2 Year Anniversary and a fresh coat

Two years ago today, we closed on our house and moved in.  It had been a long couple of months because the sellers didn't want to make things easy.  But in the end, we ended up in our dream home and were ready to start our life in Massachusetts.

Because we didn't move far, our furniture arrived the day we moved in.  Not that I could help.  Two days before I had broken my foot trying to "help" put some boxes in our car.  The movers saw me go down, and in my embarrassment I pretended to be fine.  But what came into light that night when my foot was swollen and I couldn't touch it, is that I had broken two bones in the top of my foot.  Smart.

So - I spent my first month in the house in a walking boot, but with a lot of visitors and a lot of help, we got unpacked and settled before the kids started school.

This was the house at the time we closed.

Wow.  Check the yard.  I have a hard time remembering it like this.  There were so many plants, that I would go outside to see what I wanted to do, and just went back inside because I had no idea where to start.

Within a week of moving in, my parents arrived and my dad got attacked by 30 ground wasps with his first cut into a bush I wanted to move.  After treating him, he went right back to yard work.  That is love people.  Or....insanity.

It took almost these last two years to get the front yard where you see it in this next picture.  Cleaned out, organized, and weed (and bunny) free.

It was a long road, but I am pleased with how it is taking shape.  The above picture was taken this spring when things were just starting to sprout.

This summer, we decided our house needed some TLC.  There are a lot of projects we want to do with the outside of the house, but there were two things that needed our attention.  1) the roof needed a good cleaning and 2) there was some wood trim that had rotted and needed to be replaced.

The roof was cleaned earlier in July and what a difference.  You probably noticed the green moss and black streaks in the above pictures.  Mold and more mold and it was starting to mess with our roof tiles.  We would love to get at least 10 more years out of this roof, so we knew something needed to be done.

Then we had some people come out and look at the wood trim and we snowballed that project into painting the whole house.  We found an amazing painter (Aquarelle painting & services) and started the process 10 days ago.

The transformation was quick and drastic.  We changed our dated yellow and green house into a charcoal gray and black masterpiece.  We have bright white trim, merlot red doors, and tile red deck floors.  It looks nothing short of amazing.

So, without further ado - to mark our two year Massachusetts anniversary, I give you the fresh coat:

I love it so much

 Charcoal gray - this picture doesn't do it justice.  It is the perfect gray:

 The back of the house.  See the tree?  This is its last day.  Tomorrow it comes down.  It is causing so much trouble with the back porch and lawn it has to go.

The garage looks amazing now:

 Our side porch.  Tile red is now replaced old, worn out gray:

 Our side of our garage.  The doors are all Merlot red now:

 Detached garage:

 Our main door.  Before we didn't use it much, but now I think we will!!

 We were a little worried that black shutters might not be right against this gray, but they look great.

The back porch.  If you would have seen it before - worn out composite with mold and dirt - you would have died.  Now it is clean, and painted tile red and looks amazing

 Back of the detached garage:

 Back of house.  Can't wait to see the whole house without the tree:

 Side covered porch.  This used to be screened in and a down right eye sore.  The screens came in contact with my sledge hammer about a week ago, and I already feel better.  This is Mat and my DIY project this summer.  We are replacing the post, painting the roof and the floor, and fixing the stairs.  Can't wait until it is done.

 Love the red doors!