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Holy cow! I can’t believe it’s OCTOBER already! September was a very eventful (ie: busy/hectic/exciting/tiring/joyful) month for us. Let me see if I can hit the highlights and finally get this blog up to date…

We bought a house!
We closed on our first home on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 4:30 pm. This happy event occurred almost exactly 2 years after we lost house #1 (later to be followed by house #2 and #3). It was a VERY long, difficult journey, but we can look back now and be thankful for the lessons that we learned along the way. Our original 3-step plan was 1. house; 2. dog; 3. baby. Obviously the Lord had another plan for us - and, truth be told, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are constantly amazed at how He is working in our lives!

We moved to our new home.
Eric and I both moved several times prior to being married, all of which were quick, one-trip types of things where you stuff everything you own into your car and go. When Eric moved out to NC in 2003, he loaded up his truck (strapping his mattress to the top) and drove over 1,000 miles from Fayetteville, AR to Chapel Hill, NC. When I moved to NC in 2004, it was just me, my mom, and all of my stuff in a Ford Taurus. After 4 years of marriage and a toddler, this move was a completely different story.

Luckily, we have amazing friends and family who offered up their Saturday to help us out. A HUGE thank you to Nan, Shirl, Corey & Michelle, and Kent for helping us move and to Julie for watching Claire. Moving day was a complete success - and went rather quickly. Eric and I started the day early, but by 9am we had dropped Claire off and picked up coffee, bagels and the moving truck (you know, the essentials to any move!). I think it was around noon when we started the caravan over to the house. After unloading 3 SUVs, a car and a big ‘ol moving truck, we took a much-needed break to refuel with a pizza lunch. We were officially moved out of our apartment (which included a quick cleaning) and everything was at least somewhere in our new home by the end of the day.

Eric and Corey helping themselves to the “pizza bar” set up
in the back of the moving truck.

Shirl & Nan having lunch on our driveway.

Turning a negative (no grass in our front yard - yet) into a positive
(truck backed up right to the front door).

Claire spent moving day playing with Callie - they are too cute!

The apartment building we spent 4+ years in.

We had a painting fiasco - which turned into a blessing.
First-up on our home-improvement list was painting a lot of very, very dark wood a bright white. When we first viewed the house, we really loved all the chair rail & crown molding on the first floor….just not in the dark “oh-so-1980’s” wood.

We’re not usually ones to spend money on a painter, but this work was going to be intricate and time-consuming (ie: pain in the butt). We figured we’d splurge a bit on having someone else paint the trim, then go back in later and paint the walls ourselves.

Thus began our search for a painter. I put up an ad on Craigslist asking for quotes, describing the work that would need to be done and including a link to a detailed photo gallery of the home. We received numerous responses - well over 60. The quotes ranged from $75 (our lowest - sent by a girl who obviously was delusional) to $4,000 (bit proud of himself, eh?). We narrowed down the responses to our top 4, called their references, and interviewed them at the home.

Our first choice, Barry, started the job on Wed., Sept. 2. He was supposed to be finished that Friday. Not so much. He quit on Monday after being denied more money upfront and left us with all the wood primed, and some of it with a first coat of paint. Luckily for us, we only paid him a quarter of the money upfront (which was a very small amount considering the time and materials he put into the job before walking away). He told us one sob story after another, and we later realized that he wasn’t as qualified as we were led to believe. While we didn’t realize it at the time, his quitting was definitely a blessing in disguise.

Our very close second choice, Lane, was a contractor who came by that Tuesday to scope out the remainder of the project. He had a painter at our home the next day and the two of them worked 4 full days and completed the job in a professional, timely manner. They caulked everything (something that Barry had given a reason for not doing that we foolishly trusted) and applied at least two coats of paint, some areas received three. The amount paid to both Barry and Lane was still within our budget, and actually a bit cheaper than if we had gone with Lane from the get-go.

