Productivity

Yesterday I was super-productive all morning while the new window and sliding door were being installed. I holed up in my office with my supplies: Diet Coke, blanket and gloves (it was in the low 50s in here while they were working), and my list. I was able to check numerous things off, including sending out invitations for my very first real party - a baby shower for Jord's sister Meagan. I also started sifting through the information to start an Alpha Gam Junior Circle for the Quad Cities, something I've been wanting to do since the moment we moved. There are other items that I accomplished as well, but I won't bore you with the details.

Picture window has finally been replaced

The installation guy came to find me when they were done and asked me to sign something after I looked at their work. To my horror, they had installed a sliding door that opened on the opposite side. I tried to point out the mistake, but his lack of English was a problem. I frantically called Jord to make sure he had ordered it correctly. Long story short, we ordered it one way and they ordered it from the manufacturer another way. So now we have to wait for another few weeks for the replacement to come in and be installed. The picture window looks great though!

Christmas 2010 Wrap-up

Sledding at Duck Creek Park

What a whirlwind! Christmas festivities started on Thursday with baking goodies. I was charged with bringing cookies to the Cunnick's house on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately the cookies I attempted to make, twice, did not turn out. So onto plan B with Sarah making cake balls, which were a big hit. I had ordered an assortment of six dozen treats from Southpark Bakery as I knew I wouldn't be able to provide enough homemade cookies for the Collins gathering. So there was a good mix! Sarah and I were able to step away from the kitchen for sledding with Luke, which only lasted two trips down the hill - once with Baca and once with Sarah. Then over for dinner at the Maus'. We have a tradition that's developed over the last couple years to spend December 23rd eating enchiladas over there. So delicious, and we managed to bring home a handful to enjoy. Sarah, Jord and I ended up at 11th Street Precinct and had a little too much fun.


Opening presents at Granny & Baca's house

Friday morning was spent at my parents' house opening presents with Luke. It was a nice change to be able to sit and enjoy the moment, instead of squeezing everything in on Christmas day. We received so many amazing gifts, and I can't even decide which is my favorite. I added to my collections of both cake plates and champagne glasses, and of course Jord has more loot for his Cubs room. We left there to get home to do some cleaning in preparation for Christmas morning brunch, recovered from the previous night, and assembled the cookie platter. We made it over to the Cunnick's and were the first to arrive. Because of the snow, we were missing the Strangs and Uncle Pat. More potatoes for us! It was very quiet, and a much different dynamic than in years past. Uncle Pat had my name in the drawing, so he had sent his gift in the mail - a lovely piece of his artwork. Can't wait to get it framed and find the perfect spot for it! We were too tired to make it to midnight mass, so we were home early and in bed by 10pm.


Cookie tray for Cunnick's gathering

Christmas day arrived and the chaos began. We cleaned a bit before 8:30am mass, then made it back to get the cooking started. Actually, we didn't have much to do as my dad was bringing the food - ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus. Of course we had an abundance of bread and leftover treats. And the liquor! Aunt Sarah and Uncle Will couldn't make it to town, so we were with Grandma for about four hours. So the  cocktails were flowing and the meal went as well as can be expected. We herded them out and left for Jord's family Christmas at his Grandma's house. Stayed a few hours, then over to his mom's to open gifts. Enjoyed a bit of quiet time over there to round out the day.

Artwork from Uncle Pat

Sunday brought lunch at Olive Garden, another Maus family tradition. I love how most of the traditions revolve around eating! Then back to our house to do some more hosting. Mamie along with Uncle David and his family stopped over to watch the Bears game and see the house. We spent the afternoon snacking, and I even tried a new recipe - cheesy sausage won tons. Before we knew it, the weekend was over and we were exhausted. Good thing I have the whole week off from work! Jord is in the office and busier than ever, so he doesn't get a break. But I have a whole list of things to accomplish so hopefully I can keep on task and get things done while he's working!

Chandelier for the Den

Our chandelier collection is growing. I found the perfect light fixture at Almost Paris for the den and it was installed at the end of last week. The crystals reflect beautifully on the yellow walls and create just the look I intended. I didn’t find lighting in Chicago for the kitchen or hallways as I had hoped, so I’m still on the hunt for a few more pieces. I’m one step closer to having ideal lighting throughout the first floor!

Chicago

Our first trip back to Chicago! And what a weekend it was – we crammed a lot into about 30 hours. The first stop was IKEA in Schaumburg. I had been making a list for the past few months of IKEA items, so that was a must. I found almost everything that I was looking for and then some. After a few hours of browsing, we were off to lunch and then downtown for more shopping. At last, we made it to Sarah’s apartment and were able to relax a bit and check out her digs. It looks so cute! We bickered about where to go for dinner, as always, and ended up a bar called Four Shadows to round out the day. 

Brunch at Tavern on Rush

Sunday morning brought mass at Holy Name Cathedral and brunch at Tavern on Rush. Then a little downtown shopping on Michigan Avenue. Of course Jord had to stop at Trader Joe’s – that was the one request he had, plus I needed to stock up on champagne. He had left us to do that, and saw Vince Vaughn along the way. He tried to get a picture but wasn't quick enough.

Our treat for the car ride home - Sprinkles cupcakes

We made it back to Davenport just in time for Tootsie’s birthday dinner. She's coming over tomorrow morning to supervise the installation of the attic insulation. It was a productive weekend and this week promises to be the same! Just a few more Christmas gifts to purchase and we'll be all set for the hectic holiday to commence.

Tis the Season

Thursday night we had a small gathering. Some of my mom’s co-workers from Adams Elementary stopped by for a cocktail and to get a tour of the house. We had a couple hors d'oeuvres paired with a festive drink – champagne mixed with apple cider and garnished with a cinnamon stick. I was trying to recreate a concoction I had at Maggiano’s about this time last year, although I was off the mark a bit. It was tasty though! Jord and I were stressing all week to prepare, trying to get little projects done. Now I feel like we can relax a bit, although Carpenter is still working on some things that I hope will be complete by next week. Once he’s done, Jord will meticulously finish the painting. We have to remember that this is the season to spend time with family, not worry about the little details of our house! Although it is gratifying to see how far we’ve come in just three short months.

