Days till we have to be out of our apartment: 0
Today carpet went in, which means we’ll drag our mattress into a room and crash here for the first time! The place is really coming together..
Quick move…
April 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Tonight we rented a U-Haul truck and a few friends pitched in to help us move. The nice thing about living in little apartments for so long is that you can’t really acquire too much extraneous ‘stuff’ — which made the move pretty reasonable. Here’s a shot of everything we own in the garage (since we can’t move it into the house till the carpet goes in Friday):
New Vue
April 27, 2010 By 4 Comments
My wonderful aunt Cathy in Philadelphia purchased a Saturn Vue back in ’05, and recently decided that she no longer needed it. She loves the vehicle however, and wanted it to go to a good home–so she decided to ship it out to me and Kristie and sell it to us for next to nothing. Especially considering the mileage on the odometer:
1,423 miles. That’s it.
This car is brand new! It’s an awesome, compact SUV with good MPG’s, a 5-Star crash rating and tons of cargo space. Now Kristie and Lilah will have a safe, reliable car to get around in. And the timing couldn’t have been better with the move…it will make transporting odds and ends from the apartment to the house so much easier.
I could go on and on about Cathy and her kindness, but then you’d all try to adopt her as your own. And I’m not sharing.
Renovations: Day 6
April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Days till we have to be out of our apartment: 6
Everything’s taped up and the first coat of paint has been applied to most of the house. It already looks cleaner and brighter…which I love.
Back at the apartment we’re in the process of assembling and filling a jungle of boxes. It makes me want to build a killer fort.
Book Club T-Shirt ’10
April 24, 2010 By 4 Comments
Every year we make new, super cool Book Club t-shirts. This year I missed the deadline and didn’t get one. So I made my own. Limited edition, inspired by the movie Mystery Men, and quite probably, the Meservys.
Mr. Furious: Hey, I was wondering… have you seen my address book?
The Shoveller: What did it look like?
Mr. Furious: Uh, it’s denim…..says ‘hang loose’ on it…..picture of a kitten.
Renovations: Day 3
April 21, 2010 By 2 Comments
Days till we have to be out of our apartment: 9
Today our paint guy did some drywall and prep work for the painting — including fixing the ominous water damage area, filling holes, and protecting select areas with plastic.
We were going to stay at our apartment and pack tonight, but when Kristie headed out to a meeting I decided to swing by the new house and start pulling out the bajillion staples left in the floor that held down the carpet pad. Most all of them required a flat-head screwdriver to pry up, and then pliers to yank out. I imagine it’s how dentists view pulling teeth — kind of tedious, but strangely satisfying. Here’s one of many rows that line each floor surface:
Kristie joined later and helped keep me on pace by removing all the pulled-out staples and debris along the way. This house has been a fun project to work on together already…which is a good thing cause there’s plenty more coming.
[AP - it was a last minute decision, nevertheless #shouldhavecalled]
Renovations: Day 1
April 19, 2010 By 7 Comments
Days till we have to be out of our apartment: 11
We got the keys to the house today and jumped right into things, seeing as we have to move in by next Friday, the 30th of April. In the afternoon we had Home Depot come by to measure for carpet, and then after work we met with a painter (Dave) that came highly recommended to us for drywall and interior painting. Luckily, Dave understands our time constraint, and is ready to get crackin’ as well. To keep things on pace he requested two things:
- Get the paint swatches to him ASAP
- Remove carpet and padding from the entire house to facilitate painting.
So we dropped by Home Depot at about 8:00 to get the color swatches and a utility knife, ran home to get music, a bandanna and rags, then drove back to the house to work until 11:00.
I’d never removed carpet before — but what I lacked in experience, I made up for in zeal.
In under 70 minutes, I ripped out, sliced up and dragged every inch of disgusting, soiled carpet and padding from the house to the adjoining garage. It was exhausting at that pace, but it felt so good to get it all out. Meanwhile Kristie wiped down all the baseboards in preparation for the painting.
I keep trying to prevent her from doing stuff like that, but she insists she’s fine, and has no problem walking away if it causes unnecessary strain. She’s inspiring.
Taking a breather on the aftermath:
It’s official, we’re homeowners
April 16, 2010 By 2 Comments
Editors note: Contrary to popular belief, our new home can not fit in the palm of your hand.
On Thursday we signed a stack of papers as thick as a novel and closed the deal. Even though it’s a scary step, we’re feeling good about the decision. The house was a a foreclosure that we acquired considerably under market value, our 15 year mortgage interest rate is near record lows, and we closed in time to get the $8k first-time homeowner tax credit.
I keep telling people that I feel like I’ve become an adult in the last 6 months. New job, new baby, new home. But then I remember I’m as much of a kid now as I was the day I met Kristie, and then everything’s right in the universe again.
We’ll be taking pictures of initial renovations, etc. and posting them here.
Bring it on, yard work.
Freshman Roomate GNO
April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Kristie met up with some freshman roommate friends for a girls night out. Here’s a shot:
