Full Frontal

HA, this is so not what the title implies.  But it's got you reading!

Rather than starting at the beginning, let's start at the front for our house celebration.

Front door that is.

You may have heard me complain about the ugly blue that far too many parts of our house were painted.  Well, it started with the front door.

(Love that reflection of the neighbors house. I'm such a good photographer...)

Here it is from the inside. You'll have to trust me that it was that same blue when we moved in... but I it was one of the first things I painted.  And was long before I realized I should take pictures of evvvvverything.

So, not a lot of light came through those little windows on top.  And the mail slot? Stuffed with insulation.  Oh, and what you can't see, is the giant crack going through it.  Right through - since it was a wood door.  Doesn't do much for heating costs.

So, for my birthday last year, B bought me a new door!  It's Therma-Tru brand, and its the fiber glass option.  Which has quite a few benefits over a wood door - probably even more so over a wood door that was probably 40 years old.  They're low maintenance, energy efficient, resist dents and scratches, etc.  So it's perfect for me. I'm lazy, I don't like to pay for things I don't have to (like extra heat), and have a crazy dog that gets so excited to go outside she jumps on the door.

Pretty awesome difference huh?  It took B's dad probably less than 2 hours to switch them out (because he's awesome).  I feel like it really gave our house a face lift.  It is still currently white (almost a year later), but it is paint-able, if we wanted to do that at some point.  The garage door is white, so it looks just fine to us as is for the time being.  You'll also notice we don't have a storm door.  We plan to get one, we just haven't quite gotten around to it.

Clearly I still need to get rid of the blue on those shutters.  If only I could figure out how to get rid of that scalloped trim stuff up there... so dated.  Ah, the never ending projects.

Quite a bit more light, huh?  I love it.  I can actually see who is knocking on my door!

So there you have it, a little home improvement project that upped the first impression status of our house.  And bonus, it's an energy efficient purchase, that we can write off on our taxes.  Next up in the house celebration: through the front door into the living room.

Three Years Ago

I had just passed an incredibly important exam for my job - the kind that gives you job security if you pass, and unemployment if you fail.  We had been getting anxious in our apartment, knowing we didn't want to stay there much longer.  Sharing walls was getting old, we wanted more space, we wanted something that was ours.


We had looked at houses at the end of the previous summer, into the fall.  And by houses, I mean like something like 20 - at least.  Some were great but expensive, some were okay but not us, and some were downright scary.  After I got this new job we knew it would be best to wait until I passed the exam.  I passed the test on a Tuesday.


Wednesday my mom forwarded me a new listing from our realtor, saying "You should check this one out!!!"  That is a direct quote, with three exclamation points.  There was no picture.  And the description read as follows:


"CHARMING AND COZY 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH HOME SITUATED ON BEAUTIFUL LARGE PROFESSIONALLY LANDSCAPED LOT. MASTER BEDROOM WITH CATHEDRAL CEILINGS AND LOTS OF WINDOWS. OPEN FLOOR PLAN, HARDWOOD FLOORS, BUILT-INS, BRICK FIREPLACE, 4 FINISHED ROOMS IN LOWER LEVEL, 3 SEASON PORCH, DECK, 2 CAR ATTACHED GARAGE, 2,500 SQ FT."


Yea, all caps. I hate that too.  And no pictures? COME ON, how can you even know if you want to look at it?  We had scheduled three houses to look at that weekend, the all-caps-description-house was not one of them.  My parents lived closer, and did a "drive-by" and said we should really go look at it.  A few pictures popped up on the web and although they left quite a bit to be desired, I sent our realator an email, "I hate to be a pain but..." and promptly added the all-caps-description-house to our schedule for Saturday.
That Saturday we looked at a house across town first.  It was cute, and had quite a bit of land, but felt cramped. And had a dirt basement.  We were mostly looking forward to the last two houses of the day, a few towns over, but made our way to the all-caps-description-house.  There was someone else leaving just as we got there.


There was a "please remove your shoes" sign, which I usually take as a good sign.  The hardwood floors were bright, and the bay window in the front provided some serious light in the living room.  The living area was open - as promised in the description.  The kitchen needed some love, but was big and we said things like "oh we could do this and this and it would be great."  We went through the bedrooms, being typical house hunter types commenting "this would make such a great office" and "oh the floors in the bathroom are heated, this is so great." (We're such nerds....)


And then it happened.  Off the main hall there was a pocket door opening to a short hallway.  On the left of the hall was a large bathroom with two seperate sinks and glassed in shower.  To the right, two walk in closets.  And then the ceiling opened up and I stood in awe.  When they said cathedral ceilings, they meant it.  Large windows on three sides.  An incredible amount of space. I wanted it.


