Now this...this is complaining...and a long one...

Steve and I both have had a pretty rough work week. Sometimes planning to go on a vacation feels like more work than it is worth. That is not to say that vacations aren't necessary.

It just seems like this week has been full of things that take longer than you thought and no real time for planning - throw in less sleep than normal and you have 2 cranky, frantic people.

Will shift a little blame to the dog who this week decided might not need the huge comforter in his cage to keep him warm in our un-air conditioned house. He is really found of all blankets and will bury his head under the throw on the couch just to cover his eyes from the light. It clearly made sense to us that he must be getting warm under the comforter. In hindsight he may not really mind the heat. Our little black pup will find the one inch of sunlight on the porch and bake himself until he is panting and we take him inside. He's not like some other dogs we know in Champaign who have taken to bask in the shade. In any event, pretty much every night this week he has woken us up during the middle of the night barking and refusing to go back into his bed. At least once in our drunken sleepiness we have ended up letting him sleep in our bed just to make the barking stop. So apparently we need to give him back his blanket so he will sleep through the night.

I know this is nothing compared to the sleepless nights that parents had but it just added to a crazy week. Today, we got a call from the contractor (who has yet to do more than draw circles on my walls were light switched and outlets will go) - to say that the city is making us upgrade the waterline....a $12-$15k expense we weren't really planning on...

Did I mention we are leaving on vacation in a few days? woo hoo...we should make sure to pack those bags and bags of money we have laying around....

So it's time to re-look at our plans...because the budget is the budget. The good news is that the electrical work will get started next week when we are gone - which will be nice. We have to narrow down where we can cut corners, delay things or what we can do on our own.

Gosh...was my last post some kind of foreshadowing???

Not complaining....just documenting

I am used to operating under such things as a "schedule" or what one might call a "plan". I have even caused Steve to arrive 45 minutes early for his own birthday party in order to satisfy my need to be "on time". Furthermore, I am used to getting what I want, when I want it.

Needless to say this attitude and need for timeliness of actions does not bode well for someone entering into a large house project, which requires the help of people who are not maritally bound to meet my demands of getting things done when I expect them to be done.

We are leaving shortly to go on a cruise with some friends, so the plan was to have things underway so that work on the house could get done in our absence. This was in compliance with "my plan".

I bought things and ordered things to comply with said plan.

Friday we were scheduled to "start" with the electrical box upgrade to 200 amps. This has now gotten pushed back until late Monday. This means that actual work can't start until Tuesday. No problem....just getting to be 2 weeks later than we originally thought. So I can see how this quickly turns into a slippery slope with these kinds of projects.

Yesterday we got a call that the bathroom tile was in. Yeah! We decided to go get it on Sunday since Saturday was jam packed with activities. Steve and I headed in the direction of the tile store in separate cars since there was a chance that 130 sq ft of tile would be too much for one car. On the way, we stopped at Kohls to exchange swim trunks I had bought Steve for our trip. He picked out new ones and I got in the returns/exchange line for a bit. I sent Steve on to the tile store so that he could get his half.

After 25 mins in line, I was pleasantly suprised to learn that Steve was able to get all the tile in his car. So I headed over to my parents to pick up a suitcase to borrow. We chatted for a bit. My dad went in to the ER last night for kidney stones- so there was a bit to talk about. So far no sightings of the "golden nuggets" (as my mom is calling them).

By the time I got home, Steve had already taken all 20 boxes upstairs. I was happy to have gotten out of manual labor - but a little disappointed when I realized 7 of the boxes were the wrong tile....

We loaded up the tile and I called the store. "Oh Chip must have put the order in wrong".
Admittedly the order was slightly confusing since 130 sq ft was of 2 in all white hexagon tile with a white square and 72 sq ft was of 1 in hexagons with an ebony center hexagon . Sounds like the same thing - it's not.

I conjured about my best Grandma Rose* impression and was off to give them a piece of my mind. By the time I got there I wasn't willing to start making a scene until I gave them the chance to make things right. They claim to be ordering the right tile and it should be in Thursday. God help them if it's not.

Yes I realize it's not the end of the world - since the likelihood of the contractor laying tile while we are gone is slim. I still feel like it is my natural born right to be a pissed off customer when I don't get what I want.

*Grandma Rose was a former inhabitant of the house, who chose to speak her mind when given bad customer service and well to be honest sometimes they deserved it and sometimes they didn't. She wasn't a public cusser - though she did own a necklace that said "Oh Shit" - but had she waited in that Kohls line - they would have heard how ridiculous it was. And she would have been right. Nothing is more infuriating as a customer than to see 1 person at a customer service desk and other workers nearby not coming over to help. I know perfectly well that the person I am seeing is probably not trained for customer service and is probably tasked with putting away returned stock...it just doesn't make my wait any shorter.

