let there be lights

i can see, i can see...!

yeah, yeah we have lights down the hall and on a dimmer switch too.  i can't tell you how much of a cave the hall was before.  i guess i never notice because we were used to not having light while walking down the hall - but now that we have that light, it is good.

we used 4" recessed lighting.  we bought the kind for new construction because we had ripped out the ceiling.  the new construction lights also allowed us to put insulation around them, which is something our house desperately needs.

we used string to insure everything was centered an aligned.  before we selected these particular lights we looked everywhere and i prices from everyone... wow do the prices very!  one place wanted $600 for what we got for about $140 (this includes 4 more lights you aren't seeing).  we got the lights from here - usa light.  they had the best prices by far even with the shipping.

the littlest puppy - cough

if your house is anything like mine... then there is always something....

today i am referring to the fact that, after a sleepless night due to a coughing puppy... i ran Baker to the vet only to find out that he has kennel cough.  how he got this i don't know...

didn't i just have him at the vet to get vaccinated for this very thing you ask?  yep last monday we were there... so we could avoid this very thing.  alas we didn't avoid it and another $180.00 down, Baker now is on antibiotics and a cough suppressant at nights, so we can all get some rest.

the house was also super cold this week because the hallway ceiling was open to the attic - whatever heat we were putting in the house was flying up through and out our attic vents.  so we have a sick, cold little puppy on our hands...but not to worry we got him the medicine and have worked very hard this week on closing up that hallway.  that however, i will save for another post.

8506 Remodel in Plan - ahhh yes plan.

thought it might be easier to understand our house undertaking if i updated a plan... you know step by step.  If you can't read a plan, well i am sorry we will have to work on that another time (and no i haven't oriented it with north up... all my architecture teachers are shaking their heads now.. but hey this is my house)

so above is (was) our existing floor layout.  the house was built in 1942 during the era of no insulation and teeny tiny footprints, but hey we are two people, two dogs, and two cats - how much room do we need?   the modest home in the city was designed so that potions of the house could be heated at one time.  this means tons and tons of doors... i didn't show here the door to the hallway, or into the kitchen, or into the work room because we ripped those down the first week we lived there.

 

the plan above shows the extent of the demolition... ie the walls we removed.  i did a little sketchy detail of what we did to construct the columns -(you know if you are into that kind of thing).  we really wanted to open the plan up and create a living space which included relaxing and eating.  in such a small house it has really helped light flow deep into the spaces and open the house up.

 

this plan shows the extent of our completed work... of course we are still working out drywall details but the big stuff is done.  i sort of cheated here... showing you the plan with some reflected ceiling items (you know so you could see where we placed those lights!)

more pictures to come... we hung some drywall last night and tonight i get insulation and the house will be warmer.  i am super excited about that - as is little Baker!

hopefully these make sense and aren't too dorky!

ahh yes tuesday

hey everyone... i know i have been MIA for the past couple of days.  sorry about that.  i have just been feeling a bit uninspired and tired, so we took the weekend to recharge.  i must tell you that nothing has gotten done around the house since i left- but this week we will make progress!

we did get lots of seeds planted last night - the cabbage is about an inch high right now and tons of tomatoes, rhubarb, cat grass, and cat nip were put in their own little seed trays to emerge from the soil.  this is the first year for us starting our garden strictly from seed so we will have to see how that all works out.  of course you will get the play by play.

the plan for tonight is drywall.  we will have to see how that goes.

pictures soon - i promise.

love this necklace!

   

LOVE IT!!!

i mean who wouldn't though... it is awesome.  i have this thing for wearing really...... let's just say notable jewelry.  i love accessories they always fit.  this baby is right up my alley, sustainable and fashion forward.  i am all over it.

found this over at Galerie Urbana.  Check out the etsy site....

look at this ring... isn't it luscious.  there are too many things in their store... just to lovely.

hope you have wonderful things planned for your weekend.  we will be working on the house (big surprise there).  hopefully we will make some killer progress and i will have something spectacular to share with you.

until then...

the lighting has arrived

YO, YO, YO...

the lighting has arrived so no post tonight, just pounding, wiring, and stuff like that... then it is off to the drywall races this weekend.  oh the joy!  i mean who doesn't LOVE drywall dust all over everything.  i will get you some progress pictures as we have progress.  alas - no progress yet.

as i type JD just put in the first light (in the wrong bay) we are moving it now...  isn't it always the case:  one step forward two steps back.

until tomorrow... have a great evening!

cabin fever

for the past couple of weeks i have woke up, thought about heading to work, and then immediatly comtemplated going back to bed. 

