January 2009

Stumbling Blocks

January 30, 2009
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We’re in limbo, project-wise. We thought we had our attic plans solidified, but after talking to lots of contractors and plumbers, we’ve discovered that the roughed-in plumbing to the attic is definitely not sufficient for a bathroom. We had the second floor planned around this rough-in specifically because we thought it’d be the most efficient [...]

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Good Riddance Paper Shades!

January 22, 2009
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A couple weeks ago I started thinking about finally doing something about replacing the Redi Shades in our bedrooms. Yes, they were a godsend when we first moved in — and I’d buy them again in a heartbeat — but after over 1-1/2 years they were looking pretty ragged, especially when our woodwork was refinished. [...]

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Brunch of Presidents

January 22, 2009
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If Wheaties are the Breakfast of Champions, then oatmeal is the Brunch of Presidents. Think about it: it’s got substance, it’s good for you, and it can to appeal to many different tastes just by adding in a few ingredients from your pantry (or Cabinet as the case may be). Personally, I don’t like my [...]

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Mission-Style Lamp

January 16, 2009

I’m loving this Mission Arc Floor Lamp I caught on an episode of HGTV’s Color Splash. It’s a huge lamp, but I think our living room can handle something like that, especially with our curved sofa (this photo doesn’t show the living room painted — must take new photos!). I’m a great admirer of people [...]

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All Washed Up?

January 10, 2009

The plumber who looked at our attic space dropped off his proposal in our mailbox. This project is quickly growing beyond our fiscal reach. Sigh. I wish I had a Senate seat to sell. That would be freaking golden!

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Air Tub Anyone?

January 9, 2009

Last night I sprang the news on Pete that I thought we should redo the first-floor bathroom instead of tearing out the bedroom wall when we’re ready to move forward with the attic renovation. He took it rather well. Of course he pointed out that we’ll need a full working bathroom in order to do [...]

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Vintage Bathroom Sink

January 8, 2009
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Right before Thanksgiving, we finally had a working toilet in the basement, but no sink (hand sanitizer was provided). It worked out fine, but we wanted to have a functional sink by Christmas. Around that same time Joanne over at The Box House blog offered up a vintage sink that she garbage-picked in her neighborhood [...]

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Attic, Mudroom and Just Plumb Wrong

January 7, 2009

We’ve slowly been getting some construction estimates for our attic and mudroom projects. We haven’t had a chance to sit down and really compare them at this point, but I already know that they’re not going to be apples-to-apples. The entire process is definitely a learning experience and it will be a hard decision to [...]

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The PO’s “New” House

January 6, 2009

On Sunday Pete and I were invited to the PO’s house. As I’m sure you know by now, the PO was our neighbor for over 17 years (even longer for Pete since he lived in our previous house before I came into the picture). We never really socialized much while he lived here outside of [...]

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2009 Plans

January 4, 2009

Last year I made rather lofty goals for our renovation projects, so this time around I think I’m being more realistic. The major projects — converting the attic to finished space and creating a mudroom out of the back porch — will definitely have to be broken down into chunks as we can afford them. [...]

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