We checked out the basement, which was a collection of sectioned off rooms which was a little weird, but we were sure we could do something to make it work.


We agreed that we didn't even want to bother looking at the other two houses.  My parents were with us at the time, but we wanted B's parents to see it too, especially since his dad is in construction and he would be able to help us see how things were structurally.


That night our realtor sent us an email, letting us know there weren't any other offers on it - yet - but that the selling agent was expecting there to be some soon.  Crap.  He then suggested we write a letter to the owners, just letting them know who we are, why we wanted the house, etc - he said we didn't have to, but that's what he did when they put the offer on their house, and he felt like it made a big difference.


Sunday we went back, and after B's dad checked out a crawlspace, and had a good look at the house, we decided we didn't want to wait and risk someone else putting an offer on it.  After going through the formalities of making the offer - including our "Hi, We're B&S and we want your house so please sell it to us" letter (it was much better than that, I promise!) - we headed home to await our fate...


I don't remember how many hours later, but it wasn't many.  We got the call.  There was another offer on the table, but they counter-offered only to us (which we later found out was due to the letter I wrote - boo-yah!).  We had offered listing price and asked for $5,000 in closing costs.  Their counter was $5,000 over list price, but with $5,000 for closing costs.  For whatever reason, they needed to net list price - they were an older couple and moving to Florida.


We took it.


Looking back, hindsight is 20/20 and if we had waited six months, who knows what kind of place we could have gotten for the same amount of dough.  And sometimes its frustrating to think about, especially when houses in the neighborhood get sold for a fraction of the cost.  And then when things like mold appear, or pipes leak, or we try and figure out what the hell this guy buried in the back yard, we wonder why we ever wanted to be homeowners in the first place and B usually starts shouting "That's it, we're selling!"

But, I'd say its finally becoming ours, and B's outbursts are less frequent ;P  So for the next month (i.e. 3 years from when we made our offer, to the 30 days later when we moved in) I'm going to focus on how far we've come, and document all work we've done, right here.  We can consider it part of my New Year's Resolution to be more appreciative of what I have. Now I've just got to find all the pictures that are hiding somewhere...


And don't worry, I'll get around to sharing some more information about my latest crazy commitment to the half marathon soon too.

Kitchen Renovation: Day 32 - The Microwave & The IT Genuis

I only titled it that because I don't think my step dad thought I actually would.  But, the microwave, yes, its true, has been installed.  So, here's the before:

Big empty white space, just waiting to be filled by our beautiful microwave that has a start button that works! (Remember, the last two years we have cooked in the microwave by hitting the 'Add One Minute' button, and if it wasn't something to be cooked in increments of a minute, we'd just kind of have to remember to stop it.)

So, B and my awesome step dad (the IT Genius, clearly) got to work again.

Of course it wasn't long until B stripped the screw, and we got a little held up while he manually had to get it out of the wall.  And then, I had to take control and read the directions, since no one else seemed to want to.  I will say, it's more complicated than you'd think!

After more work than I think we expected, the microwave is safely hung.  We also adjusted the feet on the oven so its even with the counter.  I think it looks awesome and really, couldn't be happier with the way everything looks :)

Just a few more finishing touches (and those damn shelves from Lowe's) and we'll be good!  Tomorrow is my last day of class for the term, so I'm hoping maybe later this week I can think about painting...

Kitchen Renovation: Day 30 - Water!

30 days from demo to a fully functional kitchen.  Today was probably the most exciting day yet for me.  We have all the plumbing hooked up!! Big shout out to my step dad for being so totally awesome and getting it all done!  The fridge is in place, the dishwasher is hooked up, and the sink not only has water but drains too, AND the garbage disposal is working.  It was a good, good day.

First, we took three trips to the dump to get rid of all of this:

 It wasn't pretty, but it gone. And I'm grateful.  While the men worked on the plumbing, my mom and I set to cutting out the shelf liners.  After about the sixth shelf, I realized it would be a lot easier to put the liner on top of the shelf with it not in the cabinet, and then cut it out.  Such an obvious solution. (although the drawers were still tough.)

The next task was getting the fridge across the tile, without incident.  Lucky for us, our good friend and tile guy has the perfect solution: an air sled.

It's two pieces you slide under... well anything, and when you turn on the motor they fill up with air, making it much easier to move large objects.

After the plumbing was done, we of course had to test everything out to make sure there weren't any leaks, and to make the garbage disposal worked.  What better way to check it than to shove all the food, that's been in the fridge too long because we couldn't cook it, down the drain?

