War of the Hostas

Many of you know the crazy travel schedule I've had this summer, then you can guess about how much time I've spent weeding and pruning in my yard. To be honest, this is not my favorite thing to do anyway, so I must admit that I'd let it get too far by choice. A couple of weeks ago, my mom and grandma came to visit...and much to my embarrassment they wanted to venture out into the back yard for a look. They were both born with green thumbs and have beautiful yards and gardens...and mine was a complete and utter disaster (guess the green thumb gene ended with them). Well, they weren't too hard on me (thank you!), but grandma enthusiastically volunteered to help me in my plight to discern weed from flower and we made plans for her to come help me get things under control.

It took us a good day's work pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and digging out plants in 90 degree heat to get things back in shape...By the way, I am hoping that the hardy genes in Grandma are something I HAVE inherited! Once we cleared the weeds (mostly thistle), we found a few things worth saving and many others that needed to be thinned out or removed. Grandma marveled at the wonderful Hosta that were plentiful in my yard. I just rolled my eyes because I don't share her love for this green, boring, ground cover. Evidently, there are many wonderful variations of these "beautiful" plants...but for me there are two. Green and stripey.


After completing our first task of getting things back to a manageable level, Grandma bid me farewell and went to the lake for a few days. But not before getting her hands on the "mystery plant" that had taken root in the middle of my yard. Under her watchful eye, I'm sure it will be blossoming and thriving in no time. Who knows, it may just make it back to my yard someday when it's ready to be divided and shared.




It was a good thing Grandma didn't hang around for the afternoon's main event...the tragic, yet completely necessary Great Hosta Massacre of St Louis Park. She would have cried at the complete and utter disregard for her prized Hostas! Once the digging was complete, I piled my wheelbarrow full and carted those things right up to the front yard, and mercilessly pounded a "Free Hosta" sign in the ground, posted an ad on Craigslist and waited for the pillage to begin. I didn't have to wait long...it was over in a mere 60 minutes. It was kind of fun sitting in the living room and watching folks come to pick them up. We had people come with garbage bags, clothes baskets, and boxes. When they were gone and I went out to take the sign in, I had people driving by and yelling out the car windows, "Do you still have any Hosta?" Guess there are some other raving fans besides Grandma out there.

No finished pictures yet...there is lots of work still to do. We will be putting in landscape fabric over the next week or so and a few of my favorite Perennials in the Spring. For all you Hosta fanatics...yes, there are still a few Hostas left in my yard. I'm not completely heartless :-)!

This Chick is Delighted!

So Close...
Mark has been a busy little beaver this week. I came home from my travels in Denver to an amazing transformation in my bathroom. It's not done yet, but holy crap is it a HUGE difference from what it was a few months ago. On top of getting about 3/4 of the tiling done, the mirror is installed and so is the bathroom light (which both look amazing). Mark built the mirror right into the tile which meant he had to do some serious precision work...he is SO talented! The vision is coming together and our bathroom is going to feel like a fancy schmancy hotel bathroom. I'm loving it! Mark thinks the tiling and grout should be done next week...then it's on to plumbing and non-dungeonlike showers!!

Take a close look at those clothes Mark is wearing. If he gets any more thinset on those shorts, they're not going to bend. He's going to start looking like a Roman statue pretty soon.




Driveway...Check!
One more project checked off our to-do list. Thank God it finally stopped raining long enough for us to get the driveway laid. Good thing, because the escrow expired at the end of June! Here are a few pics to show the destruction. Forgot to take a pic of the finished product. It's just a boring driveway...you'll have to use your imagination. Mark said I can't drive on it for 28 days until it is at 90% strength. Doesn't that seem just entirely too long? I guess no cracks, means no driving. Melissa is going to have to get over it and park in the street!

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Trudging Along...

Hello, all! Mark has been busy and our visions for bathroom and bedroom on the 1st floor are coming together.

Bathroom:
I was completely ecstatic last week when Mark texted me that the floor was done. I couldn't wait to get on that plane home so that I could get a look. Love, love the color of the tile, the diagonal install, and the variations in each tile. So happy with it that I'm thinking of using it in the kitchen/dining space once we start tackling that project (Lord, help us...well, Lord help Mark especially since he'll be the one tiling every day!)

This week Mark has spent his time getting tile on the walls in the bathroom. Still a bit to go, but he is making lots of progress. We're not sure we love the light color of the wall tile, so we are thinking that we may use dark grout to tie it in with the floor. Still debating that one. Sorry the pics are so bad but we are using a work light to illumate the whole space as there aren't any lights installed yet.

Mark was a bit concerned that our vanity was too big for the space and so we mocked it up. I don't think it looks bad at all. I am in love with the hammered copper vessel sink and the victorian faucet. Exciting to get a glimpse at what it will look like as things start coming together.

