Inside before

So . . .since it's been raining I haven't been able to completely set up my amazing new back yard and show all the great things that were done over the 4 day weekend. Instead I thought today we should take a quick jaunt through how my house began when I purchased it in November.

A little background on the home:

built in 1941, it is 2 bedroom, 1 bath 855 square feet with a single car detached garage.

lots of original charm like plaster walls, wood burning fire place, hardwood throughout, but with many modern updates such as dual pane vinyl windows, new kitchen appliances, updated bathroom . . .and thanks to me central heat and ac!

Here we have me scraping the asbestos filled popcorn/cottage cheese/acoustic ceiling in the master (meaning slightly larger) bedroom. I read up on diy.com and learned to tape plastic over the outlets and go at it with a pressure sprayer filled with water.

Here's my mom doing the same in the living room. It took us 2 days to scrape my bedroom, the living room, and hallway. It was totally worth it. However, the project is so messy I don't know how you could do it it you had furniture in the house. Especially since the wetter you got the ceiling the easier it was.

The first things I did to the house were scrape the ceilings, paint all surfaces in the interior, install a doggy door, put in baseboards, change out some light fixtures, and install the extra washing machine that my best friend inherited when she bought her home. Pictures and posts about all these fun activities will follow.

here's the clean popcorn free hallway with its tacky 70's light fixture.

4 day weekend

Okay so this weekend is going to be huge for my home. There are several projects to be undertaken and 4 days to complete them, thanks to accrued vacation time and Caesar Chavez.



Come Monday there will be a wood deck to the right, pergola over the cement, and an ac unit on the roof!


Friday the amazing Nik and his HVAC guys (recommended by my previous landlord) are coming to install the duct work and cut the vents in my house in preparation for Saturday when they will install the unit on my roof. By Saturday evening I will have central heat and air.



Saturday and Sunday Annel my wood working guy (again recommended by landlord) is going to build a pergola over my existing cement slab and a wood deck to the right of my cement over the current large patch of dirt. Originally I had planned to use trex (composite wood) on the projects but it turns out that $2.50 a linear foot is too much for me! I also don't want to upgrade my home out of it's market. Instead I am going with the much more reasonable Douglass Fir which happens to be $0.30 a linear foot. . .yep that cheap. Prior to install I will be sealing and painting the pergola wood white and after install I will be sealing and painting the deck a darkbrown/reddish color.



There are various other home improvement projects I'm going to be tackling this weekend as well with the help of my mentor/coworker/car poolie/neighbor. This includes installing ikea shelving over my washer and dryer, a new glass shelf in my bathroom, patching the hole where the wall furnace is coming out, and installing a window to replace where the ac unit is currently. Cross your fingers for me and hopefully come Monday afternoon I'll be able to enjoy all my hard work and money spent.

Another diy win, my solar charged motion sensor light is up and running after I installed it sunday, left it charging for 3 days per instructions and turned it on tonight, huge success!

Here it is in the daylight

Checking out DIY blogging sites here's one

Bark Nuggets

So . . .after baby shower madness was complete on Saturday I spent Sunday working on my backyard. Turns out bark nuggets were buy 1 get 1 at Home Depot so I loaded up my 2 door explorer and brought home 10 bags of bark nuggets and got to spreading . . .

I also purchased a solar powered light for the back end of my garage that sits in my backyard so that the back half of my yard will be visible at night. I hung up the light, but set the solar panel on the shed roof to test it before I mount it. Directons call for 3 days of charging before turning on the light so I am dutifully waiting.

Also purchased those beautiful chaise lounges I mentioned last week and some decorate pots for planting AND stepping stones, will post pictures soon.

Morrocan Accessories

Thank you Feds! My home buyer credit officially came through, something I've been dutifully pre-spending since I filed my taxes in February.

Since you've already seen the amazing furniture I am purchasing I thought I'd show some sweet accessories I'm getting for my space . . .

Backyard Makeover

So with the help of the Federal government and my new home buyer credit I am planning a major overhaul of my already pretty sweet backyard. The new backyard will include a lot of DIY but I am having the professionals install the pergola and deck. . .I know my limits.

Since my tax return has been delayed I've been able to select all the amazing things I'm going to purchase to go in my re-done backyard starting with this beautiful set of chairs and chaise lounges from the amazing Target! I have fun accesoreis picked out as well that I will show you later.

Testing my mobile blogging skills

Blogging virgin

Here is the glorious before shot of my backyard. i have decided to blog my adventures in diy because I love reading others blogs and have found lots of helpful hints for my new home.

I'm quite new to this blogging adventure but here's hoping I can keep it up while I keep up with all the rest of my life.