Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Ticking off the list of little projects
Wow!! Where has time gone? It has been so long since we updated last. Sorry! Life has settled into a routine of sorts and we have been busy with little projects around the house. This weekend we will be expanding our household with two additional adults (my sister and brother-in-law), a three-year-old, a dog, AND a cat. It has been good for us to get our house in order before this big move happens, but it has been busy.
Things we've done or accomplished since our last post:
- Bought our first piece of furniture that wasn't from Goodwill (thrift store/ charity shop). A few weeks ago Rob and I bough a couch. It was out of stock but finally arrived and we picked it up last night. It is a perfect addition to our living room. It feels great to make a grown-up purchase and start creating some space where things match!
-On the note of matching... we have also been hanging curtains throughout the house and purchasing area rugs. We initially purchased these things for the living room, however after a total clearance bargain find we have new carpet in the blue room too.
-We bought a new (larger) chest freezer. We broke our chest freeze when we moved... or so we thought. After purchasing our new freezer and plugging it in, Rob figured out the freezers weren't working because the outlets in the basement are hooked into the light switch that is at the top of the basement steps. So now we have TWO freezers!
-We've become pretty expert at hanging up curtain rods!
-We rehung all the door. We figured our 'open living plan' wasn't the best option when you have two households living under one roof. We were also told a curtain as a bathroom door was a serious deal breaker. The bathroom door was the most challenging one, but we worked through it and have a door that works for now.
-We updated all knobs/ handles on the doors. A lot of the old knobs didn't stay on very well, so we bought some new ones and set about changing them. They look and work FABULOUS! We were having a hard time keeping our bedroom door closed and I came up with a great solution. It involved using a closer latch that you'd use for a kitchen cabinet. It was a very proud for me and it works like a charm.
-We bought a pool!! Not a big one or a fancy one, but a fun one, when it is warm enough to get in. We also hosted our first pool party ever and it RAINED the whole time! We had checked the weather and it said it was going to be drizzly in the morning but it should end between 12 and 1 pm. So we told everyone to come over at 2 pm. Well the morning ended up being lovely, but as soon as our guests pulled into the driveway... the rain started. We had a totally bummed out three-year-old on our hands. Luckily, we have lots of space and I had a few new-to-her toys tucked away. We did get in the pool a little bit, but it was nothing like we planned. The guys ended up hanging out in the garage and grilling massive amounts of food. It was also during our pool party that we discovered our warming tray works... but that there was plastic under the drawer. Once we got that out it was great.
-We got some new patio furniture. It was a hand-me-down from my sister's work friend. It is significantly larger than what we had previously. It is a little bit beat up, but I am very excited to try to 'flip it.'
-The squirrels at our house are very tricksy! We have seen a lot of amazing acrobat skills from the squirrels as they work on eating out of our bird feeders. We need to get some of those special cones to keep them away. Also we got a hummingbird feeder-- so excited. I am getting to be a crazy, bird lady, but I really just enjoy seeing what I can attract to the yard.
-Sidenote: my phone totally died without warning so we lost some of our photos. I was totally heartbroken when this happened. Luckily many were backed up and we have them on our blog, social media, and other places. There are some photos we just can't get back. :-(
That's all for now... wish everyone luck and happiness as we merge two households until the Chalupskys have their new house. :-)
Cheers! Colleen
Things we've done or accomplished since our last post:
- Bought our first piece of furniture that wasn't from Goodwill (thrift store/ charity shop). A few weeks ago Rob and I bough a couch. It was out of stock but finally arrived and we picked it up last night. It is a perfect addition to our living room. It feels great to make a grown-up purchase and start creating some space where things match!
-On the note of matching... we have also been hanging curtains throughout the house and purchasing area rugs. We initially purchased these things for the living room, however after a total clearance bargain find we have new carpet in the blue room too.
-We bought a new (larger) chest freezer. We broke our chest freeze when we moved... or so we thought. After purchasing our new freezer and plugging it in, Rob figured out the freezers weren't working because the outlets in the basement are hooked into the light switch that is at the top of the basement steps. So now we have TWO freezers!
-We've become pretty expert at hanging up curtain rods!
-We rehung all the door. We figured our 'open living plan' wasn't the best option when you have two households living under one roof. We were also told a curtain as a bathroom door was a serious deal breaker. The bathroom door was the most challenging one, but we worked through it and have a door that works for now.
-We updated all knobs/ handles on the doors. A lot of the old knobs didn't stay on very well, so we bought some new ones and set about changing them. They look and work FABULOUS! We were having a hard time keeping our bedroom door closed and I came up with a great solution. It involved using a closer latch that you'd use for a kitchen cabinet. It was a very proud for me and it works like a charm.
