The Jungle: Machete time

You know, if Machete = WeedWhacker. And in this case, it does.

Remember how overgrown my backyard was a few months ago? Here's a reminder:





Well, being that I took those pictures exactly two months ago today, the yard had grown a bit more. So add a good two feet onto everything. I meant to take a picture this morning, but forgot because I only had a limited amount of time to be outside (but I'm sure shame played a small part in that oversight).

In an hour, I yanked out a bunch of weeds, and weedwacked the entire lawn. Since everything had pretty much turned into a nature preserve, at times I was concerned about a possible attack by a snake, possum, or particularly violent mama bird. But, I made it through unscathed, and have now defined where the lawn previously existed.



Isn't she helpful? Thought she'd do some digging to remove some weeds.

I left all the tall weeds in the lawn area for another day. Reason 1: The pansy .065 trim line I bought couldn't handle 1/2" stems (trunks?) Reason 2: Even if I did hack them down, our mower couldn't handle the leftovers.

So, here's the plan of attack to get this yard in BBQ party shape:
1. Pull out ALL the weedtrees. On the side of the house (behind my garden patch), within the lemon tree, in the "lanscaped" area behind everything, and on the right side of the deck.
2. Mow lawn progressively shorter and treat with turfbuilder w/ weed control and water the heck out of it.
3. Prune back lemon tree, monster lavender and palms.

After that, I should be left with a clean slate to "decorate". We'll talk flowers and groundcover and sun shades then.

DIY: Home Love

Thanks to my jet-setting boyfriend, I'm going to have a bunch of alone time this next week. We've both been so busy the past few weeks, we haven't spent much time together around the house, and our many projects are suffering for it.

First things first: I HAVE to get some grooming done on the yards. Unfortunately, we don't have many yard tools, so I'll have to convince my step-dad to let me borrow some tools. You know, the big boy stuff: weed whacker, power trimmer, etc etc. I need to hack away at my rosebushes, trim the front grass, weed the backyard, COMPLETELY cut back my tomatoes and zucchini (they're a bit neglected), and trim my lavender bushes to do some of these things I found on ApartmentTherapy.



Secondly, thanks to eager friends, and my amazing shopping skills, Delaney's closet is starting to look more like a baby's closet. Unfortunately, there's still crap in there from when the guest room was a storage room/office. Most of it is electronics, and that's Trevor's scene, so I've avoided dealing with it. Add it to the fact that there's absolutely NO lighting in there, and it's a very easy space to ignore. Luckily, I picked up some shelves from FreeCycle that look very similar to these:



The plan is to recover the shelves like here, here, and here. Also, I need to get some serious lighting in there...it's a deep, huge closet, and most kids (and their mommies!) are afraid of that. The fuse box is in that closet, so there has to be a way to wire something, right? Too bad that's SO not my (or Trevor's) forte.



Isn't that dreamy? I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the door on her closet or not, it's a standard interior door size... but if I did, I could do something cool like this paint technique.

I'm getting ahead of myself, the whole point of this was listing projects I'll actually complete in the next week!

Thirdly, and this was something I wanted to complete tonight... I need to recover our dining room chairs. It's a newer Targt bar table, in dark wood, with microfiber seat cushions. However, AllieDog was bored in our first CA apartment, and chewed it up. Now, with my fancy reupholstering skills (and the fact we just got the set back from some friends who were borrowing it), I'm ready to fix them up. They currently have a light mocha color on them, and I'm just going to use the grey microfiber fabric I'm using for the texture-from-hell quilt. I have PLENTY left over.

I think that's sufficient, those are the main projects that I've been putting off. Add to the list the everyday things: cutting the squares for the above mentioned quilt, finishing the above mentioned quilt, printing the baby shower invites, etc etc. The list never ends, does it? :)

RIP: Free Cycle Couch 11/08-8/09

It's a sad day today.

Apparently, Allie Dog is not adjusting to Trev's new schedule very well. She's alone for about 5hrs a day now, instead of Trevor being home with her while I'm at work, and it very upset with us, apparently. First, she's anxious and over-hyper when I get home, and then remains whiney all evening long, no matter how much love/food/potty time I give her. The worst?

She's started peeing on the couch again.

fhdklfhklsrhgklfahklgha

She used to do this when we'd leave her alone in the apartment, if we left her alone for too long she'd pee, because, well, she had no where to go. But now, it's like a deliberate act of defiance! I take her out multiple times during the evening, and one final one before bed. Last night, we went outside, went potty, then went to bed. an hour later, Boyfriend came home, and voila, pee on the couch. Wtf dog?

It's ONLY been the past two weeks when her schedule has been all jacked. I completely reupholstered the couch too, so it's like she's slapping me in the face. The interim solution is to close our bedroom door at night so she can't sneak out, and get new foam for the cushions, and throw the covers in the washer.


Before


After (the late-night culprit, snoozing the very day I brought the finished couch up from the garage. My living room now looks much more pulled together than that chaos in the background.)

But, I fear the couch's life has truly come to an end, regardless. The other night, I lost my cell phone somewhere in the depths of the couch, stuck between raw plywood and the ancient mechanicals of the pull-out bed. My hand came out scraped and bloody from old staples and splinters and other nasty things. So, combined with the dog situation, and this, it's time for a new couch.

Luckily, I have some ideas. And, pretty much, Ikea is where I'm headed.

I like the Karlstad sofa, and it's honestly where I got the shape for my couch when I reupholstered/reconstructed it.



Probably, the white is too light for our lifestyle, but it it would certainly brighten up our living room. My plan is, of course, to get a slip cover, but then even put some sort of slip cover UNDER the fancy slip cover, maybe vinyl tablecloth-type material? Just in case the dog acts up, and then the cushion inside isn't compromised. Once pee gets inside a cushion, you're kinda SOL.

Ideally, we'd love a chaise add-on, but being that the chaise itself is the same price as the original couch, AND my living room is teeny, it's probably not going to happen.



Of course, this is all wishing/dreaming/hoping until we get our car payment taken care of next week, and then we have some bills to handle that were put on hold while Trevor was unemployed, but soon enough we can have nice things. For now, Febreeze is my best friend. *sigh*

Next time I reupholster, I'm doing something smaller, and less used than a couch. Something like a decorative chair or something. Too much heartbreak when it's time to let it go.