The Reel Deal

Great news! The rose bush seems to be springing back to life! It rained for most of yesterday, which seemed to help the bush. When we got home from work, a bunch of new flowers were about to start blooming....yay!

While we're on the topic of yardwork and gardening, I thought I would get "reel" about our lawn mower. This was mostly John's decision since he has the most mowing experience and will be cutting our grass 99.9% of the time. Since our lot is less than a quarter acre (and we have the world's largest hedge), John wanted to buy a reel (manual) push lawn mower. No self-propelled or riding mower for us. Other reasons for purchasing a reel mower include:

• Environmentally friendly - no gas fumes spewing on us or into the environment
• Easy to maintain - the blades will only have to be sharpened every so often
• Less expensive - won't have to spend $4+ per gallon for gas, oil, parts, or maintenance
• Quiet - John can mow the lawn at any time since there isn't a loud motor
• Good form of excersize - it's not very hard to push, but you do need to walk briskly to keep up the momentum

After copious amounts of research, he settled on the Scotts 20 in. Classic Reel Mower with a clippings catcher ($139). When we went to Home Depot, they were all out of the 20 in. model. The sales associate said they had been selling like hotcakes. Particularly to people in their 20's and 30's. Who knew we were so hip?

Therefore, we settled for the Scotts 18 in. Supreme Reel Mower ($109). The reviews said the grass catcher was a little annoying, so we're OK that we didn't get it. Plus, we can easily mulch the grass with the clippings.

The mower was pretty easy to assemble and John didn't need to use any tools. As you can see below, there aren't very many parts.

John is 6' 2" and the mower is a good height for him. I pushed it around the other day and the height of the handle works for me too.

Since John has used the mower for about a month, I think he can give a pretty good assessment of the mower:

• First, it's definitely important to note that we don't have a very large lawn. It only takes John about a half hour to cut the lawn, so a reel mower is definitely a good fit for us. If you have a larger lawn, you better be ready for a good workout.
• While you can adjust the height of the blades, the mower doesn't do very well with super tall grass or weeds. He waited about two weeks to cut the grass once and dandilions sprung up between then. The mower just pushed over the weeds, so he had to go back and pick them by hand. Or he has to mow over the area multiple times.
• The reel mower doesn't do well with twigs at all, so you have to pick them up before mowing. If you don't, the blades will jam.
• The mower can be a little hard to maneuver around corners, but it's easy to push.

Overall, we're totally happy with the decision to buy a reel mower! We definitely recommend it to anyone in the market for a new lawn mower.

Anyone else keepin' it real with a reel mower?

(We weren't compensated to review the lawn mower. We bought it with our own pennies and the opinions are ours.)
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Watching Our Garden Grow

How was your weekend? No major updates on the bathroom yet. I bought a curtain panel from Target and the to-be-hacked roller blind from Home Depot, but stopped there. Most of our efforts were concentrated on the outside instead of primping the bathroom. If you're really curious, here's how the bathroom looks with the new shower curtain:

So back to the yard. It looks a million times better thanks to the help of my parents! My Dad loves working in the yard, so I like to think we gave him an early Father's Day present for "letting" him help. Here he is transplanting a hosta from the back of the house to the front. He also moved the salvia plants over to make room for the hosta.

Before Pictures

Before I show you the rest of the fruits of our labor, how about some "before" shots? These were taken in April during the final walkthrough.

Not too much going on in the front, except for John. The small evergreen on the left is still close to that size. The tree in the middle has filled out a little and the burning bush on the right has completely exploded with greenery! There are also some salvia, black-eyed susan, and other plants that have since sprouted.

Beginnings of the hosta that eventually found its way to the front. 

We are also proud owners of the world's largest hedge. Well, maybe not, but it's definitely too big for the house. We're considering different options for this area and they all include cutting down the hedge. We might add some different bushes, like hydrangea. Or maybe we'll lay some brick for a patio area. Regardless, it will probably be a next summer project.

The backyard also has a berm, which is a raised flower bed. (Not a burial ground.) Don't worry, the weeds were evicted Memorial Day weekend. The purple flowers are Walker's Low Catmint. Just wait for the "after" pictures of the berm!

After Pictures - Front

Let's start with the front of the house again. To the right of the front door is this area. I can't remember the name of the plant in the back. They have some small pink flowers. In the middle are black-eyed susans. See how there are two larger plants on the outside of the picture and two smaller ones in the middle? The black-eyes susans were spreading towards the grass so my Dad split them in the front and transplanted them in the middle. The small pink flowers in the front are impatiens.

