We're moving! After an entire month, it is finally time for us to start living in the house - beginning Thursday. We have LOTS that still has to be done in the coming weeks, but for now everything is in a good place for us to be able to start settling in a bit.
- The living room is painted and ready for furniture. I'm only stalling moving the couch inside because I'm afraid of it getting dirty :)
- Our plumber is moving the water line in the kitchen this morning, and once he's done with that today we can paint and install our already-purchased cabinets. It'll take a couple weeks for the countertop, but I'm most excited about getting the new appliances plugged in.
- The dining room is pretty much being used as a work room, storage room and overall messy room right now. It won't be completely set up or painted just yet, BUT my mom is coming over to help me get the chairs recovered with the funky fabric manda helped me pick out at ikea over the weekend.
- Our bedroom is painted and I LOVE it. The dark brown accent wall I was dreaming about looks as good in person as I was hoping it would and I can't wait to see it all set up with our furniture. Dan and Eric are attempting to move some of it today, but that will depend on if they're able to work around the mess I left while attempting to pack on Sunday. :)
- We bought shelving for our closet and the office closet (which will house our linens).
So, that's the quick update. I have a few random pictures to post but it may be awhile before I have the chance to get more up since we haven't bothered to call comcast yet to set up cable and internet at the house. I'm sure that will end up at the top of our list once we're moved in though!
I took off work Thursday and Friday, and Dan will be around with the exception of a couple scattered meetings. We'll also be there ALLLLLL weekend. So, stop by and say hi!!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Catching up
We're taking a break from the house and hanging out at home (condo) tonight catching up on our shows, having dinner together, and finalizing things for our renter who will be moving in next week. Since the kitchen floor at the house is half done and can't be walked on, it was a good reason to stay in and enjoy a quiet night at home.
Below are some fun pictures from last weekend at the house. Manda spent all day Sunday with us helping out, Sita came over to paint and join us at HOBO to buy our cabinets, and then Chris, Jeff and Tara joined us later for a little more painting, a dinner picnic... and our first backyard bonfire!!
While Sita and I primed the living room, Manda and Dan did some work outside.
Here's Manda helping Dan cut down a huge weed-tree in the yard:
And helping Dan power wash the front of the house:
Here's Dan digging the firepit:
And a couple pictures from our first fire:
Evidence of a good time...
Below are some fun pictures from last weekend at the house. Manda spent all day Sunday with us helping out, Sita came over to paint and join us at HOBO to buy our cabinets, and then Chris, Jeff and Tara joined us later for a little more painting, a dinner picnic... and our first backyard bonfire!!
While Sita and I primed the living room, Manda and Dan did some work outside.
Here's Manda helping Dan cut down a huge weed-tree in the yard:
And helping Dan power wash the front of the house:
Here's Dan digging the firepit:
And a couple pictures from our first fire:
Evidence of a good time...
trouble?
Today while bored at work, I decided to catch up on a few of the blogs I follow on a regular basis. One of my new favorites belongs to my dad's cousin Jennifer, who's recipes have me CRAVING a finished kitchen to try them all out in. Thanks to her blog, I absolutely cannot wait to stock the pantry, turn on the oven for the first time, and make something for Dan to show him how much I appreciate all the time he's been putting in to the house during the day when I have to be here at my desk.
While browsing through my regular reads, I started clicking on other blogs that the writers linked to... and from there clicked on others... and others. Oh my. This could be serious trouble. I think I added nearly a dozen new finds to my daily rotation, and thanks to Blogger I can follow them all in one spot! Wedding blogs, photography blogs, cooking blogs, decorating blogs. There is so much eye candy out there that it's almost overwhelming. I'm already dreaming of a huge inspiration wall in our "office" at the house where I can plaster all of my favorite images.
So, although this posting isn't directly house related, I wanted to take the opportunity to say "hi!" to all of the new blogs I've become a follower of today. :)
While browsing through my regular reads, I started clicking on other blogs that the writers linked to... and from there clicked on others... and others. Oh my. This could be serious trouble. I think I added nearly a dozen new finds to my daily rotation, and thanks to Blogger I can follow them all in one spot! Wedding blogs, photography blogs, cooking blogs, decorating blogs. There is so much eye candy out there that it's almost overwhelming. I'm already dreaming of a huge inspiration wall in our "office" at the house where I can plaster all of my favorite images.
