No Power? No Problem! - Kitchen Remodel Part 4

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 2
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

I realized while trying to write all of this out that so many issues overlapped and yea, yea we really weren't under construction forever. So, for all of you who said "It will be over before you know it," you win. Now you can sit back and say, "I told you so!"

Being in the thick of things was definitely not easy. Much like parenting and marriage and other hard things. Every day there was some new issue or frustration. There was one night, after the bomb I'm about to drop on you came to fruition, that I told Greg if one more thing came up, we just needed to torch the place and start over or move out. Dramatic, much? I was serious. We were over it.

So while dealing with contractors, a painfully slow remodel, and now rats, we had another fun issue. One we thought was tied to the remodel but wasn't.

One morning, while getting ready, the lights were flickering pretty badly. Sometimes that means the bulbs are about to go out but it was odd. I got out of the shower and half the power went out. I don't mean half the house or just the lights. I mean, one outlet worked and one light didn't in one room and the next room half the lights and outlets worked, the AC worked and the fridge worked but the microwave didn't. It was very odd. Greg called the home warranty company, that had only come through with ONE request so far (the fixing of our garage door!), and I called the electric company. Both were going to cost time and money but, hello, we needed power.

The electrician the home warranty sent, and the electric company both said that our main power line had been severed. A power line can go out even just by nicking it with a shovel. They also both said it was more than likely due to the plumbing work that was done.

Thank GOD we called 811 and had the line marked before the plumbers dug anything up. I mean, there was a good 4ft deep trench in our backyard while they re-piped the sewer line. Our next call was to get quotes. Turns out, replacing and burying 60+ feet of power line can cost anywhere from $2500-$3600! We didn't have that. We kept digging and researching and then realized we needed to get the plumber involved. We did our part, calling 811, they needed to help us fix this.

Unfortunately, our neighborhood wasn't one where the electric company owned the line - otherwise, they'd fix it all and we would be set. The electric company came and put in a temporary line that we were able to use for a month. Yes, it took a month, to the day, to get the line fixed. Now that it is done, our backyard is still a mess.

There will be more issues along the way but with a finished product that diminishes the stress of all of this. Man, what I would have given to know and see what I have now.

If you're wondering why there aren't many remodel pictures. It's because things literally didn't look much different in these weeks. Here are a few more - we finally trained the contractor to cover the ceiling when they left for the day. There is more to the kitchen remodel saga, so stay tuned.

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 2
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Demo Days & The Plague - Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 2

This is not your typical renovation blog series. Sorry, not sorry. We didn't lift a hammer. Again, sorry, not sorry. This is essentially a safe space for me to whine and moan and hopefully, one day, look back and laugh.

There are those who renovate and those who pay-to-renovate. Let me clarify, I love me some projects. My husband, not so much. I get the good ole eye roll every time I have a "bright idea." Which subsequently seems to (almost) always occur while pregnant. I would also love to be the one to do the renovation but, lets be real, I'd probably kill myself trying to knock down a wall and I just don't care THAT much. My husband, would want nothing to do with said wall. Which is fine. Totally get it.

Day 1 of the kitchen remodel was so, so, so exciting! I totally felt like I was on the set of some major HGTV show. There were loud bangs, and high pitch squeaks, and sounds of a saw and lots of things hitting the floor. It had begun! We were stoked!

For about a week. Then progress slowed. I mean almost a screeching halt. Of course everything was to blame... I changed my mind, the counter tops weren’t in, waiting on the electrician... excuse after excuse. Much to our dismay and according to our remodel veteran friends, these excuses were normal.

Our attic had been exposed due to changing the ceiling height and the installation of support beams, and the smell of sheet rock and musty attic filled our house. For a hypersensitive prego and her husband, who has a sense of smell like that of a freaking dog, it was not pleasant. Something wasn't right. My husband insisted the smell was something else and I hate to even document this but, he was right.

Some back story for you (and another expense I forgot to mention during our short 1 month in our home): Before we bought the house, we did our due diligence and we had the house inspected by a fantastic inspector (I have to put this in here because most everyone says, "Didn't you have the house inspected before moving in?" Yes, Carol). He pointed out that the HVAC duct work in the attic was all torn up on the kitchen side of the house and suspected rodents once lived up there. Before we purchased the home, it sat vacant for a good year so we were not surprised by this news. We had our trusty HVAC guy come and repair the duct work ASAP because Houston summers are no joke. Anyways, we weren't concerned about current rodents because he didn't notice any fresh feces (yummy) or traces of nesting.

Fast forward 3 months from inspection - holy rats nest, did those turds (literally) come back and wreak havoc on our attic and senses! It was awful! The contractors also noticed and even snapped some pictures of these cat sized rats - gross! Pest control came out on THREE occasions and it did NOTHING. During this time, it had been a question of "what next?"

And you'll see... stay tuned! Until then... I realized I never posted pictures of the OUTSIDE of our home. OOPS! For those who love mi-mod's as much as we do, here is our 1960's charmer (#allthehearteyes)

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 2

The Beauty of Home Ownership - Kitchen Remodel Part 2

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

When we decided to remodel the kitchen, we had been in our new home for a total of 2 months. We had already had the windows replaced with double pane windows because... summer in Houston, 'nough said, and we knew we wanted to paint and do the floors. The kitchen was a big deal, though. Financially and logically we knew it needed to be done first or it might never make it off the to-do list.

