Update

After downsizing to 2 homes and then 1 and then 2 again....  I am now back to 1 home.  The good-ole DC Coop.  I am currently looking for a new home w/lots of potential, but there's not a lot of inventory in my current price range (due to the aforementioned 3 homes, 2 homes, 1 home, waste of time and money but not really b/c of all of the invaluable life lessons learned).  Anyway, I am single and I do it all by myself.  Always have.  And I plan to update soon with pics!

OH. yeah.

Remember way back when I said one of my goals was to turn "A girl, 3 homes and a blog" into "A girl, 2 homes and a blog?".

Done.

But not in a way that I ever expected.

Things have gone way past the point of extreme and back again, but all that is to say, "I'm back". In full force, chipping away at my to-do list again!

I am no longer living my life for someone else or some pie in the sky or pipedream, nope. Just going to do my thing and now my new goal is to transform into "A girl, a home and a blog" - because it is damn hard to maintain 2 homes BY YOURSELF, I don't care how badass, tool-wielding you are (which I am to a certain degree, although I would give the crown to diydiva and am so in love wi/her and Mystery Man's relationship - even the queen badass herself needs a little bit of help sometimes).

UPDATES:









COOP:
1. Plumber to fix kitchen sink and bathtub CHANGE to Bathfitter October 13th
2. Electrician to fix outlet in living room
-Move kitchen cabinets to Left Side CHANGE to add base and upper cabinet in left corner October 13th b/t 3:30-6 and flip refrigerator
-Remove tile from bathroom walls CHANGE to Bathfitter October 14th
3. Plasterer (Mom) to fix walls in all rooms (unpainted walls & ceilings)
4. Sheet vinyl for bathroom and kitchen floor CHANGE to mend tile in bathroom (OCTOBER 9th, ebay) and kitchen (need propane or dry ice) CHANGE to mend hole in floor and put down a thin vinyl (bought 7/25) that won't go too far above the surface
5. Countertop for kitchen - 6 foot and 8 foot -Strip window and door in bathroom
-cut counter for sink and for stove island &
install
6. Paint trim (satin) and hall(s)(linen) and Kitchen
-Faux glaze paint over patches
CHANGE TO HIRE PAINTERS TO PAINT ENTIRE APARTMENT 7/25 - hired for Aug. 19th, finished Aug. 22nd.
- Workers need to patch up the gigantic holes in my living room before I can sign the contract
-Paint Bathroom window and touch up radiator with rustoleum satin white
7. Replace toilet to 12 inch. model
8. Spray range, hood and fridge
9. Install hardware in kitchen
10. Add trim or shim up the cabinet to meet the new cabinet height
11. Install toe-kick under kitchen cabinets
12. Install ceiling fan in bedroom
13. Fix kitchen sink/drain

As you can see, pretty much almost done w/big projects over here at the coop, where I am now currently residing (long, boring story with a happy ending) and fixing up day by day. Let me add some items and also cross out some that I've already finished:

14. Order new Fridge (pending shipment as of 5/4/10)
15. Hang curtains in bed and living rooms
16. Cover couch w/dropcloth. Sew slipcovers.
17. Transport a ton of shizz back from the lakehouse (day to day living items, paperwork, clothes and shoes that I was storing there)
- May need to get a storage space to hold all of those things....
18. put bed together
19. change hardware on butcherblock

Before:



After:


So that is where my effort is going lately, since it is my primary residence and I need to be surrounded by comfort and love and the feelings of HOME.

Let's just scratch the condo off the list altogether, since it was never my real HOME - but let's appreciate all the work I put into it for the year and a half that I "slept on the couch" (alluding to that long, boring story):



CONDO:
- rearrange bedroom furniture for better flow
-change kitchen faucet
- fix front strip to countertop
- change toilet seat
1. get a/c duct in bedroom fixed (sort-of)
2. install ceiling fan in bedroom
- paint bathroom
- rearrange living room for better flow
-paint living room
- get laundry sorting station for hallway
-replace windows/screens/patio door CHANGE TO add weather stripping to patio door and windows to prevent bugs from getting in and air from getting out

No longer need to worry about the bedroom ceiling fan or painting the living room or replacing the windows - the condo is dead to me.



Moving on.

The lakehouse. Oh, poor sweet, misguided investment for a future that will never be....... Lakehouse, you stunning beauty you, but you are such a tragedy when it comes to: wallpaper, carpet, plumbing and electricity. Not to mention landscaping, oh the humanity. What are we gonna do with you??? My initial instinct was to dump it, cut my losses and run, but what about renting? If I can get all of my proprietary information out of there and rent it furnished (preferably, oh how i wish, to a handyman....) then I could survive until: a. the market rebounds, b. maybe I really will use it as a vacation home? who knows. I had so many ideas and so little time to accomplish them myself. Having little to no help is a burden.... I would also be remisce to achieve everything by way of subcontracting out only just to turn around and sell or rent it.

LAKEHOUSE:
-replace toilet seats
-fix kitchen faucets, upstairs cold handle CHANGE to hire plumber to fix upstairs bath drain/wall, install shut-off valves in shower, replace shower faucet/head and fix shower drain. Also look into leaks in basement.
-strip wallpaper (started - making major headway with the steamer)
-GET RID OF FLEAS!!!! Contract with Orkin 6x year for 1 year.
-add towel bars and hooks to master bath (satin nickel)
-stain behind picture frame marks on wall CHANGE to let them all be for 8 months CHANGE to paint all paneling white or other light beachy color
-paint kitchen counter while waiting for permanent replacement
-paint kitchen cabinetry while waiting for replacements
- replace kitchen hardware
-take down overhead cabinets and put up shelves with iron brackets (iron brackets added to range hood)
-paint wood paneling in dining area, add trim, remove from around fire place
-add brick/slate to wall behind wood-burning stove so that it continues up the stairs to the top? Remove all brick and move stove down to basement?
-remove carpet and vinyl flooring in dining room and kitchen in order to prime and paint subfloor while waiting for new hardwood
-remove carpet in bedroom and paint floor white while waiting for new hardwood
-fix plumbing in a major way
-fix electrical in a major way
-fix concrete foundation cracking and sinking
-change landscaping to low-maintenance variety
-bring basement up to code

this list could keep growing and growing and growing.... it's a neverending money pit if you want to be honest about it. The previous owners took way too many shortcuts on things that mattered and put way too much effort into things that don't. I wish I could raze the whole thing and start from scratch, or just be done with it and find one really nice place near my New Job (yes, New Job) to update on a daily basis, renting out my coop.

Because the one thing I learned in the past 2 years of wishy-washiness? That this coop just don't quit and that "anyone trying to get you to sell it is trying to dupe you". There is a reason I never put it on the market or really got serious about getting rid of it. And that reason is, things don't always work out like you thought they would, and sometimes it's for the best. It truly is.

Hope to have some pics or something soon, but who knows. I'm the worst.

Things are looking up

This is my best friend's mother's apartment, which is the mirror-image and right next door to mine. She has been living without a hallway light fixture for months now, all because we got a little too excited when renovating her kitchen (the Tiffany-blue walls you can catch a glimpse of and you can see in all it's glory right here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/february-jumpstart-2009-entries/how-to-make-over-moms-kitchen-in-one-weekend-february-jumpstart-project-2009-077319

Well, I finally decided to take matters in my own hands this morning while the painters were finishing up at my place. I used the old light fixture from my bedroom (which now has a ceiling fan!) and jerry-rigged the chandelier together using a ceiling bracket and sheer willpower....





In other news, the painters finished.

















I have new brushed satin nickel knobs and handles for the kitchen and they look divine w/the wood and new countertops. I'm still tweaking the layout of the bathroom tile, but it's coming together.

