Wednesday, May 22, 2013

This is a warning....also, does anyone want to buy a house?

What a night! Every week brings with it a new set of challenges...problems...issues...a need for more MONEY! I have tried my very best to remain positive throughout this process, but I'm at my breaking point today. Our beautiful bathroom vanity was installed this week, that is great news, right? Not so much. It will be uninstalled tomorrow, of course  there is a "little problem", as the plumber put it. Something is wrong with the drain and now the vanity needs to be taken BACK out, a hole drilled in my beautiful tile floor and put back in, again. Why do these things KEEP on and on and on happening? I don't know how home owners ever get ahead. Please tell me your secrets??? The hardwood floors, the one that were supposed to be finished last week, are being sanded down as I write this post (thank you Lord) and will be stained Friday (maybe). Before I finish bickering for the night, let me share with you a fair warning about craigslist. I have been wanting a white slip covered couch for so many years. I LOVE the pottery barns ones like this one...


However, I can't see paying almost $3,000 for a love seat! So I had my heart set on a similar look at Ikea. Since the closest Ikea is over 4 hours away, I decided to search Craigslist to see what I might be able to find. I have read SO many blogs about these women finding these awesome couches and chairs for $150...$200. As my bad luck would have it, I found the perfect one! An EKTORP sectional for $200! I was so excited I could barely stand it. I asked the seller several questions about the couch; what condition it was in, were their in rips, was it sturdy, etc. She seemed to be very nice and very honest. #1 rule of Craigslist, keep an open mind AND be skeptical. I sent my husband and a friend of ours to pick up the couch today.  The drive was over two hours but I knew it would be worth it. My husband called me and warned me that there were some stains and tears but I told him I was ordering a brand new slipcover, so not to worry about it. He brought it home....this is when my breakdown occurred! IT IS DISGUSTING, like OH MY GAH...do people really live this way, nasty?! We wasted $200 on the sofa and $160 in gas...which means, we could have just purchased and BRAND new smaller couch from Ikea. What a complete disaster and total let down. Now I know...don't buy a couch on craigslist, gross! I think that is enough complaining for one night.. words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. I hope the next time I post, it will be filled with great news. For now, enjoy this precious little angel, my sweet "P"...


Monday, May 13, 2013

WHAT HAVE WE STARTED?!?

Good evening blog family! It has been weeks since my last post due to the fact that our new house is sucking every living ounce of time and energy out of me. If you have ever purchased a "fixer-upper", please tell me the thoughts "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" crossed your mind at some point! I feel like every time we take two steps forward we hit a wall (or glued down 1968 linoleum floor) and take 5 steps back. I just don't feel like we will ever finish, and although it's only been about a month, it feels like years! Enough complaining (for tonight). I have been taking pictures along the way to document everything so that I can look back the say "Woah, look at how far we have come from that point!". I'm willing to share the pictures, but please don't judge, because...yikes...some are BAD! So far we have: ripped out all of the old carpet, completely gutted the bathroom, painted every room except for the kitchen (coming soon...hopefully), replaced about 1/2 of the light fixtures (more of those to be hung soon, as well) and a few other minor things. We are hoping to get started in the kitchen next week and begin the construction of our new master bathroom and laundry/mudroom. Here are a few pictures of whats going on right now...

 Dining room floors and remaining hardwood will be refinished this weekend (YAY!)

 AWFUL linoleum in the hallway being ripped up.

 New paneling in the hallway!


 Bedroom

 OMG The dreadful gutted guest bathroom!!!!

 seriously....what a disaster



Living room

Luckily, we have made SOME progress in the guest bath since the gutted pictures. This room should be completed by this weekend!! FINGERS CROSSED!



I am soooo ready to start decorating. The decor part of this project is what I have looked forward to since the day we made our offer. Hopefully we will make a lot of major progress this weekend and I will be able to share some much more appealing pictures next week, wish us luck!

For now, I will leave you with a picture of the sweetest little nugget around, my Penny!