Finally! I'm back with an update. Last time I wrote, Chris and I had just painted the front door and pulled everything out of the ivy flower bed outside. Well we have been working our butts off to check off each and every item on our outdoor to-do list that I made a couple of weeks ago. Well we got through most of the list, some of the other things (like curtains) I still haven't made any progress on. I am just a teeny bit indecisive when picking things for the inside of the house. But, I do plan on staying in the house for awhile, so I guess it's ok to take some time.

Let's revisit what the outside did look like as of about 3 weeks ago, courtesy of Google Maps

I've already listed my complaints about the red awning, shutters, bannister, and door. So without further ado, here it the updated exterior.
 Ta-freakin'-da! I am in the love with the rich navy blue color we chose for the door, shutters, and bannister. It really pops!
 In a five second project, I cut some 4.25 inch numbers out of white vinyl from my Cricut and stuck them on the door. There is no way anyone  looking for my house will get lost with these eye catching numbers.
Another full frontal (haha) shot that includes some Halloween decor I scooped from Pinterest and the the cute flag came from Micheal's after an insane coupon deal. My aunt scored me a friends and family 40% off your entire purchase coup about two weeks ago. My loot included three decorative pumpkins, a 24 inch wreath, the flag, flag holder, ceramic pot, Spanish moss, tacky glue, and a 3M decorative wreath hook for $35. I may have felt a little high walking out after those savings....discounts make me a little euphoric.


There are plans for a new awning at some point, but those be pricey. So we are saving our sheckles here and there and hopefully will have one made that both is the right size and color.

Bannister after being sanded within an inch of its' life (I swear I almost sanded through some parts), spray primed with a rust inhibitive primer, and then two coats of Krylon navy spray paint.
Mums! This is all the boyfriend's work. These make me smile everyday when I come home, so bright and cheerful.

What doesn't make me cheerful are the damn squirrels that like to root around in the mulch! We did some research on the interweb and found out that sprinkling a little chili powder around the plants can help deter our bushy friends. So far, we have had fewer squirrel sightings but it hasn't completely gotten rid of them.I know if I got a nose full of chili powder I would definitely think twice before heading back for more!

We got this porch light at Lowe's on the cheap for around $29. It was pretty easy to install once we waited for daylight. What? You don't install outdoor lights at night? News to this household. The boyfriend decided to dismantle the old light at around 8:30pm last Wednesday night...let's just say more curse words were heard than at a hip hop concert. But once we were able to see, it went up in about a half hour. Yay for not electrocuting ourselves!

We definitely love the new outdoor updates and working slow and steady over the course of three weeks taught me a valuable lesson: it takes time for your house to come together, it won't happen overnight. That is sometimes so hard to remember when I come inside to blank walls and the pillows that came with our furniture. But it does make me look forward to adding things over time to see how everything will come together.

I will be back with another project later this weekend, once it is completed. It has been a little more labor intensive that anticipated but it will look good so I am excited to get it finished!