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do for the mind and the soul.... I'm ready to sell this place for a profit and move on to bigger and better things (that purr and woof).

Cool Breeze

On the rocks

We are halfway home, folks. I didn't have candelabra lightbulbs, so just the fan is installed. It's making a ticking noise, so I'll have to investigate further before the final reveal....

All in all? Pretty damn proud of myself.

Ooh La La

We have half a ceiling fan in the bedroom of the DC Coop, people! Mind you, I was working alone, so it was difficult for me to remember to take pics each step of the way. For instance, I forgot a "before" shot? And most of the "during" ones too...

To make up for it, I stole another shot of a different light fixture to give you an idea of what I'm working with:



Fabric-covered wires! Not just fabric, but ancient, decrepit fabric that crumbles to the touch and this makes it tres difficult to work with....

Closer:


Quite literally, a hot mess!

Anyway, I needed to figure out a way to rig up a safe, secure ceiling fan mounting bracket up to, well basically a hole in the ceiling. There was a lot of hemming, hawing and trips to the hardware store involved in order to find just the right crossbars and screws and brackets and safety pans and all that jazz:



You can't really tell, but there are 3 layers of stainless steel security action going on up in there....



Eventually, I figured out a way to make it work. And my goodness, I can't believe how secure it is!



Then I just attached the ceiling fan's mounting bracket and motor (with the handy hook thingy that they have in case, like me, you are doin' it dolo) and covered it all with the spiffy coverer thingy:



I'm making it sound really easy. Well, it was and it wasn't. Like with the toilet in this same apartment, I can imagine that it is extremely easy when the basic fixtures of the building are oh, I don't know, from this half of the century? But given the parameters of a pre-war building, it is pretty difficult to come up with work-arounds for these types of things. BUT SOMEHOW I MANAGE. And some days I feel like a genius.

I had to stop working because the next step is to attach the 6 or so blades to the fan motor and I was very dehydrated since I had to cut the power to the whole apartment (all wired to the same breaker... ah yes, yet another charming feature), that meant no lights, no air conditioning. But I feel very happy with what was accomplished so far.

Still working on getting the cement patch level, spread another thin layer on today. The light color looks so much better than the old dirty charcoal gray. IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN. Why I can't take a picture of it is beyond me.

I wiped all of the cabinet doors in the kitchen down with ammonia to get rid of the stickiness, it seems to be working. Someone came and took the old 4 foot long laminate countertop (posted on craigslist)! And someone else took the humongous, immobile chifforobe! I love craigslist so much. Helping people, helping me. Win-win, I say.

Well, if I were reading this, I would stop due to the lack of pictures. I'm sorry, I know I need to work on that. Here is one from over 2 years ago, my darling kitty who I miss so much, it hurts. I'm working very hard on honoring her by adopting soon:

I bought a toilet!

Yeah, that and the kitchen countertops are in my bedroom waiting to be installed by none other than - me. I have been watching and reading tutorials and both appear to be easier than I would have thought. Now, finding the time to do it? A whole nother story. Because I came down with a nasty cold or maybe the flu this weekend and was out of commission. This was supposed to be the weekend! Oh well, that's why there's no pictures.

Picture Update - Living Room

The walls are done!

 

 

Patched and painted and I do declare that you can't tell where the old paint stops and the new paint starts.

Picture Update - Bathroom

I just figured out how to "Blog This!" on Picasa2, sue me.

Yes, those are rocks in the concrete subfloor. Yes, the tiles were grouted directly to it like bricks and mortar. Yes, there were sparks flying while I chiseled away at it.



Then I decided to peel off the dumb-ass paint that was slopped on the door, but never adhered to the layer below it. Rather than strip the entire door, this one layer peels off like glue from fingertips....

Stories to Tell

I have been taking somewhat of a break from blogging. If by break, I mean I've been faux-finish painting the patches in the Co-op, calling up plumbers and generally freaking out about the family visit preceding the Holidays at the new house....

