Paver Patio Progress

I mentioned a couple weeks ago we were have a paver patio installed,and the work has finally begun. It is three weeks behind schedule, and has been nothing short of a complete nightmare. The company we chose was recommended by a large nursery and hard scape supplier that we use very often, but needless to say, I have informed them they may want to remove this company from their list, not because of the quality, but because of their inability to communicate or follow through with anything, okay that''s the end of my spiel...for now ;)

I forgot to get an actual full photo before the work started, but this pic is from last summer, basically stairs leading down to grass, so here's what the back  area looked like before...

And after three, yes Three(ugh!) it was supposed to be done in two, today makes day four...

I'm not super thrilled at this point, the retention wall was supposed to be a small step, which ended up being about an 14" drop, so now I'm going to have to figure out some sort of stone step, the depth was supposed to be 15' and we're at about 12'6", and the fill comes up to the bottom step leading to our porch, which I'm waiting to see how they'll make that work without looking completely odd. On a positive note...I do love the textured pavers we got and the three-piece configuration. Here's hoping tomorrow I'm back with a post saying how much I love the finished product....

Finally, my little gardenia bushes are looking better, and blooming their wonderful, fragrant flowers. We planted them here, and they haven't shown any new growth and were on my hubby's "tear-up and plant something else," but I bargained to let them be for a few more weeks, and alas they have rewarded me with my favorite blooms :)

My 100th Post!!

Yippee, I did it, 100 entire posts!!! :) silly, maybe, but that's alot of work for this busy lady, so I'm proud of myself ;) Today I just wanted to share some pics of the front yard, we've been doing lots of spring spruce ups, and, after waiting over a year, we've finally got our fence!! This may seem like a small thing, but we've got 3/4 of an acre, that thing was expensive!

My poor topiarys may have bit the dust, I'm going to give them another week or two, this will be the second set that has died :( But my hydrangeas are looking awesome...for now, lol 

There's the lovely fence!! 

And the lovely stone columns the hubby and I built, yes, we did these ourselves, I am very proud :) 

And our massive backyard... so much room :) all the woods behind us are part of a 700 acre nature conservatory 

Check back soon and I'll share pics of the fruit garden and vegetable beds we planted, and thanks for stopping by :)

Thinking Spring Thoughts

Well we've had an exceptionally warm winter here in Florida, except for Sunday and Monday when we got into the 20's, eek!! But previous to that on Saturday, I thought I'd go ahead and spruce up the front porch, since it's looked rather bland since I put up the holiday decor. I potted some tulips, that I mentioned yesterday, and a pretty hydrangea in a pot I've temporarily stolen from my mom's stash, :) added some fun printed pillows, and in 15 minutes (I had a mess to cleanup from potting the flowers), the porch looks ready to head into spring!

Happy Valentines Day

I absolutely love Valentine's Day, its all about my favorite color pink!

My pretty pink tulips that bloomed just in time for V-day ♥

Looking Back: Gatlinburg

Okay, so this trip wasn't exotic, but there is nothing like the beautiful leaves in the fall in Tennessee. I spent many summers at camp in Monterrey, TN, and have nothing but fond memories of the beautiful outdoors this state offers :)

Looking Back: Paris

Another place I loved getting to visit....the city of Love, PARIS. Though only a brief visit, I really enjoyed Paris, again such exquisite architecture and beautiful surroundings! The food, the museums, the shopping, all wonderful!

Looking Back: London

I thought this week I'd do a few post of past vacations, and some of the beautiful pictures I've captured. Today is London. I never realized how much I would enjoy London and all of the history contained there. By far, my favorite destination thus far ♥

The gardens there were so exquisite. This was in front of Buckingham Palace, on our way to seethe changing of the guard - a must see if you ever visit London

I love that the crosswalks have directions, lol

My mom, before we visited the White Tower

Such Stunning Architecture! Westminster Abbey

Such a gorgeous window!

Big Ben, of course :)

Ring, ring...hubby, can you hold down the house and kids for another week, so I can stay longer in London, puh-lease!!! lol :)