Homeversary & Bringing Baby Home

It's been a busy month, with a flurry of activity trying to get our house ready for baby, along with the end of my pregnancy.  It came down to the wire, but we were as prepared as we could be.

On June 8th, we brought home our baby.  We had a little boy!  I realized later, too, that the day we brought our son home was the 3rd anniversary of us owning our house!  What an amazing day.

The house looks just the same, if not slightly less kept-up on the outside, but there are big changes inside!  It's been an amazing transformation in there, and it's a nice place to bring our baby.  <3

Second House Anniversary

It's a gorgeous day in Minneapolis and we bought our house 2 years ago today! 

And unlike last year, I didn't procrastinate on getting an anniversary photo, so we actually have one this year...

2014

And again, back to the morning we bought the house...

2012

Lots of things left to do, of course...  But we have done quite a bit already!
Things we've done in the last couple years:

• Removed the front awnings
• Added edging around our sidewalk and along the front of the yard
• Removed the 4 giant bushes from the front and side yards
• Added flower beds on either side of the front window -- and I just put some rose bushes in there this week!  Finally!
• Took down 2 sick elm trees and trimmed up all the other trees
• Poured the concrete slab for the garage
• Added a patio door to the back of the house
• Replaced the front porch light
• Built my little garden plot in the backyard
• Fixed the drywall, painted and added flooring to the basement office
• Painted and added flooring in the main basement room
• Cleaned out, painted and added shelving to the storage room in the basement
• Replaced the washer & dryer and painted the laundry room
• Painted the ceiling in my office and added my "closet" hanging bar
• Scraped the popcorn from the living room ceiling
• Installed the refinished vintage chandelier to our bedroom

Exciting plans in the works for this month, too--  K has ordered her garage supplies and will be starting the garage in the next couple weeks.  When we realized yesterday that it's now been two years since we got the house, she said, "I can't believe I've been living without a garage for two years!"  And that's true!  Because she did have garages at our last couple rentals, but not at the home that we've actually owned.  Like I've said before, it will be a HUGE help to have the garage built and functional. 

My little garden is coming along nicely.  Started everything from seeds this year, so all the plants are a little small right now, but they look great...

Yummy lettuce and spinach

I also got an amazing present a few days ago from my bestie-- she made me an herb pot with all sorts of yummy things in it!  Basil, mint, lime thyme, parsley, oregano and sage...  YUM!  I have a couple of these growing in my garden, too, but the ones in the pot are fully grown and ready to be eaten...

Beautiful herb pot gift!

She also gave me a couple big clumps of chives from her garden.  She's had them growing in her garden for a few years and they've spread out a lot, so she had plenty to spare.  They smell amazing and they're so gorgeous!  I planted them in a big galvanized utility sink that I already had. I've had it for so long that I really don't remember where I got it!

Pretty chives...

Fixer-Upper Blues

Saturday cleaning, like many weekends.  And today I'm just...  over it.

Over trying to clean a fridge and walls with 10 years of caked-on yuckiness.  Seriously, the front of the fridge has a layer of something resembling rubber cement.  Very weird and won't come off!

Every room that we clean still looks dirty.  Because the floor is stained... because the walls aren't painted one solid color.  Because the ceilings are unfinished in various ways.

I'm over looking around the living room, and seeing it's in the same state as it was last December.  Only slightly more cluttered.

I need some more movement on this place.  This static mid-renovation state that we're in is not my favorite.  Even when we start and finish a little project, that still feels good.  But next up is a big project, and when it's done it will help us accomplish every other project.

Our summer was taken over by trees.  First the elm in May and then the other elm in August.  Those are finally complete.  The garage project has been pushed out and postponed, but now it's next in line.

Just wanted to vent.  I'm excited about everything this house will be, but sometimes my patience runs short.

It's Been 1 Year!

One year ago today, we got this house!  After a couple months of working on loans and wishing, and things came together on the morning of June 8th, 2012.


After our final walk-through, just before our closing.  Taken by our fantastic realtor, Brian Amiot.

Reflections on our first year as owners of a fixer-upper...
#1  --  Nothing will go as quickly as you imagined.  K and I both knew that, in theory, when we started all this.  But I think that we still expected to be further along by now than we actually are.  We don't even have ONE room complete.

#2  --  Yardwork is pretty fun in the first year!  It's the only immediate gratification that we've had so far, and it's been a great feeling to see the yard improve and see our curb appeal change.  Yardwork will probably become a drudgery, eventually.  But for now, it's been a great way to spend sunny evenings and weekends together.

#3  --  This house is going to be cute again someday.  I still believe that, and it still gets me excited to think about it.  All our big plans, and our little plans, will happen with time. 

The First Photos of Our House / Before Any Work

I realized it may be helpful to post together all of the photos we have of the house before we start renovations.  Since all the rooms need some sort of renovation, some rooms more than others-- all the "before" photos will be all together here.

Living Room

Big window in living room

One corner of the coved ceiling in the living room 

Front door and front hall closet

Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen, looking into hall and living room

Kitchen wall

Kitchen floor

Kitchen ceiling

Kitchen ceiling and cupbaords

Kitchen cupboards and counters -- Guessing all the cupboards looked like this once

Kitchen into hallway to basement & mudroom

Above kitchen doorway into mudroom

Main floor bathroom

Main floor bathroom

Hall closet

Bedroom 1 on main floor

Bedroom 1 on main floor -- closet doors

Bedroom 1 ceiling

Paint in bedroom 1

Paint in bedroom 1

Bedroom 2

Mudroom

Hallway to mudroom and basement

Basement stairs

Basement family room

Fireplace in basement

Basement bedroom

Basement bedroom

Basement bathroom

Laundry room

Basement storage room 1

Basement storage room 2

Stairs to second floor

Stairs to second floor

Second floor

Second floor

Front yard

Front yard

Back yard

Back yard

Back of the house

Front of the house