Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The most adorable way to clear a yard
We had a VERY exciting week over here!
Since we bought the house our backyard has been a jungle. We don't have any official "before" shots but if you look in the background of these pictures you will get the idea.
Now, take what you just saw and multiply it by 20 or maybe 200. Only then can you understand what the yard was like. We couldn't even walk back there for fear of falling in a hole, getting bitten by a snake or being lost for all eternity. Every time I attempted a venture I would get a horrible case of poison ivy.
We got a lot of estimates from lawn companies to clear everything out. They were all laughably expensive. So after much (well, not really) debate, we hired a much cheaper (and more adorable) alternative!
Eweniversally Green!
The guys came to our house and set up an electric fence....
...that runs on solar power!
Then the real fun started!
Sheep and goats in the yard!
Lyndsay was the friendliest lady.
Ruby is the Anatolian Shepherd who makes sure everyone stays safe.
Nom nom nom!
In this video the sheep are being herded so that the fence area can be widened. You get to see the border collie at work and a cute puppy in training at the end!
We miss our temporary livestock. They made the house a lot more exciting. However, it is great that they're gone because look at the yard! We can walk back there!
Before they came EVERYTHING in those pictures was completely covered in English and poison ivy (as well as some terrifying spiny thing that would wrap itself around your pant leg and refuse to let go). We had been fighting it for months. The sheep and goats happily munched it all away in a matter of days. Now we can see that what we thought were mounds of dirt are actually trees. Hooray!? There are some other random goodies we will post about later
We tip our hats to you, Eweniversally Green! Thanks for giving us our yard back in the most amusing way possible. If you are reading this, tell Lyndsay we said hello!
Since we bought the house our backyard has been a jungle. We don't have any official "before" shots but if you look in the background of these pictures you will get the idea.
Now, take what you just saw and multiply it by 20 or maybe 200. Only then can you understand what the yard was like. We couldn't even walk back there for fear of falling in a hole, getting bitten by a snake or being lost for all eternity. Every time I attempted a venture I would get a horrible case of poison ivy.
We got a lot of estimates from lawn companies to clear everything out. They were all laughably expensive. So after much (well, not really) debate, we hired a much cheaper (and more adorable) alternative!
Eweniversally Green!
The guys came to our house and set up an electric fence....
...that runs on solar power!
Then the real fun started!
Sheep and goats in the yard!
Lyndsay was the friendliest lady.
Ruby is the Anatolian Shepherd who makes sure everyone stays safe.
Nom nom nom!
In this video the sheep are being herded so that the fence area can be widened. You get to see the border collie at work and a cute puppy in training at the end!
We miss our temporary livestock. They made the house a lot more exciting. However, it is great that they're gone because look at the yard! We can walk back there!
Before they came EVERYTHING in those pictures was completely covered in English and poison ivy (as well as some terrifying spiny thing that would wrap itself around your pant leg and refuse to let go). We had been fighting it for months. The sheep and goats happily munched it all away in a matter of days. Now we can see that what we thought were mounds of dirt are actually trees. Hooray!? There are some other random goodies we will post about later
We tip our hats to you, Eweniversally Green! Thanks for giving us our yard back in the most amusing way possible. If you are reading this, tell Lyndsay we said hello!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Coming soon
Two big things are about to happen at the O'Cropolis. The first one is a new roof. This is not something we had planned on but it needs to be done. It will be exciting to get rid of the tar and gravel and put down some modified bitumen. I'm tired of moss growing in the gravel and all the rocks piling up around the house. Also, the new roof will be insulated unlike our old one. Hopefully, that will make things a little better this winter.
The other big thing is the yard being cleared out. We had planned on having our yard landscaped this summer but the roof took away our hopes and dreams of that. However, we found an effective and cheap way to clear out all the ivy. Goats and sheep. That's right. We are going to have a bunch of animals clean up our yard for us. It should be fun to watch.
I'll be sure to post more about these projects when they happen in the next few weeks.
Be seeing you.
The other big thing is the yard being cleared out. We had planned on having our yard landscaped this summer but the roof took away our hopes and dreams of that. However, we found an effective and cheap way to clear out all the ivy. Goats and sheep. That's right. We are going to have a bunch of animals clean up our yard for us. It should be fun to watch.
I'll be sure to post more about these projects when they happen in the next few weeks.
Be seeing you.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Hole in the wall
A while back when we were re-doing the door we removed an old window unit from the side of the house. This project was completed a couple of months ago so I apologize for the tardiness.
The first thing we had to fix after taking out the A/C were the two studs that had been cut out when it was installed. We cut two pieces of 2x4 and screwed wooden strips on the side so they could be attached to the existing studs.
We ended up enlarging the hole for two reasons. The first was just to clean up the edges so when we put the patch in the joints would be nicer. The second reason was to hide the vertical joints under the new slats of wood we were going to put on.
Here you can see the patch with the four new slats we put on. We ended up cutting our own slats because the 1x2's today are not as wide as the ones that are on the house.
Primed and ready.
It's not perfect but I think it turned out really well. Then again, anything is better than the old AC hanging out of the side of the house. Eventually we will replace all the siding with Hardy board but that is way down the road.
Patching the inside was pretty straight forward. We filled in the hole with some new insulation and then cut a piece of drywall to cover the hole.
