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??