-We bought a pool!! Not a big one or a fancy one, but a fun one, when it is warm enough to get in. We also hosted our first pool party ever and it RAINED the whole time! We had checked the weather and it said it was going to be drizzly in the morning but it should end between 12 and 1 pm. So we told everyone to come over at 2 pm. Well the morning ended up being lovely, but as soon as our guests pulled into the driveway... the rain started. We had a totally bummed out three-year-old on our hands. Luckily, we have lots of space and I had a few new-to-her toys tucked away. We did get in the pool a little bit, but it was nothing like we planned. The guys ended up hanging out in the garage and grilling massive amounts of food. It was also during our pool party that we discovered our warming tray works... but that there was plastic under the drawer. Once we got that out it was great.
-We got some new patio furniture. It was a hand-me-down from my sister's work friend. It is significantly larger than what we had previously. It is a little bit beat up, but I am very excited to try to 'flip it.'
-The squirrels at our house are very tricksy! We have seen a lot of amazing acrobat skills from the squirrels as they work on eating out of our bird feeders. We need to get some of those special cones to keep them away. Also we got a hummingbird feeder-- so excited. I am getting to be a crazy, bird lady, but I really just enjoy seeing what I can attract to the yard.
-Sidenote: my phone totally died without warning so we lost some of our photos. I was totally heartbroken when this happened. Luckily many were backed up and we have them on our blog, social media, and other places. There are some photos we just can't get back. :-(
That's all for now... wish everyone luck and happiness as we merge two households until the Chalupskys have their new house. :-)
Cheers! Colleen
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Finallly... an update
Whew! What a CRAZY two weeks this has been since we moved in. It seems like the two weeks we've lived at the house have flown by. We moved in on Saturday, May 30 and checked out of our apartment on the 31st. The next few days were busy. We moved furniture and boxes but lived in a pretty crowded area until Wednesday evening when we could move everything into the correct room because the living room and master bedroom floors were done curing. So we stayed up late moving stuff around on Wednesday. And Thursday morning I took off to Milwaukee to officiate a roller derby tournament. I worked at 12 games over the course of three days and returned home Monday night to a more unpacked house than when I left. It was fantastic. Rob has been an absolute champ at unpacking... me not so much. I think part of this is it is only JUST hitting me that we actually own this house! I had a moment on Thursday when I walked into the kitchen and thought to myself, "Oh my gosh... we OWN this."
Last week not much happened. A bit of unpacking (by Rob) here and there, but overall we just sort of laid low. We had been working so hard on the house it was nice to take a little breather. Also for me, I was adjusting to life in a new classroom full of energetic three-year-olds and a new teaching team! Every night I came home pretty tired from the new adventures.
This weekend however we got back at it! On Saturday we installed a new shower head, hung several hooks in our bathroom, did some yard work and did a bit of unpacking / rearranging. We also went and looked at some new furniture. In the process of moving we noticed a crossbar on the underside of our couch was bowing so we used the rubber mallet to correct it, but accidentally knocked out some nails that held the crossbar in place. When you sat on the couch the crossbar would fall out the bottom. :-( We have temporarily fixed it, but we know the time is coming when it will need to be replaced. This isn't a surprise; (for anyone who doesn't know) the couch we have now is older than me!! It is a bright orange couch from my grandparents house. It has been a good couch, but sadly we know it will be time to say goodbye soon. Even when we were doing the temporary fix as you move it, you hear all kinds of metal that's shaken loose inside. We were surprised when we were shopping by the number of orange couches available, apparently it is coming back into style!
We also opened up one of our basement windows on Saturday. All of the basement windows had been sealed off inside and out, so we took off all the coverings and discovered a window that's in pretty rough shape, but will hopefully hold up for a bit. In the mean time it is nice just to get a bit of light into the basement. The basement windows are the old system where there is a storm and a screen so we traded out the broken storm window for the screen so we can let a bit of air into the basement too. We are saying a prayer that with these changes the basement remains watertight.
Once we moved in and showered here we realized how terrible the shower head was. So with a bit of courage, and a walk to the local automotive store to buy some wrenches/ pliers, we installed a new shower head Saturday night. I love that we have a few stores within walking distance that we can take advantage of.
