Yeah, I might be stalling...

I just got back from Home Depot. I bought some new lint-free cloths and vinyl gloves so I can FINALLY get started on sealing my Eames chairs with Penetrol. It's been so long. At least they are done being sanded. That part was not enjoyable. I have never been so itchy in my life. Truth be told, the Penetrol freaks me out. I have nightmarish visions of leaving them to set in the basement in all their glossy glory, only to find our cat curled up in one in the morning. Stuck. But in a few moments, I'm going to go down there, find something fun to watch on the computer (thank goodness for Netflix Instant Viewing...) and get started. I'm hoping I can at least get the backs done.

In other news, we have officially adjusted to the new room set up. I switched the new Danish Modern chairs (that no one is mentioning in terms of reselling or not reselling... at least for now) so that they are under the map. It looks SO much better. The height of those beauties works well on that wall.

That being said, my new dream is to find a modern sectional for the living room. After hours and hours of thinking over the best way to utilize that small space, I really think that would be ideal. We could have the main section on the wall where the map is, and then have it come out under the window. I've been checking Ebay and Craigslist, but most used sectionals are those big clunky beats that look like leather potato sacks and somehow have four recliners built in. Ew. It will be at least a year before we have the budget to get anything in there, but I want to keep an eye out to figure out what my favorite shapes and scales are. I'm completely infatuated with this one sectional at Room and Board, but like most Room and Board furniture, it's probably never going to be within our reach. But look at it! I think my favorite is this red color.
The second part of the sectional plan means putting our current couch down into the basement "living room" to create a den. It would be great to have a TV down there. There are no windows in that area, so it would be ideal. We just have to get a TV first... And this sectional. Am I the only one who gets depressed thinking about how expensive home decorating is? Am I the only one who feels guilty for wanting to spend money on these things and not just appreciating exactly what we have? I mean, I love our house, and I'm happy with what we have, but as we live in our home and figure out how it works, we are bound to come up with better solutions, right? Sigh.

So in the world of basements, ours is so frustratingly awful right now. It was flooded a couple of weeks back when a water main broke in the front yard. It's a very sticky and uncomfortable situation. The water main that broke in the front yard was broken during the HGTV renovation. They hit the water line with an auger. Oops. Apparently they didn't repair it well enough either, so it rebroke and we woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago with two to three inches of water in our basement and lots of the front yard flooded. We called the contractors, and they came out and fixed things. That first day, they had a plumber come out and replace that water main, then replaced the drywall in a small part of the basement kitchen where the new water main comes in. They also shop vacuumed up all the water, and left a giant dehumidifier thing for a while. But since then, they have had some pretty slow going on doing other stuff... *I* spent several hours on a Saturday ripping out the carpet in the basement bedroom that was most effected by the flooding. The berber carpet was glued directly to the concrete by some genius before we moved in, and it just would not dry. Our house smelled like a moldy locker room for several days. Even though I got that carpet out a few days after the flooding had been cleaned up, it was still completely soaked. It made it easier to pull up since the adhesive was so wet, but it was the most ungodly smell of all time. While I was pulling it out, I realized that the rubber baseboards (again, some dingleberry who "finished" the basement used that rubber commercial-grade stuff as baseboards throughout the entire basement) were not sticking to the drywall, and when I pulled one up a tiny bit, I noticed that everything was moldy behind it. So I ripped out all that rubber stuff in that one bedroom, and we asked the contractor to replace the bottom portion of the drywall in that room. They have been working on that over the last TWO weeks. Sigh. I know it's not a huge deal, but I wish they would just finish.

