We had an exciting work weekend planned for all, and it got even more exciting when we found out we were moving. The weekend turned into a moving/painting weekend versus the original plan to just paint. My parents decided to join in on the fun too! You'll be amazed at the progress we made this weekend... I think we need more "family fun" weekends like this (thought I'm not sure our parents would agree). :)
Martin's Mom and Aunt Emily came to Greenville on Thursday night, and they were over to the house on Friday morning to start painting. I met the intial, lovely carpet man from Dirtbusters at 9:30 that morning who insisted that he just couldn't clean our carpets because we didn't have the correct water connection and b/c he wasn't going to take any chances on that ice in the driveway. Needless to say, I was not happy. I frantically called Martin who saved the day by calling Stanley Steamer, who by the way agreed to come as soon as possible AND had no issue with any ice or water connection. Enough said. Lupe and Geraldo came during the day to clean downstairs. They did an amazing job... downstairs no longer smelled of stale air and dirty carpet, but now clean and fresh and ready for us to live there (almost). Really, we were very thankful for Lupe and Geraldo's help.
I headed back to work, leaving Martin's mom and Aunt Emily painting away and overseeing the cleaning. I came back to the house around 3, only to find the back bedroom wall completely painted and the hallway being given a fresh coat of Carrington Beige. It's a very neutral, khaki color that we are using in the hallway and 2 guest bedrooms. Very pretty! Back to the painting, I was very impressed. Emily's rolling skills are pretty amazing! Also, Miss Janet had been hard at work breaking up the ice on the driveway and walkway in the midst of her painting. Talk about a tough job! Mr. and Mrs. Simpson were also there working way. I ended up joining in on the painting fun by working on the molding in the living room.
Early evening, Mom and Dad showed up to help! We were so excited to have everyone there. Mom stepped up to the plate and whipped up a yummy dinner of shredded beef for us all, but not before she helped finish priming the pickled wood in the dining room. Dad finished off the job while Mom and I ran to the grocery store for some last minute things.
Finally, we all sat down (on the floor of course) to enjoy dinner and some delicious Clementine Martinis. Martin's Aunt Emily made these homemade, and they are oh so good! Even Mom and Dad enjoyed a Clementine Martini. Eventually, Martin's family headed back to his grandparents, and Mom and Dad headed back to our house. We all had a big day to get ready for!
I remember feeling that night kind of like I did at our rehearsal dinner - very thankful for the people we have in our lives that we love so much.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Work Weekend 2011 (January 14 - 17) - Preparation
Katie worked hard to prepare for the work weekend (which also turned into moving weekend). She thoroughly cleaned the cabinets downstairs in preparation for us to move-in to the house.
Katie also lined the cabinets, and the snow made it a challenge to obtain lining, so we had to make a few different trips and stock up each time.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Janary 13, 2011 - Snow Week
Katie has ended up having the entire week off, so she has been able to do a lot of work at the new house.
Besides Monday, when she was able to paint much of one of the spare bedrooms, she has spent the rest of the week cleaning cabinets and the refrigerator downstairs in preparation for us to move-in.
We hiked over to the house on Tuesday during lunch (I was working from home because the roads are/were still in bad shape) to make sure that everything was ok and to see if we could make any progress. I worked on some spackling, and Katie touched up paint in the back bedroom.
On Wednesday, Katie worked on packing while I worked from home, and then I went to the office in the afternoon.
Thursday was the first day where we were both able to drive without major issues. I went to work, and Katie was again off school, so she went to the house and worked on cleaning.
This weekend is a big moving and painting weekend, and we're really excited. I know that it hasn't been the most fun use of her snow days, but I really appreciate her hard work!
Besides Monday, when she was able to paint much of one of the spare bedrooms, she has spent the rest of the week cleaning cabinets and the refrigerator downstairs in preparation for us to move-in.
We hiked over to the house on Tuesday during lunch (I was working from home because the roads are/were still in bad shape) to make sure that everything was ok and to see if we could make any progress. I worked on some spackling, and Katie touched up paint in the back bedroom.
On Wednesday, Katie worked on packing while I worked from home, and then I went to the office in the afternoon.
Thursday was the first day where we were both able to drive without major issues. I went to work, and Katie was again off school, so she went to the house and worked on cleaning.
This weekend is a big moving and painting weekend, and we're really excited. I know that it hasn't been the most fun use of her snow days, but I really appreciate her hard work!
Monday, January 10, 2011
January 10, 2010 - Snow Day
Katie and I woke up to about 4 inches of snow this morning. Needless to say, school and the commute to work were cancelled. After we both worked through most of the morning, we headed over to the house around noon.
