Cooking! (no, really!)

The fall weather has inspired me to stop making meals out of milk and randomly grabbed pieces of tortilla (although I love both of these) and actually make a few real meals.  First up was the first lasagna I have ever made.  It went amazingly well (so, so good).  Five people devoured an entire, then Shawn and I carefully split the remainder over the next two day's of lunch/dinner to draw it out as long as possible.  Yesterday's meal was pork loin - nothing fancy here, just baking the pre-seasoned pork with some quartered potatoes.  Tonight, more pork and I made cranberry sauce.

This may be as much cooking as I have ever done in a week.

Jess

A small update...

I have been making a few more updates that I will show soon, but here is a small one that turned out very well. 

Here is the bathroom vanity we inherited:

The vanity itself is staying for now, but the grungy modern knobs on the traditional vanity had to go. 

Here it is again after a quick trip to Target:

Much better.  Now if only someone would clean off the collection of makeup and hair things on the top...

An (Overdue) Update on the Little Bedroom

Here is how it started:

And here is how it ended up, after a good coat of Behr Polar Drift (Flat) and several hours taking up carpet:

I love this color of blue.

Next up: The little bedroom

The next painting project is the littlest bedroom.  This is one of my favorite rooms, since it has two leaded glass windows to complement the downstairs window in the door.  I have not been great with capturing the before, but here are some before/in progress pictures of the bright turquoise paint:

 

Max considered himself a big help in the painting process.  I got sick of taping, and decided to try to cut nearly everything in by hand.  I think this first coat went fairly well - we will see about the next!  Next step is to buy the color today, and wrap this up!

Before's and afters

The dining room before.... (not our furniture)...

The diningroom with a new coat of blue and white.   Currently our little kitchen table is bravely trying to fill up the space with it's two little chairs, so I am searching for a dinging room table.  I can't decide what style set to get - any ideas?

The master bedroom before (again, not our furniture...)

And after with a coat of Behr's Silver Charm in flat finish...



Quick Shine

My cousin told me about this for wood floors, and it is amazing.  It took our great, but I-wish-it-was-a-little-shinier floors and gave them a nice, medium gloss.  The cat is the only one who doesn't like it - he is hanging out in the bathroom until it dries.  : )

Jess

Welcoming...Max the Kitten

Against better judgement, lots of advice, and a few threats (Shawn!), we got a kitten over the weekend.  He is a sweet, purring, curious little guy. 

Despite his threats, Shawn has kindly cleaned out the litter box several times for Max.  : )

Upstairs bedroom walls are finished...

After a false start that left me with some lavendar walls, I repainted with Behr's Silver Charm (Flat Finish).  Much better - just as pretty against the white woodwork, but brighter, more gender nuetral, and more adult.

After the carpet comes up, this room will be finished.  Hopefully I will be able to get the carpet up later this week.  The worst part is pulling up the staples one by one - those things were meant to stay!

Eventually, the woodwork needs a new coat of white gloss enamel - the last people tried to get by with one coat in a semi-gloss, but it did not go well.  For now, though, the room is finished as soon as the carpet is out. 

Jess

Finished with the Downstairs!

After another afternoon of finishing up the bottom of the dining room...

It's finished!  There will be a few touchups in the living room, and maybe a second coat of white in the dining room eventually, but it is done for now.  Here is the completed dining room:

Jess

Painting in progress

Some "durings"...

Paint Swatches

No "after's" yet, but here are the colors:

Verdigris in Kitchen and Bath Satin finish

and Coastal Vista in flat finish

Behr to the rescue...

Or, our journey from Tuscany. 

The paint scheme we inherited downstairs was very warm - a salmon orange kitchen, golden yellow dinining room and sun room, an a beige living room.  The living room will stay its current color until I get a better idea of what I want to do with it - it's a nice, neutral cross between tan and vanilla. 

The kitchen and dining roo, though, had to go.  We primed yesterday (with a little help! : ) , and I bought the paint this morning.  The kitchen will be Behr Verdigris - I put on part of the first coat today, and was so happy that the color worked with the woodwork, cabinets, and counters just the way I thought it would.  Here is the kitchen "before"...  the "after" is coming soon!

Click here for the kitchen in progress with Verdigris...

Jess

Taping at 11:30 at night...

