Matt's Landscaping Projects

In a very small attempt to contribute a little more to the blog, I am going to take you on a journey. A journey of small trees, flowering bushes and grass that doesn't grow. Throughout this summer, I am going to tell you what is happening in the lawn, in the flower beds and everywhere else on the Hunt Estate.

To get started, we need a baseline. I have an idea of what I want to accomplish this year and I will lay it out for you with the pictures below.



You are obviously looking at the front of the house. When people come over, they have to walk out to the sidewalk, then back up the walkway in front of the house. At some point this summer, I will rip out some of the lawn and put a brick paver walkway in from the driveway to the front walkway. In the coming years I want to rip out the walkway and pave that area up to the concrete steps. I will most likely brick over the steps and stoop outside the front door.






These two pics of the front corner and side of the house show my grass. I am not sure what is happening, but we have huge patches of brown that I am starting to worry whether or not it will actually come back. May have been due to the snow being on the grass for months, or something else, but I really don't know. I have raked out some of the dead grass to give the soil some air, hopefully it will come back.

In the front corner we planted two new hydrangeas last year. One is definitely coming back, the other - not sure.




In the back, against the neighbors driveway, there are some 4x4 posts laying that edge out...nothing. All these things do is make me go around on the sidewalk and Ed's driveway to cut this little patch of grass. I took the timbers up yesterday.



This is obviously just off the deck. Its a rectangular patch of flowers and shrubs. I am going to wait to see what actually grows here to figure out what to plant. What I know will happen is that the ridiculously ugly small green bush in the middle will be ripped out.

What does one do with a concrete slab behind the garage? I have grand visions of building some sort of golf practice area with netting and pvc pipes to deliver hit balls right back to a hitting area. I'll let you know if Ali shares those visions, I assume she does not.

In the back, we have a few things going on including this lattice. It is there to provide privacy as Ed's main door to his house is right there. I think we will try to find some different flowing vines to at least ad some beauty to the random lattice. The best part of this picture is not the lattice, its not E-man, its the stupid tree/bush behind the lattice. Because of the lattice you can't see the tree - there is no point to it other than to make me mow around it. It will be coming out.

The next three pictures show what is between the deck and the garage. The short answer is some very overgrown shrubs, thin paver stones and timbers holding the steps falling down. Here is the plan: Rip out the shrubs along the garage and figure out some flowers and shrubs to replace - mix in new dirt if needed; put a few bags of pea gravel in between all of the paver stones to make it look a little fuller; decide what we want to do with the walls/steps next year. I can replace the timbers, use railroad ties or brick/rock them in. Whatever the choice, it would wrap around the entire deck.

The ripping out of the shrubs will hopefully commence in the next couple of days.

This little area is between our side door and the bedroom in back of the house. It currently has 4-5 rose bushes that had about three blooms on them last year. I will probably rip out the roses as I don't want to take the time to grow them. Maybe a bed full of impatiens?

I will keep you updated throughout the summer with new pictures as things happen. Give me suggestions if you think I should try something. If you can magically make my brown grass turn green, let me know, there will be cold beer in the fridge if you want to come over.

Pulled Pork

I have been in search of a good crock pot pulled pork recipe for quite sometime. I have tried the ones where you add a can of coke/root beer and just haven't been that thrilled. Well, after a little Internet search, I think I found one that is a keeper. Although I didn't think so before I added the BBQ sauce, I think the key with this recipe is the rub. Courtesy of Beantown Baker, here is the recipe:

Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Spice Rub:
1 T. ground black pepper
1-2 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. chili powder
2 T. ground cumin
2 T. dark brown sugar
1 T. dried oregano
4 T. paprika
2 T. salt
1 T. granulated sugar
1 T. ground white pepper (or increase black pepper to 2 T. if you don't have white pepper)

1 (6-8 lb.) bone in pork shoulder (I used a 3 lb. pork loin and a 4 lb. bone in pork shoulder)
1/2 t. liquid smoke (I omitted)
Whole onion, chopped (Optional)
2 c. barbecue sauce (I used an entire 23 oz. jug)

Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl

Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (I did mine over night) or up to 3 days.

Unwrap roast and place in slower cooker. Add liquid smoke, if using, and 1/4 - 1/2 cup water. Add onion, if so desire. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in crock pot. Pull by tearing meat into thin shreds with 2 forks. Discard fat.