Yup, some, at least 30 day old, asparagus. I feel disgusting admitting it, but that right there folks, is reality.

And finally, here's the shot of the awesome plumbing job I know you've all been waiting for:

As beautiful as that is, I'm sure you were ACTUALLY looking for a picture of the kitchen put together.  So here you go:

I started getting everything organized, as you can see with the toaster oven and knife block making their appearance.   I've pretty much got the cabinets organized as well, but we'll save that for later.  And for your viewing pleasure, another gratuitous shot of the sink, this time with the fully installed faucet:

I'd like to say it's DONE. But it's not. It's done enough for us to function normally again, which is awesome.  But there's still some little things left, like drawer and door pulls, installing the soft close contraptions on the doors, some detail work, and of course the amazing microwave I've been anxiously awaiting.  Oh yea... and picking a paint color...

Kitchen Renovation - Day 28: The Day of Granite

It has arrived.  And it's pretty awesome, and actually exactly what I imagined... which never happens.  I was pretty nervous about it, and I'm still adjusting to the counter with the floor, but I think it looks good.  I'll have to sleep on it.

The installers working hard....

I guess it took them about 2.5 hours to install it.  It was three separate pieces, plus the pieces for the back splash.  So we only have one seam on the actual counter, which isn't too bad.

Yea, we still need the dishwasher in. Don't judge us, if you miss it you can see it here, almost in the living room.

Huge peninsula. And you can see the TV from the end of it. You couldnt' see the TV from any of the counters. I can't wait to use it.

Oh and check out the breakfast bar.  It's little, but its all we need and I'm psyched to go on the search for the perfect stools!

And a full(ish) view of the kitchen.

Oh, and maybe a gratuitous shot of the sweet new sink, just for kicks.

Not sure what's next, but you may have noticed the pile of paint swatches on the counter... so yea, we're in the process of trying to figure out what to do there... :)

Kitchen Renovation - Day 27: Priming and Prepping

It''s amazing what a little primer can do.

And while I was priming... I figured it was time to say farewell to the blue door:

And yes, that is probably the worst priming job I've ever done (and I'm not a very good primer anyway), but I didn't care. I was so excited to cover it up. It's all over the glass and I'll be cursing myself for being so careless when I have to scrape it off, but I don't care.  Cause the blue is gone. (From the kitchen.  There's still a team of 3 blue doors in the hall that I need to deal with.)

And while we're at it, might as well take care of another spot, from where the previous breakfast bar was taken out:

Now, we knew we needed to prime, and have been saying we're going to do it for at least a week, probably longer.  But we finally got around to it tonight, the night before the granite is installed.  Yet, we were completely unprepared:

That would be a piece of scrap from the molding being used as a paint.  And that "drop cloth" is leftover vapor barrier from when the insulation was put in.  Can't say we're not creative!

And, since this was all a quick last minute thing, I wasn't wearing my typical painting pants or one of my painting shirts.  I'm not the neatest painter when it comes to keeping myself clean.

Yea, I got a little on my shorts in a moment of panic when I had some drips on the tile.  Whatevs.

Tomorrow...it'll all come together with the counters.  I. Cannot. Wait.  Too bad B will be home for install and I'll either be stuck at work late, or working on a group project for school so I won't even get to see them for hours!

I've got my fingers crossed that they'll be beautiful.  I might be holding my breath too...

Not that I'm nervous about it or anything...

Kitchen Renovation - Weekend Update

Hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend!

We caught some fish:

M did some swimming...

And oh yea, we've got power in our kitchen!!

All the outlets had been installed and set up, we just needed everything to be tied into the breaker.  We held off on that until all the cabinets were in.  You know, just in case anybody hit a wire...

The counters are set to be installed on Thursday!!  I'm really excited, because then we'll pretty much have an actual kitchen! Provided the plumbing doesn't become an issue.  Aside from that, its really just the little things we have left - adjusting the doors, adding the door and drawer pulls, priming, decided on a color and painting, and you know, actually putting everything away...

Kitchen Renovation: Thinking About Paint and Plumbing

It's like the hottest day ever.

Well, ever of 2010 in New Hampshire.  And I'm like 85% sure that's not an exaggeration.

I filled up M's baby pool for her when I got home from work and let her play around for a bit.

