Sunday, January 31, 2010

Home Sweet Home!

So..... we're in! Well, sort of. Okay, we're definitely in, but we still have several items in storage at various locations, but as you can see, we moved quite a bit stuff into the house and we spent our very first night here on Friday, and it was great!







We unloaded everything and comtemplated some seriously lifelike statuesque structures for the side porch.







Very regal.


After a full day of U-Haulin' (in the snow) and a long night of cleaning up at 305, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of bison burgers and delectable side dishes with our friends Steven & Rachel, who invited us over to enjoy an evening of not having to cook or clean up afterwards. It was fantastic and such nice way to celebrate --- food & friends (and zero dishes)! What could be better than that?

I'll tell you what: The brownies. They were awesome and apparently fat free.

But back to the move in.....

As most everyone who knows us knows, Evan and I met after I answered an ad on Craiglist for a $30 bookcase. Well, here we are moving THE Infamous Bookcase that went from his house to my house and now into OUR new home.





CUTEST. THING. EVER.

We had the final coat of sealer put on the hardwoods earlier in the week (they look amazing and we'll share pics soon). We wanted to allow for a little extra time before moving any furniture upstairs, so after we unloaded the truck and returned from dinner, we popped a bottle of champagne,-a gift from the 'rents to celebrate our first night in the house- we hung some temporary blinds and we all camped out in the dining room and the entryway for our very first cozy night in our new home.  Cheers!










We are still working on getting unpacked and organized and probably will be for days, but we are here and it feels great! As I type, Evan is still projecting and pulling everything together. At the moment he is hard at work replacing light switches and outlets----10 down. Ninety to go.  Seriously. And me, well I'm adoringly "supervising" as I am take a break from wondering how in the world I acquired so much stuff and what in the world I am ever gonna do with it all.

Its hard to believe that in a little over a month we were able to complete so much! And while we still have a ways to go, we couldn't be happier to be here and calling 26 East -- Our Home.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

This Week's "We Couldn't Live Without..." Award Goes To...



Sir Richard S., Master of the Universe--er--- Master of the Home Remodel!

Its late Sunday night and we are inclined to believe that had he not graced us with his know-how, expertise and ---let's be honest---just plain awesomeness (!!!!) we'd still be starring at a pretty incomplete kitchen and a few shiny appliances chillaxing in our dining room.
But that is not the case! Thanks to the Master, our appliances have taken their rightful home amidst new countertops and running water and in just 4 days, we'll be able to do the same!














Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! x 26!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

"When I Lived in London..."

Evan lived in London once...and while I poke a little fun every time a story begins with that reminder, the truth is I'm totally envious!  And although we don't live in London now, we are very excited to debut our new dual-flush toilet.  Apparently they are quite common in the UK and more importantly, they are very green!

You might say we're green--- with (a little bit of) envy. ;)





Stay tuned for the bathroom reveal....

He's Back!

We aren't sure how we got so lucky, but we couldn't miss an opportunity to thank our friend Chip for coming over once again to lend a helpful hand.

He was there on Day 1 pulling up disgusting vinyl and stubborn carpet staples, and we were amazed when he returned to help re-hang the kitchen cabinets, and even more surprised when he made it through bathroom tile laying with the "help" of a very inquisitive 5 year old. And as we count down the final days (6!!!) until we officially move in, Chip is back once more and he is not opposed to some heavy lifting!








Thanks Chip!!!

Sneak Peek of the Week

I can take zero credit for this week's sneak peek. While the dynamically handy father-son duo worked their wizardry, I spent the day packing up 305 West and getting things ready to move into 26 East!  I had forgotten how long it takes to pack up an entire house, and foolishly have waited until the last possible weekend to begin it...of course. 

