What we learned this weekend...

Thanksgiving Edition!!

1. Whoever sets the thawing "recommendations" for turkeys was a total liar or had a really sucky refrigerator. Three days in my awesome fridge and that turkey was still rock solid!

2. It's either a Thanksgiving tradition (or maybe it's just hereditary) that I must forget one thing on for Thanksgiving dinner. Last year it was rolls, year before I think it was sweet potatoes, this year it was green beans!! The crazy thing is I always actually HAVE the stuff, just forget to make it... (My mom forgot the canned cranberry sauce, I think it was on purpose though - she hates that stuff.)

3. When two relatively thin people meet an 11 pound turkey in a dark alley...the 11 pound turkey will win every time. (And leave you with TONS of leftovers!)

4. Raking sucks.

5. The doctor was totally right about leaves building up and molding - it's disgusting. I repeat...raking sucks.

Next year my friend - you will be ours...

6. Football season is negatively affecting our home renovation progress. People keep asking us how we're doing and...we're still working on that stinkin' trim...

7. Flat paint does not cover NEARLY as well as satin paint (3 coats later...)

8. Bright blue is a lot less overpowering in the little dot on top of the can than it is on an entire piece of furniture!

Black Friday Madness!

So you all know by now that I love a good deal. So where else would I be on Black Friday than right in the mix throwing elbows and trying to distract the crowds by yelling something about the new shipment of flat panels on aisle three... ;)

Last year Micheal and I hit up Staples to get the few electronics we needed - this year we decided to brave the Arundel Outlet Mall. Turns out they open their doors at midnight on BF and all of their stores are open! Madness! We got there at 1am and the parking lot was already 99.99% full.



First we hit up The Children's Place to get some duds for my little crew.


We stood in line for over an HOUR!! It was insanity, they were actually taking credit card applications! - Seriously...it's BF, check and go people!

Then we hit up Burlington Coat Factory and Books-A-Million and got some good deals there as well.

(Us having a good time in BCF - sorry it's blurry)

The...(dun dun dun..) We went to Wal-Mart. Oh yes - be afraid, be VERY afraid!

This was what we entered the parking lot to:

What a sight! The police were just there to help with security and monitor the crowds (13 police cars!!) and the firetruck and ambulance were coming for someone who slipped and fell.

They had opened the door busters early and the lines were already halfway through the store (because they hadn't opened the registers yet) so I decided that the Rubbermaid pack I wanted just wasn't worth it. All in all we had fun, it was definitely different to do a mall vs doing a major retailer. We'll be there next year again, who wants to go with?!

What was your best score for Black Friday weekend?

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving from F2F!! This was Micheal and I's first Thanksgiving as a married couple in our first home so to us it was very special. It was my goal to make an amazing Thanksgiving meal - including cooking my first whole turkey!

I'm so proud of myself...I cooked it, it didn't burn and the inside wasn't raw!!


Sweet potatoes cookin' in the oven


Deeeeelicious apple, cranberry, & sausage stuffing (Micheal even liked it and he hates sausage!


Me carving the turkey! (In short hair!)


The table all set...


We have so many things to be thankful for this year. We had a wonderful wedding where we got to celebrate our love with so many friends and family. We are grateful for the opportunity and ability to buy a great house. We are so grateful for our amazing family and friends.

And of course - we're grateful for our kitties...

Can you find all three?

What we learned this weekend...

1. When applying trim caulk paint it as SOON as it's ready - don't wait a week (particularly if you have animals) because it remains kinda tacky and hair gets stuck in it. GROSS!

2. When you don't do much work on your house, there isn't much to learn...

3. We did not learn much this weekend...

4. Even though 21 percent of mothers of children with diabetes report mild to severe depressive symptoms it does not affect the majority of diabetes outcomes. In real life that's good, for my dissertation that kinda sucks.

5. The official leaf pickup day for our neighborhood is today so everyone raked their leaves into huge piles by the street. We chose not to rake yesterday...I'm going to go with health concerns - people were out there kicking up mold! We couldn't go outside...

6. The first layer of compound to repair holes in sheetrock will never be perfect. Its doubtful the second layer will be right either, but hopefully the third glazing will be smooth. (The small hole in the bedroom from the old panic switch setup is ready to paint and I finally filled the gaps in the giant patch on the 2nd bathroom, hope to sand it down and glaze it this weekend. I'll have Kari post pics because it will be an engineering feat to get it symmetric and smooth)

You like me...you really like me!

Leslie @ The DIY Diaries recognized my blog with this:



To accept this award, I have to answer a few questions. Here it goes!

