MORE New Windows!

We just put in new dining room windows. It's actually been awhile since we've done anything. I think September is when we planted our front lawn, which is coming in quite nicely. I can't wait until a few warm days in March really push those green blades to the sky! Who can fertilizer?!


Obviously, it's important to make sure you're new windows are the right size! Here we are double checking.


There they are! New Cascade windows! They were about $120 each. They don't open all the way, but that's the way the old ones were.


There they are! All done. So we basically ripped off all the outside inner trim, cut the weight cords and then pounded out and pulled each pane out (8 total). This leaves our gaping holes. It's important to drill several holes along your "nailers" and then fill those holes with spray foam. Because they were weighted windows, cutting out the weight leaves an empty shaft that allows for cold, wintery drafts. Might as well insulate behind all that beautiful Craftsman trim while there are no windows in the way.


Out of eight window panes, six were in very good condition. Because they're single pane and good, we take them to Re-Store in Ballard. Re-Store collects home materials from panes and doors to claw foot tubs and old tiles. We got $7 store credit (or charity money) for those six windows and we know someone will use them for a stained glass project or for new kitchen cabinets. It's better than going to the landfill!


Cleaning up! Nothing like using power tools on a cold January day.


There they are! Now we have all four windows that open with all four screens that keep out the mosquitoes! I don't have pictures, but we trimmed out the outside with lattice trim, which is just enough to cover the gaps and make sure they don't pop out. I have since calked both the outside and inside to prevent water damage and air flow. I also primed and painted that trim. They look beautiful! Can't wait until HOT July when I can open those puppies up for a wonderful breeze.

More projects are coming up, so stay tuned. It's that time of year again!

New grass and fresh paint!

Wow. It's been a long time since we've posted. Sorry. The house has been painted and the grass has been planted.

We've definitely slowed down a bit when it comes to projects, so we're just enjoying our progress.

We're a little worried about the new grass and the time it has to fill in. We planted mid-September, but it's very thin and spindly. Luckily the rain is pouring almost everyday. We opted for the Pacific Northwest blend, rather than the playground mix because the PNW blend actually had more of the seed that I researched was hearty and tough. So I'm thinking that it could be the best of both worlds. Who knows.

We did run into a problem last weekend. We threw the extra dirt on the "parking strip" out front and then planted new seed. It's been slow growing because we didn't really work on growing it. Anyway, everyone knows we've been planting grass, so I wasn't really too worried about roping it off. I'm sitting on the couch Saturday morning and I see the neighbor lady drive through it! She saw me spreading peat moss all over it one morning. What the....?

Painting, still

Check out this hot new chimney going from brown to white. It's going to look amazing against that Oxide blue and honey mustard front door. Hot, red hot. (and look at that enthusiasm!)

New paint on the house!

Here we are after a half day of painting. The whole east side of the house is painted blue, or Oxide is what it's called. And in stereotypical female fashion, I'm now wondering if it's too blue? More grey? Ugh. It all needs 2 coats of paint to cover over that nasty brown anyway, so I can decide after the first coat is up.

Who's this cute four-legged painter in his bandanna?

Front door = beautiful

Check out that sweet new front door! We added some shadow boxes and then repainted. It was bright red, well sort of. It need paint badly. It was chipping, etc. We'd like to paint the house navy blue, so we thought this would go well. Plus, it's different.

On a side note, according to Feng Shui, since our door faces south we should paint the door a fire color to absorb the most amount of positive Chi. Well, good thing we went with yellow then! I can feel the Chi pouring into the living room!

A new door

Okay, so it isn't a French door or a sliding glass door, but we love her all the same! That little gem was a Home Depot special order for nearly $400. You might be thinking "Holy crap, I could have picked that up for free on Craigslist," but you're wrong. This is a solid wood door with a beautifully primed fiberglass veneer. Seriously, you should have seen the old one. It didn't lock or really even open. So it was deemed unsafe after we jacked up the house and the only thing supporting it was the stupid old door. t has a sweet future at the restoration shop.

So the bad news, yes, it gets worse, the cinder block foundation crumbled around us during demo. One was so bad and relatively easy to replace, that we did exactly that. Not only that, but we filled it with cement, that and the ones on the first layer. Pretty much the only thing holding that door in at the bottom half is some construction adhesive.
The cool part is that we learned how to mortar (the outside). Wow, we had no idea. Now we know it's not so bad if we lose a brick chunk or trip over a cinder block.

Here's the bad news:

Yeah, that's a big gaping hole on the left side of the door where the all important hinges are. We would have replaced it, but that little chunk left is holding up our whole house. So instead, we're going to cram (and shim) a pressure treated 2x4 in there and then make it look pretty.

We'll just pack the hole full of insulation and hang out a welcome sign for the rats.

New patio table!

Check out our sweet new mosaic table! I made it all by myself, or I mean with a little help from Jamie. It has recently been grouted, so it looks a little better. I can't wait to drill a hole in the middle and cram an umbrella in there. It's going to be marvelous! Imagine the margaritas on that! Jamie's table is in the background....also beautiful.

Oh, things have been slow around here because of the heat. It was 103 last week and the island on Ballinger Lake was on fire. It resembled Vietnam at its worst around here. To cool off, we washed cars. Look at that amazing grass, hay, dust bowl! (We're re-seeding in the fall, so what's the point of watering now?)


We're finishing up our gates and beginning to paint the house. The front door is now embellished and beginning to turn a mustard yellow.