So, although this posting isn't directly house related, I wanted to take the opportunity to say "hi!" to all of the new blogs I've become a follower of today. :)
Slowly but surely
Although the "demo" work was fun, the important part of our kitchen remodeling is obviously, well, the remodeling. Step 1 started this morning! Dan is at the house watching the pros sand and refinish the floor - he sent me the below picture from his phone:
As you can see - the sanding is already making a HUGE difference! There's a nice floor under there after all!
Lots of pictures from the weekend to post later - including our first bonfire!
As you can see - the sanding is already making a HUGE difference! There's a nice floor under there after all!
Lots of pictures from the weekend to post later - including our first bonfire!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Who's in the Basement?
We have kitchen appliances!!!! And they're all stainless steel! My dream come true :)
Last night, we took the long ride out to the Sears Outlet in Elgin after not finding anything at the one closer to our house. Turns out it was more than worth the ride - nicer store, more options, much better customer service, lower prices, and most to our advantage - a stock guy looking to make some extra cash on a tip. First, the guy showed us a few refrigerators that had just come off the truck and weren't even priced yet - which ended in us deciding on this:
Next, we moved on to the ovens. All along, Dan wanted a gas stove and I wanted to stick with electric, like we have now. Lucky for me, Dan saw an electric one that he loved, and even when I picked out a different gas one he still wanted the electric! Besides having more buttons than could ever possibly be necessary on a stove, it has a couple scratches on the handle that bugged me a little too much, so Dan talked to our new stock guy friend and he had a new handle ordered for us, which will be delivered directly to the house within the next 2 weeks.
Our new oven!:
I think at this point the guy realized we were really hoping to purchase ALL of our appliances at that time... so he pulled us aside and asked if we wanted to see other options - in the store basement where customers are not allowed to go. So, off we went to another entire room FULL of appliances, where we found the dishwasher we were eyeing on the floor upstairs - brand new and still in the box. Since our stockroom friend was in charge of making the price stickers and does NOT work on commission like the rest of the store employees, he gave it to us for 40% off rather than the 30% off it was supposed to be. Sweet - another deal! And, I love it:
While we were in the basement the guy's manager must have heard us talking, and suddenly yelled down the stairs "Who's in the basement?!" The guy gave us the "run - NOW" look... and we did. We slid back through the door to the upstairs and walked around like nothing ever happened. I, of course, almost burst out laughing thinking about how shady the entire situation was... but if it means us saving a bunch of money, I'm ok with that. :)
Last was the microwave, which I can't find a picture of online... but it has a DIAL rather than number buttons, so we're pretty excited to see how that works.
Everything JUST fit in the back of Dan's truck and we drove with our emergency flashers on the entire way home from Elgin. Ha. Luckily, Kevin was able to come over and help Dan get everything inside. The best part? ALL of the appliances, with tax and out the door... just a little over $1,000. The oven alone retails for more than $1,900, so i would say we got a deal. :)
We're planning to buy our cabinets this weekend and then I can start posting real pictures of our kitchen remodeling in progress!
Today, Dan is at the house and has Dusty coming over to work on the electrical stuff we need done. There's also a plumber planning to come by, as well as a guy to look at the kitchen floor and estimate the refinishing. Bill, our best friend from the Village, is also planning to stop by to sign off on the balcony railing (which I need to post a picture of), so we can officially live at the house when we're ready! I'm hoping to get a couple rooms painted this weekend so we can start moving stuff over from the condo and my gramma's basement where most of our winter stuff is currently stored. Just over 2 weeks before we move in officially and everything is really starting to come together!
Last night, we took the long ride out to the Sears Outlet in Elgin after not finding anything at the one closer to our house. Turns out it was more than worth the ride - nicer store, more options, much better customer service, lower prices, and most to our advantage - a stock guy looking to make some extra cash on a tip. First, the guy showed us a few refrigerators that had just come off the truck and weren't even priced yet - which ended in us deciding on this:
Next, we moved on to the ovens. All along, Dan wanted a gas stove and I wanted to stick with electric, like we have now. Lucky for me, Dan saw an electric one that he loved, and even when I picked out a different gas one he still wanted the electric! Besides having more buttons than could ever possibly be necessary on a stove, it has a couple scratches on the handle that bugged me a little too much, so Dan talked to our new stock guy friend and he had a new handle ordered for us, which will be delivered directly to the house within the next 2 weeks.
