Elizabeth Phillips

Front Yard

It’s take-in some time to get the yard to look like this. We started in the Spring and did what we could, little by little, to prep and prepare, now it’s done!

Wow! I can’t believe August is already here! We’ve had some fun times this summer and I hope yours has been fun as well. It’s been really HOT here in Texas and I’m kind of looking forward to some fall weather, so we can hang out on the porch.

Today I am blogging about our front yard. The yard was in pretty bad shape, due to moving our old mobile home out and moving the new home in; plus work vehicles driving through the yard, which made a few ruts. Top of all that! The yard had a lot of weeds and dead spots. Good news! Our Crepe Myrtle’s are having an abundance of blooms this year, like never before.

Dale fix the ruts in the yard by filling them with topsoil. He also added more soil near the sidewalk, driveway and low spots in the yard to level and smooth out. In addition, Dale added crushed concrete to the entry of the driveway to level it out with the cemented driveway.

Another step we did was apply weed and feed to the yard.

Now for the fun part! Yes, there is always the fun part! Ha-ha! It’s the prepping that’s not fun! But must be done! Sod was next! Dale and I put sod down along the front of the house, sidewalk and driveway. We even placed some sod in front of my red fence. The front yard looks absolutely beautiful!

It’s take-in some time to get the yard to look like this. We started in the Spring and did what we could, little by little, to prep and prepare, now it’s done! Yay!

Moving the Bonnell, last summer.

Our new home.

Fall 2016.

Dale put plastic down to prevent the dirt from run off, during the Fall and Winter months.

Early Spring

Topsoil has already been applied along the sidewalk.

Topsoil applied along the driveway.

Getting ready to put down sod.

Must water for at least 14 days after planting sod.

Crushed concrete installed to the entry of driveway.

Grass planted along the front sidewalk.

Grass planted along the driveway.

Grass planted in front of the red fence.

Front yard.

Side view.

View from the left side of property and so happy we are done with the front yard.

We just recently celebrated our 6th Anniversary and we always make a point to take a portrait every anniversary.

Posing in front of our Texas patio.

Thank you so much for stopping by the Phillips Place.

Front Porch

Dale uses his utility trailer to carry his tools and supplies for his convenience.

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying your summer! Dale and I are having a much better summer this year! Last summer we were recovering from the flood. Not fun at all.

Summer 2016. Through it all we kept our spirits up.

Well let me tell you about our front porch! Early spring we were ready to give the front porch a finish look by adding lattice to the bottom. But before we could do that Dale needed to address the dirt that was washing out from underneath the porch. He installed 2 x 10’s around the bottom to hold the gravel. Dale used a type of gravel call washout; it is some kind of crushed concrete and fairly inexpensive. He put about a yard of gravel within the border he made and compacted as much as possible. Now for the fun stuff! We choose the smallest square lattice we could find, which I think looks elegant. Once Dale finish applying the lattice, he covered the rough edges using 1 x 4’s. At that point the porch was looking much better, but we noticed when walking up the stairs you could see between the steps and it kind of looked dark and scary underneath. Ha-ha! I believe because our steps are high, it’s very noticeable. To solve the issue Dale installed 2 x 8’s between the steps. No more dark and scary! The benefit to adding the 2 x 8’s gave the steps more support and should keep critters out from underneath the porch. Wow! The porch looks wonderful!

Before Picture

2 x 10 Frame

Hauling the gravel.

Washout gravel.

Preparing frame for under the steps.

Frame complete.

Gravel complete.

Dale uses his utility trailer to carry his tools and supplies for his convenience. The trailer is easily moved with the garden tractor to the location where he is working. Can you see his miter saw?

Getting ready to install the lattice.

Lattice installed.

Front steps completed.

Right side view from the street.

Steps 2 x 8’s installed.

The man of the hour, Mr. Dale Phillips! My husband does wonderful work, as you can see the porch looks awesome!

After

Future Plans For The Porch

Paint, stain and add lights to the steps. All in due time. 🙂

Summer Vacation 2017

Bald River Falls in Tennessee

Cherohala Skyway

Biltmore Estate

Biltmore Estate rose garden.

Taking the time to smell the roses.

Enjoying the shade.

Sunflower Field in Stecoah, NC

We both wish you a happy sunny summer!

The Phillips

Happy Independence Day

Hello and happy fourth of July! I hope you are enjoying your holiday! Dale and I are enjoying some time off from work and projects. Saturday we celebrated at our place with friends and family; we had a Forth of July Concert Jam! We have family members that are musicians and they were excited to come jam together! Wow! What a great way to celebrate! Dale and I love listening to live music and has been a dream for us, having a live band play here at the Phillips Place. We can check that off our bucket list! Ha-ha! Next on our bucket list, movie night! I think that would be great! Will see!

Fourth of July Concert Jam at the Phillips Place

This picture was taken by my daughter Mary Hatton. She took some awesome pictures of our jam! I think she gets her photography from me. Ha-ha! Actually she has exceeded me with her photography! Mary is a blogger too! Check her out! The Cake Chica Thank you Mary!

