Monday, July 23, 2012

Pioneers lived such the life.

Well hey guys!! It's been a few days. Why, you might ask?? Oh...I don't know. This whole "remodel"  thing has finally hit...blisters and all. I continue to face "the wall" as its lovingly been called. I've developed quite the ADHD approach to it. I'll peel for a few minutes...wander around and knock a few things down...sadly walk back and realize the hole hasn't gotten any bigger, and peel again. I know realize that people PRE wallpaper must've lives such glorious lives. I mean, that stuff is literally of the devil. I'm even convinced hell is COVERED in it. I have now made seven (count them) trips to Lowe's. The employees graciously continue to smile at me, but two of them literally run the other way. Who knew my questions could be so overwhelming?? Tomorrow, I tackle the beauty that is the garage floor. That's right folks...I'm "epoxying" it ALL by myself. Dad...if you're reading this, PLEASE meet me at the house around 9. AM. On the dot. Don't be late. I've decided to tell the last few days via pictures. Words just dont seem to do this train wreck justice. Continue below...

Spencer spent HOURS trying to knock that thing down...


Crossing off the first item on my "list". So productive.




Alison diggin up the trellis in the back.


The neighbors decided they wanted our awning...so we just transported it.


Luke and Spencer taking down the fence.


Don't worry. I knocked over the ENTIRE trellis with my bare hands. You can be scared.


Luke and Spencer. Woosh.


Luke getting his "Suzy Homemaker" on. I have good friends :)


Mom...still working on "the wall"


Oh...no big deal...just wearing our protective masks. Saving our lives.


Who know that Springdale was so cool?? In my city, you just pile your junk on the curb and THEY COME GET IT!!


This is what I did on Saturday INSTEAD of home stuff. So worth it :)



And here it is folks...the first blister of the day. Man.


SHOUTOUT to these lovely ladies who have become kinda my "project coordinators". they ROCK.


Welp...thats all for tonight. Obviously, I'm going to need my beauty rest if I expect the guys at Lowe's to continue answering my endless, STUPID questions. Check back soon!!

Much love,

CT


Thursday, July 19, 2012

carpet sucks.

Welp. Today, my brother and I tackled the carpet in the rest of the house. Last night, my new neighbors so graciously helped by taking out all the electrical covers, doors, and blinds. We also ripped out the carpet in the living room. Today, Spencer and I tore out the carpet in the three bedrooms and the kitchen/dining room area. Woo. It was heavy, it left gross little specks all over your legs, and you left feeling as though there was NO WAY you hadn't inhaled thousands of toxins. After pulling out the carpet, we took out the tile and swept away. The home already smells better and I dont feel as though I am walking across someone elses life. As I stared at the carpet in the home originally, I couldnt help but wonder at all the mysterious stains around the room. One in the master bedroom looked awful sketchy. After letting my mind wander a bit too far, I realized ripping it out was the way to go. As you can see, this has become quite the community project. I think people take pity on me, realizing that I have NO CLUE what I'm doing so they offer to pitch in. I went to Lowe's twice in one day and at one point, after five minutes of rambling/verbally processing what I was trying to say, I looked up to find both employees staring at me with this look like "they let HER buy a house??" Needless to say, I now have a great new relationship with several of their department heads.

Lilly, my new neighbor, helping out by sanding my wood paneling


The neighbor cat apparently has found a new home?


The neighbors helping by ripping up some carpet


I figured I could throw in a "hand"


Notice now TWO cats asleep on my back porch


Yippee!! Moldy carpet. YUCK.


My growing "to do" list. On the right, the assignments for the "amateurs"...on the left, the list for those who have "been around the block." Good thing I have talented help arriving soon...(HURRY UP JON AND GORDON!!)


My dog stopped by for a visit.


Carpet, tile, and TAH DAH, concrete!!



Spencer ripping up carpet


This is what's underneath my floors...a mysterious black "floor"



Washing the walls with chemicals tends to show just how dirty they originally were


Before...


Midway...


AFTER


Looks so much nicer with no flooring :)


Hallway.


Pile o' junk.

And there goes "the wall"


All my visitors had to take a picture in front of "the wall"...OBVIOUSLY.

Mom and sister


Family friends.


Not sure how you can have phosphate-free TRI SODIUM PHOSPHATE...hmm. Works miracles though so no complaints.


So many germs right there.





I couldn't resist.

Dad and brother.


Neighbor Aaron.



So...as you can see, we have LOTS ahead of us but this is still kinda fun. As I said, I find myself sometimes wandering around because I genuinely don't have a clue what to do next. I'm the most excited about decorating. That's the moment I'm waiting for. I think once we have some paint on the walls, the house will look MUCH different. My goal is to have "the wall" gone by tomorrow night. We shall see.

SHOUTOUT to my neighbors, parents, brother, and friends who have already been so encouraging and helpful. I don't even think I could have found my way in the front door without you!!


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Our secret find

Welp, I did it. I signed about 50 times and am now totally official. Several people asked "do you feel strange owning your own home??" and I can honestly say I dont have an answer for them...I dont walk around thinking, "wow!! How awesome is this???" I actually walk around trying to determine what is the most important thing to accomplish first. Now don't get me wrong, I am so excited that God has his hand all over my life. First, an amazing job...but then my own home!! My goal is to move in before school starts, NOT have the house completely remodeled. Right now, its survival mode...what needs to be done so that my brother and I can move in?? First, I walked around and took out EVERY drapery in the home. The smoke stentch just rolled off of them, so after I got them out, the house wasn't half as bad as it was from the beginning. I opened all the windows, some of which didnt seem to have been opened for years. Asthma is just an extra incentive to get a movin.


It's official!!



Our large pile of window treatments (now in the dumpster)


And down they come...



Smoke stains EVERYWHERE


And now the fun beings...we were taking down what we thought was only one layer of wallpaper...only to find...


THIS MASTERPIECE!!!


How do you even part with something this great!?!?!?! I just don't think it goes along very well with my decorating scheme...


Spencer and Lefty just hiking through our new scenery...


The wallpaper literally just fell off the walls in some places...it had to have been baked off by the smoke


Almost all done.


Guest room at the beginning of the day...


Guest room tonight.


Flooring!! Gonna need some work...:)



So...as you can see, we have our work cut out for us. My goal is to start putting down primer within the end of this week/early next week. I'm excited at all the potential that is continuing to make its way to our house. Shout out to our neighbors, the Thiesse's...they have been GREAT...bringing over misc tools/water/chairs. It's kinda fun living next to friends. So, this brings this post to an end. Tomorrow, we caulk all the holes, re-key the doors, and take down all the hardware so that hopefully paint can start to go up soon. I am unsure of what color I want to make my walls at this moment...all I know is that one wall is going to be "chevron" patterned as my accent wall. Excited about that. I will check back with more photos soon. Thanks for reading!!!