Our new oven!:
I think at this point the guy realized we were really hoping to purchase ALL of our appliances at that time... so he pulled us aside and asked if we wanted to see other options - in the store basement where customers are not allowed to go. So, off we went to another entire room FULL of appliances, where we found the dishwasher we were eyeing on the floor upstairs - brand new and still in the box. Since our stockroom friend was in charge of making the price stickers and does NOT work on commission like the rest of the store employees, he gave it to us for 40% off rather than the 30% off it was supposed to be. Sweet - another deal! And, I love it:
While we were in the basement the guy's manager must have heard us talking, and suddenly yelled down the stairs "Who's in the basement?!" The guy gave us the "run - NOW" look... and we did. We slid back through the door to the upstairs and walked around like nothing ever happened. I, of course, almost burst out laughing thinking about how shady the entire situation was... but if it means us saving a bunch of money, I'm ok with that. :)
Last was the microwave, which I can't find a picture of online... but it has a DIAL rather than number buttons, so we're pretty excited to see how that works.
Everything JUST fit in the back of Dan's truck and we drove with our emergency flashers on the entire way home from Elgin. Ha. Luckily, Kevin was able to come over and help Dan get everything inside. The best part? ALL of the appliances, with tax and out the door... just a little over $1,000. The oven alone retails for more than $1,900, so i would say we got a deal. :)
We're planning to buy our cabinets this weekend and then I can start posting real pictures of our kitchen remodeling in progress!
Today, Dan is at the house and has Dusty coming over to work on the electrical stuff we need done. There's also a plumber planning to come by, as well as a guy to look at the kitchen floor and estimate the refinishing. Bill, our best friend from the Village, is also planning to stop by to sign off on the balcony railing (which I need to post a picture of), so we can officially live at the house when we're ready! I'm hoping to get a couple rooms painted this weekend so we can start moving stuff over from the condo and my gramma's basement where most of our winter stuff is currently stored. Just over 2 weeks before we move in officially and everything is really starting to come together!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Good Neighbors
After watching my uncle run the marathon and Dan catching up on sleep after his overnight for work, we took yesterday afternoon to go couch shopping! Since neither Dan or I is one to buy something without a deal, we headed back to the Harlem Roomplace Outlet center in Lombard that we had been to once earlier in the week.
After freaking out a bit about whether or not it would fit in with the color scheme I've been dreaming about for months, I decided that I could paint just a shade darker than I was originally planning and we settled on this couch (without the pillows):
Being the outlet, you buy your furniture "as-is" - most everything was a floor model at some point and just sat in the showroom too long and eventually ended up in the outlet. There were several of the same couch in the showroom, so for us it was just a matter of finding the one with the least amount of scratches and marks on it. We decided that having perfect cushions was most important to us, and choose one that just has some dings on the back, which nobody will see anyways since it's going up against a wall. It was listed for $337, while some of the others were $297... so I mentioned that I thought the one we were buying wasn't really in any better shape than the cheaper ones... and just like that, the salesperson told us we could have it for $297! I was excited - I absolutely LOVE a good deal. :)
We also went back to Value City Furniture and got the ottoman my mom and Manda helped me pick out last week:
I'm hoping it matches as well as I think it will, but we can return it if not.
Since I am quite obviously not the strongest person in the world, when we got home with the couch I wasn't exactly sure how Dan and I were going to manage to get it inside. Not to mention the fact that it barely fit through the door in the first place, which only made it more difficult to move! After a good 10 minutes of struggling, a car pulled up in front of the house and a guy about our age got out and said "Hey I live down the block and was driving past... saw you guys were having some trouble, can I help?" Are you serious?! I didn't know people that great actually existed! We thanked him and he took over for me, and in a few minutes he and Dan had gotten the couch through the door and on to the front porch where it will stay until I have the living room painted this week. It's a huge relief to me that so far everyone we have met in the neighborhood is really nice - and obviously helpful!
Dan and I also finished getting the linoleum tile up in the kitchen, as well as the subfloor, and got a good chunk of the hutch stripped down to the natural wood. Next steps for this week are to get a plumber, start painting, and get a floor refinisher in to help us figure out if the original wood in the kitchen is actually worth working with.
