New (partial) fence!

We fenced most of the property a few years ago, but there was an area we skipped because there was a nice greenwall/barrier there already. Alas, the years had worn away the fence that supported the greenwall and it started to get rickety. There was a gap in one corner where Mattie made a break for it one rainy night (not fun for her moms!). Plus, my neighbors would suffer second-hand smoke inhalation every time we BBQ'd.

So we decided to take out the old fence. Actually - my neighbors (including this world-famous blogger) removed the old fence and volunteer cherry trees growing along the border, and we had the new fence put in.

In this picture, you can see that the old fence/hedge yielded many a valuable treasure, including a luxurious pair of muddy longjohns!

The new fence still has that "too new" look about it, so we have our work cut out for us this spring planting some trellis and greening up the place (with anything other than ivy!). I've got cardboard piled on the ground to choke out the grass on the other end. I'm thinking raspberry trellis + some kind of groundcover?

Life is better with more chandeliers

We ordered this one from West Elm. The old hanging lamp was ugly - it was dark, old (but not in any sort of antique, artistic way), and it hummed a little when it was on.

But now, you can enjoy a grand entrance with our fancy-ass chandelier in the front hallway. Plus, we installed a dimmer for it. I'm a firm believer in dimmers. If given the opportunity, always, put in a dimmer! It's the only way to increase the fanciness of chandelier living (to see what I mean, watch the video).

Installation was interesting. We had some outside help, but none of us are electricians. Which should be fine with a standard installation. But the existing fixture had more than the usual number of connections: 2 grounding wires, 3 white, and 1 black. We sorted it out with a voltage tester, but it was a mind-melting challenge. So far, it's been worth it!