About Me

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Hi. I"m living in the Northeast with my supportive hubby, 2 great girls and toddler son. I run a home based business around scrapbooking and rubber stamping and love everything about those crafts! I also work p/t as a Physician Assistant in Internal Medicine...back after a 10 year hiatus to take care of the kids--loving that, too!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Our new front entry...but first...

You'll have to see what it USED to look like.  Now, it's not like we ever felt it was horrendous, although it probably was close, it's just that I guess I didn't realize what an amazing difference a little curb appeal (ok, a lot of curb appeal) could make!  BEFORE, we had red brick steps that were cracking and showed evidence of a miserable patch job when the bricks started to fall off a couple of years ago.  Still, we didn't think too much of it and lived with it as it was.  BEFORE, we had cracked slate pavers that were dark grey and that were a daily temptation for Adam to pick up and throw across the driveway anytime he walked outside.  BEFORE, our poor landscaping was neglected...azalea bushes overgrown.  Leaves (old and new) scattered about, 3 huge Cypress trees blocking windows and light from entering our home and our precious Japanese Maple haggard looking.  Now matter how we tried to keep up, we just couldn't.

BEFORE:






But now...NOW we have a grand entrance leading up to our door.  Sandlewood pavers in a herringbone pattern gently wrap around the flower bed and miniature Green Velvet bushes surround the patio.  NOW, Azalea bushes have been groomed and RELOCATED and our Japanese Maple (newly trimmed) has found a  new home where the Cypress trees used to reside.  Our home has more natural light and an elegant look.  NOW we are proud of our front entrance and hope that we are able to keep it looking as beautiful as it does today.  NOW, we are happy and excited to buy a small table and chairs to put out there so we can watch our kids as they play out front.  NOW, we'd better remember to water the plantings :-)





Monday, May 7, 2012

It's May...and that means LOAD...









Yep, I'm at it again...LAYOUT A DAY is on...only this time, I'm not stressing if I can't complete a layout each and every day, although 1 week into it, I'm still hanging on.  Usually I get started after dinner, but today I was home, so I could think about it earlier and get started while Adam napped.  Speaking of Adam, he's begun taking soccer and basketball classes (not that into it yet) and swimming (very much into THAT).  After 3 years of just "hanging out" or tagging along with his sisters, I felt it was time to get him into something during the day while I'm home.  Luckily the recreation schedule worked out for us!  I also spent much of last week overseeing some patio work outside.  After doing some landscaping earlier last month, Mohammed and I decided our front entrance needed an update.  We hired our landscaper (that we didn't knew also did patios) to rip out the front stairs and walkway and put in new half moon steps leading out to a bigger and better patio made from pavers.  They just finished today, and it looks great (especially when compared to what used to be there!  So, lots of activity around here, and lots of scrapping going on too.  I'll post pics of the patio once it stops raining!!