We can see clearly now, the crappy windows are gone!

We have windows!! Hooray! Here are some pics:

Our delivery:


The guys get to work... get to work smashing our peonies. Awesome. Thanks dudes.


Bedroom before:


And after:


Ripping out old windows:


Bathroom before... I will miss this style of window -- I won't miss the breeze that came through it in the dead of winter


Bathroom after (almost):


Old dining room windows:


And after:


It is so great to be able to open the windows for fresh air now. I am definitely glad we splurged.

In other news, the stoop continues to crack:


We called the cement company and approved their bid. We think they either a) forgot or b) are too busy with more profitable projects. Hubby will give them a call next week to see what the deal is...

In the meantime, the rails are scraped and ready for new paint.


Also, we finally painted our front door. Here I am, hard at work (I know, you like my style):


Hubby works on the frame:


And the finished product:


We are contemplating a new screen door. I feel the current door blocks the lovely green too much. Maybe something like this instead:


We also could use a new house number and definitely new landscaping. The dying bushes aren't really lighting our fire... though we do like the purpley leafy thorny thing on the left side of the picture. But new landscaping is for another year...

Door is green on the inside too, because I liked the color so much:


Here is another green door. My friend S recently resided her house, as well as got/painted a new front door, got new windows in the front, and added a hand painted sign. Check it out:

Before:


After:

View of front:


The emerald curtain (actually, kind of spring green):


Handmade address sign:


On another note, here are a couple of pics of spring in the backyard:


Barry's growing nicely... also, check out the deck... the next post will probably include an update on this deck...


Another mystery we're exploring...
We've started to get some significant seepage in the basement when it rains. I was tired of wet, smelly carpet, and freaking out about mold possibly growing behind the wall. So a couple of Fridays ago, we did some impromtu demo:


Tore off part of the wall and cut up a chunk of the carpet... This is what we found:


Interestingly enough, the previous homeowners were "not aware of any water problems". Yet there is a patch job and a new piece of wood there... hmmm...

Nasty stained carpet with a fan nearby to help dry the smelly, wet carpet:


We are still trying to super sleuth out the reason for this seepage. Having the basement partially tore up has lit a fire under me to $ave, $ave, $ave for a basement renovation. I have started to sketch out my plans... this is just an early idea...

Before:

After:

Essentially, we divide the non-laundry area a bit, add a room with a wall of closets for storage, and also add a 1/2 bath in the area underneath our main floor bath.

Finally... a tip:
When you paint multiple rooms in your house, mark the top of the paint cans with the room painted. Most people probably do this.

We did not.

Here, we tried to touch up the wall in the foyer, but kept picking the wrong color -- unfortunately light grey, light green and cream all kind of look the same-ish until the color dries:


The repainted foyer will probably be in the next post too!

TTFN!
C+A
(since the photos on here always make us look so rough, here is a cute one)


PS: If you haven't seen UP, stop what you are doing now and go see it.

I'm a slacker.

Hi everyone.

Yes, I know... I am a slacker. BUT, in my defense, I did say we'd be MIA for a little while.

Not much has happened since September. But here is a little somethin' somethin'.

In chronological order:

AUGUST:

Adam got me *new* Crate & Barrel coffee table (*new* to us from Craigslist!) for my birthday:

(Thank you Joann for the bee-yoo-ti-ful birthday flowers!)

SEPTEMBER:

Our less-than-one-week-old-super-expensive fence mysteriously gets a hole in it (?!?!). Thank heavens for warranties.


We finally mowed our lawn. See how pretty the new fence is?



OCTOBER:

Fall came. Barry changed color. Pretty.


Our fence gets ANOTHER hole in it. Good golly miss molly. Again: bless you warranty. (Is any one suspicious of the hoodlums? I am.)


NOVEMBER:

Our front door -- which we purchased in the summer of 2006 -- is finally installed! Praise the Lord! And Adam's dad too! (BTW, have no idea if this happened in November. Just trying to follow the pattern here).



Here it is, though unpainted (I picked an olive green paint for it. Just waiting for a warm day to paint.)


Adam's dad passed down to Adam his prized Christmas train. Here the proud men are with their handy work:


While trimming the tree, I dropped Spider-man on the ground and broke off his feet. :( It's okay though, he'll hitch a ride in the train. (And, Adam's got about 23 other Spider-man ornaments).


I know you are jealous of my snazzy Las Vegas sweatshirt. AHHHHH YEAH!

DECEMBER:

For one of Adam's Christmas gifts, I decided to commission an artist off Etsy to create a portrait of him as a boy.

The story:
. When Adam was small, he liked to chase birds.
. Adam's mom would require him to wear mittens when trying to catch said birds -- so as to not catch a bird disease, of course.
. So, it would be summer -- Adam in his shorts and all -- walking around the backyard, trying to catch birds with his mittens on.
. Said mittens have been displayed in our house, unceremoniously, until now:

Framed and hung:


Adam checks it out:



Ready for bird catching:


Find the artist brighthousegal at Etsy.com


In terms of gifts, a close second was the Spider-man alarm clock I got Adam as my yearly contribution to the comic room. Spidey's head projects the time on the ceiling (so you can tell time, in the dark, without getting up). Here he is setting up Spidey:


And testing out Spidey (this is just after he ripped off the wrapping paper):


Adam got another snowman item for the house. Thanks Aunt Karen and Uncle Frank. He loves it so!


Here it is, blocking the draft in our bedroom that comes out of Adam's closet (old house, little to no insullation). They look so happy and now Adam's feet do not freeze when he gets out of bed!



Adam and his bro Joey put up some lights. Adam fell off a ladder while doing this. I had just pulled in the drive and screamed really loud. He was okay, thankfully :)



On Christmas, we saw reindeer at Adam's parents, in the front yard!




And lastly, Adam and his mom Sue enjoyed a Christmas sword fight (WARNING: wrapping paper tubes can cause big paper cuts. Try at home, but with caution!):



I know. I know. Not too exciting.

What can I say. It is cold in Chicago, so we are not doing much around the house except for making "heat tents" (blanket. heat vent. bliss.) and watching TV.

We are managing to escape for a long weekend in Cabo next week. So we'll post some pics of that soon after. As for the house, we are saving, dreaming of how we might spend our tax return, and sketching our basement renovation plans out on a napkin while out for pancakes (don't get too excited. That project is YEARS away. A girl can dream, right?).

Until next time. Aruba, Jamaica, ooo I wanna take you to... Oh wait. That is the Carribean. Uhhh... Mexico... Mexico... oh yeah!



C+A