21 October 2014

the one with... a backyard makeover


Yippee!! Work has finally begun on the backyard.

Here is the plan:
  • Hire jack hammer
  • Hire a skip
  • Remove extra driveway cement
  • Remove rubbish from under the house
  • Remove unwanted plants
  • Remove excess green rubbish
  • Remove grass up the centre of the driveway to the garage door
  • Create a little garden in front of the garage
  • Use sleepers for garden edge
  • Use a narrow timber strip for walkway garden edge
  • Tidy/sort the service side
  • Assemble the 2 raised garden beds for the new vegetable garden
  • Order soil to fill the holes left after removing the concrete
  • New walkway from driveway to the stairs
The overall plan is to create privacy with a tropical inspired garden around the fence with a large grass area in the middle for Charlie.  I want to feel like I step into my backyard and feel completely at ease.

If you follow me over on Instagram then you would have seen these pictures of the work in progress.  Thanks to Mum for taking the photos of me - I didn't realise she'd taken them.


I haven't strayed away from my original plans for the backyard.

Dad and I were a good team with him on the jack hammer - that thing was too big for me and I picked up all the concrete into the wheelbarrow to take out to the skip.  We got it all done in a few hours.  Mum got the service side all sorted and started on building up the soil in the vegetable gardens.  She also got in and cut out the unwanted plants.

I can tell you that I was buggered by the end of the day.

I have to give a HUGE big shout out to my mum and dad for all of their hard work.  They have continued on with the backyard after I hurt my back.  Three days after moving the concrete the back let me know that it wasn't impress with all of the hard work and put my out of action (including work) for days.

I'll share more update photos with you soon.  It's looking great!




5 September 2014

the one with... some news

the one... with a moment by Second Life of a Blue House


UPDATE: Yes I'm back writing about renovating my cottage but I'm staying right here on SLOABH.  Why change what ain't broke.  I do love it here.  Lisa xo


I've really missed the blog so I'm coming back.

If you have been following me on Instagram you know that I never stopped working on the cottage - I just stopped writing about it.

I'm happy to say that I'm coming back!

The only change is I've decided to move the blog over to www.lisadaviesdesign.com and keep everything in one place.

I'll be back with updates on the never ending to-do list soon.

Cheers for now
Lisa xo

New website: www.lisadaviesdesign.com



23 May 2014

the one with... the confession


Hello!

Yes, I am still around.

I've just been quiet here on the blog but you can always find me over on my Instagram with updates on the cottage.  I've recently repainted the lounge room and work is about to start on turning the old kitchen into a spare room.  Yep the work continues...

The reason for my absence is that I've been spending all of my time over on my business website.

I'm loving it!

So what do I do? I work with entrepreneurs, freelancers, bloggers and small businesses to create a website that they will get the absolute best out of.



Pop over to the website and say hello.

I'm still quietly lurking around your blogs - that won't change.

Cheers
Lisa xo


14 March 2014

the one with... the living room to-do list

I've been very quiet lately on the projects around the house - actually I haven't done anything new since the toilet was repainted.  That's OK because there has been lots of planning - you know I love to plan!

Planning has begun on the backyard makeover and I even took a pen and paper with me as I walked around the cottage to make a room by room to-do list.

The lucky room I'm working on is the lounge.
I did this moodboard back here which I still love but it does need a little tweaking - nothing drastic!



This is what I have do to in this room:
  1. Make a decision on new wall colour - ceiling doesn't need painting (thank goodness).
  2. The new wall colour needs to compliment the colour of ceiling and the shutters.
  3. Small coffee table??  still deciding if I have the space.
  4. Hang artwork finally!
  5. Finish the door frame.
  6. TV entertainment stand - hack project coming soon.
  7. Plants and more plants.
There is no more mucking around cause I'm heading to Masters on my way home from work tonight to pick up some sample paint pots.

I can't wait to get them up on the wall.

Lisa xo


17 February 2014

the one with… a finished toilet


I'm happy to say that I've managed to keep the momentum going with getting projects finished.

The toilet was an eyesore that really needed to be fixed.

I honestly don't know what I was thinking painting it that bright colour but I'll go with being young.


I'm so happy with the end result and it only took a weekend to finish it.


The only downside was the toilet couldn't be replaced with the new one because the plumbing wasn't it the same spot.  Sure I could have a new hole cut and had the plumbing moved but it just isn't worth it.  The big plan is to completely gutter the toilet and bathroom (hopefully later this year) so I didn't see the need to pay for this when it can wait.

So the black toilet sit is staying for now.


This is my DIY painting hanging behind the door.  It was so much fun to make but it did take some time because eat dot was done individually.  Yep I sat at the table and dot painted with the bottom of a paint brush in a tray of paint and then on on the canvas.


I just have to remind you… this is what I started with.

The Before

No need for sunglasses anymore!

Lisa xo


9 February 2014

the one... with words to live by

source

This one was written for me!

Lisa xo


2 February 2014

26 January 2014

20 January 2014

the one... with my promise for 2014


As I start the third week back at work, I find myself still motivated to make 2014 a fabulous year.

I love this time of year when everything seems a possibility.  I want to try and keep that momentum going for a little while longer and maybe, just maybe throughout the rest of the year.

So what is MY PROMISE FOR 2014?

I want to finish projects around the cottage.

It may not sound big like a trip to Paris (oh I wish) but the satisfaction that comes with finishing projects is worth the effort.

I took a good look around the cottage over the weekend and started to make a list of things that need to be finished and I can honestly say that every single room was on that list.  Some things on the list are big, like renovating the bathroom and smaller projects, like adding shelving in the laundry and touching up paint in the kitchen.

I'd love to know if you have made any promises or resolutions for 2014.

Lisa xo


19 January 2014

12 January 2014

8 January 2014

the one with… christmas eve


Welcome 2014!

It's my first week back at work after 2 weeks holiday.  I had a lovely holiday spending time at home, hanging with family, friends and little Charlie - I think he loved having me around so much xo


I love hosting Christmas Eve at my place, particularly now with the veranda.  There is plenty of room for everyone.

The evening is a shared hosting job with my niece, something I look forward to each year.

This year we went with a purple, silver and white theme for the table that we carried across to the ice cream dessert bar.  I picked up the purple dessert cups from Big W who had them for $2 each.


We like to keep the table clear to allow lots of space for all of the yummy seafood so my niece hung decorations over the table.

The trees and stars were actually red and white stripe but after some silver spray paint and some purple glitter we had sparkles.


I made the tissue paper garland a couple of nights before Christmas Eve for the dessert bar.  They did take a few hours to make but once you've made a couple, you get the hang of it and it becomes so much easier.  I chose 2 different shades of purple and silver.


My niece even made the vanilla bean ice cream from scratch and we had lots of topping options like crushed nuts, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, wafers, strawberries, crushed chocolate, crushed picnic, crushed crunchy and I'm sure there was a couple more.

The next day I packed up all the presents under the tree and headed over to my parents (4 mins away) to spend the day with family and enjoy mums baked dinner - in air conditioning, of course!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best for 2014.

I have a feeling it's going to be a fabulous year!

Lisa xo


5 January 2014

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