Nosey neighbor

A handful of homes have recently gone on the market in our neighborhood, and guess what? I'm that person. The nosey neighbor who likes to see how much the house is, what it looks like inside, how the sale will effect our home & how our house stacks up in comparison (not to brag, but 9 times out of 10 our digs are typically better...but then again, maybe everyone thinks that about their own home?). Not to mention what I could do to transform the house into my own likes & needs. Oh, how the imagination flows!

The house across the street from us is for sale (for only 3 days to be exact & you bet I was online doing my research as soon as the realtor stuck that sign in the lawn!)....



(sorry, no can do on the location/address...we don't need no weirdos showing up on our doorstep!)

So yeah, meh. Nothing special...definitely zero curb appeal (and to think we look at this house on a regular basis!). In the 4 years we've lived here, I've never seen a single person walk in or out of this home. The lawn is always mowed & the driveway always plowed (which is odd, considering no one is coming or going), but not one sign of life! Weird. Based on the realtor's photos, the inside isn't much to write home about either. And just this morning I noticed the awful roof. Because, you know, I'm an unofficial roof inspector now that we've had our's replaced (ah, the things you don't know about me!).

All these homes for sale bring me to my next thought...staging is a HUGE thing when selling your home. Folks, it's not rocket science. But, shamefully, I can't begin to tell you how many houses I toured (prior to buying our's) where random laundry was sitting out, beds were unmade & the house was just totally cluttered with....stuff.

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BAD. NO. Clean up the joint, will you (I think there might be a cat in there, but I can't totally tell)? This photo is a good example of how good old fashioned decluttering could go a LONG way in helping to sell your home. (and as a side note, Ugly House Photos is pretty hilarious scary. It's like awkward family photos, only the house version. And it will still make you say, wth?!)

And if you'd like to see some awesome examples of staging, head over to Centsational Girl, where Kate toured some new homes in her California town. And don't blame me if these photos make you feel like you live in a dump. 

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Gorgeous, huh? And yes, these are professionally staged new builds. But we can all dream, right?

Alright, I'm off to (maybe or maybe not) stalk a new sale down the street. Happy weekend-ing!

Rolling out the welcome mat

It's official....we finally have new front steps! But you didn't think I'd show you the before & after pics without a little story first, now did you?

So, the steps were a little joint birthday gift to the husband and me from my mom. Gone are the days of clothes & fun accessories...home improvement is the new trend in gift giving (thanks mom!)! Seriously, best.gift.ever. God, I'm old. Anyhoo! We decided on a contractor back in the spring, signed a contract for work to be completed by June 11, with a verbal agreement for the work to be finished by the end of June (jobs were majorly delayed because of those crazy April showers). No biggie, we were on the schedule. No need to get antsy....

...until mid July that is. It hadn't rained for almost 2 months & this was supposed to be a one day job. Where were these guys? I made calls on 2 separate occassions asking for our contractor to call us back, to no avail. Lovely. After griping to the neighbors & mentioning last week (on this here blog!) about the delay...like magic, the contractor finally called me back (maybe they're City Dwellin' readers?). The only problem? He wanted to start the job that day and we were heading out of town for the weekend. Okay, no can do, we'll just reschedule for Monday.

So this morning I head into work, awaiting a call that the workers had arrived at the house to start the job, and I kid you not...it freaking starts raining! Two months of no rain (our lawn is mimicking a rice krispy treat at this point) and the day these guys are supposed to start working it rains?! But not just any rain...it's downpouring, thundering & lightening. And to add insult to injury, I left all the windows in the house open.

At any rate, if you're still reading...congrats! I'm about to show you less than stellar before & after pics (that will make you wonder why the hell you kept reading in the first place). Jose & his crew of 2 arrived mid-morning, anticipating a two day work schedule (um?!), and by the time I got home from work they were finishing up! I never even got to take progress shots, that's how fast these guys were working.

Remember how things looked before? Uneven, rotted, embarrassing & just plain dangerous....

And the after...even, not rotted, quite pleasant to look at & no longer dangerous...

Much better, right? I was a little worried how things would look, as our porch height is not up to code, but the railings very much needed to be. Without another pillar flanking the other side of the porch, I worried things would look just a bit off. Sure, we'd love another one to even things out, but I think the contractors were able to position the railings just right given the situation.

The next step is to paint the steps so they blend in better with the house. They're gray (they look tan in the photos), but not the right shade. The steps are a composite material (Azak to be exact) and I was told by the contractor that Sherwin Williams makes a great paint specifically for this material. So guess where I'll be this weekend (coupon in hand, of course)?