The main issue we had with patching the inside was that the wall was warped. The weight of the AC had pulled the wall in above the hole and pushed the wall out below. Once we started to do the mudding we realized it was going to take a lot it to make the wall look smooth.
This is the only picture I took of this stage of the job. Once all the mudding was done the patch was about 3 times the size of what it looks like now.
Now that everything is sanded and painted you would never know there had been a giant hole in the wall. We are so happy to have this fixed. Now I don't have to explain to people what the box on the wall is anymore.
I took this shot because Hayward wanted to be on the blog again.
Be seeing you!
The first thing we had to fix after taking out the A/C were the two studs that had been cut out when it was installed. We cut two pieces of 2x4 and screwed wooden strips on the side so they could be attached to the existing studs.
We ended up enlarging the hole for two reasons. The first was just to clean up the edges so when we put the patch in the joints would be nicer. The second reason was to hide the vertical joints under the new slats of wood we were going to put on.
Here you can see the patch with the four new slats we put on. We ended up cutting our own slats because the 1x2's today are not as wide as the ones that are on the house.
Primed and ready.
It's not perfect but I think it turned out really well. Then again, anything is better than the old AC hanging out of the side of the house. Eventually we will replace all the siding with Hardy board but that is way down the road.
Patching the inside was pretty straight forward. We filled in the hole with some new insulation and then cut a piece of drywall to cover the hole.
The main issue we had with patching the inside was that the wall was warped. The weight of the AC had pulled the wall in above the hole and pushed the wall out below. Once we started to do the mudding we realized it was going to take a lot it to make the wall look smooth.
This is the only picture I took of this stage of the job. Once all the mudding was done the patch was about 3 times the size of what it looks like now.
Now that everything is sanded and painted you would never know there had been a giant hole in the wall. We are so happy to have this fixed. Now I don't have to explain to people what the box on the wall is anymore.
I took this shot because Hayward wanted to be on the blog again.
Be seeing you!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
We didn't forget the blog.
Hello readers! Eric and I would like to apologize for being such terrible bloggers. We have no good excuse and can only give you the truth: We are lazy. Not with the house, there are a lot of new things going on there. And not even with taking pictures, there are tons on the camera. We have just been lax about getting the pictures from the camera to the computer. No more! We are going to be better bloggers! We will post at least once a week from now on until we forget about our promise to post once a week.
With the apology out of the way, here is a quick little post to show you some new things around the house.
My friend Lauren brought these great Fish's Eddy (click on the link! You will want to buy everything!) glasses to me when she came to visit from New York.
Lauren has since become a permanent resident of the ATL. I plan to drink many long drinks out of these glasses with her, hopefully on a patio.
I saw these cats on the wall at Sauced and decided I had to have them. My sister-in-law bought me a set off of Ebay for Christmas.
They look like they were made for this spot!
We have a few more recent acqusitions as well.
We took a trip to Kudzu Antiques today and got this coffee pot.
It is in really perfect condition with only a small scratch at the very top.
We also got this trivet. Who doesn't need a teak fish?
Last weekend we went to I.C.E. Atlanta to see what crafty goodness we could find, and also to support our friend and neighbor who owns Fattycakes Handmade! This little guy that she made now resides on our sofa downstairs.
Eric's favorite addition/obsession to the house has been kittens from the local artist known as Catlanta. You can read about him here on CNN.
Well, that's all for now. Like I said, we have a ton more posts coming up with everything from new furniture to a new backyard.
See you soon (for real this time)!
With the apology out of the way, here is a quick little post to show you some new things around the house.
My friend Lauren brought these great Fish's Eddy (click on the link! You will want to buy everything!) glasses to me when she came to visit from New York.
Lauren has since become a permanent resident of the ATL. I plan to drink many long drinks out of these glasses with her, hopefully on a patio.
I saw these cats on the wall at Sauced and decided I had to have them. My sister-in-law bought me a set off of Ebay for Christmas.
They look like they were made for this spot!
We have a few more recent acqusitions as well.
We took a trip to Kudzu Antiques today and got this coffee pot.
It is in really perfect condition with only a small scratch at the very top.
We also got this trivet. Who doesn't need a teak fish?
Last weekend we went to I.C.E. Atlanta to see what crafty goodness we could find, and also to support our friend and neighbor who owns Fattycakes Handmade! This little guy that she made now resides on our sofa downstairs.
Eric's favorite addition/obsession to the house has been kittens from the local artist known as Catlanta. You can read about him here on CNN.
Well, that's all for now. Like I said, we have a ton more posts coming up with everything from new furniture to a new backyard.
See you soon (for real this time)!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Northcrest home for sale
Some friends of our are selling their home in Northcrest and I thought we should help them out. This is one of my favorite houses in the neighborhood so if you're looking to get into Northcrest this is a great place. Even if you're not looking to buy a house please check out the amazing photographs on their site.
http://www.wix.com/lynnray3386/mod
http://www.wix.com/lynnray3386/mod
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
What kind of chair is this?
Does anyone know what kind of patio chair this is? I have seen pics of chairs like it before and have always thought they were great. A local antique store has this one but I would love to have a pair. Should I go back and buy this one? Thanks in advance for the help.
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