Saturday, October 24, 2009

Starting Small

We're just getting started on all of the house projects we need to do. (And no, everything is not put away yet... But, it does look much better!)

We decided to start small and hopefully learn from our first project. We wanted to redo a small closet off the kitchen, which the former owners had used for storing old paint cans. They helpfully left us the paint cans, as well (three cans of orange paint, anyone?). I really wanted to use the closet as a pantry, but since it was so gross, I knew we'd have to start over completely. The original closet shelves basically were some pieces of wood nailed into the wall with particle board placed on top:

The walls were also very beat up, stained, and just overall disgusting. So, we tore out the shelves, patched all the holes, gave it two coats of paints, and put all new shelving up:

New! Clean! Suitable for food! ;)

Up next is painting every other wall in the house...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

House!!

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy moving!!

It's so awesome to finally be out of an apartment and into our own place. Of course, it's already come with some challenges (fixing the sump pump, replacing the doorbell, mowing, etc.), but it's soooo great to be here. And it's shaved off quite a bit of my commute, so I'm happy!

When other people I know have bought houses recently, I've gotten frustrated that they didn't put up pictures right away on facebook, blogs, etc. Now I know why. Our house is a MESS. Everything we own--which never has been in one place before--suddenly is. We are finally making headway on unpacking, but it has taken longer than I expected. So, no pictures for now; photos of the house when it was up for sale are below, and it still looks the same... we've only had it for two weeks! But, as we get the chance to update things (for example, painting the kitchen a color other than orange...) I will post "before" and "after" photos.

Two exciting changes we've made: a new washer and dryer, and a new stove! The house didn't come with a washer and dryer, so we knew we'd have to buy those right away. And the stove it had when we moved in was a crappy, 20-year-old no-name deal whose burners didn't light by themselves anymore. The previous owners conveniently left us a lighter on top of it just for this purpose. Thanks. We had the new (stainless steel!) one installed the day after we moved in. We're planning on rounding out the new appliances with a refrigerator and dishwasher, once our tax credit money shows up :)

So, for now, more kitty pictures:


Being cute and cuddly, unlike normal (they are quite wild!).


Marble, laying on Adam.


Jack, destroying his toys.