Sometimes things can't be fixed

The other night we had my sister-in-law and her family over for dinner.  My sweet husband decided we were going to have apple crisp for dessert and got started peeling the apples into the sink.

You can probably guess what happened next.

In the process of unclogging the sink, the pipes had to be removed.  Because the handy-man novice who had "fixed" the house up had a) used caulk to seal up the leaky pipes instead of purchasing new seals when the old ones wore out, and b) threaded the pipe wrong and fractured the pipe, the pipes are just done.  When my sweet husband went to swap out the old seals, he noticed the crack and declared the lot toast.

The bathtub now doubles as the kitchen sink. :/  At least I have a husband who doesn't mind doing dishes!!

Yesterday I spent some time meal planning. With the boys in school and me starting college courses again this fall, I need to have a little organization amid the chaos.  I started with the idea that I'd plan for two weeks ahead, and then this happened:

I really didn't mean to get that far ahead.  It took me maybe 10 minutes to get 2 weeks down and the meal ideas kept coming (with some help from Eat At Home Cooks and 100 Days of Real Food) and when I got home I realized I only needed 5 more meals to finish out the month (two crock pot, three regular meals and two nights of leftovers) so I just plopped them down.  My plan is to just add a meal to the bottom of the list every days so I can keep the plan going in perpetuity.  We'll see how well that works.  And for how long!

Tonight was squash chili with rice---my idea.  It was SO easy and so good!!  The boys loved it and I had tons leftover, so this will be lunches for the kids and dinner for me tomorrow night before I leave for Institute.  It helps that I have amazing neighbors who gifted us a couple of squashes.  Yum.

I also have this neat tool I bought through a friend's Pampered Chef party.  I freaking love that company...so many good kitchen tools!!

It's labelled as a seed scooper for cantaloupe and such, but I figured it would work the same on squash.  I think it's going to make pumpkin carving that much easier this Halloween!!

If you've never cooked squash before, it's literally as easy as slicing it in half with a sharp chef's knife and putting it in an inch or two of water in a jelly roll pan (or cake pan if you're like me and have somehow managed to never purchase a jelly roll pan) and popping it in the oven.

I was given two of these bad boys.  The other one (not pictured) was a little smaller than this one and cooked up in about 45 minutes.  The other one took longer, probably an hour.  I just kept coming back every so often until the fork I poked into it went through the skin without much effort.

Then I laughed maniacally and scraped out the innards with my scraper tool.  Yup, pumpkin carving will be easier.

After I scraped both sides, I mashed up the squash with my fingers a bit to loosen up the fibers and then just chucked it into my pot of chili.  You can use canned chili I suppose, but homemade is so much tastier and better for you.  It really takes no time at all.  I had canned beans, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes on standby, so that made it faster.  Next time I'd like to do it more from scratch.  Maybe not the sauce since I didn't have a bumper crop of tomatoes due to the drought and not watering them enough.  Next year.

Anyway, the kids loved it and it was a mellow enough flavor that I can imagine anyone who likes chili would enjoy it just fine.  In my opinion you couldn't really taste the squash.  I also didn't add quite enough spice which maybe explains how the kids devoured it so fast once it had cooled down!  It was a wonderful dish to welcome fall to the Palouse.  I was sick of the disgusting summer heat.  Farmer's Almanac says we're supposed to have a nasty winter...after the smoke-filled summer, I'll take it and enjoy it, just so long as it doesn't impact my drive into work TOO much....

Next time on the blog: Joey will be fixing the sink.  There will be some pictures of that, I'm sure!

Squash Chili
Serves 10 (?)
Prep time: 60 - 90 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:
   1 medium squash (acorn, etc)
   1 pound ground beef
   1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
   1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
   1/2 tsp basil
   1/8 tsp powdered chipotle chili pepper (or to taste)
   3 or more cloves of garlic (dependant on size and how much you love garlic!)
   1 tsp cumin
   2 10-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
   1 10-oz can tomato sauce
   1 10-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
   1/4 - 1/2 cup beef broth
   Enough rice to feed your family (plus leftovers for another meal!)