The little woman will do it

I only wish I had a picture of this, but last weekend Katie and I worked together cutting the lawn. (I am alternating using the push mower and the gas mower hoping to get to a point were I am using the push 2 times for every time I use the gas - to save some oil. The reality is that the push mower doesn't cut as well as the gas mower.) So it was time to cut using the gas, but Katie wanted to try using the push. She cut a good sized portion of the lawn just pushing and I did the rest with the gas. A passer-by even gave Katie the thumbs up for plugging away. Needless to say, I was impressed by her not just trying but doing. Now on to the renovation's - starting as early as Friday. We got our first permit to start work!

In honor of Memorial Day

I thought it would be fitting to post a few pics of a former owner of the house in his navy uniform. I believe that some of these were my grandparents engagement pictures...

My apologies for how these are scanned. I need to go back and re-scan them!

Pretty toilets?

When we first looked at toilets - my thought was...a toilet is a toilet, right? As long as it isn't some funky color (like the existing blue one) - this should be an easy choice. Steve was all about the "elongated bowl" - I am not even sure what that means in terms of functionality...but sure - if he feels strongly about it. No problem.

But then I saw it and knew it had to be mine....The Pegasus Structure from HD....

Oh wait - is that a matching pedestal sink???

It is really hard to tell from the pics online - but both have an art decoish edging. These are what I think we will go with in our bathroom. The kids may end up with the same toilet - I just got to see if it is more $$ than other white elongated bowls....that's all for now - my break for lunch is over :)

Justification

I think we have most of the bathroom stuff picked out, which I will post pictures of later. It now comes down to justifying the purchase of a double vanity for the kids bathroom.

After looking at HD, Menards and Lowe's - I stumbled upon exactly what I was looking for....at Pottery Barn....Teen. As if it wasn't bad enough to pick something that is from PB - now it is in the teen catalogue? They do have a similar item in the regular PB - its just the wrong color.

Here are some pics of the fabulousy over-priced item that I want more than anything and am struggling to justify....

Do you see all the cute storage spaces?

Of course I realized now - that if I get this I will surely have boys - who will have no appreciation for this at all...... I guess I will have to think about this one a little more.

more...?

I must go to the store tonight so I can stop scouring the internet for this stuff...

Tile and bathroom inspiration

I'm too lazy to take the time and document where I found these pictures. I am leaning towards the very last picture, which uses the hectagon tiles....

Shopping!

We had the contractor over this evening to do another walk through and talk more numbers. The goal is still to start things in early June. With that in mind we really should be doing more to box things up - the less we have out and in their way the better.

We also walked through all of the purchases that need to be made - which is clearly the more fun part. Here's what's on the list (side note: Steve wanted me to write all of this down when the contractor was here - just so we don't forget what we need to do.....I hear where he is coming from - but this is shopping....no chance of me forgetting what we need on this one!):

1. Double vanity, 2 sinks, 2 faucets and a large mirror for the new bathroom upstairs (existing ktichen) - we have started referring to this as the kids' bathroom
2. Single Vanity, sink, faucet and mirror for the master bath - I am starting to think pedestal - but we will see on that one. I figure if we do for pedestal I will have more options on side storage cabinets.
3. Two toilets!!
4. Corner shower for the master bath
5. Shower/Bath combo for kids bath
6. Tile for both bathrooms
7. A whole mess of light fixtures
8. A storage chest for the kids bathroom linens - hopefully we can refurbish something from a flea market or garage sale

So when all is said and done - we will have tripled the number of working bathrooms in the house. We have done pretty well with just the one small bathroom - but there have definitely been some difficult moments when it would have been nice to have more than one. We also opted to keep it a single sink in our bathroom. A double would probably fit - but since the bathroom ceiling is sloped - I figured I'd rather have the storage space than the extra sink. Besides - I can always regulate Steve to the full bath downstairs or take over the kids bath until they are of age to realize it.

I have collected a few pictures of things I like so far. I am sure this will change when I actually go see them in person.
ok - I give up. I am using Steve's laptop and it is very slow. I am going to go search for a few pics of my "dream" bathrooms - to get a few more ideas and call it a night...


One more thing. We also will need a new washer and dryer, but since we are keeping the ones we have in the basement - there is no rush on this purchase...here is the Maytage Neptune front loader washer. Teach and the doc just got new appliances - so I will have to get some recommendations from them on this one.


