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Holiday Excitement 11-23-2007 I successfully cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner. We used to order a complete meal from the grocery store and just heat everything up, but I figured it was time to move on and try it on my own. After dinner, I put some finishing touches on the lights and took some pictures, both inside and out. Light Prep. 11-17-2007 I set out to hammer some nails into the front of the house to prepare for our Christmas light display. I got stuck. Apparently, our shingles are made of some sort of composite material, or maybe even aluminum. All I know is that it's not wood, and it's obviously not vinyl. I consulted with Dad via telephone to find the correct drill bit. He was right. It worked like a charm, and it was fun. I wish there was some part of the house we needed to demo! That's what we get for buying a "newer" house.  Safety goggles kept the wind-blown dust from hitting my eyes. Those things can be pretty useful after all. Now, I have everything planned out.  The red areas will have c9 lights, and green will be mini lights. The shrubs, sides of the house, and large tree on the front corner will be covered in additional sets. I also had to plan for enough electrical sources to carry all of this. I'll update on this soon. Autumn 11-06-2007 There isn't much to report. We finished up our fall yard work over the weekend. I couldn't do much because of the kids, so Micah took over. Then, he told me to look outside.  The next big task will be our Christmas lights. I have everything planned out, and we are adding on a lot since last year. We're going to have our first Christmas at home this year, so we can finally take out all those decorations we've accumulated since we were engaged 8 years ago. We went through the garage closet last week to organize, and found a lot of things we had completely forgotten. One Red Room 10-27-2007 I was going to save these photos for later, but it will be a while before we get around to the paneling. I did not realize that the lighting was connected to another line, so I changed it and the switch controls it now. I had red shades on the bulbs that matched everything well, but I thought it was overkill and since removed them.
 You get the idea. I think I went too far with the red scheme, but at least I'm no longer searching for looming spiders and putting on shoes every time I walk in there. It feels more cozy. In Progress 10-24-2007 The laundry room is starting to shape up. I started with the floor. It didn't seem like a good area for vinyl, so I purchased this paint. 
After vacuuming and cleaning the concrete floor, I applied a coat of polyurethane and let it dry for about 24 hours. I followed with two coats of the concrete paint in a deep shade of red. I also used this paint on the plywood shelves behind the washer and dryer. To save money and tie the rooms in together, I used the paint from the family room on the wall. There was a recessed area on the other side of the room, so we took measurements and I found a bookcase that fit perfectly there. We did this instead of paneling because the plumbing for the entire house shuts off near that wall, so we couldn't cover it. Not only were we able to fill in the space nicely, but it also gave us a place to keep our books, which have been stored in a box in the garage for nearly two years. I found another Valo track set on eBay for $17.00 (including shipping). It arrived today. I've installed so many of these sets that I can get it done in about ten minutes. After I turned the lights on, I finished a few more things. On the way out of the room, I discovered that the lights wouldn't shut off. It looks like I need to replace the switch. We are going to add paneling around the door and on a small wall next to the bookcase. I'd like to use the same dark paneling that is in the family room. Getting It Right 10-19-2007 I do have some good news. Our work on the drain in the laundry room seems to have worked. Suds do not back up anymore, and we were able to plug the drain without any problems. Micah wants to put flooring down soon. In the meantime, he's been busy rounding up apples and trying to convince me that I should learn how to bake pies (yes, it's a light bulb changer).  In other news, I found an unexpected job. I noticed some of the wallpaper peeling from the family room wall. I hate wallpaper. This is the only place it existed, but I had no experience with removal and decided to paint over it. The problem was that it had a texture, so it was always obvious that it was wallpaper. I also hated seeing the lines between each strip. I noticed how easily it seemed to pull back, so I got to work. Six and a half hours later, I realized a couple of disturbing things. First of all, it was much more work than I anticipated. Also, when previous owners paint over wallpaper in every room in the house, yet choose wallpaper for the top half of a newly-finished room, they're trying to cover something up. About 3/4 through the project, I found a large area of wallboard with some water damage at the surface. It did not smell very bad and I did not notice any black spots, but I cleaned it carefully with some bleach as a precaution. I am not sure whether this would have become a bad problem if I had never discovered it. I spent a long time spackling the wall the following day, and then Micah and I started painting. Here are some photos of the process. 
   The family room photos have been updated in the photos section. We finally installed a nice shelf for a Titanic display I've had for nearly ten years. We also painted a door for the "clubhouse" and installed hinges. I am going to add a drawer knob to serve as a doorknob. Hardwood 10-15-2007 We got to work on the hardwood floors in the master bedroom today.  After sanding:
It took about two hours. I would like to do the same with the other bedrooms in the future, but for now the carpeting is still fairly new and I think it's a better choice with kids.