One of the tasks I was determined to finish before our little party was wrapping presents. It really completes the look of the Christmas tree! I had procrastinated a bit, so on Wednesday night I had quite the chore ahead of me. I was done in a snap, and remembered how much I love gift-wrapping. Even though I hadn’t stocked up on Christmas wrap, I had enough to make each present different from the next. I will definitely be making a stop at Paper Source this weekend in Chicago to stockpile their wrapping paper!

Lonny

The new issue of Lonny has been released! I always love browsing through this online magazine, although it doesn’t take the place of Domino or Blueprint. This mini issue details holiday topics throughout, including special tricks to decorating for the season and tips for a successful festive soiree. Amazing, per usual! I’m especially swooning over Lulu Powers’ home. Her new book is definitely on my Christmas wish list!

My collection of cake plates

On another note, I have a new obsession. Check out Sweet & Saucy Supply to see for yourself. Sarah introduced me to this website – she won an item from the online shop through a giveaway on Green Wedding Shoes, an incredible wedding blog. I have a small collection of cake plates and hope I can add some from this beautiful variety.

Weather Permitting

The weather halted my plans for the weekend. I had been looking forward to spending Saturday in Iowa City, being Sarah Dougherty’s assistant at the annual What a Load of Craft event. Then I was going to head over to the Strang’s condo to see their Christmas décor, Marcia’s themed Country Christmas vs. Kelly & Molly’s P. Diddy White Party Christmas (Meagan serves as a floater between the two), and stay the night to enjoy some crafting and boozing. It was too good to be true, and the winter weather kept me in Davenport. All wasn't lost and it turned out to be a great day, beginning with breakfast at Harlan's - trucker special, of course - and shopping in the East Village with my mom. I ended up spending way too much money at one of my new favorites, Almost Paris Antiques.

Today we had to get back on track. Last week I kept reality at bay and didn’t work on any projects. Now that Christmas is looming and we’ll be having more guests, I made a priority list and we got to work. Carpenter installed three of our fifteen new doors last week so Jord will start the process of painting those. He braved the bitter cold to do some chores outside, so I kept his honey-do list to a minimum for the day. I was busy with painting in the basement – the base of a table that we bought at an estate sale, the base of a stool we bought at yet another estate sale, and the frame of a broken mirror found in my parents’ garage, among other items.

We have a bevy of activity coming up. The picture window and sliding glass door should be installed in the next couple weeks, the attic insulation is being completed next Monday, Carpenter is going to finish replacing the doors and will work on the under-sink cabinet in the kitchen. I have the Junior League Christmas party on Tuesday and will have some of my mom's Adams co-workers over for cocktails on Thursday. Next weekend I’m going to Chicago to finally see Sarah’s apartment, now that it's furnished, and get some Christmas shopping done, a task that I normally have accomplished by now. Plus, I have a growing IKEA list of household items. Hopefully everything fits in the car for the ride back!

New Wheels

I guess we’re Honda Civic people. We bought a Civic Hybrid a few years ago, and it’s seen us through many a road trip. My parents generously lent us a car for the last few months during our transition, but last week it was determined that we needed to get our very own second car. The old blue Toyota Camry – the one that I drove throughout college and our first couple years of marriage, then Sarah inherited as she went off to college – finally bit the dust, so Sarah needed a reliable car in Chicago and she took over the car I had been driving since August. I knew the day would come sooner or later! After all, it was the 1989 model. Jord and I test drove some vehicles – VW Passat, Honda Insight, Accord and Civic. After weighing our options, we decided to lease a 2011 Honda Civic. I liked the Insight, but they only had a base model, excluding all the bells and whistles. So the Civic won us over yet again! I thought it would be weird for us to have identical cars, but mine is a divine shade of navy, plus it has more power since it’s not the hybrid version. I really want to have an SUV, contrary to my green ways, but that will have to wait a few years.

The Quarterly

Picture submitted to AGD, although
they cropped it for The Quarterly

My picture was in the recent publication of the Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly. I was entered into a drawing to win an Apple iPad for paying my annual dues by September 1st. I won and they sent me the device back in August. Although I haven’t used it's full potential, it’s proven to be a handy gadget. Headquarters asked me to send in a photo of myself using the iPad for the magazine. It took numerous outfits and several photo shoots to come up with this, the best of all the bad shots – it’s awkward to pose for such a photo. I thought it appropriate to show my ISU spirit as a shout out to Rho Chapter. I didn’t realize that the new issue was out until a co-worker brought it over this morning. Come to find out, there are a couple Alpha Gams at my workplace!

Santa Express

This weekend we braved the weather and went to the North Pole via Boone, IA. We’d heard about the Santa Express and had to take Luke, being the train fanatic that he is, and decided that all eleven of us, including my immediate family, Mamie and the Strang girls, must accompany him on this train ride. Although it was a long day of travel, we had a delightful time, with highlights including listening to dad and Mamie's stories about their old family road trips, lunch at Hickory Park in Ames and watching Luke's expressions throughout the day. I think this will be a day he'll remember for years to come!

Deck the Halls

I’ve been itching to adorn the house for Christmas, but restrained myself until Thanksgiving passed. This week ended up being hectic as we’re in search for a car, so that delayed my decorating plans by a few days. Now it’s truly decked out for the holiday season. Although our apartment decorations didn’t go quite as far as I had hoped, it certainly is festive. My strategy was to go full-blown in the living room to have high impact, especially since we don’t have window treatments yet and all passers-by can see right in. The room is much improved as my mom found a huge mirror for a bargain at an antiques shop. It fits perfectly on the mantle and gives that extra touch that we needed.

Check out the 360 view:

Wing Back Chairs

As I’ve mentioned before, I bought two matching wing back chairs at an estate sale back in August. They were an absolute steal and are in great condition. I love the design – not only for aesthetic reasons but for comfort too. The fabric is sage green velvet, and although I plan to have them reupholstered eventually in something more modern, it works for now.

