30/30: Up and Running

October 22nd

This may not seem like the biggest deal but for two wanna-be DIY-ers little feats like getting our second shower up and running is a big to-do.  We finally got all the pieces and installed a new shower head and knob in our master bath shower.  

You can read more about this and our other house projects at: The Amberican Dream.

Radio Silence...And A New Blog

This past year kicked my ass.  Actually, it's been a gradual build-up of a few hard years cumulating to this final boot in the butt.

While writing helps me sort through emotions and hardships, it didn't seem productive/fair to subject the cyber world to my woes, so I didn't write much at all.

This year was emotionally and physically destructive and I blame it on one thing.  Doctors.   They are my Kryptonite and they wore me down.  After a year of appointments with 10 different doctors, going through dozens of tests and lab work to try to figure out a chronic pain in my lower right abdomen, a pelvic pain specialist finally figured out it's a hernia.

The worst part is that when the pain first started I read an article in the NY Times about how difficult hernias are to diagnose in women so I asked every doctor about it but they all told me I was wrong and thought I was crazy.  I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating and taxing this experience was for me.

Here is a link to the article about diagnosing hernias in women.  All doctors should read this.

I am partly relieved to finally know what the problem is but terrified, of course, to face surgery and recovery.

With that said, I'm focusing my attention elsewhere.  In the midst of all this madness, my husband and I bought our first home.  It needs major updates so I have no shortage of projects lined up and things to distract me from the rest of my problems at hand.

To chronicle the progress of the house for our families, friends, and anyone else to follow along, I started a new blog.  It's called The Amberican Dream.  

Hope to see you there!

Taking House Notes

Sometime in the next year or two, we hope to become homeowners.  In the meantime, we take note of all the things we like in other peoples houses. 

Here are a few things we liked about the rental house near Charleston, SC where we recently stayed.  (Let's momentarily suspend the knowledge that we can't afford a place like this.)

1.  Open floor plan.  We loved the way the kitchen overlooked the dining area which overlooked the living room.  Even though it was a large space, it was separated perfectly, allowing each part to feel defined and comfortable.

2.  Pocket doors.  Pocket doors are great, especially in tight spaces when you can avoid having to worry about the placement of swinging doors.

3.  Screened-in porch.  I love being outside and being able to open doors and windows to let in fresh air.  What I don't love is paying for it the next day with 100 mosquito bites.  If I could have the best of both worlds, I would be a happy camper. 

4.  Modern fixtures.  We're not ultra modern people, but we do enjoy clean lines and more modern looking lights.  Tommie liked this fan a lot.  This is something we could work to upgrade if we got an older home.  I also liked the use of pendant lights all around the house, including in the kitchen. 

4.  A nice kitchen.  We like food, so having a good kitchen someday is important to us.  I liked this yellow kitchen--it had plenty of space, an island, and a really nice gas stovetop.  

5.  A marsh/creek/ocean/yard.  I realize I'll probably never own a place near water living in Durham, North Carolina in the middle of the state, however, outdoor space is important to me.  I like yards and gardens and decks and patios.  I like looking out the window and seeing something natural and peaceful.

What are some of the top items on your house-hunting checklist?

Cutest. Houses. Ever.

Once we started walking down some of the small side streets of downtown Charleston, I couldn't stop. There were just so many adorable homes and perfectly manicured gardens to look at. It wasn't just down one street, it was the whole area that was just so perfect. Money helps, of course. 

What I loved most was seeing ideas of how to make even small spaces so beautiful. Skinny yards wedged between homes were extravagant gardens, tiny driveways were well-landscaped, and patches of grass were highlighted with bricks and moss.

 

Guest Room

We had our first long-term house guests for Thanksgiving.  Tommie's parents drove down from Boston and arrived in Durham in time for dinner.  (They drive like typical commuters, while my parents don't believe in using the passing lane and would have taken double the time.)

The guest room has been a work in progress since we moved, but it's finally sanctioned as a decent place to stay.

It has our old wicker double bed that we draped with a new large blue quilt we got for sale at the outlets for $50.  Updated thrift store lamps provide lighting, and a sage green refurbished dresser from Craigslist gives some drawer and surface space.  I'm sticking to natural tones like tan, blue, green, and white in here.

I also put one of our bookshelves in the room because I like the idea of people being able to thumb through books before bed or if they get bored.  I used to like snooping through other people's libraries.