We fixed a couple of tiny holes in the entryway wall, replaced a doorknob, and worked on the drain in the laundry room. We were able to get a snake through, but not very far.  It's a pretty bad clog and nothing seems to work. Suds tend to back up when I run the washing machine. Micah wants to put some vinyl flooring down once the drain is clear, and we have a plan to partially finish the room in the next couple of months. Trendy Bathroom 10-13-2007 The downstairs bathroom is complete. We decided to choose a wall color that would match the flooring, and a dark brown for the trim that would give a natural wood appearance. I chose a semi-gloss for the walls (as always), but a flat paint for the trim. This worked very well. I painted the frame of a wall hanging and a cabinet we had on top of the toilet to match the trim, purchased a new shower curtain and a candle with holder. It all was very time consuming (especially when it came to the painter's tape), but we are happy with the results and it was an inexpensive improvement. After walls were painted: 
I am exhausted. Even if there was anything left to paint, I wouldn't do it! I even re-painted the master bath ceiling tonight so Micah wouldn't have to. That was not a fun job, but it had to be done! Yesterday was a big house cleaning day, and I had to do some odd jobs like put a new plug on one of the track light sets downstairs, sweep the garage and organize to start making room for Micah's car. There were a lot of large items I had to throw out. Winter will be here before we know it, and I'm not sure if I am excited about that! Blue 10-06-2007 I finished Will's room, and I am happy with the results.
The downstairs bathroom is next. Cleaning Up 10-04-2007 Now that Fall is here, it's time to start doing a few more projects. Most of them involve just fixing up what exists instead of replacing or doing any costly repairs. I am about to start painting Will's room. It was beige when we moved in, and we haven't touched it yet. After that, I am finally going to paint the doors and doorways upstairs in a few days. It shouldn't take long, but I've procrastinated. Lastly, Micah is going to paint the master bathroom ceiling because it's starting to look bad! I want to fix up the hardwood floors in our bedroom because they are not well-kept at all. This is because there was wall-to-wallcarpeting there when we moved in, which I removed. The other floors were refinished, and Micah is going to use Minwax on those to keep them looking fresh. We don't have a sander, and buying a good one would be a big purchase right now. So, my dad is going to let us borrow his when my family visits again. He managed to fix up some areas in his floors, so I know he will be able to show us how to do the same. It's great knowing someone who knows all of these things. I just wish my parents lived closer to us. We still have so much to learn! That's about it for now. I moved our bedroom furniture around recently, and it really opened up the room. It actually looks like a large bedroom now. Our nightstand drawer collapsed, and I couldn't find a replacement that matched our furniture. Instead, I put a small accent table with a table cloth in the corner next to the bed for our alarm clock. Instead of throwing out the night stand, I removed the drawer, cleaned it up, and used it as a TV stand with the VCR/DVD player neatly wired inside. We've had that $40.00 nightstand since we got married! A couple of years ago, when the "wood" surface started to chip away, I painted it a deep red color that almost matches the darker cherry wood of my jewelry table. So, it's been recycled before! OK, time to paint! Modern 8-23-2007 I have been making some updates around the house. I installed pendant lighting in the kitchen. I thought it would be similar to the track light sets, but it had to be hard wired. This meant I had to remove one of the kitchen fixtures and install a low voltage box. Our kitchen looks a lot more modern now. The counter area where the microwave once was placed is now a place for our cofee maker and some decor. I purchased some framed prints for that wall which reflect the coffee theme, so those should be here soon. I also replaced the peg board / key rack we had for years with a dark wood board with magnetic steel on one side and a chalkboard on the other. The dining room didn't seem to flow well with the other rooms, so I made a few small changes. I added a tablecloth, new curtains, a picture frame and new plates on the rack. I shopped carefully, and all of these changes were very inexpensive! I am going to paint the doorways and doors in the upstairs hallway as soon as Micah has another day off. My back is getting better slowly but surely, so we will be able to do the outdoor work very soon. Another big project I'd like to tackle is the laundry room. We would just need to panel two of the walls, the ceiling, and paint the cement wall behind the washer and dryer. We had a problem with suds backing up through the floor drain, but that seems to have gone away since we bought a new washer (the old one that came with the house died). If it continues to stay clean and dry, Micah can install some flooring there. We'll see! It's difficult to make time for these things since Micah works so much and I am busy with the kids, but it will all be updated in due time. I will post new pictures of the dining room and kitchen once the final touches are made. Wired 7-23-2007 My family visited this weekend, so of course this meant I asked my Dad to help me with a few things! He taught me some wiring basics. We spliced a heavy duty extension cord, drilled a hole and ran it inside through a corner of the family room. Then, we put a new plug on and painted the cord section that ran outside. Dad made a trench to hide the rest of the cord. I wanted to do this mainly so we'd have an outside power source that we could use for Christmas lights, but I also had a lamp post that I wanted to place near the front steps. We secured the base into the ground, and it looks nice. It's hooked up to the light controls in the cams section, so check that out! My Dad also showed Micah how to replace a door knob. It's a simple task, but we need to learn a lot of things! The door to the laundry room was always stuck, and you had to really pull on the knob to get it to open. I still put one foot back and brace myself every time I go down there. I just can't get used to the fact that it opens easily now! There are a couple of small things we want to do soon. The gutter is bent a bit on the front of the house, near the edge. Also, the screen fell off the kitchen window and it needs to be placed back on from the outside. Both of those things involve the ladder, of course, so we just haven't made time to go up there. We also want to touch up the paint in some areas of the foundation due to cracking. Next Page © 2006, 2007, 2008 Laura Sateriale |
