New BLOG

Hey guys,
I'm starting a new blog over on WordPress. I will not longer be updating on this site but on my new blog at www.stayinginchicago.wordpress.com! Check it out!

Snow 04/05/09

WHY? Oh, WHY?!?

CARPE-T DIEM!!

TA-DAAAA!!!! Here is our beautifully finished basement! Scott forced me to go to Menards with him yesterday to pick out trim (seriously boring). I've decided that we will never be able to build a house together. I hate making decisions. When Scott asked me yesterday if I would prefer white or almond colored electrical outlet covers. I mean, seriously?!? I couldn't care less (we got white if you were wondering). I just hate making those small decisions because it doesn't matter to me. I don't pay attention to those small details in our house.

Anyway, we got the trim and Scott painted it all and put it up and it looks so great. We had 2 choices (another decision for me to make) on which trim to buy. There was one kind that was cheaper and thinner, but easier to use. The other kind was twice as expensive but looks way nicer. In this whole process, I learned that cheaper isn't always better. We got the more expensive kind and ended up spending about $230 on trim alone, but that will provide enough trim for our entire house, upstairs and downstairs. It looks really nice.

Precious is being camera shy, as usual.

My hand touching the carpet and letting the fact sink in that we have a fully carpeted basement now! Yipeeeeee!!!

Dusty Trail

Here is our almost finished painted basement. We meticulously picked out a wall color. I mean, seriously, we lost sleep over this. Not really. But we did pick a neutral color called "Dusty Trail". We've used this same color in a few other rooms of our house and it's easy to decorate and match things with because it's so neutral. I was a little worried at first because the carpet color was very similar to the wall color and it felt like one big beige box. But once Scott got the trim up (you'll see those in the next post) it really made a huge difference. We were up until midnight last night enjoying our new basement once we got some of the furniture moved back in. And that was like, way past my bedtime.

My cinnamon to his sugar

Each morning on my way out the door, I pop a few pieces of honey wheat bread in the toaster and then top it with melted butter and a coating of cinnamon sugar. This usually tides me over until lunch time and it's about all I have time to make for myself since I'm usually running behind.

I use an old cinnamon shaker for the cinnamon sugar mix and noticed that I was getting low last week. So come monday morning, I expected to open the cupboard to find my empty cinnamon sugar container.

Low and behold, it was completely full!

I thought to myself, did I fill it up last week and I just don't remember? Scott doesn't use cinnamon sugar for anything so I don't think he would have filled it up. Nonetheless, I was thankful to have a bounty of cinnamon sugar for my toast that morning. When I got home from work, I asked Scott about the mysterious refilling of my cinnamon sugar container. He gave a sly grin and I immediately knew that he had filled it up for me. My heart swelled and I was reminded why I married this man.

It's the little things that keep a marriage going. It was such a small thing, but I really really appreciated his gesture and let him know by giving him a big wet kiss!!

Prime Time

Hey guys! Here are a few updated pics of the basement. It's coming along really well and I am so pleased with how fast Scott has gotten this done. The first picture is looking at the back of the basement (to the right when you walk in). You can see part of the new bedroom door on the right of the picture. We use our woodburning stove a lot in the winter so we didn't want to get rid of it for the reno.

Here's Scott priming the walls for paint! We bought paint tonight ($80 later!) and we're going with "Dusty Trail" as our wall color. It's basically a beige color. Nothing too exciting except that it will go with a lot of different color palates.

Here you can see the nasty linoleum tile floor. This will be covered with brand new carpet next week sometime! Can't wait!

Scott is working hard. Good job babe!!

Drywall...how I love thee

We decided to go with recessed lighting in the ceiling. Before the reno we had this horribly blinding track lighting that gave me a headache whenever I was down there. This is much softer option. :) We will be laying new carpet once the walls are finished.

Looking into the spare bedroom.....

Our sweet little spare bedroom (*hint hint...we have EXTRA room for you to come visit so come one come all!). It will be a cozy little nook for you to stay in and you'll even get your own bathroom!

Reno Update

Doesn't this picture just scream "I am MAN, hear me roar!!"?? This is Scott's playground right now and although it's a lot of work, he's loving it. He has finished putting all of the drywall up in the basement and the extra bedroom.

Now he has begun the daunting task of taping (not exactly sure what all that means. I just know it's a lot of work and not a fun job). We were going to hire someone to do the taping, but the lowest quote we could get was $500 plus all of the supplies. We figured we'd save some money (not sleep, muscle soreness, or time) and do the work ourselves (Scott). We're moving right along folks, we're moving right along!

This picture is looking at the closet in the spare bedroom. See those shelves there? We're having a major debate as to whether those stay or get tossed to the curb. I think they are ugly and industrial looking. Scott loves them. I think I'll end up winning this argument, but it may cost me.

DEMO!!!

Here is our new basement!! Thankfully it won't stay like this forever. These pictrues are the walls stripped down. I think Scott filled about 30 garbage bags with drywall from the ceiling and walls. Everything will get new sheetrock (goodBYE ugly 70s paneling!! I WON'T miss you)

Basement progress

This is the basement pre-demo. We had so much junk down there and we needed to find a place for it! We utilized the bathroom for the tv and other entertainment goods and our laundry room now houses our 2 couches. It surprisingly didn't take us long to clear everything out.

The door in the far back and to the right is the door to the new bedroom.