Saying Sayonara to 2009

Well, that's it for 2009. DC Rowhouse took a wild ride, and came out a little better in the end I think.

We started things right by refinancing and saving $400 per month! Where is that money going? I have no idea! But, paying the mortgage sure is a lot nicer each month.

Then, it seems it took from March to October to get the kitchen done. Yikes! Well, it was worth it. Lots of planning and maybe 6 weeks of actual physical work to get the kitchen from drab to fab. Not too shabby.

Since we haven't been working on too many projects since the kitchen drained us of funds, it's time to look forward to all that will be in 2010.

Cheers to you all! Happy New Year! See you for more projects in 2010!

When contractors steal

I can imagine being a contractor is hard. Coordinating with all types of moving parts and people can be a hassle. But, it's never an excuse to steal someones deposit and vanish.

Check out Bunny's story here.

Get Ready to Rumble

If you're like me, you don't have that much space to store tools. The big pieces get put into the storage area under the stairs and then I keep a basket handy of handy tools, like a hammer, measuring tape, an allen wrench set, and one of those flip around screw drivers. Its convenient and those are the things I use most often anyway.

A week of two ago, I bought a console table at IKEA (which I love and will give it's own post soon when we finally finish putting the dining/living are together). I pride myself on putting IKEA furniture together. That might not be something people want to put down on their "plus" list, but I am good at it. Do I need written instructions? No sir, I do not. Hand my that paper with the little guy pointing to things and I'm good to go. Sure the pieces are labeled only by their serial number. No problemo. In fact, I would do it for fun. Now, this particular piece needed a socket wrench, which I had. But, man, those are little pains in the behind, huh? Maybe it's just me, but jamming those little pieces back in the box always take a little more muscle than it should.

When some good folks offered to send me the Black and Decker Ready Wrench, I was thrilled. It's more substantial than it looks and has 16 of the most common sizes. It makes a great addition to my handy tool set, as it takes up little space. Certainly, for city living folks like me the Ready Wrench is a great buy at $29.99. And, you can pick it up at your local Target. Looking for a gift? Give this a spin, I'm sure they'll love it. It's pretty fun to spin the ends around too. Not like I used it to pretend I was twirling a baton or anything. . .





*I was sent this product free of charge, however I was not paid for writing a review. This review was written in my own words.

December's Lonny

Lonny mag is back with a new issue! Enoy all the eye candy here.

Housed dressed for the Holidays

The wreaths are up and in action! In one week it turned from a balmy 65 degrees when I was hanging them to snowy and bitter outside to enjoy them. Turned out to work in my favor.

I ended up not getting a Christmas tree for inside. For many reason (the biggest one is we have no room for it!) it just wouldn't work for us this year. Speaking of years. . . this one's almost over! While we have a few more small projects for 2009, the list for 2010 is building!

So, what do we have on tap? Well, DC Rowhouse will move up to the upper level for some quick upgrades. The closet doors need some work, the walls need paint, and the bathrooms are due for an upgrade. The bathrooms are the biggest pickle. While I'd like to take it down to the studs and add some skylights, I'm just not sure it's in the budget. If not, we'll add some new lesser expensive upgrades to give them both the face lift they deserve. In fact, I already have the chandelier for my bathroom waiting. Chandelier? With ceilings over 9 feet, I figured nothing would be better than a crystal chandelier for my bathroom.

With only a short time left in 2009, it's time to make some serious plans for the upstairs. But, like most of my renovation plans . . . they're bound to change.

Wreath Success!

I successfully purchased 6 wreaths on Black Friday to fill every window in the front of the house. I have been obsessed with being able to do this for years. But, I couldn't justify spending $120 on wreaths. Now, for less than $50, I was able to accomplish that very small decorating dream.

It took until Sunday to hang them. By then, it was 65 degrees. While hanging fresh green wreaths in a tank top didn't get me in the holiday spirit, watching my house transform into a glowing beacon of Christmas sure did! Now, we can sit in the living room with the two wreaths in view...and no needles to clean up. Oh the joy!

I've been trying to get a photo, but this whole dark and rainy thing has been messing with me...