Shower update - Finally!

 I have been waiting seven years for this... our primary shower is a nice little space with a skylight. However in the 80s, tile was way too popular. It may look interesting in a shower, but functionally it is a horrible choice. Do you know how much mold and mildew comes along with a shower filled with 1" tiles? Too much to keep up with. 

With the help of Tim’s firefighter brother-in-law who does tile on the side, we slowly made our way to a better shower. Multiple quarantines and vacations and a firefighting schedule drew it out, but we made it! Very happy with the results Big tiles = less grout : ) 

Small House Updates

 Over the colder months we made a few home updates - replaced some dated and busted up light fixtures and the bigger project was fixing our back deck - as I’d mentioned earlier, it was built poorly and was drooping quite a bit. It was fixed by our contractor and feels much more safe now! 

Next, Tim and I decided to paint it. It’s not worth putting in effort beyond that since we should be replacing the whole thing in the next few years. I chose a really dark grey and we’re very happy with this Band-Aid solution : ) 

Before: fixture has been here since we moved in - dated and falling apart.

After: classic drum pendant with nice warm light!

Before: industrial low hanging pendant that Tim always hit his head on.

After: flush light fixture. Also converting this area to a work station
as Tim’s office will be flexible with more WFH now.

Before: I’m almost embarrassed at how bad the wood looks.

After: **ahhhhh***

Before: Layers of wear.

After

Zero Waste

I used to be so “green” before having two kids. Since Hannah was born, my time and energy have dwindled... I’m trying hard to get back to reducing the amount of trash we create. Seeing the recent photos of dead sealife with bellies full of plastic as well as the mounds of it floating in the ocean and beaches tears me up. 

I was excited to read about Trader Joe’s push to eliminate single-use plastic in their stores:

Trader Joe’s to Eliminate Single-Use Plastic

Did you know only about 9% of plastics can even be recycled? And those that are can only be recycled up to 4-5 times? Blergh. I did hear this fascinating story that scientists at Berkeley Labs have created a new plastic, PDK (polydiketoenamine) that can be recycled infinitely - which is good news for our landfills. 🙌

I also just bought these reusable snack bags – yay! 

And starting in on these wool dryer balls – yay! Friends tell me you can add essential oils for scent. 

Let’s keep reducing our waste people!!

Final Kitchen

I was in Denver for my annual work trip while the final grout went in - but I came home to our beautiful grown up kitchen! 😍

BEFORE

AFTER

Kitchen Facelift

It finally happened! There’s never a “great time,” but after the winter near-move, we turned a left and went with a home equity loan to facelift the kitchen. 

The plan: 
- new cabinets (a pantry that will replace the old double oven)
- new sink/faucet
- new gas range
- backsplash 
- re-located dishwasher

The old kitchen worked, it was just beat up; old double oven, old IKEA cabinets that were starting to fall apart, the sink stained easily and was chipped in several places, and that blessed tile counter that I cannot stand. I also grew up with one and it’s just a pain to wipe down and keep clean. Our gas stovetop was built into the countertop so if one went, so would the other. 

We used our contractor who has done odd jobs for us over the years. Per the reno stereotype, they started a little late - overlapping our staycation (eyeroll). 

The crew started on Monday, July 23rd - a work week so all we had to do was relocate Ailo to my in-law’s home - very gracious of them! 

They got a ton done that week. The local counter place measured on Wednesday night and delivered/installed on Tuesday the 31st. 

However, we weren’t anticipating the toxic fumes from the counter adhesive/epoxy, therefore forced to stay out of the house longer on Tuesday for dinner. Thank God it was a mild summer day (mid 70s) so we could open the windows to air out the house. 

I also wasn’t expecting to stay away on Wednesday, so I was super irritated. I’m not good with on-the-fly plans... my personality does much better with routine! Thank goodness my parents are near-retired and practically live in a cabin, so we retreated back up North for the day and it was great and I could relax a bit. 

Two cabinets did not have an exact paint match (wood grain was showing through) so those replacements should be in the week of Aug 13th, then the microwave can go back in. 

Once all that is re-installed, Tim’s super-handy brother-in-law will help us install the classic white subway backsplash. 

It was such a good feeling to stay HOME on Thursday/Friday and re-load the cabinets and use my stovetop again! I didn’t realize how much I rely on it. 

It’s not a necessity to have a nice, new kitchen, but I’m nearing 39 and I’m in my kitchen a LOT - so, yay for me! 

*Still waiting on last two cabinets/microwave install

That Time We Almost Moved

So from about mid-January to mid-February we nearly moved – within Milford. 

This wasn’t totally out of the blue. Over the past year or so, we jokingly (?) said we should move for a few reasons. 1. The yard is not great. There’s no level point. It’s probably half landscaped. Keeping up with mulch every year isn’t even an option. Trees are great for privacy, but when you have to cut them down or they fall on your house - no bueno. 

2. The house has really been more of a fixer-upper than we anticipated. New dishwasher, new A/C, new water heater, lots of wall painting, and new siding. I miss having 1st floor laundry like our first home. The furnace will need to replaced in the near future. The larger patio slider needs replaced. Some day the decks need refinished.

