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There are several things around our home that have been "thorns in my side". 

1.  The Backyard.  Period.  The whole thing – particularly the white trash swingset and the large flower bed that had no flowers (only dirt).

2.  The piano room.  The first room you see when you walk through the front door.  The only room that I can have full sway in as far as decorating.  The only room that was empty and undone after 3 and 1/2 years of living here.  I've bought different pieces of furniture for it over the years, but it had never really come together for me.

3.  The front "island" bed – a large flower bed that everyone sees in the corner of our lawn that was great on one side and miserable on the other.

And would you believe, that by Derek taking 3 days off last week we were able to get all three taken care of and they look beautiful!!

1.  The backyard:  Derek re-did the entire swingset…moved the slide, built a climbing wall, a floor for the bottom of the fort, re-did the beams, and painted the whole thing!  He worked so hard (like always) and it looks SO much better.  I thought we were going to have to trash it and buy a new one…not with Derek around!  And that tall beam sticking up?  That's for the zip line that is still in the works. 🙂

BEFORE (but really during):

AFTER:

And here's our new flower bed that has actual plants in it now!  Designed my moi with new and transferred plants.  My favorite part is the new "Red Rocket" crepe myrtle…my FAVORITE one because of its deep red blooms.

2.  Piano Room:  A fresh coat of paint, new lamps, and a new home for those platters…I love it now.  Above the settee I'm going to do a collage of my b/w pictures of ancestors.

3.  The front island bed: With some help from our master gardner neighbors, a lot of drawing, and visits to 4 different nurseries, we came up with a good plan.  We made the bed bigger (Derek did all of this) in the front, and now it has juniper, 2 types of yucca, salvia, sage, texas betony, two types of gaura, lots of daylilies, and two wild rose plants (and an oak tree).  It will look beautiful once its matured.

Oh…AND I planted some flower pots for the front door, some cilantro, and a hydrangea for the backyard, and we mulched both front beds, and Derek aerated the grass.  We WERE EXHAUSTED come Sat. night.  But there is SO MUCH satisfaction from planting and watching things grow, from creating things with your hands and your head, and from beautifying your space.  A good feeling, indeed!