Thursday, June 25, 2015

Begin At The Beginning

Overwhelmed.

I looked at the house on Moving Day and wondered "Lord, where do I begin?"

And that's when God whispered "Begin at the beginning."

For starters, we immediately removed the Chinese good fortune token over the front door, the New Age crystals over the windows, and the Wiccan (okay, maybe it was just ugly) star wind chimes that cluttered the front porch. Coexist, take that! LOL!

After the exorcism was performed (ha! ha! ), I got a bucket of warm Lysol water, a scrub brush, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and I got to work cleaning the front of the house. Every spindle. Every post. Every hand rail. Every door and door frame and window. Dirt and grime and bird poop were washed away!

At this point, the moving company representative, who was overseeing the unpacking, said to me "Mary Rose, when you're done there, would you mind detailing my car?" LOL!

A clean slate!

And then the fun began.

I love front porches, and this house has a nice wrap around front porch that was begging for some rockers. We bought four white rockers last weekend from Lowes (some assembly required. Sorry, Honey! Happy Father's Day!).


Two for the front.


And two for the side.

And then I stumbled upon these Smith and Hawken seat cushions at Target on clearance this week! Thank you, God! A blessing just when I needed one!


The hooks were in place, so I made a quick trip to Home Depot for some hanging baskets.


Pink shade loving impatiens, because the porch faces slightly northeast.


Some sweet petunias for the urns by the front door. Flowers make everything pretty, don't they?

We painted over the dingy tomato red doors with a nice soothing blue.


Unfortunately, this blue just isn't soothing me.


Better than dingy tomato, but still not there. That's okay. It's only paint, and paint is a cheap fix!


As soon as the weather forecast improves, I will repaint the doors in this lovely new color from Benjamin Moore. Mill Springs Blue. Perfect for a town that loves its windmills.


Sam took one look at the front porch and said "Hey, isn't this the color scheme you picked out for inside the house, too?"

Such a smart boy, my Sam. Soothing colors for the ketchup and mustard house.

But where to begin on the inside?

I think I'll begin at the beginning once again.

Blessings, cafe friends!

14 comments:

  1. Ha! Are we sisters or what? I just so happen to have a quart of Mill Springs Blue in my collection...of all the colors in all the towns...we picked the same one! xo

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    1. Oh my gosh! What are the chances?! It's just like the time you and I bought the SAME pair of Avia tennis shoes in two different cities! We ARE sisters! I'm glad it's got the Jennifer Old Maid New seal of approval! LOL!

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    2. I think all 4 sisters should paint their front door this color!

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    3. Me too! We can call it "The Blue Door Experiment"! ;)

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    4. Me too! We can call it "The Blue Door Experiment"! ;)

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  2. Your porch is beautiful! Not sure what your view is, but the porch is certainly inviting. LOVE all the flowers!
    Lu C

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    1. Thanks, Lu! I'll have to take a photo of the view...and maybe I can photoshop out the cell phone towers! LOL!

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  3. Looks better already...and those colors are divine.

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    1. What a lovely porch!!! Love those rockers and cushions! They were smashing apart a green tiled bathroom and taking out a pink tub on property brothers last night and I thought of you! It was incredibly beautiful vintage tile!

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    2. Oh Deb, that makes me so sad! I left all the coordinating shower curtains, bath mats, and towels of my pink and yellow bathrooms for the new owners...in the hopes that it might encourage them to keep it! :)

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  4. Very nice porch! A special place you can come to when you get fed up inside!

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    1. That is so true! And that is probably why I end up on the front porch so often! LOL!

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  5. I love a good front porch, and yours looks so clean :) and inviting. Your backyard post was pretty, too. I wish you and your family all good things in your new house.

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