The new issue of Elle Décor has an article entitled Top Ten Elegant Wing Back Chairs. This classic is back in style and I can see why!

Crafting Debut

What a nice long Thanksgiving weekend! We have so much to be thankful for, even if we don’t always take time to acknowledge it. It was a wonderful time to appreciate our family and our many blessings.

I’ll try to give a brief summary of the family festivities. Wednesday night we had dinner at my parents’ – my mom made her specialty meatloaf for Jord. We hurried home to finish cleaning and do a couple chores before the out-of-towners arrived. On Thursday, we attended the typical family events – Jord’s family gathered at his Aunt Patty’s house and from there we headed to the Collins dinner at the Cunnick’s. The Cunnick’s décor continues to amaze me! I can only strive to have such an array of holiday adornments. Stuffed to the brim, we went home and to bed early for the long Friday ahead.

Collins cousins enjoying some "crafted" cocktails

We had mass and brunch on Friday morning with the Collins clan. Afterwards, we had our inaugural cousin crafting event at our house. I don’t really know if you can call it crafting – at my mom’s suggestion, we did something a little different this time. We “crafted” cocktails. I asked everyone to bring a recipe and ingredients for their signature drink. I provided the shooters (jello shots), a tradition among the cousin crafting affairs in the recent years. A dance party ensued into the night. Needless to say, it was incredible!

I had intended to recruit Sarah and do some Christmas decorating, but the weekend slipped away from us. Hopefully I'll be productive this week and get it all done!

Re-upholstery

My dad and I picked up our two re-upholstered chairs on Friday. I wanted to give them their own post, that’s how much I love them! Had to do some minor paint touch-ups once we got them home, but otherwise they came back perfect!

The first chair has some significance. I found it in my parents’ garage attic, along with some other treasures. It used to belong to Granny Bea, my mom’s grandmother. Worn and falling apart, no one else had nabbed it yet. But I saw the potential and I love having a piece with a bit of history. I found some navy and white striped fabric at IKEA, reverting back to my comfort zone. We sprayed the wood white and made some repairs before sending it off. The chair didn’t have a particular destination, but it looks lovely in the living room against the dark walls.

The office chair was picked up at Bruce’s in downtown Davenport. The place is a bit sketchy, so we had to do some searching. We were there looking for Sarah’s apartment furniture, and she spotted this chair. She has such a good eye, and luckily she thought I should purchase it rather than get it for herself. And she was so generous as to give me the black and white fabric, again from IKEA, which she had bought for curtains but no longer needed. Just a little white spray paint before the upholstery and voila! The back cushion was tufted, but because of the design she wasn’t able to keep that feature. Although it’s not a traditional office chair, it works for me. Now the office is almost complete – I just need to find some window treatments and a couple guest chairs and it’ll be finished.

To the Dome

Cheering on the Regals

We spent Saturday at the UNI-Dome watching Iowa City Regina win the 2A state championship game against North Polk. Had to break out all our gold and navy for team spirit! It was a fun day with family and a memorable end to my cousin Joe’s senior football season. I only wish we could have driven a few miles farther to Waverly for a trip down memory lane. Wartburg, where Jord went to college and played football, had a home game but it was at the same time as the Regina final. I didn’t care to go to the game as much as The Diner for a cheese frenchy. Yum! I also regret that I couldn’t meet the girls in Williamsburg on Sunday for a day of shopping, but there’s too much to do at home before the onslaught of visitors next week. And I would have loved to go to Chicago for Sarah’s housewarming party – I’m dying to see her decorating. Too much to do for one weekend!

Office dresser is done!

The rest of the weekend was spent working on our list. I have a slew of things that I want done before Thanksgiving. Between my parents, Jord and I, a lot was crossed off in just a few short hours. The last two storm windows are painted and in place, the gutters and down spouts are cleaned out, most of the Christmas lights are up, the replaced garage shingles are painted, the office dresser is done and looks amazing, more pictures have been hung, the living room furniture has been re-arranged – you get the idea. As my grandpa used to say, we hit a good lick!

1st on the block to hang Christmas lights

Fireplace

Carpenter recruited his son to come over to help finish the fireplace. Way back in September we had the masonry guy chop off this awkward little shelf that was floating on the fireplace façade. He sawed it off and basically left it raw. Then the painters added this white shellac to cover it, doing a poor job, per usual. So Carpenter’s son had to chisel it away and start over. He added two new bricks in its place. We will be adding a coat of paint to the fireplace so everything is the same glossy white, but it already blends in so you can’t even tell what was there! Now, this is the exciting part – he replaced the floor tile for the fireplace. We swapped out red tile with marble. The wood floors were raw around the fireplace (I had told the installer that we would be replacing the tile) so it’s been driving me crazy to look at the unfinished product. I would have loved to substitute the whole thing with this old marble fireplace my dad has, but that was too big of a project for right now. I’m happy with the results!

Fireplace is almost complete - just needs a fresh coat of paint

Carpenter has been busy at our house this week. Jord gave him a list of things to accomplish before Thanksgiving to try and get things moving a little quicker. On Monday he replaced the garage people door. It wasn’t “true” so he had to essentially re-frame the whole thing. A big project! He also fixed the dining room light, finished the inserts for the kitchen (surrounding the dishwasher and microwave) and installed the last of the baseboard and quarter rounds. The crown molding is now complete in the kitchen too! This all means more painting – the shingles that were replaced on the garage, the fireplace and the kitchen molding. Jord also started priming two more storm windows – after getting a quote to replace those five windows, we decided to wait on that expensive project. It’s never ending…

Community Involvement

Tonight I attended my first Junior League meeting. I never felt a connection to Oak Park, so I wasn’t motivated to get involved. Now that we’re in Davenport for the long haul, I want to have a positive impact, no matter how small. Junior League feels like it will be a good start to meeting people and becoming an active member of the community. I have also joined the St. Patrick Society, although I haven’t made it to any meetings yet. I’m in the process of starting a Junior Circle, not to be confused with Junior League, for the area to stay connected with Alpha Gams who live close-by. In the meantime, we’re trying to think of a way for Jord to get involved, but the only thing that’s sparked his interest thus far is an indoor soccer league. That’s a good way to meet people too, I guess.

