benched

from this:







to this:



thanks, jewels and cy!

electric company

Since I moved in nearly three years ago, I've wanted a ceiling fan in my living room. I know it's the first thing they rip out on "Trading Spaces" but since I don't have a/c and don't foresee getting it any time soon, it's really the best option.

My father keeps saying he'll install one for me, but after waiting a year for him to help me finish change out the light switches, plates and outlets (and there are still a handful of them left to be done) I decided to *gulp* pay someone to do it.

Electrician jobs are never cheap, so when I went looking for a fan and saw both Lowe's and Home Depot offered installation services, I thought that'd be the easiest route. Why I decided this, I still don't know, as after dealing with Home Depot's installation contractors for the Clarion shutters incident, I wasn't so happy. So off to Lowe's I went, where I found the perfect fan. Turns out they don't offer installation anymore, as their subcontractor lost his license. Ooops. Back to square one, aka Home Depot.

The guy at the installation services desk was actually very nice, and *gasp* helpful. As a former electrician, he advised me not to pay someone to do it, but to instead do it myself and save the money. (sidebar: I was quoted $110 at the store, but the electrician quoted me $375. Ridiculous!) J's hubby, then fiance, tried to install a fan for me when I first bought the place, and it didn't work out so well as he'd never done one before.

I hired an electrician on the recommendation of my mother's friend, and this guy didn't disappoint. He's about my age and the nicest guy ever. He brought a tarp to put under his ladder so as to not spread debris everywhere. He even vacuumed up after the install. And for a mere $100, he couldn't be beat. I gave him $25 extra cause he really went out of his way to bring several ceiling braces over, even though I already had one, to see which fit best. Then, because apparently I have funny ceilings, he needed extra long screws and he went and got those on his own dime.

The fan, in all its glory from the website:

I detached the awful looking pull tabs at the bottom, since the electrician installed a remote for it, which may be the best part -- it can be set to come on at a particular temperature!

And in its new home:

sunshine days

She is always thoughtful with her gifts, and my birthday this year was no exception. She and her hubby gave me a gift certificate to Lowe's and two weekends of their time to devote to household projects, namely my backyard.

I had been wanting to create a sun deck for reading and general sunworship-ness for some time, but as usual, I was missing two-thirds of the time, money and energy equation. I'd also had my eye on a pineapple fountain from Tommy Bahama (I know!) but didn't want to spend the 200 or so clams they were asking.

Enter my bestest friend and her handy hubby, who bought redwood from the lumber yard and brought over their saw (bought as an excuse to execute this project, perhaps?) and got to work one hot weekend a few weeks back.

Before said project could begin, some minor adjustments needed to be made to the space designated for the sun deck, particularly clearing it out of the wood chip-debris and what remained from the fountain grass and jasmine that I pulled out last year.

We made a stop at Lowe's for sand (lots and lots and lots of sand) while Cyrus got everything settled to begin the project, and it was there that I was met with the fountain-from-Tommy-Bahama's-cousin. I knew instantly that I had to buy it, and at about half price of the one from the "island purveyor," I knew it was a good choice.




All cleared, sand poured, ready to go!


The master carpenter, ready to get down to bidness


Hey, what's this work stoppage?!


I got the fountain assembly job


Ta da! (pay no attention to the dead foliage in the background!)


Finished product. I now need someone to help me lift it into place!



The bench/sun deck is about the size of a twin bed, and is sure to be super comfy if I ever get around to buying the foam, as Jewels offered to sew the cover for it. I'm thinking Sunbrella fabric, despite its hefty price tag, because the backyard gets a ton of sun and investing in something durable might be the best option. I will be installing a shade over the bench, but that will most likely have to wait until next summer.

Thanks, guys, for all your help!

more fun than watching paint dry

It's been a long, hot day.

So what did I decide to do after waking up ridiculously early after a late evening, then trekking to the outlets and then baby-sitting for 6 hours?

Why, paint an accent wall, of course.

Isn't it what everyone decides to start at 9 on a Saturday evening?

p.s. -- the outlets sucked (or maybe that's 'cause I could only stay for two hours). And! I raked in the cash baby-sitting and all I did was play a little catch, ride some bikes and shuffled them to a birthday party at a pool where I got to lay out and catch some rays.

I can say right now that...

Life Is Good.

winter showers

You'd think, that with the holiday season here, I'd stop thinking of myself and only buy for others as my mother taught me.

You'd think, right?

I guess not. Today I splurged on a Hansgrohe showerhead for my master bathroom. Yes, the one I had was perfectly fine, but I believe that baths and showers should be an experience. Cheesy, yes. But I'm beyond stoked to have a shower under this.

Perhaps it's all the rain we've been having that inspired this purchase...

meanwhile, back at the bluth's model home...

As promised, pix of the bedroom home improvements.

(Nightstands, lamps, and wall color are new, for the folks not on board.)




A better pic of the nightstands:


Next up, improvement wise: new hallway light fixtures that a) aren't dated, and b) brighten up the place!

looking over both shoulders

I'm just getting around to editing photos from the last couple of weeks...

We briefly had nice weather in Santa Barbara...


I think it'd be rad to have this just outside my door on the way to the beach, pretty much exactly where it was located.


It was nice enough for surfing, at least.


How often does a kid from the suburbs like me see this crusing the streets?


And, because I am a glutton for punishment and had nothing better to do today than shop on my weekend off:


Why, yes, Cost Plus is my favorite store, why do you ask? Now I just need some folks to come over and help me start the party...

Chew on that...