It's hot

Me? I like it. As long as I can sit in the shade and be generally motionless.

Pretty much everyone else I know hates it. And to be fair, it was well over 100º this weekend. The humidity was pretty easily in the very high percentages. Adam and his boss worked on making sides to a trailer Saturday while the boss's girlfriend and I grazed on Pringles and watched, raising helpful concerns such as, "Ummm, how do you plan on bracing those walls again?" I had a good time, but didn't get much in the way of progress done.

Last night, I broke the garage door track. That should count as progress, I suppose-- we have to demo that door soon, anyway, in order to salvage the wood and make new ones! I'm just looking long term. Doing my share.

We also got some good old fashioned scrubbing-type cleaning done on kitchen and bath-- like with heavy-duty cleaners, not just a cursory wipe. The dog got a bath. And promptly got dirty again. The grass, did not get mowed.

So, you see? Not much in the way of visible progress. So for today's eye-candy, I give you: the screened-in porch furniture I'm going to buy this evening, assuming it's still in stock now that it's gone on sale.


It's the kind of thing I hate buying-- but it's gone down in price to cost really next to nothing. And I do have a couple of chairs that I'm upholstering for the porch. We just have so much outdoor space-- and we've got so little to work with!

And for the kitchen light...what do you think?
I'm still trying to find it on clearance. I know the metal is different than the other finish in the room, but I think it's otherwise pretty awesome.

Oh yeah. That's the other thing I did this weekend...

Internet window shopping.

Another weekend over

I keep busting ass all weekend and it still doesn't seem like enough! So this is when the blog is helpful. It's a good chance to assess...I did stuff after all. Who knew?

Adam had to work aaaalll day Saturday, and the end result was a nasty sunburn. I was on my own.

First things first, I got a wild hair and busted out the scissors and garden shears. Here is the front walk right after I started

Yes, that's a coffee mug. It was about 8 am and I was perfectly happy to scoot on my butt with my coffee until it looked like this

I was pulling up toupees of grass. At any rate, lots of good clippings for the compost.

In other front of the house news, we've decided that the next item on the insurance money list is the porch-- we've got funds to redo the water-damaged ceiling.


I spent this afternoon removing the fan and tearing out the ceiling.


Next weekend we should be able to reinstall the ceiling and replace any boards that have rotted out.

Finally got our bedroom light hung...


But what was simultaneously the greatest accomplishment and biggest disappointment of the day was the kitchen cabinet doors. I got the hinges on them and got them hung. Ugh. Aside from the fact that I really don't like them, I wasn't able to get some of the stiles lined up perfectly, and they almost all hang askew. I put the same style hinges into the very same holes, but they still were crooked. And then I thought maybe I had them on upside down, but that didn't fix it. It just reminded me that the damn things were crooked when we bought the place; we took them off the cabinets a few weeks after we closed, so I had completely forgotten. Also, several screws broke off in the cabinets. If anyone has good solutions for getting those out without destroying the face, I'd love to hear it!

My main complaint is how yellow they are. We could take them apart and sand them and put them back together so that they're square, and rehang them so that they're not crooked, but that's far more time than I want to spend on something that I hate. I hate the design. It's just too, too MUCH for the rest of the kitchen with all the other clean straight lines-- in the counter, in the backsplash, in the floor.

Ugh. I almost don't want to show the pics.


It's so hard to tell how anything looks without the countertop trim, the crown, and the baseboards-- not to mention with the green window-- don't worry; it'll be white and the trim will be caulked. I'm also not sure whether natural wood will be ok for the doors. The sanded red oak is pinkish. The poly makes it a little yellower, but not like they are now. Remember this?


Do we think that finishing new doors like the top one above will help out the yellow insanity? The company said they could choose the wood for red undertones (like that red strip on the door above)...If it doesn't, can we stain dark? And if we can't stain dark, I guess we'll repaint the walls...

U.G.H.

The one thing making me a very VERY happy camper is the fact that we are getting new doors. It's decided. We just don't know when. That's one reason we put the old doors back on; the other reason? We didn't know how badly we wanted new ones until we saw the old one. Soon enough. I can be patient. I love the counters and dishwasher enough to make up for anything else that's wrong with that kitchen. And I still have high hopes for it once the trim work is finished.

I just need about 720 more weekends to get there...

No, I am NOT kidding.

Yes, that's right. MORE HAIL. This time, it was only nickel- to quarter-sized, and only lasted a few minutes, so it didn't really do any more damage. I was in my car, however, and it was a little frightening-- I can only imagine what it was like when the golf-ball stuff came down. It just kept exploding on the windshield.

