why I'm not allowed in anthropologie:

because I buy things like this

(yep. perfect, I know.)

at least I didn't buy one for every light switch in the house.

before // after

yet.

painting day

The kitchen is almost done! Put up the second coat of red today:

Just need to clean up the trim, and the kitchen will be ready to go.

We also got started on the basement...






Now I just need some really tall friends to help me finish the basement stairwell.



While we were painting, Newman tackled the lawnnmower.


And then the lawn.


My friends are the best.

- LG

Swap it Up

Just a quick note to plug a fun event happening in Minneapolis tomorrow...

My amazingly creative friend Danica and her friends are hosting another clothing swap. We've apparently outgrown their house, so this time the swappage will take place at their church in Minneapolis. Come and join us if a) you're a girl (sorry, guys) and b) if you like cleaning out your closet and getting lots of fun stuff in return. Last time I went to one of Danica's swaps, I not only came home with a bunch of great clothes, but also a black bag that turned out to be perfect for my trip to Thailand. Saved me a pretty penny at Target, let me tell you.

:: The details ::

Bring: Clothing (and accessories, movies, games, books and household items) to swap, a snack to share, all your friends and no money!

Where: Praise Christian Center, 4100 Douglas Drive North, Minneapolis

When: Saturday, April 24th, 2-5 pm

you know you want to

If you know this band, then you get a special prize (and my utmost admiration for your encyclopedic knowledge of British rock). If you don't but you like the fashion statement, then I can probably help you out.

upcoming painting parties

sunday, april 25 - date change

12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (stop in whenever)

saturday, may 8

1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (stop in whenever)

you bring: painting clothes & an appetite

I'll bring: food & drinks & lots of paint

put 'em on your calendar, and let me know if you're coming so I can get enough food (and bug you the night before with a reminder)

new blog features

If you've been peeking at the blog site recently, you might have noticed some changes... like the new Free Finds and Room by Room pages! (These are separate from the posts that feed into the RSS, so you won't get update announcements for these pages if you subscribe to the blog.)

Check out Free Finds out if you're interested in learning more about how I find free furniture, tools and other fun things. I'll also post photos of my latest discoveries and, occasionally, links to free events or product giveaways that I think are particularly awesome.

The Room by Room page is pretty self-explanatory... photos of the house, room by room. The "before" photos are from the inspection and closing day. I'll post "after" photos for each room as I move in and decorate over the next few months.

Another thing: I've made some changes to the back-end of the blog this weekend, so if you subscribe to the RSS feed, you might want to unsubscribe and resubscribe to make sure you're seeing everything. Let me know if you have questions.

I've been sick this weekend, so I didn't paint the second coat of red in the kitchen. But I gave away a pile of stuff on Freecycle! And started packing boxes... so it was still productive.

- LG

history lesson

Stopped by the house on Saturday so my friend Foxwell could see it while he's in town, and look what we found!

the first cherry tomato sprouts

tulips in the garden

We also met Otto and Olive, my neighbors to the south. My house and Otto's house were on the market around the same time back in 2001, so he considered buying it. But...

"Back then, it was abandoned and about to be condemned. A bunch of prostitutes had been living there, and just throwing their trash in the yard and the alley. The toilet barely worked, and the kitchen was a disaster."

Otto told us all about what J & J (the previous owners) had done to fix up the house - from completely redoing the kitchen to expanding the bathroom (which is why the farmhouse door room is so much smaller and lacking a closet).

And the coolest part? Otto says that the house was actually moved to the neighborhood from its original location. He couldn't remember where the original farm had been, exactly, or when it was moved - but I'm going to look into it and let you know what I find.

how I named the blog

110-year-old house in city neighborhood + favorite childhood book. easy.

red paint everywhere

Well, friends, I have a red kitchen!



Just twenty-four hours ago, it looked like this:



I ended up going with a gray primer under the red paint, then put up the first coat of red today.



I'm planning to finish the kitchen with a second coat next weekend. Then I'll have one room down... and only six to go.

The other big news of the weekend is my new grill! I found it on Freecycle, and the owners happened to live just a few blocks from me. So on Saturday, Megan and Nathan helped me roll it from their house to mine. It's probably not the last time this spring I'll wish I had a truck - but it was fun to make people laugh as we rolled by.






Hopefully, after a good cleaning, it will turn out to actually work! I'll let you know when I give it a try.

Lastly, a true sign of spring: the first flower in the garden.



And now, I'm off to go scrub red paint out of my hair.

- LG

the first holiday

It seemed appropriate to plant tomato seedlings at the house on Easter. New beginnings, right?




They'll hang out on the side porch for a few weeks until I find the right place for them in the garden.

I didn't get much painting done, thanks to some last-minute Twins game tickets, and I learned exactly how close I am to the light rail station. It won't take me more than 20 minutes to get from front door to stadium gate this summer. Pretty excited :)

But I did work on getting the kitchen ready for painting this weekend, and sampled a slightly larger section of wall (inside the built-in bookcase):



(After two coats)

And I even tackled the kitchen cabinets and drawers:



(Finished cork insert on right, original cabinet on left)

This time next year, I'm picturing a nice big ham on that kitchen island - and my family hanging out in my living room instead of way over there in California. Can't wait.

guess what I found?

I've been wondering what's under the carpet in the bedroom (the only carpeted room in the whole house). Turns out, the original wood is still there!

My first peek:

 

I wanted to see a little better, so I pulled the carpet up from the heat vent to the corner:

 

Ta-da!

 

And then I just pulled up as much as I could:

 

I'll have to come back with some tools and finish, since the closet doors got in the way.



I couldn't be more excited to trade a worn and stained gray carpet for some (soon-to-be) beautiful hardwood.

Since I was in carpet-ripping-up mode, I tackled the basement, too. See - all gone!




And, lastly, I checked on the red paint. It hasn't dried quite as dark as I would have hoped, so I'm contemplating a pink primer (thanks Daniel!) and some other possibilities. Here's the tablecloth that matches the original paint chip:



And thanks to everyone who offered to come paint with me this weekend - I'm looking forward to it!

LG