I'm sorry, but I forgot that I never got to the stories I alluded to in the last post. There are even pictures to go along with them!! (although, still camera-phone quality, and never when it really counts) Here it go:

In the Kitchen:

I had that gaping hole in the back of the galley kitchen where my fridge used to be, as well as that awful experimental removal of the vinyl tile. So I special ordered 2 perfect-sized cabinets (upper and lower) for that space and luckily was able to talk the delivery service into holding them until I was available (on the day Bathfitter came to install).

Getting those huge boxes up 2 flights of stairs was a feat. Luckily I have a strong man in my life and we have the same schedule so he was available ;)

We got those in, took a much needed break. Later that night, I batted my eyelashes and asked my man if he would help me at least get the upper cabinet up high enough so that I could attempt to screw it into the wall the next day. As much as I try to do things myself, I can't help the fact that my chicken wing arms can barely hold any weight above shoulder level.

I didn't realize how "exact" my measurement of the space was until we had trouble fitting it in between the cabinet that was already there, plus the curved plaster wall on the left- hand side....

Miraculously, we wedged it in by lifting it up higher than the cabinet to the right, then dropping it slowly into place so that the edges didn't pop out in front. Exhausted, we held it temporarily in place with the box for the lower cabinet, a tool box, and a Costco trashbag container....



It was the next day, after the Bathfitter installer left early and told me that he would not be able to finish without coming back for a full day, that I decided he owed me one. Remember these?



Well, I knew that in order to drill through the metal studs in the kitchen wall, I'd need a much heftier drill than my dinky 6.0v Ryobi.... On with the Diwalt 18.0v!!!!

I was literally shaking with excitement over the sheer power of this tool!

It was a little tough to balance the level, cabinet, etc. on my leg while standing on the counter, but somehow I managed. And somehow, I ended up with a plumb, level cabinet:



Gorgeous!! And I felt so great knowing that it was held up by the cabinet/wall on both sides and by the metal studs behind it. The little ledge on the bottom is removable, it's for a microwave, which I think is nice, since it's such a small kitchen with limited counter space. You can put the toaster underneath, or store stuff, whatever floats your boat.

I thought that would be the hard one, but boy was I ever wrong!

The next day I had to remove the base moulding in the corner in order to fit the perfectly-sized base cabinet in that space. They used some sort of fragrant wood behind the baseboards in the olden days that I'm guessing keeps bugs away (I've never really had a problem).



Next I had to carefully pull up a tile from the back in order to replace the missing one from under the cabinet. I had tested on another, hidden area before and was met with a lot of resistance (the tile broke), so I was really worried about this step. There was all kinds of advice out there on the Web: use dry ice to unlock the glue, use a blow torch or hairdryer to melt it.... All of these scared me into thinking it would be impossible to remove a whole tile and that I might need to replace the whole floor (I only had 1 last chance since there was only 1 full tile left)



After all of that planning and plotting on how to do it without damaging the tile - all it took was some patience and a gently tapped hammer on 6" taping knife. No dry ice or blow torch necessary!



It was literally that simple.

However, getting the base cabinet in wasn't as easy as I thought it would be since the wall on the left side is completely bowed out in the middle. I had to lift the cabinet straight up so that it fit on both sides, which wedged it in place mid-air. Then I proceeded to climb inside the cabinet and let gravity do its thing. My neighbor helped hold it in place, making sure that the ends didn't pop in front of the cabinet on the right. Unfortunately, we don't have photographic evidence of this part of the process. So silly, we were laughing the whole time.

But look at that end result!!



I also moved the refrigerator back to the left side so that the countertop on the right can extend out and act like a little bar area.



Doesn't that look soooo much better now that the hole has been filled? And how about the color/pattern matching? It's not exact, but pretty damn close considering I was pretty much going on a blueprint and written description, all on-line.

Picture it with a new, clean, light-colored laminate counter (stock from Home Depot). Now, wouldn't you want to buy this little gem in the city?