Category Archives: Just For Fun

Park Avenue Preseason

August 26, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

Since Charles and I have been watching some preseason football, we decided to do a little “preseason” landscaping to get ready for the Fall. We dubbed this little adventure “preseason,” because hopefully it will get us prepared for when we have to take care of an entire yard!

We are so lucky to have a place to live…and rent-free too! Charles’ grandfather moved to an assisted living facility in the Spring, so we are living at his house and helping to look after it. (We will call this the Madison house for short.) Since we don’t pay rent, we wanted to do something to show our appreciate to Charles’ parents for letting us live in the house. And what better use of a gorgeous Saturday afternoon than to do some gardening?

First, we went to Lowe’s and used our pretty hefty gift card to get some things (read: all the things) we needed. We bought 7 knock-out rose bushes, potting soil, cypress wood mulch, landscaping fabric and pins, and even a wheel barrow! We figured it was a pretty good investment.

We headed back over to the Madison house and got to work. Here are the two flower beds when we began:

So let’s get started!

Step 1: Pull up all the weeds and overgrowth from the side bed.

Step 2: Dig out about 5 inches of soil in each bed, then even them out.

With the extra soil we had left over, we spread it over a few spots in the front yard where we could not get grass to grow. Hopefully the new soil will help sprout some new grass!

Step 3: Lay out the landscaping fabric and secure with pins. We figured the fabric would make it easier whenever we had to go back and spruce things up.

Step 4: Cut X’s into fabric, dig out a hole under each X, then plant the roses.

Step 5: Cover the entire area with the new soil mixture: about 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 original soil we dug up.

Step 6: Cover the entire area with the mulch.

We were really happy with how it turned out! For all you avid gardeners out there, I’m sure this looks totally amateur, but we thought it was a good first run. And we definitely realized how much time and effort it is going to take to keep up our entire yard at the Park Avenue house!! (Read more about the landscaping we’ve done so far here and here.) Next up for the Madison house…power washing the white siding.

Hope y’all have a great week!! Stay tuned for more on the Park Avenue basement, and some light fixture dilemmas! :)

Linked: 1, 2

The Sunday Currently, #1

August 18, 2013Categories: Just For Fun, This Week's LinksSarah @ 702 Park Project

It’s Sunday Funday, and I’ve decided to try something new. On Sundays, I will be joining in on Lauren’s link party entitled The Sunday Currently. A link party is basically a way to interact with other bloggers and just see what everyone is up to. There are tons out there (check out Linky H ere if you’re interested in finding one yourself), but this one was the most appealing to me. So here goes…

Currently:

Reading– Magazines! As much as I love Pinterest (and trust me, I do!!), I still love flipping through magazines. They never get old to me, and there’s just something about seeing things in print. So right now I’m catching up on my favorites that I haven’t had time to read… Traditional Home, Southern Living, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Our State, Garden & Gun, and Self. Whew!! Now you see why I’m playing catch up! I may or may not have a problem. (source)

Writing– For this blog. I’ve come to really love writing (which has never been my strong suit), and I’ve been struggling with trying to not stray too far from the reason I started in the first place. It’s really hard to not want to go in a hundred different directions, but I’m trying to stay on topic. But there will definitely be a few personal posts mixed in here and there…I mean, restoring your dream house and customizing it to fit your life is personal in itself, right? So these Sunday Currently posts will just be a little way for you to get to know me better.

Listening– Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, which I’m totally embarrassed to admit. It’s just so damn catchy!!

Thinking– About master bathroom layouts. We basically have a blank canvas, so there are plenty of options! See my post here on trying to decide which flooring to go with. It’s a gut wrenching melodrama. ;)

Wishing– Our dear friends Brad and Mandy a lifetime of happiness!! We had a fantastic time at their wedding yesterday!

Hoping– That people will be as excited about our new shop as Mary and I are! We will be officially opening in September (exact date coming soon) and I can’t wait to share all the goodies with you! You can read more about this new adventure here.

Wearing– Old jeans and an old t-shirt…the perfect “crafting” outfit. Lots of work for The Remedy House getting done today!

Loving– Our house! I know I’m not supposed to say that out loud, but I really do. Every time I go over there, I get more and more excited and fall more and more in love with it. We feel so very fortunate and blessed to be able to make our first home into our dream home!

Wanting– These sheets. I know what you’re thinking, but come on…they’re called Park Avenue Scottie sheets!!

Needing– An entire day with nothing to do.

Feeling– Super excited that college football starts in just 2 weeks…and we have Wolfpack season tickets!!! (source)

Clicking– Marcus Design Inc. blog. I just discovered it last week through one of my favorite blogs, and I’m already obsessed. I’ve totally stalked her Pinterest and pinned an embarrassing number of things.