On top of that, the floor in the rest of the basement had been sealed and painted before we moved in, but the paint is now peeling up in most areas from being wet for so long. We also lost a lot of Roxanne's baby stuff (including her baby book), some of our books, some of our wedding stuff (including my wedding shoes, which makes me sad) and we have yet to check to see if Justin's amplifiers are still working. I think we are too scared. It's really overwhelming to have everything in your basement get wet and have to go through it all to figure out what is ruined and what can be salvaged. And the contractors have not offered at all to do any further repair to the floor or to compensate us for anything that was lost. Up until recently, Justin and I just assumed they would refuse and were sort of sheepish about the whole thing. But now I'm mad, and I feel like they should do more to bring our basement to what it was before this happened, since it is clearly not our fault. I'll keep you posted on what happens once I send my e-mail with a list of repairs I'm going to ask for. I'd kind of like to ask for them to replace the bottom portion of drywall in the whole basement, but I think I'm just going to focus on asking them to fix the floor. And for some kind of compensation for our personal belongings that were destroyed. I'm not going to go after them for pain and suffering or anything, but still. Justin is staying out of it for the most part. I think he thinks nothing will come of it. But seeing your daughter's ultrasound picture melted into the baby book that you had to save up to buy... It just brought out the mama bear in me. Any tips on how to handle this situation would be appreciated. I'm not good at being demanding and scary. But as my mom reminded me, we didn't sign up to be on this show expecting to have a flooded basement, and it's highly unlikely that any of the other homeowners had to deal with this. And everything about the whole experience was magical, and we really liked the contractors until this issue came up, so it's all just very unfortunate and disappointing.
This is someday going to be the guest bedroom/craft room. Right now, it is jammed with our belongings that were displaced by the flooding. Would you want to plow into that room and tear through stuff to see what's ruined and what's not? Keep in mind, Justin has already gone through about 10 boxes that were in the basement kitchen, and thrown out about six garbage bags full of our stuff. At least the walls in that room still look pretty... I just spent a weekend priming and painting in that room before the flood. The color is a lovely soft gray called "Artist Loft." Love it.
This is a spot on the floor where the paint is peeling up. It didn't look like this before the flooding. It now looks like this in patches in the entire basement.
This is what the drywall looked like behind the rubber baseboards. This is three days after the flooding, and it was still wet under there. And that black stuff? Yeah. It's mold. The floor looks like that because I had just ripped the carpet out. The yellow stuff is the old adhesive. We have to strip it (using more noxious chemicals) and then repair any cracks/holes in the concrete, seal it, and then paint it. Fun.

OK. I've stalled enough. On to the chairs...

To Sell or Not to Sell...

For the record, I realize the house is kind of a wreck in these photos. Sorry. It was 1am when I was taking these photos, and I'm still trying to figure out how to arrange this room.


So, I started my very own Etsy store. So far, I've sold only one item, but I've also only had the shop open for a week. I need to add more fun stuff, so I took a thrifting trip yesterday. I found this pair of chairs, and although I planned to stick to smalls on my etsy shop, I couldn't leave these behind. There were three of them, but I only bought these two. The third was in rough shape, while these two are in almost perfect condition. I was initially drawn to the lines of the chairs, and the colors, but when I flipped one over and saw "Made in Denmark" stamped on the bottom, I hoisted them into my cart. They were $18 a piece, which was a bit much for me, but I was assuming I could sell them for more (hopefully). Only problem is that I'm getting attached to them. Danish Modern in my very own living room. I have been trying to research the chairs, but without a name on them, it's kind of useless looking them up. All I know is that they are extremely comfortable, attractive, and solid. I'm trying to trick the hubs into not wanting to part with them either. We'll see...

You'll want to click on the photos to enlarge... They are too little in the post

This June has been a big giant sweaty mess in Georgia. I mean seriously. And the bugs are bad. But in spite of these handicaps, we've been doing our best to get out and water the new plants at least five days a week. But it's a losing battle for the annuals. I'm kind of OK with it. As long as the rose bushes and the regular bushes pull through, I'm happy.

For the inside of our house, I randomly decided to rearrange the living room over the weekend. I just couldn't take it in it's layout any more. I'm not really in love with the new layout either but I think it uses the totally weird dimensions of our living room better. It just makes it more obvious that we need different/new furniture. I figure if we live with the weird inadaquacies for a few months, we'll know better what we really want. Which is convenient, since we don't have any budget for anything. It's nice having a classed up exterior, but it definitely makes me way more intolerant of the inside. Like we are not doing it justice.


