whitewashing!

this week, for $10, I whitewashed (aka lime washed) our entire house. I'm wondering why anyone ever paints brick. this ancient technique has been used to disinfect and brighten all sorts of surfaces, and is still widely seen in europe. perhaps the best thing about it is that it fades softly over time instead of peeling. we wanted that aged look so I simply applied a watered down version. I mixed one cup of hydrated lime powder to 8 cups water and started slapping the mixture on the house with a masonry brush. we couldn't be happier with the results! anything that softens the hard 50's facade and brings us closer to the warm cottage aesthetic we love is a good thing. the whole process took about 4 hours.

a tree grows in fairfax

introducing our baby lacebark elm!

here is what the tree will eventually look like...assuming i manage to raise it right.

mabel

the pug just hasn't been featured enough!

fire pit!

we had a lovely fall evening with our new fire pit - and yes that's lamb phil is grilling - until the deck started melting. so we are looking into protective options for azek...ideas???

southern blue, a paver stoop and no more vinyl "shudders"

it's been a big week at chez dufresne!
i finally covered the blah concrete stoop with pavers and painted the front door. I went with "southern blue" by behr, after first trying a color called "caribe" that was just toooo much. painted the shed trim with southern blue as well. perhaps my favorite move was pulling off all the vinyl shutters (aka shudders) that made no sense. finally, i planted some liriope to the right of the stoop where there aren't any chameleon plant roots.

front yard

wow. i'm tired!

before

now

mulch - where the chameleon plant is lurking....potted plants make me happy though!

doggie door

we had to get a handyman after all to finish trimming the outside, but phil did a great job cutting a hole in the side of our house! this is a security boss extra tall pre-framed door.