Cozy Condo

The first morning in our new Arizona house in July of 2019, I sat, feeding my 2-month-old, amide the scattered boxes dreading finding a place for everything. From my seat on the couch I could see the staircase to the upstairs. My eyes followed the wall to the half-bathroom door, and back to the stair’s newel post. Our one-year-old puppy, Cozy, was sniffing around the house, her pathway crossed my eyes as I continued to calculate the distance of how deep I knew the bathroom was, and how much more space must have been closed off under the stairs. There had to be extra space.

I finished feeding my 2-month-old and moved on to other things, like feeding the older kids, unpacking the kitchen and pantry, but each time I had to sit and feed my baby my eyes wondered to that area under the stairs.

I thought it had been days, but in reality it had been hours, while my youngest was napping, I pulled out the multitool and cut open a hold in the drywall. The plan: a room for the dog.

While at the time, I had no aspirations of sharing much of this to public, but on some basal level I wanted to see my progress over time. See, in our previous house I’d done work to dress up a fireplace, painted the kitchen cabinets, and changed out the shower surround, a good half of it was with my husband. This dog room… this was ALL me.

So I used it as my playground. Electrical, drywall, WALLPAPER, BASEBOARDS, even CROWN MOLDING, BUILDING DOORS (I’m not yelling, just trying to denote things I’d never done, or never done solo, before this room.) In reality it took me several months. I built during naptimes, hauled three kids to improvement stores for supply runs (the oldest was in school), and was generally extremely novice.

Besides the wallpaper, the dog is the only other girl (my boys would add “besides the chickens), so I love that wallpaper…but besides the wallpaper, my favorite feature is a shelf on drawer slides so all of her things can be stashed away in her room, but she can’t get into them. When I need something I can slide the drawer/shelf out into the doorway, get the things I need and slide it back out of the way. Now, four years later, I’m still impressed with my ingenuity with that one.

Outdoor Oasis

Our new house had been a rental for many years before we bought it. And the backyard looked like it. A common ground cover for yards in Phoenix is rock and bermuda grass. Neglected yards are rocks and clay dirt. We’d just come from the lush Mid-east and longed for our old massive yard and deep green lawn. Instead we had a concrete block fence, and sun-baked dust.

First order of business, amend the soil so water would actually drain. Have you ever had a monsoon come through and dump water on clay? It doesn’t get soaked into the soil, it runs in rivelets and puddles until it evaporates. Oh, yeah, we had one tree. A poor little lime that looked new because it was so small. The next door neighbor had been keeping it alive with occasional showers. It was just a sad, sad yard.

Next order of business, get some shade. Trees take time but covered porches can grow within a week. The husband and I decided to first extend the concrete, and then hired a crew to install an alumawood porch structure. Alumawood because metal and concrete are about the only things that can handle 120 degree summers, drenching monsoons, and termites.

Once the weather got cool enough to want to be outside again, the husband got all the sprinklers working. Then we tilled up the ground, and laid “winter grass.” Arizona has seasonal grass, beautiful lush winter grass, and awful, rough, can’t-kill-it-if-you-tried bermuda.

Whenever I got a spare hour I was walking around nurseries trying to decide what plants to add to give us some shade and privacy. Whoever decided that backyards that face the community walking trails (green spaces that are really just rocks and maybe a bush or tree) need to have fences people can see into, needs to be forced to live in said houses.

Anyway, I discovered climbing bougainvilla, a super thorny, but vibrant, drought-tolerant queen. I took four. Add some Red Push Pustach (because they turn colors and lose their leaves, which makes us nostalgic for 4-seasons) and a couple more citrus trees and we gave it a start.

I’ve since added some lavender and roses, and a little spot to try to grow vegetables.

Now that everything is filling out, our backyard has become a bit of an oasis. And better yet, it mostly takes care of itself.

Accent Wall and Ceiling

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.