Office:
We are starting to pick up some pieces for organization in the office. Mark and I are WAY into maps and have a huge wall map with little red pins in all the places we've been together over the years. So..the theme for the room is travel and maps. We wanted to carry that through in some unique decorations in the room that could also help serve as storage pieces. So...we purchased a few antique mailboxes (you know, the old thick metal ones) and a bunch of old state map postcards from the 1950's. I am going to decopage the postcards to MDF and mount the mailboxes on the piece to serve as storage for mail, bills, checkbooks, etc. Will be an interesting piece of art that serves a purpose. Mark and I get a kick out of putting old things together and creating a new purpose for them. Once I get all the mailboxes sent to me (bought them off e-bay) and assembled, I will send pictures. Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out as cute as I envision.

Random Cool Stuff:
I have already made three rhubarb cakes from the patch out in back of the house. It is the recipe my dad used so many times for the cakes he brought to his co-workers in St James. Brings back lots of memories because I was the one that made those cakes last year when he was sick. We talked about them for a month and he was SO DETERMINED to get those cakes to the plant and also to the priest.

I haven't seen Lily of the Valley since I was a kid. My grandma Barb had them growing along the house and I loved them so much. Surprise, surprise, they showed up along my house this spring. So exciting...again, loving the memories this house brings for me even though I didn't grow up here.

I think we'll see quite a bit more progress next week...more to come soon! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Stumbling Through

Hello, all! Okay, okay, I've been horrible at updating lately. We've had a few delays as of late and so there wasn't much to share. Here's a recap of what's been going on.

Seeing Suds
We were very impressed with the list of new items in our 1950's purchase...new roof, A/C, furnace, etc. What we didn't notice right away was that the water softener wasn't on that list. We soon realized that it wasn't working when the water smelled like iron, our soap didn't lather (at all) in the shower, and our dishwasher left a white hazy film on everything (beautiful)! By the way, if you have hard water (like I still do at the lake), buy Lemi-Shine...it is the best at getting that film off your dishes!

And so...after many water test strips and attempts to fix the softener, we waved the white flag and decided it was time to buy a new one. And if you know Mark, that means at least a day (or more) of research on what the best purchase may be. I am so glad he is willing to do the work and research, but it sure does take some time! In the end, we settled on the Commers water system because we'd had really good luck with them in the old house. And now...our shampoo and soap suds up like crazy in the shower and our glasses are clear and spot-free. Yes, I'm still showering in the dungeon which doesn't make me happy, but at least I get to lather up!

My New Friends Have Arrived!
A few other items not to make it on the "new list" were the old Kenmore Washer and Dryer. Now, I don't need anything fancy for washing clothes and I was getting along fine with the old set. They seemed to work just fine...until they didn't! We arrived home from the lake on a Sunday evening and I had to get packed for my trip to Kansas City. Wanted to get a few of my staple black pants into the wash quickly so that I could get everything set for my early flight the next morning. Well, the washer had different plans! Mark had mentioned to me that he thought the washer was smoking the weekend before, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. I did! Once the washer hit the spin cycle, it gave in! Smelled like the thing was going to burst into flames at any minute and the there was no "spin" left in the old girl. Luckily, Mark hadn't yet torn down the clothes lines...so I got the soaking wet clothes out on the line for a few hours before darkness set in.

Mind you, we had been planning on buying a new washer/dryer set when we remodeled the upstairs. Unfortunately, we had planned for Mr and Mrs Kenmore to hold in there for a year or so until we were ready to get started on that project. They certainly had a different plan for us. We decided that we might as well get it over with and get a new set and so I took the responsibility for tackling the research. I have recently purchased a subscription to Consumer Reports online (to get info on kitchen appliances) and so I dug in and started my work. I asked my facebook friends and everyone seemed to like whatever set they had...and they all had different ones. So, it was hard to know which brand to go with. In the end, I decided to go with the Consumer Reports #1 rated washer and so we placed our order for the Whirlpool Duet set and waited for a week and a half to get it installed (they are on backorder due to the glowing report). Note: Pretty amazing how many outfits you can piece together without doing laundry...if you have to!

My new friends arrived on Thursday this week. I was so excited to meet Wilma and Deloris! We are getting along so well. In fact, they happily helped me get five loads of laundry done in two days. I get a sense that they will be good buddies of mine for quite some time!

Baby Steps
Even though we've had some things to get us sidetracked, we have made a bit of progress on the bathroom remodel. Mark got all the drywall and cement board hung which means we have walls and a floor! We also had a dry-waller visit us on Friday to start the mudding process. By the middle of next week, we should be starting the tiling. And then, I'll have LOTS of great pictures for everyone.

