It's a Hot Mess

We're in...sort of. We have a toilet and a sink but I forgot to have the gas turned on so we only have cold water in the sink. Durp, durp.

Boxes are everywhere and we have our mattress on the floor. It's like glamourous camping. Lol!

I made a makeshift kitchen for the next couple of weeks too. So fancy! There's chicken gyros in the making in that crockpot. Woot woot!

We have internet though and we all know that's what really counts, right?! This technician was late and was really nice. Not quite Bobcat nice but nice enough. He dropped new line and didn't drill into my precious millwork.

I got a security system installed yesterday morning too! Complete with fire, 3-way entry, motion detection and glass break capabilities. I love technology!

It's the Final Countdown

So much getting done! I stopped at the tile store to pick up a small bit that was in so Nick could finish the back bathroom today. 

I got up at 5 am to wash the linens, pack more things, transfer the refrigerator contents, pick up the tile and schlep our hanging clothes to the new place. 

All that is done...now I'm waiting for the AT&T technician to install the U-Verse stuffs. Appointment window is 9 to 11 am and the clock is ticking. I didn't have time to make lemon bars for the technician (that's how I snagged The Bobcat) so I guess The Bobcat is stuck with me for a bit. 

The contractor agenda for the day is attic insullation and bathroom tiling. 

The Chrissy agenda is moving, meetings, rental house showings, cleaning and, as previously mentioned, schlepping. Yay!

Check out the progress:

It's almost 10 am...still counting down.  Wanna place bets on arrival time?

Let There Be Light

"Let there be light!" <holds hands up in dramatic, Charlton Heston fashion>

Nick and the electrician have been busy bees this week! Outlets and switches are almost all replaced and light fixtures are going in everywhere. 

Here are a few of the additions:

Back bathroom

Front bedroom

Rear porch

Front bathroom

Juan Carlos, the A/C guy, came Monday evening to install my new 2-ton Ruud unit. He stayed until almost 9:30 pm to make sure it was done in one visit, by himself. He was so kind and FAST! Unbelievable and for only $2100 for everything, I'd say it was a mega value, too.

Ugly unit, but it's hard to photographically depict cool air...

Tiling started yesterday and the back bathroom is almost done--minus the specialty marble medallions that are on back order. <disappointed face>

I'm waiting to share those pics...

I picked out cabinetry hardware last night. Thoughts?

Knobs

 

Pulls

All the cabinetry has been determined--white shaker style with some glass front uppers and a few open shelves. It'll look great with the butcher block counters!

Everything is buzzing right along! Wish I could say the same for my packing...

Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough

Friday is fast approaching! Things are getting packed up at the rental and tidied up at the new place.

Nick called yesterday evening to tell me he went to pick up the tile we ordered for my front bathroom flooring and back bathroom shower floor. It was supposed to be in Saturday. They told him it was on back order...until the END of September. Why, you ask, didn't they tell him that when he ordered it two weeks ago?! (Oh, but they could give him five pieces to start. WTH is Nick going to do with five pieces?!?)

You might also ask why I ordered from that place, against Nick's recommendation? Because the tiles were perfect...and I couldn't find them anywhere else!

Delightfully difficult to obtain marble

See?!? Anyhow, I marched right up there to "take care of business". The tiles...all of them...will be here Thursday. Sometimes it pays to be assertive. <insert smirk>

So now I won't have a finished bathroom by Friday, but at least I'm not waiting until OCTOBER!

The hardwood floors are finished and the awesome COIT duct cleaning guys are here doing disgusting work.  They were a bargin for $265.  Where's Mike Rowe when you need him?

Back bedroom

Front bedroom

I don't know if I'm glad about the amount of rocks and drywall that they pulled out of the ducts. It clearly covered up the repulsive yuck that was there before we started renovations.
 

Disgusting vent findings

Ehem, Nick just called to say his PREFERRRED tile store also dropped the ball on tile ordering and that the remainder of what we ordered from them will also not be in until Thursday. So there! Every tile shop around is mediocre at best.

I'll be back this afternoon for A/C installation!

Oh. My. Gawd. Becky...

Moving day is fast approaching!  I'm not even a tiny bit prepared at the rental house.

I spent last night touching up the sconces for the living room and the thrifted fixtures for the dining room and hallway.

I had to try something with these monsters.  Lime green seemed appropriate.