I realize these chairs AND the shelf are too little for this wall, but it's nice to be able to stand and look at the map without having to kneel on the couch. And I really love having my books out. You guys, I was an English major. These are like my babies. I attempted to color code them, but I know it's weak. The shelf was thrifted by my mom (have I paid you back for that yet?) and it's such a charming little piece. I think it could work in lots of places.
The credenza as it is now. The radio does work. I paid a little more than I wanted to for it, but it was $20 at Last Chance Thrift in Decatur. They have a few pseudo hipsters working there who know to mark up anything that looks mid-century. Jerks. The plant on the far right was on our back deck, but I wanted something for a little color. It's an asparagus fern, planted in a planter my friend Ariel made. It's lovely.
The rug is a flokati that my step-mom gave us. I thought it was vintage, but then I saw the Pier One tag underneath. Oh well. It's still extremely comfy on the feet. Over the weekend, I washed it with Woolite and brushed it with the cat brush for like an hour. A little ridiculous, but it made a big difference. We had it down in here for a while a few months back, and the dog puked on it in four places. She's so spiteful. She loves the rug. In the mornings, she is laying on the middle of it with the sides all rumpled up like she's been digging and rolling in it all night.
Ideally, I'd like to get upholstered chairs for this spot. Something low profile and small, but colorful. I'm loving this chair from CB2, but the price is pretty high. And it's a little big. I'd go for a loveseat, too, but again, it would have to be little. I'm always hesitant to get a loveseat that doesn't match a couch. Risky. I could go for this loveseat from Urban Outfitters, but I'm not digging the colors. It's a moot point because of budget constraints, but a girl can dream. In the lower left, you can see my darling little $3 thrifted magazine rack. I'd been wanting one for a while, and I love the shape and details of this one.
I changed out the dining room art from the vintage cook book/entertaining images to some Charlie Harper collages. My sister gave Roxanne this amazing flashcard/floor puzzle Charlie Harper set for her birthday, but her first time playing with them, they cut her finger pretty badly. After wiping the blood off, I decided to find another use for them. I fashioned these collages, which still look a little more holly hobby than I would love, but on a budget, I think they are cute. And the images are certainly fabulous.
I was trying to get the full room in here. What do you think? Did the couch work better in it's old home? I think this new formation is growing on me. It's nice to lay on the couch and look out the window. From here, I can see the house across from us that got the "mini-makeover" from Curb Appeal, and it's lovely.
With my mom's help on layout, and Justin and my step-dad's helpful moving abilities, we pulled the table out of the closet, and put in Roxanne's little table and Heyward Wakefield chairs. I think it's adorable in there. I just want to put a little light in.
Again, the kid closet. This is a thrifted table, but I think it's charming.
Slight close up of the radio. I can't figure out what year it was made. On the one hand, it looks sixties, but maybe it was a later model made to look vintage? I haven't had any luck searching it online. It's by Commodore. And it let's me lay around and listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR on Saturdays.
And here's the Charlie Harper collage as it relates to the rest of the room. This room is so hard to arrange you guys. But I like changing things up. This is normally the time in my living situation where I start looking for a new place to rent, and it's such a nice feeling to not be stir crazy and hating millions of things about our home. There's work to do, but I feel so much more settled here, and like I actually want to invest the time to get things right. The longest place we've lived in since getting married was about a year and a half. I hope to be here much longer...

Some "after" shots

We are done! I can't believe it! The house looks amazing. I'll try and get out some this weekend if it stops raining and take lots of photos of the front and back of the house, but in the mean time, here are just a couple that I snagged from my stepdad who graciously took some lovely photos at the "wrap party" on Monday. We LOVE the house. Love love love it. The last photo is the "before." Just to remind you of the nastiness. I still have a soft spot for that pink brink, and just the character of the house, but now I love the modernity of the house. And the stoop is so big and roomy. I feel like I'm at a cool restaurant when I'm standing on it. Oh, that lovely lady watering the lawn is my sister. She looks like me but much much thinner. Thanks genetics.

