06-26-15 First dust storm & first handyman project!

Within about 3 weeks of moving in I finally went and bought new flags for the property! I bought 1 for the front gate of the property to "stake my claim" and proudly display my patriotic love...for all my neighbors to know! At my house, flags are up year round, not just holidays. This one is temporarily attached to this fence until I install a 20-30 ft tall pole that I plan to cement into the ground near there at the front edge of the property.

The view coming from the house up the driveway to the gate, flag happily flying in the wind! Love it!!!

Here is where I installed the other flag on the front of the house! =)

It wasn't long before we had our first haboob in the new house. A haboob is an Arizona dust storm. And every one I've ever experienced I lived up in a city and let me tell you, they are very different. Out here, they are starting and picking up speed, gathering all the loose dust and there ins't much in the way of houses and buildings to get in their way, slow them down or break them up. So they are fierce out here! Not only that but I have strong cross winds east to west on this property and that is even evident in the ways the mature trees have grown, angled to the west. So this storm came and slammed right into us. We were safely inside but I was fascinated by how different it was to be in the country. I quickly realized that if your windows and doors aren't new or need some work, it is seriously like the DUST BOWL and you WILL get dust in your house. Plus, both of our flags flew off the poles and ended up in the yards.

The haboob as it was coming in.

Still in the distance. With each dust storm we are learning to go out and take the flags down, make sure all windows are closed tight, make sure there are no clothes on the line, make sure there aren't any light weight items (watering can) sitting on the front porch or else it will take off across the yard. We have also learned to not put boxes or trash items into the burn pile until we are going to actually burn them because I made the mistake once of piling up 30 of our old boxes into the trash pile to burn the next day, a storm hit and ALL 30 of those boxes were spread throughout our property! The next morning I got to go gather those up alone after taking Riley to school and burned them immediately. Lesson learned!!!

We have also learned with the age of this house that if any electronic items are plugged in and not in a surge protector, unplug it in a storm. Also, no bathing or showering in a storm as we have a metal roof. I also learned that it is near pointless to have cute light weight plastic chairs setup in the backyard in a seating arrangement because when a dust storm hits 1-3 times a week June to September in southern Arizona...those chairs WILL be relocated. So I can either replace them every time or just take the damn chairs and put them in the shop until we actually have company!!! Which is what I did! As some people might say that these situations and things we have gone through for our first few storms must suck, I totally DISAGREE! We are loving learning and learning together! With each new thing I learn as a single, 30 year old woman, I am eager to share that with my 11 year old son and he is just as happy to learn about something because he likes to be helpful. And he has accepted that we are on this journey of living in the country, doing for ourselves, fixing things, learning new ways to do things, being useful. And for the most part, he loves all of that and has had very little complaints! Well, he did complain the first 3 weeks we lived here without internet or cable! Lol! Because we just used the data on our phones and my WiFi hot spot to do stuff on my laptop which was strictly prohibited to work stuff. So he bored with no TV but we had a lot of family time playing board games, working around the house and watching DVDs. Then our appt came around finally and they setup our satellite internet and now we have basic cable. I opted to not do what we always did in the past which was to have the largest package and a DVR to record ALL those shows we loved so much. We wanted a simpler life...one that doesn't involve a lot of time on the couch. So we have basic cable and I made sure it included the Disney channels for Riley and HGTV and Food Network for me! =D

I took on my first plumbing project! When we first moved in the master bathroom sink drain was messed up. It took me 2 trips to the store to end up with all the right materials I needed, watched several videos and had to buy 2 new tools I didn't have. But alas, I got that baby on! And it took some muscle and plenty of curse words in my frustrations but honestly...I almost cried when it was done because I did it! I mean think about it...I'm this cute, 30 year old woman who has lived in the city the last 15 years and although I have a desire to do a lot and fix a lot...being able to fix stuff like plumbing issues had yet to happen in my life until THAT day! And I couldn't have been more proud!

After having fixed the new drain and stopper and spending so much time below that nasty sink I just knew I had to clean up that area while it was on my mind. So I taped off the pipe and the drawers and painted the back and left side with white spray paint. Then I used a glittery metallic paint I had and painted the bottom just for fun! With the painting done, the paper removed and everything all dry I put my organizers in there! So proud of myself for that one!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

06-16-15 Working on the backyard & inside!

