Saturday, May 22, 2010

moving day: in pictures

Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone. Moving day went great! In fact, it might have been the least stressful moving day I've ever experienced. Of course I'm chalking that up to the decision of hiring professional movers for the furniture. Completely, totally, utterly worth every penny.

I'll post more photos when I'm fully moved in and settled, but for now, here's a peek:

getting ready to move the couches out of the apartment

apartment bedroom

squeezing the couches through the front door

This Civil War-era bed has been mine since I was a little girl, and it was my mom's before that. Grandpa Sterling found it at a farm auction in Iowa back in the '60s. If you look closely at the bottom of the headboard, you can see the knobs that used to anchor the ropes that held the mattress. Mom used to have "rope-pulling parties" to tighten the ropes before Grandpa added slats and a mattress board.

obviously the best moving truck ever

it's amazing how little space your stuff actually takes up in one of those huge moving vans!

hello, let me take up the entire block

front porch (arguably a room of the house, and the place I'll probably spend most of my time)

dining room alcove

living room

basement

it was a beautiful day - 80 degrees and partly cloudy. perfect for moving.

and, the irises in the front yard finally graced us with their presence!

the most amazing bouquet of flowers I've ever seen (check out those orange ones!), from my colleagues at NCG

flowers from my garden

Cookbooks are ready to go! Dishes and food, not so much.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

dear new house

"I know they say you can't go home again
I just had to come back one last time...

If I could just come in I swear I'll leave
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me."

- Miranda Lambert
"The House That Built Me"


In honor of moving day:

San Antonio, TX | 1985-92

San Antonio, TX | 1992-94

San Antonio, TX | 1994-96
photo: Thanksgiving 2003

Davis, CA | 1996-2007

Northfield, MN | 2007-08

Minneapolis, MN | 2008-10

Minneapolis, MN | 2010-

Dear new house,

We've been getting to know each other for a while now. But today is the big day. I will no longer be able to run away from you, back to my comfortable apartment where I know every creaking floorboard. I'm excited, and only the teensiest bit apprehensive, about spending all my time with you from now on. I promise to take care of you, and to try and remain charmed by your sloping floors and uneven walls. If, in return, you can shelter me, and make me smile with your surprises, and help me entertain friends and family as often as possible, then we'll just call it even.

It's not your fault that you are number seven. Blame it on the Air Force, if you want (although it's not really their fault either). I've loved every house I've lived in, so the bar is high - but I have faith in you. Plus you've been around longer than any of the others, so that's got to count for something.

Here's to many happy years.

Love,
LG


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

racing to the finish line

It's now 34 hours before the movers arrive. Let's not talk about how little I've packed, and instead celebrate two victories: the basement and my bedroom are finished! (At least to the point of being ready for furniture.)

A huge thank-you to my friend Jen, who helped me paint on Monday night (and kept me from banging my head against the wall whilst deciding what to do with the living room walls).








It's a whole new meaning for the words "finished basement."

baseboards on Monday

baseboards on Tuesday

doesn't this room just scream "fill me with furniture?"

As much as I love painting (and I do, strangely enough) it's actually kind of a tragedy that I've been stuck inside the last few days because the weather here has been gorgeous. And awesome for my little tomato seedlings, which finally get to hang out on the patio instead of my kitchen counter:


So, that makes three rooms down (and only four to go). Hooray!

- LG

Monday, May 17, 2010

weekend transformation #2

While dad and uncle Steve were upstairs working on the new floor, I spent most of the weekend in the basement. Having painted the first coat of yellow last weekend - and not loving it - I started over with a new shade: more lemongrass-y, less orange-y. And it was definitely worth it.

11:30 am Saturday - "Midday Sun" on the walls (aka macaroni and cheese in paint form)


4:00 pm Sunday - painting the brick wall



6:00 pm - after two coats of "Rice Wine"

lots of tiny footprints and paint drops: the reason I have to repaint the basement floor


9:00 pm - basement floor, after painting myself into the stairwell

There's a little bit of work left in the basement, but it's come a long way from this, wouldn't you agree?

March 25th

Sunday, May 16, 2010

weekend transformation #1

This was my room on Friday night...



... and this is it now!


A lot happened in between, and there are still a few things left to finish before moving day on Thursday. But thanks to the amazing work of my dad and uncle, there's a new hardwood laminate floor in my bedroom! Here's the play-by-play:

7:30 am Saturday - Ours for the day, courtesy of Home Depot

9:00 am - Getting rid of the yucky carpet

11:00 am - Taking out the carpet staples

Laying the floorboards

Adding new baseboard molding

10:30 pm -- done for the day

me and dad

2:00 pm Sunday - goodbye, chocolate brown

4:00 pm - hello, sea anenome

Also gone: the draperies and the closet doors. But keep your eyes out for them to reappear, repurposed, elsewhere in the house this summer.