The not so hot tub

After all those days of hard labor we could not wait to get in that hot tub and soak for a very long time.  

Oh, what hot tub, you ask?

After spending hours squatting inside and scrubbing years of scum and dirt away (did I mention that before this home was vacant for years, it was rented out to boys who went to our local college?)  A homes two worst enemies - renters and boys.  Yea.....it needed A LOT of scrubbing.  No worries though, it would be completely worth it and our inspector assured us the hot tub was in great, working condition.  Finally, it was time to fill 'er up and heat 'er up.  Hours later we went out to see that all the water except for one foot had completely drained back out flooding our yard.  Yup....leaks.  Not just some small leaks, the pipes underneath the hot tub were shattered into millions of pieces.  The pipes hardly existed anymore.  Someone (not pointing any fingers - boys) let the pipes freeze up with water in them over our long winter.  

So guess what we did the next day?

This

So long sweet hot tub.  You will be greatly missed.

Jungle Madness

When we first visited Cherry St. Cottage during our home search we definitely had a hard time seeing the potential in the backyard, let alone seeing the backyard.  It was an absolute, abandoned disaster.  However, a large backyard was one of the most important factors in our home search.  You see, my husband grew up always having four dogs in the house so it was only natural that we of course would get one right away.  I don't think he knows how to live without a dog.  So when we saw this -

- our jaws dropped.  

This is not a dog friendly backyard.  This isn't an anything friendly backyard.  However, when we saw this - 

  

- we perked up a little bit.  

At least there was a hot tub to sit and soak our aching muscles from the hours and hours of hard labor we would be doing.  Which was exactly what we started doing - hard labor, not soaking, at least not yet.

So fast forward several days through lots of yanking, pulling, swinging, chopping, and lots of nasty, sticky burrs.....

  

to this...

And when I say several days, I mean several weeks.  We had several trees, including the giant evergreen removed and the biggest change was the wood fence my husband and his friend built.  All for this adorable little guy - 

Blogging world meet Hudson.  Hudson meet the blogging world.

Remember when I mentioned that my husband grew up with four dogs in the house at one time?  Well soon after we brought Hudson home we decided to bring her home - 

This is little Lola and yes, she is a showgirl.

And they love each other.

And their backyard.

Thanks Dad!

Oh and now for that hot tub soak.  Well, it broke.  But that will be another story for another time.

And so it begins....

Let me take you back to the very beginning before I catch you up to speed.  Our house hunting journey was fairly simple and fun.  It did not take long to fall in love with this quaint fixer upper.  Having been vacant for 3 years before we moved in, it definitely needed a lot of TLC but it also had a lot of potential. Here it is on closing day.

Welcome to our backyard jungle.

Oh yes, it has a hot tub.  Let the parties begin!

Parquet floors.....not my favorite at all.

Dirty fireplace - yuck.

Oh my wallpaper.  Never a fun prospect.

And floral carpet.

Outdated.

So there it is.  Do you see the potential?  I hope so!  If not, stay tuned and hopefully we will be able to show you. And so it begins......check back soon!