These sconces were a disaster.  They were two-tone faux bronze and the century of living in that house was not kind to them.  At least with a funky paint job they can have a kitschy story to tell of their history.  Right?

I scrubbed them with TSP solution and sanded a few rough spots before I sprayed them with Rust-Oleum Key Lime in gloss.  They still turned out sorta sketch, but I don't hate them.  Just don't examine them too closely.

This nod to mercury glass is pretty tame compared to my other light .

I bought this guy for $8 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  This got the same scrub down as the sconces and two coats of nickel semi-gloss with a final coat of Looking Glass paint.  It's supposed to look like mercury glass...I'm interested to see how this looks in the hallway when it gets wired.  Thoughts?

1 TSP scrub + 4 coats Mambo Pink + 2 coats high gloss poylurethane = Barbie Fixture

Remember the 1980's special?  Who can resist polished brass swoops with yellowed lampshades?!  I must have search five different stores looking for a good coral color spray paint.  Everything was too red or an orange-y puke mess.  Finally, at store number 782 six, Hobby Lobby, there were still no good coral contenders.  The Bobcat suggested...Mambo Pink???  Sure!  Who doesn't want a Barbie chandelier?

Nick text today to show me the finished back steps:

Way more substanial  than I thought they'd be.  Nick is da man!

Then he sent this.

No.  

Wait for it.  

It's a HOLY MACKEREL moment.

You're not very patient.

It's worth the wait.

Promise...

Hence: Oh. My. Gawd. Becky...

In Living Color...

Did I mention that the plan is to move into Beauty next week???  Sorry Nick.  (((big hugs)))  Sad for me...I haven't begun packing!  I'm starting to stress a bit, but it'll work out, right?  Right.  Packing party, anyone?

I did call all the utilities to transfer service and whatnot and for the first time in over two years, I will have television service!  Yay for cheapo AT&T U-Verse!  :)

Painting has begun!

Living room looking into dining room

Dining room looking into living room

Hallway - I just love that built in wall mirror!

Front bedroom - Spa-la-ahhhh!

Back bedroom - door glass to be frosted!

"Mint" condition back bathroom

Backer board is up in the bathrooms and they're ready for tile-tommorrow.  I love the niche that's built in the front bathroom.  It'll have three compartments with marble shelves for each.

Front bathroom

Nick also installed the door he had fabricated for me in the kitchen.  It's beautiful and adds so much light to the room!

Kitchen exit door

Kitchen exit porch

I thought we were doing a couple steps down from the door, but Nick thought it needed to be up to code and would look better with a 4x4 landing.  Rails are up next.  He's a genius! Duh.

Here's the view from the kitchen to the front door - I'm in love!

In my past experiences, I would have NEVER considered anything beyond neutral wall colors that would make a home easily marketable for a quick sale.  In this case, even if I decide to move in a month, people in the Highlands expect kitsch and vibrancy.  It's gold, Jerry!  Gold!

I bought new ceiling fans for both bedrooms and another Restore fixture for the hallway.  Think nickel finish with mercury glass...

Masterpiece in the making

Tile work starts tomorrow.  Nick is also sanding and polyurethaning the wood floors to cure over the weekend.  The A/C will be installed next Monday.  The movers come next Friday.  Zanax anyone?!  Anyone?!

Houston, We Have Walls.

I've received plenty of flack for my lack of posting activity lately, but I've spent the last week facilitating for users, a new proprietary software we're rolling out at work. I'm pooped and haven't even been by the house to check progress!

Drywall, ceiling paint and all over primer are finished. 

 

Colors are picked from Sherwin Williams:



Left to right: Crystal Clear - front bedroom and bath, Swimming - dining room and hallway, Spa - living room, Reclining Green - back bedroom, Supreme Green - back bathroom, Lemon Chiffon - kitchen, Grizzle Gray - kitchen chalkboard accent wall

My hope is that these are happy, vibrant colors without being obnoxious. I want to be historically accurate with a twist--certainly don't think chalkboard walls were the hot thing in the 1920's scene. What do you think?

I'm here at the house right now, waiting to meet the A/C guy, Juan Carlos. Yay for central air!

I've been approached by three neighbors as I've attempted to write this post. They're so excited and supportive! And probably mostly curious. They all seemed to really love Bill, the elderly previous owner. 

