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.

Stuff is Happening

I guess I should update my to-do list so that I have a record (rather than going back and editing the one I posted a couple of weeks ago....

So the big news is, I walk into the coop this morning to find two huge holes in the walls. One on the Left:

(Why these won't turn the right way, I do not know)

One on the Right:

(SO AGGRAVATING!!)

Say what? Close up on the Left:


Close up on the Right:


.... These 2 holes changed the game completely. Suddenly, my gorgeous faux-finish is gone for good and I don't feel like re-doing it YET AGAIN when I am not sure that many people would be able to appreciate it anyway. So I called up some painters and got an estimate and was VERY HAPPY with the price along with the assurance that they PREP THEIR SURFACES PRIOR TO PAINTING! Yeah!! That's all I need to know, since it was obvious the previous painters never did. So with painting, seemingly the most daunting of tasks left to do, out of the way - I am FREE to complete all of the little itty bitty projects that have been eluding me with my eyes full of dust (from the sanding, scraping and peeling of course).

Things done today:
Patched hole in bathroom floor. Why didn't I take a picture? You can kind of see it here:


Bought vinyl peel n' stick tile for the bathroom floor (it looks so cute on the diagonal, I can't wait to apply it!):


Sprayed the range top and range hood of the stove:


Sprayed the fridge:


My poor trigger-finger is dead :(

Here is the semi final product of the bathroom with the old tile, for posterity:


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
- 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


I also bought weather-stripping for the condo, for temporarily deterring drafts and bugs from entering the gaping holes in the patio door and window frames, but I didn't feel like copying the whole list just for that. Oh, ok:

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

Not much is happening in the other 2 homes since I am really motivated to get this one off my hands first so I can get settled into a home home.

I promised you pictures

Here they are! So much is getting done now, it's ridiculous ~

Coop Improvements:

Testing out the new countertop in the new microwave area~

Before ~ Old Toilet

After a whole lot of clean-up, we had this:

YES, I said clean-up! This is CLEANED UP. I can't even begin to explain how nasty it was before (I timestamped the pics and it took me about 2 hours to clean this little 1x1 area). This ended up being the most whacked-out flange system I've ever seen (after doing all of my Internet-searching on the subject of replacing toilets). It turned out to be a lot of rust (which stained the porous marble tile like crazy) and corrosion that had to be chipped away in order to create a level surface for the wax ring/toilet base to sit upon. Aside from the chipping and the cleaning up of the rust-flakes that left permanent scars all over that beautiful tile, the job was not that difficult. I did it myself and pulled my hamstrings in the process. But all ended very well, cleaning up nicely into this:

After ~ Ahhhh.... she's beautiful!

Condo Improvements:

Bedroom before:

I can't really express how much I hated this layout. I think it speaks for itself and need I point out that "my side" of the bed is on the far side? The one over there where you have to squeeze through a tiny space between the corner of the bed and the corner of the bureau (can we say Bachelor Pad?)

Bedroom reconfigured ~

This is now what you see upon entering the room, of course, if I had my druthers there would be an upholstered headboard on that bed, or even a wall of fabric a la The Youngsters or Bower Power, but work with whatcha got.... instead I added a mirror to "my side" to mimic the window. It's not the same size, but whatever, it helps me save time primping in the morning (I like to roll right out of bed a minute before I have to leave for work).

Living Room before:



Excuse the crappy pic, my camera broke and I was using my phone for a few months a while back. Again, I can barely find words to describe my disdain for the color of the couch and the layout (there is a futon next to the TV, facing the couch), so let me just skip to the goods....

Living Room reconfigured & slipcovered:

This new layout frees up all of the breezeways through this undefined space and creates a more intimate conversational setting. It also allows us to open the blinds behind the futon and that coupled with slipping the sofa has lightened and brightened the space by a million! We'll just ignore that Christmas tree for now.... (picking battles, picking battles....)

New TV and pulled it out of the freakin corner!

The original layout was kinda geared toward One particular person... ahem, The Bachelor. Now everyone can enjoy it, or, more importantly, This Girl. And, please, let's just pretend the Barca Lounger doesn't exist, alright?

Freshly de-mildewed and painted bathroom w/brighter shower curtain~

I scrubbed the ceilings and walls by hand - they were a putrid yellow before and with a disgusting border that soaked up all the mold/mildew. EW.

A fresh coat of white, mildew-resistant paint makes the room breathable. And the white shower curtain with clear liner allows the vanity lights to penetrate the shower area SO ONE CAN SEE WHAT ONE IS DOING IN THERE. Imagine that.

Laundry Central~

The Bachelor likes to separate each clothing article by individual color, so 2 of these 2 part containers from Ikea do the trick.