And still, I think Fort Smith was spared the worst of it. Adam and the kiddo went to a minor league baseball game Saturday night and were delayed up there, 1 hour+ north, because of more hail, high winds, and tornadoes. So, yeah, all in all, it's ok. I know this system brought some really devastating tornadoes in Missouri, so my thoughts are certainly with them.

At any rate, not a lot else went on this weekend-- Adam's family came down for dinner Friday night, so I spent that afternoon sprucing up our 3 presentable rooms and the back patio. And we had the most awesome Cajun meal, at one of our favorite restaurants, so all was goo0d there. We bought all the supplies to complete one more section of fencing-- to give the dog a private yard to go to when we have company. This was a fiasco in itself. We tromped all over Lowe's looking for fencing panels, or even just the dog ears to build it from scratch. The garden people said it'd been moved to lumber, the lumber people couldn't be found...the kid who tried to help us in lumber saw us leaving and was able to get us talking to the guy in the store who "knows everything." He was finally able to help us. They'd stacked all the dogears out FRONT on the lumber end of the store. So we wrapped that up and went on our way.

Aaaand. That's about all we did this weekend. We found this cool vase on clearance at TJ Maxx, adn it is perfect for kitchen utensils:


And...um...remember head shops? Remember your college dorm? Remember big pieces of fabric tie-dye and batiks and Indian sari fabrics that worked great for covering walls and ugly recliners that you found on the side of the road, or something. Yeah, full disclosure, I thought that was some hippie dippy shit and not punk rock enough for little old me. But I could appreciate some pretty prints. I was still a little girly, too, after all. Well my sister bought me a beautiful and enormous piece of hand printed Indian fabric for Christmas this year. She just thought it might come in handy what with the new house and everything-- I have to say, that that is some forward thinking for a high school student.

This fabric will be perfect for living room curtains, and there's just enough of it.


The colors and pattern are perfect. I love it!

But I had a sad moment this weekend, too-- I over slept and missed bidding on this, the coolest light in the world.


I could kick myself.

New colors and stained glass finds...

We tried some more combinations of backsplash colors and the order in which we layered them. And if everything still looks good in the evening light, we've found one we're going with. Basically, we rubbed the panel with 00 steel wool, quickly, then primed with Rustoleum primer for heavily rusted metal. The heavy duty stuff. It's a very reddish brown. Then I painted the Sophisticated Finishes blackened bronze on the panel, 2 squares at a time with a sponge brush. After that, I daubed and patted at the wet paint with a dry sponge brush-- a wet brush causes a ton of bubbles., and it dries very quickly; 2 squares was all I could do at once. After those layers dried, we sprayed the Krylon outdoor formula copper paint as a brief passing mist...just enough for some copper sheen.

A picture wouldn't do any good-- it doesn't look much different in pics than the panel I photographed last night, and you can take my word for it that it looks even less like a choco bar and more like an oil rubbed bronze. We also tried our paint technique on the connector pieces that Home Depot sells for their plastic ceiling panels. The finish looked good; we'll know more about how well they work when we install the backsplash.

I know this is a bit of a laundry list of "accomplishments." I feel a little better about the hole in the ceiling knowing that something else is getting better.

So continuing...

We affixed our under cabinet lighting. Sam's Club sells 3 packs of these Sylvania Dragon Cabinet lights. They are like Sylvania's more colorful Dot-Its, but they're a step up, I think.


They are LED lights with stickum on the back. They are battery powered, have a motion sensor and 2 settings-- bright and dim. At $28 for 3, it's a pretty solid deal. We like them so far.

This week is also our city spring clean-up. There are dumpsters located in each city ward, and we made 2 runs, getting rid of the nasty carpet and old mattresses. This couldn't have been better timed, what with the hail storm on Wednesday night.

We also did some temporary repair work on my grandmother's windows, and while we were there, we went through some more of the stuff that no one else wanted or needed. We picked up some good measuring cups, a marble rolling pin, mixing bowls, a silver butter dish, meat grinder, good liquor, etc. But we also got some cooler and more sentimental items. One was an old sewing machine that was my great grandmother's and which I played on for hours and hours; I would lay on the floor and kick the fly wheel until someone came and made me stop. 2 fabulous peach FireKing Lustreware custard dishes-- great for ice cream!


