a sneak peek of our new kitty

Those eyes belong to our new kitty named Ivan. He came from a foster home in Michigan and is about 2 years old. More photos to come. I thought this would be a good photo to share since it features the stairs we are currently refinishing.

kitchen floor

Hello!
Thanks for all of the nice messages regarding Meena. We are all very sad. We're just trying to keep busy with house projects and mindless entertainment.
We put down new flooring in the kitchen. A very low budget solution to hide the previous flooring. The tile is vinyl peel & stick.
BEFORE...


AFTER...


More kitchen photos HERE.

I'll try and post more photos soon of other projects. Right now I have the attention span of a flea, so things are moving a little slow.

RIP our sweet Meena...

the house next door is in the process of being torn down. it's been a little nerve racking. check out how close it is to us...

It's a girl!

Our little neice has arrived... her name is Lily Grace and she is cute as a button. Mommy & baby are doing fine. We're over the moon!

I finally finished painting the kitchen cabinet interiors. It took 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. They could probably use even a 3rd coat, but I'm sick to death of painting. You can see the before photos HERE.

* 2 coats of primer...


finished (with the cabinet painting)...

As I'm typing, Scott's sister is having a baby. She was induced this morning. We are waiting anxiously to welcome our little neice into the world. :)

house stuff- office update

trying to get the office organized...added bookshelves...hung some art pieces....




organized craft supplies and set out some favorite pieces...


coverd the old file cabinets with contact paper.
also made a floor runner with some tile found in the basement. The chair rolls around easily from computer to desk. The tiles are heavy and seem to stay in place, so no glue needed.

house stuff

I went on a little shopping spree. It was all stuff we really needed, but now Scott has put me on a little spending freeze. lol. He said that we have "enough stuff" for the house, which is so not the case.

Ok, I bought these curtains for the dining room. They work really well with the paint colors. I'll take photos later.


Stocked up on a few of these bookcases. I would have rather gotten something like this, but these work fine in our office. Huge PIA to put together though!


I looked really hard to find a console for our living room...second hand shops, craigslist, retail shops, online, etc. Finally ended up going with this one that I found online. Right now it is waiting for me, in a million little pieces, to assemble it.


This rug will go in the living room. The color is actually charcoal, it looks a little blue in the photo. I found this on clearance for 1/2 price at JCPenny.


I got some of these cool vintage s/p shakers as a housewarming gift.
They are exactly like the set below, which is available here at The Vintageholic Frog- cute shop btw!


That's enough show & tell for now. I have a gagillion projects to work on.

crafty stuff

I have to share a photo of this adorable little besu wallet my friend gave me. So cute!


The Renegade Craft Fair is this weekend.

foto friday

* one (of many) ice cream trucks that cruise the neighborhood. this one in particular plays "The Entertainer" over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...


* basement getting gutted. prepping for a "Man Cave".
the original bathroom is gone. we are going to have a small bathroom with just a podium sink/toilet. this will give us more open space in the basement.


* the view from our office.


* the grass is growing in. we purchased a push lawnmower (floor model about 80 bucks). it works much better than i even imagined. lots of weeds to pull still.


* fire is lit. getting ready to grill brats and sauerkraut.


Best Wishes for the Labor Day holiday weekend!
Hope everyone gets a little time off from work to enjoy the holiday.

Update: here are some outside shots from the weekend...

bathroom

I swear this has been the summer of doctoring and freak accidents for me. This past weekend, I either sprained or tore a muscle in my calf. How? I simply took a backwards step off my step stool, heard a 'pop', calf gave out, and I was on the floor. Thankfully, treating injuries like this are my husband's specialty. So I'm forced to be on bedrest with ice packs. It's very hard to sit still. So I'm posting some photos of the painted bathroom.
* before paint*




* with painted walls & grout *

"Mamma Mia" all girls family reunion

I have some photos to share from our annual 'girls only' family reunion last weekend in Minnesota. The theme for this year's reunion was "Mamma Mia"(the movie).
The event included lots of visiting, photo sharing, jewelry making, a boat ride, 70s costume party, dancing(to the Mamma Mia soundtrack), lots of wonderful food, and a late night bonfire with s'mores. Lots of fun was had by all! I'm still hoping to get some of the group photos.

