12.12.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:43 am by Elisa
so little time.
We have been banished from the house again as the new painters start their work. Yesterday they sprayed the primer and you really don’t want to be around when that is going on. Today is sanding and then more spraying. Tomorrow more of the same. We are down to no rooms again, although we do have a zipper in the plastic for the kitchen so we can get in there. The good thing is that even though our neighbor states are getting a blizzard, we had temps close to 70 yesterday which allowed me to throw open the windows and air out the house.
But one of the safe places is the basement
So I have been pulling out the fabric and trying to get it all back together.
Christmas gifts to make and organizing to do.
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12.10.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:04 pm by Elisa
so we have had this washing machine saga going. It stopped working, we bought a new one. It fixed itself. We canceled the delivery of the new one, it stopped working again- for good. So now it is almost 8pm and we have to go re-buy the one we just returned. The Best Buy people are going to think we are WACKED. Of course we are but that is a whole different story. Let’s just add it to the crazy day/week/month/year we have had.
In an effort to do something normal around here we got out the ornaments tonight. After we made sure the tree wouldn’t fall again no matter how many pooches tried to knock it over. We don’t have many traditions around here but we do have one good one and that is our yearly ornaments. We started when Austin was a baby. Every year each kid picks out a snowman ornament and we write the day and the year on it. Such a simple thing but they LOVE to get theirs out of the box and look at them, talk about them, and put them on the tree. It’s always an effort to keep Cole from breaking everything and of course we have the whole rivalry thing each year, trying to explain why Austin has more than everyone else, but this year they seemed to get it and nothing got broken. Then we fill the back of the tree with all of of Andy’s boyhood ornaments. I had one ornament that I always put on the tree growing up, a little angel with a bell- it was always very special to me.
Tomorrow Cole goes to get a couple cavities filled. The first of 8- yes 8. I was shocked when the dentist showed me the x-rays of his little teeth. Besides a small cavity Blake had the boys have been cavity free. The dentist says Cole’s teeth are too close together and that is the cause of the cavities. Either way it is going to be a long expensive process. Poor guy. Between that and the rash boy I guess we will be in and out of dentist and doctor offices tomorrow.
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Posted in ElisaLou at 4:08 pm by Elisa
Trying to maintain my Christmas spirit around here- it’s hard when the house is turned upside down. The painters were fired last week by my contractor and now new painters are starting. Today is prep day. I spent the morning tearing down the prep work that the old painters did since the new painters said it looked like an idiot did it. Well that isn’t the word he used but…. There is paint over-spray everywhere- I got the biggest one up that was right in the middle of my new family room, lots more to do. There is a part of me that feels bad for the old painter- he has 6 kids, 10 and under. But on the flip side I look around at the mess, knowing that they started the week of Thanksgiving and well, I just want my house back. And now that it is almost Christmas and we are starting all over. I am supposed to attend a cookie exchange tonight but I have no cookies, since I have given up my kitchen to painters again, and I am tired. I was actually productive though- got a lot of stuff moved into the new studio- which I would show but the floor is still concrete and probably will be concrete for a while. Too many things on my husbands to do list- studio is low on the list.
Oh and did I mention that our 15 year old dog knocked down the Christmas tree today? Poor guy is deaf and sorta blind. I had a heck of a time getting it back up, I’m sure you can picture the battle. It would be funny if he didn’t pee all over the floor too. Sigh.
So let’s talk Christmas songs.
Andy made us a good mix the winter that I was pregnant with Cole, every year he seems to find a few more good ones but here are my favorites.
It must have been Ol Santa Claus- Harry Conick Jr.
I saw 3 ships- Sting
Do they know it’s Christmas- Band Aid
Frosty the Snowman- Cocteau Twins
Silver Bells- Sugar Ray and Rosie
Baby Please come home- U2
So this is Christmas- John Lennon
Oh Holy Night- Jewel
Feels like Christmas- Cyndi Lauper
That’s it for now, off to figure out why Blake is covered in a rash.
