I know, I've been avoiding you. I'm sorry. I'm embarrassed to say that in our current fixer upper stage, I am absolutely zero help. This, combined with the fact that not only is Blake doing four jobs when you include school, and that my family has three weddings coming up in the near future, and I'm planning a third birthday party (WHAT?!), means we have barely been home, let alone had time to work on anything.
We have been able to enjoy real, home-cooked meals in our dining room, thanks to our "kitchen" set up. We have a mini fridge, a microwave, a knick-knack shelf and plastic shelves turned pantry, two little electric hot pads, a waffle maker (essentials, guys), and a crock pot. I've easily made meals for us plus guests, and most importantly I can easily make Chemex coffee. Also, we know lots of good people who happily feed us often, which is a great way to save money. The new addition of food into our home brought some foolish mice guests along, but thankfully there have been only two of those and a mouse trap that has been set for four days now with no visitors. I'm trying not to get too hopeful that all of the mice are gone, but what mouse could stare at peanut butter temptation for FOUR DAYS and not succumb to the pressure? None, because even smart mice are still stupid mice.
Today, since this is the first day Addie and I have been home and haven't had to go anywhere in at least two weeks (Blake never gets days like this, poor guy), I have focused on actually cleaning the fixed-up parts of our house, having a pleasant* two hour conversation with my insurance company, and finally catching you up on a little bit of progress we have made on the kitchen and mudroom. By we, I obviously mean Blake. I've helped steady a few boards for him to cut, but beyond this I have basically just kept Addie and myself out of the way. Once all the walls and ceilings are up, I can start helping patch, clean, and paint. I have some pictures for you, and they clearly illustrate what I mean.
*I am using the word "pleasant" for the purpose of being exceedingly sarcastic. A.) Everyone knows conversations with insurance companies are almost never pleasant, and B.) I feel like things are about as resolved after our conversation as they were before, meaning, in this case, unresolved.
Blake had already put up some drywall, but had to take it down to reinforce a few places to prepare for open shelving, and also had to fix some electrical stuff. Not to mention, there was no insulation anywhere, so he has put up the insulation now. It was crazy how much warmer it got in the kitchen just from putting up the insulation on this wall!
Blake also reworked some electric stuff in the mudroom, and has installed the drywall. Once the ceiling goes up in here, I'll be able to start helping him patch the drywall! We're excited about getting the mudroom done, because the butlers pantry behind it will be a really easy renovation, but it's sort of a holding space for all the stuff for the kitchen at the moment. Once we can finish the mudroom and transfer the paint and things into there, I could almost single handedly do the butlers pantry myself. However, the ceiling has to be redone in there, and I can't do that part.
Lastly, you may have noticed a little bit of blog fixer-uppin'. Blake made a new logo for me. :) Also, yes, that is my handwriting! I'm a little proud of how it turned out. Also, I was tired of the clipart. It was funny at first, but I'm a professional. And by "professional," I mean "I've spent a lot of money and sweat on this house, so I'm giving myself more credit than I deserve."
April has been a crazy month for us, but we hope to have more to show off soon! I'll keep you updated, friends.
We have been able to enjoy real, home-cooked meals in our dining room, thanks to our "kitchen" set up. We have a mini fridge, a microwave, a knick-knack shelf and plastic shelves turned pantry, two little electric hot pads, a waffle maker (essentials, guys), and a crock pot. I've easily made meals for us plus guests, and most importantly I can easily make Chemex coffee. Also, we know lots of good people who happily feed us often, which is a great way to save money. The new addition of food into our home brought some foolish mice guests along, but thankfully there have been only two of those and a mouse trap that has been set for four days now with no visitors. I'm trying not to get too hopeful that all of the mice are gone, but what mouse could stare at peanut butter temptation for FOUR DAYS and not succumb to the pressure? None, because even smart mice are still stupid mice.
Today, since this is the first day Addie and I have been home and haven't had to go anywhere in at least two weeks (Blake never gets days like this, poor guy), I have focused on actually cleaning the fixed-up parts of our house, having a pleasant* two hour conversation with my insurance company, and finally catching you up on a little bit of progress we have made on the kitchen and mudroom. By we, I obviously mean Blake. I've helped steady a few boards for him to cut, but beyond this I have basically just kept Addie and myself out of the way. Once all the walls and ceilings are up, I can start helping patch, clean, and paint. I have some pictures for you, and they clearly illustrate what I mean.
*I am using the word "pleasant" for the purpose of being exceedingly sarcastic. A.) Everyone knows conversations with insurance companies are almost never pleasant, and B.) I feel like things are about as resolved after our conversation as they were before, meaning, in this case, unresolved.
Blake had already put up some drywall, but had to take it down to reinforce a few places to prepare for open shelving, and also had to fix some electrical stuff. Not to mention, there was no insulation anywhere, so he has put up the insulation now. It was crazy how much warmer it got in the kitchen just from putting up the insulation on this wall!
Blake also reworked some electric stuff in the mudroom, and has installed the drywall. Once the ceiling goes up in here, I'll be able to start helping him patch the drywall! We're excited about getting the mudroom done, because the butlers pantry behind it will be a really easy renovation, but it's sort of a holding space for all the stuff for the kitchen at the moment. Once we can finish the mudroom and transfer the paint and things into there, I could almost single handedly do the butlers pantry myself. However, the ceiling has to be redone in there, and I can't do that part.
Lastly, you may have noticed a little bit of blog fixer-uppin'. Blake made a new logo for me. :) Also, yes, that is my handwriting! I'm a little proud of how it turned out. Also, I was tired of the clipart. It was funny at first, but I'm a professional. And by "professional," I mean "I've spent a lot of money and sweat on this house, so I'm giving myself more credit than I deserve."
April has been a crazy month for us, but we hope to have more to show off soon! I'll keep you updated, friends.
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