For now, I am dreaming of my new bathroom. Hoping that in a few weeks that dream will be a reality. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Weekend!

Making Some Headway!

Whew...what a BUSY weekend! Friday started with a huge step forward...water hook-up for a shower head in the main floor bath. Finally, we started feeling like we were headed in the right direction. And then...Mark started more demo. Yep, we must go down another layer to lay a good foundation for future work. For now, that means I have a great big hole in my bathroom floor. Mark plans on putting down a few layers of plywood so that the floor is good and sturdy to prevent our tiles from cracking in the future. The picture doesn't do it justice...you can literally stand in the doorway of our bathroom and see straight down into the basement. Mark is standing on the floor joist!!
While we were feeling pretty darn smug getting this far in the process, we must be brought back to reality. We noticed Saturday evening that we didn't have any hot water! Mark was beside himself trying to figure out what was wrong. The water heater is only 2 years old, for crying out loud! We worked through a number of scenarios, but without much experience in this area, we finally gave up and called the service guy

Enter...Mr Crabby Ass! The service guy showed up on Sunday morning and was not too happy about being here. He basically just came in, chastised us for the renovation debris around the heater, ran a few tests, told us it was not the water heater, argued with Mark for awhile, and left. Not helpful at all and just added to the stress

Mark decided to give the plumber a call to see if there was something that he did that might be causing the problem. We were sure that he didn't touch any of the lines going to the water heater. Following the plumber's step by step instructions over the phone, Mark found the problem (a mix-up by the plumber) and we were back in business again.

While Mark did demo and dealt with the hot water, I painted my little heart out. I finished the 2nd coat in the upstairs bath, painted a wall in the living room, all of our bedroom, and the staircase going downstairs. I even used the new ladder to get up into the top of the stairway...very terrifying for me! It was WAY up there

I am happy to report that there is no longer any pink or neon aqua in our house!! We also discovered that we are not "grey" people and that shortbread (creamy yellow) is the leading contender for our wall color in the kitchen. More pictures on finished product in future blogs.


That's it for now. This chick is heading for bed! Will have lots more pictures and updates next week!

Progress Will Cost You...

Well, let me start out by saying that Lowes and Tile Liquidators have taken more than their fair share out of our checking account today. The bathroom project continues moving forward and all the supplies have been purchased. And...it only took us five hours to get it all picked out and ordered. There are just too many choices...hardy board, thin set, light fixtures, oh my!

A few pictures of our progress:

Mark deliberating over screws...or something even less exciting.

We are now overwhelmed in searching for vanities and vessel sinks. Thought we had stuff all picked out, but then we second-guessed ourselves and decided to go a different direction.

And here is a picture of our tiles. The dark one (left) will go on the floor and the light one (right) on the walls. The accent tile will go midway up on the wall throughout. LOVE this tile!

Nothing more exciting than that today! I am heading out of town for a few days and Mark is interviewing some architects. We'll see what surprises I come home to on Thursday...there are sure to be a few.

Have a great week, everyone!

We Must Get to Nothing Before We Can Start Something

The demo continues...it started as a small wall, now an entire bathroom. Mark ripped our tiny little main floor bath right down to the studs...looks like it's time for a fresh start!

First day of demo...a few things we discovered.

#1 - All the walls in the house are a different thickness. This will be GREAT for trying to hang doors...can you sense my sarcasm? We haven't discovered lathe and plaster though...definitely something to be thankful for.
#2 - The tiles you see on the walls...yea, they are not really "tiles." They are plastic! Totally fooled us and everyone else who saw them. Made it a lot easier to remove, which is great. Can't believe these held up so well! They had to be installed 30-40 years ago. Wow! They've had a good life...it's now time to get out of my house!
#3 - The previous owners cut into a beam in the basement (brilliant)...and our floor is now sagging upstairs. I'm sure you can imagine the heart palpitations in the Lutz household. Freaks the hell out of us, but I'm sure we will figure it out. Pretty secure in saying that I'm sure this will not be the last "surprise" in store for us.
#4 - Through some research, I've discovered that the city of St Louis Park offers some free time with an architect to help with our remodel. Will definitely need this to figure out what to do downstairs to get our floors back in shape. We have also drawn up plans in our computer software and will get some help on questions we have. The pics on our computer software look great! I am hopeful we'll be able to do all we're wanting to do.


Bearing it All!

I came back home after a week of travel and everything was gone! Lots of progress. I'm happy to say that my new bathroom has hit rock bottom...we're only going up from here! Mark met with the plumber this week and we will likely have a shower head installed by next week and some new pipes to carry water in and out of the bathroom. The next step will be to get the underlayment installed so that we can replace the window with glass block.