1. Where is your cell phone: That is an amazing question and one that I ask on a daily basis. I'm too lazy to look so I'm going to say in my purse.

2. Your hair: Is fab!! The shortest I've ever had it, this would have been an excellent place to post a pic...but I haven't gotten one I like yet so I'm going to keep you in suspense!

3. Your mother: Is my hero - she is strong, supportive, rational, loving, confident, kind and my life would not be as rich if we weren't as close as we are.

4. Your father: Is the most loving, good-hearted man I know. He has an amazing zest for life and I'm blessed to have gotten much closer with him ironically as I moved farther away.

5. Your favorite food: Mexican, Reese's PB Sticks, Dr Pepper (it should be it's own food group...), broccoli chicken casserole, no bake cookies, I could go on...and on... I love food.

6. Your dream from last night: Anyone who knows me knows I dream really weird, intricate, and sometimes disturbing dreams. Last night my dream was about one of my major fears related to growing old...old lady feet... My feet were way to big for my shoes, were all ugly and sticking out of the sides and the peeptoes...scary.

7. Your favorite drink: Hmmm.....uhh.....this is a toughie...

....

....

....

Oh yeah!!




8. Your dream/goal: Wow - this is pretty deep. My goals are to finish my Ph.D., have a happy and wonderful life with my husband, have the ability to work part time when we have children, find time to travel, make our house beautiful and generally enjoy life.

My dream is to do this all from KC.

9. What room are you in: Living room with my Indi

9. What are your hobbies: I don't know that I really have any hobbies anymore... Does blogging count? Refinishing Furniture? Fantasy Football?

10. What is your fear: Currently - not finishing my dissertation.

11. Where do you want to be in 6 years: 6 years, well since I keep telling everyone we're on the "5 year plan" in six years we might be welcoming a new addition to our family and making major decisions about what we're doing with our lives.

12. Where were you last night: At home! How else can you renovate on the weekends?

13. Something you are not: Able to embrace delayed gratification on home projects. I start out excited but then I get bored and want them to be DONE!

14. Muffins: Blueberry, all the way.

15. Wish list items: A nice ceiling fan for our bedroom, a nightstand to go with my dresser, flooring for the basement, vanities for our bathroom... Kitchenaid mixer!!!

16. Where did you grow up: Topeka, KS

17. Last thing you did: Made a great dinner! Tried three new recipes, all very tasty!

18. What are you wearing: Orange sweatpants and a KC Chiefs t-shirt - go Chiefs!!

20. Your pets:
Indi - The Cuddler
Kali - The Princess
Moshe - The PITA (Pain in the...)

21. Your friends: Keep me going - I'm blessed to have friends across the country, from VA to FL to KS to TN to CA, that are there to celebrate, to comfort, to bolster, to bitch, and to talk whenever I need it.

22. Your life: Exhausting and wonderful

23. Your mood: Relaxed anxiety?

24. Missing someone: Being so far away I'm always missing someone - right now I wish I could spend some time with Bobbie and Sara. I'm sending my love to both of you!

25. Vehicle: 2002 Honda Accord - Everyone knows someone who loves a Honda

26. Something you’re not wearing: Shoes I guess...wearing everything else!

27. Your favorite store: Super Target

28. Your favorite color: It changes every few years - right now I'm totally into orange

29. When’s the last time you laughed: Today when Micheal attacked me to try and ward off my hiccups

30. When’s the last time you cried: Last Wednesday - it was a tough tough day

31. Your best friend: I'm blessed to have many!

32. One place you go over and over: See question #27

33. One person who emails me regularly: Sara, my mom and Bobbie

34. Favorite place to eat: Taco Casa!!

Thanks Leslie!! Now it's my turn and I'm going to nominate:

Ashley @ Decorating Obsessed
She's been doing some amazing work lately - check out her stair makeover!
Rose @ Pugs Not Drugs
Now it's truly "Pugs" Not Drugs with the most recent addition to their family! Welcome Betz!

Mail Call!

I think the comments say it all regarding this "beauty" I got off of Craigslist for free a few weeks ago...

"Second... sorry to be so dense... but what is that thing?" - Leslie

"You should have seen me, I'm looking and looking scrunched up against the computer screen! I couldn't figure out what I was looking at!" - My mom :)

Before



After



Before


After



Even our mailman noticed yesterday!! He told Micheal he though it looked good. :)

Steps to refinishing my mailbox:

1. Don't tell your husband you're picking up a rusted, ugly, trash free mailbox off Craigslist, he might think you're crazy.

