So much work!

I just don't even know what to post about.  The house is still a disaster and we are spending a buttload of money on things that are NOT fun, like replacing our old leaky skylights (to the tune of 3k) and paying hundreds of dollars to have plumbing and electrical issues fixed. Well, let me just start with the beginning.  We started with a nice open space before the moving company came.  Here are some fun 'before and after the movers came' shots.  

This is the best one!  All the empty boxes from the move are still clogging our garage.  We still aren't sure when they are coming to pick them up, but I hope it is this week! 

In other news, we bought a refrigerator and the wee frig opening in our cabinets was not working for 98% of available bottom freezer or side by side models.  We ended up getting a Samsung unit that was too tall for the opening, which meant we had to remove the cabinet on top.  

We took a look at what was happening up there to see if we could detach is safely.  It was good to go!

A few screws were removed, along with the silly decorative rail on top, and the cabinet was off. 

Bye bye decorative rail!  I kept a couple of the little doodads as a reminder.

And here is the new frig in place.  Those with eagle eyes will notice we also got a new stainless dishwasher...that would be the source of the plumbing and electrical issues that will cost us unfortunate amounts of money.  We found some 'fun' surprises when we tried to install the new dishwasher ourselves...thankfully I found a great plumber (he was on Bath Crashers!) and he is taking care of us.    

Now we just have to reattach the cabinet above the frig a few inches higher because we desperately need the storage.  We would also love to add some crown to the top of the cabinets at some point....we will see.  In closing, here is the back patio area when we put our offer in this April....

and here is the crazy weed mess that we have inherited, now that the snow is gone.  Oh my gosh, I don't even know where to start.  I walk out here and then walk back into the house shaking my head.  

I will need about 65 Ashford naps to fix this garden.  Yikes!

Happiness and clutter

So, by some miracle the roofers got the entire job done in ONE day last Thursday, and we are now in our new home!  We were able to close on Friday morning as originally planned, and I ended up driving from 6pm-midnight Thursday night to get there in time.  Stress!  Luckily, the roof is exactly what I wanted - even though they installed a different brand than the one they initially quoted. 

Unfortunately, we do not have internet or cable yet at the house and I am a freak that doesn't have a smart phone, so I have not been able to update the blog, research appliances, figure out where I am, check the weather, etc.  The movers delivered all our junk last Monday and our house looks like a box factory and an episode of hoarders collided. 

We got a big dose of reality that we moved into a MUCH smaller house with a lot less storage.  All the built ins in our former home (china cabinets, living room and basement bookcases, master closet dresser, the wall unit we installed, mirrored closet in guest room, shelves in Ashford's room) are no more...and all the stuff that was in them is now homeless.  We also have this impressive pile of rugs (8 of them!) in our master waiting for me to decide where to put them...and I also have a few less rooms to put them in.

Our yard is a real mess.  The storm that ruined the roof last August also destroyed every tree on our property, and a lot of the lawn....so we have made a couple trips to Home Depot for plants, grass seed, compost, soil.  We hadn't done many projects in the old house recently, so it was sort of weird to be back at one of our "minimum $100" stores.  The other one being Target, obviously. 

PS - it has not escaped my attention that every photo in this post so far has Ashford in it.  That is kind of embarrassing.  So, just wanted to give you all an update and let you know there are many projects coming up.  Like the inside of our main bathroom vanity.  What in the?!

Update

I really can't even explain how I'm feeling right now.  We have been on the most ridiculous roller coaster ride with this dumb house that I sort of hate now because of all the bullshit.  Let me give you a quick rundown of the last day of my life - this is funny as long as you're not me.  

Wednesday 3:50pm: Shaun rides by the house in MN and nobody is working on the damn roof.  It was supposed to be done Tuesday, then they said 'bright and early Wednesday!', then it changes to Thursday because 'Home Depot dropped the ball on the shingle order.'  Didn't they know they didn't have the shingles on Tuesday evening when they promised 'bright and early' on Wednesday?  