Preheat oven to 350.  Slice squash in half and remove seeds.  Place in a pan with about 1.5" of water.  Bake until tender, about an hour or longer depending on how big your squash is.  Start your rice about nowish.  While the squash is cooking, brown the ground beef and add spices.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer. Once the squash is fork tender, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Remove the skin and mash a bit with your fingers.  Add to the chili.  Simmer on low for an hour, or however long it takes for your rice to cook.  Allow to cool slightly and then serve over the rice.

Dirty laundry

Last Saturday temperatures here on the Palouse skyrocketed over 110F.  One of the reader boards in town registered 113 for an hour in the late afternoon.  Needless to say, I spent last Saturday locked up in our bedroom, which was the only room that had air conditioning.  I got quite a bit done (as I posted on Facebook!)  Our bedroom now actually looks kind of like a room, rather than a dumping ground for stuff.

Unfortunately, our living room adopted the title of "dumping ground for stuff" in the process.

I've set a goal to get through 2 boxes per day so that I don't feel overwhelmed, and it's worked so far.  Most of the "stuff" is storage, things that don't get used regularly but don't need to be given away or tossed.  Like my fabric stash.  Eventually (when we finish the bedroom), my "little office" will get some deep floating shelves, and the fabric will get stacked there.  Thankfully I only have 3 small boxes with fabric.  It used to take up two shelves of the built-in cabinet at my old place, so it's not like I have a problem or anything.  I just happen to own 3 sewing machines (okay, 2 sewing machines and a serger...but one of the machines belonged to my grandmother!!)

Today's topic, however, is laundry.  Before Connor was potty trained, we used cloth diapers, so I was doing laundry every other day.  When he was a newborn and Damien was still in diapers, we did laundry every day (holy diapers, Batman!!)  I'd do it again in a heartbeat--not having to lug a trash bag full of funky diapers to the trash every couple days versus tossing them in the wash...easy.  Then again, I was a stay-at-home mom the majority of that time, so it really wasn't a big deal.  Even when I was working and C was still in diapers, it wasn't bad.  I'd throw them in to soak before work, finish the wash cycle when I got home and then toss them in the dryer and have them stuffed and ready after dinner.

Now that he isn't in diapers, however, we still have two pretty PlanetWise wets bags that I've since demoted (promoted?!) to clothes duty.  Until today, they hung on the back door handle of the boys' room and was more of a hindrance than anything as it would weigh down the door and make it difficult for them to open or close the door.

So I had an idea.  And the best part was, it was a free idea since we had all the supplies already!

The closet seemed the best place for them, since that's the area the boys do the majority of their dressing/undressing, but the problem was putting them in a place that was accessible to tiny humans while still keeping them out of the way.

The bonus of having a Handy Husband is he saves every nail and screw he finds.  I dug through my tool kit until I found a couple of nice long flooring nails and hammered them in at a slight angle.  I tested the weight on Damien's side first to make sure it wasn't just going to fall right out; but thankfully the construction of our house included shiplap boards along the walls...not so good for insulation, but GREAT for nailing stuff into the walls!  They're super sturdy and not going anywhere anytime soon.  When we (eventually) pull out all the awful panelling in the room and replace it, I can just have my HH remove the nails (they're in there nice and tight) and either replace them with a sturdier hook or just use the nails again.  They're not in an area that finds itself in constant traffic (a hazard to roughhousing humans), so they're safe enough for now.

I can hear the doubters saying, "Yeah, 'cuz they're going to clean up their clothes on a regular basis."  They actually do a pretty good job (with reminders and the occasional threat or me throwing their clothes at them while they play the xylophone HAH).  They also have a chore chart where they earn rewards if they keep their clothes picked up, put their toys away, make their beds, and help feed the dog.  I need to get a new dry-erase marker for it (the old one dried out), but it's highly effective.  The boys love marking off the day's chores and get very excited when they earn something new.

