WOW! It has been a while since our last update, hasn't it?
Well, not much has changed since last September, right? WRONG!!!!
Quick recap:
We finished our crawlspace work and installed our radiant floor heat
We went to Wales, the Cotswolds, Cornwall, and London.
The Nationals won the World Series
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
It's been so long... (how long has it been?) So long that I almost don't know where to start!
Just because we haven't posted here in a while sure doesn't mean we haven't been working hard on house projects, I can assure you! Between our row house's basement project, the hallway in our Foursquare, teaching our new dog, Truman, the ropes, a server crash that impacted the blog, life in general, and many outdoor projects, we've sure had our hands full. Rather than trying to bombard you with a million and one little details from all of the projects, let's focus on just one for today.
It's THE CRAWLSPACE DIG!!!!!!
This is a project that we've been thinking about since nearly day one in our home. Way back when we bought our house in 2003, we knew that we'd possibly need to handle our mess of a crawlspace. I mean, this is how it looked in those early days.
Well, I think it’s about time we make it “blog official,” we’ve added a new family member to our DIY crew!
Ever since we lost our beloved Scottish Fold, Mel, on Thanksgiving morning 2017, our house has felt a little off. For weighing in at around 7 pounds, Mel was an anchor in our home. He was a part of our family since 2001, was Lulu’s best friend, and was a constant companion to each of us.
We feel like we’ll never be able to find another cat that lives up to what we loved about him, but we’ve been considering adopting a second dog for a while now. The only problem with that idea is the fact that we had to find the right personality to fit in our home.
You see, Lulu is, well, how do I put this kindly, high maintenance? She doesn’t have a lot of friends, doesn’t get along well with others, and has been the only dog in our household for nearly nine years now. And to put it bluntly, she can be a bit of a territorial jerk when interacting with other dogs.
Have you ever searched for years for just the right piece of furniture, only to find it in an unlikely place?
Well, we have. We spent the last five years or so looking for the perfect sideboard for our dining room, but we had a case of sentimentality combined with utility that kept getting in our way. As a result, the hulking buffet/sideboard from the photo below remained in our dining room, in spite of its scale.
Shortly after we bought our row house in 2003, we discovered the amazing antique and salvage row of Cleveland's Lorain Ave. Nestled just a stone's throw from downtown Cleveland you could find yourself smack in the middle of shop after shop of affordable vintage finds. Whether you were looking for a little architectural salvage or a full room of vintage furniture, you were bound to find something your heart desired.
Today, as Cleveland has undergone an urban revival, many of these shops have shuttered. Victims of the rejuvenation of the trendy Ohio City area and the rising rents, their closure ultimately means progress for a city that had fallen on hard times in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But at the same time, the amazing antique resource that was Lorain Avenue, is a dwindling memory from our newlywed and first home honeymoon days.
What better day than April Fools to post a long overdue update on our basement progress?
Yes folks, this blog post isn't a joke, so don't worry, you're not going to be had in the last line or two. However, this post is a bit out of character, as it largely involves how closely we worked with a great contractor to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.
If you'll recall, back in November we told y'all about working on a major basement overhaul in our Old Town row house. It was about the time of our last blog post that we somehow reverted to the ways of our 20 year old selves and went full bore on renovation work.
Here's the #1 April Fool
I'm talking 8 hour day job work, 8 hour house work, a break or two to eat, some long days, late nights, raw hands, and lots of sore muscles. And though we hired out a good amount of the work we were doing, that certainly didn't stop us from participating as much as if we were doing it all ourselves.