After freaking out a bit about whether or not it would fit in with the color scheme I've been dreaming about for months, I decided that I could paint just a shade darker than I was originally planning and we settled on this couch (without the pillows):
Being the outlet, you buy your furniture "as-is" - most everything was a floor model at some point and just sat in the showroom too long and eventually ended up in the outlet. There were several of the same couch in the showroom, so for us it was just a matter of finding the one with the least amount of scratches and marks on it. We decided that having perfect cushions was most important to us, and choose one that just has some dings on the back, which nobody will see anyways since it's going up against a wall. It was listed for $337, while some of the others were $297... so I mentioned that I thought the one we were buying wasn't really in any better shape than the cheaper ones... and just like that, the salesperson told us we could have it for $297! I was excited - I absolutely LOVE a good deal. :)
We also went back to Value City Furniture and got the ottoman my mom and Manda helped me pick out last week:
I'm hoping it matches as well as I think it will, but we can return it if not.
Since I am quite obviously not the strongest person in the world, when we got home with the couch I wasn't exactly sure how Dan and I were going to manage to get it inside. Not to mention the fact that it barely fit through the door in the first place, which only made it more difficult to move! After a good 10 minutes of struggling, a car pulled up in front of the house and a guy about our age got out and said "Hey I live down the block and was driving past... saw you guys were having some trouble, can I help?" Are you serious?! I didn't know people that great actually existed! We thanked him and he took over for me, and in a few minutes he and Dan had gotten the couch through the door and on to the front porch where it will stay until I have the living room painted this week. It's a huge relief to me that so far everyone we have met in the neighborhood is really nice - and obviously helpful!
Dan and I also finished getting the linoleum tile up in the kitchen, as well as the subfloor, and got a good chunk of the hutch stripped down to the natural wood. Next steps for this week are to get a plumber, start painting, and get a floor refinisher in to help us figure out if the original wood in the kitchen is actually worth working with.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Layers and layers and layers of floor...
We've officially had the house for just over a week, and we clearly have our work cut out for us. I have to admit, there were a more than a couple of times over the last several days where I looked around the house and felt like we weren't making any progress - we were only making more messes. But, I've quickly learned that's the way it goes, and with all of our hard work, it will start to payoff and we'll start making progress...
...Like today! Jeff came over to help us out, and he and Dan took on the task of tearing up the kitchen floor - which consisted of a layer of tile, cement backing, another underneath layer, not one but TWO layers of linoleum tile, and a wooden sub-floor with about a thousand screws in it... all on top of the original hardwood. Apparently, whoever lived in the house before us was even more indecisive than I am and had a tough time deciding on flooring. :)
Here's the before:
The guys got the tile up pretty quickly - and loudly - with hammers and prybars. I helped a bit in between stripping the wood on the fireplace mantle. I'm sure our new neighbors are loving all the noise we've been making...
We made a GIGANTIC mess, which I was surprisingly excited about:
After cleaning up all the tile, we were left with the daunting task of getting up the 2 layers of linoleum. We all stressed out a little over how long it was going to take to get it up, but I found a tip online that suggested using a heat gun to melt the adhesive - and it worked!! I would STRONGLY recommend it to anyone tearing up a floor. Tomorrow, we should be able to finish it up and have the floor ready for someone to refinish!
...Like today! Jeff came over to help us out, and he and Dan took on the task of tearing up the kitchen floor - which consisted of a layer of tile, cement backing, another underneath layer, not one but TWO layers of linoleum tile, and a wooden sub-floor with about a thousand screws in it... all on top of the original hardwood. Apparently, whoever lived in the house before us was even more indecisive than I am and had a tough time deciding on flooring. :)
Here's the before:
The guys got the tile up pretty quickly - and loudly - with hammers and prybars. I helped a bit in between stripping the wood on the fireplace mantle. I'm sure our new neighbors are loving all the noise we've been making...
We made a GIGANTIC mess, which I was surprisingly excited about:
After cleaning up all the tile, we were left with the daunting task of getting up the 2 layers of linoleum. We all stressed out a little over how long it was going to take to get it up, but I found a tip online that suggested using a heat gun to melt the adhesive - and it worked!! I would STRONGLY recommend it to anyone tearing up a floor. Tomorrow, we should be able to finish it up and have the floor ready for someone to refinish!
TIMMMMMMMBER!!!
We have a backyard!!!!
Well, we always had a backyard, you just couldn't see much of it due to 2 large pine trees that shaded nearly the entire yard (and left needles everywhere, helping to prevent any grass from growing)
Before:
Although pretty and outdoorsy, the tress were messy, huge, and a bit unsafe since the branches crossed back and forth through the power lines. Hoping for a patio, firepit, and grass sometime in the near future, we decided to take the trees down. My dad's friend has a landscaping business, so he hired him to take the trees down for us as a housewarming gift. They came by Wednesday and I couldn't believe how quickly the trees came down.