Since the BACK yard (that is fenced in from the rest of the property) was such a low priority before we moved in and immediately after moving in, I didn't do anything with it for a few weeks. So after we were settled into the house and the front grounds looked decent, I began itching to do something with the back. This is what it looked like.

There is this gap from the back of the house to a concrete slab partially covered by part of a pergola (most of it since removed) because there used to be a huge deck or sun room off the back of the house and it met up with that concrete slab. That part had to be torn out about 2 years ago due to extensive water damage. I hope to add a new deck in the future that spans across the entire back of the house and add french doors from the dining room out onto the deck. #futureplans

Just one of the few pillars left from the old pergola that somebody else (not us) tore down awhile ago.

Desert weeds galore! 

You can see in these shots patchy fence work. What it is is that a few years ago (maybe several) when the fence was originally built they put 2 feet worth of concrete blocks on the bottom and THEN built a wood fence inside or on top of that. So in total the backyard fence is about 7-8 feet tall. Which is nice for privacy but I've yet to figure out why they did it the way they did. Now last year a few of those panels fell down and so the unpainted portion is where they put up  new panels and none of it was ever painted. The old fencing is a light blue that was greatly aged by time, not intentionally. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it yet, if I will paint it all 1 new color or if I'll paint the new fencing to match the blue aged wood. I can't decide if I like it or not.

Some before and after collages. Cleaned up the yard and put in some outdoor seating and stuff.

It is far from complete and just the beginning but I wanted to setup a little grill area and since I have personally NEVER grilled the only one I own is this tiny one we bought for a day we spent on the lake last summer. And that lattice you see there is the ONLY remaining lattice anywhere on the property, lol! 

 And here is why I love living in the country! A day with rain in the distance, near farmers with gorgeous rows of corn and this is the view I get when driving to town! This corn field is just about  a mile from my house and I pass it every time I go to town. I love it!

Talk about a mail box redo. That little guy was so ugly and pitiful, much less you couldn't even see the number. So I just got some black spray repaint, sprayed down the ENTIRE thing and put new numbers on it. I want to do a whole new one in the near future but for now at least it doesn't look hideous AND it functions as the mail woman can now see the house numbers!

Another gorgeous Arizona sunset from my front yard! I couldn't love it any more if I tried! =)

To the inside of the house!

Things a little more setup in the living room (although the chase on the sectional was later moved)

Getting the essentials put together in my room. Love my old metal headboard and foot board and this adorable antique nightstand I got off of Craigslist. I didn't redo that one, someone else did, but they did aqua paint and applied a crackle finish on it after. I love it! 

Dining room progress!

Oops, almost forgot! A corner in my room where I have an antique chair, an old antique phone a friend gave me, an antique sewing box kit on the floor and my Ariat cowgirl boots! =)

The built in book shelf in the living room. I have many more books than that...

Dining room buffet all setup! =D

XoXo,

Elizabeth

06-13-15 Adapting to life in the country

As with any older home, especially one that has been through several remodels and then sat empty for a bit...you are bound to move in and then find problems just from living there and using everything. The first major problem we had was a water leak on the part of the water main that comes into the property.  Here we have city water AND a private well. The city water goes to the house and the well provides water to several water spigots throughout the property. In the future I'd like to have the well on the house as well to get rid of city water to try to go as off grid as possible BUT prior to that happening, the well will feed into a large irrigation system I plan to setup for our garden, fruit trees and many plants. But back to this story, we had a leak. I am an avid Do It Yourself-er so I began researching. I found numerous videos and articles online telling what this problem was and how to fix it.

The dogs liked the water leak, although it made a mud puddle they would still run over there everyday to lap it up.

After going to the store and buying a couple of different wrenches I couldn't even get the damn nut off of it. It was so tight and I was afraid if I used all my force I might break or crack something since it is aged metal that has been in the sun...for forever. Not to say that I have he man strength but when you're pushing something so hard that the whole thing is moving...I'd rather leave a problem then make a problem worse. So I relented and after a week and a half and 4 failed attempts to fix it myself, I called the seller. Within a week or so he had someone out who promptly fixed it...awesome! #thatwaseasy At least I tried!

