The Worst Is Over

Maybe???

All the flooring is down in both the living and dining rooms, and the furniture is thankfully back in place.  I was nervous about hooking up the TV/satellite box, but it went back together much easier than I thought.  (On a side note, Joey is also happy to have Robin Meade joining him for coffee in the morning). 

We are ridiculously happy with the laminate.  When it comes to bang-for-the-buck, this is probably the biggest change we've made so far in our reno adventure.  I tallied up our receipts and as far as the flooring and assorted supplies go, we're in for about $850 for three rooms of flooring, a hallway, and a tiled entryway.  Door casings and baseboard will run another $125 or so.  

Standing in the dining room, looking in to the living room on a VERY bright afternoon.  Sorry about the glare!

I included the budget to show that you can make a huge difference without spending a fortune.  Granted, $850 isn't pocket change, but when you think that we've improved approximately 615 square feet of flooring, it's pretty reasonable ($1.37 per square foot).   While we're talking money, take into account one important thing:  food.  I would conservatively say we spent $75 +/-  on take-out over the course of last weekend.  I'll be honest - when the house is an absolute wreck and there are tools and building materials scattered from one end to the other, the last thing I want to think about is cooking.  Food for thought, no pun intended!

Tile entryway and laminate floor.  We still need to add the transition piece between the two, which will probably happen in the next few days.

Of course, there are a few things in these rooms to do.  We removed the old door casings and baseboards - yay! Instead of using traditional molding, we're going with 1" x 6" boards for the base and 1" x 4" for the door casings.  We borrowed the idea from Joey's office, which has a Craftsman feel that we really like.

The living room will get a fresh coat of paint, and in a month or so we're framing and sheet-rocking the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room.  Originally, it was open to the living room, but the previous owners covered the pass-through with a lovely chunk of wood.  We used curtain panels to camouflage their handiwork, but it's time for them to go.

We're going to re-interpret The Wonder Wall from The Lettered Cottage.   Joey liked the idea of adding some built-in display shelves for a few of our "treasures." Also on the list is new blinds for the dining room, taking down curtain rods, and giving an old trunk/hope chest a face lift, inspired by Shangri~La  Lane.  Can't wait to get started on that one!

In the meantime, we're sweeping up dust and measuring for baseboards.  See you later, gator!

Curse You, Picmonkey

As pretty much everyone knows, Picnik is shutting down next week.  There's a new kid chimp on the block called Picmonkey.

I was all set to upload some photos last night.

Laptop fully charged?  Check.

Camera & cord ready?  Check.

Comfy chair?  Check.

But no.  It wouldn't be that easy.  

 I don't think he likes me.  (Maybe it's because I don't like bananas?)

I tried.  And tried.  And tried some more.  But it would NOT upload a single photo.  Not one lame shot of my beautiful new floor.

I closed out Google Chrome and used Internet Explorer.  Still not happening.

I (gasp!) tried Firefox.  Nope.

I gently put the laptop down and walked away for a few minutes, mumbling evil words under my breath.

 I was too frustrated to crawl back to Picnik last night.  Tonight I will try to find an alternative site.

Any suggestions?

 

Sunday Musings

I'm not a morning person, by nature, but I find it almost impossible to sleep late on the weekend.  There's something extremely peaceful about being the only one awake in the house.  The pets are content to nap after breakfast, the dogs on the couch and the cat on the banquette.

The house is quiet, save for the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the kitchen clock.  The sun is beginning to peek over the horizon, and I raise the blinds to welcome it.  I look around the kitchen and take stock.  This is my play-time.

Time to make a fresh batch of garlic-infused olive oil.  Time to refill the pepper grinder, and polish the copper tray that corrals my oil and vinegar stash.  Time to toss a few ingredients in the bread machine and make a loaf of French bread.

All of these things seem like chores, and perhaps they are, but when done on a quiet Sunday morning with the sun streaming through the windows, they become less mundane.  A sunbeam catches the copper tray and passes through the green glass of the olive oil bottle.  The fragrance of garlic steeping in warm oil fills the kitchen, and the bread machine comes to life.

The natives are getting restless.  Time to make the coffee and put the bread in the oven.

Have a wonderful and Happy Easter.

My Favorite Word

Demo.

As in, demolition.

Remember when you were younger and you'd get in trouble for taking stuff apart?  Or was that just me? When I was a kid I demolished took apart a small bookcase (among other things), just to see if I could do it.  It went back together just fine, but Mom & Dad starting hiding the tools after that.

Look what happens when you let little kids play with tools.

They grow into adults that tear the carpet up and make a huge mess in the process.

I cannot begin to describe how nasty this carpet was - and to think we've lived with it for nearly five years.  Let me just tell you, as much as I love our pets, animals and carpet just don't mix.  The carpet pad and the sub-floor were, in a word, gross.

Dirty.  Dusty.  Smellllly.  And it's not like I don't vacuum!  We're already breathing easier, and we've only taken up about 1/3 of the carpet.

After replacing some pet-damaged subfloor, we installed some Hardie Backer Board and tiled a 5x8 area in front of the door.  We called it a day and allowed the adhesive set up overnight, and the next day I applied the grout.

We let the grout cure for 24 hours and applied a grout sealer, which dried pretty quick.  Then it was time to move the china cabinet back into place.  Thank goodness - it was taking up some major real estate in the middle of the living room, and the dining room table was covered with dishes.

We've made a lot of progress in the dining room, enough to move the table and sideboard back into place.  Tomorrow we'll head into the living room:  there's furniture to move, baseboards and door molding to take off, and avocado green vinyl to cover up.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find some bell-bottoms and platform shoes to match that 1970s vinyl.  Think Greg Brady is available for a date?

Fete le Printemps

It's 5:30 am, and who's wide awake?

We're a little giddy this morning (and when I say we, I mean ME. It's too early for Joey to be giddy.  In fact, he's still asleep!).

The inaugural edition of Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine comes out today, and guess who's in it?

Me!  Alas, I'm not the cutie on the cover (ha ha!).  Nonetheless, I am truly honored to have been a part of this beautiful magazine.  If you haven't already subscribed, you're missing out on something incredible.

Congratulations to Angela, the Parisienne Farmgirl, on your success!