Place shredded pork back in slow cooker; toss with barbecue sauce and heat on low for another 30-60 minutes, until hot. You could probably add the onion at this time if you wanted it less cooked. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Enjoy!

This recipe made a ton (serving at least 10 probably), but I am planning on freezing mine to be used at a later date!

Foursome

We are thrilled to share some exciting news with all of you! At the end of September (official due date doesn't really mean anything to us, but it is the 28th), our little family of 3 will be growing by one. That's right, Ethan is going to be a big brother! We are beyond thrilled and can't wait to meet our little boy or girl sometime in September...let's hope it is not before!

I am officially 14 weeks today and the baby is doing great! At our last appointment on the 15th, the baby looked really good; moving around and growing a ton. Heartbeat was 165; nice and strong! I think I am finally over the extreme tired stage, but still not feeling great. I didn't experience any sort of nausea with Ethan, but this time around I am definitely feeling sick. More like feeling hungover everyday, but without the crazy night before...not fun! I am hoping the feeling subsides in the next couple of weeks. My belly is in full force and I made the transition to maternity clothes last week; about 7 weeks earlier than the first time around!

We don't really think Ethan understands all of this, but he does know there is a baby in mommy's belly. Baby was actually one of the first words he said with clarity; about a week after I found out I was pregnant. Coincidence? I think not...a brother's intuition!

For those of you wondering, I don't think we are going to find out the sex. The final decision has yet to be made, but we loved the surprise of not knowing the first time around. Sure it would be great for planning purposes, but in all honesty we don't care one way or the other what gender the baby is. An early arrival was surprise enough! I am considered high risk because of Ethan's premature birth, but the doctor will just monitor me more closely throughout my pregnancy in hopes of preventing another early baby.

We are really looking forward to the upcoming months and can't wait for September. It is going to be a very busy couple of months for the Hunt/Konneker/Livermore families with the arrival of 3 babies just 4 months apart, but it will make for some very special memories!

Snippity Snip

After much debate, we finally took Ethan to get his haircut. We had seriously contemplated letting it grow, but the shaggy stage was just to much for us. It also didn't help that for the past week or 2 people had been asking, "how old is she?" Hard to fathom that anyone would think he was a girl dressed in camo, a brown fleece, a blue waffle tee, etc., but that is besides the point. So, when Matt got home from work on Friday, we headed over to Kidsnips for Ethan's first official haircut. Here are some before pictures....looking pretty scraggly!
We were a little worried how Ethan would react to a stranger being so close to him after our experience the night before with his chin, but he was more than content sitting in the taxi "driving" and watching Cars.
The stylish worked her magic and the outcome was this handsome boy....
Although Ethan's favorite part was drive driving and the balloon he got before we left. After seeing how cute Ethan looks with his big boy haircut, I think we will continue with regular trims. Even if it means losing that little bit of baby we had left!

Ouchie

We had our first (of many, I am sure) major boo boo last night that caused a quick trip to convenient care...

Ever since we had our banquette built, it has been a favorite "looking out the window" spot for Ethan. So, as I was getting things ready for dinner, he decided to climb up there and have a look at what was happening outside. The next thing I knew he was on the ground, blood pouring from his chin. Since Matt wasn't home and I didn't know what to do, I, of course, called my mom. She reassured me that as long as the bleeding had stopped, which it had, that this was not an "emergency" and that he would be fine. But, it would probably be a good idea to take him to have it checked out just to make sure he didn't need any stitches. We didn't want to ruin the big guy's precious face with a scar. So, we headed to pick Matt up at the train and then onto the hospital.

Thank goodness the little "scrape" did not require any stitches or glue. Just a few syringes of saline to get it cleaned out good and lots of elephant tears and we were on our way!!

Cheese!!!!

Ethan's new favorite face when you ask him to smile!!!!!!!!!

Baby

Here is a picture of my sister's adorable belly at 32 weeks! Only 8 weeks to go until we meet our new niece or nephew. I definitely think she is having a girl...don't have anything to validate this; it is just my gut! Doesn't she look so cute?!?!?!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

From 2 little Leprechauns!

"May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live."