What is your laundry-collection plan?  Anyone have something cool they do that they want to share?  I'm envious of this lady, I wish my laundry area was THIS organized!!  Someday....

The good, the bad, and the very ugly

We had a bridal shower here on Saturday.  I wish that things had been a little more finished (ie., the walls painted!!) but it was still very nice.  There were places for guests to sit, eat, and socialize; and the bride-to-be had a good time!  Overall, a success.

I am really enjoying my new job--I'm off early on Wednesdays and all day Thursday, so I can get a lot accomplished around the house.  Today was "let's see if the fireplace is operational" day.  Spoiler: it is!  Once we cleaned all the stuff out of it (including SEVEN dead birds), I could see all the way up to the top of the chimney.  Adding to the list of stuff to do: mesh on the top of the chimney to keep the poor creatures out.  I also closed the flue.  Not sure why it had been left half-open for three years, but there you go.

Some progress photos:

Couch console is actually an IKEA shelf set on its side!
Eventually it should have more clutter in it--games, decorative
knick-knacks and such.

The black lines on the wall are spray paint.  Your guess is as
good as mine for why it's there.  My best theory is that it was
to mark where electrical line was run.

Note the pretty pretty paint test area XD

Obligatory dog photobomb

It looks so much better than it originally did, but we're still only part-way there to a finished product.  Still to accomplish in here for the meantime: paint on the walls, painted trim, and a light solution for the living room.  Long term is new windows that actually open.  WHAAAAT?!  Crazy concept, I know.  For the meantime, it's blistering hot in here.  I can't imagine why functional windows weren't installed when the house was updated in the 70s.  Every other room in the house has them, including the basement (wut.)

Heather's wedding is this weekend (yay!) so she'll be moving out and we can reclaim her room (mixed feelings...we'll miss you, little sis!)  I think for the meantime it'll be a guest room with the eventual idea that it'll be turned into a nursery.  No pictures of it--that's the very ugly part of this post, haha!!  It's half packed, all dark brown and miserable.  Heather started pulling down ceiling tiles to get to the light so she could change it out, so the ceiling is visible.  Sadly it does a lot to lighten the room.  I still don't understand the 70s obsession with dark rooms.  I don't want to live in a cave, thanks!!

What updates are you working on in your home?  Do you have any fun (or disgusting!) projects that you'd like to share?  I hope nobody else finds seven birds in their fireplace.

Floors, decor, and furniture!!

One of the most exciting things about getting married was that we had our floors refinished by Chris Mathia of Western Heritage Flooring while we were on our honeymoon.  We left patchy filthy floors and came back to gorgeous clean floors that show the history of the home.

 Living room

Kitchen

 Boys' room

We needed somewhere to store all the stuff, though, so our bedroom and Heather's bedroom didn't get done.  We were fine with this--this way the majority of it is finished, so when we need the other two rooms done, we have somewhere to put our bedroom while the floors are being finished!

I'm so happy to finally be unpacking stuff.  The house actually looks like someone lives here now :)  Unfortunately the house is still in a state of BEING unpacked, so it's kind of a mess.  Hey, we're aiming for progress here ;)

For time and eternity

These crazy kids are getting married tomorrow!  No new posts for a while while we settle in to our married life together.

For more information on temple marriage and marriage in the Latter Day Saint faith, click here.

Minute to breathe

The last two weeks have been extraordinarily busy.  We're 100% moved in (have been for a week), but everything is still in boxes.  Basically I worked all week, came home, ate dinner, hung out for an hour, then came home and went to bed.  I'm praying that my load lightens a bit so I can spend more time at home, accomplishing the things we need to do here!  I did manage to get two of the three bedrooms into usable order.  I need to finish putting away clothes and remove some of the extraneous items from my bedroom (which got used as a storage room for a few days) but after that, bedrooms are good for use.  I just need some curtains!!  I think we'll work on that next weekend, when Mom is in town.  I'm thankful I have access to 4 sewing machines and a serger!