Oh, and the best part of the whole day was when the contractors cleaned, packed up their truck, and told me to have a good night. Um, wouldn't you like to get paid? I swear, if I weren't so honest we'd have some free steps on our hands. It's doubtful they'd ever catch up with me in the end, right? Right.

So there you have it, new steps! If you plan on coming over to our house, please do use them! And if you trip up them....don't sue me. That's your own darn fault.

Promises, promises

I probably shouldn't promise that I'll post anything "tomorrow", as it usually never happens that way. But you already knew that, right? Promises, promises...

Anyhoo! Without making this a longer story than it needs to be, I'll preface this photo montage by saying that we may or may not have gotten a violation notice from the city for chipping paint on the outside of our house. And it may or may not have arrived on the husband's birthday. And I may or may not have gotten really, really mad. I'll let you be the judge.

True, we really did need to touch up the paint on the outside of our house. It's been a long time coming, but the inside of the house has gotten our full attention for the last 4 years. Who can blame us? Afterall, we live indoors, not on the front lawn. The chipping paint has bothered me since day one, but nothing like a city violation (that we may or may not have gotten...ahem...) to get you into action!

So here's the before...yikes. Although, before you take a good look, I'd like to point out that this is the worst (ie. weathered) side of the house and this photo was snapped after I scraped away the chipping paint (and almost a few very weathered shingles). I can never seem to get myself or the camera together before a project ever begins...sigh...



Bad news bears. And no, I'm not referring to our ugly gas meters either.

And here's the after (sorry, no before shot of this area...but it was far less worse than the photo above)...

If you look closely, you'll see one of my dead plants hanging from above. Which, come to think of it, I really need to take that thing down. And you'll see that the ugly rotting steps are still there. Contrators who "promise" to get things done in June, aren't really on my good side right now. Okay, moving along...

So in case you want the full effect, here's a little perspective for you....

What!?! I know. The good news is that I'm over halfway finished with the porch. And then it's up to the husband to get on the 'ol ladder and touch up the paint that's chipping just beyond the porch area you see here. The husband wasn't too happy that I took on this project without him (I waited until he was out of town last weekend...I'm sneaky like that), as he wanted to do it all himself. But with his work & school obligations, I had no problem taking on the task of the porch myself. In fact, besides the occassional neighbor who stopped to admire my work, I hid myself behind the landscaping & painted in peace for several hours (minus a visit from the neighbor's busy-body cat). Who knew painting your house could be so serene?

Oh, and for anyone who's curious (I'm sure that would be all of you), we matched the paint at Sherwin Williams with a quarter sized sample from the porch...and voila! Our gallon of outdoor paint became instant twinsies with the existing paint on the house.

And that folks is all she wrote. I'm off to enjoy a long weekend...and hopefully stay cool!

Well, it's been awhile...

So I took a little blogging break. See, here's the thing...if I don't have anything to talk about, then I'm not going to post. Simple as that. Not much is happening around these parts, and frankly, I don't think anyone is interested in the mundane things that are currently on my mind.

Such as:

1) It's so hot I can barely stand it.
2) It's so hot & I have to play kickball in this darn heat tonight (please, feel sorry for me...you should).
3) It's so hot that I can barely stand watering the plants each.and.every.god.darn.night.
4) Speaking of plants, the husband's lettuce died & I'm to blame (apparently, I'm not very good at watering...see above).
5) Despite my best watering efforts, I can't seem to keep a hanging plant alive on the front porch. Our house faces west & the sun/wind exposure is just too much for these guys. It's taken 4 years to learn this, and try as I might, I think I'm finally ready to give up.

But I did happen to catch the premier of Home by Novogratz on HGTV this weekend. Did anyone else see it? I'm sure it will be repeated in rotation at some point this week, but it was amazing.

I forgot how much I love these two. They are definitely design risk takers--something that scares me just a bit--but I'm utterly fascinated by their work. I'm assuming Bravo gave Nine by Design the 'ol heave-ho, but Bravo's loss is HGTV's gain, right? Check out the fabulous beach house they made over in episode one...

Aren't those stairs amazing?!

I love the look of painted wood floors, but they make me nervous...in my own home anyway! I think I would be too heartbroken to paint over our lovely floors. But in someone else's house...well, why not? I think these stairs are super fun. I wonder how well they hold up to traffic?

And speaking of paint, I'll be back tomorrow to share photos of a little outdoor project we're currently working on (major indoor projects have been put on hold until this heat subsides!). Until then, I'm off to stay cool...well, at least try anyway. Wish me luck!

