And by yard I mean the tiny little fenced in area that the properties call "yards".


The older homes, which we are in, don't have large yards like a lot of the new housing does. But really it wasn't that big of a deal to us. What was annoying me though, was the mud patch that we were growing. Yes mud patch, because there was no way grass would ever grow there. Though the properties managers swear up and down that grass is supposed to grow there.

We never really messed with our back yard much. Our patio set was out there, but that was about it. We didn't even use our patio table till this past St. Patties Day when it doubled for a beer pong table. But about a month ago I walked out into our back yard and it looked like this...

Which is honestly not something I wanted to look at, but I got to because of the two windows in our kitchen. I was able to get all of the weeds pulled in about a week. Yeah, there was not enough weeds for it to have taken that long, but there was rain...lots and lots of rain.


So once it finally got to the point where the weeds were gone, I realized that I should probably figure out what I wanted to do back there. Luckily for me, the self help store that we have was offering 3 free bags of mulch to everyone who lived in the housing. I, of course, love free things. I got my free mulch and then stopped at Home Depot for some weed blocker fabric and set to work. I wanted to get this back area fixed up quickly and as easily as possible.


It wasn't the prettiest job in the world, but it only has to last us another year. After that, the next family that moves in can deal with it. Also, because this is only going to be something that we enjoy for a year, I wanted to keep it fairly cheap. No sense in investing a lot of money into something that we won't be able to enjoy for years to come.


I was only able to get half way done with the yard, because 3 bags of mulch does not cover as much as you think it would. The yard sat that way for the next week because of all of the rain. Can we say constant downpour?

Then two days ago I went back to Home Depot and got more mulch. Which meant that yesterday I was able to finish the backyard. It also helped that it was sunny out all day. The process went fairly quickly. With the hardest part being the cutting the liner down to size.

I was able to bring a lot of flowers into the back, which will hopefully help them from being eaten by those devil squirrels.

The fence along the path from our back gate to our house is shared with our neighbor who happens to have Husky. Who is outside ALL THE TIME. Who also digs along the fence, sending dirt and poo onto our sidewalk. So while that side area looks a million times better, I was worried about it getting kicked all over the place. So Nate and I ran to Home Depot...one more time...and got cement edgers to place along the fence. In homes of it keeping the Husky's mess on his side.


I also got a outdoor rug from Pier 1 to help add a different pop of color to fight the very burgundy fence we have.


It's a little smaller then what one might normally want for under a table, but I actually really liked the size of it. It peaks out just enough to catch your eye. We also moved the grill out onto the newly mulched "lawn". Which helped make the area look larger. It also allowed us to rotate the patio table so that no one has to sit up against the storage area.


I'm very happy with how the backyard turned out. All I have left on my wish list is a new umbrella and some more lighting. Though the lighting might happen today if I can con Nate into getting some solar powered lights that I found at TJ Maxx.

I'm now actually looking forward to warmer weather, because we have another place where we can hang out. Plus I am a huge fan of sitting outside in the evening.

All together I spent a little under $100 on this project and two of the things (the rug and hose) can come with us when we move!

So there is what I have been up to this week! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Enjoy spring!