So we saved a bit of money, had a few headaches along the way, learned a lot about hiring help, and now have pretty white trim to show for it all. We are happy with the updated look and are eager to continue seeing our visions of the home materialize. Here are a couple of before & after pictures. Keep in mind we still have MANY updates to make (and furniture to buy, light fixtures to replace, etc..), but we think phase 1 made a big improvement!

Living room before. Note the very dark wood and brass fireplace.

Living room after. Bright white trim and the brass got a quick & cheap fix (see below for details). Yes, that is the munchkin watching Yo Gabba Gabba. How else do you think I got her to stay put for a few moments while I took these pictures?!

Dining room before. Used mainly as a storage area, I assume?

Dining room after. Along with the new trim color, we removed the cream-colored vertical blinds. I’m hoping to replace them (and that disgustingly outdated chandelier) this year. Note the steps - they got a very big makeover as they used to be completely dark wood!

Hallway to garage and laundry area before.

Hallway to garage and laundry area after.

Breakfast nook before. Strange spot for that fan…

Breakfast nook after. Seller left the table - but no chairs. Not very helpful! Our hope for this space includes a custom-built corner window seat and a new light fixture. And, of course, paint and new flooring.

We started several of many more to come home-improvement projects.
In our first month of home ownership, we replaced the old brass cabinet pulls, bathroom fixtures (towel racks, toilet paper holders, etc.), and door knobs with brushed nickel hardware. And when I say “we”, I mean mostly Eric. He did a fantastic job with the door knobs, including a fancy new handle and doorbell for our front door. We’re waiting on a shipment of new hinges so those can be updated as well.

Our first mini project that we tackled together was the brass fireplace doors. We used painter’s tape to cover the glass areas, then scuffed the metal surface with sandpaper. Next, we took the whole thing outside and gave it several coats of black high-heat spray paint. Voila! Instant update for less than $10!

Next up on our immediate “wanna do” list is replacing the outdated light fixtures, finishing up the doors, replacing the cream colored electrical outlets with fresh white ones, decorating (including hanging photos and such on the walls), and painting the first floor living areas. Okay…maybe “immediate” wasn’t the best word to use - that’s a lot of “wants”!

We’ve also been scouring Craigslist, looking for some new furniture. This space is twice as big as our last one, which means it’s only half full! We’re hoping to furnish a guest room and my office space soon. New living room furniture is also on the wish list…just in case anyone was wanting to buy us early Birthday presents.

My handy man husband hard at work. I’m glad to see the head lamp being used for something other than crab golfing!

Front door before. 

Front door after. Photo taken before the new doorbell was installed. We’ve purchased a brushed nickel door sweep, but need to borrow some tools before installing it. Thanks to Nan & Shirl for the pretty mums which are now sprouting little yellow flowers!

Fireplace doors before. 

Fireplace doors after. 

Cabinet pulls before.

 Cabinet pulls after.

  Example of bathroom fixture before.

 
Example of bathroom fixture after. I wish the wallpaper was gone as well!

We celebrated Cash’s 2nd birthday.
Our sweet nephew turned two at the end of this month and celebrated with an Elmo-themed party at an indoor bounce house.  All of his friends were there and even Elmo himself made an appearance! The abundance of the furry red monster made Claire VERY happy. She has copied her cousin and fallen in love with all things Elmo. Oh joy.

Cash received loads of fun presents, including power tools from his parents and a drum set from Grandma and Grandpa! Claire gave him Elmo Live, but demanded he share. Luckily for her, Cash had lots of other toys to distract him, so she could get her Elmo fix.

 
Claire loved climbing and bouncing and her mama got a workout trying to keep up with her!

Cash opening his gift from Uncle E, Aunt C and Cousin Claire

Claire sitting in GaGa’s lap, pointing to Elmo.

Nan and Cash checking out Elmo.

The Birthday Boy!

Alright, I apologize for the ridiculously long post, but at least now I’m somewhat caught up. Hopefully this week I’ll find the time to write about what Miss Claire has been up to. She’s changing so fast and constantly amazing us.

Lots and lots of photos from all the above-mentioned events and, of course, a few (okay, a lot) of our little munchkin can be found in the September 2009 photo gallery.