It’ll be our 10th year in our home and with surging home prices, Paul and I often talk about how lucky we are to have bought when we did. Ten years ago we only had one income (me working at the business journal) while Paul freelanced. Our rent just went up on the condo we... Continue Reading →
Late last year and early into this year, I was in a frenzy to get our bedroom into tip top shape. That includes upgrading our full-sized bed – yes, full! – into a queen, buying a bed frame and installing floating shelves to save space in our tight quarters. This involved multiple trips to and... Continue Reading →
One of the things I wanted when we bought our place last year a backyard. Due to cost, we opted for a nicely sized enclosed patio without having to put down a half a million on a home. As I'm going on six months of unemployment, I glad we went that route without having to... Continue Reading →
Despite the stress of the water damage delay into getting our new home , the kitchen remains one of my favorite places. The kitchen we had in the old place was small, narrow and had old appliances that echoed back to the early 1980s. We eventually replaced the refrigerator and microwave and in my opinion,... Continue Reading →
Unexpected weekend activities can lead to the most unusual places to eat, like our weekly pilgrimage to Home Depot and in one special trip, Dog House Diner. My first exposure to Dog House Diner was earlier this year with Erin Jackson, hamburger reviewer extraordinaire for Serious Eats. Erin and I had made previous visits to... Continue Reading →
A recent post on Apartment Therapy touched upon moving into a new house that I related to. Between navigating the stressful mortgage process, renovations and finally moving in, most new home owners experience mental exhaustion. (On top of this, we had to deal with the water damage in the kitchen.) This is exactly how we’ve... Continue Reading →
One of the things I hear the most often from my friends who have homes is the need to find a dependable person to do the small things around the place. Installing sinks, fixing light fixtures, building a fence – you know, the ongoing to-do list that comes with owning and wanting to constantly improve... Continue Reading →
If someone were to ask me a month ago if we were going to meet our deadline of moving in AND finishing our renovation, I would reply with a cautious “yes.” But as luck would have it, disaster struck and it came in the form of water. When Jim Nichols and the rest of the... Continue Reading →
Before even closing on a home, I knew immediately that I didn’t want to paint the interior white… but gray. And not just one shade of gray but two possibly three shades of gray in the same color family. For weeks, I campaigned to Paul about why it would great and even going so far... Continue Reading →
There’s a theory I recently came up with for all you married folks. If your spouse wanted to have every word in the planning of your wedding, it’s likely that they will want every word in renovating your new home. It’s just a theory but I think it holds some water. With that said, I think prior... Continue Reading →
My Burning Kitchen 