Wednesday 4:40: our realtor's coworker (our realtor is on vacation) calls me and I mention that we can't close on Friday because of the roof.  I knew they needed time between roof completion and closing to get the title released on the property due to the repair or the roof.  This guy agrees and says he will try to secure a new closing date.  My mom cancels her plans to have off of work Thursday and Friday to come up with us.  We are sad.  Shaun emails our movers to tell them they cannot deliver our furniture on Monday the 2nd.  Very sad.

Wednesday 4:48: our realtor calls from her vacation to tell me that YES INDEED we can close on Friday afternoon, right after the roof is done.  That our mortgage lender and relo company and Fannie Mae all want this deal done before the end of the month, no exceptions!  Um, ok.  Not sure how, but I'll go with it.  So I call my mom and tell her we are on for Friday afternoon closing.  Shaun emails the movers again and says Just Kidding, we can get our furniture after all.  

Wednesday 5:56: our realtor's coworker calls and leaves a voicemail saying he called the closing agent and they don't know how we expect them to release a clear title on the house and get a wire confirmation for the funds after 3pm on a Friday, yada yada.  BAHAHAHA, are you freakin kidding me?  I knew they needed time to check the roof, and he even said on the phone 'You were right the first time.'  Who is the expert here?!

Who is the expert here?!

Now it is 1pm on Thursday, I have no idea if I'm driving up to MN tomorrow, Shaun has no idea if he should drive back to WI or stay up there, our movers have no idea if they can deliver our furniture, etc etc.  

THUSLY, 

Here is the entire kringle I bought for myself so I can properly eat my feelings. 

And here is a picture of my kid strutting down the road in a diaper, socks and sandals because it makes me laugh and I need it.  

Still hanging around

Hello from Wisconsin!  Yep, we are still living in my parent's basement because of the roof drama with our new home in Minnesota.  The plus side is Ashford likes playing with all my old toys from the 80s.  He loves this little shopping cart and pushes it everywhere!

The great news is that Fannie Mae is definitely paying for our new roof to the tune of $9150.  The other good news is that we are pretty sure they are putting on the color shingles I asked for - Owens Corning Oakridge 30yr shingles in Driftwood.  Here is the stock photo of the color:

The bad news is that they cannot start the roof until Tuesday because they had to order the shingles.  The other bad news is that we had to push our closing date to Friday May 30th since the roof has to be done 48 hours prior to closing for the HUD to be completed. We've been camping out here for a month, and are so ready to have our lives back!  Here is a shot of the Driftwood shingles with an ivory vinyl sample to match the trim on the existing windows and garage door on far left.  The second and third from the bottom of the paint strip are contenders for the siding, and the orange and two green colors are possible door colors.  I love how this roofing has little flecks of gold in it to complement the ivory trim and orange door, if that is what we decide to go with.  

Guys, it is killing me to be 375 miles from my house and not be able to choose important things like the roof color in person!  But who knows, they might just put on 'Chateau Green' shingles, anyway.  We will find out when we get there.  

To take my mind off of not having any control, or any of my things, I've been acquiring other things.  Mostly, furniture that we now aren't sure how we will move to Minnesota. I found these classic Lane 'Acclaim' side and coffee tables at a rummage sale and thrift shop, respectively.  

I was so excited to get them, I've always loved these tables and couldn't wait to refinish them.  The side table in particular was in BAD shape with horribly streaky legs and these two burn marks.  

I knew I couldn't do anything about the black spots, but I wanted to redo all the flaking finish and get the bad swirly stain off the legs.  There was also gross tape goo on the bottom shelf.  People, you're killing me!  Good thing I only paid $25.  

I just adore the dovetail construction of the walnut veneer and oak trim.  

The legs are a horrible hack job.  

I went on Amazon and bought my preferred supplies.....Formby's refinisher, Tung Oil finish, gloves, and 0000 steel wool.  