Phillips Place Home

This is my dining room wall. I purchased this clock at Hobby Lobby, it was on sale for 50% off. Wonderful! The wall sconces I purchased at an antique shop for under $20.00. My mother gave me the vintage coffee pot and the tea kettle I found at another antique store and scored a great deal on sale! The green pitcher was a gift and the books were purchased at a thrift store. Cotton stems I bought at Magnolia Silos. Of course it took some time to gather all these items. I always look for great deals and through patience’s can somehow put things together.

Kitchen

For summer I wanted to change this part of my kitchen, so I placed my small collection of these beautiful crocks. I always put a picture above my stove but did not have anything that went well with my décor. I took care of that by painting an abstract art piece, using similar colors of my crocks. My abstract art I’ve named, “Sand & Water.” This was my small DIY project and had fun painting it!

Fourth of July Home decor.

This is my fourth of July home decorating. I cut some fresh flowers from my garden and put them in a small vase and placed them on top of a red white and blue runner. That’s it! I really don’t go all out, I think a little goes a long way.

Outdoor, Red, White and Blue

I kept it simple even outdoors. I found this star garland at Target, in the dollar section and placed it on my vintage window on my porch.

My garden shed vintage window I purchased the red, white and blue flower bouquet at Wal-Mart for under $10.00 and the garland at Target in the dollar section.

Have a Happy Fourth of July and wishing you all a wonderful summer!

Dale & Elizabeth Phillips

Queen E’s Garden

Last December on a warm day, I took advantage and cleaned up the garden area. I pressure wash the garden shed and the raised beds, finally getting the last of the dirt left from the flood. I also cleaned all my potting pots, tilled the raised beds and filled the beds with compost.

Winter

Early Spring

This is actually my second year gardening, so definitely a novice. I have three 4 x 8’s raised beds and kept it simple by planting what we like in salads. Cucumbers and tomatoes! Dale added a trellis for the cucumber vines using PVC pipe, which has been a nice addition to the garden. I use pots for my tomato plants and herbs. Sweet mint for ice tea! Basil for pizza! Yum! I planted green beans for the first time and also planted some dill from seed, experimenting!

Before Trellis

PVC Pipe Trellis

Pickling Cucumbers

Cherry Tomatoes Early Spring

June

Fresh From The Garden

This year I devoted one of the raised beds for flowers. I planted from seed, Zinnia’s and they are starting to fill the garden with beautiful colors! I love plants and flowers and have placed them in potted pots all around the area.

Flower Bed

Zinnia’s

Cut Flowers From The Garden

Zinnia’s & Basil

I am enjoying my garden very much! We have had enough cucumbers for salads and extra to give to our neighbors. I planted two types of cherry tomatoes and they are delicious! Next year I would like to try to add more vegetables to the garden but for now keeping it small.

Salad

Basil & Marigolds

Fresh Basil

Plants

Porch Plants

My garden shed I like to decorate along with the seasons. For spring I hung up a painted floral picture, added some spring flowers to the window box and a wreath for the door. Dale and I agree that the garden area is our special feature here at the Phillips Place. The last family gathering here, everyone loved the garden shed! It gave me a big smile seeing them pose in front of the shed for their pictures.

Spring

Garden Shed

Spring Wreath

Queen E’s Garden

How I came up with the title “Queen E’s Garden,” one of my neighbors gave me the nick name “Queen E,” he has since moved because of the flood, but when we do talk or see each other, he always addressees me with Queen E! I dedicate this blog to Mark McKinney, we miss you! We will never forget the good conversations we’ve had on the porch and really miss your cooking!

You will forever and always be our friend, Dale & Elizabeth Phillips

Texas Patio

Dale and I have been busy as bees here at the Phillips Place spending our spring time getting our yard ready for summer!

I’m excited about our new red fence next to the stone patio! But let me tell you about the patio first. The area next to the garden shed had a low spot that collected rain water. I came up with the idea to build the area up by installing a stone patio. Last fall we had sand brought in, to spread in the backyard and ended up with more than we needed. So we used some of the sand to build up the area for the stone patio. We didn’t get technical about it. Dale made a frame using some landscape timbers we had on hand. He shoveled the extra sand to the area and we pounded the sand using our body weight by stepping and jumping on the sand. Yeah! I know we must’ve looked a little crazy, plus we don’t have a lot of body weight, so if the patio falls apart later you know why! Ha-ha! We finished the patio all in a days work. Not bad huh! Dale later installed a stone sidewalk next to the garden an unexpected surprise!

Before Picture

We removed shrubs for the fence.

To make the frame square we had to cut part of this tree. We plan to cut this tree down in the fall. Landscape timbers for the frame.

Filling with sand.

The first and the last stone laid

After we squared the patio we were left with a small odd shape area by the patio. Dale concrete that spot.

Made sure to put our initials and date.

Sidewalk

Dale used treated 1 x 4’s to make the form for the stone sidewalk.

After picture of sidewalk.

Fresh dirt under the shrubs.

