Back patio done!

First off, check out the house this summer! It looks so much different than last August. Our grass is green! And the house is blue! It's so cute and happy this summer, despite all the rain. At least the blueberries are in full swing. The fall garden is planted and we're hoping for a much better yield than the crap summer disappointment. We'll replace "crop" in November with red clover. The clover will add nutrients to the soil. Is all you have to do is "plow" in March and let nature take its course. It's a much easier process than hauling in new dirt in 2011.

Okay, check out the new patio! Here we just swept in the last of the sand. New pavers! Can't wait to enjoy gallons of margeritas next summer! Nice job husband!

Beautiful yard

First off, there's Buddy! He's taking a break from babies to play ball...like the old days when it was just him at the center of attention. Poor Buddy.

Check out the window box (below). The Nastershums already have little black bugs on them. Every year that happens and yet, every year I plant them. Arg! Don't let me next year.

There's the lovely house. It's so different then the brown grass of last August. It's such a mild summer. I'm sure we're in for a harsh winter and you'll soon see a snow picture posted here. We're still thinking about the upstairs. I have already begun to pack away all the crap. I spent $80 on 30 gallon plastic bins at Lowes a couple weekends ago. Rather than chuck stuff in them, we're actually sifting through and sending things off to the Goodwill and the dump. ...Making progress!

Patio nearly finished

While one of us is inside all summer raising a baby, the other gets to escape outdoors to work on projects. A new patio is just one of the items on the baby-raiser's to do list. This weekend is the final trip to Home Depot for the last load of pavers and sand! We're not filling in the whole area. We feel like it's more unique this way, provides better drainage, it's cheaper, and we can do other things in the gravel.



Still thinking about upstairs!

Thoughts...

We've been talking about remodeling the upstairs! We think we might get started in October, which means we better start cleaning and organizing all of our crap up there. There are wedding presents, my dress, bikes, Buddy's crate, books, the PC, 2 filing cabinets, decorations, a couch, a futon, a couple chairs., etc. Good lord.

The bambino will help me clean up while I'm on maternity leave. That would be a huge project that would make me feel great to accomplish. I have about 8 weeks, so I think it's doable. I'm going to need a lot of storage bins and I think some cheap plywood to lay down in the attic. Some of the big things will have to stay up there until demolition begins.

We'll get our contractor friend to come over to provide ideas and tips to combating roof line and plumbing restrictions. We sort of already know what we want, but we should at least get a rough sketch of the framing plans. No need for permits (: (Sneaky!) Thank God for "under the table" electricians.

If anyone out there has any ideas, especially about venting a roof (we're thinking about a cap), please let us know. Also, good skylight brands? We're also thinking about supplementing our lighting with solar tubes. And don't even start on dormers. I don't think we can stomach all that, but it would be nice for a bathroom.

Stay tuned for further developments and new pictures of the growing paver patio.

It's been awhile

It's been far too long since we've blogged, but we've been busy building something special. Our son was born on Flag Day 2010 at 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long. Normally, we wouldn't post such personal photos and accomplishments to this blog, but it really has taken up a lot of potential remodeling time! We love him to pieces and I'm sure he'll be included in many photos.

Meanwhile, we've been working on a nursery, which just means painting a room blue and adding furniture and decorations.

Nothing major has changed, except that we're adding a patio to the backyard. It seems to be a relief for some to escape to the backyard over the weekend. It's a wonder there's enough energy for that.

Last of the windows in early Spring

How long have we been working on windows now? Seems like at least a year that we started the kitchen, so maybe a little over a year. Slowly, we've pieced them all in. We had to get the baby room ones done before summer. Here we are drilling holes for the added foam insulation.

Look at those panes. Beautiful. We're getting faster. I think with demo, these two took about 2 hours. Another 45 minutes to trim them out. Of course, I still have to caulk and paint the outsides.

We also decided to tackle the windows above the fireplace. They were a gross yellow, privacy glass pane that let in dirty light around 5pm. They were only $55 a piece, so we figured, why not just a simple window. It makes a world of difference. We're also kicking around the idea of a couple stained glass panels to fit over it....or just painting on some design.



The rest of the photos are just around the yard and house. We've been slowly trying to weed, get the garden ready, plant some new perennials. Things are slow going with a growing baby belly, but Buddy likes to help out. (yeah right)

Cherry blossoms

Cherry blossoms close-up

The fountain area is about to undergo a make-over

Sittin' pretty in the front yard

Old windows ready for a Re-Store dropoff.

New lattice to help hide that ugly shed.

Planting mix is spread. Waiting for warm weather.

A work in progress: Hill stairs featuring Juniper timbers

Hopefully this is a good before picture.

Old garbage can turns into new rain barrel. Full after a week!

Look at those new windows. Baby will love them.

Using the new table saw stand! No backaches to report.

Finally, an update

Wow! We haven't written in a long time. Things have been a little crazy because we're adding to the blog headline "A Girl and a Boy..." A remodeler junior is on the way in July!

Okay, moving on to what the blog is supposed to be about. Above are the doors we bought at the salvage yard, Second Use, in South Seattle. They were about $20 - $25, which seemed like a good deal. Their website is great because they include all the products and include an order number, so you can call and reserve your product.

Anyway, the doors were good, but super ugly. We spent an afternoon sanding, filling, and priming. Then two to three coats of high gloss latex white paint. We recommend using a slimmy roller and then back brushing. You definitely want to back brush any time you paint doors, trim, etc. ...anything you want to look smooth. The nap on a roller cover always leaves a little bit of texture. Rollers are great though for slapping on A LOT of paint.

Speaking of paint, we're picking out paint for the bambino's room. Since we're going with a space theme (yeah, we're a little nerdy), we're going to do a light blue on the walls and then a darker blue with white clouds for the ceiling. Glow in the dark paint for the stars! What do you think?


Check out the curtains! That's sewing.....buy a sewing machine and get on it. This is a lot of interior decorating for this blog, but if you can't make your home beautiful on the inside, there's really no point in remodeling to begin with.

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!