But while I lamented over the multitude of "only played-with-once-please-mommy-I-just-gotta-have-it" Christmas gifts that my five year old placed in her "don't want anymore pile", and sorted through boxes that hadn't been opened since the last move....some magic was happening at 26 E., and although I have yet to see it in person, I recieved some snapshots via email during the wee hours last night (such hard workers!!!). 

Stay tuned for Evan's post and a detailed description of what actually transpired yesterday and a near-complete product, but for now, just a peek at their work along the way!

(BTW....do you see those cabinets??? Stay tuned for my detailed posting on their facelift!)

THEY'VE ARRIVED!
Our new appliances patiently waiting backstage before making their kitchen debut!




Countertops!
Who knew what a difference this would make?



Nice electrical work Vana!!!





Again, you'll have to stay tuned for a detailed description from the professionals, but as you can see the kitchen is finally beginning to look like a real-live space! 

More to come....

Monday, January 18, 2010

Double Whammy

We know.  We haven't done an update in over a week, ok--- two! Since we last left you, the paint was still underway and had yet to be completed!  We are happy to report that the paint is in fact complete in the main living areas --- minus the kitchen---- and there are few signs of the house we began dissecting over 1 month ago.  Where those pitiful paint colors and terrible trim once lived, we now have uniform color and an incredible new look! 

And as if that wasn't enough to get really, really excited about, over the weekend we laid new floors in the kitchen, dining and living rooms!  It was offcially the most exciting weekend since we started working on the house!  As we close in on the final 2 weeks before we move in, things are really taking shape and this is really starting to feel like home!

Check out the amazing transformation of the floor, trim and walls and stay tuned as we continue another agonizing search for the perfect paint color... for the kitchen...and we'll unveil a pretty impressive cabinet makeover (if you look closely you can already catch a glimpse!

You remember this....















And now...
















Next up.... the kitchen gets bright!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Stairway to Heaven

Bad news...we found a squirrel under the stairs the other day!!!


















Just joking...that's me hiding under the first flight of stairs with respirator on for safety...and a pack of shims ready to fix the squeaky stairs. This was quite the adventure. :)

The skirt board along the edge of the staircase had all sort
s of gaps between it and the end of treads, then there were also some gaps inbetween the treads and the risers themselves. Add 96 years of people trompsing up and down the stairs, some amateur attempts to eliminate squeaks and you've got a lot of loose parts to tighten up. Basically I had to re-shim every tread and riser back into place to get rid of all the gaps and squeaks. Easy right?














The hardest part of this project was probably convincing Kelly that I need
ed to cut a 30" x 16" hole in the living room wall...minutes before our paint crew was supposed to show up. She let me cut the hole = she must REALLY love me. :) Things pretty much went according to plan. I had Kelly jump up and down on the steps above to help me find all the bad ones, got everything shimmed up, then shot staples in all the shims to hold them in place long-term.

















































After I got the hole in the living room patched up I turned to fixing the skirt board on the top-side of the case. I scribed a line along the treads/risers before I removed the board, then cut out the notches for the steps, then carefully slid it back into place...AROUND the treads/risers instead of tucked lazily BEHIND them. YAY!!!


























The coolest part of this mini-project was finding what was left of a newspaper from 1913 (some classifieds, some sports) and an old matchbox. You'll have to stay tuned though for more fun details/pics of those. :)

Posted by: The Squirrel Under the Stairs...errr...Evan

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Sneak Peek of the Week...

We couldn't resist sharing a sneak peek of our master bedroom with painted trim and primer on the walls. Check out the difference from that nasty yellow color the trim used to be. Grrr-oss!

The painting should wrap this week, and we are thrilled! Its a miracle we ever got to this day! Choosing paint colors was equally as challenging as choosing a house! After much debate, and changing our minds 100 times (Kelly changing her mind 100 times) then second guessing and experiencing some major painters remorse, we settled on some pretty neutral pairings and neither of us have seen any of the real color on the walls---yet!

Check out the difference some fresh paint makes and stay tuned for the big reveal....





More to come....

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