2. After picking up my treasure I took it home and thoroughly cleaned it using soap and water. I then scrubbed it with a wire brush to clean off the oxidation and large damaged pieces.

3. I then sanded the black part of the mailbox (the top is bronze/copper and didn't sand well) using 100 grit sandpaper to smooth out as much of the rust damage as I could.

4. Then I wiped off any excess dust/dirt/grime using a white paper towel until it was clean of all debris.

5. I wanted to have the two accenting colors rather than all one color so I chose my two colors. First I used newspaper and painters tape to cover the base of the mailbox and painted the lid cream. Let this dry for at least an hour (I didn't do this...had to do some touch up. It's so hard to wait!)

6. Cover the lid with newspaper and painters tape WELL! Spray paint is notorious for overspray so if you don't fully seal off what you want to keep clean overspray will sneak in there. I then sprayed the bottom with the brown color. We're using Rustoleum Spray Paint purchased at Home Depot for about $3.75 - not bad!

7. We then let it dry and prepped the front door for the new beauty. We removed the old intercom plate and spray painted it to match the new mailbox. (Hopefully we can get a mason out soon to properly fix the gaps in the mortar, we used a caulking compound labeled for repairing mortar but Micheal isn't happy with the gray around the intercom)

8. Finally, to attach our mailbox to the brick wall we used a masonry bit to drill the holes and anchor screws to securely attach the box. Voila! Brand "new" mailbox for the price of little bit of spray paint!

All it takes is a little vision, patience and elbow grease!

What we learned this week(end)

Better late than never right?? I was on a mini-vaca in Richmond this weekend so Micheal and I were separate and there was no major work done on the house. I did do some work at Laura's though, so some of these are inspired from those adventures.

1. Never caulk when angry - it never turns out good and it might look like someone pooed all over your window...

2. Brown caulk + white window = (see lesson 1)

3. It turns out that not only are the endless leaves annoying (albeit decorative) they are bad for my health as well. The doc says that stagnant leaves during the rainy fall breed mold during the rain/dry/rain/dry cycle. Yuck.

4. Grocery shopping in 3 inch heels after working a 11 hour day SUCKS. I totally need to pack alternative shopping shoes.

5. Respect the power of spray foam! When they say it expands it REALLY expands...

This picture doesn't even do it justice - this had been just sprayed at the back of the hole and kept growing...and growing...

6. My hair was ALMOST long enough to donate at 8.5 inches being cut off...but not quite. :( (Oh yeah...I cut off all my hair!)

Gave up

So as you probably noticed I gave up on the NaBlaPoMo - why? Because it was stressing me out and I have plenty in my life to be stressed out about and blogging definitely should not be one of them. :)

But I haven't fallen off the face of the earth and if it would STOP RAINING I could take some nice pictures of all the things we have gotten done!

This weekend I took over my friend Laura's apartment and put some of my DIY skills to the test without Micheal. She lives in a renovated school house converted to lofts:

Her apartment is fabulous with exposed brick, modern decor and huge windows.

Unfortunately those windows are old, cold, and leaky single-paned windows that cause her living room to be a rather frigid place to hang out and her energy bills to be ridiculous. So what did we do? We sealed those bad boys with window caulk. It was definitely a process of caulking - feeling for drafts - caulking - feeling for drafts...rinse, repeat etc.

We are about finished and I think we did a pretty good job of cutting down on the cold air flow. There is still one draft that eludes me that I vow to get before I leave. :) We're also going to add curtains to help insulate against single-pane coldness.

Laura, thanks for the place to stay while I was in town! Hope your energy bills treat you better this year!

What we learned this weekend

1. Beware of the single ají pepper in a ceviche, it's HOT HOT HOT!

2. The shop-vac is an effective hornet fighting device:


3. After only 4 months of marriage all sense of humility and embarrassment has disappeared.

4. How to tell the difference between flying ants and termites (I've never been so happy to see flying ants in my life!)

5. Moshe understands the concept of positive reinforcement - he thinks if he is a super sweet kitty and lets us pet him upstairs we are less likely to go downstairs and start up the power tools!

6. Evidently yellow mums and purple mums can mate and make white mums!

Purple on the right, yellow on the left and then a random new white one on the far left!

Behind door number 1...

Whenever you purchase a house you always have to be worried about what's behind the facade. Especially one that sat empty for at least 6 months. We always open vents, access panels, closets, etc. very very carefully.

Today we got one of those nasty little surprises when preparing to hang the new mailbox. (EEE!! It looks great! Pics soon!)