JD isn't one to take personal days, let me tell you.  i can't tell you how many times i have tried to tempt him into staying home with visions of lounging days spent in our pj's... floor picnics.... and strolls around the neighborhood.  i haven't once succeeded in getting him to stay home no matter what i promise.  after trying several days in a row, unsucessfully, to get him to stay home i have come to the conclusion that i am in need of a vacation.

not days to stay home and work on the house, but a weekend away, a vacation...  i cute little cabin somewhere would be perfect, quite, restful, and we could take the pups.  i thought of a cabin because it is still too cold and wet to camp, but i am already starting to get the itch.  i know we have a trip planned for our late honey moon, but let me tell you it can't come soon enough.

the lack of sunlight is the culprit  - causing me to want to run (well that and daily life stuff).  i think we are all craving a little bit of an escape right now.  a place to run to and turn off the tv, cell, and computer and just be for a while - letting the rest of the world disappear.

the image is from my walk with the pups last night looking at the puget sound.  it was lovely... i (well the pups and i) really needed it.

chock full of stuff...

the doors were delivered yesterday...

normally this would be a very good thing... but as you can see from the picture above, we now have piles of building materials stacked everywhere.  (they are beautiful by the way) Rainier and Baker were checking out the doors as we stacked them in the living room / half covering the window.

here you see our new flooring!!! in a giant pile... Ginkgo has been taking advantage of the piles of stuff sprawling all about.  we took down our hooks at the front door to get ready for paint and to put the column in.  now piles of reusable grocery bags are on top of the pile of flooring.

and here stacked in the hall is the drywall still.  Rainier is nervous about all of it...and so am i.  every time i turn around there is a pile of stuff...  we are still waiting on the lights for the hallway to be delivered (hopefully thursday) before we can work on the drywall - which has to happen before the new floors - which has to happen before we hang the new doors.

i think once we start working on everything again all these materials won't bother me so much, but not being able to work until the lights arrive is driving me crazy.

not to mention that damn washer/dryer is still in kitchen.  come on craig's list people... buy them!  ha.

memories...

isn't it funny how a song or smell can whisk you back years?

listening to a random collection of songs did just that for me today... one minute i was on my way back from a site visit in early fall.... driving through the forest in western PA with my friend Nick and the next i was playing softball with a traveling team.  to me its amazing the feelings that these songs can bring with that sudden whoosh of memory.

oh... and now float on, by modest mouse... this reminds me of the summer after we moved here - we were dirt poor but high off of all the new experiences and places to explore... and so happy to have each other.

JD this is a warning to you - apparently i am feeling pretty nostalgic today - i think all sad movies should be out of the question.  i am liable to break down!

awesome image from flickr.

sunday in seattle

sometimes i forget where i live.... 

well i don't forget where my house is, but it is easy to forget all thing things i love about this city while in the midst of a rainy, damp, northwest winter. so this morning while JD was at his welding class i met a friend for brunch downtown... we had brunch (i had california eggs benedict which consisted of crab meat and avocado in place of the bacon, fresh pressed juice and a latte... it was wonderful). after that we wandered leisurely around a few of the shops near the market.

if you haven't been to Seattle: fyi we have this wonderful market downtown that has everything from fresh fish, flowers, and veggies to belt buckles, art, and t-shirts. today we wandered among the stalls looking at the fruit, the newly bloomed tulips, and jams and jellies.

this is the entry at the market... complete with large clock. in the summer the entire roof line is covered with giant plant and flower boxes. it is quite beautiful.

this is the famous fish stand where fish fly... well close enough. as you place your order for salmon, halibut, crab or anything else it is thrown from the display to the guys behind the counter to be wrapped...and then it is thrown back and delivered to you. pay close attention here.. or you just might end up with a fish to the face.

this is one of the many vegetable stands in the market, overflowing with fresh produce.

no matter what when visiting Seattle a trip to the market is a must. wandering down there today i remembered some of the reasons we moved here in the first place. it was good to get to the market and take in the sights and sounds of Seattle that i miss running around taking care of the day to day.

