House Love

Thanks Maaike & Harper for the flowers!

It's one of those days.  Rainy with a side of New England chill. Normally this would be the perfect excuse to curl up with a book or spend some time editing photos, but now that we have this house, its construction time ALL the time. In fact slave driver Andrew is hardly giving me the time to write this blog post...I am literally being pulled out the door to the Home Depot as I write.

Since my return to Rhode Island after almost two weeks in Virginia celebrating weddings and engagements whilst packing up my belongings, it is "go" time and I haven't had a spare minute.  In between unpacking the UHaul, putting furniture and boxes in their respective rooms and working on the construction in the back room, I fall asleep without hesitation.  Everything we own needs refinishing, a cleanup or something.  Just add it to the list.  Welcome to home ownership:)

While I was away in Virginia Andrew had a WHOLE lot of time to himself to completely gut the basement. It now really looks like a basement and a space that we could find to function quite well with a laundry room, "shop" for Andrew and toy room (ie paddle board and bikes).

BEFORE

Cheesy nautical wallpaper - so hard to let go...

Andrew found 1970's Playboy magazines and a bag of pills in these rafters...guess it was a crazy era...

AFTER

Lots of future workshop space

Andrew has his work cut out for him in the wiring department

Cheesy wallpaper gone

More and more space

This week our efforts are on the back living room.  I literally feel like Heidi from "Home Improvement" but without looking so cute.   Her character lies.  This construction stuff is HARD WORK!!

The crappy construction from the previous owners that we are finding time and time again. 

In the past three days I have cut nails with a saw zall, learned the difference between an impact driver and a regular screw gun, culled lumber, used a leveler and a chop saw (ie sliding compound miter saw) and pulled nails with a crow bar.  I have my own tool belt and got checked out ("oh hiiii")at my first solo Home Depot run while culling through 2x6 boards for us to create sister joyces to the original beams.  Oh, and how could I forget trimming hedges and the huge hydrangea bush in our front yard - certainly a first for me. Somehow my manicure from this past weekend's party is still intact.

And I wanted to look at paint colors this week.  How naive.

This hydrangea bush will be gorgeous one day. 

My first trimming experience was not so successful...I guess that whole section of the bush will grown back:)

This weekend I get a break and get to go sailing and do some photography shoots. Monday, it's back to the grind.  Insulation, strapping and sheet rock are next.  As much hard work as it is, I am in love with this house.