House Update: Catch Up-Walls, Floors, Cabinets, Countertops, Hinges

WOW. Whoops. Whoa. It's been a while and for that I'm sorry. A house update just hasn't been on the schedule. Caulking, filling, sanding, PAINTING, STAINING, installing, and everything else under the sun has been on the schedule. Plus my Macbook has been on the fritz and I've been mourning the whole situation. Something is up with my screen. Be it a lightbulb, a wiring issue, I'm not sure but either way I'm typing this to you my friend from a very dimly lit screen, ruining my eyesight.just.for.you. So you are welcome. Alright so I'm going to try to make this brief and catch you up as best as I can.

I don't have a shopping problem I promise. What I have is a house problem.

I ended up ordering...all? My lighting from Amazon. Oh, all but two pendents. I spend a lot of time in the recliner during nap time still and Amazon had so many great options and I saved a TON of money. This stack cost us around $200. That's a deal! All had great reviews and we are really liking them so far.

I plan to do a run down of most of our fixtures and new things once things have settled in. Just for your informational purposes and so you can know this type of project CAN be done on a budget.

This little one. Oh, she is a trooper. I love her, dusty feet and all. She helps, she plays, she helps, she whines, she watches, she eats. She's spent a little too much of her Spring inside for my liking, but thanks to Grandmas, Grandpas, Uncles, and friends she has gotten out and about.

Remember that patch? Well I got the pleasure of ripping that up and I felt a little like a 7 year old trying to do something adults do. But I got it figured out and Jerrel got to work feathering in pieces.
It took a day and a half to get it right.

I am so impressed though! He did spectacular. I'm really curious if there is something he CAN'T do. The internet and youtube has been our friend as well as a plethora of knowledge from family. But Jerrels' execution of the tasks is so incredible. 

Finally it came time to paint. I've been having a quite a few blocks in the decorating area. I think the blank canvas overwhelms me a little. I don't know where the inspiration for having a blue-green kitchen came from and honestly for a little while I thought I was going to have to repaint. It was much more color than I pictured and not really like anything I had pinned or saved...but I picked the paint color pictured. I was so confused. But as we have worked along I think I can live with it, make it work, and even enjoy it. 

Then came the floors. The glorious floors. 

All sanded down, the house smelled delicious. Woodsy and warm. They were perfect. They looked brand new. I didn't even notice the walls anymore.

And that patch? What patch? Hey Jerrel, you are awesome! Thanks to everyone who told us to just feather it in. Do it right the first time. Seems to be well worth the results. 

What a relief it was to have such a large clean surface. 

I mean seriously?! So very pretty. So they have been stained and are beautiful. I'll have to get another picture of them. They are covered up and a little dusty...again these days. Oh the joy of a remodel. 

My do it all husband got the rest of the hinges off the cabinets and designated me to be hinge cleaner. 

Let me get on my soapbox for a moment:

Take hardware off whatever you are painting. Just do it. It's lazy not to, it makes your project look shoddy. It also really torks people off, like me, when I have to spend hours of my day doing menial tasks like this only to uncover the most beautiful antique hardware that was WORTH taking off and enjoying in it's ORIGINAL STATE. Even if your hardware isn't old, just do the job right the first time. And if you have painted hardware take the time to clean it up. 

Stepping off soapbox. 

All I used was boiling water, a fine wire brush, toothbrush, and a wash cloth. I soaked the hinges in the boiling water for various times, anywhere from 1 hr to 12hr. It all just peeled off and I used the wire brush to get the rest. Really pretty easy. Just time consuming. 

My perfectionist father painted our four base cabinets and they turned out perfect! Duh. So next came our butcher block countertops. This is how DIY-ers steady the countertop for cutting. By sitting on one end.

Life skills. Valuable life skills. Love our crazy haired little helper.

And finally my sink. It's the IKEA farmhouse sink. My husband drove to Denver in a day for it. I told him that was frivolous and that I could just pick a different one. He said no. He rocks. Next time I chat with you I should have a mostly done kitchen. Which seems unbelievable.

So there you have it. The quick version of the last month or so. Jerrel says we are moving in soon. I say we need a couple more weeks. We will see who wins. Or who stays at the house. Alone. With the dog... Either way I've got packing to tend to so I'll leave you to your Friday. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Blessings!

To My Husband: Be patient with me.

It seems such a silly thing to say, as you are the most patient person I know. Never raising your voice, or rushing my primping. Always willing to turn back or help me find my keys, phone, purse, or... you get the picture. But please be patient with me.

I can feel moving day creeping in. And along with it the anxiety of change is rustling in my bones. The packing thus far has been surface level, nothing important. Nothing to really make my heart lurch at the thought of moving. But now, now the real stuff is starting to get put away in boxes and I know, I can see, and I can feel the change coming.

