8 Things I LOVE about my House.

Mom and dad visited for the first time this weekend. I have been holding them off forever. We have been in our house for about a year and a half and have done a lot, but.. we still have a lot to do. Just taking a couple minutes to be grateful for all of it.

01. The Small Bathrooms. Although a bit bigger would be nicer, small is really easy to clean.

02. Big Windows in Every Room. Our last house was a townhouse with windows in the front and back only. Natural light rocks!

03. The Big Bedrooms. All the bedrooms are a really nice size. Big enough for double, if not queen size beds. Space is good.

04. The Sleeping Porch. A bright small space that feels like a tree house, perfect for book reading and coffee sipping.

05. The Backyard. Fenced in, sunny parts, shady parts and not so big that it requires a full day of lawn mowing.

06. Front Porch. I have always wanted a front porch and it is a perfect gathering place for friday evening cocktails.

07. The Finished Bedroom and Office. The guest room and office are done. The master bedroom, so close.

Finally and most importantly...

08. The Neighborhood. I love, love where we live. We are surrounded by authentic people, fabulous history and small town charm in a big city.

Surprise! The Joys of Fixing Up an Old House.

I like surprises, particularly when they are happy surprises.
This was not one of those.




Someone at some point did not do the proper prep. All the paint was peeling like a bad sun burn. Which meant ALL the trim in ALL the upstairs rooms needed to be stripped before it could be painted. Not in the PLAN and a major renovation set back.

I am not going to go into the sloppy details. I used Smartstrip and it worked. I guess. But chemical stripping, even the green options, really suck. It took me a few weeks to remove all the paint and clean up the wood work. Then the room became storage for our attic renovation. That took months.




Now, almost a year later, I finally have paint on the trim and walls and I am so looking forward to decorating. I can't wait to check room 2 off my list. At least 10 more to go if you count the bathrooms and the kitchen!

A year ago, an oh crap, now what!


Yesterday, a little joy and sense of accomplishment.


This was definitely a job I would have loved to hire someone else to do. The stripping part a least. Painting is not a just make it work project. Painting is a do it right or you'll be doing it over kind of thing. And if you do something silly like no primer and cheap paint, you'll be making A LOT more work for yourself (or someone else).