* me & my Mom...

* my cousin hosted the event at her cabin on Sugar Lake...

* here we are making jewelry. we all went home with a souvenir necklace...

* enjoying a boat cruise...

* dancing to the Mamma Mia soundtrack...

good things...

We found our new favorite neighborhood restaurant... Cemitas Puebla. It's delicious and super affordable! The inside is sorta kitschy. The walls are full of photos of the owner posing with celebrities, and the ceiling is covered in movie posters.


* you can check it out on the Food Network with Guy Fieri...



just for fun... this is the cutest thing ever!


one more good thing, I LOVE, love, love Peapod (an online grocery store)! :)

paint

some photos of the freshly painted living room and dining room...

* grey walls with white trim.


* walls are a flat china white, trim is a high gloss white. we are still debating the banister.


* walls are sand, espresso accent, and white trim.







** more house photos HERE.

what's up?

right now i am...
- counting down the hours to Project Runway.
- preparing to leave town for a girls-only family reunion.
- getting high off the paint fumes from the living room and dining room painting project. things are starting to look better (sorry, no photos yet), but i am having major paint color anxiety.
- avoiding yard work/ pulling weeds. i got stung in the eye by a yellow jacket just over a week ago, and now i'm terrified it will happen again. even the sound of a buzzing fly makes me shriek!
- trying to get everything in order before next week. i will not be able to do any work- with the dogs, or on the house- per my Doctor's orders.
- shopping for bookshelves, area rugs, and a new dining room light fixture. of course, everything i love is way over our budget.
- losing my mind. :)

so true...

"Life is like IKEA furniture. Sometimes you have to take it apart so you can put it back together the right way"
– Chris Blake
* found via apartment therapy here

dirty laundry

Hurray- we have a washer and dryer of our very own!
Well, almost. The washer is here, sitting in the dining room. The dryer was damaged during shipment, so the store is replacing it next week. Now we have a few days to figure out how to get the appliances into the basement laundry area.

Here is a photo of our set. So excited! No more searching for quarters.
They will hopefully be up and running in a week.



In other news, this week has been all about 'priming'. Pretty boring.
This weekend I plan on painting the blue grout to white, in the first floor bathroom. It shouldn't be too strenuous, so it's a good project for now. Lots going on in the next month, need to rest up.

* here i started painting the grout lines...


* a lot more to go...

making it functional

kitchen...

office...

the guest room is currently our walk-in closet, massage room, and sewing room...

* Do you see the white crocheted afghan in the lower right hand corner? My Grandma made that for me. :)

My Uncle & Aunt were in town on biz, and brought it with them. I need better photos.

* You can see more house photos HERE.

Getting settled in...

We survived the move. Thankfully we had Starving Artist Movers help us out. They were superfast and awesome!
We're mostly unpacked. It's been a little bit like camping, but with a cabin. No gas the first week, which meant no cooking, and ice cold showers.
We have a gagillion projects going on. Here are some snapshots from the new place.

Scott's lawn project...
* the lawn photos are from one week ago *


WIP- stuff to recycle...


Day 1: backyard stripped, hoed (spell?), more soil, seeds, fertilizer, water...


Our friends, J & E, bought us an outdoor campfire/ firepit. I'm so happy! It reminds me of camping. We need to make smores. (sorry about the blurred photo)


Meena & Heidi are doing just fine. They LOVE having their own yard!
Heidi is doing remarkably well getting around. She has the house, and all of the stairs figured out.
The neighbor kids love them, and M & D love the attention.

It's Moving Day! (finally)

Our internet will be down for a bit. Hopefully, not too long.

hardwood floors are done

Check out the final product (please ingnore any molding, paint, etc).
Considering the floors are from 1903, I think they turned out well. If I can walk around barefoot, and not have to worry about possibly getting a tetanus shot, I'm thrilled.

the first floor is oak...


master bedroom is maple...


the floors are now safely covered for moving day and cosmetic work...


Any ideas for the banister???




