My air is being centered.

Big things are happening guys. Namely, we've spent the last couple weeks getting quotes and debating on getting central air. Can you believe we have lived in this house almost 4 years with nothing more than ONE window ac unit and ONE floor furnace? Yeah, us either. So yesterday we hired a company through home depot, and they got started installing central air.

See, like many in this market, we lost value. We've always been undervalued because we didn't have central air, but not enough to devalue us the cost to actually install it. It may sound silly, but we only need it about 4 to 5 months out of the year. It's only 800 sf, so it stays a pretty stable temperature most of the year. Except winter, when it's 16 degrees out at night, and amerigas decides to be cute and NOT SHOW UP, leaving us without propane, thus no heat, or hot water. Yes, it is 2011, and there have been days we didn't have heat. It took days of Hussy calling them to get them to come, and when they finally did, they left cute notes on our empty tank to "next time, please call when it's at 20%." except we did, but it was actually at 60% when we called for them to come. Real cute.

So we had enough embarrassment, namely from rumor of us not having heat getting all the way up to my CEO, who offered the company sofas instead of sleeping in our cold house. It was time to suck it up and install central air. Conveniently, at the very moment we made that call, the value of our house went from $160,000 to $100,000. I get it, it's a sucky market. That's fine, but to be honest, I can't understand why the values fell from foreclosures in our neighborhood! We had several that foreclosed at 80000. If you can't afford $500 in a city where rent isn't even that cheap, where else is there to go? I felt bad for them, then I felt bad for me. Needless to say, we got lucky. Lucky because it encouraged us to keep the cheap mortgage and not buy a more expensive home in the country, yet. But when we do, rental homes in our neighborhood are going for $1,000 a month. We would make more money off rent than we would selling!

Plus, we have a fully updated inside and out house, with central air. Next to the rental house beside us, we look hot! But the best part about all of this is that having central air vents actually makes it feel more like a home. Is that weird? Maybe because it feels current and not straight out of the 50s. We actually don't want to move now. It was more of a blessing in disguise. So all those honest thoughts I just shared with you seem completely irrelevant. Our value will stabilize eventually, we'll be able to rent if we need to, but were finally content.

And just look at these beautiful vents!




Though, none of this will make us truly happy until amerigas removes the tank off our property. We have never had such poor customer service from ANY company before. Luckily weather crafters has been one of the best experiences we've had so far!

Hidden Treasure.

Last month I uncovered the update I had hidden from cyberspace since AUGUST.

I went from making do, then updating in the heat of the moment to something summery, light and airy that really wasn’t my style, to something that makes me super happy. I even loved the carpet, only because I love carpet. I like being able to walk around and be on something cushy and warm with or without socks. However, it was last updated when I was probably on the cusp of blossoming into a teenager. I’ve wanted to uncover what was underneath for ages, just for the sake of having a consistent flooring throughout our tiny 864sf house.

So I did. Last weekend. And it was glorious because OMG you guys it’s beautiful ORIGINAL 1951 HARDWOOD FLOORS. Which I full intend on having refinished to match the gorgeous laminate shade we put in the kitchen.

Hussy wasn’t too thrilled about me taking it up before we planned on refinishing it, because lets be honest. My intention of having a house with seamless flooring colors to make it more cohesive was only one half step closer to reality. Now instead of 5 different flooring colors and types, it’s just 4. Our bathroom laminate is purposely matched to our bedroom carpet, so once we refinish the hardwoods, it should LOOK like 2 different types.

Of course, my haunted house was upset I was tearing it up, apparently. I cut 2 of my fingers at the exact same square inch of carpet 5 times. 3 of the cuts were just on my fore finger.

But I persevered because the floors were looking oh-so-amazing, until I found this. 

No renovation in this house has been complete without uncovering tape so old and rotten I physically cannot get it up. I’ve been blessed with duct taped plumbing, taped up crumbling drywall, and even legit carpet tile tape. But why this tape was on here, I’ll never know. Maybe I don’t WANT to know. So I tried covering it up for the time being. With a cat.