My advice when using any sort of stripper, is buy about 3 more containers than you think you need.  Trust me!  I blew through this 32 ounce container on one table.  I bought the Formbys because it is supposed to remove the finish without removing the stain.  Unfortunately, with these particular pieces, a lot of the color is in the finish itself...you'll see what I mean shortly.  First things first, getting the damn container open!

I had rubberized gloves on, and still couldn't 'push down and turn' so I had to resort to using a wrench to turn it while pushing the top down.  

Then, there was this dumb thing in there that I also couldn't get out.  Seriously, what the heck?! 

I had to pry that off with a scraper before I could finally get down to business.  I had messed around with getting this container open for about 20 minutes by this point.  Dumb. 

To use, I just saturated my steel wool with refinisher and scrubbed in circles until the finish was gone.  Then I wiped the mess off with paper towel.  

I would also use the big plastic scraper to help it along.  I would not use a metal scraper, the walnut veneer is just too thin to risk it!

You might not feel like it's working, but when you step back you can definitely tell.  

I was very disappointed in my $8 gloves, they didn't last 30 minutes.....

But in the end, the top was free from finish and I was working on the bottom shelf and legs.  I got the tape off with Goof Off.  Love that stuff!

This entire end table has been refinished in the past, because the finish is clearly not original.  Here is a comparison between the legs of the end table and the original finish of the coffee table legs....yikes!  They did a very bad job.  

My goal is to get the color of the end table's oak to match up with the legs of the coffee table, which I am hoping to not mess with.  Not sure if I can do it!  You can also see how different the table looks with the amber color of the original finish removed.

This is as far as I've gotten.  I haven't even touched the coffee table yet, the finish on it is very bad. I got it for $55, which I think is fair.  I bought a bunch of little samples of stain and will let you know how it goes with matching up the colors.      

This is a huge labor of love.  To be honest, I don't think I will do it again.  Maybe it will be worth it in the end!  And hopefully on Friday we will be homeowners again!

Bathroom redo

I feel a little strange still posting about the Russet street home now that we don't live there anymore, but I realized that I never showed you the main bathroom since that post back in 2012 when I said that before I went back to work from maternity leave I would be painting our bathroom.  BAHAHAHAHA!  I never did that.  But I did do it last fall, and never told you.  The Behr Swiss Coffee I was contemplating worked great with the tile.  

The previous cabinet was cosmetically unattractive, lots of missing paint and dings.  The counter top was also, um....terrible.  I had spray painted that old laminate top back in 2009 and while it held up surprisingly well with daily use, it was time to go.  

We got a new black laminate top from Home Depot with a pretty beveled edge, and a Kohler Archer drop in sink....this sink is huge and I loved it!

When we got the Kohler Memoirs faucet I've had for years installed, it was looking great! 

I spent some quality time with wood filler, sandpaper, BIN and the Swiss Coffee paint....and the vanity was looking new again.  

I also upgraded the outlet switch plates on either side of the main cabinet to chrome...little things like that really made a big difference.  

I used the same fabric from the walk in closet window to make a curtain in here, the black ribbon is just tied around the fabric to tie in all the black in the room.  I love that fabric, it just works so well in here with the color and the vintage print.   

I also replaced the plastic towel bar on the back of the door with a nice chrome one.    

The orange Threshold towels from Target match the fabric color perfectly, another reason why Target is a minimum $100 store for me!  Overall, I am very happy with the way the bathroom turned out.  I'm glad we got to enjoy it for 5 months before we sold.

I will surely miss that vintage tile!  

Update:  The bank has extended our closing date to May 28th while they work on getting bids for the roof replacement on our Eagan home.  The roof must be done before closing, and barring any weird turn of events, Fannie Mae has accepted that they have to replace the roof.  YAY for a new roof, BOO for living in my parent's basement for three more weeks!  I hope they let me pick the color of the shingles...