Be sure to check out Lauren’s page at http://siddathornton.blogspot.com/, where you can read about what she’s up to currently, as well as lots of other bloggers! I hope y’all have a great week!! :)

Bloglovin’

August 13, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’ve recently joined Bloglovin‘ as a way to connect with other bloggers. If you would like to follow me there (link is at the bottom of the site), or check out lots of other awesome blogs categorized by topic, head on over. Otherwise, ignore this post…it’s just a way for me to “claim my blog” and make it official! :)

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Moving On Up

August 6, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’m so excited that I can finally share some big news with you! Hubby got a job!!!!! It’s been in the works for a few weeks now, but we didn’t want to jinx anything by counting our chickens too soon. Starting August 19, he will be the new Director of the Small Business Center at our local community college. I am SO proud of him!!

And you know what that means? We just went from a one-income to a two-income household! Woop woop!!! And you know what that means? We can afford to do a little more than we planned on the house! At first we worried that we may be biting off too much, but now we realize, while we’ve already got our mouths full, why not add some more?! Everyone we’ve talked to tells us that it’s so much easier (if you can afford it) to just go ahead and get as much done as you can while the workers are in there and before you’ve moved in. No nasty dust and grime on all of our stuff. No having to live in a construction zone. And we are so fortunate to have a comfortable place to live right now, so what’s a few more ~~weeks~~ months?

And what are we going ahead with? You guessed it! THE MASTER BATHROOM!!! (I literally just heard “hallelujah!” coming from the skies.) After the stolen copper incident and the realization that we would need to completely replace the heating and air system, the dream of having a master bathroom started to slip away. But now, it’s back in reach! More details coming very soon on what we’re planning…

Getting Organized

July 31, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s not too much house stuff to update you on. We still have no eaves, we still have massive piles of usable and unusable wood, and we still have primer-ready walls. Work is progressing, but it’s a slow, careful process.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few ideas that I’d really like to explore in the new house. For those of you who know me, you know I’m an organization junkie! I’m a nerd, I know, but I get super excited when The Container Store has a sale. Unfortunately I’ve always lived in apartments, so it was more of a cram-everything-we-have-into-any-space-available approach. I’m now freakishly excited about all the space we are going to have to keep things organized! Here are a few of the ideas I really like.

Linen closet storage…put the sheets in pillowcases to keep everything together. Genius!

Bathroom storage…what a cute and efficient way to organize items for your guests! I can’t wait to have guests to pamper! :)

Make-up storage…I’ve never had a drawer to keep my make-up in! (Sad I know…shed a tear for me.) I can’t wait to be able to just close the drawer and hide it all.

Wrapping storage…if there’s one thing I love more than organizing, it’s gift giving! Sometimes I get carried away, but I love creating gift baskets and other things that I know people will love. My ultimate goal is to have a gift wrap room (a girl can dream), but this would be a good solution until ~~then~~ never.

Pots and pans storage…I could totally geek out on this storage system. Must have.

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There you have it. My top 5 organization dreams. To see more of what I like, check out my Organization board on Pinterest!

Happy Hump Day! (PS, this is probably my favorite commercial of all time…especially the very end.)

What a Difference a Year Makes

July 28, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

If our marriage was a baby, it would turn 1 today. It’s really incredible to think how much has changed in just one year!! Some changes were expected, some were VERY unexpected (like this house), but overall I think we came out on top in this first year.

We got married in Sanford, NC at my home church at 6 pm on July 28, 2012. It was the best day of our lives! [side note: 7/28/2012 would also have been Charles’ grandmother Mildred’s 100th birthday…that fact was mesmerizing to me at the time, but even more so now that we bought her house!]

We went on a fabulous honeymoon at Jalousie Plantation in St. Lucia. We did a few things here and there (like zip-lining), but mainly we just laid on the beach and relaxed…finally! Oh what I would give to be there again!!

After the honeymoon, we officially moved in together. This was a first for us (after almost 6 years of dating), but we’ve had so much fun! And I’ve learned that Charles is quite the cook! In the fall, we continued to cheer on our Wolfpack like we do every year.

We even took a trip to New York City, and went to Coney Island for the first time.

We celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple (in classic silly Powers/Archer fashion).

Then, out of nowhere, we decided to buy this house. You can read the full story about how it all came to be here. My last day at my old job was a Wednesday, Charles finished exams on that Thursday, we closed on that Friday, moved on that Saturday, and I started my new job on Monday. Whew! Makes me tired just talking about it.

In May, I took a new job at The ECU Foundation in Greenville, and Charles graduated law school!

After graduation, Charles moved to campus to study for the bar all summer and I moved to Goldsboro to start my new job and our new old house. I’d be lying if I said this summer hasn’t been a grueling one. Living apart while all of this is going on has been tough, but we’ve definitely learned that absence makes the heart grow fonder. But now I’m about fond enough!!

So what, you ask, are we doing for our anniversary? Well Charles takes the NC bar exam on July 30-31 (this week!!), and he will be doing some last minute cramming/stressing, so we are postponing our celebration until next weekend. He will be free of the bar and we plan to spend 3 days at the beach just relaxing…and eating wedding cake, drinking wedding wine, and watching our wedding video!

Happy Anniversary, baby! I love you so very much!!