You know how I am with this kind of stuff. A forever wildflower and mildly free spirit, the change issue thing would probably surprise most people. But not you. You know me better than I know myself most times, and I know myself pretty dang well. But you have seen me through changes. College, college, college, marriage, moving, college, baby, end of Downton Abbey, toddler. Now, moving, again. So be patient with me.

Be patient with me as I agonize over lighting options.

Be patient with me as delay packing only to overwhelm myself later.

Be patient with me as I obsess over shades of white, greige, and tan.

Be patient with me as I linger at the house I said I couldn't wait to get out of.

Be patient with me as I dread going to the house I loved.

Be patient with me as I weigh every window covering option known to man.

Be patient with me when I say "Let's just stay here." or "I think I'll just be a squatter here."
  --We both know I wouldn't last long.

Be patient with me as I continue to add to our "To Do" list at the new house. I'm just so excited to make it pretty.

Be patient with me as I longingly look at our open spaces outside the kitchen window and suddenly don't notice the hustle and bustle of the farm.

Be patient with me as I dread the noise of town...no matter how small said town is.

Be patient with me as I talk a little less and breath deep a little more.

Be patient with me as I stare off into corners of the house where we started marriage, found out we were having a baby, and then started to raise that baby. It's change. It's hard for me. But I'm working on it.

I think our neighbor who also lived in this house said it perfectly, 
"It was never the house of my dreams but a lot of my dreams came true in that house." 

Her words make my eyes well and I think when I read them to you, they made yours too.

Be patient with me. I will get through. We will get through.

Blessings!

Wooden Egg Crafting With Millie

A couple of weeks ago we had to make a trip to the big city. What makes the place a big city? It has a Target. That's all. 

Confession: I hadn't been to Target in ummm..5-6 months? We don't get out much. So I conned my husband into making a Target run and I was dreaming about the dollar aisle. 

I'm also in the process of packing for an unknown moving date and it has occurred to me that I do not have much of any Spring or Easter decor. It's a travesty I know. I never really cared, but seeing Millie's excitement of getting outside and playing again has made me an even bigger Spring fan. I stumbled on some wooden craft eggs in the Easter section, probably while hunting for my husband-he'd long ago ditched me. I thought they were the perfect craft and addition to my slim Easter decorations pickins.

We had a quiet Sunday afternoon at home so we got the eggs out. I love crafting with Millie. I love giving her whatever colors fit her fancy. I love letting her have free expression and I proudly display a plethora of her creations.

But these eggs I wanted a little bit of control over. If they were to be out for the next forever I wanted them springy. Mixed orangegreenyellowbluepurplepinkgreen wasn't exactly what I was looking for. So I played control freak and mixed up some pretty pastels. Then I let her at them.

I negotiated two eggs for myself and we worked on a craft together. Which actually doesn't happen very often. Usually I have my project and she has hers. I generally write, cook, do my own craft, or read at the table while she crafts. It's 10 minutes of quiet. Or 5 or 3 if I'm being honest. This project was ours and it was fun!

And actually this working together thing made her work longer. We worked on these eggs for around 30 minutes. 30 whole minutes!

And the mix of colors worked perfectly. I love how they turned out. So cute. Probably one of the best $5 I've ever spent.

See? So much concentration. Momma was holding her egg so Millie needed to as well.

We talked about Spring. The reason for Easter, and why we see fresh, new things this season. They all can be seen as a symbol of our new life in Christ.

She's so cute. After each sentence she would look at me and say, "YEAH!" With her expressive little eyes gleaming.

A Sunday well spent indeed.

Blessings!

House Update-Little Victories

Hi there! Crawling out from the rock that has been Spring Forward over here. How about you? Think night owl baby staying up to a time Momma considers late. That's saying something. Think Momma laying on the couch singing, "Go to sleep little Millie. Go to sleep little Millie. Go freaking to sleep little Millie. Please?" It didn't work and I don't know why...

Anyway there's a reason I'm here and it's to give an update on the house. The name of the game this week has been little victories. But these little victories have had big payoffs. 

Little Victories have included:

• Electricians all but done--actually this is a big victory. It's been 9 weeks on and off of them hanging around. Jerrel has learned a lot in the process of seeing the rewiring. 
• Brick cleaned 
• Beadboard going up
• Bedroom walls washed
• Kitchen hardware cleaning--kinda

The electricians have finally gotten to where we can work without waiting on them. Hooray! Our main focus is the kitchen right now and they said we are good to go so we...GO. Jerrel is dabbling in table saw management, circular saw correction, and jigsaw control. It's going fairly well and we are excited to see clean surfaces of bead board and can't wait to add finishing touches like trim and paint...or maybe that's just me. 