There's some plumbing work going on in the basement at the moment.  Which is nice for them since it's probably 25 degrees cooler down there (but smells like a sewer since B forgot to cover something?).  When we ripped everything out, and had little flooding crisis, it was revealed that the pipes were a mix-and-match set of copper and PVC, alternating more times than any plumber would ever want to see.  So, the process is ongoing, and nearing completion and replacing the pieces that need to be replace.  I just returned from a trip to Lowe's to pick up a 10 foot section of 2 inch pipe.  Which is fun to walk around the store with, especially when you decide maybe you need some more paint trays and rollers, and maybe then you turn around too quick and almost take out the whole shelf of more-expensive-than-I-want-to-pay-for-breaking paint sprayers.  And maybe the teenage emo couple (which why on earth are they in Lowe's?) giggles at you.

But it's ok, I, in fact, did not break anything, and made it out in one piece.  With some mini-roller trays and mini-rollers.  Because the painting, is going to be here before I know it.  But only after the priming. And I think I mentioned it was crazy hot and here in New England, that means crazy humidity too.  Honestly, the heat and humidity, combined with the smell of primer that won't dry because its too darn humid... not something I feel like dealing with tonight.  So, maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, I also came home with some more paint samples.  I'm acquiring quite the collection:

And yes, these were all picked with the kitchen in mind.  I don't seem indecisive at all, right?  Lights, darks, greys, tans, greens, blues(? I don't know how those snuck in there!).  But really, the lighting at the store is not conducive to actually seeing the color, that's why they let you bring it home.

Even M looks confused about what color will be best!  But at least she could make a decision...

She picks Foggy Skies.  I think its just because its the closest and she's lazy.  Let's hope that's not what we decide to go with... she did a number on the sample and I'd feel a little weird giving a chewed up sample to the paint lady.

Kitchen Renovation - Counter Template

The counter has been templated. Or however you want to say it.  I wasn't home, but B informed me they brought in a LASER to template it.  A little more high tech than the pieces of wood glued together that we saw in the video when we went to pick out our slab, that's for sure.

So here's the laser:

Apparently he shot to laser each direction, and everything is computerized.  We're getting about 47 feet of granite.  B was talking to the guy that was doing the measuring, and apparently he just came from a house where he measured 100 feet of granite! And get this... the granite the woman was having installed, $183 a square foot!  Yea, I think you can all handle the math on that one.  It sure makes our 47 square feet, at $50 something a square foot seem cheap!!

And I guess this is what M did all day...

Yea, she's lazy.

B is going to call tomorrow to ask when they will be installing the counters, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a surprise quick turnaround!  But not too quick...since I still need to get around to priming the walls...

Kitchen Renovation - Day 17 - Cabinet Install

The cabinets.... are installed!  And I don't think we could be any more excited and thrilled with the way they look.

Most everything went in easy, and we put the stove in, so when the granite company comes tomorrow to create their template, they can measure accurately.

The first opening is for the dishwasher, the large boxed out opening is for the fridge.  We need a little plumbing work done before we can move those over.  At the very end you'll see what I keep calling our pantry cabinet.  Apparently to Lowe's it's a utility cabinet, and doesn't come with shelves??!  (And yes, the door is still blue, I can't wait to paint it even though we'll probably be tearing out that wall in the next few months anyway... but that's a can of worms we'll get to later.)

Doesn't the stove look happier there then in the dining room? :)

We even got some of the detail work done today.  For the baseboard, we actually ended up using some of the filler board we ordered, rather than the actual baseboard, since the baseboard that was sent was red oak, and our cabinets are hickory.  See the color and grain difference? 

Here's the filler boards acting as our baseboard:

We think it looks good, and goes well with the clean lines in the rest of the kitchen, but we'll take a look at some quarter round to put on top, to see if that'll be better.  Also, those panels are going to be installed on the back side of the peninsula.  They're basically decorative accents.  I had left early the day we "closed" on the kitchen (i.e. handed over the $$), and B got suckered into buying them without me there to put my foot down.  I'm glad he did as I think it'll really make a difference once we get them hung (we didn't have the right length nails today, oops.)

Also, we've got to show off the mini crown molding, as one of B's dad's least favorite thing is ceiling trim, and with all the corners this was a doosey for him, but he did an awesome job.

Sure adds a finished, high end look, right?  (Ignore the unpainted drywall.  I know its not finished or high end looking, but I'll take care of it eventually.)

We have an order in for some new shelves for the corner cabinets, as they were ratty and crunched around the edges, and will be returning the excess filler board and incorrect baseboard.  Also, we plan to order the shelves for my "pantry", but we're really mad we have to pay for them, so we'll see what happens there.

The granite template is getting done tomorrow, and the next few days will be spent finally priming and eventually getting the drawer and door pulls/handles installed.  I don't think I can feel comfortable with a paint color until the granite is in, so we'll hold off on that.  We'll also try and get organized, since we can use the upper cabinets, and parts of the lower ones now, and it'll be nice to get life somewhat back to normal.