove grass and weeds
• On both sides of our house, put down landscape fabric and mulch for weed control

Sod Summer: Part 2

In May, Tal and I will be sodding our front yard. In the meantime, however, last weekend Tal cleaned up both sides of our house by removing the top layer of grass, roots, and leaves, as well as spraying Round-Up to keep the weeds away:  

Then, Savannah and I went to the landscape landfill and got a scoop of 

fill dirt, which Tal used to cover roots 

and holes on both sides of our house:

Our fairy princess even helped Daddy 

rake some dirt into the wheelbarrow:

Here's how Tal and I are progressing on our to-do list:

• Remove the 5 holly bushes in our front yard
• Repair or replace in-ground irrigation system
• Till the front yard to remove the top layer of grass, roots, and leaves 
• Put down compost
• Lay down sod in front yard
• On both sides of our house, remove grass and weeds
• On both sides of our house, put down landscape fabric and mulch for weed control

Big Girl Bedroom: Seaside Floral Bedding

For the last 6 months, Savannah's big girl bedroom makeover has been on hiatus while I searched for bedding that would inspire the color palette for her room.

 I was thrilled when I discovered PB Teen's Seaside Floral bedding, which is cheerful, girly, and sophisticated and offers lots of colors that I can build the color scheme around. 

I also like how the duvet is versatile and reversible...with a white background 

on one side and a turquoise background on the other side. 

I anticipate that Savannah will outgrow pink in a few years, so I selected bright colors that could grow with her until middle school.  For the room's color scheme, I'm using turquoise as the primary color, which is why I paired the floral bedding with turquoise dottie sheets and striped shams. For accent colors, I'm using hot pink, pastel pink, light green, and golden yellow that can be changed in the coming years as Savannah's tastes develop.  

I opted to keep the walls ballet pink since Savannah doesn't have an opinion yet on the colors or decor for her room. Plus, the light pink ties in nicely with Savannah's duvet and shams. In a few years, I plan to give Savannah's room a facelift (if she asks for one) that includes new paint and accessories that reflect her maturing style.  

I'm hoping to finish Savannah's big girl bedroom within a couple months!

Here's my to-do list:

• create a dress-up area with a full-length mirror and a place to hang Savannah's costumes
• make a picture wall in reading area
• paint and hang book shelves in reading area
• make a cozy reading area with a beanbag
• hang curtains
• hang artwork above bookcase and dresser
• install monogram above bed

Click here for Savannah's bedroom reveal, 

as well as links to all of the bedroom makeover posts and sources:

Master Bedroom: Rosalie Paisley Bedding

Tal and I recently crossed off one of  our

2013 home goals...we bought new bedding for our bedroom! 

After months of searching, we finally selected the 

Rosalie Paisley bedding from Pottery Barn (my first PB purchase!). 

We love how the Rosalie Paisley bedding matches our

 wall color (Behr's Venus Teal) beautifully, as well as coordinates nicely

 with the blues, greens, and yellows around our house. 

Although there is a lot of color and pattern in our room, 

our wall of windows and new white sheets keep the room light and bright. 

Eventually, Tal and I would like to paint or replace 

our bedroom furniture, but it probably won't happen this year.

It's amazing how new paint and bedding instantly

 make our bedroom feel more updated!

Preschool Memorable Moments

Each day, Tal and I enjoy receiving a daily report from Savannah's preschool, which includes a memorable moment from her day:

1. Savannah was so proud of herself (and so was I) today. This morning she said she could spell "cloudy" by herself. Ms. Lindsey covered up the word, and Savannah spelled the word correctly. Way to go!

2. Savannah loved showing off her camera. She clicked and clicked and pretended to take lots of pictures.

3. Savannah painted a beautiful picture today. She used lots of colors!

4. Savannah told us about a stop light today. She told us what the colors meant.

5. Savannah put rocks in the watering can and watered the plants.

6. Savannah put on make-up in dramatic play today. She said she wasn't going anywhere. She just wanted to look "pretty."

7. Savannah and her friends made a track out of blocks for their cars to drive on. They went super fast!

8. Savannah pretended that her seashells were seeds and planted a garden. She said they were going to grow eggs. :-)

9. Savannah had a relaxing morning in her hotel. She took a short nap and dreamt about going to the park.

10. Welcome back, Savannah! Savannah colored a picture of a huge giant.

11. Savannah really enjoyed playing in the sensory table today. She made yummy food for her friends to eat.

12. Savannah thought it was so funny when she and a friend hooked their arms together and walked around the room. Another friend even joined in.