The old mailbox was covering the outdoor speakerbox for our amazing (non-functional) whole house intercom system. If you look right below the mailbox you can see the bronze peeking out. I didn't take a picture of it because...well I didn't think it would be important!



Micheal unscrewed it so we could spray paint it to match the new mailbox and this is what we found...



It gives me the heebie jeebies just looking at it! We pulled at LEAST 5 hornet/wasp nests out and several spider egg sacs out of that hole - that conveniently led directly into the house. Awesome.



Gross, seriously gross.

Success!!

I'm so excited! We actually finished some things today!

My dresser is DONE! Put the last coat of stain on it around 3pm so it will be up in our bedroom assembled and in use tomorrow. I think it's beautiful and I'll post before and after pics as soon as I get it upstairs and photographed.

I also finished our new mailbox! We'll hopefully take a moment to mount that tomorrow as well.

The trim is caulked, the windows are caulked - both ready to be painted and Micheal has fixed his dresser and now it's ready to be painted. Progress is awesome!!

Since I don't have any house progress pics to share yet, I'll share some pictures of our life up to this point!

Visiting Loose Park 2008 - Where we got married

Belle Aisle Rocks - Spring Break 2007

Black Friday 2008!! Getting ready at 4am - we were serious.

Collecting Bricks

Some of you might know that Micheal and I have been collecting bricks for free off craigslist when we get the opportunity. Our original goal was to build 1 or 2 retaining walls in the front year to terrace the huge hill (less mowing!)

We also would really like to build an out door fire pit/grill on our patio into the hillside. We're up to about 700 bricks now so we should have plenty to do both projects!

I'm thinking something like this:



I would love to have this for hosting a backyard barbeque or just toasting some marshmallows on a cool fall evening!

The crazy things you find...

I almost gave up on the month of daily blog posts today, only 5 days in - why? Because it was a long and exhausting day and I couldn't think of anything good to post about.

Then I thought it might be interesting to share some of the interesting eccentricities that our lovely house boasts:

The Crazy Alarm System
When you first walk up to our house you're greeted by this red cherry light.


As an intruder, if that doesn't scare you off maybe this very odd looking lock (that we believe to be a magnet lock) will keep you out of our house.


However, if those two deterrents don't keep you away I will just hit the "prowler" button on my fabulous alarm system...


If THAT awesome system wasn't interesting enough for you - you should check out our state of the art kitchen exhaust system!

Oh yes, that IS daylight you see in this hole in the wall with a fan in it.

The final piece of crazy foreclosure excitement I'll share with you, the scary downstairs...green...bathroom:

This is in the basement, it's scary, and no one uses it.

Bathroom "Refresh"

When your entire house needs to be renovated/updated there will likely be times that you are going to need to bite the bullet and make something "presentable" as opposed to making it "fabulous." This was the case with our guest bathroom last month when Jason and Jolene came to visit. While we were okay with using a bathroom that had a hole in the ceiling, ugly unfinished walls, musty smelling, and with a less-than-fabulous color scheme we didn't want to expose our guests to it.

So we decided to do a quick refresh to make the bathroom at least usable, and if we got anywhere near nice looking that bully for us. :)

After a good scrub, our first areas to attack were the walls. In the future these walls will either need to be repaired, replaced, or covered with some sort of wall treatment. They have been damaged by wallpaper, moisture, bad patch jobs, and years and years of bad paint.



So instead of wasting paint on bad walls we decided to do an initial layer of white primer just to make everything look uniform. This did wonders for the overall look. We also removed the black tile that went around the base of the walls.



We bought new towels, a cute candle holder, bath mat, and used a small shelf I had to add some color and charm. I also strategically used our shower curtain to hide the pink and green tiles so the only tiles I had to match were the blue/gray floor tiles.



Overall I think it was a HUGE improvement and we love these towels so when we renovate the bathroom we will incorporate these colors (blue, green, and brown.)

Here are some inspiration images of what I would like for our bathroom:

Vessel/Basin Sink


Vanity


We are pretty limited because it is a very small bathroom, the sink cannot be deeper than 18" which does not give us much room to work with AT ALL! But we're up to the challenge!

Landfill Rescue

I got this "gem" off craigslist last week for free.




Come on now, can't you see the potential?? I can, so that's why I went and picked it in spite of the lister's ringing endorsement "not sure why anyone would want this but I thought I'd put it on here before it went to the landfill." I challenge you to your own "landfill rescue," look at some of your old "junk" and repurpose it for the same or a different use.

I'm actually almost done reworking this beauty and will post it pics once it's hung in it's new place of honor by our front door!