meet my arch enemy...

 CRAB GRASS.

Me and crab grass... we fighting.  We hates each other.  Every single day I go outside and spend at least an hour defeating crab grass.  I'm not sure if the battle will ever be over.  But I can guarantee you... I will win all the matches.  

Having this beautiful yard is so nice.  The dog is in puppy heaven.  We love it.  However, the work involved is huge.  I'm not one to spray pesticides all over it to kill the crab grass... so we're going old school and pulling them for as long as my neck can handle it.  Oh, and we haven't received our first water bill... so I'm hoping this yard doesn't make us broke.  Cause lord, it needs lots of water in this Texas heat.  

That is greenbelt behind our back fence.  They will never be able to build back there as it is "preserved" land.  We love the privacy.  

I've spent a lot of time sealing the wood on the back railings.  It has taken forever and I'm still not done.  Two separate 3 hour jobs have left me about half way finished. Yikes.  Thankfully, I love the look of the cedar stain we picked.  

See... not done yet.  (The stairs and landing are much lighter and not nearly as protected as the top railing).  

This is our side yard (view from the backyard patio).  The majority of the crab grass lives here.  I think the issue is the lack of any shade in this area... regardless of the time of day.  The Husband and I have talked about buying a few trees... but the idea of digging/planting them doesn't sound as appealing.  

I'm pretty stoked that we haven't killed any of our landscaping so far.  This is in the front yard... 

The grass is not nearly as strong in the front yard as the afternoon sun slams it.  I'm worried what will happen when we cut back the watering schedule.  At this point (after 1.5 months after planting...) it's yet to grow long enough in 90% of the areas to require mowing.  However, the backyard has looked like a jungle several times before The Husband got out there to mow it down.  

We're getting neighbors!  They're actually not exact neighbors... but they are the closest thing.  They will be about 5 houses down from us, and construction was started today.  I'm so excited for them (whomever "them" are).  I remember how tickled I was to finally see construction starting!

Just hanging out.

The house has really become a comfortable place for The Husband and myself.  It feels like home when we pull up in the driveway - and 'home' is a wonderful feeling.  There have been some sudden, and sad, changes in some of our family member's lives recently - and I'm so thankful we have this home to open to them during this rocky time.  The stress of having (almost) constant house guests over the last three weeks is significant... but I know we're doing the right thing... and this home is providing stability for not only us - but those we love.  That's huge for us.  Huge.  

:::exhale:::

  Enough of that.  Let's talk decor.

These are antique plates that were passed down to me by my great uncle.  I have no idea how old they are... but I love the blue color and plan on using it through the house as much as possible. 

I purchased the plate holder/displays at Hobby Lobby very inexpensively.  

They're hanging in the kitchen above the table.  

The Husband finally got the guest bathroom mirrors hung this weekend. 

These were purchased from Bed, Bath and Beyond for $49 each.  I think the look is so much nicer than the one giant "builder grade" mirrors.

So that first paragraph... that means we needed to get furniture (or at least a bed) in the third bedroom asap.  (see my last post for images of the second bedroom).  Due to size restraints (and the fact that our future kiddos will eventually grow into a full sized bed), we went on the hunt for a full sized mattress set over the 4th of July weekend.   To avoid the long story... Let me give you a brief run down:

Full Sized, Individual coils, comfortable as hell.  Initial price:  approx $475.
The Husband balked at the price and then he "suuuuuddenly" remembered he had that exact mattress in the back with a tear in the fabric... and he could sell us the mattress, box spring and rails for $250.
We were pretty optimistic, but requested he escort us to the back to see the damage before we committed.  The small tear was no biggie - and certainly not worth paying an extra $225 (plus rails).  We had it delivered that afternoon.

Because we have spent an outrageous amount of money this month on the house (curtain rods, curtains, blinds, mirrors, the list goes on an on and on...) - the bedding for this new bed had to be affordable.  Really affordable.  Enter the Canopy line at Walmart. 

It's basic, and neutral and I was able to pick up a bedskirt, comforter, fitted sheet, flat sheet, 2 pillow cases and 2 shams (not pictured) for under $150.  It's not my *most favorite* bedding... but I needed to pick it out that day and the price was right.  

The Husband has an affinity (that I cannot explain) for the large texas stars that are fairly popular (in Texas) to use in decor.  I don't share the same fondness, but I found this sucker on sale at the local grocery store and picked it up.  It made his whole stinkin' day... which has now forced me to love it too... just because it made The Husband so happy.  

^You can see it's a little taller than the height of our countertops (it was leaning back to rest onto it) and metal with an oil rubbed bronze coloring.

I'm not sure where it's final resting place will be.  I was thinking on this big empty wall (with an oversized entry way table underneath).  

The hanging continues!