What do I care? I love showing the progress of this place! I hope the work that's done here will honor not only Bill but this neighborhood. Cannot wait to be here forever!

It's the Little Things

Do you take the time to show gratitude in your life for the little things?  I know I certainly find other distractions from appreciating small wins--more often, I focus on the fails or bumps along the way.

From the coworker who takes on one of your daunting tasks when they see you overwhelmed to the barista that gives you a bonus espresso shot on a busy morning--good things are all over the place.

My trip to the city offices Friday was an inconvenience.  I was there with the contractor for the better part of the afternoon and I managed to leave my title work and loan paperwork portfolio on the worker's desk. #fail

Even with all the chaos, Harold, from the permit office, quizzed and verified that Nick was, indeed, a sharp tack AND I got to know lots about Nick!  We were able to chat about the house he's building for his wife, toddler and baby-to-be.  I also learned that Nick's a young hippie at heart.  He eats organic produce and grass fed meat and also makes his own kombucha and kefir.  Who knew?!

Remember the oil cistern debacle?  Removing the tank and connecting pipe left several holes in the clapboard siding.  Nick used recycled pieces from the porch demo to do this for me, just because:



Look ma!  No holes!

The Bobcat and I spent this weekend removing tape that the old homeowner used as "insulation/caulk" around ALL the millwork--thirty years ago.

Masking tape > caulk?

Crap be gone! (and look at those stains on the wall...gross me out)

We also pulled down all the switch/outlet covers and light fixtures.  I started the paint job on the salvaged chandelier...

Mambo Coral--a work in progress

Harold called me at 7 am to let me know I'd left the file on his desk and if I'd come downtown he'd be happy to bring it out to me so I wouldn't have to pay for parking.  An angel, I tell you! 

Oh, and Nick called to update.  Don't worry Uncle Guy...the project passed City of Louisville building inspection with flying colors this morning!  He also informed me that HE had gone down and picked up my missing folder.  A saint!

I am so very thankful for the little things!

Bureaucracy, Shmureaucracy!

I had to leave work early to meet Nick at the house yesterday.

The concrete guy was there tidying up the finish work to the front steps.  He quoted a mere $2,200 for redoing the sidewalk from the street to the steps and adding a 10'x40' driveway!  Having your own off-street parking in the Highlands is like having Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket--eat your heart out Veruca Salt!  (work to begin soon)

Nick rode with me downtown to the city planning offices to beg for get a building permit for the new bathroom.  We left at 1 pm, found meter parking, showed our IDs, signed in and waited...for over an hour, just to see someone.

Around 2:30 pm, we were instructed to go to cubicle #7.  There sat a man, with his feet up, talking hurriedly on his cell and barking instructions.  He glanced at us long enough to snap, "Did you ask for me by name?"  This was not a good sign.

Of course, Nick answered in his quiet voice, "No.  We're just looking to get a building permit."

I left once during this exchange to feed the meter for another hour and a half, but it turns out this guy had hundreds of blood clots and needed surgery and was waiting for someone to come drive him to Cleveland for this special procedure.  Why was he at work???

He explained that he had over two years of plans and reports he hadn't filed because he just didn't have the time and others there didn't do their job right.  Looking at this pile, I guess we lucked out with cubicle #7:

This image doesn't do justice to the amount of papers...everywhere.

Nick shared the drawing of the proposal "I" was making.  Apparently, if its contractor requested, it has to be architectural renderings.  If it's home owner requested, you can draw it in crayon on a napkin and you're cool.

Nick mathed his pants here.  This is why I'm not a contractor.

In the end, Harold, the permits office angel, was really nice and thorough.  He quizzed Nick on code and tried to trip him up on R ratings and pitches and spacing and stuff.  Harold was really impressed with Nick's knowledge and told me several times how fortunate I was to have him.  Duh, tell me something I don't know!

Harold was really happy I was fixing this house up and keeping it in the style it was intended to be.  He even said, "This sounds weird, but God's gonna bless you for this."  Yeah, that was unexpected, but not weird--maybe coming from a city worker about a house...

Harold, the City Angel

Three hours after arrival, we left the city offices.  We also now had Harold's business card and cell phone number and we're instructed to call him anytime we have questions or need help.

I wanted Nick to take a pic with me and my new permit, but he just scoffed at me and walked to the car.  <disappointed face>