Today I am thankful for quiet Saturday mornings.  I woke up this morning before my alarm and took the opportunity to take a short run.  Jazz is a great running buddy!  He keeps my pace, don't stop to sniff every single interesting thing, and because he's a small dog, his stamina level is still better than mine.  He's been doing much better recently.  Now if he does, for some reason, go out into the yard, he comes back in right away when called.  He has his own blanket on the floor next to the bed in my room, but the other night he slept at the foot of Damien's bed (which completely made Damien's day!!)  Connor is still somewhat resisting sleeping in his own bed, but we had forward movement Thursday night: he fell asleep initially in my bed (while I was toddling around finishing up evening chores) and I woke him up (accidentally) to move him to his bed.  He was unhappy when I laid him down, but it was because I had neglected to grab his pillow from my bed (which he thoughtfully brought with him when he crawled into my bed in the first place.)  That remedied, and a couple of minutes of snuggles, he was a happy camper, and slept the whole night in his bed.

Status update on the house: floors are 80% stripped and ready for sanding.  Joey did a lot last night, finishing up the hallway and made good progress on the kitchen.  I'm grateful for that, I was getting tired of tracking adhesive all over the house!!  This stuff is nasty, and it triggers my asthma.  A lot of the windows are open and this morning I have both screen doors open, too.  Although, the front door is kinda useless as far as clean air.  One of our neighbors has a beautiful simple wooden screen door on her front.  I told Joe that we should make one like it!

We also tore out the dishwasher!  The cutoff valve wasn't working correctly and it was collecting water from the sink and when it was going to drain, the pipe was leaking.  We wound up with soaked beams and a puddle in the basement.  I'm grateful we have family close by who knows a thing or two about plumbing (thanks, Chris!)

On today's list: get the living room to a usable point, move extra storage boxes downstairs, finish making the kitchen usable.  We may make a trip into Pullman to look at flooring for the kitchen again.  I found some really cool options at Pullman Building Supply when I was there 2 weeks ago.  You can pretty much scratch at it with a set of keys and it won't scuff!  I'm not sure what the long-term wear would be like, but combined with the fact that it's a plastic-type floor, I wouldn't worry about spilling water or other liquids on the floor and having it stain the wood floors underneath.

Love you all, thank you all for your support!!

Also: THREE WEEKS!!!!

Update

I am still alive!  We survived the move (only a few things left to bring over here) and I have some pictures to post to the blog soon.  We have changed quite a few things at the house, including ripping up the floor in the living room to expose the hardwood!  Joey has said he thinks it is Douglas Fir.  It's beautiful and I cannot WAIT to refinish it!

I'll try to update more tomorrow night after work and FHE.  Love you all!!

Ceiling!

Okay, naked ceiling! No other updates today. Well, I guess we cleaned the living room up to prepare for stuff to get moved in on Saturday, but other than that nothing new!

Bedroom progress!

Check it out! We have real ceilings! This was an exciting change because I wasn't sure we were going to do it, but now that we did I am SUPER excited for the changes we are going to make. Stay tuned for rough cut ceiling and a new light fixture!

Check list, take one!

Things are subject to change.  Actually, things will probably change in the next few months.  I'm exhausted from working all day and then going over to the house, but I'm super grateful for the opportunity to make our house into a home.  No new posts for the next few days as I'm going to be prepping for my trip down to Portland to visit my parents/pick up my wedding dress.  Hopefully Joey will keep me updated with pictures as he works on the house this weekend!

Note: everything in bold needs to be done before we can move in!