J/K Y’ALL. But I did find these stupid staples not just on the edges of the room (which is my ultimate faveeeee thing to pull up 300 times!) but also through the center of the room. Ugh. I did find a quick and somewhat painless way of removing them that sped the job up.

And just as I was moving furniture back in place to move the old living room rug in here, my favorite 21 pounder Cooper decided to grab a front row seat. Or he was just waiting for me to feed him with the dinner that’s inside that chest.

Which leads us to what it looks like as of this weekend:

The space is more defined, and cleaning up the cat food that goes everywhere is a breeze. Plus, this room is our main walkway to the hall/bedrooms, so that’s way less filthy. I’ll be glad when winter is over and we can go back to the original sheer curtains I had for the room, and I can find some shelves for the blank wall on the left. But that was definitely 3 hours well spent!

A Magic Carpet Ride.

Our living room has had it’s fair share of different flooring. Lets take a trip down memory lane.

The problem with the latest one is that the cats apparently liked it as much as we did. As in it became TO’ UP FROM THE FLO’ UP. Because… it was the floor.

So we were walking down the aisles of the almighty bulk country that is Costco when my hands felt the most softest rug ever.  I just stood there rubbing it like my Baby Rube. But Hussy said we needed to keep shopping, so it was touch and go. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I kept thinking about how much our kitties would like it as much as I did, so he promised that we would go back and get it with our fun money a few days later when we got paid.

Like a true woman, I didn’t let him forget that statement.

But Friday I got a migraine. Saturday I ended up doing a MAJOR project, then we went to my sister in law’s party. So Sunday he PROMISED we’d finally get that rug. Guess where yours truly is posting from this very moment? Yeah, that $125 piece of heaven.

For the record: I was right about the kitties. Rupert has been munching on this carpet/BFF since we laid it down. When we went grocery shopping, we came back home to see he brought his new friend one of my sweaters to keep it warm. And that purple ball above for it to play with. He’s a silly Rube.

So if you live near a Costco, please do yourself a favor and at least touch it. Also, that major project I mentioned earlier, is like, major. So major you have to wait for it. Just know I spent 3 straight hours killing my back and legs transforming the room that is now holding that TO’ UP jank.

At least I have this big plush rug to comfort my rear parts ;)

We’re Floored!

Upon moving into our house, we immediately wanted to make it a cozy space. One that oozes with Wiltshire style. We wanted fresh paint on every tired wall. We wanted to gut and makeover the bathroom and kitchen to feel minimal, modern, but still functional. In such a small home, this wouldn’t be so easy, but we were determined. We were successful on most of our hopeful endeavors, and many have been pushed back (and pushed back, you know how big renovations go).

The biggest thing we wanted to do, which really wasn’t THAT big at all compared to most of the projects we’ve taken on, was putting carpet in the bedroom and Drew’s Xbox Command Center. See, we’ve both grown up in bedrooms with carpet, so that naturally feels like home. Well, except that one time I was 12 and my cat decided to urinate all over my carpet and we had to tear it up. But other than that, it’s always been carpet. Oh yeah, my first apartment, that was hardwood. But really! Other than that, I wanted some dang carpet in my bedroom! So we decided for Christmas this year (also our 4 year dating anniversary)..:

That’s us on the left the day we started dating, Christmas 2005. Actually, that was about 2 hours BEFORE we started dating. The one on the right is us now. Where was I? Oh yes, Christmas present! Being married, and older, we get what we want all year and we don’t like to pile up junk in our house. So the only logical thing to do is to invest in a project we’ve put off. For 2 years. CARPET!! Can you just feel the excitement spilling out of your computer screen? I love a good before and after, and I hope you do too.. so without further ado:

And yes, I said Drew’s Xbox Command Center. With me taking over the attic for my seasonal craft room (boy is it COLD up there right now!) he got the spare room turned office turned man cave. It’s only fitting he has the darkest walled room in the house, to keep it all cave-like. I chose carpet that would compliment both that wall color and the furnishings and the bedroom’s colors as well. It’s super plush, soft, and makes both rooms really feel like home. This was easily the best present Drew has ever given me. Well, except himself back in 05 ;)

Fall Cure/Craft Room Update.

