I T ' S O U T !

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last year we were approached by Better Homes & Gardens to have our yard renovation featured in their quarterly publication Refresh Magazine...well it's finally out on newsstands today!
our yard was shot last May...i think i was 3 months pregnant then. look at us now...parents of a 6 month old little girl! 
It's a much bigger article than i had thought! 3 spreads worth! i'm just a little bummed out they didn't mention designsmitten anywhere...i was looking forward to lots of new web traffic...oh well. tell your friends! over all it was such a fun experience...it really got us motivated to make a bunch of updates and really tidy things up in preparation for the shoot (though things have been updated a bit more since!). we got to meet some really fantastic people who were here styling, prepping, shooting...a job well done by all.

here's a few behind the scenes shots from the shoot way back in may 2013

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T H E W A I T I N G...

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....is the hardest part. i'm pretty sure tom petty wrote that song about waiting for his sod to take root...right?
the sod is in, it looks gorgeous, but all we get to do is sit back and watch the sprinkler play on it. for a few weeks at least. if there's one thing the new baby has taught me it's patience. 

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R E A D Y

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the ground is prepped, ready, and waiting for the sod.

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1 0 Y E A R S : Y A R D

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here's some pretty scary photos of what our yard looked like when we first saw this house...and the afters. over the next few weeks i'm hoping to post some of the original photos from the open house (you'll see how visionary we really were ;-) and where that space is no. in those early days just cleaning a bit  was a vast improvement. stay tuned!

yard with creepy, sketchy, potentially disease-ridden swimming pool : before

yard with bluestone patio, custom shed, flowering cherry tree, gorgeous plants & shrubs
 and new stained fence : after

horrifying back of the house : before

fresh and clean back of the house : after

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T H E L A S T B I T

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the fence repainting project is done! it took about 3 entire days but it really makes a big difference. look how it sets off those cherry blossoms!

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P I M P M Y F E N C E

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last weekend in the midst of the powerwashing power session the fence got a little weird-looking after it was stripped of it's dirt and grime. chris saw this as a great opportunity to stain the fence the color he's always wanted....gray! so here we go...down the all too familiar stain sample path.

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N E E D I T ?

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was in the lowes home improvement store and while they don't have all their plants out yet since the last frost hasn't passed, they do have a ton of patio stuff and goofy yard 'decor'...though i do kind of dig those mushrooms.

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G A R D E N F A V E S

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we've spent most of the past 2 weekends getting the yard in shape for spring. here's my 3 favorite 'tools'.

smith&hawken adjustable rake. god i love this thing. perfect for small yards like ours and and the distance between tines are adjustable (wide or narrow) depending on what and where you're raking. 

pruners, gloves, coffee

the powerwasher that gets things looking good as new
(sometimes too new...more on that later).

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I N B L O O M : M A R C H

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i'm definitely going to plant more of these hellebores under the tree. 

they looked amazing in this giant window box in front of a new restaurant on prince street.
i'm getting some good ideas!

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S P R I N G C L E A N I N G

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it's slightly springy out lately...50 degrees...so we thought we'd get a jump on some yard cleanup. with hurricane sandy, and multiple snowstorms there's alot going on back there! aside from lots of raking, there was lots of pruning, getting rid of a small stump and digging up some invasive bamboo. filled 5 giant leaf bags with all this!

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I N B L O O M

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early june edition. lookin' good int he neighborhood!

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F I N I S H E D P R O J E C T !

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here's some images of the bluestone topped divider wall in all it's finished glory!

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9 5 % C O M P L E T E

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the spring 'little wall' project is almost done. great weather this weekend gave C a good

chance to finish the bricklaying portion. now we just have to get a nice thick piece of

bluestone for the topper. oh and get rid of the excess dirt and bad bricks.

I think it'll be a nice divider between the deck and the yard!

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S P R I N G P R O J E C T C O N T I N U E S

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after a few busy or rainy weekends, C got to spend a good amount of time

(all day) on his brick wall. this will eventually be about 18 inches high and

topped with a beautiful crisp, slab of bluestone. yummy!

looking good!

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