The area to the left is still a work in process. The bright green plant is the hosta and the purple plants on each side are salvia, which already grew in the bed. We My Dad planted some begonias down in front. Here's a little close-up:

After Pictures - Back



The biggest difference is obviously in the berm! The weeds are (mostly) gone and the catmint has been moved to the back of the mound. On the top are all sorts of herbs and veggies. Since this is our first real garden, we went all out: basil, Greek oregano, sage, tomatoes, red and green peppers, zucchini, and watermelon. Most of the plants were less than $2 each (sometimes for a little 4-pack), so we won't go broke if a few croak.

We also added some pops of color in the back with these hanging flower baskets.

One of the main purposes of the trip was to bring some rose plants from my parents' yard. My Dad planted them shortly after they arrived on Saturday and I think they're still in transplant shock. The weather has been slightly cooler and we've made a point to water them daily. We even watered with rose food on Saturday. Hopefully we'll have a successful "after" picture soon!

This pink rose bush replaced the hosta plant that was moved to the front.

Here is the climbing rose with some extra begonias.

Since we're pretty new at gardening, it's exciting to watch everything grow. Hopefully in a few months we'll have some fresh-picked veggies from our garden! How about them savings?!

Are you growing a vegetable or herb garden? Have any gardening tips to share? If your thumb isn't so green, what are your favorite fruits or vegetables to enjoy in the summer?

And a big "thank you" again to my parents for their help!

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Let the Decorating Begin!

I could tell you about our push lawn mower or the conclusion of my cell phone saga, but it's Friday. Plus, something moved up on the priority list. My parents are visiting this weekend! They're bringing some rose plants from their yard to help our garden grow. While they don't expect the house to be put together, I think I can get one room ready on short notice. Our small second bathroom:

Since my parents might be staying with us, having the second bathroom ready will make getting ready in the morning much easier. However, it doesn't have much privacy. It's difficult to tell, but the windows are clear glass. To make it even better, the bathroom looks out to our neighbor's backyard. Here's my quick inspiration board:

We bought some brown blinds from Target two weekends ago, but they ended up being the wrong size. Plus, they're a little too dark for the room. After some thought, I'm going to attempt a custom roller blind using that purple-y Waverly fabric I bought from Joann's a while back. Design*Sponge has an excellent tutorial and it doesn't seem too difficult. Here's how it might look. The roller will be installed under the window trim.

With so much flair on the window, the shower curtain will have to be a little more subdued. Right now, I'm thinking gray to pull from one of the colors in the fabric. The gray and white striped shower curtain is from West Elm. Maybe we'll go striped or maybe we'll find one in solid gray.

To play off the global vibe of the window, I'm thinking about framing a picture from my time studying abroad in Spain. That's one of the fountains at the Alhambra in Granada. We have some extra frames lying around, so it will only cost as much as the print.

So what do you think? I'll post some post-decorating pictures after the weekend.

Anyone else have parents visiting this weekend? Or are you visiting them? We're going to celebrate an early Father's Day and I plan on baking some carrot cake cupcakes.

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One of Those Days

Print from LuciusArt on Etsy, via decor8

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.

What are you favorite quotes for getting through the day?

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Laundry Money

Our new washer and dryer are in the house! As the person in charge of laundry, I'm pretty excited about this. As you can see from this picture of the basement, the house didn't come with a washer or dryer. Sure we could wash our clothes in the double slop sink, but who has time for that?

Fortunately, we moved during Memorial Day weekend, so there were sales out the wazoo. Nothing is more American than buying new appliances.

We wanted a front-loading washer since they're more energy efficient. Plus, they're gentler because they use gravity vs. an agitator to clean clothes. Yes, they cost more than a top-loader, but this can be recouped over time thanks to the energy savings.

After doing a little research, we settled on the Samsung High Efficiency 3.7 cu. ft. Capacity Front Load Washer (WF330ANW) and matching Samsung 7.3 cu. ft. Capacity Gas Dryer (DV330AGW). They received high independent reviews and customer ratings at the big box retailers.

Sears had the best prices at $675 for the washer and $750 for the dryer. (Regular prices are $900 and $1,000, respectively.) PLUS...we had a 10% off coupon for our entire purchase! We received that after changing our address with the USPS. So that brought us down to $608 for the washer and $675 for the dryer. Woo hoo! The grand total was $1,516 including delivery, some parts for the dryer installation, and taxes. Not quite as good as Young House Love's savings, but still pretty respectable.

