Getting All Moved In

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Must.Renovate!Must.Replace!
Day #2 is over!! And I would like to say that I got a lot more done than I did, but with all the people coming by, giving estimates, along with details cleaning, well, 8 hours goes by pretty quickly.

I’m sad to think I had to go to WORK tomorrow, but I have NO more vacation time left, so it’s imperative I go. Thankfully it will be slow because it’s Friday. But I want to do house stuff!!!!

So today, Comcast came, and we’re all set up. Woo hoo!! We also had someone come and give us an estimate on this basement Bilco steel door door that needs to be replaced:

“Wizard of Oz” door that needs to be replaced.
We knew that this basement door was top priority when we moved in. Even in the home disclosures, the Sellers listed that the Bilco door  leaks during heavy rains. Sure enough, yesterday morning there was heavy rain, and there, behind the door, down the stairs, was a puddle of water. Thankfully, the rain stopped so I was able to scrub and bleach down there, plus leave it open to air the place out a bit. The basement had smelled a little musty, but nothing that some BLEACH couldn’t take care of 😉
Anyhow, one of the joys of single-family home ownership we discovered was…..RAKING LEAVES! Our backyard has 2 big trees, and the Sellers didn’t have time to clean them up before leaving. So poor hubby tasked himself with raking these leaves. I chuckled to myself when I saw these piles out back. LOL
Hubby’s leaf piles. LOL

So here’s the back of our house. Yesterday we had a sales guy from a window replacement company come to give us a quote. If we decide to go with this company (we said yes, but we may change our mind), this picture window will be without the cross-bars:

Our kitchen is outdated. We knew we would have to spend some money to upgrade. (UPDATE: Check out the BEFORE and AFTER of our updated old kitchen). I didn’t move in realizing that cabinets were going to be so important to me, but these cabinets are disgusting!! I believe they are causing this part of the house (kitchen, and part of the family room), to smell musty and old. Well, maybe it’s not musty, but it just smells OLD when you take a whiff from the cabinet. I refuse to put my food and dishes in these cabinets. As far as I’m concerned, these cabinets take Priority #2 slot, right behind the leaky BOMB SHELTER door.
My agent sent over a contractor to look at the cabinets and countertops, and I’m waiting to hear from him tomorrow what the cost will be. Hoping it will be affordable!!! Beside the fridge, I know it’s not idea, but I would like a little desk area. Just put a nice countertop there and be able to have a little mail area or something.
Yeah, that funky light will be GONE, too.
This is the lovely dining room. Crazy, huh? That wallpaper……it’s funny, because the more time I spend in there, I actually am starting to think it’s….umm…..PRETTY?? Am I crazy????? And that carpet–whoever decided that putting carpet over a beautiful wood floor was a good idea?? Luckily, it came up pretty easily. I haven’t been able to get to all the staples along the border, or the carpet tack part, but tomorrow evening, hopefully.
Rose-colored carpet disaster.
Close-up of the wallpaper pattern
This chandelier also will not be staying. Buh-bye!
I need a utility knife!!! And look at those pretty hardwoods……
Ugly drapes here…..
…..Ugly drapes gone…..
I like how the dining room doors open up to the kitchen. I’m sure I will want to replace them at some point, though, or re-paint.
Formal living room and those God-awful drapes.
Discarded, funky, smelly drapes. At least these are blinds up there momentarily, but even though probably smell. They look dirty, too.
I scrubbed and scrubbed that entryway, and still feel like I could have scrubbed even more. Maybe this weekend……
Here I captured mid-afternoon and how the sun streams in the living room. Ahhhh….I imagine myself lounging in a comfy chaise lounge reading a good novel. Oh–wait–I’ve got children. LOL
View from the kitchen into the family room. There are 2 steps down. Check out that sexy brown wall paneling…OooohhhhOOO…..
Spacious! Love this family room. The nasty drapes have since been removed (seen in previous pics). And I actually love the fireplace wall. I have decided that a nice, light, neutral tan will work best for the top part of this room, simply because of the nature of the brick, and plus, this room doesn’t get any or much direct sunlight. NO DARK PAINT!
The opposite end of the family room. That door will be replaced, for about $240.
Inside my laundry room. Can I just say I’m stoked to have a frickin’ laundry room?? I want a place to dump the clothes and close the door and not look at it until *I* am ready. LOL
The sink in the laundry room. This needs to be replaced. Looks like someone tried to paint the inside of it. Plus, the contractor guy said the plumbing is old and out-dated.
The other side of the laundry room. The cabinets are actually in good condition. The countertop will need to be replaced. I can at least paint the cabinets a nice color. And one day, ceramic tile! (Oh, and a new washer/dryer). Ka-ching!!
Down the basement steps. This paneling will be painted, and eventually, that ugly, dirty blue carpeting on the stairs will be pulled. I would love to get wood floors in the basement one day. It will serve as the kids’ play area.
I love this double-entry door! Our view…..
This will NOT be staying in the foyer!
Exterior of the house. Those gutters need to be cleaned.
Entry way. Did I mention that I love these double doors???
My car parked in the driveway! And quite a nice old man neighbor that lives across the street there.
Our house! Sorry pic quality is so dark, though.
Anyone want to help rake these? Oh– that’s right– I bought a leaf blower! WOOT!
Hubby on the phone in the yard, taking a break from raking. LOL
Hubby beginning to move things into the garage….
….because our PODS came today! Yay!
Our front walk-way and view from the front door.
Seeing our son jump through the leaves: priceless!

 

Ahhh….SPACE to play!!
Tonight I bought an air purifier for $178 from Home Depot, and placed it in the kitchen so that overnight, hopefully it can suck and clean the yucky air. Tonight my oldest son was sniffing a little bit, and I can only hope that it was either 1) because he had been outside running, or 2) the scent of bleach and other chemicals was the culprit, because he is allergic to a couple strains of mold (not sure which). And my biggest fear about this house is that there is some undiagnosed mold problem. I worry about that a lot, if that could be the smell in the house. Then again, I don’t know if it’s mold I smell, or just the musty cabinets that need to be replaced. But whatever, I bought a couple mold tests from Home Depot. not sure how accurate they are, but we shall see in 48 hours after testing.
And, tonight hubby and I had the biggest scare!! He thought he had left my expensive-ass Apple laptop on the side of the road in front of the house!! Thankfully, after talking to the neighbors and resigning to defeat, with a side of “hope-a-nice-person-turns-it-in”, much to my happiness, there in the garage, tucked behind the brick pillar, was my laptop and hard drive. God is good! And hubby was delighted and relieved to know that not only are all my pictures and personal info saved, but I’m sure he was happy to not have to drop a crap-load of cash on a new Apple for me 😉
My handsome boys enjoying their new space 🙂

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