Small Victories

This past week I have tried to celebrate the small accomplishments because the list seems so long.  While the new house is chaos on the inside, I have tackled a few areas in the front that I thought would have big impact with a small amount of work and money.  

We have been so excited about the new cement on the front porch that started out like this...

and transformed into this...that I thought "finishing" the porch would not only make a big impact on the overall appearance of the front of the house, but also give us a shady spot to sit at the end of a long day's work and reflect on what has been accomplished.  

I spent a few hours one night preparing for paint by scrubbing the doors and trim.  I spent an afternoon giving my wicker chairs and a little storage bench a fresh coat of spray paint to brighten the area up.  

The gold chair is a little bright but I expect it to fade pretty fast and possibly chip a bit since I just painted right over the white it used to be.  If it doesn't I'll be whitewashing it.  I would normally stick with softer, more muted colors but I really wanted some pop to brighten the area and I like the affect.  

I added a little metal shelf and some little pots and vases - all things I already had.  I haven't decided whether to do a water feature in the big pot or plants.

That got me to here - which was much improved but still lacking warmth.  So on Sunday the kids and I took a mid-day break with my mom, and with the gift certificate to the local greenhouse our realtor gave us we picked out some hanging baskets and flowers to fill a few pots with bright colors.  Then yesterday I spent the day painting the posts, beam and around the door.  The front door will still be getting painted but it was too breezy to do yesterday without messing up the projects inside.  

I'm very happy with the end result and the kids were very excited as well.  It may not have been one of the biggest projects on the list but for now it seems to make a big difference in the "welcome".