Another FireKing, milk glass oven ware serving dish on the left and the bread basket we used every family dinner; it has a slate panel in the bottom that goes in the oven while you bake and sits in the bottom of the tray to keep the bread warm during dinner:


And this one was a real surprise. In the back on a high cabinet, I found this coffee carafe and cups:


It's Franciscan Pottery from the mid-thirties, I think. It's really, really cool. I've never seen in at the house, but I've fallen in love with it. I'm guessing that my grandmother may have picked it up when she traveled on the train out to California before she joined the Navy and met my grandfather. She didn't do a lot of traveling after that, so I think this is really something special.

And finally, the thing I'm probably most excited about, is the stained glass that my grandfather made, and which hung in their kitchen for years.


The window directly beside this one has a gigantic window unit. We'll replace that with plate glass and we can hang this panel in front-- it fits perfectly. And that is the most exciting thing.

Well, acquiring my grandmother's recipe collection might be more exciting. It's a toss-up.

Watching from the sidelines

I feel so left out. Everything is happening without me these days at the house. Very little was accomplished beyond putting away some clothes this weekend; the kiddo had a horseback riding thing (Sounds very swish, doesn't it? It was with the Girl Scouts-- I think they earned 2 badges. My Girl Scout troop didn't do anything that cool.). So we spent all day Saturday with Adam's folks while she did her Girl Scout stuff.

Anyway! I have begun the daily commute and Adam has been able to stay home and make progress toward "completion" so we can get the city off of our backs. To wit:

Lights. First, we have the easy one-- a 1950s (60s? 70s? clueless) shade to replace the crazy $4.97 shades we installed:


I'm looking at this pic and realizing now that wiping it with a dry cloth as I did isn't really cutting it. So I'll scrub it down a bit more with something more aggressive. ANYWAY. This is in the kiddo's room, and when it lights up, you can see through some of the unglazed dots so it looks like galaxies behind those big starbursts. We have a different one with metal edging and sweet little brass details that we'll put in our bedroom later. (Update: Yes, I am aware that it is a somewhat tacky shade. Whatever. I remain charmed.)

More lights. Adam had to pull out the old boxes, install newer and straighter ones and buy a new lightbulb to replace the one crushed in shipping. But the end result, is bathroom sconces that weren't Photoshopped:


Though maybe they should've been. It's still dark outside, so I'm taking this pic in the dark with the flash-- taking it with the lights on just creates glare. We may even put in lower wattage bulbs. Mind, the bathroom is still a bit of a construction zone. And the wall looks too red in that pic. Sigh. At any rate, I love them. Perfect size, and the chrome and white is marvelous. We still have to hang the wall cabinet and the shower curtain rod-- which, by the way, went even lower in price. We waited so long that by the time we got around to it, it only cost $3.

(Also, should I consider changing out the white outlets and covers on the wall with black ones? Black outlets and paint the covers to match the wall? They don't bother me a LOT...Just a little...)

Note to self: buy towel rods and vinyl film window covering to mimic old-fashioned bathroom/privacy glass TODAY.

(Yes, that is painter's tape and paper towels. Our bathroom window looks directly into the neighbor's kitchen window above their sink.)

Apparently Adam has also prepared all the trim for this sad little kitchen window:

as well as the trim for the backside of a doorway that was closed up long ago between kitchen and laundry. We drywalled completely over the hole on the kitchen side, but it's still there on the laundry side, complete with all the door trim. We'll just fill in the middle. I personally like the ghost door. It's a slight nod to the old butler's pantry that was sacrificed to the laundry/mud room.

And everyday, there's a little more walking room available within the house. He's put together the futon and desk for the office/guest room. He's set up dressers, cleaned out the pantry, set up our wireless internet, rehung most of our doors.

And this is all in addition to the plumbing. Me, I've done some laundry. Some dishes. I've cooked a few times. Maybe I'll mow this weekend.

Hey, I ordered the backsplash. I'm doing something.

Done and done.

Ha! If only...

Actually, we are spending this weekend at our rental house packing. We haven't done nearly enough of that and there's 10 years of accumulation (including grime that needs to be taught a lesson) which means we have our work cut out for us.

So no work on the house this weekend, but we have made some decisions. Lights for the bathroom have been ordered:I got them from Target Online, and they cost more than I wanted to spend. But I think they're really the best we've seen so far. I'll also still get my waffle-weave shower curtain, in a hotel crisp white, and we're going to go for a burgundy rug. Target had some lovely ones on clearance a week or two ago, so I'll go see if they're still there. And NO FUZZY THING on the toilet. I'm breaking with tradition, blazing a new path. It's a banner day. I think Adam will be pleased at this decision.