We have cleaned the brick and bought sealer. That's on my list to do next week. 

Measure twice and cut once. Actually its waayyy more than that. 

Then I always get to hear. "It's not straight! Why is nothing straight?!" Almost a 100 year old house dear. The wall isn't straight.

That's why we loved it. Looks straight enough to me. 

Hey look we have two outlets on one wall. Fancy that. I'm happy I'll be able to not fear getting electrocuted and being able to do two things that require electricity at once. 

In other news the wallpaper is all down and those rooms now look scary too. You can see the wood work more now, which is good but the dirty walls aren't exactly the kind of character I was going for. So now I'm cleaning the walls of wallpaper paste and bits of paper. This room is ready for patching and painting. The walls look so much better after a scrub down. 

Whoever's wallpaper paste recipe the previous interior designer used, knew their stuff. That paper wasn't peeling hardly anywhere and left quite the residue behind. 

I tell you what, these plaster walls? They owe me. 

I became weary of washing walls one day and decided to try and get the hardware off the cabinets so I could clear them of the layers of paint. Stripped screws later and I was defeated for the day. I took a picture, patted Jerrel on the back, said good work, and went to find food at my parents. This little hinge was my little victory.

The week has been productive. And we had a little bit of an overwhelming moment when the electricians left and it was all on us now. To get it done. To do it right. To move in. It's hard for me to even see moving in at this point. But I've made a list and I'm plugging away. It's how I cope with too much to do and no time.

It's worked for me before so I know it will work again.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming. 

Name that movie.

Anyway, little victories. That's what's keeping us swimming.

Blessings!

On Millie Being Two

When writing yearly posts such as birthdays I always like to go back and read the year before. And it doesn't seem possible that a year has passed since we celebrated Millie's birth. The day that rocks my world to this very moment. 

We all know that I like to get all nostalgic but I'm working on savoring this moment. Celebrating with our girl who doesn't quite understand what a birthday means but is excited for things like going to the park with Daddy, having Mac N Cheese, steak, and making S'mores. Watching her delight in the decorations for her birthday party and giggle and tell Chester "NO!" when he nibbles at the baby doll in her arms. 

So much has changed in our Millie girl this past year but the best things are still the same.  Millie is so bright. She is empathetic. She is persistent. She is kind. She is clever. She is funny. She is rambunctious. She is spunky. She is beautiful. And more and more we are seeing that while we call her "baby" she really isn't a baby. She's our baby. But not a baby.

We have conversations with her, though we carry them. We give directions and she follows. We play jokes and have dance parties...girlfriend has got the moves. We give kisses and she wipes them off...or rubs them in. It's her new thing.

I just remembered saying as I held her for the first time "She's ours." and then thinking "I get to take her home." I am so thankful she is ours and I have loved being home, watching her grow, helping her learn, and loving her with every fiber of my being. Almost two has it's challenges. I'm sure two will be the same but different-because that's how every stage of this raising kids thing goes.

So I think I'll go tuck myself in bed now with my baby and let her sleep so she can start climbing the mountain of 2. She needs her rest. She's got S'mores to eat tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Honey Girl. Love you always.

Momma & Daddy

Blessings.

House Update-Worse Before Better

Right? That's how these things work, correct? Because that's where we are. Take a look. 

This shows the floors after the nasty tiles were taken up. Actually those look better. But the walls. The walls have the linoleum taken down and the house looks...questionable? Like shady deals and hidden secrets happen here. 

But they don't. 

Finally a better picture of the dining room. Sans tile and better-ish but I want to clean so.bad. I want the clutter gone. I just want to fix it! Patience Jessica. Patience.

Cute kittle niche. For a chair? A window seat? A desk? To drink tea? To write? To enjoy my African Violets?

I don't have African Violets...yet.

And the hallway void of yet another mismatched floor covering but revealing a giant terrible, mismatched patch. I have to figure out a solution. Soon. Any suggestions would be helpful. 

I'm thinking of finding a grate to fill the space and add more character. Or trying to feather in a patch...both seem like a pain but something needs to be done.

So lets talk about the kitchen some more. It's first on the agenda. Clearly. 

Ground Up-Floors refinished in a more brown tone--over the years they have yellowed and read more orangey. Bead-board from moulding to ceiling paint in a...color still to be determined. Creamy white? Light green? Light blue? Bright white? I'm working on it. Moulding/door in a color called Whipped Cream. It's a wonderful basic white but yummy color. New Base Cabinetry. All Cabinetry-including pantry in a White/Cream color...again still looking and weeding out paint swatches..I'm just.about.there! Countertops butcher block. Fridge in the corner shown. Farmhouse sink centered under window. Dishwasher to the right.

