time for a (water feature) change

This is one of the things that bothered me the most about the front of the house:

See the pile of boulders in the middle of the ring of pavers?  Well, its a fountain.  Someone drilled holes through the middle of these big boulders and put a pump down underneath, and voila, a fountain.  Except that we weren't sure how to winterize it so during our amazingly cold winter, the pump broke.  I figured, hey, since we have to pull those giant boulders out to get to the pump anyway, why not just leave them out and put a pretty fountain in instead?  

Here's the beauty that I've had my eye on for years.  (Restoration Hardware sells it, but I found it at a local garden specialist for less.)  It was too big for my last house (anybody seen Analyze This?) but I love it in its new home!

I love that it's low enough for Tess to drink out of.

guest house - after

Dining room

Living room

Kitchen

Bedroom

guest house before pics

One of my favorite parts of our new house is the guest quarters.  A one bedroom, one bath condo with full kitchen, laundry and one car garage.  It shares a wall with our garage, but has a separate entrance and utilities.  Perfect for guests, grandparents, or even renters!

BEFORE:

The walk up to the front door of the guest house.

Kitchen - dated pink white washed cabinets and RED walls!

This is a little breakfast nook/office area.  Perfect for a craft room!!

Living room and dining area with vaulted ceiling!

Bedroom - it gets lots of light and has great vaulted ceilings, too!!

Even though redecorating the guest house wasn't really our first priority, it is still one of the first areas to be done.  While we were remodeling the kitchen and four bathrooms in the main house, we did most of our "living" out here.  The red and chocolate walls started to really get to me, so of course I painted and then kept going from there.  When we found out my mother-in-law was going to be coming for a stay, we really put the pedal to the metal trying to make it really nice for her.  Turns out, her Alzheimer's was bad enough that we didn't feel comfortable having her that far away from us, but it was nice to have it mostly completed for when my mom and dad came for three weeks in June!

What I've been doing for the last year or so.....

 Apparently, I've forgotten to blog in a really, really long time.  About a year ago, we decided to buy a new house.  I know, crazy.  REALLY crazy.

My mother-in-law moved in with us for a few months, and it got me thinking a little more about the long term.  We weren't sure how long she was going to be with us (she has Alzheimer's) but we soon realized that if she were to have her own space (aside from a bedroom) everyone would be happier.  And even though she wasn't here very long, I started thinking about my parents.  What happens when they get to the point that one or both of them needs extra care?

So, anyway, we contacted our favorite real estate agent, and she started keeping her eyes open for something with a bigger lot and a mother-in-law suite or guest house.  To make a long story short, we sold our home in a few days (WHEW!!!) and then moved into our new old house on Halloween.

We knew from the moment we looked at it that it had a lot of potential, but would also need a lot of work.  And yes, I frequently ask myself "What was I THINKING?!?!?!?!?!"

Here's a picture of my (7 years!!!)"old" house:

And here's the "new" (23 years old) house:

It's got lots and lots of yard and woods:

And a pool:

And of course the guest house:

We've been hard at work on it ever since we moved in.  I'll show you some pictures soon.