Then for our towel bar to be mounted under the wall cabinet, we like this:
Adam lusted after it, then I managed to find it at the Moen ONLINE OUTLET STORE!!! for $29 (originally $47 or something), and that is the cheapest I've seen it. Who knew nice towel rods were so pricey? I will be checking the stores one more time for a cheaper knock-off before committing.

Drawer and cabinet pulls were bought a while ago, but I'm waiting to slap a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets first:
We may have ended up buying these in brushed nickel (can't remember), but they'll be behind the door, so I'm less concerned with their consistency in the shiny chrome business.

I'd also like to have a nice new shower rod that isn't a tension rod-- if the tension kind aren't in there perfectly, then the first time you pull your towel off, you end up in the tub unconscious and wrapped in your shower curtain. Or so I've heard; no personal experience to back that up...Anyway, I have to admit, the one that was in there was in pretty good, even if it was a tension rod. I started to paint around it, and then caught myself-- "Stupid you! Take that thing down and paint the whole wall!!" That's what I did. And I found a little circle of this wallpaper underneath. Clearly, this thing hadn't been off the wall in many, many years. At any rate, Lowe's had some chrome rods that attach to the wall on clearance for $5, but I'm not sure I want to screw into the window trim, which I think I would have to do. More investigation is necessary.

But we're coming together.

Perhaps...

Have I found a suitable lighting compromise?

Polling people through my previous photoshop efforts, led me to the conclusion that perhaps the top set of lights was too old-fashioned, but the bottom set was way too tall-- I even had to lower them in the photo so they fit on screen, and they still looked too tall. However, I think all liked the vertical lines. I'm still back and forth.

But maybe these are a sort of compromise:Sorry-- I didn't even begin to have the patience to get the perspective right on that cabinet. And we'll hang a towel bar from the bottom of it...That's the plan, anyway.

Bought this light...

...for the office. $25 and not too nipply. Can't really complain.

Fun with Photoshop

My dad used to dream of the day when we could just literally Photoshop the world around us. Hole in the wall? Grab that rubber stamp tool! Dead limbs on the tree? Lasso and cut!

Anyway, we're not there yet, but...really...so close.***

I can't decide between 2 very different lights for the bathroom and, even thought the bathroom isn't painted, and the mahogany-walnut colored cabinet isn't in place yet, I was able to see into the future!

Well, you know, a very ragged, badly dropped-out, cut-and-paste sort of future:





***Note:Wall color? All wrong. It will be closer to color of dark tile. Size and position of lights? I used what used to be there as a guide. In other words, likely all wrong as well. Brownish-red blob on the right will be the new cabinet. Shut up-- I'm working with a dumbed down limited color palette.

Fixtures fun

We're finally at the point where we can shop for fun stuff like hardware and lighting-- we decided to get rid of most of the ceiling fans (we'll be installing an attic fan soon) so that means buying a lot of new fixtures. I love to shop! This was a great opportunity (read: excuse) to bargain hunt and buy pretty things. I'm finding, however, that in terms of new ceiling lights, we have basically 2 choices at our local big box stores: lights that look like nipples...Or lights that look like we just yanked them out of an outdated apartment complex...


So we could get the inspection out of the way, we went with the latter option. They were $4.97. Also, I am hopelessly immature and I giggle like Beavis and Butthead every time I see one of the boob lights in the store. I was afraid I'd do the same thing at home. And while laughter is the best medicine or whatever, I decided I need to have at least a modicum of control over my giggling.

Anyway, I'm now starting to hit up my internet options...

We do have one original period fixture in the living room:

It's a little (ok, a lot) on the dirty side in this pic, but when clean, it's a yellowy pink and it has grown on me tremendously. I kind of love it.

We've also picked out and purchased a chandelier for the dining room:

The dining room is connected to the living room by a very wide open doorway, adn I wanted the two fixtures to get along, visually speaking. Obviously, they don't really come from the same place, but I think they can live together relatively harmoniously. And it was on clearance.

Now I need to find a fixture for the office and I'll be happy. I can live with what's in the bedrooms and bathroom for the time being-- they're not so much public spaces, so I don't feel the need to have them done first. The office is separated by double French doors, so it's lighting is also visible from the living room, and I'd like these two fixtures to be similarish as well...I'm looking at something like these:












I think the one on the left is maybe too heavy for an office and the one on the right, perhaps a bit too modern-- or too "modern imitating art nouveau"...? Dunno. I feel like I'm getting warmer, anyway. And something like this for the porch...
No need for anything to be matchy-matchy, or so similar that the house becomes Arts & Crafts or Art Deco themed or something. Just not completely out of character.

Time to hit up eBay and see if I can find anything that doesn't look like a boob or cost an arm and a leg!