Riley made fun of me when I bought a little Home Depot apron like this for him and me because in our adventures to try to fix that water main and work on the front gate we'd get all the way out there with the tools in our hands and if I wasn't wearing jeans to stuff my pockets full...one or both of us would end up having to walk back to the house or shop just to get 1 tool we had forgotten or didn't have room to carry. So, these did serve as useful and I snapped up 1 quick shot of him wearing his because he said "You better not tell anyone I ever wore this thing!" hahahahaha!

Our dogs! Our fur babies and the loves of our lives! Max is on the left, he's our baby boy. Although he's older than Bella and almost 5 or 6, we call him baby boy because he is scarred of everything and he's smaller than Bella. He is a mix between Pitbul and Calhouta Leopard dog...which is a breed I had never even heard of prior to adopting him. He basically is built like a pit but has shorter legs, has a hunting dogs tail (like a pointer) and his coat looks like gray camo! He also has grayish eyes! He's gorgeous!!!!

Bella Marie is our golden lab that my ex and I adopted while together because he wanted a female dog and one he could train to go hunting with him. So we found her and rescued her and she is THE love of MY life! I call her big girl just because she's bigger than Max and probably the biggest dog I've had since I was a kid because small dogs have seemed to find their way into my life although I much prefer larger breeds. She is the most gorgeous color of blonde and also has these yellow or honey colored eyes that just...melt my heart. Her looks wouldn't be so stunning if it weren't for her personality of being the sweetest, most gentle dog. She listens well, is very grateful for being rescued,  absolutely adores affection and she likes to "slap hands" and give you her paw...all the time! <3 Some days she even wakes me up by giving me a "slap hands" on my face, haha! But most, this big girl loves to be outside! She's a true lab at heart with that love of the outdoors and she'll just run and run and run and run until she can't breath anymore and sometimes even then we have to make her come in so she will lay down. She is my girl and sleeps on her camo bed at the foot of my bed although I do invite her in my bed when I just feel like it because...why not.

Max is Riley's BFF and has been from Day 1. We got Max maybe about 6 months after my younger son Konnor moved to his Dad's in Arkansas so Riley was really needing some sort of companion around because he wasn't used to be without that little brother that followed him around everywhere and got into everything he was doing. So Mr. Max sleeps IN bed with Riley, EVERY night, without fail. It can be 8pm or 10pm and I tell Max "Time to go to bed" and he will run to Riley's room and jump on the edge of the bed. Riley has a twin size bed now and he himself is almost as tall as me, although he's only 11. He is about 5 foot 2 inches and so that twin bed WITH  Max in it...they are close to running out of room, lol!

My lovely Bella!

One way I began adapting or reverting back to country life is that I knew I had to start stocking up on tools, all varieties. This jig saw I found at a yard sale and once I got home I realized I had just bought MY FIRST POWER TOOL, EVER!!!! I immediately told my Mom, because I knew she'd be proud of her baby girl. Then I took this ADORABLE selfie and posted it on facebook! My Facebook friends were just as happy for me, haha! I've yet to use this for any project but I have several in mind where I'll need it so I'm so glad I got it!

One thing I realized about myself a couple of years ago was just how much I enjoy doing things myself. Sometimes I'll do something because it is cheaper than buying it or paying someone but other times I do it just because it makes me feel good. It is something about feeling capable and able to do something that really makes me feel like the most useful human being. It was one Christmas maybe 4 years ago when my Mom and I were discovering Pinterest and found a homemade facial sugar scrub and that, with the help of Pinterest, led to endless ideas of DIY heaven!!! So, after we were settled in the new house I had been wanting to try this DIY homemade Febreeze! First, let me say, I love Febreeze. It is probably a daily ritual with a son and 2 dogs for me to go through the house every morning and spray the furniture, bedding, dog beds and curtains. So...when I found this recipe I just had to try it. Honestly it is so super easy, that after the first time I didn't even need the instructions to make it again. I will share the link to the blog with the instructions I followed:

http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2011/07/fake-febreeze.html

In pulling up recipes of my homemade sugar facial scrub to send to a friend who had asked for it I came across a recipe for a DIY Sugar Shave Cream. It is all the same stuff you use for the sugar scrub but a different consistency and  you use this in place of shaving cream or soap and it is great to shave with while also giving you a light exfoliation! So of course, you skin feels amazing after! And FYI, you can never have too many mason jars on a farm or homestead! 