Junior League is a volunteer organization for women. They only accept new members in the fall, so I just made the deadline. I’ll be a provisional member until spring and will have to earn so many points, through attending functions and volunteer opportunities, to become an active member. I saw some familiar faces tonight and met a lot of new women as well. I think this group will be a good balance between volunteering and socializing.

Workin' for the Weekend

Before: Dresser I found in my parents' garage
Plan to paint it black and add new knobs to go in office

We didn’t have too much on the agenda this weekend, so we were able to focus on some projects. Saturday morning, I dragged Jord to John Deere Seeding Group Family Day. He saw my cube and the factory, met a couple people and we were out of there in 45 minutes. Then we picked up the mirror that was being repaired for the dresser I’m going to refinish. Now that I have all the supplies, I really need to start painting that thing. Jord, my mom and I spent a couple hours at Carpenter’s house – the intent was to meet his wife and discuss the curtains that I’d like her to make for the living room, dining room, kitchen and office. After introductions and a tour of their home, we didn’t broach the subject until it was time to leave so we didn’t get into specifics. After further discussion, my mom and I think it may be more cost effective to just buy some curtains I have found online for the living and dining rooms. Once you add the cost of fabric (not to mention trying to find the right fabric) and the price she’ll charge, it might not make sense to go custom. Plus she’s a busy lady and I’m not sure how long it will take. We needed curtains weeks ago, not only for privacy but to protect the floors. I have something very specific in mind for each room and, since I haven’t found anything, it’s just been easier to move it to the bottom of the list and focus on other things.

So we got home and were ready to hang pictures – the goal of the day. We didn’t have a lot to work with, so it’s all spread around the house. We’ll just add as we find things. We started in the hallway of all places, and after about five hours, we finished up with the office. It was a team effort! Although Jord isn’t exactly thrilled with the placement of everything, it certainly makes the house feel more homey.

 

Collage of pictures in the office

On Sunday, I started my housework at 7:30am. I work better in the morning, so it’s best if I just get up and at it. I began with scraping, which became the theme of the day. Jord had painted some storm windows and my task was to scrape the excess and dried paint from the window panes before he switched them out with the screens. Once that was done, I cleaned out this little cubby in the basement and filled it with excess candles, vases and decorations. Now everything is within arm’s reach! At that point it was about 11:00 and I decided to join Jord outside to get some things accomplished in the yard. I didn’t quite make it to yard work – instead, I scraped the exteriors of all the windows, a project that I’d think the painters would have done. I found that some of the windows are so old that they’re falling apart. The house has a mixture of old and new windows, so we may be replacing five windows – one in each bathroom, one in the dining room, and the two that line the sides of the large picture window that we already ordered. We would have ordered them all at once had we known that they were in such poor condition. If they’re installed before the end of the year we’ll qualify for a tax credit.

Basement cubby for excess decor items

At about 3:00pm we cleaned up and ran some errands – dropped a load of cardboard at the recycling center, delivered some items to Goodwill, hit up Target, stopped at Sears for Friends & Family – then had a lovely dinner at Jord’s mom’s house. A nice end to the weekend and start of another work week!

House Fatigue

I think I’m suffering from a case of house fatigue. There is still so much to do before we’ll feel settled, but I’m just exhausted! Maybe it’s because I’m always playing catch-up. I overextend myself with other responsibilities, then the house chores just don’t make the cut. I’m trying to combat this – I keep one list going of all the big projects that need to be completed, and formulate daily lists to make it more manageable. I guess we’ll continue to get things done little by little.  


New living room sofa - will be reupholstered eventually, but for now we'll rock the gold look

Several things have been accomplished this week. The dining room light was installed, although I think it’s too high. I’m going to try to get used to it, but something just doesn’t seem right – it should be at least six inches lower. It’s our own fault since we didn’t give precise instructions. The living room couch was delivered, the backordered carpet tiles for the office arrived, 15 glass door knobs were ordered (although they won’t ship until November 19th) and my new iPhone is here and works like a gem.

To end on a bright note, the randomly selected winner of $20 towards csn.com is Andrea. The code will be sent to your email address by CSN representative Caitlin. Thanks to my three lovely contestants! Cheers!

Freebie

I’ve been presented with the opportunity to have a giveaway for my readers. The website csn.com contacted me about this and I thought why not! Everyone loves a freebie! CSN is comprised of over 200 online stores, selling everything from cookware to children’s backpacks. All I ask is that you leave a comment to this post by 5:00pm Central on Thursday, November 11th to enter the drawing for $20 towards any purchase from csn.com. I’ll let you know the winner by Friday of this week. Now, in all honesty, I’ve never shopped on this website. I checked the site to make sure it’s legit, but we’re on the decline from shopping for home necessities. I’ve been trying to curb my spending habits!

Last night, my dad and I dropped off two chairs and fabric at the upholsterer. They should take a couple weeks, so I’m hoping to have them back before Thanksgiving. I did a bit of touch-up painting in the office, but that’s about all we accomplished except for calling iPhone. I know people love their iPhone, and I’m so happy with most of its capabilities, but one important function doesn’t work: the phone. The frustrating part is that Jord’s works and mine doesn’t. We went to AT&T last week but they couldn’t do anything as it’s been more than 30 days since we purchased the phones, so we called iPhone and they sent me a new case that’s supposed to improve reception. The case arrived on Friday and I gave it a few days, but I’m still at one bar with lots of dropped calls. So they are now sending me a replacement. Hopefully I won’t get another lemon!

I’ve added more photos for your perusal. There are two albums – I’ve added to “Back in Iowa” and I’ve created “Fall 2010”.

Eventful Weekend

Luke's 4th Birthday Gift:
Green Train from Granny & Baca

This weekend was hectic! I worked a double event – a reception for fifty people on Friday night at Johnny’s Steakhouse and an open house on Sunday afternoon for the same couple. I have helped this family in the past for the eldest daughter’s wedding reception, so I think it’s a good sign that they hired me again. They will definitely be a good reference in the future!