13. Savannah enjoyed playing "London Bridge" outside today.

14. Savannah and a friend enjoyed playing with the bears in the math center. She put them on a train.

15. Savannah put all of the animals on stars this morning. When asked why, she said it was dark outside, and they needed to see.

Happy 5th Blogiversary!

Today Tal and I are celebrating our 5th blogiversary! On April 20, 2008, I started our family blog. Over the last 5 years, I've written 616 posts, which is an average 123 posts each year and 2.4 posts each week.

Blogging has turned into one of my favorite hobbies. I spend several hours each week taking, editing, and uploading photos, as well as writing posts.

From the beginning, my goal has been to keep our family and friends informed, as well as to chronicle Savannah's childhood.

Each year, I get our blog published and bound in a hardcover book, which I plan to give to Savannah when she's older. In the future, I hope the blog books bring Savannah fond memories of her childhood, home, milestones, and vacations.

Happy Blogiversary!

Big Girl Bedroom: Pretty Pink Patterned Shelf Liner

This week I moved Savannah's winter clothes out of her dresser and into a storage container.  

Before I put Savannah's spring/summer clothes into her dresser, I lined the drawers with this pretty pink patterned shelf liner ($6 for two rolls) that I found at Homegoods:

I love the pop of color that I see 

whenever I open Savannah's dresser drawers!

Click here for Savannah's bedroom reveal, 

as well as links to all of the bedroom makeover posts and sources:

Sod Summer: Part 1

When Tal and I bought our house over 2 years ago, our front yard was an eyesore due to lack of maintenance:

Last year, Tal and I improved our home's curb appeal by removing 11 dead or overgrown bushes, planting 17 new bushes, putting down landscape fabric, and spreading mulch:

This year, Tal and I are going to lay sod in our front yard. Before we can do that, however, we need to repair/replace our underground irrigation system, as well as till the front yard to remove the top layer of grass, roots, and leaves. 

When we're done sodding the front yard, Tal and I are going to clean up both sides of our house and then put down landscape fabric and mulch. 

Here's our to-do list: 

• Remove the 5 holly bushes in our front yard
• Repair or replace in-ground irrigation system
• Till the front yard to remove the top layer of grass, roots, and leaves 
• Put down compost
• Lay down sod in front yard
• On both sides of our house, remove grass and weeds
• On both sides of our house, put down landscape fabric and mulch for weed control

Last Saturday, Tal put our plan into action. Here's what our front yard looked liked on Saturday (and for the last  year):

Before

On Saturday, Tal pulled out 5 prickly holly bushes that were a pain to maintain and hateful to remove:

After

When Tal was done, he and I went to the yard waste landfill (where yard waste is converted to mulch) and dumped everything from the back of Tal's truck:

While Tal was working in the yard, Savannah was playing princess and washing Tal's truck. :)

Carnival

Not only did we go to Savannah's soccer practice and Spring Fling on Saturday, but Savannah, Grandma Barbara, and I also enjoyed going to a small carnival near our house:

Savannah on the Scooby Doo Ride

"Look, Mommy, no hands!"

Firetruck Ride

Carousel

After riding 4 rides, Savannah 

ate a yummy cherry snocone!

Spring Fling

After Savannah's soccer practice on Saturday, 

Grandma Barbara, Savannah, and I 

attended the Spring Fling at Savannah's preschool.

Savannah was fearless as she slid down 

the inflatable slide on her tummy:

Savannah sat VERY still while she got her face painted:

Check out the red heart with gold 

glitter on Savannah's cheek:

Savannah had lots of fun jumping in the bouncy house 

with her friends from school:

Such a happy girl!

For Kicks

Our family kicked off a fun-filled Saturday 

with Grandma Barbara by cheering for Savannah 

at her soccer practice:

Savannah proudly showed Grandma how to kick the soccer ball...

...and stop the ball:

Our Soccer Star

Soccer Star

Savannah was proud to show off her new soccer uniform:

Tal jokes that Savannah's uniform is so 

bright that it glows in the dark. :-)

Sweet Treats

On April 5, Grandma Judy and Ms. Mary's 

last day in NC, we ate lunch at a Lebanese-American cafe

 before we did some shopping:

For dessert, we sampled SIX different desserts (thanks to Ms. Mary):

Aladdin's Signature Cake

Florentine Mocha

Baklava Cheesecake

Lemon Cake

Oreo Mousse Cake

Oreo Cheesecake

Tiramasu