Did I mention that Steve checked in on me mid-post and asked if my OCD had kicked in yet? That was a good 30 mins ago, so I think the answer would be yes now.

Hard at work

In order to keep ourselves busy before we "start work on the house", "we" have taken to yardwork. Steve wants to go organic - so he spent several hours this past weekend digging up dandelions.

Fortunately, "the supervisor" was out there to make sure he got the work done...
Even the supervisor needs a break, right?

In the end, Steve learned that cutting the grass is one way to make all of the dandelions disappear, which was nice for the couple who came over to take pictures in our yard after getting married at the church across the street. Hmmm, we could probably make a few bucks renting out our front porch and yard for weddings......

Teach and the Doc

I've been giving my little sister a hard time about her attempts to get a blog going.....and she finally gave me the link to her site.

I'm sure many pics of the new house, Ellie Belle and life in Chambana to come!

Upstairs Pictures

I was really bored one day and took a few pics of some of the details upstairs....

This is the light fixture in the upstairs back hall (our master closet)

This is a calendar that was hanging up in the kitchen. I considered it a good omen since it is Steve's birth year.

This is the knob for the chandelier in the dining room (reading room to be).

This is the view out the door in the master bedroom. It goes out on to a balcony that is over the back porch. I can't wait to have guests out there!

Happy 1st Birthday Z!

Where the Sidewalk Ends...

One of Steve's projects over the last few weeks has been clearing our sidewalks of the grass that has overgrown the edges. This is weather and time permitting as it is a long and tedious undertaking. He's made it about 1/2 way down the block (on one side).

It will be great when it is done to have a wider path to walk on it. I'm sure that even once he is done - it will be a battle to maintain each year. We'll keep you posted as to where he is in a few weeks!

1864!

I have not only been negligent in my blogging, but we have also lost momentum on doing house research.

Today, however, I got a call from Value Net a company that is contracted through our bank to appraise our house (without actually seeing it) for a possible home equity loan which will be necessary to fund the home rennovations. This is all still very tentative, but since the appraisal is free - we figured it had to be done at somepoint, right?

The bank let me know that this person would be calling to confirm some details on the house - such as have we added a big pool or any other big improvements. So I was kind of expecting something along those lines. The interesting thing is what they do is compare your home to others that have sold in the area and my understanding is that they only do an in-home appraisal if the amount of the loan is above $250k (which thankfully, ours is not).

She confirmed the address and if we are in a subdivision. Then she asked me to confirm the year the house was built, "Does 1864 sound about right?". I confirmed :)

We had always known that the house was most likely from the 60s (1860s that is) - but had never pulled up the public files to get any further details. For some reason it was strange hearing it said out loud and thinking wow - this has been around for 143 years.

This also means the house was no spring chicken (in its 50s) when my family moved in 1916....so it had so much history even at that point.

In any case, we should know the outcome of the appraisal early next week. The only other notable suprise was when she asked me what I thought the house was worth. So I very quickly did the math, what we paid + how much we need for a loan = my answer. Really I'd love to know what they do with that information. What sane person would ever give a number different from how I calculated mine?

So that's the big news of the day. I hope to fill in some other details from the last month or so - but no promises. In a few months, there should be pictures of Casa de Champaign from my little sis - hopefully she will let me share. Especially since she is the one who calls me to remind me I haven't posted and also claims she has started her own blog and just doesn't know how to do it yet :)

Put it on the list!

Upstairs in what eventually will be our walk-in closet off the master bedroom is a piece of furniture I am excited to make new again. This was my great-grandma's vanity. It doesn't look so bad once you clean off a few layers of dust and dirt. It could also use a new paint job. Any suggestions? I am picturing creme or off white.

In order to get this picture, here are all of the items that needed to be taken out of the drawers or cabinet. Some I might just keep for nostalgic value - none of them appear to have expiration dates....

Here are another set of handles that we found in the basement and it took a while to figure out what they were for (they almost were put in the sell pile - oh no!). I think they also sell these at Anthropologie here - so perhaps I may end up changing out for another color.

Granted it is not at the top of the list, because crazy me I think it will be easier to paint outside when it is not 30 below (with the wind chill). But it is nice to have some small manageable projects to tackle in a short period of time when you know you are embarking on a renovation that may/will suck time, energy and money out of you for months if not years to come!

Addendum to previous post

My sister informed me that I left out the ending of my story.....

Yes I was dropped off first.

How's that for keeping my posts short, Mr. Bighead?

Why I love our house/Why I am neurotic...

Inspite of knowing there is a great deal of work to be done (especially inside), our house is actually in pretty good shape from the outside. Like my 13 lb. pup - I'll admit it - I like compliments - which sounds kind of vain.