In addition, it was Luke’s birthday extravaganza, so Sarah was in town. We started Saturday by volunteering at the Holy Family Parish Bazaar. Mom, Sarah and I decorated Christmas ornaments for two hours. With our good deed out of the way, we headed over to our house for Sarah to check out all of the updates. She approves! That afternoon, we went to an antique store in the East Village and I found a couch for the living room.  We got a good deal, and although it will need to be reupholstered at some point, I think it's a chic starting point for the space. It will be picked up this week by Carpenter. We also stopped at an auction in Rock Island in hopes of finding a church pew for the front entry. We’ve always had a church pew or two at my parent’s house and I thought it appropriate to get one for our house. The pews at the auction were about five feet too long, so we'll have to keep looking.

Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast pizza at my parents’ house to celebrate Luke’s 4th. We have all been anxiously awaiting this day to watch him receive his gift – a Luke-sized train that my dad found at an auction, then painted the perfect shade of green by Sarah. The painting took place in our Oak Park apartment and has been hiding in our basement since the move, so it’s been about seven weeks in the making. My mom has been prepping the room for the last few weeks with other train paraphernalia, and Luke has excitedly noticed each addition to the room. His reaction when he saw the train wasn't what I thought it would be, but I think he was in shock. Sarah let Jord and I go in on her gift to him – a Radio Flyer deluxe wagon. It has all the bells and whistles, so Luke will be riding in style.

Rugs

Master Bedroom

The two rugs we ordered from Overstock.com came in on Monday. I stopped home quickly before heading to Iowa City for the Regina playoff game, so I schlepped them inside and tore off a corner of the packaging to get a glimpse. I liked what I saw, but didn’t get a good look until we opened them on Tuesday night. Exactly perfect, if I do say so myself! The one for the master bedroom is 8x10 with a brown and tan geometric pattern. It’s not as soft as Jord would like, but it’ll do. This delivery inspired us to finally move around the furniture, so our bed, dresser and nightstand are now in place. The room is so big that it looks pretty sparse, but I’m sure we’ll fill it up over time. Now we just need to figure out what to hang on the walls! Jord suggested life-size portraits of the two of us, but I think I’ll pass.

The rug for the living room is 6x9 with a beige and blue pattern. We couldn’t decide what size to order, but I didn’t want it too big so this seemed like a good middle-ground. I’m really happy with the design – I stepped outside my typical stripes for a change. Once we have some furnishing for the living room, I think this rug will be ideal for the seating arrangement I have in mind. This space is the farthest from done of all the rooms on the main floor – maybe because it’s the biggest area or maybe because all of our furniture from the apartment fits in the den – but I have a picture in my head that I’m striving for.

To go off subject, we hung up some curtains in the den last night. I ordered the finials from Anthropologie about a month ago, and found the curtains at Urban Outfitters within the same week – another pattern that’s outside my comfort zone. We had some trouble at our first attempt at putting them up, and they’ve been sitting there tormenting me for two weeks. I’m really happy with them; however, I might need to have a liner added as they aren’t very substantial.

Now we need to get serious – there’s a lot to do before Sarah arrives in town tomorrow night. This will be our debut since all the changes have been done! We’re far from finished, but I think she’ll be impressed with the progress thus far.

Lighting

My rejuvenated office light
fixture found at Habitat Restore

The light fixtures were installed over the last few days for the office, sun porch and exterior. This is what I’ve been waiting for – it really makes a difference to have good lighting, in my opinion. The office light is one that I found at Habitat Restore that just needed some white paint. I hadn’t even noticed the inside gold detail of the black shades before it was hung! It really adds some glamour to paying bills and blogging.

The sun porch light was in Sarah’s room at my parents’ house, but since she moved and the room was converted into Luke’s train room, the Tiffany blue chandelier didn’t exactly match the décor. So I found a more masculine fixture for his room and inherited the other light. Although it’s been installed, it isn’t functioning yet as there is some trouble with the wiring to the sun porch. It looks fabulous though!

The exterior lighting was a bit complicated. I found some inexpensive sconces to place at each door. I modeled it after a photo from an old issue of Blueprint that I’ve always admired, but not everyone was in favor of the fixtures. Now that they’ve been installed, I’m glad I stuck to my guns because it’s just what I’d imagined. The light pole in the front yard was replaced while I was out of town on Saturday. Apparently they had to rent a jackhammer to remove the old light, so it ended up being more of a project than anticipated. Unfortunately the instructions for the new pole required sinking it five feet into cement, so it’s not as tall and grand as I had imagined. It’s definitely an improvement to the rickety one that we replaced! Our street is really dark – like, scary dark – at night, so it improves visibility.

The dining room light will be installed next week sometime. I’m still in search of fixtures for the den, kitchen and living room. I’ve found plenty of options but haven’t been in a hurry to purchase. I guess I want to hold out in case something unique comes along. Plus, as Jord says, I have “champagne taste on an imported bottle beer budget”.

Halloween Weekend

Our favorite trick-or-treater -
Luke in his green M&M costume

A quick synopsis of Halloween weekend:

Friday we had a little shopping excursion in LeClaire, followed by dinner at Azteca with delicious peach margaritas. I was tempted to buy a light fixture for the kitchen, but luckily we checked the length before purchasing as it would have hung too low

Saturday I was up early to drive up to Ames for homecoming. Quick meeting, fun tailgating, and I was back on the road to Davenport by 2:00pm. Had to get back for our first trick-or-treating experience! Mom and Jord accomplished a lot while I was gone, so we were all able to sit back and relax for the evening. 

Sunday we woke up early to get to work. We got some painting done, put up the house numbers and mailbox, mulched and seeded the front lawn. Dad brought over a roast and mashed potatoes for dinner - it was ready just as we were wrapping up for the day. All in all, it was a productive weekend!  Still a lot to do, but the list is starting to dwindle. I'm hoping that by the end of this week we can get back to normal - after all, we have a lot of TV to catch up on!

Mortgage Due

Carpet tiles for office

We sent in our first mortgage payment on Tuesday. Only 359 payments to go! It was so nice to have that lag time between our last rent check and the first mortgage fee. Now back to reality!