8506 - Step 6

the beams are done!  oh yeah...

i put the photo together so you could get a better understanding of where the walls were we removed... the lines in floor leave a nice track of our progress.

it is amazing how removing these two walls makes the house feel.  our house is small - somewhere around 900 sf so we need to make the most out of every square inch... and we were just loosing too much sf in the hallway... now it almost feels spacious!

there is more light... and space... it is wonderful.

here you can see a little further back the hall.

what is wonderful about having this project out of the way is that it frees us up to start all the other projects... they were all just waiting patiently in line behind - 1.  REMOVE THE WALLS.

we  have lived in this house 3 years now and it took us this long to live in the house and make good decisions about its redesign.  stay tuned to watch our house transform... weekend by weekend and lets hope to god someone buys that damn washer and dryer.

kitchen appliances & IKEA?

so while planning the remodel of the kitchen we have been thinking about new appliances - fo sho.

the ones we have now... are oh so plain and boring.  so i have been perusing stoves, refers, and dishwashers.... oh dear god, i can not wait.  we have been without a dishwasher for the past three years in this house and i am sooooo excited about the possibility of loading the dishwasher and hitting run.  my dishwater hands will be too happy not to have to spend at least an hour a day scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing.

so... onto what i had intended to write about.  i was checking out the ikea appliances which are made by whirlpool on line and although i think that have a nice clean look - i am not excited about having ikea stamped all over them.  see the image below... each piece has ikea by whirlpool on them... which makes them seem and look less expensive than they should.  i LOVE ikea, don't get me wrong but:

IKEA = VALUE

so what do you think.... would installing appliances from ikea make it seem like we went the cheap-o route?  we are planning on doing cabinets from ikea - but they don't have the word "ikea" stamped all over them either... hmmm.

8506 - Step 5

i wanted to show you all some progress!!

this picture is taken from our kitchen toward the living room... notice anything?  YEP the wall is gone! this one wall removal took JD and i all weekend... Sat was spent getting everything prepped (well what we thought was everything) and Sunday was temporary wall, wall removal, and big beam day.  we really had to work to get that baby into place (fyi.. BIG BEAM and two people = not safe conditions).  and yes our house is a bloody disaster... yes there is a washer and dryer in my kitchen... why you ask?  because it hasn't yet sold on craigslist... is that a tv on the washer?  yes... it too needs to be listed on craigslist.  

sorry, JD about the bum shot but i like your bum and well this was the best picture of the beam.  isn't it beautiful.  

stay tuned... see that wall on the right (the darker stud one) that baby is hopefully coming down tonight.. the light stud wall is what we will use to temporary brace the ceiling joists while we take the wall down and get the new beam up... so cross your fingers.  i know i am.

this picture is from the living room into the kitchen... it shows the beam on the floor... and the temporary walls in place while we were removing the wall.  i am thinking that plans might be helpful to better understand.. so maybe i will scan some in.

have a good afternoon - it is sunny here and i must be getting back to work.

demo = sore

so we worked like dogs yesterday until 10.30 pm....

we got one of the beams in.  (the big one!) so one to go.  i don't know if we are going to attempt to do the second one tonight but i vote for chill in front of the tv.  we are both so sore... we are like creaky old people, groaning while walking...while reaching,  while breathing.

i was too tired to get the photos downloaded before work today so it will have to wait until tomorrow or something.  i must go... my fingers are too sore to type.