So how does this relate to our house? Well the thing is that although our neighborhood is changing and younger families are replacing many of the "old-timers" like my grandparents - it is somewhat unusual to 1) be able to afford a decent home in our neighborhood 2) want a home that will require a great deal of rennovation and 3) be under 30. For the unexpectedness and many other reasons, I love getting compliments on our house

I sometimes take a shared ride limo from the airport when I travel for work. If I get dropped off first, I often get the "really, you live here?". I sometimes think because I look so young people assume that I must still live with my parents.

Last night was truly unique because when I got picked up at ORD I realized that sitting next to me in the car was a guy who I had gone to college with and had a huge crush on him. Amy - if you are reading this - remember "dry cleaning" boy?

I was all bundled up in my hat, scarf, gloves. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to identify me from our brief friendship more than 7 yrs ago. So I sat the entire car ride pretending to sleep, struggling to remember how I had met him and hoping he would not start a conversation with me. Neurotic, right?

It gets worse. My head than turns to thoughts of hoping I get dropped off first. Even though I am sure he has no idea who I am, I get a great pleasure out of thinking that a "wow - she lives here" thought might cross his mind. Completely neurotic, right? Who spends 45 mins hoping someone will compliment your house if only in there head.

So in summary that's one of the reason I love my house and why I am neurotic.

It's getting more "Real"

So a few days ago I started this really nice post about learning more about our house and comparing the committment you make to your home to the likes of entering into a relationship or marriage. It was all nice and good in my head - but I never finished it. So like any good gen Xer - I will just jump to the next thing and leave it for some day when I have more time to reflect.

The house plans seem to be getting more real by the second. On Saturday while I was off at "Jump Start January" (an all day scrapbooking event) with Jill and Amy, Steve was hanging out with the contractor who came over to draw up preliminary ideas for the house. And I do mean "hanging out" - I don't get the idea that they had nuts and beer, but I believe they were watching dog fights on the history channel while measuring in the living room.

In any case, the house has been measured! Along the way the confirmed my suspicions about our bedroom. There was at one time a fireplace in that room with a chimney that went through the house. It may in fact still be there. Closets were built on either side and it is possible they just covered it up to make it more of a bedroom.

On Sunday afternoon, we got a phone call from the contractor (let's call him Bob for sake of me continuing to type "the contractor" a million times). Bob had some rough plans for us to look at and wanted to get some guidance from us to see if he was headed in the right direction. I was in shock - I expected it to be at least a week before we heard from him again. In his words, "It's like a good book - once you start you can't put it down."

So we treked over and he walked us threw the existing and the potential new plans for both floors. I have opted not to show here since we already know some inital changes we want to discuss with him. Besides - it feels a little weird to put that out in cyberspace.

After discussion, a Portillo's dinner and me walking around the house with the drawings in hand - I have started to put together my list of "5 things" that are important/must haves in the house.

1. Re-use the built-in kitchen cabinet from upstairs. I love this cabinet. My original thought was to keep it upstairs as part of a laundry room. It just might not work as well - and if/when we redo the ktichen it would be so great to use it for it's original intent.
2. Reading room. Part of what we are debating right now is how many bedrooms do we need. Do they all need to be upstairs? I love the existing 2nd floor dining room as another family nook area for a couch, tv and a place for kids to play upstairs.
3. Full bath on 1st floor. As a follow on to #2 - we would like to have a bedroom downstairs (where the existing "little bedroom" is) for guests, extended family stay, or possibly a kid who doesn't want to share a big room upstairs. I also want it to have an entry from a hall (no more walking through a bedroom to go to the bathroom).
4. 2nd floor laundry room that is not part of a bathroom. One of our original ideas was to split the upstairs kitchen into a 2nd full bath and laundry room. Depending on how we divide the space - it may end up making more sense to put the laundry room as part of the existing dining room (thus encroaching on my reading room). This one is still not all clear in my head.
5. Toy room off of kids bedroom. Currently upstairs there is a small room (that was my grandpa's bedroom) which I think would be ideal for lots of shelves and toys. The idea of having a space for everything seems perfect to me.

So that's kind of where my head is at. Steve needs to come up with his top 5 as well. We then will take these ideas as well as a million questions back to Bob, so he can than fix up the plans. He will probably also fill us in on the pros and cons of our ideas.

We are still trying to get through to him - that we are more than ok with making a house that isn't "resellable". We aren't going anywhere and any future generations - well, they will be getting a free house...

Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears....

Going to Miami.........

Enough said.