Before & After: Vintage Watercolor

Before notations: Okay, so the above is a close-up of the

$3 watercolor I bought at Olga’s this weekend. The matte was

molded and frame was yuck, so I did a little dismantling

work to get the painting out. The back of the watercolor

read in handwritten cursive,

“Paris, France ~ 1965.”

After notations: I wanted a vintage French scene …

but not necessarily one with the Eiffel in the background,

so I re-worked the watercolor within the new matte

and frame (that I already had), and voila, perfect.

Good Friday Morn

Good Friday. I read Beth Moore’s blog earlier and just about sobbed myself to pieces. That woman can articulate a thought like none other … and I so feel her on having “heavy thoughts” during Holy Week, and then, today. And Easter is such a beautiful celebration, a release … freedom … this innate sense of feeling so alive.

PB and I are heading to the airport in a few hours. The skies are dark and cloudy, and seeing as I never sleep all that well the night before a trip (for Paul it’s like the night before a trip to Disney when you’re five years old, for me it’s an ongoing mental check list – toothbrush, check …), I will be happy to get on the plane and sleep all the way to Atlanta. As I told a friend earlier in the week, the ATL airport is not such a bad place to have a lay over … I mean … you do have an array of dinner options, it’s not like choosing Sbarro over McDonald’s. Triple gag. No offense to any filet o’fish lovers out there … :)

And I’m going to read a new book, a memoir. There’s a shocker. If I think back to the last – okay – like ten books I have read … they’ve all been memoirs or biographies. There’s something to that … in someone telling their story. I can’t get enough. I also have a reality television obsession that I can’t get enough of, but to point that out would just be flat embarrassing, so we’ll stick with the realness of the memoir.

OH … and I’ve been working on a project this week (in all my spare time??) … I stopped by an estate sale on the way to the gym last weekend on the fly and bought an antique pedestal table for a whopping $40. It was a steal of a deal (and in mint condition, bonus). Anyway, I’ll post the table makeover edition (hint: white) next week upon my return to Pollen-ville.

And now, homeward bound. Happy Easter weekend!!

Part II (Of Ceiling Caving In...)

It seems that our white couch was sitting on an air conditioning vent in the living room. This was not a problem before July 2008 … when the air conditioning was fixed for the second time in the last year (remember joys of 1940s home ownership?) … but this time there was a large difference, namely, it felt like we had air conditioning.

Good grief.

So this is where the new problem occurs. New air conditioning (i.e. one that is actually working properly) + vent located under couch = moisture = bowing up hardwood floors = mold underneath the couch.

When we call the neighborhood Stanley Steamer this morning to see if they could kindly come to our house and remove mold from the inner panel of our one-year-old white couch, sales rep responds: “We do not remove mold, as it’s hazardous.” Hazard for who I ask? Your steam machine or MY lungs?

Now … before I scare all of you from ever wanting to spend the night in our home again – heck – set foot in our house again … we’re working on this issue. Either couch gets cleaned or couch goes to curb. The End. :)

The Reality Of Cottage Living

It’s true that the large majority of my youth was spent in a constant state of dream world. This is both a good thing (thank you, Martha Stewart) and a bad thing. The plus side of being a so-called dreamer is that life always seems full of possibilities … the downside is that even dreamers need a bit of a reality check at times (sad but true) …

One dreamer notion I held tightly to that did come to fruition was the idea of cottage living. I convinced myself at a very early age that all I needed in life (house speaking) was a 1,000 sq/ft cottage or bungalow – and I would be set. When we found our historic little home almost two years ago it fit the mold in my mind’s eye and it was love at first sight. [It was a rather simple process actually, we looked at many different homes, and when we walked into the one we now own, I looked at Paul and said, “This is it.” I may be many things, but finicky is not one of them. I tend to know what I like.]

And then we moved in.

Don’t get me wrong … I was (am!) still head over heels in love with our home (post-renovation, during the renovation I could have taken a sledge hammer both to myself and house) … I just realized that the cottage living idea was great for us (all two of us), but add in a dog a few years down the road, a couple of kids … and that place was going to be a zoo … a very small zoo. Could give an entirely new meaning to Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged bird sings. Especially if you cross out sings and insert screams.

But I digress.