Progress Photos! for some reason, my intro is at the end, and I can't move it. Sorry.

The concrete poured on the front steps, and the new door (hopefully not finished).
Apparently, the stoop and concrete, etc., went way over budget, so to save, they used a piece of plywood to cover our old door. It's not done yet (apparently) but the idea was that the lines in the door match up to the lines of the new brick. I'm hoping they will stain it to the color of the wood hand rails that will be put into the stoop. Or they could paint it, but I just love the wood grain with the lines in the door. Either way, it's going to be very clean and modern. Love that.
Can you see the new bricks? This is where they wrap from the carport to the front of the house. They will extend to the top of the windows across the front of the house. Pretty! John Gidding says that the design is supposed to mimic the wonderful mid-century "corner windows" that you see. I think once the house is painted and everything blends, it's going to be gorgeous. And make our house look a little different from all the ones around us.
More brick detail on the left side of the house. They couldn't do much more because the concrete was still wet on the stoop. These were all taken today. We are supposed to be done on Monday!
These steps lead down to the backyard (on the left side of the house). If you see the funny gap after the second step, it's for a step that will actually be a planter with some pavers in it. I totally didn't know that until today, and just thought that they had laid it out wrong. Oops. But, now that I get it, I think it's going to look amazing.
Detail of the left side of the house.
This new stoop is gorgeous. That front rectangle on the stoop is going to be a large concrete planter. It's so much more scaled to our house. It will help hide that immense mass of cinder block in our foundation.
Detail of the right side of the house (where it meets the driveway). You can see how big the stoop is, and how nice and big the planter is, too. They just poured all this concrete today. The urge to leave hand prints was strong, but I resisted.
Before the concrete was poured, this was the view out the front door.
View from the front door. Cinder block down, but no concrete, and no dirt filled in. But no awful bushes randomly placed around the front yard!
The new placement of the leyland cypresses is so much better. I actually like them now.
Roxanne about two seconds after I turned my back (after telling her she could play in the sand but not stand in it). She was pretty disappointed when the giant sand tower disappeared.
Cinder block invasion of our carport... Soon to be the stoop!
The dirty remains of our "landscaping." Um, we didn't do any of that though. Just to clarify...
No stoop, and the new cypress placement. Much nicer already!
Roxanne wears this dress a lot. But these were taken on day one. The sand ones were from last week. They got all these forms put up, and then left it alone for a few days. Roxanne just kept yelling "more dirt! yay! more dirt!"
Day one, the last time these stupid cypress trees would stand all in a row along the driveway. *sniff* Also, I want that Bobcat.
Filming the bush removal.
That man is standing up straight inside the hollow stoop. It actually had no support, so that giant slab of concrete on the top of our stoop was only supported underneath on three sides and could apparently have toppled at any point. Happily, it's all filled in now.
No more railings!

Finally, I'm posting some photos from the HGTV progress. The house looks like a wreck, but I'm sure it's all for the greater good... And at least it's not a mess we have to worry about cleaning up. It's amazing how little giant piles of dirt, sand, gravel and concrete (and the list goes on) in your front yard and driveway bother you when you know you don't have to deal with them. I mean seriously. It's like vacation. Justin and I are just interested spectators in a way... Very surreal. But everyone is so nice, and working hard, and the plans are a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Here are some photos. They are backwards, with the top photos being the newest, and the bottom ones being the first day of filming. As always, click to make the images bigger if you want.

Living/Dining Room photos...

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We had a brief shooting adventure for part of our HGTV thing (ohmygoodness the design plans are phenomenal. Can't wait for May when they get carried out) and we weren't sure if they would come inside. So we did our feeble attempt at gussying up the living/dining room. I took the opportunity to take some photos while there weren't random bits of Mr. Potato Head or Katie's ickle bickle dog bed in the frame. Yay for clean houses!