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12.08.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:27 am by Elisa
No, it’s not mine-
This is a house that we almost bought. This was probably the absolute worst experience we have ever had with a real estate agent. We put an offer on the house but had no idea the real estate agent that was listing the house was just using us to get a higher price from someone else to whom it was eventually sold.
Now that we have three kids this house would have been too small, also not in the right school district, but it’s still very cool.
The front door. Love the transom with house number.
The guy that lived here with his family was/is an artist so there were cool touches everywhere. Like the floor on the front porch and the number plaque by the front door.
The front foyer had a place to sit and take off your shoes
As with most bungalows from the 20’s, the downstairs had lots of dark wood
Which is not really my style, but very cool
pocket doors going into dining room
The dining room had a very cool built-in hutch
and window seat
The kitchen was a perfect example of making the most of what you have. They put industrial linoleum on the floor (which is a very green product by the way), painted cabinets, installed tile the homeowner made himself (around the back-splash). It’s simple and beautiful.
Right off the kitchen was a screened porch
Above it and off a bedroom upstairs was a sleeping porch
And of course a claw foot tub
The backyard, which wasn’t huge and was partially taken up by a detached garage, had a portion carved out as a “patio” but instead of using solid concrete he made a checkerboard pattern of grass and square pavers. It looked really cool, but probably a pain to mow.
One of the things I loved most about this house (well despite it’s Pottery Barn look and craftsman charm) was the fact the homeowner put his stamp all over it. He really made it unique. Very cool.
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12.05.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 10:57 am by Elisa
For the preschooler at least, the older ones had to go to school.
It is so pretty outside
Snow on my not quite finished front porch.
Zoey’s first snow, we both had a little lesson in how little dogs handle the snow. Not well.
She wanted to play with the big dogs- Barley the Golden absolutely LOVES snow. But she got all covered in snow dingle-berry things and was shaking so bad I had to wrap her up in a blanket. She’s all better now, warm and napping on the couch.
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12.04.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:26 pm by Elisa
how cool is this??
Seriously great idea. But then once I started looking through the new website for it I realized that if I took the time to get my hair to look like the models in the pictures, I certainly wouldn’t be putting anything in it. Hmmm. Still, may have to get some as I am a ponytail freak.
Victoria Secret fashion show tonight. I’m sure my husband will be watching since it is “work related” 
and since he so graciously turned down a ticket to attend the show in person. Smart smart man. I, on the other hand will be snuggled up in bed (in my favorite new vs pj’s) finishing up a great book I have been reading- a historical fiction book about Henry VIII- sounds boring but it is sooo good.
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12.03.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 2:51 pm by Elisa
the back splash is going in and it looks horrible.
Just kidding, but I just sent Andy as email at work at said that- he called within seconds. Now I know how to get him to call me.
Actually it looks fantastic. I love it.
Check it out.
We were going to do beadboard to save time and money but in the end decided to step it up with durango
I love the look of natural stone. I am so glad we got to use so many variations with this remodel.
My talented husband made the benches for the banquet
Table to come.
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12.02.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 6:31 pm by Elisa
Last night the painters finished up our library/study room so this morning we tore up the paper and went nuts. It is the first time to see the floors since they were refinished- as a reminder to anyone following this crazy remodel, this room is not one that we were re-doing. But when the hardwood floor guy said that we really needed to get a good coat of poly on the floor we decided to bite the bullet and move out of it and then once the floors were done of course it had to be painted…..
the first glimpse of the new floor. Shiloh likes to look out this window so the bench is there to keep her from scratching the window sills. This is right after I pulled up the blue painters tape.
And now this is the room
moved a couch in, a tv, and an evergreen wreath from Whole Foods. Oh and of course a Christmas tree!!
And because we all want to be in our one finished room
a boy and a laptop. Don’t look through the doorway!
Sometimes a girl just needs one finished room to make things ok- at least for a little while.
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