During:
And here's the after!
Manda and I trying to move the firewood, but mostly laughing too hard :)
Well, we always had a backyard, you just couldn't see much of it due to 2 large pine trees that shaded nearly the entire yard (and left needles everywhere, helping to prevent any grass from growing)
Before:
Although pretty and outdoorsy, the tress were messy, huge, and a bit unsafe since the branches crossed back and forth through the power lines. Hoping for a patio, firepit, and grass sometime in the near future, we decided to take the trees down. My dad's friend has a landscaping business, so he hired him to take the trees down for us as a housewarming gift. They came by Wednesday and I couldn't believe how quickly the trees came down.
During:
And here's the after!
Manda and I trying to move the firewood, but mostly laughing too hard :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
The Mercedes of Maytag (well, at least to me)
Tonight, the latest and greatest excitement in my life officially became all mine (well, and Dan's, but he doesn't get nearly as excited about this stuff as I do).
Introducing...
Our new washing machine and dryer!!!!
Thanks to the wonderful world of craigslist, we got these bad boys for a mere $300 TOTAL. They typically retail for about $699 a piece! They're barely a year old and have sat in someone's garage in Naperville for at least part of that time. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to explain my excitement over having my very own washer and dryer. I think I might have even almost squealed when Dan and Jeff moved them down to the basement.
My favorite part about the machines is this cool little Maytag emblem on the front panels that looks like a knock off of a hood ornament for the front of a car.
I have lots more pictures from the last week that I'll be posting soon, but for now I need to get to bed and rest up for our long day of work tomorrow.
Introducing...
Our new washing machine and dryer!!!!
Thanks to the wonderful world of craigslist, we got these bad boys for a mere $300 TOTAL. They typically retail for about $699 a piece! They're barely a year old and have sat in someone's garage in Naperville for at least part of that time. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to explain my excitement over having my very own washer and dryer. I think I might have even almost squealed when Dan and Jeff moved them down to the basement.
My favorite part about the machines is this cool little Maytag emblem on the front panels that looks like a knock off of a hood ornament for the front of a car.
I have lots more pictures from the last week that I'll be posting soon, but for now I need to get to bed and rest up for our long day of work tomorrow.
spam?
Much to my frustration, this blog was somehow tagged as possible spam and had to be reviewed by the Blogger staff before I could post any new entries. So much for posting some updates when I was home sick from work the other day! Either way, everything is fixed and I have LOTS of pictures to put up from our first week working on the house. We also have high hopes for the amount of work we'll be doing this weekend, so I'll have more pictures early next week as well!
If anyone wants to stop by this weekend and see the house or just say hi, we'll be there all day tomorrow (Saturday), and back again on Sunday afternoon!
If anyone wants to stop by this weekend and see the house or just say hi, we'll be there all day tomorrow (Saturday), and back again on Sunday afternoon!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Hi All!
I've jumped on the blogging bandwagon and started a blog for everyone to follow our journey in homeownership! So far, I've only posted the initial pictures we took during one of the many days we spent at the house before we even owned it... but I'll be trying to journal our progress as we go along, as well as continuing to post more pictures. I hope everyone enjoys looking at the pictures and seeing the work we'll be doing over the course of the next few months.
We have a renter for Dan's condo that we've told can move in November 1 - so that gives us a little over 3 weeks to get everything in order and make our little house our actual home! Please feel free to stop by and say hello on weekends and evenings where we'll be spending our free time cleaning and polishing the place up :).
A huge thanks to the Lawler's and Manda for all of their help cleaning yesterday! The house is already looking better with a good sweeping, a few less bushes, and clean windows.
I've jumped on the blogging bandwagon and started a blog for everyone to follow our journey in homeownership! So far, I've only posted the initial pictures we took during one of the many days we spent at the house before we even owned it... but I'll be trying to journal our progress as we go along, as well as continuing to post more pictures. I hope everyone enjoys looking at the pictures and seeing the work we'll be doing over the course of the next few months.
We have a renter for Dan's condo that we've told can move in November 1 - so that gives us a little over 3 weeks to get everything in order and make our little house our actual home! Please feel free to stop by and say hello on weekends and evenings where we'll be spending our free time cleaning and polishing the place up :).
A huge thanks to the Lawler's and Manda for all of their help cleaning yesterday! The house is already looking better with a good sweeping, a few less bushes, and clean windows.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
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