Our (Low Budget) Backyard Project

At the end of March we celebrated the 1-year anniversary of owning our house.  I still feel secure in our selection- this house is just the right size for our growing family and the location is great.  And, since neither Jared or I are super "handy" when it comes to demolition or construction, this house was a perfect fit: no major "fixer-upper" projects! 

We will eventually make some upgrades, of course.  Our kitchen counter was trashed by the previous (and apparently pyromaniac) owners.  And I'd love to add crown molding in every room :) 

But we had one rather urgent upgrade to make.  This house was once an infamous Model Home, which for some reason meant that it was built with only a 2x2 foot square of cement for the backyard patio.  Jared and I were unable to stand side by side on this "stoop," let alone grill delicious steaks or enjoy a glass of wine or watch Little J frolic in the grass.  So we had to do something, even though we had very little money budgeted for such a project. 

So we began clearing the rocks to make way for our tiny little patio addition.  

Zooey watches from indoors

And Little J watches from his shady lounge chair

We purchased 40 square feet of these lovely pavers - and at 17 pounds apiece, we got quite the workout moving them from car to yard.  I'll spare you the boring details, but here's what we accomplished spending under $150 (with only a few hours of labor):

We used chairs that we already had, saving us about $40

Hobby Lobby had outdoor decor 40% off this week, saving us even more $!

Our puppies enjoy a little stroll on the new patio.  

And Jared enjoys a little time with his grill.

 

The more boring aspects of our yard makeover involved some potted plants, wild Tentacula removal, and tree installation!

This horrible bush (which I have dubbed "The Tentacula") had to go.  Immediately.  I just knew that someday it would house a family of snakes, and that thought made me sick enough to rip the whole thing out as soon as I could.

We were also itching to improve the view from our back door. This is the gorgeous landscape that we have enjoyed for over a year:

BEFORE

AFTER

We hope our little peach tree will grow fast enough to block the street view from our sight.  Notice that the Uhaul in the "after" picture is at a different house than the "before" picture.  See why we want to create a little privacy for our back door?

And finally, I moved the lounge chair that the previous owners abandoned in our side yard to the front porch to accompany my new potted hydrangeas.

 Someday we will save up enough money to build a nice deck.  Or a new house (wink, wink).  But until then, we are thrilled to have a little space to sit outside and enjoy our backyard.