Be Our Guest

The in-laws are making the trip down from St. Louis next weekend for my husband's birthday and the Memorial Day holiday! Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can spend the majority of our time enjoying the newly improved/ still in progress backyard.  Pictures coming soon.   

With the impending stay, I started thinking about what is required in a guest room to ensure that all of our guests feel at home. Below are some of my thoughts on the matter:

1. Provide a nice place for them to lay their head 

My favorite thing about staying in a nice hotel is the bed. I love the sheets. I love king sized beds. I love the pillows. For me, there is a direct correlation between how well I sleep and my level of enjoyment of the place I'm visiting.  Sadly, a king would take up too much space in our guest room, so a queen will have to do.  Hopefully the bedding is comfortable enough that they don't mind snuggling a little bit closer to their significant other for a night or two. A couple of things to keep in mind about bedding:

• Keep the bedding layered. I am always colder than my husband so having sheets, a blanket, and a comforter is a necessity for us.
• Keep the bedding fresh. There is nothing better than lying down after a long day and smelling fresh sheets.  
• Keep different types of pillows available. Some people prefer hard pillows and some soft. Let your guests pick what works best for them.

2. Let them unpack and stay awhile

Country Living

There is something hectic about living out of a suitcase for any amount of time. It's unsettling. If possible, I'm a big fan of unpacking wherever I stay. I know it's silly, but I hate crouching to the floor to dig through my suitcase for an item that is inevitably always at the bottom. Unfortunately, our guest room is pretty small and it doesn't have a dresser. At this point in time, I don't see a dresser purchase in our future so I'll have to make due. Here's how I plan to accommodate our guests despite our lack of storage:

• Putting a luggage stand in the closet will keep guests from squatting on the ground to dig through their belongings and hide the bulky luggage pieces that take up so much space. Winner!
• Making room in the closet for guests to hang items is definitely a must. Some clothes just don't travel well and will need to be hung. I think it's better to have a designated space, rather than a doorknob. Your guests will appreciate that you've made space for them.

3. Bathroom Etiquette

The first time I ever stayed the night at my in-laws I remember walking into the bathroom to see an assortment of hotel toiletries neatly organized on the sink with a little note that said "Welcome" and a smiley face. It was so simple, but I was amazed that they had gone out of their way like that to make sure I had everything I needed. That's how I want my guests to feel when they come to stay with us. Here are my tips for bathroom pampering:

• Travel sized essentials. You can buy nice brands or just pick some up at the grocery store, but offering shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face soap, lotion, etc. ia a nice way to pamper your guests. Keep extra toothpaste, razors and toothbrushes in the bathroom just in case your guests forget those too.  
• Big, fluffy towels. There is nothing more awkward than trying to wrap yourself in a too small towel. You know what I'm talking about. Don't do that to your guests. Also, make sure they have hand towels and wash clothes. 
• Extra TP! Don't make your guests hunt for toilet paper or ask you for more. It's less awkward for everyone this way. 

I hope some of this was helpful! I'm off to continue planning and making sure everything is up to snuff around our house. It's funny because I'm not nearly this neurotic when my own parents come... oh well! 

Have a great weekend!    

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Are we there yet?

We just finished weekend #3 of our backyard project and I can now report we actually have updates worth reporting. No, we are not done, but we have started making some obvious progress. I wasn't sure I would see the day after the first two weekends, but with some a lot of help from my mom who contributed some sweat (and blood) for the sake of our backyard we now have a taste of what's to come.

Progress?

 

The picture on the right is about 1/4 to 1/5 of the patio so we still have A LOT of work ahead of us. I am hoping that I actually want to come home after work and lay pavers.

It has taken a chain saw, a stump grinder and a lot of patience to get where we are today. The husband did tell me at one point during weekend #2 that this was my "worst idea yet." And I can't disagree with that. Next time I think we'll hire a professional.

More to come....

Backyard Blues

The husband and I are currently in crazy backyard improvement mode. We've neglected our backyard basically since we bought the house (aside from mowing the grass and taking care of the pool) because neither myself, nor the husband, has the patience or time to deal with the crazy amounts of plants/trees/ivy/etc. The previous owners would surely be disappointed if they saw what we did (or didn't do) to all of their hard work. We'll have to do some plant planning to get this backyard to a manageable place that we can maintain. If only I liked rock gardens...

Anyway,  I blame the first picture below for our current endeavor. This all started because we wanted a designated area for our chaise loungers instead of taking up the only main patio space and we had an annoying tree with berries that was wrecking havoc on our poor pool. Solution: Get rid of tree and extend the patio in its' place. Much easier said than done.

Current Inspirations:

I am absolutely in love with grass pool decks. Not all that practical because you would constantly be cleaning grass from the pool but isn't it pretty?!  We are thinking about using large  concrete pavers like the pic below. Probably a little smaller though.

Can I transport this backyard to my backyard?

  

Or this one?

We'll be back in the yard tomorrow so hopefully we'll have some progress to post. And Sunday will involve heavy machinery!!! :)

How It Began

When the husand and I were looking for our first house, we had VERY different ideas of what we were looking to buy. I wanted a bungalow in the Heights and he wanted something that required little to no work. Needless to say, I found LOTS of places I wanted to live and very few he would even agree to look at, let alone put an offer on.
One of the reasons I think we had such a hard time selling each other on what we wanted was because there is a large chasm between our design preferences. Let me show you...

Me:

Husband:

I might be exaggerating a little but he was very adament that he did not want to live in a construction zone. I finally came to terms with this notion and we found a great house that fit both our needs. He got a more updated place with a pool and I got a place that I could update as we go along.

To be honest, I'm actually pretty relieved that he convinced me that a bungalow in the Heights would be more than we were capable of handling. That being said, the house we bought doesn't have the potential for profit like the Heights does either... Either way I'm happy where we are, especially with summer quickly approaching. And with the current projects planned for our backyard I think this summer will be better than last year! More to come on those projects later....

Here We Go.........

On April 14^th the husband and I will have owned our first home for an entire year. Since before day one, I told myself that I would start a blog to keep friends and family, near and far, updated on everything that we're doing around the house and have going on in our lives. Well, it has been a year and I'm finally getting around to doing that.

This blog will mainly be used for life updates, house updates, and home decorating ideas I have in mind for the house, most of which the husband will nix until I convince him otherwise. Stay tuned for the first update! Until then, please check out the House Tour page for pictures of the house when we bought it.