We moved a couple of months ago and I had to let the yard (I can't be called a garden at this point yet) just be... no matter how painful it was. My focus was house house house... it was ours but we had rented it and they turned it into a crack house. Well, we kicked them out and after a month of making it livable we moved. However, the work had only just begun... we removed popcorn from ceilings, replaced fixtures and doors... and we still aren't finished. But my focus has shifted.... causing much distress for my poor DH. (He works a lot right now so the house is all on me) I have been digging out the years of neglect (When he and I began dating he was in a different house, which we lived in prior to this move... a master gardener had lived there prior and all I had to do was maintain it all). The house we are in now was his, but he doesn't bother with anything but mowing the weeds and it has been at least 3 or 4 years since anyone has done anything here other than that. All the beds had been filled with rock, the yard is weeds and sand, it is bad. The good news... we have gorgeous trees and a great spot on a lake... so the potential is there :) Back to the topic of the post, since I started focusing on the yard and my garden in the making the house has gone to hell. There are clothes everywhere, still boxes that didn't get unpacked, spare bed is covered in christmas stuff that needs to go in the attic, no clean dishes to be found, dirt and dust galore... Ugh! My kitchen is covered in potting soil and plant seedlings, cuttings, pots and trays. I don't have a potting bench or anything even close yet, so the kitchen has been converted. My ottoman has become my sort and send for my seed trading, there are baggies of seeds everywhere.. Everywhere! My living room is littered with bubble evies... it is terrible. Best part is, a friend of ours is in need of a place to stay for a little while so he;s moving in this weekend. I am going to go into cleaning shock... and yet I'm still determined to get in some yard work this weekend. We'll see how things turn out... this is my first real garden (of my own) and the first time I've been completely responsible for so much (I'm kinda young still... just finished college and am starting out fresh... but with the love of my life so its all good!). I'm just looking forward to next spring, when I will have been properly prepared and things can really look nice :) Kim (cottage style junkie and newbie)

I've never been one for matchy-matchy, be it woods, fabrics, or even clothes. I like similarities in form or texture (the latter I actually prefer very tactile!) or even just style. My dining area table is a solid teak almost Parson's except the legs do taper a tiny bit. It's a darker color. When I had wood cabinets, they were a medium oak. I liked the differences. Oh - my floors are a gorgeous chocolate wide-plank maple. I love the combinations. That said, your cabinets are gorgeous. May I assume you cleaned, stripped & stained? I still have to do my butcher block countertop and haven't decided how to do it. I like a distressed look, but how to achieve it without working on it for 20 years? I love how professionally done your cabinets look.

I bought mine from environmentallights.com and the light bars had diffuser covers that pretty much got rid of the glare and evened out the lighting. Perfect 3000k warm color and I am glad that I chose the in-wall line voltage dimmer since I use it all the time. That does require a large transformer but they sell everything. I sent in my layout, then consulted on the phone with my preferences, and they created a plan and a shopping cart for me. Great service with exchanges when I realized that my 14 inch cabinets could not fit a 12 inch light due to wall thickness and needing to fit the wire that comes out the end of the light bar (exchanged for LED puck lights instead).

AIA A105 - 2007 is a very short 10 page standard construction contract form for small projects with a Lump Sum Price that combines an Owner-Contractor Agreement and a set of General Conditions. Of course, if there is no architect involved, then clauses that mention an architect would be crossed out. Standard forms are intended to be edited by hand and initialed in the margin by both parties. The following issues are briefly addressed: TABLE OF ARTICLES 1 THE CONTRACT DOCUMENTS 2 DATE OF COMMEMCEMENT AND SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION DATE 3 CONTRACT SUM 4 PAYMENT 5 INSURANCE 6 GENERAL PROVISIONS 7 OWNER 8 CONTRACTOR 9 ARCHITECT 10 CHANGES IN THE WORK 11 TIME 12 PAYMENTS AND COMPLETION 13 PROTECTION OF PERSONS AND PROPERTY 14 CORRECTION OF WORK 15 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 16 TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT 17 OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS You can see a sample of A105 online or buy one copy of the form online from the AIA. Some of the things in this contract that are not usually in a contractor's written contract and might need to be modified: • In addition to the product warranties and in lieu of a Warranty period, the contract requirements for Correction of the Work continue for a year after Substantial Completion. • The owner has a limited right to stop the work, carry out the work and to perform construction and award separate contracts. • Soon after signing the contract, the contractor is required to provide a construction schedule and a list of subs • The contractor cannot use a sub to whom the owner has made a timely and reasonable objection. • Owner can terminate the contract if the contractor repeatedly refuses or fails to supply enough properly skilled workers or proper materials or fails to make payment to subs . • The owner can terminate the contract without cause. Remember, the contract is an agreement between 2 parties, therefore, it is to be expected that any standard form will need to be modified.