Mudroom
ÿ        Remove fire extinguisher bolt
ÿ        Remove panel with plaques
ÿ        Get windows to open
ÿ        Replace the door trim
ÿ        Remove hooks in wall
ÿ        Repaint windowsill, window trim
ÿ        Tear up carpet, refinish wood floors
ÿ        Bench and hooks for shoes, bags
Kitchen
ÿ        Remove, paint cabinets
ÿ        Raise cabinets
ÿ        Install shelf above counter
ÿ        Paint, tile walls
ÿ        Make curtain
ÿ        Install laminate wood floor(?)
ÿ        Reupholster or remove kitchen table
ÿ        Fill hole in floor
ÿ        Fix ice maker in freezer
ÿ        Clean fridge
ÿ        Get aerator for sink
ÿ        Install recessed lights (ceiling)
ÿ        Clean!
Hall
ÿ        Remove Formica walls
ÿ        Remove metal rail
ÿ        Install new light fixtures
ÿ        Decide on paint color
ÿ        Remove carpet, refinish/replace wood floor
ÿ        Purchase carpet runner for hallway/use green runner?
ÿ        Paint hall closet/remove weird mirrors
ÿ        Repair hole in wall above closet (????)
Living room
ÿ        Texture ceiling and walls?
ÿ        Remove fake wood panels by fireplace
ÿ        Remove old light fixtures
ÿ        Repair(?) ceiling fan
ÿ        New curtains!!! (Ikea?)
ÿ        Stain (???) back of front door
ÿ        Repair lock in front door (lubricate??)
ÿ        Repair/clean fireplace
ÿ        Remove laminate, refinish/replace wood floors
ÿ        Paint trim white!!
ÿ        Add crown molding
ÿ        Replace door, adjust for swelling
ÿ        Update thermostat
ÿ        Clean
Bedroom 1 (Liz and Joey)
ÿ        Remove ceiling tile
ÿ        Remove fake beams
ÿ        Update light fixture, add ceiling fan?
ÿ        Add crown molding?
ÿ        Replace baseboard molding (painted stark white)
ÿ        Closet????????
ÿ        Sewing room????????
ÿ        Finish painting
ÿ        Refinish floors!
ÿ        Curtains (Ikea—gauzy white panels)
ÿ        Bedframe!  (Joey!!!)
ÿ        Replace trim (painted stark white)
ÿ        Clean!
Bedroom 2 (boys)
ÿ        Remove paneling
ÿ        Texture walls
ÿ        Remove metal framing
ÿ        Replace light fixture
ÿ        Curtains?
ÿ        Closet????
ÿ        Paint/stain dresser?
ÿ        Refinish wood floors
ÿ        Paint back wall dark blue, other 3 walls chalk white
ÿ        Layer wood slats over blue wall (a la Pinterest inspiration)
ÿ        Bed for Connor?
ÿ        Paint all trim stark white
ÿ        Clean!
Bedroom 3 (Heather/guest)
ÿ        Remove paneling
ÿ        Remove ceiling tiles, metal framing
ÿ        Replace light fixture
ÿ        Closet?????
ÿ        Remove carpet, laminate; refinish wood floors
ÿ        Paint all trim stark white
ÿ        Curtains
ÿ        Paint walls (choose neutral color)
ÿ        Bed??
ÿ        Bedding??
ÿ        Clean!
Bathroom
ÿ        Paint tub
ÿ        Paint toilet???
ÿ        Paint sink
ÿ        Paint cabinets
ÿ        Frame mirror
ÿ        Remove all laminate (wth.)
ÿ        Replace shower fixture
ÿ        Aerator for sink??
ÿ        Add something to the toilet tank to save on water
ÿ        Laminate flooring????
ÿ        Clean!
Basement
ÿ        Install railing on open side of stairs
ÿ        Seal nooks and crannies
ÿ        Seal walls, floors
ÿ        Upgrade water heater
ÿ        Repair dryer vent
ÿ        Repair sink
ÿ        Hook up bathroom/update!!
ÿ        Repair all cracking foundation
ÿ        Replace furnace

No more red room!