Although I've been a little behind on the actual Fall Cure steps on Apartment Therapy, I'm still working hard at my attic craft room. When I went to IKEA in Philly, I stocked up on a good amount of organizational supplies. I mixed and matched different styles of the kitchen organization systems, and stood at one of the IKEA kitchen counters for a good 30 minutes mapping out how it would fit in my angled wall space. It was SO worth it. This evening I finally installed the system, and put all my supplies on it:




I also got a bunch of cheap, white containers for my scrapbooking supplies, random crafts, scrap fabric, and magazines. I'm planning to build shelves like that white shelf turned on it's side. This was just to test how it would look. I'm glad it will take up a lot of the dead space and make it more usable:





That big star light is brand new at IKEA. It was in the holiday section, but was a great accessory for my night sky feel. It really gives off a nice, warm glow.





So as a recap, here's the before:



And the not quite after/in-between:



I still have a lot more organizing to do with all the misc wedding and backpack stuff on the right, and I can't wait to paint. I decided on the color "Sullivan" by Ralph Lauren in the Urban Loft series, of course. Stay tuned for more!

Apartment Therapy Fall Cure.

I'm lightly dabbling in the Apartment Therapy Fall Cure (can you tell I'm obsessed with that site?!) and thought I'd post some of my inspiration for the room I hope to "cure" before the 8 weeks are up... my craft room! Sadly, this is what it looks like currently. It was was my uncle's old bedroom, and definitely straight out of the 70's. I thought I'd work with the wood paneling, rather than against it.

Since it's an attic, and covered in wood paneling, I thought I would make it feel like a treehouse. I love outdoors at my dad's at night, peace and quiet in the country. At the moment, the idea is to leave the most sloped part of the ceiling wood paneling to mimic a tree house roof, and paint the sides a deep navy color to mimic the night sky. I initially wanted to go a lighter color, since it's been so gloomy up there. However, I've realized when done correctly, dark rooms feel cozy and have been more inspiring to me than light and bright. I need an inspiring space to craft!

I want to find some star shapes to hang from the ceiling in groups. This picture was the best I could find as an example with my chosen wall color, along with almost the exact shade of the paneling in this wood:

As an accent, I've fallen in love with mustard yellow and chartreuse. I have a white poang chair I worried would stick out too much, but looking at these mixed with the yellows/greens, I think it goes nicely and helps make the deep wall color feel less harsh:

That last picture makes me really excited about the color on the shade of my leg lamp. Yes, A Christmas Story leg lamp :)

Hopefully my vision comes together as I invision it. It's getting really cold upstairs so I won't be able to use the space all that much for the time being, but I'm hoping for some warmer days to work on the room. In the mean time, I can't wait to thrift for some accessories and hopefully husband will help put together some shelves for all my stuff! He's becoming a pro after all the deck work.

In Search of Energy Savings.

We don't like wasting money on anything that we need daily, especially in regards to energy bills. Our house is 864 square feet. Having such a small house means super low energy bills in comparison to normal sized homes. However, we were still throwing money down the drain. Although we installed new windows and doors, it's starting to get a little chilly out, and there were a few known air leaks throughout the house that we just hadn't taken the time to fix. So we decided to get cracking before the real cold air hit.

Our propane floor furnace is date-stamped 1968. I found out this was only the second one ever installed in our home that was built in 1951, and it was only replaced because the original pooped out and blew black soot everywhere! It is awful at sucking up some propane. Our bill is about $150/month for propane, and $35 for electricity. That's mere pennies compared to most people, but we knew we could do better. In the summer our only cool air is our window a/c unit, and we also try to use the heat function on it as much as possible in the winter so we can avoid using the furnace. We can get by until it gets unbearably cold out by using that unit, and the most we spend on electricity is $50. But being a window unit, it meant that the window had to be open at all times. Even insulated, it still leaked in lots of cold air. Pretty counter-productive!