8506-Step 4

it's hard to do house remodels without materials.  so.. just wanted to show you the materials we got to get our house project started.  i know, i know that damn hallway again and no it hasn't changed that much... and there is going to be so many more pictures of this hallway.  i mean what fun would just a before and after shot be?  you would miss all the work that was the in-between.  so we had drywall delivered and .... a few pieces of steel (to connect the beams) and the beams!

this is the steel... some plates and the bucket is in the box.

some 2x4's for temporary walls and the beams out in the drive way.   (like the tarp.... there is sand under there for this patio project... ahhh some time in sunnier days.)  i am sure the neighbors love it.

we have been working on this all weekend... i will keep you updated.  zzzz... i am tired... oh yeah.

8506 house remodel - step three

and the ceiling is taller!

so... i only have a few minutes this morning before i rush off to puppy class with Baker but i wanted to share our progress on the hallway.  hopefully today we will get to the beams but we still have more prep to do before then.  while i am at puppy class JD and Rainier are going to be working on some of that prep... man do i love them.

so here in step three, the objective was to remove the abandoned duct work above the lowered hallway ceiling and in the process expose the extra framing which will allow us to raise the ceiling height about a foot!

when you have a house as tiny as ours, even a foot of head room can make all the difference between light and airy and dark and cramped.  so above you can see the removed duct work laying about the hall.  the red sheet is there to help us maintain some semblance of order and cleanliness while doing the remodel.

here JD is removing the last piece of duct work to nowhere.

and waaaaa laaaaa the hallway with the ceiling removed.  we still have to order new light fixtures for the hallway and we just got the materials to start the construction.... oh the fun is just beginning.

i want this jacket... i LOVE it

i must have this jacket....

i love this jacket and have been searching for a jacket for quite sometime.  actually there are several of Little Houses Clothing items that i would love to have.  why is this jacket only available in small... tear.

i hate tiny people... grrr.. always buying off the sale racks... grrr.
anyway spoted this over at Scoutie Girl and just had to share.

A new year, a new garden

i wrote recently about all of our seed purchases and how JD is putting together the garden plan.  this year we are armed with more ammo than years past.  we started by reading (well JD read it... i will just soak in his expert knowledge) Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.  it has all sorts on info on what to plant next to what... for example if you plant your climbing beans/peas next to sunflowers... they use the sunflower to climb!  no trellis needed.

ok that might not be an example given in the book, but those types of ideas make up the book.

we didn't sheet mulch as we had expected... there is always next year.  the book also has just tons and tons of harmonious gardening techniques we just can't wait to put to use.

also we are using this handy little spring garden guide.  you too can download it for free over at Little House in the Suburbs.  this morning JD told me how we are already running a bit late on planting we should have our cabbage in by now... so somehow, although i think it will be impossible, we will try and fit a little gardening into our weekend.  as usual we are overbooked.

a slow morning

morning all...  it is a slow one for me.  i got home from a meeting last night at about 10 pm.  i know, i know, that isn't THAT late...but working from 8.30 am - 10 pm... makes for a long day in my book.  so no new pictures this morning of the house remodel or the pile of lumber and materials strewn about my living room...

on a bright note little Baker slept from 11 pm last night till 6.30 this morning!  ahhh good cause i needed the sleep.

this lovely just brightened my day though and is helping me to wake up.  Remember the Morning can be found in the etsy shop of tales of light.

good morning.

stained glass project - prototype

this is my new stained glass project prototype.

i know i wrote about showing this to you a while back, but then we got sucked into house projects... and well i haven't yet had a chance to finish all the others i have cut.  but this is the original baby. i have several other colors all ready to be soldered a red, orange, yellow, blue, white, a wispy white.  oh the possibilities.  someday when i have enough stock... i will open that damn etsy store.  ahhh.  maybe when this renovation is done i will have more time.  until then enjoy the tulips and the stained glass star.  