So until that next stage of life … here’s to our home, and to my notion that living in a teensy little house really is wonderful … for all two of us … :)

A Work In Progress

I promised I would post pictures of our 'work in progress' home over the last year - I still need to add pictures of both bathrooms, guest room and study, but here's the beginning ... this house has been a labor of love ... so much so that I probably needed an epidural to hold me over on more than one occassion :)

Back Porch

Pre move in 2006 ... yes, a sight for sore eyes ...
the remnants of the college guys ...

Summer 2007 after 2 gallons of white paint ... and ... the chandelier which needs to be lowered to normal height ... still ;)
we painted the brick and floors and recently had the porch re-screened ... more pictures to follow :)

The Kitchen

Pre move-in 2006...
gutting the kitchen (lots of fun)
Summer 2007

The Living Room

Pre move in Fall 2006 ....


Fall 2006

Before ...

and after :)

Summer 2007

The Master Bedroom

The Dining Room

The day before move in ... September 2006

Fall 2006

...Still making do with the dining room table from the college days...

Spring 2007

Fall 2007

Dad's Birthday ...

Porch Beautification 101

We spent the better part of our weekend painting our back porch. Yes, the renovation continues. I set a goal that I would have the last “major” project finished before Bethany came back from Africa (she left last August) … and seeing as she got back in the U.S. on Friday – I had to get to work.....and fast!

This was no small feat though. I have really junky “after” pictures right now (seeing as I took them on my way out the door this a.m. and it was through the kitchen window leaving some major glare), but as soon as I get some good ones – I will post the fruit of all of our hard work and labor. I would go ahead and post the “before” pics, but it might scare some away from my blog all together. The back porch was hideous – it held remnants of the college guys who rented the house at one time (former Animal House) and some sort of large animal (dog maybe?) who called the porch home.

We painted the trim and brick white and then stained the floor with a solid Nantucket white color. The best part about getting this porch in working order is the new space it affords. We live in a 1940s bungalow style house where space is not always the best asset. The porch extends the options for entertaining, and for that – I’m grateful :)

We also worked a lot in the yard over the weekend. I weeded the gardens, Paul trimmed the shrubs, I planted lantana in the terra cotta pots and pruned the hydrangeas. I think one thing can be positively agreed upon…we now need a weekend to recover from the weekend………

On Monday of this week, Paul and I celebrated six months of married life. I’m not sure when the “honeymoon phase” is over or the “newlywed phase” for that matter, but I know that right now – I have never been more filled with joy. Each day is a new day, some days have been hard – other days have been harder … like the three Saturday mornings in a row after we moved that Paul would wake up to find me sitting on our couch - sobbing - with boxes, dust, nails, and miscellaneous everything covering every square inch of space around me. Most days, however, have been a blessing – pure and simple. We have learned that no matter how prepared you think you are for this thing called matrimony … you really don’t have much of a clue. But, like most things in life, this is a learning process – learning to do life together, and not wanting it any other way.

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

Honestly, it’s so hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us. From the time fall arrived, pumpkin everything invaded our house … fresh pumpkin bread from the French bakery … pumpkin candles … pumpkins on our front porch … non-fat pumpkin lattes with no whip from Starbucks … and even after all of this pumpkin … I still will be sad to see it go. But not too sad … because following the pumpkins … come more of my favorite things – really everything that encompasses the Christmas season.

We pray blessings on you, our family and friends, that you might find love and joy and peace – at this time of year … and always.

Here - There - Everywhere

Quick update on life :) We have been going, going, going the past week! We left last Friday for Signal Mountain and really enjoyed just hanging out and relaxing with family – it’s always a treat!! Came back to see that our little home had had an attempted break-in – really thankful for the alarm installed 2 days before our trip!!! Paul’s family came for soup and lemon pound cake on Monday night – yum :) Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Illinois doing a market analysis and Paul was holding down the fort – came home and gave a baby shower for our friends Brad and Kelly last night – yes, the era of babies is officially upon us! …though I can’t even commit to a dog at this point ;) It has been a really great week though … fulfilling.

We are looking forward to a weekend of more House 101. I need to paint the other bathroom tomorrow – it was going to be moss green, but due to the ‘smallness’ of the area, I don’t want to overpower – so – we might go for a shade of white – I know your jaws are dropping mock unison.