Need to carpet the stairs, landing, and guest bedroom. How hard a DIY project would that be? ??
The professional carpet installation estimate seemed sort of high. I've never purchased carpet before, so have no idea how much a project like this would cost.


the landing...


the guest bedroom...


* Scott & I did not refinish the floors ourselves. We just removed the carpet, tacks & staples. It was approximately $2 a square foot.

totally looking forward to this, this weekend...

Click here for more info about the festival (i think it's sold out).

freshly sanded floors

Click HERE for more recent photos of the home rehab project.

running water is a luxury...

So we finally have running water in the first floor bath, kitchen, laundry room, and outside hose. The other two baths are a work in progress. That means we can start refinishing the wood floors, and move in soon after.

main floor...

second floor...

basement bath...

Here is the plumbing aftermath. Our plumber did alot of intricate plumbing repairs and rerouting... need to put up plastic, insulate, replace drywall, mud, sand & paint.

* laundry room- washer & dryer go to the right of the sink.

plumbing update

Sorry, the only thing on my mind right now is work, and the house. I feel so out of touch.
So apparently, "smiley faced pipes" is a term plumbers use for pipes that have busted, from freezing during the cold winter months. This is what they look like. Our plumber told us to keep these as souvenirs. Expensive little suckers! Unfortunately, there are more where these came from.


When the water was turned on for the first floor, there was water fountaining out of the dining room light. Of course I was horrified, yet secretly happy that we have to rip out that light fixture soon.


Do I know when we're moving? No idea. In the mean time, we are back and forth, living in a box filled apartment. Thank God it's summer in Chicago!

We removed the kitchen cabinet doors, cleaned and sanded them.They are ready to be primed & painted. Need to shop for new hardware for the cupboards... that's the update.

**FYI... we are using copper pipes, as PVC is banned in Chicago. PVC is less expensive, but is a potential health hazard, fire hazard, safety issue, and not eco-friendly. Check out this article and this article for a summary.
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Happy 4th!

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.
Any free time we had, outside of work, was spent working on our floor project. We ripped out all of the old carpet, along with a gagillion little staples and nails. Check out the photos below. We will someday get to call these the "before" pictures.


Our wonderful plumber/MacGuyver guy spent a lot of time repairing & replacing pipes. The plumbing situation is a nightmare. All three bathrooms are "out of order" at the moment. However, the kitchen sink, laundry sink, and outdoor hose are working.

BTW, my new favorite store is Menard's! There is a new one in the area and it's so freakin' awesome.
Gotta go, my hands are hurting. Need ice packs....
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the water is on (sort of)

It's one week after closing on the house, and we finally have water. Hallelujah! The Licensed Chicago plumber got it done in 15 minutes for 175 bucks. There was a leak, so our 'MacGuyver' handman is coming to do any necessary repairs before everything is turned on inside the house.
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Congrats to Al Franken! yay!

I'm sure my family & friends in Minnesota are ecstatic that it is finally over!
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Still no water...

Well, I spent the day at the Chicago water department to try and find out why we don't have running water in the house yet. We have called '311' several times, spoke on the phone to many different water department employees. Faxed them stuff. Emailed stuff. Still no answers. We keep getting the run around. Everyone has a different answer for the same question. It's really frustrating, as we cannot begin working on the floors until the water is on. At this point, we have NO idea when we can move in.
That's all the news for now, I'll keep you posted.
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UPDATE:
- Apparently older Chicago homes do not have water meters. They are only required on new constructions.

- You must pay a "Chicago Licensed Plumber" to turn the water on. The valve is located in a "buffalo box", located near the property line. From the city website...
"The emergency shut off valve can only be operated by a Department of Water Management employee or a Chicago Licensed Plumber. This valve is owned by the Department of Water Management. If any unauthorized person manipulates this valve they will be held responsible for all damages occurred".

- From my understanding, we need to hire one of these city approved plumbers. So we have one of these guys coming out tomorrow to turn on the water. Hopefully, this will go smoothly. *fingers crossed*

A HUGE thank you to our family and friends for all of the help, advice, moral support, etc. We REALLY appreciate it, you have no idea. I'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow.

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Free paint!

Go to Glidden.com for a free quart of paint. Hurry, its for a short time only!
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