We took a trip to Lowes and decided to purchase this:

Isn't it cuuuute? :D It uses way less BTU's than the a/c unit, and we hoped by removing the window unit it would block out the air and regulate the temperature in the house. Afterall, we didn't just spent a good $3,000 on all new windows and doors a few months ago for nothing! And this little puppy costs about 2 months worth of propane bills, so we hoped to at least break even soon.

At night, we use a heating blanket, which keeps us plenty warm while we sleep. Also, when we had the windows installed, we somehow got a big gap between the trim and the drywall in the bathroom which was letting in tons of cold air. This is the window next to the shower stall, so it was fr-fr-freezing in the morning! So I spent yesterday afternoon caulking around the window and it instantly regulated the temperature in there. We also noticed a gap around the new doors we installed that missed some caulking, so Drew caulked up around that.

This morning Drew checked the temperature, and the house was at 69*. Lately in the mornings it has been about 50*!! So he turned on the fireplace for about 30 minutes and it sent the temperature to 73*. All we did was just a few steps that took less than 2 hours over all on a quiet Sunday afternoon, and they made such a huge difference. Though we would love to install central air, it's not in the pocketbook now. Hopefully these steps will give us some savings that we can save towards updating the furnace in the house. I can't wait to see those energy bills!

It Was All A Dream

Or at least, I hoped it was. To back track a little, a storm came through about a month ago. We already had a few trees taken down, which I blogged about before, and this one stayed because it was alive and healthy. Well, the storm made the ground super soggy, and we realized the roots weren't very long. So...

It ended up uprooting and falling in the neighbors yard, taking out their deck, elecrtricity, internet, cable, propane tank, and our shared fence.

It was a vacant home that was waiting for new renters, so we had to track down the owner. He was on vacation that week, of course. So it took a week to get him, then another week to get coordinated and get our tree guy back out to clean it out. We decided to have one more tree taken down in our yard while he was here, and remove all the stumps from all the trees he took down last time. Well, that tree that we decided (rather impulsively) to take out, fell the wrong way, and this time onto OUR deck:

It hit the roof, and cracked our 60 year old cement deck floor, and cracked the walls holding the cement flooring. We have to get the entire thing ripped out and redone. Surprise, they don't make things like they used to. And that awesome railing :P is no longer made, so we're getting a new wood railing. Writing it out, I'm actually sad to not have that railing. Looking at it in pictures I actually think it's quite endearing. Here's a close up of one of the cracks:

Sadly, it's been a week since we've heard from the tree guy since he said he would send out his contractor friend. We wanted to talk to his friend first to see what he said he would replace, and then we're getting our own quotes to compare. Obviously the deck held up for-ev-er, so I want to make sure it's built just as sturdy. After all, we didn't drop $15k in renovations in this house to slack on ANYTHING. It's an investment in not only us having a happy life here, but also for resale, should we sell it. Hopefully it will all be over with soon so we can plant that dang grass!

Bathroom Remodel

To start off, our old bathroom smelled like mothballs and gold bond. Delicious, right? It needed a major overhaul. So major, we had to take it down to the studs (and even replace those!). It was moldy underneath, and we couldn't salvage the ORIGINAL tiles or walls because of all the glue they used to hold up those nasty vinyl walls. I was heartbroken. Anyhow, it started off looking like this:

Vinyl, waterproof walls, the toilet was being held up by a stick of wood, the tub had permanent foot stick ons, it was rusty around the drain, and the plumbing, I kid you not, was duct tape. It was that bad.

We replaced every single, solitary thing in the bathroom EXCEPT the exhaust fan. It was the only thing worth keeping. It actually looks pretty cool. New toilet, sink, plumbing, tub, tile, fixtures, everything. ALL new, and totally glorious.

I'm so glad that's over with. Next up: dining room HOPEFULLY!