We avoided driving due to the weather, and during our walk over, we encounted a lot of children and adults enjoying the snow and sledding down a road on a steep hill. We borrowed a sled and tried going down the steep hill, but we didn't have much success; we ran off the road one... two... three times. Trey would have compared this to a canoeing adventure that we had a few years ago, and unfortunately, there is a video somewhere that documents this embarassing piece of sledding. Katie went for a few more rides with some of her other friends, and she had some more success.
I went back home to work, and Katie settled down to do some painting. She worked on the back bedroom, and by 5 in the afternoon had completely edged the room and painted two-thirds of it. I helped her finish it in the afternoon, and then we made the hike back to eat dinner and watch the National Championship Football Game.
Weekend of January 8-9 : Very Productive
Well, we've had a very productive weekend so far. As it turns out, it looks like the weekend is going to be extended for a few days as we have a huge snow storm that has hit the South. 
(Dogs in the snow on Monday morning)On Saturday, Martin's granddad came over and helped him complete the demolition of the shelves in the study. Martin then had to sand the walls and remove some caulk from where the shelves once were. As Martin's granddad said, "You have to take it all apart before you can put things back together." That's kind of where we are now.
Martin and I then went searching for a piece of furniture to use in the bathroom. We'd really like to put the sink on top or in the piece of furniture and maybe even find some granite remnants to create a countertop. We visited a few antique stores but no luck yet. The search continues...
Sunday...
After visiting the house Sunday afternoon, we realized the dining room ceiling didn't look quite right. (Even after a THIRD coat of paint) I admit... I was frustrated with the ceilings at this point. Not to mention, we got a quote for a painter to paint TWO ceilings, and he was going to charge $400. So, we trudged on. I tried to touch up a few spots with a paint brush.... didn't work. So, I headed to Home Depot for some ceiling paint. The workers at Home Depot were extremely helpful, and guided me to the correct type of paint to use on ceilings. The verdict still remains out on whether it worked or not. We're going to check it out today. However, the lesson we learned is when painting plaster ceilings, use primer FIRST or just use ceiling paint. Whatever you do, don't use regular paint. :)
Martin tore out the shower door in the bathroom which makes a huge difference. I also finished painting the molding in one of the bedrooms. Finally, we primed the wall in the small bedroom to get ready for painting.
I think we are both motivated by this weekend's work. We are starting to see a little bit of progress, and that is very, very exciting!
Next to come.... painting the large ceiling in the living room. Let's hope the ceiling paint works out!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Painting Trim and Removing shelves
I worked on painting trim today in the master and spare bedrooms.
Martin removed some of the wallpaper in the bathroom (he's going to have to put some shellac on the wall where he scraped some of the top layer of the gypsum board off the wall.
Martin also labeled the cabinet doors (so that they can be reinstalled correctly after we finish painting them), and he also removed some of the cabinet doors. I painted the doors with the same paint as used on the trim, but we realized afterwards that we should be using high gloss paint (so we'll have to re-do it).
Regarding painting the cabinets, I googled some options, and it looks like we're going to sand, prime, and then paint.
http://homerenovations.about.com/od/kitchens/a/artpaintcabinet.htm
Katie painted some cabinets before we read this, so hopefully that will act as a primer.
Martin also worked on removing the shelves that were in the bedroom closest to the living room. We figured that the shelves weren't very useful, and the room would look better without them. Most of the shelves were easily removed; the exception were the vertical sections, which will have to be removed using an oscillating cutting tool (fortunately we gave one of those tools to Martin's Dad and Grandad for Christmas).
The walls aren't smooth in that room; they are painted wood paneling. Whenever the shelves were originally installed, silicone was used to fill the gap between the shelf and the wall. As a result, after the shelves were removed, Martin used the nail-removing part of the hammer to scrape the walls clean in those areas.
Martin removed some of the wallpaper in the bathroom (he's going to have to put some shellac on the wall where he scraped some of the top layer of the gypsum board off the wall.
Martin also labeled the cabinet doors (so that they can be reinstalled correctly after we finish painting them), and he also removed some of the cabinet doors. I painted the doors with the same paint as used on the trim, but we realized afterwards that we should be using high gloss paint (so we'll have to re-do it).
Regarding painting the cabinets, I googled some options, and it looks like we're going to sand, prime, and then paint.
http://homerenovations.about.com/od/kitchens/a/artpaintcabinet.htm
Katie painted some cabinets before we read this, so hopefully that will act as a primer.