Monday night was spent on an experiment: we (and by we I mean Joey) de-wallpapered one wall and primed 2 more walls with Killz, using a paint sprayer. The wallpaper was not coming off easily but is now 90% removed from that wall. The Killz covered up the other two walls beautifully. Last night I went back and painted the two primed walls and the third unprimed, wallpapered wall with Valspar's Feathers of a Dove in satin. It covered beautifully with just one coat, even the awful red wallpaper! I'm very pleased with the outcome and am regretting thinking we needed to remove the paper in the first place. Shaena and I both had the idea to put board up on the wall that had the wallpaper removed. I'm toying with that idea. I was already thinking of doing something like this behind bed! Realistically the only things of immediate concern left to do in that bedroom is fill in the spaces where I couldn't get the roller to go (corners and edges), strip and refinish the floor, and put the door frame back on. Oh, and clean up the mess we made!

Slow and steady and frustrating!

I really wish I had more days in the week! I love working on my house. It takes FOREVER to accomplish anything! Kitchen is a strong "in progress." The tiny pantry thing is down and out, as is the cabinet above where the fridge goes. The corner cabinet (left of the sink) is also down.  The entire bulkhead is down, as are the lights. The last two cabinets will require assistance from someone stronger and more experienced than I am as it is a huge unit. Hopefully Joey will have that done this weekend! The plan is to do something similar to this by way of cabinets. I'm very much looking forward to the end product!
We did a bit of priming in the kitchen, too. The boys really wanted to help (oh, boy.) Good thing the plan is to remove the trim and carpet! I'll go over the area they "painted" and smooth it out. Hopefully.
Joey attacked the bedroom with a product that is supposed to assist in tearing wallpaper. His first attempt wasn't very successful, but we think it's because he didn't saturate it enough. It has a pleasant smell to it, thankfully! We're going back today to do some more painting, this time with a sprayer. Hopefully we'll get some more done tonight!

Bit by bit

Little by little, Joe and I are transforming this "interesting" house into a home that reflects our persinalities. 2 or the 3 bedrooms have the carpet up and out, the second bedroom was de-fuglified of fiberglass insulation ceiling tiles (still need to get the metal framework down) and we started the removal process of the weird paneled wall. We also removed cabinets from the kitchen to make room for the refrigerator that we got (barely used for $450!) I'll be working on a list of tasks that need to be performed and will post them either today or tomorrow. Life has been very busy the last few days! I am very much looking forward to moving into our home in a month or so.

I spoke too soon

We went over to the house on Saturday with Joe's brothers to show them the house and decided since we were there that we were going to start ripping stuff up!

The blinds were nasty and ancient and broke as soon as I tried to open the windows in the livingroom to air it out, so they got tossed, too.  I also discovered that the windows in the livingroom do not open!  Add that to the list of stuff to change.

Thankfully, the ugly carpet came up much easier than I expected it to.  Between the four men, they had it up and in the garage in about a half hour.  I also took the opportunity to try to see how easy it would be to remove the awful lights and fake paneling on the wall near the fireplace.  I tried to whack Joe in the head, but thankfully he keeps his ninja skills finely honed at work, where flying hammers and boards are a constant danger.

 In tearing up the carpet in the bedroom, we uncovered this neat laminate flooring!!  More pictures when it's totally off.  And then we'll tear this up to reveal the wood floors.  Yay!

 I, sadly, did not get a before picture of the hallway.  That's okay.  It was strange and low and now looks much better.  I can't wait to get the laminate off the walls.  YES, laminate on the walls.  Anybody know why someone would think this is a sweet thing to do in a home?  I guess it would wipe clean pretty easily and wouldn't have to have paint touched up!

 Weird mirror thing at the end of the hallway.  So you can see people sneaking up on you when you're putting away linens.  Or use the "eyes in the back of my head" excuse on your kids.  Whichever.

We also discovered this fire extinguisher.  Tell me when you notice what is wrong with this picture.  (Don't worry--I'll replace it!  It's on the list.)

What is this list?  Well right now it's in my head...but pay attention to the tabs at the top of the screen.  Soon I'll add one that has a list of the updates to be done and purchases to make.  We're still trying to finalize a fridge option.  Joey is going to look at one today, hopefully it'll be a winner and we can bring it home!

Foodie Friday

This may or may not become A Thing!

