Sneak Peak at my Garden

So, I spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Derek dug up a dead stump in the front yard. It was pretty amazing watching that thing come out of the ground, and he did it all by himself (we only have one shovel). I finished digging up the hosta jungle, and planted a bunch of plants in the front yard. I'll finish that up this weekend and then dig up the enormously ugly bush in the backyard.

There are a few surprises popping up as spring turns to summer. Moving into a new home always brings surprises, but flowery surprises are the best kind. There are several little pockets of Iris popping up and I think I see some sort of lily in the backyard. There is a negative to all the surprises, though. I never know what is actually a plant or what is a weed in the garden. I think I accidentally ripped out a bunch of daisies, but how was I supposed to know they weren't mean old weeds trying to take over my vegetable garden.

Anyways, we have a long way to go, but it is slowly starting to feel like home.

Hilarious Floors

I thought I would give you a sneak peak at our brand new floors. We spent two weekends laying these babies. They are so beautiful. If I was a polygamist I would marry them. Every time I look down at the floors they make me all warm inside. All that is left to do is cut the underlayment and put up the quarter round. Another weekend should finish them off.

This is the hallway that makes a great slip and slide (minus the water).


This is the guest room. It needs some art on the wall, but it is almost there. Do you see Leia sneaking up on Little Miss, crazy animals. I'm not sure how to hide the bed risers, but we need them for the extra storage, any ideas?


The hilarious part is watching the animals slip and slide all over them. We got Leia all round up the other day just so we could see her slide across the floor. Which lead to us sliding across the floor, and fun was had by all. The most fun is when one of them jumps off the bed, their feet slide out from under them, and they fall flat on their face. I know, I am a terrible parent, but it is hilarious.

A full before and after showcase will be posted when we are done with everything. For anyone who is interested, the floors are Swiftlock (kronotek) laminate in Acacia from Lowes.

Internet!

We finally got internet at the new house. If I get a chance I will show you how the internet is surrounded by boxes, the reason for my lack of posts over the last two weeks. Tonight we are moving the last of the boxes over to the new house. Minus all of my plants I have to dig up and transport, we will be all moved out. Then the unpacking begins, what fun. Sometime over the next five years or so, possible before we move again, I may finish unpacking said boxes.

Stay tuned, eventually there will be a real blog here, with real pictures and everything. As soon as I find the internet amongst the boxes.

Progress

Last weekend was the big Floor Laying 2008 Event. People from all over the world came to join in the celebration. Ok, maybe they just came from Ohio, and maybe they were the in-laws, but it was a big event. After spending the entire weekend struggling with laminate flooring we can proudly say the floors are down, in three and a half rooms. Unfortunately, we didn't finish, and we still have to lay floors in two bedrooms, half the master, and the hallway. Plus, we still have to cut the underlayment and put up the edges.

With all that left to do we have decided to continue on with the move this weekend. We figured we can live without the edges in the living room, and our bed will fit on the half of the master that is finished. We will just have to lay the rest of the floors another time.





During all of the craziness of the Floor Laying Event I snuck outside and found these pretty little flowers in my new flower bed. I am so excited to see what else pops up. (Anyone know what these are called?)

The Remodel

Our new house is getting a makeover. It started with a fresh coat of paint. Then it was stripped naked (we pulled up the carpet). Last weekend we gave it some new underwear (moister barrier), and next weekend it will have brand new clothes in the form of wood laminate. We are super excited to finish this project so we can finally move in. Here are some pictures of the transformation.

The master bedroom started out with three different paint colors, two of them extremely dark colors (red and chocolate brown). For a small room it was way too dark.


Don't you just love the linoleum checkerboard tiles. The grungy carpet looked better than this stuff.


The great room wins for the most color used in one room. Let's see, we have metallic gold trim, bright yellow, red, brown, dark green, light green, and creamy yellow. I'm pretty sure that every single wall was painted a different color. Someone went a little overboard with picking an accent wall.


Underneath the carpet was parquet floors that were not in good shape.


The garbage bag underlay looks better than the carpet and the parquet. The laminate is going to make it look great.


My strange husband.

House Hunters

I never believed people when they said that buying a house is a lot of work. Maybe I believed them, but I just thought that I wouldn't have to worry about it for a long time. Well, a "long time" is now and I am worrying about it. No one ever told me about all the hidden costs in buying a house, closing costs, attorney fees, inspections etc. Plus, apparently if you buy a foreclosed house there are even more costs, surveys and who knows what else. Then there is the worry about your loan going through, even though you are "pre-approved". Stress, stress, stress, they make it look so easy on HGTV. I want to be on House Hunters where you pick one of three houses and cut to three months later when you have remodeled and moved in. I knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but I never thought it would be this stressful.

Today we put in an offer on a house. If we were in Ohio it would probably be worth $50,000, but since we are in Chicago it is five times that much. It's a cute little place with cute little shutters and a picket fence lining the front walkway. It has three bedrooms, a bathroom, a nice kitchen and a great backyard for Leia. It is a great starter home, and I am really excited beneath my worry.

Why are we moving you ask? Well, less than a month ago we discovered that the house we are renting may be torn down, and the management company is no longer renewing the lease. The lease is turning into a month by month lease, and who wants to live month by month. So, in about a three week time frame we searched for houses online, applied for a loan, looked at about fifteen houses, drove by about six houses and decided we couldn't pass up the deal on this house. It was the cheapest and in the best condition. Now we have a possible closing date of Feb. 29th. That means that in about 2 months we found out we had to move, looked for and bought a house. Talk about stressful.

*** We wouldn't be doing any of this if it weren't for Derek's parent's help. Thank you for all of your emotional and financial support. We are very greatful to have you in our lives, and we look forward to paying it forward in the future.***

To my sister, this house is in Glenview which means it is about 25 minutes from your house. That means you will have to come and visit me :)