Step two - more DEMO

we continued the remodeling effort last night.

tasks for the night included:

1.  removing the door trim to all the hallway doors (inside and out)
2.  removing the base trim in the hallway
3.  ripping down the drywall ceiling

the trim as easy to remove, pop, pop, pop and didn't make much of a statement as you can see. the drywall ceiling on the other hand wow.  boy was it dirty on the attic side.  we created a cocoon in an attempt to keep the rest of the house clean.  it is hard enough living in a house during a remodel (exposed studs, uneven floors) to allow it to be dirty.  we have a rule, well i have a rule, we can only do work in the evening if we can completely clean up after it.  this is the rule that helps me from going insane.   so we wrapped the hallway in cocoon fashion and JD started with the sledge hammer.

it didn't take too long and waaaalaaa we were down to the studs. agenda for tonight - remove abandoned duct work and studs.  by doing all this we will be able to raise the hallway ceiling over a foot!  allright!  but i am getting ahead of myself into step 3.  geez i wonder how many steps this is going to take?  hmmm....

this is a shot of the hallway and entry before - before it had no ceiling.  pay close attention to the ceiling!

now we are popping off the trim.  i am the picture taker as usual so i am rarely in the photos... all the best i think.

this is JD amidst all the drywall remains.  you can see the corner of an old sheet on the right side that we used to cocoon the area.

the finished product for step two.  the trim has been removed throughout the hall and the drywall ceiling is no longer.  in this photo you can see the studs and the duct that we need to remove in step three.  ahh... that is for another evening though... we are tired.

puppy pile on

i don't know what your evenings look like but this is what mine look like currently.

forgive the awful shot of JD and I but...  we weren't prepared for pictures.  what started as a playful gesture by JD (pulling me onto the bed) was interpreted by Rainier and Baker as play time!

the play by play:... JD pulled me onto the bed in a playful manner and, boom Rainer was on the bed in a shot pushing her way in between us... then Baker was on top of my head... the playing ensued... wriggling puppy bodies were all around with no regard to where we were.  it was hilarious.

i know, i know it looks like they are fighting.. but believe me they were not.  how can you tell?  well by our laughing faces of course.

this is what my nights look like recently in one form or another - it is awesome. ha.

Steelers - 6th time Super Bowl Champs!

i am one happy lady this morning.  my Pittsburgh Steelers won their 6th super bowl last evening, beating the Arizona Cardinals!  apart from some serious heart-burn related to the junk food and worrying it was a great game.   today i donned black and gold in support of my team - oh how i wish i was in the burgh this week to celebrate with everyone!  alas i am soooo .....

SOOOOO FAR AWAY!

here we go boys, here we go.  Steeler Nation is the best.

new all wood fir doors...

as you guys know we have been working on a remodel of our house 8506.  

when we were out pricing beams and structural steel we also got prices for new front and back doors.  we didn't want anything fancy, just all wood fir doors with a single pane of glass in each.  the glass was to be low-e and we wanted the front door to have frosted glass on one side for privacy.  we also wanted both doors to come pre-hung because the jambs needed replaced as well - and hey they would be much easier to hang, pre-hung.  so we called a couple different places around for pricing and wow was i surprised.  (i don't know why i am always surprised about how much things cost EVERY-TIME but i just am.)  each door priced in at just under $1,000 dollars... $1,000 dollars!  EACH...  i was astounded, maybe i could just give them my left kidney??.. ahh but then i couldn't drink - i would have to rethink the game plan.

needless to say we decided to wait to order just in case we came upon a good deal - insert trip to second use!  we have a few stores around the seattle area here that sell reclaimed building materials.  some of the material is reclaimed before buildings and houses are demoed and some buildings sell to them because they have too many or didn't order the correct thing.  we were there to get some 2x6's that we are going to used ganged together as columns but took a look at the doors at the same time.  as i was picking my way though the doors...i came upon 2 doors with single planes all fir.

JACKPOT

so we got them for a song... one for the back door, one for the front.  we did have to compromise on the frosting of the front door - but we will figure something out.  we took them to a door store yesterday to have jambs made... and while we were there bought new interior doors for the entire house!  woops... they were on sale and were such a good deal that before we knew it we had doors, exterior hardware, and lots more projects to do.  i won't be at a loss for things to blog about anytime soon.  hopefully i have the time to keep up!

here you can see both doors stacked in our living room.

this is the type of door we got... this was what we were originally pricing as well.