Let me back up, we KNEW we wanted to do SOMETHING with the kitchen space as soon as we saw the house but fell in love with it regardless - I mean, come on, a character filled mid-century modern home, built in the 1960's, in a fantastic neighborhood, walking distance to the kids current preschool, at an affordable price, with the bonus room and extra bedroom we needed for sweet V and amazing space for entertaining (we are always down for a party), what was not to love? However, the first time we had an actual get together, it was awful. I mean, no one else noticed - I hope - but us. The layout and closed off nature of the kitchen was NOT going to workout.

Here are some pre-reno and pre-move in pictures (that wet bar and built-in, though!):

View from the sink to the pantry (door) and in-eat breakfast area.

View from opening of breakfast area to the sink (gaping hole is where the refrigerator is now).

Another view from the sink/dishwasher area to the doors to the dining room (left), wet bar (opening), and pantry (door). 

View from the wet bar into the living room - more built-in goodness!

View from the breakfast area towards kitchen (left), built-in desk and living room space. 

Okay, now that you understand what we are working with here...

Fast forward a few weeks to the decision to hire the contractor and get this baby rollin'... we stumbled upon some fun news... a major plumbing issue. I mean MAJOR. Sewage backed up, coming out from under toilets, into our step-down shower (1960's remember?), and the entire place smelling like... yep, you guessed it, a heaping pile of dog poo. Oh and what was better, it happened on a Saturday, right before we were about to leave for a day sail with friends.

Me to Husband: "Cancel the babysitter, dear, we have s**t to deal with - literally."

It was awful.

Fun Interesting Fact: Homes in our hood and others built around the same time were built under the assumption that concrete piping was smart. Not. Smart. It breaks. And that, my friends, is what had happened.

So, before we even got to the renovation, we had to replace our MAIN SEWER LINE which totally dipped into our renovation budget. But, we were determined... and probably a little stupid. It couldn't have been something easy, or something we knew ANYTHING about. It had to be this major, stinky, expensive mess. And there is more!

Oh, the beauty of home ownership. Stay tuned...

Kitchen Remodel Part 1
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Reno Vent - Kitchen Remodel Part 1

Kitchen Remodel Part 2
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

When you can't be inside your house because there is currently a honeybee infestation that decided to rear its ugly head in the middle of a daggum remodel project, you camp out at starbucks to get some writing venting done since your kids are in school and aren't loving on nagging you.

I am in such a wonderful mood. Can you tell? 

And that may be the world longest run on sentence - but I don't care. There is free wifi here and Siggi's yogurt, so I'll be in a happy place soon. 

I really don't see the appeal people see in remodeling. Maybe it's because the appeal lies mainly in overexposed, instagram worthy pictures and not the actual mess that remodeling can be. Or maybe it's the captions those instagram pictures use to lure people into the darkness that is renovation. Or, actually, it is probably because every woman (and man, maybe) have a secret desire to be Joanna Gaines. Yes, that's probably it. Our experience hasn't been all together awful but it is definitely not for the faint of heart - or maybe not for pregnant (ie. hormonal) women with two other small children at home.

Silly me, I thought, "Okay, we've done floors and windows before, we can handle a small reno." Well, boy was I wrong - HA! 

I think it's a patience thing. I currently have NONE. Which, before being pregnant, I didn't have much to loose. To top it off, it's our kitchen. The living breathing epicenter of our home life - where sippy cups are filled and spilled, where I channel my little energy into cooking meals I am usually proud of, where my husband hides pint size ice cream cartons and where SO MUCH LIFE happens. So that means, no cooking, careful sippy cup filling, still ice cream because it is necessary during hard times and very little life. I feel like death and probably look like death, from lack of proper home cooked, nutritious food. You don't realize the lack of good choices (that won't cost an arm and a leg) until you rely on having to eat out. It is REALLY, REALLY hard.

But, stay tuned for more fun stories and a whole reno series that will make you absolutely never want to renovate - kidding. I had a feeling all this "hindsight" business was going to be accurate - hindsight is, we will have a beautiful kitchen we are proud of and can definitely do life (much easier) in, and we lived to tell the tale which might be funny... one day. Not today.

Kitchen Remodel Part 2
Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Pinterest win or Pinterest Fail: Nursery #3

Now, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I can usually rock the crap out of some pinterest inspo projects. In all honesty, thank GOD for pinterest because I could never dream this stuff up on my own! However, I've never been so open and honest about my plans for a nursery as I plan on doing below. So I hope I don't totally botch it!

I found this pillow from Khristian Howell and decided, this is it! This is what the  nursery will embody! I mean, it's called 'une femme' for crying out loud (it means ‘a woman’; I got you). Strong deep navy, soft lavenders and blush pinks are the perfect combination of confidence and elegance. Much like her name, Violet Blake. Needless to say, I bought the pillow and it should be here soon then, let the decorating begin!

Violet Blake's nursery already has plenty of furniture - we swapped Grant's and Lucy's cribs, got Grant a big boy bedroom set (reveal coming soon), and gave Lucy's crib to baby Violet. Grant's dresser, bookshelf and toy shelf were all given for the cause, too. Of course, the same rocker that was used for #1 and #2 has found it's way to #3. Reduce, reuse, and recycle, people! Both dressers for Lucy and Grant were part of my family for a long time. I don't think there is HUGE significance but refurbishing them and seeing them in their rooms gives me a sense of joy, comfort and accomplishment!

Here is some more fun inspiration I've gathered for the nursery. Wish me luck and...enjoy!

Follow along here or share with a friend - https://pin.it/ad6g2eweowqxxa