Carpenter is making progress. The house is 95% finished with molding, baseboards and quarter-rounds. The painting remains to be done, which Jord and I should be able to complete this Sunday. I’m not sure what Carpenter is planning on starting next, but I’m hoping he’ll tackle the tiling for the fireplace. There are plenty of projects to be done though! His wife happens to make curtains, so we’re commissioning her to take on the living room/dining room window treatments. I’ve found some that I like online, namely at Pottery Barn, but they’re so expensive! We’ll see what she will charge and go from there.

We finally purchased some rugs. We’ve been looking since they finished the floor, almost five weeks ago. It seems like a waste to spend all that money on hardwood flooring, only to go out and buy area rugs to cover it up! I found two chic styles on Overstock.com – one for the master bedroom and one for the living room. I also purchased carpet tiles at CB2.com for the office and sun porch, along with a light fixture for the dining room. Sarah is being kind enough to pick these items up from CB2 to save us the exorbitant shipping costs. We’ll have them when she gets in town next weekend for Luke’s birthday!

The Painters Left Their Key

That means they are done, right? Well, their version of done differs from my version of done, but at least they are gone. I’m happy to have that part behind us! It only took seven weeks, when they told us it would take about two. Jord still needs to do a walk-through with them to point out all the mistakes they made – not to have them fix it, just to let them know that we aren’t exactly happy with the quality of work. We are going to do the touch-ups ourselves, as their finishing touches don’t quite meet our standards. Maybe I’m being a perfectionist, but for the amount of money we’ve spent on painting, it should be perfect. My mom offered to spend this Saturday re-painting the front door. I love the color but when you get close it looks awful, plus they didn’t use a high gloss like I had asked. She is also going to tackle the broom closet, using the same paint from the front door to make it durable. What a charitable thing for her to do on the weekend! I’ll be in Ames for an AΓΔ House Association meeting and Homecoming tailgate, but hope to be back in Davenport in time for trick-or-treating.

To give you a wrap-up of the last few days, this was the weekend of painting. Jord and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday in the living room, painting baseboards and quarter-rounds. It took a surprising amount of time for us to tape, sand, and paint two coats. We’re total amateurs, but it’s all done so we have one room down, four to go. We also painted the interior of the china cabinet and put the finishing coat on both chandeliers that I was working on. Although my hopes of having the painting and yard work done this weekend were not met, it’s getting there.

The sliding glass door was ordered on Saturday. The same company that is replacing the picture window will do this job as well. They dumped an advertising sign in our yard that they want us to keep up until they are done, 4-8 weeks from now. I’m afraid it might end up in the garage for the time being. One really great bonus of ordering both the window and door right now is that we qualify for a tax credit. The salesman tried selling us on insulation as well – which we need installed in the exterior walls and the attic, according to the energy audit – to qualify for an additional tax credit, but we’re still mulling that one over. We know it’s something we need to have done; it’s just not at the top of the priority list.

This week, the chandeliers in the sun porch and office will be installed, along with the exterior lighting. It might take awhile to install the light pole we are replacing in the front yard, as the previous one is buried in cement. I was really hoping to have it done by Saturday for trick-or-treating, but I don’t see that happening at this point. Carpenter is finishing up the quarter-rounds and molding work, so it’s up to us to paint and be done with the project. It will be nice to have that done so we can arrange what little furniture we have!

Chicago List

Bears Game, Cubs Home Opener, Christmas Party '09, Architecture Boat Tour

Jord and I created this list about a year ago when we decided we would be moving back to Davenport. We signed the lease for the last time and I thought we should have a plan to make the most of our last year in Chicago. The list went through several revisions over the last 12 months, but the intent was always the same: enjoy all that Chicago has to offer before it’s too late! Now, we know we’ll be back to visit and there’s always time to finish up the list, but the quick weekend trips here and there are usually rushed and have an agenda in place.

I’d say we experienced a lot in our last year: Bears game, Bulls game, Chicago Fire soccer game, countless Cubs games, Tea at the Drake, Architecture Boat Tour, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field tour, Kayaking, Goose Island brewery tour, one last apartment party (Christmas ‘09), Movie in the Park (To Catch a Thief), Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier, and various bars and restaurants. Numerous things were added to the list just from receiving Groupon emails that sparked our interest, such as a Beer & Bacon tasting and a sailboat ride on Lake Michigan.

Those that we didn’t get around to include attending a Blackhawks game (although we went to the championship parade last spring), Devil in the White City bus tour (Jord hasn’t read the book, so I need to find someone else to join me), Frank Lloyd Wright walking tour (we lived in this neighborhood, so we’ve experienced the architecture on our own), and drinks at the Signature Room (this is something that I still plan to do). There were many restaurants that we didn’t make it to, as our list basically revolved around food. We also had some Chicago friends and family who we wanted to touch base with before leaving, but the last few months got away from us.

Now that we’re back in Davenport, I’ve been brainstorming for things to do here. The list hasn’t expanded too much beyond the obvious – Figge museum, River Bandits games, St. Patrick Society happenings, downtown festivals – but I think between working on the house and spending quality time with family, we won’t have to worry about filling our schedule for awhile!

Wrigley Tour, Blackhawks Championship Parade, Goose Island Brew Tour, Tea at the Drake

Projects

Luke helping Mom with the tulip bulbs

Tuesday night my mom and I started spray painting two chandeliers, one for the sun porch and one for the office. I love chandeliers and aspire to have one in every room, minus the master bedroom where we require a ceiling fan (which happened to be installed today). This is just the beginning of my painting projects. Once those are done and installed, I’ll move on to painting the interior of our built-in china cabinet. I found some cute red knobs from Anthropologie for the cabinet doors, inspiring me to paint the inside red. All of our china is still in boxes, so I’m anxious to finish this and get the boxes unpacked. I also have to paint the broom closet – forgot to have the painters do this and since we’ve exceeded six weeks with them at the house, I’d rather just do it myself at this point. And I can’t forget about the furniture, including two chairs and a dresser. I’m painting the frame of the chairs white, then sending them to the upholsterer with fabric we found at IKEA. The dresser will be black and is reserved for the office. Just wait for the before and after pictures!

Since my mom had Tuesday and Thursday nights off from swim team this week, she generously agreed to help me during her extra free-time. We did our painting Tuesday, so tonight we planted tulip and muscari bulbs as well as the shrubs we bought weeks ago. These were two things I just couldn't seem to start without her assistance. Even though it’s getting a little late in the season for this type of planting, we wanted to get it done and will just hope for the best come spring. Grass seed and mulch still need to go down - we're aiming for Saturday if the weather cooperates. We were delayed by the painters, who we hoped would be done weeks ago. Hopefully this weekend will mark the completion of the painting and the end of the majority of our yard work for the season!

Handymen

So far we have two handymen working on the house – both named Paul so it’s a little confusing. I will hereby refer to them as Electrician and Carpenter (a la Karen Walker from Will & Grace) to simplify things.

Electrician is obviously working on our electrical needs. He had his eye on the dishwasher we replaced, so he’s doing some work in exchange for it. He has taken down all the exterior lighting and will put up the new fixtures once the painting is complete. Electrician is also swapping out all outlets and light switches. They had been painted over in the past and we opted to just replace them. We are working on finding the perfect lighting for each area of the house, so as we purchase those he will install.

Carpenter is working on, you guessed it, carpentry. First on his list is installing quarter-rounds and molding (some baseboards need to be replaced throughout the house and the kitchen currently doesn’t have any crown molding). Last night he measured, then we went to Lowe’s and purchased the materials plus 12 interior doors, a sliding glass door (to replace the wonky French doors in the den) and a garage people door. The doors will take about three weeks to arrive, so plenty of time to get everything else done first! We also asked him to add inserts around the dishwasher and microwave as the new appliances are smaller than the available spaces – right now you can see the pipes behind the dishwasher and the microwave looks like it’s floating in the middle of nowhere. In addition, Carpenter is making either a mega-sized drawer or cabinet doors for under the kitchen sink as nothing is there at this point – fabric concealed the space beforehand. I’ve also inquired about him making a kitchen bench to provide a breakfast nook, but we’re waiting to find out his estimate. He will be tiling the floor in front of the fireplace as well. I think Carpenter might be my new best friend – he’s going to be around a lot!

Exterior Painting

The exterior painting is under way! It’s actually been going on for awhile. First they had to do prep, such as power washing, sanding and testing the color, which began about two weeks ago. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the final product so we can put up the finishing touches – outdoor lighting, house numbers, potted plants and, of course, pumpkins! Last night I ran some errands before heading home, but when I drove up to the house I was astonished at how much was done. It looks like a new house! The shade of gray looks perfect, along with the white trim and yellow door. They still have another coat to do, but I’m already so happy with the results. I knew the house had potential when we first saw it, and now it’s finally starting to show!

Damaged Goods

I didn’t believe it this morning when Jord called me and said that the stove had arrived damaged. Sears has sent us two major appliances that have been damaged – the refrigerator had scratches and rust and the stove has dents. It isn’t clear if this is a manufacturer issue or a Sears issue, but it is unacceptable. The deliverymen installed the dented stove for us to use in the meantime, since we didn’t know how long it would be until the new one arrived. They now claim that the replacement will arrive with a pre-delivery inspection this Saturday. Shouldn’t they inspect all items before delivery? And why did we have to wait five weeks for the stove to arrive, and now they can get a second one to us in just two days? One good thing came from this: they realized that we don’t have the correct outlet for the stove hook-up, so we can try and remedy that in time before the next delivery. Right now the cord is stretched over the counter.  Now we need to try and get an electrician over before Saturday. I have to say though, I'm happy with the model we picked out. We didn't get to see it in the store as it was a special order item, but I think it fits the space just right.

Windows

Fairhaven has old windows.  We knew that, but they add a certain charm in my opinion.  They are all in working order even if they aren’t the most efficient.  This is one item we never put in the budget as it just didn’t occur to me that we would be replacing any windows, however; the painters uncovered a problem with the large picture window in the living room.  Apparently, the last time around this 60 year old window, original to the house, was partially painted to hide an issue.  Once our guys scraped away the paint, you can see the frame of the window caving in at the top in between the two panes of glass.  On Monday night we had someone come over to take a look, and he recommended that we replace the window.  The guy said he’s surprised that the window isn’t foggy or doesn’t collect condensation, so it sounds like it’s only a matter of time before it gets worse.  We’re now awaiting a surely expensive quote.  Do we just paint over the problem as the previous owners did, or should we bite the bullet and pay for the new glass?  Depending on the cost, I’m leaning toward the new glass.  To look on the bright side, we can get a more efficient window that will provide some protection to the new floors.  Rather do it now before the weather turns and the problem worsens.

Five Years

Joe Strang with Luke after
the Regals victory

Friday marked our 5th wedding anniversary. How did we commemorate the occasion, you ask? We headed to Iowa City for the Strang’s annual football party and the Regina game. What better way to spend a milestone than with family! At some point I’m sure we’ll go out to dinner to celebrate on our own, or maybe I’ll cook once we have that damn stove!

On Saturday morning, Aunt Sarah stopped by for some delicious breakfast pizza and to take a quick look at our new digs. After she left, my mom and I popped over to an estate sale just a few houses away for a quick look. Figuring that I wouldn’t find anything noteworthy, I left my wallet at home. Big mistake! I cleaned the place out and found some great pieces for the house – a set of wingback chairs, an outdoor table with two matching chairs, and various knick-knacks. Luckily the house was so close and we took a couple trips back and forth to bring my new finds home. We then had an event to help out with, so we high-tailed it out of town. My mom has rounded up some business for us from her co-workers at Adams Elementary – another mother-of-the-bride asked us to assist with her daughter’s wedding. They asked us to manage the reception – lighting candles, preparing food, refilling the refreshment table, cutting the cake. We’ve done this a few times before to gain experience should our fictional event planning business ever become a reality. Each time the requests are a little different, so it’s always insightful. This event was out in New Windsor, IL, at the Big Red Barn. The site is idyllic for a country wedding, although a little difficult to find. My parents and I got out there at noon – we needed my dad this time as there was cooking involved. It ended up being a long, hard 11-hour day of grunt work, but we came away with another reference. Chalk it up to experience!