Having a house with an extra room is nice so that we can host visitors.  It's also scary having a house with an extra room so that we can host visitors.  I love my family and encourage friends to visit...in small increments  :)

Booger Table Makeover

I'm not sure where the time is going, but it's going. Before it gets too cold to sand and paint outside, I've been trying to finish up some DIY projects, like redoing this $50 drop-leaf dining table we Craigslisted from a woman we are pretty sure was on drugs (more reason to Craigslist in two's). 

It was used as a kid's drawing table and had marker smudges and, I think, boogers stuck to it. First, I gave it a light sanding, and primed the dark green legs. 

I knew I wanted to paint some portion of the table orange after being inspired by these refurbished orange tables on Pinterest:

Found here

Found here

I had some leftover pumpkin-colored sample paint which I used for the legs, and gave the top a crisp white coating for contrast.

After a couple coats of polyurethane on top and some wax finish on the legs, I think it's ready to host meals just in time for Tommie's parents to visit us during Thanksgiving week.

Before

After

The once dark dining nook when we first moved here is looking a lot brighter.

The Grass is Sort of Greener

As I mentioned in a previous post, raking our yard was half the battle--the next part is a lot more tricky, for one because we don't own the property so we don't want to (nor can we) put in a lot of thought and effort, let alone money. The second reason is that I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never had my own yard, so most of what I do involves putting down seeds, watering them, and seeing what happens.

I decided to try to make a couple "puppy patches" of grass--one in the fenced in area that I am assuming was a garden at one point (but it gets way too much shade so I'm not entirely sure what would grow well in there), and one abutting our patio for Maya to lay in and to help buffer the mud.

First I tried to just put down some Scott Patch Master near the patio to see what would happen. I know it's technically to patch existing grass, but I thought, "Well, what if I just want a patch?" Well, nothing happens, that's what.

Plan B was putting down a thin layer of top soil and seeding it with Scott Dense Shade Grass Seed. Just as I was beginning to give up, I saw the little spouts of hope coming up. Week two and it's slow growing and spotty, but maybe with another light reseeding it will fill in.

All I did in the fenced in area was put down the same Dense Shade mix (no top soil because the dirt is better in there). That started to grow quickly with some regular watering, however, it too is spotty, probably due to the lack of sun.

Before

 After

At least it looks a heck of a lot better than when we got here!  (Did I mention how many leaves we raked!?) And from far away, it certainly looks green, you just can't look up close.

I recently mixed in some Scott EZ Seed to see if it helps fill in the gaps. I got all my seeds on clearance at Target or 50% off at Lowes so I'm not loosing lots of loot even if my little yard patches never fully catch. Hopefully over time the grass keeps getting greener.

Conference Table Makeover

Tommie's office space at new job recently changed and one of his tasks was to help makeover the room, which, of course, turned into me also helping with the room makeover. Luckily, Tommie and I both like us some HGTV real-life action.

The new office space, which was the old computer lab inside a Durham private school, is shared by four staff members. Among other new items, Tommie chose these L-shape desks from Office Depot for each corner of the room.

The group also wanted a conference table in the middle of the room where they could converge. With a small budget in mind, Tommie and his boss found this dated dinging room table at the Habitat for Humanity Store in Durham for $75, along with the black chairs you will see in the "after" photos for $3 a pop.

The table had some knicks and other eye-sores but it had sturdy bones and plenty of space. So, the boys bought the table and told me to fix it, woman. Not really, they asked me politely what I could do with it and I made something up like I usually do.

Since the organization is a young, education-based non-profit, we went for a bold change, incorporating the group's colors (blue and white) with part of their logo (the "U").

Like most DIY projects I start, I had no idea what I was doing. After giving the wood and laminate surface a little sanding down, we coated it with Zinsser Cover Stain Primer which I read worked on laminate.

Then we applied a really good Valspar semi-gloss white paint to the base and the legs, even painting over the rusted brass "details." The top got a few coats of Olympia's premium semi-gloss, low VOC paint in Brilliant Blue. 

The logo was created by first tracing the outline of a trash can lid to get an even circle, then putting tiny pieces of painter's tape around it. I also used painter's tape to create the "U" inside the circle.

After applying three layers over consecutive weeks, the finished product got a couple light coats of Briwax clear finishing wax to make it seal and shine.

The U isn't perfectly even, and the surface of the table shows some bumps and imperfections, but we'll just call those "marks of character" and enjoy the end result as it is--bright, fresh, and vibrant.