Those of you who know me are aware that I have a number of mild to moderate food allergies. Most of them are actually intolerances (my body cannot digest the ingredient.) It's a pain and a half. Since my diagnosis in 2011 I have been on a self-discovery path when it comes to feeding my body. My biggest realization was that, for the most part, I shouldn't try to replace the foods with gluten-free alternatives, which are usually full of other things that may not be good for me, either. The last two years has brought an increase in items that are both healthy and nutritious, thanks to a rise in celiac awareness and a push from the allergy community to make delicious and healthy allergen-free foods more readily available. I'm still waiting for the day that corn will reach this list (but that's an entire political battle of its own.)

Yesterday two of my sisters-in-law made cinnamon rolls.

Oh my goodness.

They were fluffy.

They were gooey with cinnamon and brown sugar.

They had a light yeasty flavor.

I may have eaten two of them.

My poor boys wanted to try them so bad, but they have cows milk allergies so that could not happen. Sometime soon I will try to adapt the recipe to make it dairy free.  We'll see!

Check out the recipe that has me raving. You would never know it is gluten-free!

First things first

I wish I could tell you that the first thing on the to do list was something cool, like ripping up carpet and refinishing the wood floors. Sadly, the discovery of a black widow in the stairwell to the basement has me all creeped out, so we're having an exterminator do a walk through of the house next this coming Wednesday to give us some options and quotes. At least I'll have peace of mind about letting the boys/dog play in the basement. YUCK.

I stopped by the house and turned on the water yesterday (apparently the valve us inside--strange, but handy!) It drips a little, but thankfully that is a quick, inexpensive fix. Luckily there is a shut-off valve above it, so we won't flood the basement in the meantime.

Other bad news: apparently the 1/4 tank of oil foe the furnace that the previous owners did not get done, or got used. We have an alternate option to paying to upgrade to natural gas or paying an exorbitant amount to have the tank filled. Details on that later!

Reading through Pinterest is both fun AND annoying. I keep seeing all these awesome things I want to do someday. Like this linen closet makeover. Adding/converting cabinets above the laundry area like this. Upgrading window trim, because ours is non-existent. Adding some wall interest in the dining room, because THIS is just lovely. And subway tile in the kitchen (because I'm obsessed with subway tile in the kitchen.)

You can see all my home obsessions (and more) on my Pinterest page.

A photo tour

The first decoration is up!!!  Thank you to Jana and Chris, we LOVE it!!  We have another plaque from our Realtor that needs to go up as well, but as it was in Joey's car, I didn't hang it.  I imagine this particular corner eventually being filled with pictures, maybe with some of my grandmother's old recipe cards as accents (if I can steal them from my mother!)

 This is the mud room/rear entrance.  Jasper is peeking out the window to check out a noise (or just to see the view?  Who knows.  He's a dog!)  The mudroom has wood floors underneath the awful carpet (I don't understand...)  Eventually the blinds will come down, and we'll put up hooks and a bench with shoe storage on the opposite side.  You can't see it in this picture, but the basement access is to the right (through a door with a chain lock on the outside--I also don't understand!!)  We'll leave the white, but probably will update the light fixture and will paint the lock on the outside door.  It is an original door to the house...I LOVE the look of these doors!  They're all over the house.  I'm so grateful they're still here.

From the other side, a view into the kitchen, which is also carpeted (see above confusion for why carpeting!)  The kitchen will get a small facelift for the meantime and will at some point in the future (5 years??) get a major renovation.  There's all this great potential space above the cabinets, and there's a useless cabinet above the space where the fridge goes (the ones you never get into.)  There's this great big BEAUTIFUL window above the sink, which I cannot waaait to frame out and make it look even better, and add a roman shade instead of the weird lacey thing (with random sewing needles--who knows.)  It's nice, but not our style at all.

Oh, and the dining nook.  The table is just okay...but the bench is really something else.  I forgot to get a good picture of it, I'll do that the next time I get into the house.  It doesn't match anything else in the house!!  I can't figure it out.  The dishwasher is non-functional.  That'll be fun for a little while!  Not visible in the photo is a laundry chute, useful for when the children are being naughty and are banished to the basement quickly getting laundry down to the basement.

