Recap/Appliances

So I realized I never really mentioned that I bought a townhouse. Well I did! I never really planned on buying anything until this fall once summer daycare was over with and paid for...but since working at home and not having any daycare bills...and rates being so low and my rent going up WAY too much since I didn't want to sign another lease...it was time for me to look. Plus the girls and I were suffocating in that 2 bedroom apartment with all the time we were spending together inside (I blame the Rona). While we did try to get outside, they wouldn't go without me and with me working...it just didn't work.

I looked at a couple places. Some cost too much, one was brand new but small bedrooms and NO yard for the kids. It was nice but just not right for me. My realtor who is a long time friend of mine and has helped us and included us in so many things over the years sent me this place before it had pictures online and said I needed to look at it. So I did. It just felt right. It was dated, don't get me wrong but I'm not really that fancy to where granite countertops and backsplashes are something that I really care about. I even had Steve look at it with me...he knows construction and his kids are living here so I wanted him to have at least an idea of what I was thinking. He did confirm that it did feel good for me.
It was a good size, mostly newly painted, high ceilings, a small yard, not a busy street and the most important.....good size closets! :) My bedroom has 3 closets. No joke. It's amazing.

I have posted all the things that I had one and really besides the oak trim not much more needs to be fixed or updated on this place. The HVAC and hot water heater are original...that means 22 years old! That is old! All work good with no problems and I have a 1 year warranty on the place. I am fully aware I will need to replace these things....and honestly, none of them are energy efficient either, so as much as the $$ will suck, it will be worth it in the end....if I can make it another year or 2 without having to worry about it. I will be happy.

However, I knew the stove would have to be replaced. They had replaced all the other kitchen appliances except the stove?! I was going to wait but the first night in the house we made dinner and the stove started smoking. It would totally be like me to set off smoke alarms the first night cooking in this place! HA!

Then I began to realize the washer didn't really spin out the water in the clothes like I was used to. The dryer worked great but if I was going to replace the 13 year old washer....I was gonna replace the original 22 year old dryer! Yes, it was original!!!! and the door on the dryer opened backwards. So annoying!

The countertops and oak will have to wait for their turn over the next couple years! :) Maybe they'll come back into style then! 

 

Now our clothes might actually SMELL clean!  

I think I'm done spending money at least in this capacity! :) Vacation is coming up and then Christmas will be here before you know it! 

So many screws.

A couple weeks ago I got 2 barstools for the counter area. Sarah helped me with her cordless drill and it might not have been the smoothest process ever. We burned our fingers touching the screws afterwards, we split a leg on one of the stools, we stripped one of the bits in the drill set....but....they were together. (I won't mention that Steve came and helped fix this problem a couple days later.) 

So I finally got my dining room table and chairs. Just hoping that it looked good, fit well and I would be able to put it together. I picked it up at Homemakers, got it home and then wondered how the fuck I was going to get it out of my car and into the house.....so I ripped open the box and took all the pieces in one by one. Again, I don't like to ask for help.

SO MANY PIECES. But again....56 screws with an allen wrench and I got them all together. I did have to tighten up some of them the next day, as to be expected, I think.

 The tables, 5 chairs, a bench and 2 bar stools.....boom.

So far nothing has broke and no one has fallen off of anything I have built. Fingers crossed this stays true for a long time!!

Master bathroom

So b/c this townhouse is older, it is all oak trim. I decided I would start on the master bathroom as my first project in painting the trim. Once I started on the trim, I couldn't help but move onto the wall paint. It was ALL banged up and chipped. The outlets and light switch covers looked crappy. Fucking the floor vent register was gross. So I bought all new stuff.

Trim all white, walls a now a nice gray. Registered replaced, new light switch cover and outlet cover. New towels bars and toilet paper roll....I did it all MYSELF people!! Screwdrivers and spackle and drills....I did it!

The only thing I couldn't do myself...the light fixture above the sink. I had to paint the wall, the light fixture was probably original gold. It had to go. Thankfully Steve is handy, had some time and doesn't hate me. So he installed it for me.
Even after ALL this...I still have both the closet door and bathroom door trim to paint, new hinges to put on and new door knobs to install (both hinges and knobs are gold) and then the FINAL project which is down the road, is the cabinet and drawers to paint. It will totally be worth it in the end, just a lot more work and money than anticipated!

Presley's room

So we didn't have to paint Presley's room...it was a nice gray.  We had bought some cute gray and aqua better however, she didn't have a bed. (no bed, mattress, dresser.....basically nothing when we moved in). By the time we fully moved in, we had a mattress for her room so she was able to sleep in her room. About a week later we got the actual bed and headboard. But that meant I had to be handy and put it together. My dad helped me pick it up from Homemakers and was MORE than willing to help me put it together but I wanted to at least try. I don't like asking for help if you haven't realized that yet.

So I spent some time putting together stuff. Oh yeah, with an allen wrench and a million screws later, we had a headboard....

the next night we had a bed. I had to carry it upstairs, basically piece by piece. There was swearing, there were power tools, there were a lot of listening to podcasts (My Favorite Murder) while this was going on.

But now we have a bed with bookcase headboard....put together by MOI! We ended up finding some curtains that matched perfectly and are now working on some pictures to hang. Unlike Piper she has unpacked her room and is organized. She spends a lot of time in here, as a typical pre-teen does.

We do have a desk that we are painting to hopefully put in her room also. My dad found it on the side of the road, which is SO typically something my dad would do. It weighs about 200 lbs so we'll have to figure out how to get that upstairs once it is repainted. Perfect place to do her schooling when she has her online days (don't even get me started on that topic).

Painting

I closed on the house June 17th and started painting Piper's room on the 24th. My mom and Holly came over to help me. The room was John Deere green with crayon marks on the ceiling, so we had to do the ceiling and all the walls. Thankfully my parents and my friend Sarah had a ton of painting stuff that I was able to borrow so I didn't have to buy everything! So nice!!!

Piper chose the color....bright blue. I was a little hesitant b/c you never know how it will really look on the walls and once the whole room is done. It actually looks better than I thought!

and she found the perfect picture from Hobby Lobby, that she insisted she HAD TO HAVE for her bedroom. How could I refuse?? :)

The problem with Piper is that she is messy and not very organized. Presley had tried to help her get unpacked...and even a month later we are still struggling to get her fully unpacked. So that is our goal this weekend! Fingers crossed!

HIMPS

Himps or home improvements....buying a townhouse that is 22 years old and not having ALL the money or experience in the world means I'm learning to DIY! I really never thought I could be handy but never had a reason to try to be either. So I'm doing a lot, learning a lot and spending a lot. But I'm proud of my accomplishments no matter how big or small. 

My (our) first project was to update a dresser my parents had for Presley to use. It was old. With many layers of paint but we did pretty good, I think.

 A little paint and some upgraded knobs and it looks almost like new! :)