A Miss Pixies Kind of Weekend

Since John and Hannah moved out, they took a lot of furniture with them. Our house is feeling pretty empty, so it was time to head to Miss Pixies, our favorite local furniture store.

We picked up some additional seating for our dining room:

Ben caught the vision for this crab basket to hold our firewood:

Then of course I spray painted it:

Along with some vases I found laying around:

We bit the bullet and ordered some furniture on Joss & Main, so our living room is essentially "in the mail." And here we are, one step closer to this place coming together.

Empty Nesters: John and Hannah Moved Out

We all knew it would happen at some point. Living together has been so fun, but this past weekend John and Hannah moved out because... they bought their own house in Brookland!

We spent Friday night painting their new place:

Saturday they moved out, and now their old room at our house is so empty:

Unlucky for them, they found out after moving in that their boiler and water heater don't work. So they've still been over at our place almost every day showering, which Ben and I have thoroughly enjoyed.

A surprising number of people have approached us, but it's tough to say whether or not we'll take on new roommates.

The Oil Tank has a Hole: Converting to Gas?

Remember my complaining from earlier this year about all the times we had to fill up the oil tank?

Well, I called the oil people to come fill up the tank again. They called me back on delivery day and said we have an irreparable hole in the tank. Not only that, there was an oil spill and we could get fined.

With no idea how or where to get a new oil tank, I consulted my best friend- Angie's List. I had a few contractors come out and gives quotes to replace and install a new oil tank, and quotes ranged from $1400-$1900. Happy Fall, ya'll.

I briefly considered changing out the oil tank myself, but quickly came to my senses. Though I am a very strong and capable woman, I am not cut out for removing this 275 gallon oil drum:

Our oil bill ran around $1000/month last year and was a giant pain. Although our oil system is fairly new, we're considering switching to gas. It's much cheaper to run and doesn't require monthly trips from the oil truck.

With all of the recent trips from contractors, we found out that our hot water heater is also about to die. With that in the mix, we're looking at about 6 different options. After a lot of research and learning about boiler systems and hot water heaters, we decided to forego the water heater for now and replace the oil with a conventional boiler system. 

The contractor is busy for the next few weeks, so we're feeling real fortunate about having a working fireplace:

Ode to Maddy

Maddy and I have come a long way in our relationship. With John and Hannah moving out, this post is dedicated to our journey:

Crazy face chasing me around the house

As our relationship progressed, Maddy began cuddling with me- making the whole house jealous:

From her accidents on the floor to chasing cockroaches together, we've learned how to respect each other. She doesn't come in my bedroom, and I give her Ben's sweatshirt when the heat is broken:

Ben says that I suffer from a condition called "ice cold heart." I don't think I'll miss you too much, Maddy, but it sure was cute to have you around sometimes.

Yard Sale at the Church

I've always loved a good yard sale, and living with John and Hannah brings out furniture restoration dreamer in me. There has been a sign up for week about this yard sale, so I've been waiting with eager anticipation:

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I made my way down and picked up a wicker bookshelf. Looks like it's straight out of grandma's house (Ben hates it):

wicker bookshelf before

With my love affair for spray paint, it's no surprise that 3 cans of Rustoleum later I'm ready to put it into a guest bedroom (Ben likes it):

wicker bookshelf after

Ella Visits for the Weekend

Since the Davis family vacation this year at Bethany Beach, we've been planning to hang out with Ella this weekend while Andy and Genelle have a few days off.

They dropped Ella off on Saturday morning, just in time for us to make our way to Columbia Heights Day.

We played at the park:

It was 90 degree outside, and perfect weather for froyo:

That night, we snuggled up on the pull-out couch with popcorn to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs:

Sunday we met up with Andy, Genelle and Lainy at Ella's Pizza:

Vintage Youngstown Kitchen Sink: Modernized

I've had a beautiful vision for this old Youngstown kitchen sink, and I loving how it turned out.

Before

After

First, I sanded it with sandpaper wrapped around a blog of wood:

I painted it with a 1.5" brush (two coats):

Next, we spray painted the handles with a chrome color to give the handles a clean finish.

Last, we painted the white around in the drawers and on the face for a fresh, finished look!

Parents Work & Wine Weekend

This is the type of house that feels the best when it's being completely used. Every single inch. With both of our parents here this weekend, it was just that!

We had such an amazing weekend, and I still can't believe how much we accomplished

My parents came on Thursday with a truck load of firewood for our fireplace. Perfect timing for fall! Dad and I unloaded it and I convinced myself that I was training for the Tough Mudder:

Both Ben's mom and my mom brought mums, which look so festive on the front porch. All I need now are some pumpkins:

Ben's mom helped wash the walls and tape off the dining room to paint the trim:

I sanded the trim and began painting:

My mom faithfully worked on scraping the radiators:

Mom preparing to paint the radiator and scraping off with a drill and min crowbar

And the guys worked on jacking up the porch and re-supporting it.

Ben's dad smoothing out the ground and stacking patio stone as a new foundation

We reserved a private booth at Matchbox on Saturday night:

After dinner, I kidnapped the moms and took them to Coco Sala chocolate lounge for dessert. Decadent!



Sunday morning was a coffee and get-to-work kind of morning.

We ended the weekend with a little impromptu neighborhood dinner party at our house. Ben cooked out on the grill and our wine weekend continued. I think we were all exhausted by that point, and it was nice to kick back with a burger. Both sets of parents left Monday morning. All in all, a fun and successful weekend with the parents!

Our Roommates Build Furniture

It's pretty much amazing and really impressive.

Hannah built a nightstand for next to the bed. It has holes for electronic chargers so chords don't get in the way.

John is building a coffee table with basket storage:

They are the cutest:

DIY Fail: Painting Curtains

Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don't. There is a whole lot of DIY going on around this place, and sometimes we must accept our failures.

I started with big dreams and measuring a cheap pair of IKEA curtains.

Would things have turned out differently if we didn't spray paint? Maybe if we used a roller this would have worked, but we may never know:

After a few tedious hours, the finished product had spray paint in all the wrong places!

Filling out the Kitchen

We have a new piece of furniture, and the kitchen layout is finally making sense. We really enjoy the built in corner cupboard, but it does create an awkward space.

My coworker, Sandra, kindly hooked us up with a piece that fits in really well with the existing cupboards:

John let us borrow his truck so that Ben and I could pick it up. I don't know where we'd be without the generosity of our friends.

John & Hannah are HERE!

No one has earned their space in our house more than John & Hannah.

They've slaved for days (in the heat wave) removing the wallpaper from their room. Here is some during & after:

I can't believe the transformation this room has seen! The gray accent wall was the perfect choice; it's the best looking room in the house!

I am so sick of the bathroom

And Ben is even more sick of it than me. We're been working on this bathroom for the past month and it still looks like hell.

First, we removed the old medicine cabinet. This part was easy:

Then Ben spent a week shaving with no mirror:

After many attempts, the medicine cabinet is finally installed correctly.

With the bathroom sink & mirror installed, next we'll be working on:
- patching around the edges
- painting the bathroom a bright white
- hanging a second medicine cabinet above the toilet
- laying vinyl flooring
Our quality time in the bathroom has just begun. Here's to hoping to more luck (and lower temperatures) for our next projects!