And here is a shot of the shave cream on the left and the facial scrub on the right, you can see how the consistency is different. These two I didn't even put any scents or essential oils in because I didn't have any at the time and smell is more for aromatherapy benefits. But typically I'll do a coconut scent and then around the holidays I'll do a peppermint scent because I love peppermint! But if you have certain things that you use aromatherapy for go with that. For example, citrus smells are mood boosters and help to reduce anxiety and the blues. If you need calming and relaxation, go with lavender. Just research which one would be best for you. Here is the link to the sugar scrub that I use most often:

http://www.jacolynmurphy.com/2011/12/oh-sugar-secrets-of-scrub.html

In case you don't know yet, you will soon learn I am a lover of Coconut Oil! It is one of the very few things I'll use on my face. In fact all I put on my face is make-up, sugar scrub, coconut oil and Shea butter. I don't buy any make-up remover, face wash, face scrub, moisturizer, etc. I use all natural and people often compliment me on my complexion and I'm quick to tell them how easy, cheap and simple it is to go all natural on your face. I think it really is the "secret" to youthful skin! Here is a good article!

http://everydayroots.com/coconut-oil-uses?pp=1

So in June that is where we were on adapting to life in the country! And finding it pretty splendid, if I do say so myself! =)

XoXo,

Elizabeth

06-05-15 Moving in weekend, alas!

Contrary to most people's beliefs, my ex-fiance and I have managed to stay on friendly terms! So much so that he helped us move! Getting everything out of storage was a HUGE accomplishment! Because not only had we put 90% of our belongings into storage when we had left Maricopa the year before but I also personally had had maybe 30% of my personal belongings in storage for the last 5 years!!! Due to just having so much STUFF and not wanting to keep it at home or move it with me. So since I have more storage at the farm and I wanted to cut the expense of a monthly storage bill, we got it ALL out. I knew I'd have a bunch of sorting, sifting and selling on my hands because I can't stand for anything IN my house to not be organized!

Riley was working so hard! Lol!

He actually did help but he's also a regular 10 year old boy who "requires" frequent breaks to play games on his cell phone. That is something we need to work on!

Loading the storage building took much longer than we expected. Plus we had some stuff in Apache Junction and some stuff at the house in Maricopa where we'd been staying with our roommate. So, this venture took ALL day long. And I had planned for it to take like 4 hours, haha! So we dropped Riley off at his friends house for a sleepover and headed to the farm. We unloaded in the dark, got everything IN the house or the storage items in the shop and passed out!

Then, Riley and I spent the weekend placing furniture, starting the unpacking process, etc. This is my old record player inside the front door.

This flag goes with me everywhere. It is old and tattered so it is only for indoors.

This damn giant bean bag that apparently we have to take with us everywhere. Once we got TO the farm I realized for sure that there was nowhere this would fit in the house. Riley briefly said he'd use it in his room instead of a bed but I didn't sign off on that! So it stayed on the front porch where it (sadly!) still sits today. I have recently concluded I'm going to sell it or give it away.

 

I'm a very organized mover/packer/unpacker. So when we brought everything in off the moving truck all furniture went, at least, IN the room where it belonged. Then all the other boxes that either didn't state what room they went in or we were too exhausted to care, went into an organized pile of rows here in the dining room. This was my "working pile" to start with the day after moving in. Each of these had been in storage 1 to 5 years so EACH had to be gone through. As well all dishes and glassware had to be washed. It was a tedious process. I had hoped to get it done in about 3 days (as I had work stuff to get back to) but it took me about 2 weeks!

