Dearie, marry the mole

Ignore the title and DO NOT MARRY THE MOLE. I'm having mole problems in my front yard. I had them a little this spring but was able to easily  get ride of them. Then I got lazy, and the little *bleepers* are back. So I'm trying the same combo I did last spring of a grub killer to destroy their food source and then Repellex to rid the moles. Repellex does not kill the moles just kicks them out of your yard. Have you ever seen a mole? They are pretty darn cute.
However, if this doesn't do the trick I will be forced to bring in the big guns... GET OUT OF MY YARD MOLES!
Okay enough of that. Also it is hard to take a photo of something that is happening under your yard! The main way we know we have moles is you can see dirt tracks and the ground is really soft to walk on from all their tunnels.

Moving on for real, I promise. While I was outside kicking some creature we won't mention out of my yard,  I also got a on a deweed kick and completely cleared out on of the side flower beds in the backyard.

I was in a grove and sort of forgot to take a before picture, but it pretty much looked like this. Whoa hot mess. The previous owners had planted some nice things around the corner that I need to clean up, but this side was totally untouched.

I'm hoping to put down a weed barrier and then plant some shrubberies and pine straw to keep it pretty low maintenance. It does get a little awkward in the left corner where the railroad tie does not hit the house wall. I think I will end up placing a large pot there and adding some pretty flowers. I think I'm more of a container gardner. That way when they decorative plants die they will be fairly easy to replace.

Wouldn't a row of peonies be heavenly? Gardenias would do nicely too! Image via Pinterest. 

I'm entertaining the idea of decorative grass too. Pinterest image for the win again! 

Now that it isn't so crazy hot outside, I am much more inclined to get out in the yard and make it pretty! Still waiting on the porch to get done, but I can't wait to get that the way I want too!

Love,
Betsy

PS. Thank ya'll for voting on the light

challenge. I'll let you know the winner as soon as I've got it all hung up!

Dining Room Light Challenge

A while ago I challenged ya'll to help me pick a light for over our kitchen sink on Facebook and Instagram. Your input was a huge help,  so I think we are all ready for another round of "Which light do you like best? Dining Room Edition" 

Option 1: 

This is the original light fixture from my inspiration post. I still really like it but, it is an etsy  light and I do have some funky wiring. I have concerns about safety with this bad boy. 

Option 2: 

So obviously I would spray paint this gold, and add different light bulbs like the photo below. Round and white. The light is from Lowes, and the price point is pretty great. If I don't end up doing this someone should totally steal the idea and go for it. I'm even tempted to pitch this idea as a fixture in BBJ 2.0.

Option 3:

I sorta love this. Anthro, you done good! Its just weird enough to make a statement but the wiry-ness keeps it from looking too heavy. I also like the iron look because it brings a little bit of industrial back into the room. I've gone very glam lately... 

So here is where you guys come in...VOTE! Leave a comment, text me, Facebook me, I need your help!!! 

Ya'll are the best!

Betsy 

Den Progress

Hey Guys!
So things around them home have been pretty slow. We both had to put our hard hats on at work and press on through September, and that meant no energy for home improvements. But, hopefully we are back in action. I'm really really really hoping our deck gets fixed sometime soon as I'm pretty sure it is about to fall off the house. {PANIC}

In other news, I have finally found a desk chair for MLW. Remember the one I bought him last year? Well it broke. Then he was using the puff chair, but it sat a little low so ultimately he decided he need a real chair. And there came the problem of balancing his need for function and my want for it to be "pretty."

Office chairs are tough. I almost broke down and bought one from PB Teen after seeing it on Young House Love {Please come back to blogland, I miss ya'll so!}, but MLW thought it looked a little girly and it was more than I have ever spent on a chair. So back to Craigslist I went.

And then I found this guy, clean, manly, comfy and not totally terrible to look at. I bought it.

I hunted around for fabric for a few weeks, and completely lucked out when a local home furnishing store had a fabric sale. A thick navy tweed-esq fabric for $12 a yard - score! A trip to the upholster and a few weeks later we had a desk chair! 

Finally having a working desk chair allowed me to move the puff chair into the corner to form a reading nook. Ad a Moroccan pouf from etsy, and a IKEA fiddle leaf and the rest of the room is starting to take shape. All this side needs is a rug and a new chair cover for the puff chair and we can cross this room off the list! 

I also hung my vintage tobacco basket that had been sitting on the floor for the past few months. I tried to hang it up with command strips about a month ago, but it didn't' go well.

  Speaking of art...MLW also has some art above his desk to inspire him. The abstract was painted by his boss, pretty cool right?

And lastly, I leave you with a photo of my boo boo bear. He turns 7 this month! Where has the time gone? 

Love,

Betsy 

MLW

MLW's birthday is this week and since the corgi's got their own post, I thought he should get one too!

Photo: Kathy Moore Photography 

1. Name: Matthew Lyon Watts

2: Favorite Food: Chinese

3. Least Favorite Food: Beef Stroganoff

3. Best Vacation: Our honeymoon

4. Something you want to learn: To speak Italian

5. Secret Skill: Juggling

6. Spiderman or Batman: Batman

7. Least favorite thing about 5054: How dark the kitchen is.

8. Favorite thing about 5054: How bright my room {the den} is.

9. Place you want to visit: Japan

10. Favorite season: Spring

11. Do you feel like a "adult" : Yes

12. Spirit animal: A crow

13. Celebrity look a like: Jack Johnson

14. 3 things you want to do before you turn 30: Pay off loans, Travel outside the USA, Get Fit

15. Favorite color: Blue

16. Computer or TV: Computer

17. Favorite thing to make: Chicken slovaki

18. Do you believe in ghosts: Nope

19. Favorite movie as a tot: Robin Hood- Men in Tights, Monty Python, and Spaceballs

20. Betsy's favorite trait about you: "That I make you laugh."

Happy Birthday MLW! I love you!