Is a beautiful thing.  : )  Especially when you need to be up at 5 tomorrow to drive 1.5 hours onsite.  Diet coke, here I come.

Prepping the Walls...

The next two weeks are all about painting.  I think I have the first set of colors picked out: 

Verdigris by Behr for the kitchen....

Coastal Vista by Behr for the dining room...

And Fainting Violet by Valspar for the upstairs bathroom.

I spent yesterday buying rollers & dropclothes, and washing the walls.  Today is more washing, then on to taping for the primer.  I can't wait to see the orange, mustard yellow, and teal disappear!

Jess

Stats

Wow... I have had 140 page views in the US (although 138 of them could very well be me, 1 could be my husband, and 1 could be my mother)...and one from India, and one from the Ukraine.  Craziness that someone so far away could stumble on this : )

We may have a house (finally!).  Inspections, financing, contracts and insurance are almost completely wrapped up - we will see what happens...

It is in solid shape, but I have big plans for it!  A new newel post, banister, and railings for the steps;  a pretty blue/grey/white/lavender/teal paint scheme throughout;  wainscoting under the stairs and in the dining room, and an updated upstairs bathroom....   it should be fun.  : )   I've found a few companies that sell pretty stair & wainscoting kits, which should be fun. 

Jess

Homeless in Missouri...

So, I lied about the pictures.  And the fish's name changed from Juniata to Ghost to Zombie in the week after this post, when he refused to eat and I couldn't figure out what was keeping him alive.  A quick update:  Have forgotten all about Tower Grove ever since finding a beautiful Dutch Colonial with AMAZING detail (waterfall staircase!  original doors!  paneled entryway!) in Webster...only to discover that the sellers had recieved 3 offers and accepted one in the three days it took me to get back in town, arrange a viewing, and spend just enough time staring at pictures to get my hopes up.  Pretty sells fast, people.  Wish me better luck next time!

Juniata...the fish

Tonight's addition to the family is a pretty white & neon-colored beta, with a teal and purple iridescent sheen to his fins.  I have named him Juniata, after Tower Grove.  Odd, I know, but it just seemed to fit him.  Pictures to come!

Jess

The death of a dream....

Nothing more to say. 

Putting in an offer...

So after lots of discussion, we are going to take a chance on city living next to the beautiful Tower Grove Park and put in an offer on the lovely foursquare we saw back in January.  My fingers are crossed!!!

Our new home(s)

I have found my perfect house - brick, with 10 foot ceilings, a fireplace, a sun-filled kitchen and refinished baths.  I have looked at it twice, collected every picture available off of the realtor sites, and even found a youtube video the rehabber/flipper created about it.  I have described it ad nauseum to anyone who will listen.  It is beautiful. 

My husband has also found some perfect houses.  They have finished basements and new roofs.   

It would, however, be nice if his perfect house and mine were, say, within five miles of each other. 

Jess

A foreclosed mystery

I went to see a lovely foreclosure today - beautiful, 10 ft ceilings, three stories with a finished attic, and a pretty back yard on a quiet street.  At first I didn't think much of the sooty residue on the floors - probably the evidence of too many people with snowy, muddy shoes.  The black spatters on the wall where a puzzle, though - what did the previous owners do in these rooms?  The blown-out chunks of radiator cinched it.  I don't know what has to happen in a steam or hot water system to cause 5 inch cracks and holes the size of your hand in a cast iron radiator tube, but I doubt it was pretty.   And I doubt that it is the only thing that went wrong.  Back to searching...  I hope someone who knows something about radiators (and, it turns out, asbestos) takes the house and shows it some love.  It has the most beautiful bones. 

Jess

House hunting...continued

We toured a lovely home last week - a two-story dutch colonial in Glendale.  Built in the 1920's on 1/3 of an acre, with a wood-burning fireplace, french doors, hardwood floors and 9 foot ceilings.  A partially finished basement, and a large patio & shed in the backyard. 

Fast forward to the seller's disclosure:  knob & tube wiring (seriously?  the house has the original 1920's wiring?)  and termites. 

No, thank you.  As pretty as it is, we have to pass.


I have been thinking at lot about colors and design for the new place (where ever it is).  After enojoying our two cranberry courdoroy loveseats for a few years, I'm thinking about retiring them to a cozy den and looking at something more muted for the new living room.  Maybe something like this, with silvery blue wall?

Jess