So for all these reasons - less time and money on the house, more time and money for the family - we seriously considered moving within the district. We’ve got a lot of equity in the house and met with a realtor friend who said we could sell for a really good price. So it felt like if we were going to do it, now was the time. 

So for about four weeks, we started getting the house ready, talking to lenders, and seeing what our options were. We quickly ruled out making a lateral move - there are a lot of homes similar to ours... and with two small children and a large dog, we weren’t willing to risk selling and not finding the perfect fit. 

So then we thought about building - except... there’s no where to build in Milford. The newer neighborhoods are too far North or East. Our commutes are enough as they are now. We found one plot on a nice street, still in our elementary zone, but it was a corner lot with a 50-ft setback and the HOA looked like a pain in the ass. 

The second plot we found was a different elementary zone, less desirable neighborhood. We even went to Schumacher Homes and “built” a home at the top of our budget and we still feel like we settled on some choices - not a “dream” home. 

We drove around Milford an frankly, we didn’t really like anything. We realized how desirable our mature, private neighborhood is and we actually like all our neighbors; a mix of quiet retired people and families with young ones. It’s a pretty drama-free area. 

And deep-down, Tim and I both felt like we would regret leaving our home and our location is prime. 

SO - after tons of swirl, we’re deciding to Love It, not List It. Get a home equity line of credit and make some necessary repairs and updates and continue to build value. I think we’re just at a time where we’re very busy with small children and can’t focus on keeping our property top notch - and we have to be okay with that. 

Plus, getting some fresh paint and updates makes you love your space more : )

The busted-up corner where the 80s built-in lived.

Meh putty color

90s (?) Pear Green

Light grey in progress

Tall ceiling = scaffolding

Calm grey! Except now the trim needs painted white - DOH!

Patched corner! Now my cozy chair looks baaaaaad. Haha!

Much cleaner!

Minor Demo work!

I think I’ve mentioned our home was built in 1979 - it’s as old as me : )

It’s “contemporary” 80s - e.g. a wetbar in the living room and some funky walls and angles. Including this horsey built-in that clearly was made for large, boxy TVs from the 80s. There’s a ridiculous amount of outlets on the inside of this thing - for all the old, dated entertainment equipment. 

We managed to slide our flatscreen in there for the past three-and-a-half years, but with the adoption of a 55" TV from my office - Lordy - there’s been some re-configuring. 

So I was headed up North for a family picnic and gave Tim a pass but only if he agreed to demo that sucker (I have some “honey-dos” before Hannah’s 3rd birthday). Thank goodness a super handy friend was able to help. I left with the girls at 9:30am and returned at 3:40pm - they were done and everything cleaned up!

I’m super happy - the patching and painting (light grey) will clearly come in stages - we just don’t have the time or energy. And guess what? We unearthed a vent the dumb-dumbs covered up! Maybe this room will get a bit warmer in the winter now!

So Much For a Boring 2017

Tuesday evening I was in the middle of making dinner when it hit me: nausea. Whoa. I literally turned off the gas range and nearly walked to the bathroom to get sick. 

It passed. I finished making dinner and managed down two sweet potato corn cakes. 

I had to put Nora to bed and I started getting bone-cold. I was throwing layers on and she wasn’t going down easy. Tim already had Hannah down and I mustered the strength to half-assed pack lunches and try and prep the crock pot for the next day. 

The aches were creeping in. 

This whole time there’s a wind storm happening outside.

I went to bed at 8:15 freezing under a tank, shirt, sweatshirt and two blankets. Aches and nausea. I tossed and turned and could not fall asleep. 

Around 9:30 the wind picked up fiercely. To the point there was a brief moment I thought there was a tornado - and then: CRACK! SLAM! 

Holy Sh*t. 

I jumped out of bed and met Tim outside Nora’s bedroom - she was asleep and wall intact. I was pretty out of it but knew at least some large branches fell. Tim went outside with a flashlight - indeed, a tree fell against the house. Wow. 

I laid in bed until at least 12:30 when I could literally feel my temperature rise back up and enough to fall asleep with some sweat. 

I could not make it to work the next morning - still lethargic and slight nausea. Girls went to the sitter and I climbed into bed. 

Then at 10:15am Ailo went crazy barking because a tree guy arrived to assess the damage. I also saw my phone that my sitter had been texting that she was ill. I politely stood listening to the tree guy and told him I had to run and get the girls while he got paperwork ready. 

Mustered myself together, got girls from my even sicker sitter, came back and signed paperwork. Then my neighbor started hollering at me. Whom I had yet to meet - whoops. Very sweet retired couple whose red pickup was destroyed by a tree felled completely on the cab of the truck! Wow. 

By the time lunch rolled around I was feeling better. At 2pm a contractor showed up to assess structural damage - thankfully Hannah was still napping. 

The day ended typical which was good. 

As awful as the situation was for a brief moment, I’m extremely thankful that 1. No one was harmed (Nora’s bedroom is just above all of this) and 2. The tree didn’t come through the house. It was inches from shattering that patio door and we escaped with a dent in the frame. 

Thank God for home insurance. 

Also - trees on your property are great and painful at the same time. 

That damn gnome from college is STILL THERE.