Sunday brought more landscaping. Our help has diminished, so Jord and I spent about five hours in the front yard working on the pavers. I don’t blame them – I’m sick of the yard work too! We have this little path from the driveway to the front entry that was in pretty bad condition. The pavers were crooked and not spaced evenly, plus there were weeds galore. So we removed all the pavers, dug up the grass/weeds and replaced the stone. The hardest part was aligning them, but Jord brought out the twine and we created a guide that worked well. Luckily the same stone was in the backyard, so we borrowed three more pavers for the front. Once we lay the mulch, that’s one more project that we can check off the list. The painters should be back this week to finish up the exterior, then we have a few last things to do in the front and we’ll be done until spring. This includes planting tulip and hyacinth bulbs, planting the items we bought at Green Thumbers, laying grass seed and installing the new lighting. Hopefully the weather holds out a few more weeks!

Bills, Bills, Bills

We were bombarded with bills yesterday. All the spending we’ve been doing over the last few weeks has caught up to us! It’s a good thing we’d been saving up for all of the splurging we’ve done on the house. That didn’t stop me though. I finally found a lantern to replace the sad-looking one in our front yard. And we picked up the ceiling fan for the master bedroom, along with a ceiling medallion to cover up the gaping hole from the old light fixture. Now we just need our handyman to come over and install.

This week we’ve been trying to unpack and get organized once and for all, but keep getting distracted. Errands consume our life lately, and it seems like every night we have to head out to Lowe’s or another home improvement store for something on the list. This pesky to-do list keeps growing instead of dwindling! But tonight we have to get serious as we have a visitor coming on Saturday – Aunt Sarah is heading to town and she wants to see the house. That gives us an excuse to try Happy Joe’s breakfast pizza at my mom’s suggestion – I was just going to get bagels. Now we have motivation to get those boxes unpacked and finally clean up the mess that we’ve been living with since moving day!

Delivery Snafu

The stove didn’t come today! The Sears delivery was from 7-9am this morning, so Jord stayed home until they arrived instead of bugging my dad or Tootsie to come to our rescue for the billionth time. They showed up around 8:15 with only a replacement refrigerator. Somehow the stove didn’t make it on the truck from the manufacturer and apparently it will now arrive on October 14th. What kind of service is that? We ordered the appliances on September 12th! First of all, why should we believe that it will come on the 14th when they have already rescheduled the delivery twice? Secondly, why do they think that we have an unlimited amount of two-hour windows to sit at home and wait for deliveries in the middle of the week? So we continue to live without a stove – total bummer!

Catch-up

Landscaping purchased
at Green Thumbers

Let’s play catch-up, shall we? A lot of things have been completed since my last posting, thus the reason that I haven’t blogged in a few days. We finally got to sleep in the house starting October 1st, just 3 ½ weeks after closing. Not too bad considering all the things we wanted done before we moved in. We still haven’t completely unpacked, but we’re getting there! We had to put up curtains in the master bedroom first thing. After two tries and multiple trips to the store, they were up. I still need to steam them, but they’re doing the trick for now. The first few nights have been good. Just getting used to the creaks and cracks that the house makes. I think I’ll sleep better once we have changed the locks! Too many people have had our key over the course of the last two months and it just makes me nervous.

So this means we are officially out of my parents’ hair. I’d like to take a moment to share my gratitude, even though neither of them read this blog (my mom isn’t into the whole “computer thing” and my dad just doesn’t believe in blogs, oh well). They deserve thanks for taking me in for six weeks and Jord for two; for all the delicious meals; for lending me the car, indefinitely (it worked out that my parents have an extra car, one of which I will be renting until we are ready to purchase one); and, above all, for all the help at our house and with the move. Without this support, the last six weeks would have been absolute craziness and we truly appreciate their generosity.

Enough about them, now back to the house. The masonry has been completed. That includes the tuck pointing, repairing the chimney and laying brick on the front stoop. It all looks pretty good, but will look even better once the painters are finished. Actually, the painter disputed painting the brick – he thinks it looks good as-is, but I just don’t think it will look right with the gray. He always argues with me and then ends with “Well, you have to live here…” Yep, that’s right, so why are you questioning me?

The interior paint is also done. I’m happy with all the colors we chose, but it still has that unfinished look because we have to add quarter rounds to the base boards because of the new flooring. Once the handyman comes in and measures, we can order those and have them painted and installed. I think that will really make a difference!

My parents and I went to Green Thumbers on Saturday morning to find some new landscaping. Jord didn’t join us as he just doesn’t like plants – he said whatever I liked would be fine. We chose a coral burst crab apple tree, two gold dart ninebark shrubs and a blue princess holly. Just enough to fill the space against the house where we removed an overgrown burning bush and lots of weeds. We’ll be planting those once the painters are done with the exterior – hopefully by next weekend before it gets too cold.

Jord and I escaped to Iowa City on Saturday afternoon for some tailgating with my cousins. It was nice to get away and not worry about the house for a few hours! On Sunday, our plan was to unpack all day and get organized. We took a break to go grab lunch at the nearby Subway, but when we got back I wasn’t feeling too hot. Turns out I got food poisoning, and the rest of the day was miserable. Won’t be going back there anytime soon! Took Monday off from work to recover and planned to try and get some stuff done – at least a blog post – but my brain just wasn’t functioning. One thing was accomplished yesterday though as we chose the exterior paint color. They did a test with the colors that we asked about, and we went with the darker of the two. I think it will look great with the white trim and yellow door.

We also received our first welcoming goodies from the neighbors! Cookies from the Foley’s down the road and pie from Dale & Allison across the street. Between those and the help we’ve received from several other neighbors through the course of the last few weeks, I need to start doing some baking for paybacks. We get the stove and new fridge tomorrow – that’ll be a good start!