Spot the difference!

As I sit here with my wriggly Little man, soaking up the holidays...I am creating a little game for you!  It's called 'Spot the Difference', and it involves a little Queenslander in Toowoomba...

Once upon a time, there was an outdoor area...

Notice the similarities?  Yes, both have a white picket fence... but what is different???

Where once the back yard got a little 'overgrown' (understatement), with a bonfire gone wrong, and

 sprouting greenery!  We now have a neatly trimmed lawn, (e.g. check out height of grass under trampoline before & after...) and an artistic stump planted with a fern & surrounded with beautiful agapanthus!  Ah, lovely view from the monstrous  back deck :)

View from the lounge room, still a 'reno space', so odds and ends piled all over the place here...but we can now walk outside onto the deck! Yay! :)

Boofhead brother & Scallywag sister got a make over, too!

Here's a few tid bits of the reno's in progress...

You might spot Little man & Mummy, Daddy, Grandpa & Grandma...as well as the infamous Boofhead brother & Scallywag sister prancing about their new 'what can I yap at from here?' places...

Above: Grandma planting up the clothesline area with agapanthus and blue eye.                                               Above: Daddy & Grandpa concreting the back clothes line area with exposed ag.  Dark tint to the concrete...once polished it should look really schmick!

Left:  Daddy sanding the back deck.  The timber we scored for the deck was once an old basketball hall at Dalby - our home town.  How about that??

Right:  I only have an after shot of this one, but Grandma did a fantastic job, up early each morning, and into the heat of the day...trimming, pruning, weeding, planting and moving little gnomes around our lovely front garden.
 It's one of Mummy & Daddy's favourite things:
early evening, fountain trickling, reclining on the front deck, glass of wine in hand, relaxing, catching up on the day that's been :) 

Thanks Grandma!

 Here's the front deck, completed with freshly potted blue eye :)

Making use of the new clothes line area...funny, I really look forward to hanging the washing out now!  (I know, strange...I'm sure it will wear off soon...) Did you spot the cheeky Little man?  He loves being in amongst the washing :)

Ah...balustrade all finished.  Looking top shelf, I say!  Just need to jazz up an outdoor setting, pot up the big pot in the corner with some fresh lavender (hmmm...Mummy's job), and Bob's your Uncle!  (So they say...although, who is Bob anyway?  Do we really want to adopt him as our uncle??)

I love our herb pot!  Lots of little goodies for cooking with :) - smells great too!!

Grandpa freshly painted the whole exterior of the house, too.  It's now a lighter, coastal blue, still with white shutters, and a fresh lick of paint on the front deck, too.  Thanks Grandpa!

Oh, and I almost forgot...last but not least, Grandma & Mummy updated the Little man's room, with a cool slick of lime green, and some canvases to tie in.  Hope you've enjoyed browsing & spotting the difference at our humble abode :)

Reno's...

Well, here we are at another project.  It seems they are never ending!  But we love the 'fun times' to be had and the memories that are held in the many projects and creativities we undergo.  I'll take you for a walk at our place :)

Starting at the mail box!

Here's the "cottage" - lovely large open-living area inside though.  Don't be deceived by appearances...

Okay, not quite a work of art...but I'm pretty proud of my 10 min recycled wreath!  I made it when little one was asleep, using a wire coat hanger, ribbon and some old baubles.  Pretty clever, I thought :)
Let's keep going...

This work of art currently hangs in our front hallway. Daddy made it for Mummy as a wedding present.  Impressive, hey?  I love it's character, each emu seems to eye you quizzically as you walk past :)  Made from recycled materials, and a few purchases e.g. paint & resin to finish...I'm very proud of Daddy! 

And this work of art hangs on our living room wall.  Daddy made this one for Mummy's birthday this year.  Isn't Daddy talented??

Here is Daddy sanding the new addition - a 70m2 back deck.  What a ripper entainment area this will be!  (So Daddy would put it)...

We can't forget Little One.  Here he is!  Gracefully asleep with bottom in the air :)  Mummy is behind the camera ;)

The view from the back deck.  Yes, the backyard isn't something we're super proud of...what with a bonfire pile that has sprouted greenery...dear me.  But we're doing some intensive work over the next week, both inside and out.  Keep watching this space for our before & after photos!