Puke green carpet!  Awesome!!  And questionable curtains.  While difficult to see in the photo, it appears that there is some nice wood paneling near the fireplace.  Don't be fooled, it's plastic.  Don't worry, we'll replace it with real wood.  I know a guy. ;)  The fireplace will also someday receive an update, and possibly an insert for more efficient heating.

The master bedroom (or what we're claiming is the master bedroom anyway) is the door that can be seen off to the left in the living room/dining room picture.  The wallpaper is actually quite lovely, but I doubt we'll be keeping it.  Again, the great looking wooden beams are covered with plastic.  The light fixtures are straight from the 60's, and the carpet is very aged.  Not shown in the picture is the very interesting dual closets: the first set is quite functional, with a built-in box for shoes at the base...but the second one is little more than a small walk-in with an ancient window, which was covered up at some point when the exterior was redone.  Why the window wasn't removed is beyond me.

While difficult to see in this picture, this is one of the larger rooms in the house.  When I showed the boys pictures of the house on the internet from Zillow (where I originally found the house,)  Damien claimed this room for Connor and himself!  You can understand why I laughed.  Visible in this picture is the random office-style insert ceiling, complete with non-functional overhead light.  I can't wait to rip it out.  The walls are indeed paneling that has been painted pink.  Not in the photo is a cute little pink wall sconce lamp.  I think Shaena has claimed it.  The closets in here are actually pretty neat--LOTS of storage, and the closet farthest away actually contains a built-in dresser.

I did not take a picture of the third bedroom.  It is completely dark brown and I couldn't manage to get enough lighting to get a picture to turn out.  Currently the only functional light is in the closet.  It has it's own kind of "special" to it.  Getting that room reno'd will make it a thousand times better!!!

Oh this bathroom...it is the only thing I did not love about the house.  The layout is terrible.  Also, random window, which does NOT go to the outside, but to the stairwell down to the basement.  Why?!  Who knows.  And, yes, everything is pink.  Thank you, First Lady Eisenhower.

The funny looking black thing at the bottom of the picture is the dog.  He has not yet been trained to stay still when mama is taking panoramic photos and therefore looks like a mutated spider (which I'm sure also live in this basement.)  The basement is very rough and needs a lot of work, but again has a lot of potential.  The far wall has hookups for the washer and dryer.  The boxy looking thing is the laundry chute (yay!)  The sink is functional, but leaks.  The water heater is older than I am and will likely be replaced within the coming months.  The open door leads to a storage closet.  Not seen in the photo but to my immediate right is a spacious storage closet, which likely will be used as food storage.  It even has some bins that look like they could be used for root vegetables, but as it is so damp down there I don't think we'll be storing much of anything until we get things closed up a bit more.

It's difficult to see, but we've started documenting the boys' heights on this wall (mentioned in the previous post.)  At the VERY top of the photo you can see the growth lines from another child who lived in the house previously.  There's so much history to this house.  I love it!!

Aforementioned pantry/storage.  I'm not totally sure why the picture came out so strange, I promise it isn't as uneven in reality!!

Very "special" living area in the basement.  There's some kind of green-tinted covering over the light.  I can't waaaait to rip into this area.  Say hello, Smethers!

The man cave!!  The picture on the wall is 100% attached.  I don't understand.  The carpet is kind of fun, but ancient.  Who knows what kinds of critters live in it!

Originally this room would have housed a coal-burning stove (see the chute above the tank?)  The house was updated at some point with an oil furnace.  The room now serves as additional storage, plus access to the tank.  The house will at some point be updated with a natural gas furnace.  For the meantime, we'll survive with what we have!

And there you have it.  There are a couple of things that didn't get shot this time, but as we start getting into the house and getting things cleaned up, we'll do a video tour for everyone.

What did your dream home look like when you moved in?  Was it quite as rough as this one?  Any great stories to share??