Mark found something kind of neat when he was ripping the walls apart. He found a piece of newspaper from the 50's...listed homes in Edina on France and 100 selling for $14,000 with a GI loan of 4.75%. Can't believe that we have a better interest rate on this house than back in the 50's. Wish we would have been a bit closer to the sale price from back then though...

We have also picked out our new front door and are working on some custom interior doors with glass inserts to open up the space with lots of light. They are going to be great...can't wait to show them to you all.

I hope everyone has a Hoppy Easter!

The Carpet Didn't Stand a Chance!

Whew...what a weekend! After a well-fought battle, we claim victory...over the carpet. Yes., every square foot of pink shag carpet is out the door (and there was a lot of it) as well as the carpet in the living room, hall, and guest bedroom. Can hardly believe that we got it all done...it was a great team effot. So proud of our accomplishment!

We unearthed a few issues with the wood floor in the living and dining room. We couldn't believe our eyes when we pulled up the carpet and found big huge gouges in the wood...right in the middle of the living floor! It was a complete and utter crime...the person who laid the carpet used a stretcher and tore big holes into the beautiful oak wood floor! We are hopeful that when we pull out some of the wood in the dining area (replacing with tile) that we will have enough to fill in the damaged pieces.

Before:

After:

I feel an overwhelming sense of calm now that the Pepto Bismol pink carpet is out of the bedroom. Not sure why it was such a sore spot with me, but it is like a huge weight has been lifted. I mean...just look at the pink hue that filled the room in the before picture. Felt like I should pull out the Barbie Dream House and get to playing!

Check out the change once we demo'd that shag...pretty amazing! The great news is that the floors under that pink carpet are pristine...no damage and they are going to look amazing once they are refinished!

Before:

After:

Mark has promised that next week will bring progress on the main floor bath. As those who've seen the shower I'm currently using can attest to...I NEED A NEW BATHROOM!

Bye for now!

The Walls Come Tumblin' Down

We are all moved in...whew! Thanks to all our friends and family who helped us move. You were real troopers and we couldn't have done it without you! We were able to get most everything into two U-haul trucks and got it all unloaded at the house on Friday in 2.5 hours. Not bad at all! We even got our king-size bed up the stairs...which was not a small feat (as the five guys it took to get it there can attest to).

The small hurdle...the mammoth leather couch. No matter how the guys twisted, turned, pulled, and pushed, that sucker would not go in the door.

The budget did not include buying a new couch, so drastic measures were needed. In other words...the walls had to go! Saturday was spent in a battle with a few entry walls. Here is the before picture...

And here is the demo...

After an afternoon of work, the walls (and all the dust and debris) are gone! Now...what do we do with the gaping holes in the wall and floor? We are still a bit torn with whether we'll restore the cove ceilings or rip everything down to install a ceiling fan and can lights. Decisions, decisions....more to come!

Good news! We now have a couch to sit on in the living room. Sorry to all the Craig's Listers who would have liked to see that baby go up for sale!

It's All Coming Together!

It's final (whew!)...we're closing on April 1, 2011 on the new home. Has been a very stressful four months since we first listed the house. I have NO idea how people with kids keep their houses clean for this excruciating process! We had quite a few showings (25+) and finally got a solid offer on March 1 after a few low-ball offers that left us wondering if we'd ever make this thing work. Luckily, the house we had placed an offer on way back in November was still ours! The inspections have been completed on both homes and we have all the details worked out. So glad to be done with all the negotiating. Now for the fun part...packing and moving. By the way, that was a bit of sarcasm, just in case you were wondering. Moving is going to suck!


Project #1 - The Main Bathroom

The first project we will tackle once we get settled is the full bath on the main level. Not sure who was the brain-child behind the decor in that room, but it is AWFUL! We are talking brown and black velvety wall paper on the walls and metallic wallpaper on the ceiling. The kicker...pastel aqua tiles on the bottom half of the walls. Seriously, this has got to be one of the ugliest bathrooms I've ever seen. And it's soon to be ours...yay!

We are debating whether to remove the window over the tub or install glass block so that we can convert to a shower. Anyone have any experience with glass block? Not sure how easy it is to install.



We have spent the last week trying to come up with a plan for the bathroom with trips to The Tile Shop, Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's. We didn't find anything that was "just right." We did find a great inspiration bathroom though...take a look. Not thinking that light blue is our style, so we will keep it pretty neutral, but we like the overall design. We finally stumbled upon Tile Liquidators yesterday and found the perfect tile for WAY cheaper than we had been planning on. Things are looking up! Can't wait until we can get moved and start working on this project. It will be a HUGE transformation that I can't wait to share with everyone.















More to come as things progress.