Best news is that I fly home one week from today :) haven’t been to Ocala since the wedding festivities – my little brother – who celebrates his 18th birthday tomorrow (can’t hardly believe that one!) has his football “senior night” – and I’m flying in to surprise him…(so keep your lips sealed!) I’m posting this b/c I’m obviously not worried about his teenage self reading his boring sister’s blog ;)

Also … congratulations to Elizabeth and Zach and Robyn and Chris … wonderful friends who both got engaged on the same day last weekend!

It's early on a Saturday morning. I am just piddling around because I know once the craziness of the day starts - it starts. We are going to undertake the task of bathroom painting today. The master bath will be a mossy green and the half bath will be ... announced. Not really sure what color I'm going to go with in there yet. I thought about a blue, which is strange, because I have never been a 'blue' person persay. I think a calming/spa blue would be pretty though. We'll see :)

I am also going to the pumpkin patch today! I'm going to get the front door looking fallish. That's one of my favorite things about living in a cooler climate - I love how everyone loads pumpkins and gourds onto their front porches, spilling off the steps. So pretty.

Have a wonderful weekend....

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

In The Trenches :)

For those of you who are familiar with the “renovation process” --- you know that even the best laid plans can be thrown in the gutter. Honestly, when one rips out a wall that was built 65 years ago, they are bound to find a few surprises. These surprises include code violations and electrical hazards, plumbing issues, uneven floors, etc. After finding that the tile job on the kitchen floor left little to be desired, and finding hardwood on the outskirts, we decided we would go ahead and rip up the tile and refinish the wood underneath. Did we find wood underneath? Of course not! We found red linoleum from 1941 – just perfect.

It must be made clear that Paul has been a suburbanite his entire life. His family lived in brick houses surrounded by other brick houses in neighborhoods that were not all that old – old in his terms = 5-10 years. Do you think he was prepared for a house that was 65 years old? I think not. He’s handling things surprisingly well. Like when we entered the house at lunch the other day and the contractor asked us if we had a box of Kleenexes …. Paul remained calm and composed. So did I [how many of you really believe me?!!].

We are learning that sweat equity means sweat with a capital “S”. We are learning that this is only the beginning of all of the adventures we will face together in this lifetime. That puts a smile on my face. Because when everything has gone out the door, including the kitchen sink, there is no one I would rather see on their hands and knees shoveling old tile and yelling at shelving when it won’t fit into the closet correctly….even covered from head to toe in dust and dirt, the guy who wants to make life wonderful for me, steals my heart – all over again.

The Move

So - we moved today. The rain held off until roughly 2 in the afternoon .... after we had gotten everything into our new home. Thank you, God. When the troops arrived this a.m. to move us out - I looked a bit disheveled. I mean ... every time I move I think how in creation did I acquire all of this???!!? So - it was a process, as all things are ... and we are up to our elbows in boxes and sweat and everything else right now.

We decided at the ripe hour of 7 a.m. with the contractor to remodel the kitchen... Yeah - we know - we figured we were already gutting the bathroom, let's get some more dust flying in this place....

Have I told you that we almost didn't get to move in today? That our house could have been mere ashes last night? That's right - Paul went to plug in the new stove ... only to find that the electrician had messed up the wires - so that when you plug in something in that particular outlet ... be prepared for a loud boom followed by a flash of fire ... that subsequently removes all the hair from your arms ... poor husband. However, we have lived to tell the story, our home is still in tact ... and we feel blessed beyond all measure ... once again.

Our First Home

After several months of praying, pondering, searching, viewing, reading, meeting and peeping (through the windows of houses!) – we found our sweet little home. Nestled in a historic section of East Memphis and built in the early 1940s we found what I consider to be the most perfect cottage. You can see from the photographs below that we will have to do a bit of work, but the character traits are there – hardwood floors, built-in shelving and the tiniest master bathroom you have ever seen (okay – so that is probably not one of the most ideal traits) – we absolutely love it and look forward to having a bit more space than the last 5 years of dorm and apartment living have thus far afforded. :)

We are planning to close the end of September and will move in before all of the bathroom/kitchen/back porch (needs some major overhaul!!) renovations are complete … oh, well – will make for some lovely stories, you can be sure.

The best part – we will be five minutes away from work – no more 1 hour waits in the a.m. and p.m. rush hour! Hoorah!!

Home sweet home!!! 

The living room - facing the front of the house...