Martin also worked on removing the shelves that were in the bedroom closest to the living room. We figured that the shelves weren't very useful, and the room would look better without them. Most of the shelves were easily removed; the exception were the vertical sections, which will have to be removed using an oscillating cutting tool (fortunately we gave one of those tools to Martin's Dad and Grandad for Christmas).
The walls aren't smooth in that room; they are painted wood paneling. Whenever the shelves were originally installed, silicone was used to fill the gap between the shelf and the wall. As a result, after the shelves were removed, Martin used the nail-removing part of the hammer to scrape the walls clean in those areas.
Work before closing
We were lucky enough to get permission to start working on the house before closing. The furniture in the house was removed long before we closed, so the house was ready for updates.
The carpet that was formerly in the kitchen, hallway, and top-floor bedrooms was removed. We also pulled out the sea green shag carpet that was in the sun room.
The next step was removing the staples that held the carpet in place in the hallway and top-floor bedrooms. We wore out our hands pulling those out of the floor, but we wanted to remove them before we started painting.
An interior decorator (EA) was brought in as a consultant to help us pick our colors and determine exactly how we're going to configure the house. In an hour, EA and I were able to pick out every color for the house. We will be painting every square inch of the walls and ceiling.
EA provided the following table for each of our rooms:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tZLMRwt5vyzd-AS1nO2sbqA&gmrcpt
We started by painting ceilings, first the master bedroom and then the spare bedrooms. The ceiling in the master bedroom is very textured, and it required a few coats before we were comfortable with the appearance.
We also worked on painting the ceiling in the dining room. It doesn't look as good, and it's still in progress.
The carpet that was formerly in the kitchen, hallway, and top-floor bedrooms was removed. We also pulled out the sea green shag carpet that was in the sun room.
The next step was removing the staples that held the carpet in place in the hallway and top-floor bedrooms. We wore out our hands pulling those out of the floor, but we wanted to remove them before we started painting.
An interior decorator (EA) was brought in as a consultant to help us pick our colors and determine exactly how we're going to configure the house. In an hour, EA and I were able to pick out every color for the house. We will be painting every square inch of the walls and ceiling.
EA provided the following table for each of our rooms:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tZLMRwt5vyzd-AS1nO2sbqA&gmrcpt
We started by painting ceilings, first the master bedroom and then the spare bedrooms. The ceiling in the master bedroom is very textured, and it required a few coats before we were comfortable with the appearance.
We also worked on painting the ceiling in the dining room. It doesn't look as good, and it's still in progress.
Background...
We were no-where near being in the market for a new house. In fact, we investigated adding-on to our current (or old) house during the Spring, but we determined that we'd be better off waiting for a year or two. Our ultimate goal was to stay in this area for as long as we're in Greenville.
In early August, Mrs. S sent me a facebook message about an idea she had regarding her neighbor's house. I responded that I'd love to talk with her about whatever it was. We really had no idea what to expect. One afternoon that following week, Mrs. S visited my classroom to share her idea. She told me the story of the Bakers and their home, and how they needed to sell. As Mrs. S was telling me about it, I was thinking..... no way my husband is going to go for this! I told Mrs. S I'd talk to Martin about it and get back with her.
I think I called Martin immediately to tell him the idea, and we decided to at least look at the house. Martin was hesitant, but he agreed to go with me to take a look.
Needless to say, the house was much more than we could have ever imagined (we have looked back on it and refer to it as a 'grown-up' house, whereas our current home is a great starter home.)
Four months later, the house was ours. Here are some pictures of the house before we started working on it.
In early August, Mrs. S sent me a facebook message about an idea she had regarding her neighbor's house. I responded that I'd love to talk with her about whatever it was. We really had no idea what to expect. One afternoon that following week, Mrs. S visited my classroom to share her idea. She told me the story of the Bakers and their home, and how they needed to sell. As Mrs. S was telling me about it, I was thinking..... no way my husband is going to go for this! I told Mrs. S I'd talk to Martin about it and get back with her.
I think I called Martin immediately to tell him the idea, and we decided to at least look at the house. Martin was hesitant, but he agreed to go with me to take a look.
Needless to say, the house was much more than we could have ever imagined (we have looked back on it and refer to it as a 'grown-up' house, whereas our current home is a great starter home.)
Four months later, the house was ours. Here are some pictures of the house before we started working on it.
Master bedroom closets (way more space than we have now)
Shelves in the "study" (We are taking them down because we'll most likely use this as a bedroom)
The Kitchen
The Dining Room (has beautiful pocket doors)
The Sun Room : above and below (My dad's favorite spot in the house - in fact he has told us many times he will enjoy drinking a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in this room)
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