The Grass is Always GREENER...

Finally Mark and I scored some grass!!



















Here's a what we started with...(well this is actually after digging out most of the ugly Pampas grass and gnarly shrubs the previous owner was so thoughtful to plant).



















We had to dig up the entire sprinkler system...and broke a few heads and pipes along the way..."good times"... (Also-notice the new plants in front of the porch and Dogwood tree my parents helped us plant during their visit!!).

























My "side project" (while Mark figured out the sprinkler system) was to put in the slate stone path. My mom helped me with the positioning...and then I leveled them into the ground. (The next step is to add river stones and creeping thyme in between the slate- but for now- the dirt will do).










































Back to the grass...
After digging,tilling, sprinkler testing, fertilizing, raking, and watering the dirt for two 10 hour days- we FINALLY got the sod down. Our neighbor gave us some tips on laying sod- notice the "brick" pattern....which apparently should disappear soon if all goes well.



















Here's Mark realizing that we still have the right-side of the lawn to do...



















"lady fingers" ...:)

....Day 3 of the sod laying starts in about 24 minutes...more photos to come...--AY

Light project

Just this past weekend I finally installed a light fixture over our kitchen table. After looking online for awhile for the "perfect" light, with a simple pendant shade in mind, I settled on the CB2 Eden pendant lamp. It was the most reasonably priced and the size seemed perfect.
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=120&f=4773&fromLocation=search

Now, the only glitch is that it is a plug in light. I read some of the reviews on the CB2 page and it turns out a lot of people hardwired it. I decided to buy it and in the meantime figure out how to do this. I did a little research online and, with the help of Kirin, actually ran across the following blog post courtesy of one of my favorite DIY blogs, YHL.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/how-to-light-it-up/

Turns out this couple installed the exact same lamp I just bought. I was a little nervous about actually cutting the cord plug off and connecting the wires, but they did it so I had confidence I could too. I'm not a "handy" chick, but I'm learning. It can't be THAT difficult to figure this thing out.

Since there was an existing light fixture that we took down (because it was just plain ugly), the wiring was ready to go. The only piece missing in my project was the ceiling plate, so I went to Lowe's and bought one (funny enough I ended up buying the same one as the couple in the link above because it was the only one they sold, which was a little disappointing - I wanted something more modern looking). Once I was ready to start I turned off the breaker to the kitchen lights so I wouldn't electrocute myself - that wouldn't be too pretty. Next, Josh and I measured the cord from the ceiling to how low we wanted the light to hang over the table, marked it, along with a spot on the ceiling for the hook to hang the cords on so it would then be centered over the table (we've got a weird angled ceiling and if the light fixture hung straight down from the ceiling it would be right in the middle of the walking path). Then it was time to cut! I stripped away the plastic cord to expose the wires, then connected them to the two exposed wires in the ceiling, turned the breaker back on, crossed my fingers and flipped the switch. LIGHT! It worked - I was so proud! So now that we knew the wiring worked, we went ahead with drilling a hole for the hook and then screwed in the ceiling plate, setting it all up.

Here's a look at our stellar work :)







I am really happy with the final result, and had to pat myself on the back for successfully accomplishing my first experimental DIY home project. --DS