We also enrolled in Sears' free "Shop Your Way Rewards" program. For each qualifying dollar we spend, we get 10 points. Every 1,000 points is worth $1 in value. Basically, the rewards are 1% back. You can redeem points in store or online at Sears, Kmart, Lands' End, or The Great Indoors. We've already accumulated $13.34 in rewards and with a new house, I'm sure there are plenty of things we can purchase. Tools, paint, etc.

The installation went really well on Saturday. Sears called on Friday night with a delivery window and they came when they were scheduled. The guys even called about an hour before they arrived to make sure I was still around. They were efficient and very helpful. It probably helped that I gave them glasses of water on a hot June day :)

I did a few loads of laundry over the weekend and am really happy with our purchase. There were even some pleasant surprises. The installers commented that we bought the models with all the bells and whistles and they weren't joking! The washer and dryer make a chiming sound when you turn them on and off. And they play a little tune when they're done washing or drying.

I made a little video of the on/off chimes since I was so tickled by the discovery.

And since I'm reallly dorky, I made a video of the ending music notification. Doesn't it remind you of an ice cream truck? We must have the happiest washer and dryer on the block.

How did your weekend go? Anybody else have a happy washer or dryer?
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A Summery Weekend

J. Crew blouse, J. Crew shorts, Jess LC earrings, tote from One Sydney Road, glitter Toms

Remember a while back when I discussed the "chic-onomics" of fashion? In order to get the most bang for my buck, I tend to buy higher-quality investment pieces in classic styles. Then I jazz things up with accessories. As a nod to my most recent purchase, I thought I would style my new silver glitter Toms. I like to think of them as disco balls for my feet. Speaking of, it almost looks like there's a disco ball in the house of my front room inspiration.

via Lonny

Back to the task at hand....As you can see, "classic style" doesn't automatically mean boring. Sometimes that classic style is in a fun color, like those aqua shorts. Life is too short to only wear black and white. Plus, summer screams for happy colors. And ice cream :)

I'm planning on going to the farmer's market and then do a little decorating shopping over the weekend. Plus, our new washer and dryer should be delivered on Saturday! And of course the dreaded task of unpacking more boxes. Do you have anything fun going on?

Want more Friday fun? Check out other Friday's Fancies at Long Distance Loving.
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One Last Hurrah

Hiiii! How was your weekend? Ours was busy, but I loved it! And I'm loving everything about our new house!!I know I was sad about leaving the city, but it feels so right here! Even though we've only been here for a few days, it feels like we fit right in. And as John puts it, we won the "neighbor jackpot." They brought us wine, cheese, and crackers on Sunday. And their girls (plus one of the other girls down the street) drew us pictures welcoming us to the "nabahood." Too cute :)

We're kind of settled, but there are still plenty of boxes to go through. And of course we need to get furniture. Though we're not ready to commit to that yet. We've already been to Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Target, Tru Value, and Sears (for a washer and dryer). Let's just say we're shopping around.

Since the house isn't exactly ready for its close-up, I thought I would share a tour of our apartment. It was a great place to grow into Chicago and I'll still miss bits about it. Warning: These pictures are in no way styled. The place is pretty much in its natural state, with even a few signs of packing.

When you walk in, you'll be greeted by our "Bill Cosby sweater" recliner covered by a Mexican blanket from our honeymoon. Most of our furniture is hand-me-down, with a few things from Crate and Barrel and Ikea. We purchased that sectional sofa from Darvin. It's a super comfy investment piece and even has a queen sleeper. As of now, the sectional is in the basement of the house.

Of all the rooms in the apartment, the kitchen is the most updated. There are granite counters (I think) and new white cabinets. The door leads out to a little balcony where we grew tomatoes and herbs over the summer.

The bathroom is a little small and is obviously hard to photograph. We added the storage over the toilet since there wasn't much storage in the apartment.

Our bedroom was huuuuuge! In St. Louis, our king sized bed took up the whole room. In Chicago, it easily fit in the room. Please ignore the pile of clothes on the papasan. So far we don't have a chair in the new bedroom, so I'll have to find a new place for clothes. Or maybe just put them away!

This bedroom was a guest room/office until we purchased the sectional. Then it became the office and random dumping zone. Yes, I strategically photographed around some of the problem areas. And yes, that is our collection of moving boxes. Copy paper boxes are the best! You're bound to see some popping up at the new house.

So there you have it. A quick tour of the apartment. If you have questions about where we got something, I'll try to do my best and get back to you.
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