TGIFriday!

Why? It’s not like any one day is different from another around here!

Last night I was super bored, so I dragged the Hubs to the beach. It was really pretty near perfect. I think I’ll go swimming next time we go.

I’m sad I didn’t have my bathing suit, because there was a sandbar really close to the shore and I have been dying to swim out to one! Actually, the one you see here was connected to the shore a little farther down the beach. It would have been the perfect opportunity to just walk right on out there!

I’ve been languishing on the dresser project. I did finally manage to get it into the dining room:

And one wall is done:

I’ve been prowling around the house looking for art to hang in here. At this rate, I’ll run out before I get to the next room!

I’ve begun in earnest to clear out the guest room. I’m still not 100% on where my desk will end up… Guest room? Living room? Dining room? I wish I could decide and get a move on.

But nope. Nowhere seems just right.

This weekend I’m gonna have the Hubs hang some stuff. Maybe that will get me motivated.

Probably not.

We do have some yard work to get done this weekend. A little mowing. A little raking. A little planting. A little mulching. I think we’ve decided on where to plant the first batch of garlic. I’ll be digging up a bit to see how much it sucks to garden here. Our last house had straight up sticky clay, so really, nothing is worse than that!

Have you ever noticed a cat’s pads look like a teddy bear?

You’re welcome.

Progress!

Yesterday I finished painting, more painting, and repainting the dining room. Turns out when I let the sunlight in there were a LOT of holidays:

Holiday

I think I got most of them.

Today I put some furniture in and starting hanging pictures. For now, it’s going to be just a dining room.

I’m having a bit of a time getting an accurate picture of the color.

I’ll be putting the dresser in here if I ever get it finished. I’ve been ignoring it for a few days now. But, I did finish one drawer ahead of the others to see how I felt about it.

Turns out, decoupage is NOT my thing. I could not get the wrinkles out so we decided to call it “rustic” and leave it alone!

From far away you can’t notice the wrinkles! I’m going to finish the rest of the drawers like this, but then… I have about 20 sheets of old newsprint… anyone want it?!

Oh jeez, I nearly forgot! The Hubs has been tirelessly testing every off-brand mac and cheese everywhere we go to try to find the best one. Well, it’s been a parade of fails pretty much since we got here, so in an either take-charge or desperate moment, he reached out to a Giant in NoVA and asked them to send him a case of his best choice.

And they did.

It showed up yesterday:

24 boxes of mac and cheese: $16.00

Priority shipping: $27.00 (you know, cuz it expires)

Long suffering wife: priceless

Yes folks, that’s what we do around here.

I already told you I found a light for the hall bath. Here’s what we started with:

We hung it last night:

I’m not in love with it, but the price was right. I really don’t like the clear glass, I prefer opaque. The Hubs suggested getting Edison bulbs to see if I like that better. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. I just looked them up… at $8 a pop, I’m thinking not.

Bonus Post

I’m so thrilled with the day I thought I would share!

Why am I thrilled?

Well, after 22+ years, I got my first ever, “I love this color!” from the Hubs! Usually he’s a trooper and just tolerates the carnival I turn our homes into. But today, I got the holy grail!

I know, I’m embarrassed that I was so thrilled. But I was.

I started by doing my favorite thing: Painting trim. I knew I would never go back to it later. Afterward, I was glad I did because it actually made the cutting in at the baseboards a little easier. Lesson learned.

I have not yet finished the room, tomorrow I’ll do the window wall. I have to take down the draperies and there’s some obstacles to deal with, so I figured I would wait til the morning. And then I’ll have the chance to identify and take care of all the inevitable holidays in the rest of the room while I have the roller out.

Look at me learning better and more efficient ways to paint a room!

It looks like madness, doesn’t it? Like I just up and quit in the middle of the job!

I was thinking the color was going to be too dark, but it got the Hubs seal, so I guess it’s OK.

I also finished the frame of the dresser, so once I bring that in I’ll get better pictures of it. On to the drawers…

And I’m wondering why I do this to myself.

Bye Bye Riley

I spent one day this week living the life. Now it’s back to it!

But first…

If you look really close by the wire, you might be able to see a couple of Blue Angels.

I’m never ready when they are close. But I stepped outside yesterday and saw them, so I thought I’d share!

We saw this when we parked at the restaurant:

I know they are big, but this cargo ship is like whole block long!

Then while waiting for Dominique, we tried to decide:

Choice A

Choice B

I guess Choice A would be more for day trips… but if we were running from the law, it would definitely have to be Choice B. It might actually be bigger than our house.

Not much action while we were lunching, but it’s mighty pretty!!!

Then we went for a walk around the historic part of town. Turns out Dominique’s husband is quite knowledgeable about the history here, so it was a very informative walk! I had a lot of fun.

But today…

It’s back to our real life.

Among other things, I painted the inside of a drawer. I’m kinda digging it and wish I had more of this paint! I might have enough to do a second drawer, but we’ll see.

I picked up my dining room paint this evening. And yes! I did pick a color for the dresser:

It’s light enough to be cheery, dark enough to cover any imperfections, and shiny enough to feel smooth as glass.