Red Fence

I’ve always wanted a picket fence next to the garden shed and trying to come up with an idea on how to make that happen. We previously had a fence in our backyard hiding our propane tank. After the flood we had the propane tank removed and Dale suggested we should reuse the fence for the patio area. A good idea because all we needed was to purchase concrete and a couple of 2 x 4’s for the project. Dale shorten the fence by cutting a foot off the height so that we would have a view of the front yard. It’s not exactly a picket fence but it is a fence and it works for me.

Setting the post for the fence.

Cutting the fence for the desired height.

One side installed.

Painted the fence to match the red gate.

Color is Red Geranium by Glidden Wal-Mart.

After Picture

I love our patio! It’s a nice peaceful spot to sit and have a glass of iced tea or a cup of coffee. I also appreciate our new stone sidewalk a much stable walkway and makes it easier to get to and from the garden shed. The cherry on top! Is the red fence! It really stands out! I can imagine some good times will be spent here in this beautiful Texas patio.

Our Texas Patio

After Pictures.

The Hearts of Texas.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our Texas Patio as much as I’ve enjoyed telling you about our outdoor project.

A note from Elizabeth

I was so nervous the first time using the miter saw. It did not take long for me to get the hang of it though!

I started blogging two years ago for the reason that we were renovating a 1987 single wide Bonnell mobile home. We purchased our property over six years ago and were fixing our home those past years. The Bonnell started out from a deer cabin and I do mean deer cabin to a beautiful cottage. My thoughts were, “do people know about this?” You can indeed renovate a mobile home! Hence, my blog began. I wanted to encourage others that it is possible to renovate a mobile home like any other home. When I began this journey I did not know anything about construction. With the help of my husband I learned to demolish, saw, hammer, nail and paint. Oh believe me, there is a wrong and right way to hammer and a technique to everything I listed above. I had never used tools like a nail gun, drill or a miter saw before. My husband even gave me a lesson on how to measure because all those little lines on the measuring tape do mean something when you are trying to get an accurate cut! Believe it or not I became pretty good at cutting with accuracy! Ha-ha! Last year we were in the process of replacing the floors to our master bedroom when our home flooded along with most of our neighbors.

LIFE! Life happens! People go through some devastating stuff sometimes. You hear about it all the time tornado’s, fires and flooding. My advice is to be prepared. What I mean by that, is to make sure you are insured and keep a record of all your belongings and keep all that information at another location. We have a safety box at our bank and keep all our important papers there. It’s better to be prepared then not.

Back to the blog! After our home flooded I did not know if I wanted to continue to blog anymore. I didn’t think I had anything to blog about. I kind of had this give up attitude. You know it’s okay to be down when you’re out, but it’s not okay to stay in that place. I choose to get up and wipe the dirt off my britches! I did what ever it took not to give up! Guess what? Less than a year later, we were back home and it’s even better!

Our Home

Dale just recently put some lattice around the outside of the porch. Also he laid some fresh dirt next to the sidewalk.

This is a picture of my kitchen. I decorated this wall for under $35.00. The clock, lamp and pictures are Walmart finds. Great deal when you are on a budget! Oh and I made that HOME sign using reclaimed fence board.

I was excited when we found the home we wanted to purchase! Clayton homes, “Anniversary.” A single wide three bedroom manufacture home and I thought why not blog about our experience! So far I have blogged about the preparations in the setup of our home and about some of the changes we have made to the inside of our home. I will continue to blog about what we are doing here at the Phillips Place, but since we are not doing any major renovations (thank goodness) I might not post as often. I can tell you we have plans in the works for a room redo in the fall. Yay! Can’t wait! I promise to post at least once a month if not more. At times I might post my thoughts or a small project. I hope you will continue to follow us! I think some exciting things will happen! Make sure to subscribe to my blog so you will not miss any post. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my note from my heart. I appreciate it very much.

Elizabeth

P.S. Maybe I will put to good use some of the skills I’ve learned from renovating. 🙂

Laundry Room

Thank goodness another thing off the check list!

Updating our laundry room was on top of the list of things to do! Dale and I really like the size of the room and it was one of the features that help in making the decision to purchase the “Anniversary.” Since the room has some good space we wanted to take advantage by adding more shelves for storage.

Laundry room, came with 12 inch wire shelf.

Before

Dale made a wood shelf using 3/4 plywood to make a 14 inch shelf. He installed the shelf below the existing shelf, which made it easier for me to reach for items. Dale says, “For short people.” Ha-ha! He is such a teaser!

Preparing for the wood shelf.

Wood shelf installed.

Do you remember when we updated our master bedroom closet? The closet had a wire clothes rack and we were able to reuse and install it on the far wall in the laundry room. I love it when we can recycle something and it just happen to be the perfect size!

Preparing for the next shelf for the far wall.

Shelf installed.

In addition, I was able to put my Ikea book shelf against the opposite wall from the washer and dryer. I’ve had this shelf for many years and was very happy we had a place for it in our new home!

Book shelf

To keep things organize, I purchased some wire baskets online from Wal-Mart. I knew I would love these Better Homes and Garden baskets because I’ve ordered them before for my previous laundry room. I love the look! Love the chalkboard tag! Love that you can wash the lining and they hold a lot of stuff!

Wal-Mart Better Homes and Garden Wire Basket.