NCAA Squares Game

I forgot to post this last week, so hopefully it all works out. I am doing another NCAA Squares game (fourth year in a row.) I have already filled up one game of 100 squares, but I have about 20 people on the wait list - so I am trying to fill another game.

If you want a square, go to the website and sign up. Just don't send me any money until we know the next game of 100 squares will fill up.

The squares game operates like a football squares game, but instead pays out at the end of every tournament game during March/April. It's $20 a square, but can pay off big.

Check out the site and fill out the form on the page if you want to reserve a square.

http://www.mattscollegefootballpool.com/ncaa_basketball_squares

Good Things Come In Pretty Packages

The past couple of weeks have been beyond busy, but things finally slowed down Sunday afternoon after a whirlwind of activity around the Hunt household. Before I get into the nitty gritty of what we have been up to, I thought I would post about a gorgeous package we received in the mail Friday. As you might remember, we had a family photo shoot with Carley Kay Photography at the beginning of December. Well, I finally got around to ordering some pictures and they arrived in the most beautiful box with a personalized matching thank you note, CD, and cute little referral cards. It was one of those things that really made my day and every time I look at the photos, a smile comes to my face. They are just stunning!

A couple photos of the finished framed photos, hung just in time for my sister's shower!

Happy Homeowners

We kicked off the weekend by welcoming my sister and Ben to Glen Ellyn, as they closed on their new home Friday afternoon! After a few stressful weeks, the house was finally theirs! We are so excited that they are going to be about a mile and a half away from us and can't wait for them to officially move in Thursday. I envision lots of lunches downtown, play dates at the park, pool time this summer and many fun memories ahead. Congratulations to Kristi and Ben, as they move into a beautiful new home, just in time to welcome a new baby in a few short months. We couldn't be more thrilled to have them so close!

Mini Face Lift

Another exciting thing that happened this weekend was the completion of our banquette and the arrival of a new kitchen table. The banquette was something we had been planning on doing since about the day we moved in and everything finally came together Saturday. Not only did we have the banquette built, we also replaced the railing that leads down to the basement and removed the half wall breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the eating area. While everything is not quite finished -- we still have to have the wood floors sanded and stained, another coat of paint or two on the banquette, and some new paint, curtains, and cushions -- we are almost there and we are loving our new kitchen after its mini face lift. Here are some pictures of the banquette in progress, the new more open kitchen, and the finished product!

Showering Baby Livermore

The weekend wrapped up with a group of 14 gals getting together to celebrate the impending birth of Baby Livermore and my sister's pregnancy! I had the best time planning my sister's baby shower that we hosted at our house. With the help of Carli from Dimple Prints and Chef Ann, everything turned out beautifully (if I do say so myself)!

Some pictures of the details:
All the invites, labels and paper goods were designed by Carli, with a little help from an idea I had from some burp cloths and onesies I found in a shop on Etsy, Mac and Me.

The diaper cake included the burp cloths and onesies I had found that really inspired the entire shower theme. I absolutely loved the fabric (Amy Butler Lotus wall flower and Full Moon Polka Dot) and thought it was perfect for a giraffe themed gender neutral shower.

The favors were Garret's Popcorn because Kristi is "ready to pop." Thanks to my wonderful hubby for picking this up on his way home from work on Friday.

The table was filled with lots of my mom's infamous salads -- Wild Rice and Curry Chicken Salad, Tomato Basil Tortellini, Napa Cabbage Salad, and Fruit Salad. No shower is complete without lots of yummy treats, which included Dea cupcakes, mini cheesecakes and Oreo balls!

My mom and I, well mostly my mom, made the tissue paper pom poms straight from Martha Stewart. They were actually pretty easy and really made the entire area very festive. I will definitely be doing these again for my next party.

Baby Livermore was spoiled with lots of great gifts and is all set to come home in a couple of months. A special thank you to all my sister's friends that made the trip out to Glen Ellyn for the shower. My sister is truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family in her life.
After much anticipation and a teeny tiny bit of stress, the weekend turned out to be so much fun! I would do it all again in a heart beat...there was so much love and laughter around our house this weekend, it is really something I will never forget. Thank you again to my mom, dad, sister, and Ben for all your help around our house the past week or 2; I don't know what we would have done without you!