Mike and I have been mudding and sanding and sanding and mudding...which means lots of progress, but none of it is visible.
On the up side, my friend Mark (who works for a painting company) is going to paint my house for me, so that should be nice.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Moving Out
Last weekend I moved out of my apartment. Well, I moved my stuff out of my apartment. I'm still sleeping there, on a twin-sized bed that belonged to Erin and me when we were wee lasses. Most of my stuff is now sitting in my house basement, or at Mikes. I'm just glad it all fits. (And once I start unpacking, my shelving (which currently holds boxes) will be mostly empty, and I can go back to pretending it's barracks.)
Oh, I also bought a sofa this past week. It's AWESOME! (Disregard the awful pillows...those will be recovered.)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Let There Be Light! (And Shelving!)
A few good things happened at the house this past week. 
Awesome photo showing both lighting and shelving!
Top and bottom views of the master shower. Lots of slate. Pete's is layed out with intricate cuts, but I think it looks too busy, so I think I'm going to minimalize the look a bit.)
The first is that Ameren came out and turned on the power, which means that I have working lights in my basement (and that the breaker panel is now VERY DANGEROUS and should be avoided by anyone who is not skilled at breakering.) The second thing is that Mike and I (and Mike's parents, Bonnie (Bon Bon) and Paul (Paulrus)) built close to 24 feet of shelving in my basement, so I can start moving stuff into the house!
Awesome photo showing both lighting and shelving!
The other thing that Mike and I did over the week is to case Pete's half of the building. Here are some photos of kitchens and bathrooms that better illustrate what my half of the building will look like when it's completed.
Double oven and giant refrigerator!
Awesome rangehood for over the island cooktop! (My pendant lights will be cooler than these...so will my track lighting.)
Awesome rangehood for over the island cooktop! (My pendant lights will be cooler than these...so will my track lighting.)
Super-contemporary vanity set for half bath. (Also, Pete has a kick-ass art collection.)
Top and bottom views of the master shower. Lots of slate. Pete's is layed out with intricate cuts, but I think it looks too busy, so I think I'm going to minimalize the look a bit.)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
S.N.I.A.
I attended my first Neighborhood Association meeting last night, and learned all sorts of interesting tidbits about the neighborhood!
1. The limestone four family building one block over that was torched last year and has been sitting in shambles (literally -- no roof, half the house is caved in...) was finally condemned and gifted to the neighborhood by the bank that owns it. The bank also gave the neighborood the land it sits on, as well as a "gift" of $10,000 to cover the cost of demolition. So, the eye-sore will be torn down in early 2009, and new condos will be built in its place. (This normally wouldn't matter to me, but the building shares my alley, and new construction means that the punks that have been hanging around the property will be gone.) Huzzah!
2. The neighborhood is in the process of having the Board of Alderman vote to make it a special taxing district, which would raise taxes in order to fund neighborhood improvements, like hiring private security to patrol in addition to the city cops that currently keep an eye on the neighborhood. I'm not sure how I feel about this, as crime in the neighborhood seems limited to drugs and car break-ins, and the tax increase would mean hundreds of dollars more every year. (The informational pamphlet they handed out gave an example of a home that was valued at $36,000 being taxed an extra $186.00 per year. With my house being appraised at $245,000, I can't imagine the difference.)
3. This one is less monumental, but is still interesting -- just around the corner from my house, one of the local residents is opening a bake shop / art studio! We spoke last night at the meeting, and the owner might give me a call to do some minor interior design work on the space. Very fun.
There was quite a bit more, but those were the three main things that interested me. The reading of the past months' crime report was also pretty enlightening -- mostly arrests for dealing drugs, and a few domestic violence calls, but nothing major -- the neighborhood seems to have a good grasp on what needs to be done about crime, and they're definitely working towards eliminating it.
Overall, the meeting was very informative. I met quite a few people, got a welcome packet from one of the members, and learned who I need to call if I'm having issues or have questions about neighborhood policies.
The one downside to the meeting? No cookies and punch.
I motion to add snacks to the agenda.
1. The limestone four family building one block over that was torched last year and has been sitting in shambles (literally -- no roof, half the house is caved in...) was finally condemned and gifted to the neighborhood by the bank that owns it. The bank also gave the neighborood the land it sits on, as well as a "gift" of $10,000 to cover the cost of demolition. So, the eye-sore will be torn down in early 2009, and new condos will be built in its place. (This normally wouldn't matter to me, but the building shares my alley, and new construction means that the punks that have been hanging around the property will be gone.) Huzzah!
2. The neighborhood is in the process of having the Board of Alderman vote to make it a special taxing district, which would raise taxes in order to fund neighborhood improvements, like hiring private security to patrol in addition to the city cops that currently keep an eye on the neighborhood. I'm not sure how I feel about this, as crime in the neighborhood seems limited to drugs and car break-ins, and the tax increase would mean hundreds of dollars more every year. (The informational pamphlet they handed out gave an example of a home that was valued at $36,000 being taxed an extra $186.00 per year. With my house being appraised at $245,000, I can't imagine the difference.)
3. This one is less monumental, but is still interesting -- just around the corner from my house, one of the local residents is opening a bake shop / art studio! We spoke last night at the meeting, and the owner might give me a call to do some minor interior design work on the space. Very fun.
There was quite a bit more, but those were the three main things that interested me. The reading of the past months' crime report was also pretty enlightening -- mostly arrests for dealing drugs, and a few domestic violence calls, but nothing major -- the neighborhood seems to have a good grasp on what needs to be done about crime, and they're definitely working towards eliminating it.
Overall, the meeting was very informative. I met quite a few people, got a welcome packet from one of the members, and learned who I need to call if I'm having issues or have questions about neighborhood policies.
The one downside to the meeting? No cookies and punch.
I motion to add snacks to the agenda.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Weekend 1 - Tiny Endeavors
This past weekend was the first weekend when I could fully dedicate my time to working on the house. Needless to say, Mike and I knocked out quite a few tasks that needed to be accomplished.
adding a railing to the back porch, which was previously a death-trap,
and installing new door hardware, which lead us to the discovery of what exactly lay behind the locked "mystery door" on my back porch....
Since we don't have building permits yet, there isn't a lot we can do to the place, so we stuck to small tasks, like installing a mailbox in my front door...
adding a railing to the back porch, which was previously a death-trap,
and installing new door hardware, which lead us to the discovery of what exactly lay behind the locked "mystery door" on my back porch....
Turns out, the door opens onto the 2x4 stud wall of my living room. I plan on insulating and putting up pegboard, on which to keep gardening tools. Or, keeping Mikey in there when he misbehaves.... Either way, we'll call in the "Creep Niche."
The last thing I did for the weekend was to finalize the colors for the house. Here are some photos of colors -- keep in mind that I am a genius with color, and if you don't like what I've chosen, your opinion will be disregarded. :) (No, seriously, though, what do you think??)
(From Top to Bottom: dark tealy color for sitting/dining room, limey color for kitchen and living room, light grey-blue in master bedroom, tan in hallway and guest bedrooms.)
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