We Made It! Mostly.

Well, I have been away for just over a month now but I proudly return with wonderful news. My husband and I bought our first home! I report that we are happily terrified home owners. Mostly because it's all on us now, although, we weren't really the, 'call the landlord for everything' types but still it's a lot especially for a couple kids. (I know we are definitely not kids anymore but we forget that sometimes.)

A little background on our little slice of freaky luck. We looked all over the state looking for a place that was close enough to my husbands work and populated enough that finding nanny work would be easier. our budget was very tight but we had a little cash for renovations and restorations on the new place so a fixer upper was perfect. We saw the most bizarre looking homes. An old camp cottage that had a couple additions but they were never insulated so they were unlivable rooms and the only access to the water heater and the basement was a creepy floor panel crammed awkwardly in a corner that was only big enough for a smaller person to drop straight down. Then the old place by the hospital with the exposed hot water pipes along the walls, built in everything and strangely disjointed rooms. Oh not to mention the only bathroom was upstairs by the bedrooms and the stairs were cut in too close to the slope of the roof so you have to sort of duck under the roof at the top of the stairs. Yeah, I saw that going bad fast.

So after all these crazy things we found a two bathroom three bedroom mobile home that was set over a basement. Boom, I'm in, the price was right and it was in the same town we live in and we can make it our own. We discover the front wall is rotted so we were forced to walk away.
About two weeks later I get an email from the realtor selling the mobile home saying the bank is willing to fix the front wall, (new windows new dry wall, better flashing on the front porch and resided the area.) We are in. For those of you who have ever bought a home I'm sure you can imagine what the next month was like for us awaiting approval and sending in last minute paperwork etc. Nightmare! We got it and we moved in and started tearing the place apart. It was AWESOME! We painted everything, got brand new floors, which we are still in the process of putting it in.

It is a wonder my husband and I have not had strokes over the whole process. I swear my house was built by college students. Most of the trim isn't nailed down properly, the new wall is currently leaking again, the previous owners decided to try to heat the uninsulated basement by cutting large holes in the air duct so the heat is just dumping into the basement. This goes on and on.

Yet through all that I have to find a reason to smile. My husband and I bought our first leaky, drafty house together. We have an adult refrigerator and oven now, my daughter is comfortable here and is sleeping through the night again with very little bedtime fuss lately. Not to mention her hair is just barely long enough to do something with and that is very exciting.

 These are the new floors. Not bad for 99 cents a square foot. All of the renovations, and there will be a before and after post, cost us a little over two thousand dollars. As long as you have a plan in mind and the patience to bargain shop you can reno even a disgusting old trailer into a beautiful modern home.

She clearly has no problem with the move. She loves the sound of her boots on the hard floors. 

Hooray, no more gross carpet!

Well, now that we are back into somewhat of a normal routine I can come back and snuggle with the blog again I don't know how many of my little projects I will get done with so much needing to be done on the house but I did get a dremel tool for Christmas from my step father and it is definitely bad ass little machine. I'm pushing for a kraig jig for Mothers Day but we will see. Now I'm off to make a broquet for my husband for Valentines day. 

Another day. 

Another chance.

Another smile.

Jewelry Box DIY

So last week I posted the beginning stages of the jewelry box refinish project I was working on. This was sort of a trial run to see how well I did with this to determine weather or not I should attempt refinishing some old furniture. Well, despite the few touch ups I will have to do when this rainy fall is all done, it turned out beautifully. Keep in mind I have not put the poly-urethane coat on yet so it still looks a bit dry but....

 Before:

   

 Ugh, just a bit too pink for me.

After:

I also relined the drawers,

So all in all it took about two days simply because I ran out of free time and cost me about 12 bucks. Less if you already have sandpaper and or stain.
The procedure: It was really as simple as it looks. I sanded off the varnish and as much of the previous stain as possible. Then I used about three coats of ebony wood stain, took fifteen minutes. I "carefully" ripped out the pink felt lining and simply wrapped it in some contact shelving paper. Same with the cabinet walls and the stained glass front. Super glue the pieces and put them back in place. Use a small screw driver to tuck the edges back in.
Used some plastic spray paint to change the color of the carousel in the top of the cabinet. 

Screw everything back together and tada!

I am in the process of house hunting for the next couple weeks so I'm not sure when I will have time for more projects at the moment but my daughter's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks so I guess it will have to be decorations and making goody bags. 

Mmmm, more coffee needed, off I go. Until next time.

Upcoming Projects

Ah Mondays, that oh so wonderful day that reminds us just how short the weekend is. Mondays are also my two job day and both of my morning kids are teething. Hooray! They also have discovered that they prefer solid food so I share every meal I make. All these things are manageable but my daughter has suddenly decided she doesn't like her crib anymore so when we try to put her to bed she screams bloody murder. I am hoping this is simply a phase but I will tell you, we are exhausted.

The joys of parenthood. This all being said we did have a very fun weekend at the Fair on Saturday. Daddy and the boys heard the call of the man and had to show off the tractor pull to his little girl. The sound of engines is the male mating call I think as every time you heard one in the distance the boys noses went up in the air trying to locate that particular truck like dogs trying to catch a scent. Quite comical actually.

 Me, personally, I am a bigger fan of the rides. I was a bit of a thrill seeker before  children so when my husband and best friend declined climbing into one of these rides by informing me, "These were built three days ago, I'm not climbing into that death trap." This made me think a second but decided.. Well that's part of the thrill right? All in all it was a lovely trip to the fair. Over priced food and all.

This week I have a few new projects to get working on. One of which is to look for a local Realtor. That's right! We were prequalified for a loan and we are ready to start house shopping! I am so excited I'm ready to start packing but I am aware of the home buying struggle so I am attempting to keep my radical impulses to a minimum. That I believe will be mostly e-mails and phone calls so I have room for a few more projects on my agenda. 

I found a perfect recipe for french toast sticks that are freezable so I'll be making some more of those for a quick breakfast. 

My landscaper friend gave me some tips on my little indoor garden and offered to help me build the greenhouse by the porch so looks like I'm going to have to be a little crafty. We have one of those screen tents and we never use it so I was thinking I can cut out the mesh and replace it with clear plastic sheeting. Maybe remove some squares in the roof and reinforce the plastic to prevent collapse in the event of heavy snow or rain. (Don't really need to shock the warmer plants by snow leaking in.

I have a bunch of pallets and boxes that are begging to have something built out of them. Sadly, I don't have any power tools at home so I have to wait for my husband to get home, at which point it's time for dinner and to give our daughter a bath and boom... It's our bed time. So who knows when I will get to that.

I also a few pieces of furniture that I will be sanding and re-staining, (super excited to turn an old hand me down armoir we have had for year into something modern and beautiful.) So I think this will be one of my first to begin. This project will be something I can do when the babies are sleeping. Photos and results to come.

I feel the more active I am, the more productive I am and the happier life feels.