The third "bedroom" in this house is super tiny. And by super tiny I mean, SUPER...TINY! This picture is of my executive style desk and it has about 6-12 inches of clearance on each side before it touches a wall!!! On the other side of this that entire wall is floor to ceiling closets or cabinets so that's great for storage. But I knew from the beginning this room would either be my office or a small guest room with a daybed. I used it for my office for the first few months and now I'm leaning towards getting a daybed for it and making it a cute room for visitors.

Tiny house storage tips! The hall bath that Riley and the visitors use is small BUT efficient! The only storage in the bathroom is under the sink and that's it. So while sorting through all my organizing treasures that had been in storage I came across this contraption I once upon a time used in my pantry. I hung it over the back of the bathroom door and put rolled up towels in it. Then I found this other little guy that I had used in the pantry to put spices in so I hooked that to it and what goes in there is Riley's items you would normally find in a medicine cabinet (b/c that bathroom doesn't have one) like his deodorant, body spray, tooth paste, etc. This way the counters are kept clutter free, there is room under the cabinet for excess towels and actual storage.

We did have a Scentsy in there but that has since been moved. I always keep a small basket on the back of the toilet for extra TP because I don't like those TP holders that sit on the ground...because they're on the ground. And after this photo I hung a cute picture up behind the toilet that reminds Riley of his morning and evening routines so he doesn't forget to brush his teeth! In the future I'd like to paint this cabinet white because the wood is super dated and worn out but for now it is totally doable.

The living room barely put together. We had this giant sectional that we had gotten when it was myself, Riley, my ex and his 4 kids and it worked perfect for a large family. It seats 8 comfortably with a chase on one end, breaks into 3 pieces and has an ottoman. When I first brought it into our small living room we left the ottoman on the porch knowing it just wouldn't fit. After this photo was taken I actually removed the chase as well so now it is just L-shaped and seats 5-6 which is still more than we need. This is an odd shaped couch for me to attempt recovering it myself so in the near future I'll be replacing it with a sofa and either a love seat or an arm chair. We don't need a ton of permanent seating and we do need floor space so the furniture itself doesn't make the room feel tiny since it's where we spend a majority of our time. I have long had a vision of a dream living room having hard wood floors, white baseboards, white window trim, painted pale walls with white furniture and white distressed wood furniture. Then the color would be infused in the room with rugs, curtains, pillows, paintings, etc. So...the sage green sofa just won't do for long. Since my home decor redo is a slow process...(still not done to date) it will be replaced when the time is right.

Some before and during pictures of the unpacking process. I'm a visual person so I often take photos of projects midway through to compare to the before's to remind me of how far I've come, thus motivating me to cross that finish line. I've done that A LOT here at the farm!

Making progress! Dining room table put together, half way through the boxes!

This was once I got ALL the boxes unpacked, the buffet in place and just had a few tubs left to sort through. I hadn't found any curtains yet and midday in June in Arizona the sun was beating through those windows like crazy. So I found sheets and blankets and threw those up over the windows for the first few weeks. It looked super corny but being IN the house and not sweating...it did the job for the time being!

Ahhhh! A complete before and after of the dining room unpacking process! Wow! I think it was 10-14 days about.

Riley man...has enjoyed exploring the property. Due to the size of the 8 acres and how so many different types of people have lived here, some with horses, some without, some with goats...oh and the fact that we don't have city or county trash out here at all so you have to burn your trash, Riley keeps finding interesting items all over the grounds. That day he had found a wood pole and wrapped a chain around it like some gladiator or something and ran around the yard swinging it at things, lol! I was just glad he was reminding me of when I was a kid growing up in the country how we'd just go outside and FIND something to do, explore, wander around. I will be glad when that is what he eventually spends the majority of his free time doing, once video games are more a thing of the past. However, since it is 2015 and I have no desire for my son to hate me or hate living in the country I am planning a slow, gradual progression for him to adjust and learn to love the country life!

After we got everything out of storage and put the items that I knew were "storage items" in the shop, this is what we had in there. Much more went in there after the unpacking was done inside because we have a lot of camping, sports and holiday decorations which all found a semi-permanent home in the shop.

This is all for now! Many more posts and photos to come as I moved from unpacking to working on the house and ever continued work on the grounds!

XoXo,

Elizabeth