MariannaV's Profile

We have bees inside one of the eaves of our house they have set up housekeeping this past spring. We have repeatedly used insect spray killer, and stuffed every hole we could find with steel wool. They keep on coming back.

This is a nightmare, my 5 and 7 yr olds are afraid to go out on the deck. The bees have swarmed more then once, and when they did the daylight outside our window was dimmed, there were thousands. We can't open our windows because they get in through the screen into the house.

I called an exterminator we used once several years ago, they said they wouldn't come unless I paid a $240 non-refundable fee and they wouldn't guarantee the work.

My husband and I are stumped. We can't remove the hive because it is somehow in between the walls under the eaves. We would have to destroy part of the house in order to open up the space. I would love to get rid of them without destroying them. But at this point it is us or the bees....

Any ideas?

Wow... Amazingly ugly.

I have hired decorators twice and both times they were rather ineffectual and expensive. The first one didn't have the same taste as I did. The second one looked down at my house and my furniture. Neither one listened very well to what assets of the house and the view I wanted to focus on.
I wanted a decorator who was willing to work with much of what I already owned, or give me a REALLY good reason to change what I had. Neither did that very well. It is easy to start form a blank slate and build upon it. It is MUCH harder to incorporate the pieces that already exist into a good design.
The second decorator shared my taste, but he wanted a blank slate and he was VERY expensive. So far no luck.

There are positives and negatives to this design. I think the colors are too retro, the overabundant use of orange gives it a 60's vibe (not in a good way). I like the clean lines of the furniture, the dreaded bedcover and bedskirt are gone. But I would have preferred (as was mentioned previously) a more modern color scheme. And it looks a bit stark, treading that fine line between looking stark and looking cheap.

I agree they are both somewhat bland and uninspired. If I looked only on the above photos the second looks to be the winner. The first photo has minimal color and punch (mediocre at best). The second photo has a bit more life and contrast.

I did look at their online portfolios and Stephanie's designs are by far superior, they are richer, lusher and MUCH more finished looking.

Kim's designs are bare and unfinished by comparison.

The above photos really do not fully represent either designers style. I vote for Stephanie.

I have also been on both sides of the fence. I cleaned corporate offices to support my way for the first couple of years of college. Here were the benefits to me as I saw them:
-I got paid well
-I cleaned on weekends only
-I chose the time of day (or night) when to come in and when to leave.
-I listened to music while I worked.
-I didn't have to please or be nice to anyone, just do a good job cleaning.
-The work was not that hard.
-Mostly I didn't have to clean toilets or bathrooms. (except in one office)

The only downside is that I developed allergies to dust. ;)

Ever since I have owned a home I have hired a cleaning lady to come and clean my home. Mostly because I don't want to spend part of my weekend (4 to 6 hrs) cleaning as opposed to being with my family. I have never had a cleaning lady clean my home as well as I could. And over the years a few things were dropped and broken. But the work that they do is good enough. Over the years I have treated my cleaning ladies as I would want to be treated. I have hired them to do a job, I stay out of their way and am polite in a boss and employee way.
So now every other Friday I come home to a nice, shiny, clean good smelling home and I am happy. I also know that my cleaning lady is happy in a job well done, happy to be well compensated for her work, and happy to do the work that she CHOOSES to do.