All I need is a can of spray paint!

In order to get ready for the baby shower I was hosting for my sister, I wanted the backyard to be picture perfect. It is all about the details I WILL see.... all the weed pulling etc.

The outdoor gate and all of the light fixtures were looking pretty beat.
Just give me a can of black spray paint, some duct tape, and some brown paper bags and I can make it all look new!

Fountain Landscaping Done!

After ten trips to Lowe's, running over my ankle with the pallet cart, a few bags of mulch, and ten thousand tons of rock later, the fountain landscaping is done!

I think this turned out pretty nice. It totally transformed this space. The fountain is so relaxing and these succulents are easy to maintain.... meaning I won't kill them.

Moving the Elephant....errr Fountain.

The previous owner of our new house {we believe} was trying to make his neighbor/ best friend jealous and put the pool, grill, fire pit, outdoor fans, outdoor misters, and the 2500 lbs fountain all on one side of the house. It is a ridiculous layout and we are trying to make it all work.

We decided to move the fountain so that we can actually enjoy it. Well, it didn't hurt that I went to a local fountain dealer here in town and found out that it is worth well over $3500 - so that obviously motivated me to get this thing out of the dark corner it was in. Plus, I have been trying to figure out what to do with this weed filled area that sits behind our patio furniture.

To start this project we needed to create a foundation for the fountain to sit on. The area before was very uneven and I wanted the fountain to sit above the patio so that no children can walk right into it.
The previous owner also left me tons of leftover stone.... till this point we've had it piled on the side of the yard collecting black widows. Luckily, this was a perfect use of these large stones. They were too big and heavy to throw away.....One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?

This before the weeds took over!

That isn't grass.... its weeds!

It took both my mom and I to lift each stone. Each weighing at least 100 lbs!

This photo below is the wagon maxed out with stones, sand, and river rock in front of Lowe's. People in the parking lot couldn't believe how much stuff Scott fit in the back. The back looks slammed!
We really need a truck!!! 

It took 3 men, a pallet jack, a giant tire, and a few pieces of PVC pipe to move it. The base alone weighs over 1800 lbs!!!!

This was pretty dicey! It didn't fit, so they had to tilt it!!!

Almost there!!!

I don't know what took us so long to do this. Now when we are outside, it is so pleasant and relaxing to hear the water splashing. Sounds like rain. Of course, I have to give the credit to my mom. I originally didn't want to bother with moving the fountain and I wanted to add another fire pit in this location. This is waaaaaay better!

My lil helper. No pants and Nike Dunks!

I decided to add the river rock around to make the fountain appear to have a larger base. I plan on doing another row of stones and then add some landscaping.... maybe I can finish that next week!

Here it is, almost finished. It looks great looking outside from the house!

More Palms & Plants

Two of the palms we moved ended up dying, so our gardner came back out and replaced them. We also had a few more Bird of Paradise put in!

............Stay tuned for more yard work projects now that the weather is a little nicer to be outside.

Dead Palms OUT!

New Palms IN!!! Plus Bird of Paradise in between! 

Different Angle. 

Weed Removal & Walkway

After I finished the paver project to the hose I started a project that I've been putting off.
I have pulled weeds so many Sunday mornings by our pool pumps, but they just KEEP COMING BACK! This area is overrun by weeds. It is scary.

We cleared out the weeds and I added this stone and pebble walkway to the pool pumps. Again, the only way to walk to this area was through mud, weeds, and it was gross. The previous owner left all these stones scattered through the yard, so I put them to good use.

After we put the pathway in place, we filled it in with pebble stones, we put down wood chips and put all the trees on a drip system. This should keep the weeds away. I HOPE!

Ahhhhh! Its the garden of scary weeds!!!!

Walkway in place!

AFTER!!!!!

BEFORE & AFTER

More Pavers!!

We have been traveling and busy with everyday life that I haven't had a chance to do any projects.
We went up to Half Moon Bay and San Francisco for 10 days and when we were away, I promised I would come back and get stuff done. I am sticking to that promise.

First project I tackled (after recovering from being sick for 2 weeks when we returned), was another paver project. We have a hose at the back of the yard and the only way to access it was to walk through mud. So I decided to add another pathway. Unfortunately, there is a tapped off sprinkler right in the middle, but Scott will fix that soon!

Seriously, the best way to stay fit is to do home improvement projects. I am at my fittest when I am working on the house and yard. Loading and unloading pavers and bags of sand is a LOT of work!

I bought 80 pavers at LOWES.

BEFORE!!!

Cleared the area out and put down a weed barrier! 

Second, I played with the shape. This didn't work for me.

I decided to wrap the path around an existing rock.

Then its all about how to fill in the shape! 

Next, filling in sand and making sure everything is level. 

Always with my little helper by my side!

Finished! 

Planted two more Bird of Paradise. I think that yellow palm needs to GO, though!