Sarah 101

This weekend was a good one...lots of ice cream, grilling out with friends, sitting poolside, and catching the U.S. premier of Sarah 101. I'm a huge Sarah Richardson fan...her designs are are swoon-worthy, and the dymanic between she & Tommy are the icing on each episode.

Can you believe that mirror? Gorgeous! Though I'm guessing it's not in yours truly's budget...

While Sarah rarely does anything on the cheap, her designs are definitely inspirational. If I'm taking anything away from her, it's the ease at which she mixes patterns, especially with fabric. I've been drawn to lots of fabric, textures & patterns lately, which probably explains the recent living room pillow update. I've learned it's okay to take a step out of the 'ol design box & mix it up a little.

Like these two-toned chairs. Brilliant!

Some more mixing & matching of fabrics on chairs. I would never think to pair these particular fabrics together, but it works!

Wallpaper & accent chairs that make a perfect combo...

Yellow & red, yes please!

The wallcovering in this room might seem a little scary, but again, amazingness...

Loving that the accent chair, window treatments & storage ottomans are all working together...


How's that for a little post-weekend inspiration? Next weekend's episode can't get here soon enough!

3 for the price of 1

As I mentioned in my last post, the husband and I packed up and hauled ourselves out of town for the long weekend. We headed to lake Chatauqua (about an hour south of Buffalo for all of you non-local folks) where my in-law's rented a house for the month. Well if that doesn't scream calgon take me away I don't know what does!

We arrived to the house on Friday...

We launched a boat...

Now, this photo would lead you to believe that the boat launch went smoothly (just look at the ease at which the husband holds that rope!), but you would be wrong. I never did make out on the boat, as I'm not a fan of running out of gas & getting stuck in the middle of the lake...and then having to be towed back to shore by 2 kayakers. True story. Anyhoo, moving along...

We went to the flea market & I picked up some goods...

Those are actually 3 baskets, originally priced at $5 each. But before I could say yes please the vendor offered all three of them to me for $10. Sold! The vintage milk bottle, however, was not a steal at $14. I should have haggled, but I'm a reeeeaaaallly bad haggler (some kind of guilt instinctively rushes over me and I just. can't. do. it. for some reason or another?!). Anyhoo, I circled & circled and eventually went back to pony up the $14 for it. I think it will make a great bud vase, no?

I caught up on my reading...

We grabbed lunch at the beautiful Chatauqua Institution...

And we went to the annual July 4th parade...

And look at us...decked out in ZERO red, white or blue (I've become painfully unprepared in my old age). Which is why I'm wearing our niece's wooden flag necklace...you know, to fit in and all. As for the husband, well, let's just say someone was a little anxious to go golfing that day. For those of you who don't know him, that look on his face is the "I love parades (NOT)!" facial expression. Well, happy birthday America!

And that, my friends, was our holiday weekend in a nutshell. On a totally unrelated note, this is my 100th post! Who would have thunk it...this little 'ol blog that I decided to start less than a year ago, and here I am still going strong. So to you, my readers (all 5 of you), thanks for still keeping up with me!

Vintage Ice Crushers

Say what? It's July?! What's happening to summer? It's going way too fast. We headed out of town over the long weekend (an update on that soon...'soon' as in tomorrow, not 3 weeks from now), and I got a chance to catch up on the July issue of Martha Stewart Living.

I'm not a regular reader, unless of course, the cover catches my eye. Seriously (or 'bible' if you're a Kardashian). But would you look at those firecracker cookies? Why, yes please! Anyway, my mom's friend (hi Pam!) told us there was an article in this month's issue about vintage ice crushers. Remember the one I purchased a few short months ago?

Truth be told, I got nostalgic & bought this particular one because my parents had it when I was growing up. Plus I thought its vintage vibe fit our 'old' meets new kitchen. But did you know these ice crushers are a hot collectors item? Well, consider me in the know (ha, I wish!). If you google 'vintage ice crushers' you'll get a whole slew of items to peruse. But here are some lovelies from Etsy that caught my eye...

A turquoise Ice-O-Mat from seller Miss Hettie's...

A lovely little red number from Forgotten KC...

I love his pink one (with a removable ice bucket) from seller Looking for Yesterday...

Yellow & white from Hello Pretty...

Energy for the Soul is selling this fun retro ice crusher...



A search on Etsy also turned up these items that my family had too. Old fashioned ice cube trays...

Forgotten KC

And a vintage Tap-Icer...



Gypsy General Store

What can I say, our family liked ice.

If you're in the market for one of these, they'll set you back around $15-$30. Which makes me feel like I wasn't ripped off at $25. Whew.

Anyone want to come over for a frozen margarita?!