Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

Yard Work

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

The yard has been accumulating weeds and trash…I thought that by doing nothing at all to the yard some magical native plants would grow and make things beautiful. No such luck.

We chopped all the weeds down. ALL OF THEM. Everywhere. Stupid bastard weeds.
I hope the summer desert heat destroys everything in sight so we can start over in the fall. The exterior of the house is upsetting. Its going to take SO much money and work to get it halfway decent, and I hate gardening.

The front yard. Actually looking a hell of a lot better than it did a few days ago – the weeds were (embarrassingly) about chest high for about a month. Then theres that planter box. YIKES is about all I can say.



This is the side yard…with some nice rods holding up the fence. Just imagine a little patio with a fire pit…I know its hard. Then there is what used to be the “dog run”. This is a weird spot behind the garage and next to the fence. We pulled out all wood, trash, dog hair and crap and used the old rods to hold up the fence. Ghetto.



The backyard. Well…it needs some work. I’m not really sure what to do with it.

The stupid driveway. Looking like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. NICE fence!

I hate the exterior and see no hope. Its HUGE and barren and we live in a desert climate. Unless I win the lottery (which maybe I need to start playing) or a chunk of cash in Vegas this weekend (happy b-day to me!) I think its going to look like this for awhile. Someone please recommend my house to a landscaping show…were I don’t have to pay…and I can be a bit of a control freak…and they won’t show my fat butt on TV…

FILED UNDER: DIY, driveway, exterior, landscape

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New lights

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

We replaced some of the fixtures in the master bedroom and the hallway with some FADO pendants from Ikea.

Heres the before shot of the bedroom and hall fixtures – respectively.

The bedroom after:

The hall after:

Heres the mess that awaited under the master bedroom fixture. Thats a GIANT hole.

We had to scrape off the lovely paper medallion thingy – which was a pain in the ass and a mess…who wants to snuggle?

So to cover the big hole we put up a medallion from the Home Depot. Its a cheap ad-hoc solution for the monster hole. I’m not sure if you can patch that thing in especially with the giant wood beam in the center that the fixture attaches to – there would be no room for the wires to get in….

Once we touch up the paint and caulk the medallion it might blend in and be less of an eye sore.

FILED UNDER: bedroom, DIY

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Living & Dining

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Got around to hanging art and curtains.
This will be the house of scary portraits and designer knock offs.

The khaki curtains are some leftovers from our apartment in Long Beach. They are of course from Ikea, I kind of hate them.

I will eventually put up an under layer of sheers and remove those AWFUL nasty blinds. Another day and another dollar. Also, I’d like to put a bigger and bluer rug under the table. I got my FLOR samples in the mail and I’m waffling on color and texture (and of course price).

The options:

Fedora – Dusty Turquoise ($6.99)
Toy Poodle – Toto Teal (13.99)

I think Fedora wins, just by being so much cheaper. Its OK looking and will only cost about $160 to do the dining room (which is a weird size – very square). Plus we will eat and spill on it and I won’t be so attached….I do love that chartreuse color though.

FILED UNDER: dining, DIY

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