On the outside, the dresser will seem respectable, but when you open the drawers, the secrets will be revealed!

I’ll start the repair work in the dining room tomorrow. Depending on schedule, I’ll start painting maybe Monday.

We got some blocks and mulch so I can make a ring around my one palm. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s the one plant in the yard… unless you count that bamboo in the back which is so scary I haven’t been closer than 10 feet!

I also got my first FL houseplant:

I hope I can keep it alive!

Speaking of alive… The Hubs has had great success with his garlic:

Next week the moratorium on digging is up, so hopefully we’ll have some luck picking a plot and getting all his garlic in the ground and within a year or so we can be inundated with garlic!

Of course, once that is passed, I’ll have no excuses not to get out there and prep the front for some… something…

War on Blinds

This week I’ve been waging war on the blinds. I really don’t love a window blind.

If you do, vaya con huevos.

When I was a pup, I loved mini blinds, they were gitchy and cool and we didn’t have them. I wanted them. Until I had them. They are dirty and the strings break, and they are never level no matter how much you try. There are other reasons, but suffice to say, in this house the blinds are mismatched, filthy, and in some state of broken. All of them.

I’m happy to say that I am down to one now! But it’s in the guest room, and we all know what that means…

In fact, I sent this to the Kraken yesterday inviting her down and her response was, “Nope.” And no, Cat, I have not yet painted in here!

Here is today’s triumph:

Pretty, right?

It’s very difficult to get a good window pic during the day!

This is just the inside, I got the rod yesterday and it’s on the list for the Hubs this weekend. And then it’s down to 2 colors… moody or not. I’m having trouble deciding how I want the dining room to feel.

Or

Usually I pick colors by their names. So if I stay with that, it’s Chilly Blue all the way. On the other hand, it also makes me sad because we lost Blue last year.

He was a very wonderful boy. This is him helping me make the bed.

This is him about to rip someone a new one!

Anyway.

I’ve finished the return grate:

In situ

It looks tons better. I’m still deciding how to treat the frame, paint it wall color or paint it grate color? But since I’m still deciding on wall color, I have time.

I added sheers to the master, still nice and bright, but not so exposed.

It’s kinda lovely to forget the shit view we have beyond the fence!

And while I’m waxing nostalgic about my favorites:

Wasn’t she just beautiful?

Slow Week

We didn’t really do too much on the house this week. Little things here and there, like:

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Now

Looking at this comparison, I see that we actually live in chaos! But it appears we’re making some amount of progress.

We also did this:

The dining room is no longer for sleeping!

But the bedroom is:

And it’s nice and dark in here at night. Still really vanilla, but once I’ve completed all the project balls I have in the air currently, I’ll work on that.

Last night we met with a guy to get an estimate to fix the gate on our fence. He was quite a talker! But in the midst of the chat, we discovered he is actually from Providence! We had big laughs talking about the difference between people here and people there. He was hilarious!

He talked about sassy Aunties (you know who you are), people who quahog with their feet, talking REALLY LOUDLY at gatherings, packing a lunch to go a town over, Portuguese bakeries vs Italian Bakeries, and the list goes on. I was dying laughing because these are my people!

Meanwhile, the second guy who was supposed to give me an estimate pulled into the cul de sac, sat in his truck for like 10 minutes, then left.

He was apparently calling me (my phone was in the house, and we were in the driveway). Why? Why not get out of the damn truck and come up the driveway?? We’re standing RIGHT THERE! Honestly, WTH?? So we rescheduled, and now I have to be on call until he shows up again. I hope he feels safe enough to get out of his truck and speak to us!

Hittin’ The Big Time

I have big news!

Sit down for this… Ready?

I’ve gotten 10 likes!

My world is rocked! I’m a social media goddess!

OK fine, you got me. I’m not any kind of goddess.

Anyway… I promised you pictures… so here you go!

Enjoy!

Guest Room

Do you love what I’ve done in here? And no Cat, this is NOT a lovely shade of yellow, it just has good morning sun!

Office

Living Room

Dining Room Before Moving In

After Moving

Because my actual bedroom looks like this:

And I’ll leave you today with some serenity

More Gross!

Brought to you by renters

Today the flooring actually started happening! OK, not really happening… but getting prepped.

And Oh. My. God!

Picture me rocking in a corner muttering, “not there, not there, not there” while the guy kept calling me to show me stuff I don’t want to know about.

And because I can’t know this alone, I’m sharing it with you!

It started in the living room:

Yikes! A Leak

And it’s active. The carpet was still damp. Guess what I had to do after he left? Yep. That hateful silicone caulk. Only this time someone is actually going to judge me for it! Apparently, some of the slab is gone and it has compromised the seal on the slider. Yay. I assume he’ll fill over what I caulked with mortar and call it a day.

That’s right folks, why fix something when you can push it down the road? That is what someone already did because I pulled a hunk of silicone out of the hole before I added more!

Then there was this in the dining room:

Wanna come over for dinner??