Yesterday (Sunday) I was gone most of the day and not much got accomplished at the house. I attended a benefit for a very close family friend who is about to celebrate his 30th birthday and is battling cancer for the second time in his life. His wife also has medical issues and needs a new pacemaker. They are a very nice young couple who have been met with some tough medical times, so it was great to gather everyone up and raise some money to help them out. I was really excited though because in the silent auction I was the top bidder for a 'bird lovers' package. It included two bird houses, two bird feeders, a bird water dish, and all the feed for the feeders! Tonight I put the first feeder out (the only one that was ready and easy to attach) and have been patiently waiting for the birds to find it. I am just hoping the birds find it before the squirrels. It is in our front yard so that we can see it through the window while we watch TV. We are definitely joining our elderly neighbors in the pursuit of bird watching!
That's really all for now. I should go help Rob as he's been unpacking the whole time I've been writing. He really gets all the credit for unpacking!
Last week not much happened. A bit of unpacking (by Rob) here and there, but overall we just sort of laid low. We had been working so hard on the house it was nice to take a little breather. Also for me, I was adjusting to life in a new classroom full of energetic three-year-olds and a new teaching team! Every night I came home pretty tired from the new adventures.
This weekend however we got back at it! On Saturday we installed a new shower head, hung several hooks in our bathroom, did some yard work and did a bit of unpacking / rearranging. We also went and looked at some new furniture. In the process of moving we noticed a crossbar on the underside of our couch was bowing so we used the rubber mallet to correct it, but accidentally knocked out some nails that held the crossbar in place. When you sat on the couch the crossbar would fall out the bottom. :-( We have temporarily fixed it, but we know the time is coming when it will need to be replaced. This isn't a surprise; (for anyone who doesn't know) the couch we have now is older than me!! It is a bright orange couch from my grandparents house. It has been a good couch, but sadly we know it will be time to say goodbye soon. Even when we were doing the temporary fix as you move it, you hear all kinds of metal that's shaken loose inside. We were surprised when we were shopping by the number of orange couches available, apparently it is coming back into style!
We also opened up one of our basement windows on Saturday. All of the basement windows had been sealed off inside and out, so we took off all the coverings and discovered a window that's in pretty rough shape, but will hopefully hold up for a bit. In the mean time it is nice just to get a bit of light into the basement. The basement windows are the old system where there is a storm and a screen so we traded out the broken storm window for the screen so we can let a bit of air into the basement too. We are saying a prayer that with these changes the basement remains watertight.
Once we moved in and showered here we realized how terrible the shower head was. So with a bit of courage, and a walk to the local automotive store to buy some wrenches/ pliers, we installed a new shower head Saturday night. I love that we have a few stores within walking distance that we can take advantage of.
Yesterday (Sunday) I was gone most of the day and not much got accomplished at the house. I attended a benefit for a very close family friend who is about to celebrate his 30th birthday and is battling cancer for the second time in his life. His wife also has medical issues and needs a new pacemaker. They are a very nice young couple who have been met with some tough medical times, so it was great to gather everyone up and raise some money to help them out. I was really excited though because in the silent auction I was the top bidder for a 'bird lovers' package. It included two bird houses, two bird feeders, a bird water dish, and all the feed for the feeders! Tonight I put the first feeder out (the only one that was ready and easy to attach) and have been patiently waiting for the birds to find it. I am just hoping the birds find it before the squirrels. It is in our front yard so that we can see it through the window while we watch TV. We are definitely joining our elderly neighbors in the pursuit of bird watching!
That's really all for now. I should go help Rob as he's been unpacking the whole time I've been writing. He really gets all the credit for unpacking!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Monday, June 1, 2015
Officially home
Please bear with us as we are so slow in updating. It is officially official, we are moved in to our house! We had help from my family, the Starks, and Auntie TT, to move all the big stuff on Saturday. Lots of hands (and vehicles)made for fewer trips and lighter work.Then we cleaned and cleaned,and did a final inspection at our apartment on Sunday before turning in our keys. We can't move everything to where it belongs until Wednesday. This will allow the floors to be fully cured. As I said, please bear with us, life is a little crazy. On top of moving homes, I am also moving classrooms at work, which means I have to pack everything up there. And the icing on the cake is that I will be working my first derby tournament in Milwaukee this weekend (12 games in 3 days!). So to say life is a bit of an upheaval is no exaggeration. We will be getting internet set up this weekend, so I will attempt a large post once we are up and running since updating on the tablet is tricky.
Cheers for your patience!
Colleen (and Rob)
Monday, May 25, 2015
Mad dash
This weekend has been a bit of a mad dash to finish our last BIG project before our house is move-in ready. So it is with much exhilaration that we can say our floors are finished! I will give more of a run down later, but we wanted to share the exciting news.
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