Now for the disappointing part, I swore I had some updated pics of the lakehouse projects in progress, but I can't find them! All I could find that hasn't been uploaded already are these upstairs shower pics:

Not too exciting, I just changed out the fixtures to: a. fix a leaky shower and b. match all the finishes to the brass (which I hate, but the shower door and everything else was already brassy to begin with) . Maybe one day I will spray them all oil-rubbed bronze????

OR TEAR OUT THE WHOLE THING. My mind goes crazy when I haven't been there in a while (it's going on 6 weeks and counting....)

That's it for now, is it just me or is organizing pics on blogger extremely difficult?

Get up to get down

Wow. Long time, no action. I've been a busy girl lately what with work, work and evermore work.

But I also have been busier than I thought on the home front. I just stumbled upon my old "To-Do" List and was surprised by how much I've been able to check off without even paying attention:

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 or laminate floor 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 (Linen)
-Faux glaze paint over patches
-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

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

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)
-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? oR 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

Pictures to come soon. I really am in awe of the amount I've done thus far without much pressure on myself to check things off the list (obviously, since I haven't even checked the list in months and haven't been working consistently). Getting the toilet done all by myself in the Coop was a huge feat both physically and mentally. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to do it - but it's done! And it's fantastic! Now if I can just mend that marble tile or figure something out with that.... While there have been a few additions due to the nature of DIY spawning more and more DIY projects, it's starting to seem almost manageable now. Especially with the Coop nearing sale.... Once that is gone, I can fully concentrate on where to live in the City, getting some pets and fixing up the Country house!

Sorry

I am the worst. I went off and fixed up a whole other house and haven't been keeping up with the upkeep. So here are pics:

I bought a lakehouse. Inside, it looked like this:

But, outside?


This is what sold me:


There were a lot of things that needed to be addressed right away:

Nasty vinyl and carpet in the kitchen/dining area:


WHY?:


The kitchen sink drain sprung a major leak:


Well, the faucet was atrocious anyway:


Same with the bathroom faucet - they just stuck the handle on and called it a day (missing several pieces and held together with krazy glue of all things)


This toilet seat was a breeding ground for bacteria - it had to go:


I bought some cute knobs for cheap!:


Already looking better by adding more white to the orangey oak cabinets and replacing the brass hardware:


The vanity was missing the door pull completely, so I picked up a sleek brass one (again for cheap). So simple, yet functional:
I forgot that I also had to fix a leak beneath the sink here, which turned out to be a job for professionals. They had to cut into the wall to fit the proper pipes and vents and while they were at it I REPLACED THE VANITY TOP WITH PURE WHITE (formerly a cream color).

The suite (the more white I can add in there, the better):

Not only did I have to replace the broken kitchen faucet, I had to replace the sink itself because the DRAIN WOULD NOT COME OFF THE SINK. I even got my strong neighbor to try his hand at it and it would not budge. So the whole thing had to come out, but the good news it was replaced with this beauty:

Ever the multi-tasker, when I got to a point where I could get no further with plumbing, I tackled the many forms of wallpaper in the house:


In the pantry:

In the dining room:


Along the borders of the great room (made the room feel so short!):




And the master bedroom border of tacky roses:


Then I fixed up the master bedroom for a calming retreat (not my color choice, but it will have to do for now):


Excuse the photo quality - my camera broke at one point and all I had was my phone:

I installed a plate rack in the dining room:


I ripped up the carpet (filthy, disgusting, FLEA-RIDDEN carpet) in the dining room and went to town prepping the subfloor for paint (to seal in the stains, odors, gunk that was living in there until I can afford hardwood):


A dirty job, as evidenced by SOCKS:


The nasty (held down with PEANUT BUTTER?!?) blue vinyl in the kitchen came up and the subfloor was prepped for a nice, bright (CLEAN) white:




Camera phone view (most recent) trying to work with the navy blue countertops and still brighten up the kitchen:


The finished dining room floor, painted with chocolate brown floor paint to flow with the dark wood veneers in the rest of the great room (otherwise if I painted the dining room white, it would chop the great room in half visually):


The workshop in the basement:


My first foray into woodworking, with the help of my stepdad:

If you can believe it, this is the only thing between you and iminent death at the bottom of the basement steps (sharply steep and hard concrete at the bottom) and the previous owners had not screwed this into a stud!

Also? Gotta have birdfeeders:

Between the 3 homes, I barely have enough time and money to eat, but those birds are not gonna starve on my watch!

Little extras:

Someplace to put towels and tp: Someplace to sit:


Something to watch (Ikea TV Stand, put together by myself in a matter of minutes):

In truth, there's so much more to tell, so much more to see, but I felt bad neglecting to update and this is what you get. A tease. Hopefully I will find sometime to truly update and explain some of the step by step that went into each improvement. Also? Hopefully I will have 1 less houses and 2 really nice HOMES by the end of this year.