You guessed it, more termite damage. It looks a lot like there may be little to no framing left in the house! Now I’m considering a pest control contract.

Dammit!

When he showed it to me I actually touched it! Like I can’t freaking learn! I went out of the room and got the vacuum and sucked it all up.

Not today, filth. Not today.

And I’ve been washing my hands about every 10 minutes.

And when he ended his day, he rewarded me with homework:

Under the dishwasher

In case you’re thinking it’s not that bad, the stuff on the ends is 3/4″ deep. There are spider webs.

Hello? Terminix? Come NOW!

But I did it. Gagging all the while. Waiting for the bleach by the slider to dry so I could caulk that. More gagging. More bleach.

I hope I never see these people again. I might call Earl or shout groceries or make street pizza on their shoes. (If you don’t get the reference, watch the NCIS Chimera episode where Gibbs asks Tony where McGee is.)

Here is where we are:

Guest Room

Office

Living Room

I think I might ask him to remove the bedroom carpet, even though the new carpet is not here. I just don’t even want to be in the same zip code as this carpet anymore.

He has promised to return tomorrow AM with help. I can’t wait.

No, really, I can’t. But my enthusiasm took a bit of a hit today.

Optimistic!

Or at least I was until 5 seconds ago when I got some weird water/trash bill from my apartment for $95! WTF?! Up til now, it’s been like $30. I guess I am glad I’m on my way out…

Anyway… You GUYS! Today the Hubs got a return call from the flooring people. He wanted to confirm they are coming tomorrow to do the bathroom. Turns out, they ARE! And what’s even better is the guy said they are doing the WHOLE tile job!

I can NOT express how excited I am! I mean WAY beyond excited! I feel all giddy inside!

Today began so early. Obscenely early. Like Auntie early. We got up and headed over to the house to meet the plumbers at 8. And when we got there, Kim told us she sent them on another job and they’d be there by 9:30… I kinda thought the Hubs was gonna cry. He coulda slept in on his day off. In a perfect-day kind of way though, they called me and said they would be there in 10 minutes, and showed up at 8:30. By 10 they were gone and left us with this:

Now you see it…

Now you don’t!

And just like that, what would have taken us hours to do, it was done. What was left behind was not too appetizing, but at least the potty and vanity are gone for good.

While the Hubs did this:

And by “this” I mean hanging this light, not just turning it on!

I did this:

Vacuumed

Washed

Repaired and primed

I had to re-do the bit in between the faucets and in the corner with some mud. I’ll sand and re-prime when I can get in there next. Because FLOORS!

We also did this:

No mirror!

Maybe the darker green instead

We somehow managed to removed a giant mirror from the wall and get it into the garage without breaking it. Now if we only knew what to do with it… We’ve also added a new color to the mix. I am really struggling with this choice. And now that we’re getting FLOORS! I feel like I really need to pick it. I’m on the verge of playing it safe and just using my old favorite shower curtain and painting the walls to match it. I can play fast and loose down the line in the hall bath. But I don’t really want to do that.

FLOORS!!!

I’m beside myself with glee!!!

Pictures to Dryers

Thought I would start with a picture today. This is my dining room. I have been bringing my pictures over and hanging them on walls throughout the house to get them off the floor. I have missed my art. True most of it is $25 canvases from the home store, but some of it is actually pricey, or one of a kind, or from an artist friend. Wait til I show you my Bob! My sister and mom have one as well, but I got mine first so it’s somehow special-er!

Where was I?

Oh! I got an email today from the floor lady. My bathroom will be tiled Tuesday the 22nd. I couldn’t believe it because I had pretty much given up on it happening, and my plumber is scheduled to come out on the 24th! I did email her back to clarify she means the 22nd of Feb, because coincidentally there is also a Tuesday the 22nd in March. She responded: “Yes, the 22nd” which totally did not answer my question, but I’m choosing to have faith. The Hubs, not so much.

But, I was able to reschedule the plumber for Monday, so it’s all working out – as long as she meant February.

My three doors are all finally painted and curing as we speak. I also painted the trim associated with those doors. After they get re-hung, I’ll do three more. Can I just share with you how much I hate painting trim? I’m currently ignoring the baseboards, but will have to paint them at some point. I’m pretending the tiling will wreck my work, so I am waiting.

Office closet

I did, after all the whining, paint the closet. OK, 2/3rds of the closet. Today I took the shelf down and patched the holes. Tomorrow I’ll work it til it’s ready for paint. I have a vague idea of what the Hubs has planned, but as soon as the paint is done, I’m tapping out. Except the damned baseboards… I’ll have to crawl around and get those done.

I got my washer and dryer yesterday. It makes a hideous racket, so I’ll be calling someone out to take a peek at that. The dryer has an end-of-cycle buzzer that is so loud and long I’m pretty sure even if I am at the beach I will know when my laundry is dry. I’m not even sure what the purpose of it is. Who really cares if your dry clothes sit in the dryer an extra hour? Why is it so loud? And so long? Clearly, my new dryer is going to have surgery. Soon.

I guess that is all for today. Long weekend coming up! There will either be real progress or a lot of sand in the car…