Brick will be sealed. The area where the built in was will be built up with some old spindles, butcher block will be put on top and I will have about another foot or so of counter space plus a tiny bit of storage-think oven mitts. Stove will go next door.

Pantry will basically stay the same but I'm debating on keeping the cabinet that was hanging here. But after seeing our cabinets I think I might need the extra storage.

It's small but we really think it will be efficient...and pretty. Priorities!

Moving on...

There's a hole in my laundry room floor.

And we have begun de-wallpapering. Thats when the real mess started. 5 layers. Each getting prettier-seriously. I tried to salvage one wall in the bedroom with no luck. It was the last layer and just didn't work. I'm still a little sad. It's a much easier job than we thought it would be which we are thankful for-just time consuming. 

So it's worse than before. And these are good pictures. But we are beginning to see "The House." Not the wallpapers, the nasty curtains, or the bad linoleum. The actual house we bought, the house we could imagine it to be. And thats scary and encouraging all at the same time.

Blessing!

Home Tour-The Craftsman

A house tour! That's what we are doing today. I really feel this is relevant because I know bare minimum-we clean the place it would look lightyears different. Painting will make it look like new. But we have even bigger plans. So the before is essential. Keep an open mind. Remember the "P" word--Potential. And be thankful it's not your project.

We have bought ourselves a bit of a "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" situation.  But the transformation is already so fun. We love old houses and all their quirks. So far we have our sanity intact and are enjoying the process.

Welcome to the foyer. Beautiful new windows fill the home with delicious light. Although not all these pictures showcase that. For some reason this day I didn't want to touch the 50 year old roller shades to let light in every room of the house. 

This closet thing? It's just screaming for some cubbies, shelving, hooks, and pretty baskets. 

I apparently don't have a very good picture of the dining room but I will tell you the floor is awful linoleum tiles with wood under. It has an awesome built in cabinet and the doorway to the hall is an awesome angle.

Kitchen. Hi Grandpa! 

This is it. Original cabinet and cute door pass through are staying. The rest? Needs to go, go, go clearly. So much pattern. So busy. Kinda almost gives me a headache. You too? Weird.

The middle column is the brick chimney. That will become exposed and the right set of built-in is leaving-kinda, to make a bit of counter space by the stove and open the space a little. The left built-in is staying. 

Hello to the reason I bought the house. A pantry. Honest to goodness walk in, prepare in, store in, feel the history, freaking adorable pantry. This space will get a facelift with bead board, butcherblock, fresh paint. refinished floors and, and, and...the list is endless it feels. 

Living room and the second reason I bought the house-these built ins.

Living room again. The house is very segmented I guess you would say. Totally defined spaces. Right now the trend in homes is open floor plan this. Open layout that. I can see why one would like that too. This house has doors, doors, and more doors.  I love how it's almost all in a circle. Connected by multiple you guessed it, doors. So unique and full of charm. We appreciate the architecture. There will be no wall knocking out. We plan to respect the design and find the ability to close off rooms-like the foyer-practical for heating and cooling purposes.

That thought makes me an adult right? Lame-I know. 

Bedroom #1. It has a window seat with storage but a tiny closet. You win some you loose some. But overall is a great sized room.

Built-in again in the hallway with my goofy brother Evan. Just reliving his senior picture posing moments. 

Bedroom #2. Basic Room. No closet. So technically it's not a bedroom but we plan to add a closet. And loose the wallpaper. Millie's already got to work.

Bathroom...dare I say my least favorite room? The bathroom has just been renovated and I'm told it didn't function before the work was done. So for a working bathroom, I am thankful. For the the lack of character in fixtures and finishes? I'm sad. But I've got some ideas to work on the character and maybe someday we will get to all the fixtures and finishes. 

It was all made handicap accessible by knocking out the closet in the Bedroom #2- a positive and negative. However, that made the bathroom a large space, which is nice since it's the only bathroom right now. 

Finally we have the back porch/laundry. Tiny room, another puzzle, just day in the life of the Craftsman Reno. 

The list is long and we are slowly but surely plugging away. Rewiring is happening now and I've started peeling wallpaper. Count is 4 layers so far and some of them are actually pretty, but still leaving. The linoleum is all up and I *think* we have decided on cabinets. 

No clue on move in date. The goal before move in, is to have rewiring done, kitchen done enough, and floors refinished. I'd also like to have our bedroom clean of wallpaper and painted so our clothes and resting space isn't a construction zone. A girl can dream right? 

The basement is large, clean, dry, and adds to the "P" word even more! Sometime I'll go down there and share. Now it's kinda a mess with wiring. So another day another time. I'll update again soon. Maybe I'll have monumental progress...maybe I'll have little bits. Either way it all needs done. 

Pray for us. 

Blessings!