Monday, January 28, 2013

Decisions, Decisions on the House

We have been told that the renovation company began working on our house last week.   They first cleared all of our "contents" so they can have an empty house to work with.  I imagine it will be easier for them, but the thought of them packing all of our stuff [that was thrown all over the house] seems like such a huge job. Better them than me. 

We had quite a  few decisions to make before leaving Atlanta.  Honestly, I felt a little rushed, but Noble Renovations has been wonderful dealing with my indecisiveness and changes. It will be so nice to have everything new once we get home. We are planning to stay on our little vacation until everything is completed. 
via Pinterest
 
via Pinterest
I am hoping that my new hardwood floors look something like the above photos.  The darkest brown, with NO RED!  Yeah! One project on our list is to paint our kitchen cabinets white.  I love the contrast of the dark floors and white cabinet. What a difference it will make!

While the guys are in there doing construction, we asked them to wire the kitchen for 2 pendant lights to hang above the island/bar.  Problem is, I can't decide on which pendants.  I LOVE the ones in the first picture, but they are unfortunately way out of my price range.
I know I will find something cool...eventually.

Another add-on is the tile surround on the fireplace.  I was planning on doing this project myself, but asked them to give me a quote.  Turns out they decided they are going to "gift it" to us for being such easy going clients.  Just my luck! (haha Fred!)

I picked out carrara marble 1x2 mosaic tiles in a herringbone pattern.  It is going to be fabulous with our white mantel and grey walls.  Oh I can't wait!

The master bath was gutted, and I am totally happy about it.  I never really liked any of the tile choices in the house. They were new and "fine" but just not my style.  Because this is the bathroom where the water problem originated (the toilet overflowed and kept running) everything will be new...except the tub. 

I had daydreamed about changing our bath before the "flood."  Its a good size and could really be awesome.  BUT we really didn't want to put any money into a renovation.  We worked with the budget that the insurance company gave us and guess what?  It's going to be awesome....at no cost to us!

We picked this porcelain tile for the floor of the bathroom.  Its is in 11 x 23 pieces and will be set staggered (I think).  I love how it is shaded and has so much depth.  Here it is shown on a wall looking very modern and sleek.
via Pinterest
Our old shower had tile walls and was pretty dark.  There was a glass door , but a really ugly one.  We are loosing the walls and it will hopefully have this look.  A glass surround, something like this.
via Pinterest
That will be so nice because we are also going to have the carrara herringbone tiles (like the fireplace) on the floor of the shower [only], so you will really be able to see them with through the glass.

The vanity has not been chosen yet, but I am on the hunt.  I would like two separate vanities, but if not, at least two separate mirrors instead of the big [no personality] mirror that covered the wall before.  The tile in the shower, around the tub and for the back splash will be 4 x 8 white subway tiles with a light gray grout, like this photo below. 

What else?  Oh, all the carpet (upstairs) will be replaced.   We picked a lighter (than we had) color berber carpet that has a little gray and black in it.  We wanted something durable that hopefully will still look good when we sell the house ...maybe in a couple years???



 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BEBE #2 - WEEK 18

Updates from the West Coast....

Sorry for the absence folks, but we have been going non-stop since our bathroom flood a few weeks ago.  We finally got everything settled with our insurance and the renovation company.  Suprisingly, the whole process could not have been any easier.  Thank you State Farm and Noble Renovations! 

We picked out new hardwood floors, carpet and a whole new master bath...then we left for a long vacation!  It's going to be a regular "while you were out" adventure.  Let's hope everything gets done right!

Our trip started in Albuquerque to help my brother celebrate the end of  a very impressive career in the Air Force.  After being a pilot for 26 years, Tim is retired at age 44.  It was an emotional ceremony [for him and us] and I really could not be more proud of him.  On a side note, this guy is the craziest dude you will ever meet and can ramble off hilarious stories one after the other about his days in the military.   Im sure it is a bitter sweet time.








Of course his flying days aren't over.  He will be flying for American Airlines starting this spring and will be based out of Miami.  He will be just a short plane ride away from us in Atlanta, and who wouldn't want to visit their family in the Florida Keys?

We had a blast hanging out with him and his family for almost a week.  We cooked [Mexican] for two days in preparation for a big Air force blow out, complete with a keg of IPA and tazer guns.  I can't reveal the details/pictures for incrimination reasons, but it was a real hoot to observe [being the only sober one there].
{mountain wheelbarrow rides}
{making huevos with tio Tim}
Airports and flights these days are.....not what they use to be. Ha! One out of our three flights was unbelievably easy because Mateo fell asleep before takeoff and woke up as we landed.  The other two?  Not so much. He was all over the place.  Up and down, side to side. Im sorry mi amor, did you want to play golf on the ipad?  I don't think so.

Waiting in the airport is entertaining too.  Playing on escalators, talking to other passengers, grabbing magazines off the racks, helping the janitor sweep up....Mateo did it all.
 The best thing about flying though is that you can be freezing your butt off in a big winter coat in the morning and just a few hours later....naked in the sun!
 San Diego welcomed us with temperatures in the mid 70's.
 Mateo has been having a blast with his cousins.  He can't get enough of this wagon and has gotten his clothes wet more than once in Abuela's fountain.  It is so much fun throwing toys in the water and fishing them out. 
What are our plans while we are out here?   Fun in the sun, delicious food and workouts!
I ran a few miles yesterday for the first time in months and boy did it feel great to drip sweat.  My calves are sore today and I am loving it.  My year and a half of eating whatever I want and not working out is OVER.   It was fun while it lasted, but I am no longer breastfeeding and back on board with working out and cutting back on sweets.....at least until June.  I think I'll take another year off then:)
 

Friday, January 04, 2013

Home Sweet Home? NOT

I mentioned in my last post that we had a disaster at Casa Espinoza.  Well, I was not exaggerating.  The day after Christmas our alarm system went off at the house.   The alarm company called us and said they detected "motion in the living room." The police came out, and it was reported that there was "no disturbance." Great. 
Later that night we were concerned that maybe a burglar got in through the upstairs so we had our neighbor go peak in the windows.  

What did he see?  Not a burglar, but a fallen ceiling.  

Yikes! Yes, part of the living room ceiling collapsed and was saturated with water.  As were the hardwood floors.  The master bath toilet [upstairs] apparently clogged and ran over......for 3 days.  Nice. 
Our insurance company wanted to send in a restoration company right away to prevent any further damage and dry the place out before mold had time to form.  All this, mind you, while we were out of town.  One week and $9,000+ later, our house is almost completely dry. 

So with out further ado, here is the wreckage.  Sorry for the horrible phone pics, but these are the ones I received myself when I was still in Ohio.
{master bath- where it all began}
{outside master bath in bedroom}
{living room}
{dining room}
{kitchen}
{our sad, dead xmas tree amongst the bags of debris}
{the open ceilings}
This looks horiible doesn't it?  Well, it is.  Luckily my dad came down a few days before me and was able to clean up best he could and try to make the place safe for Mateo.  He emailed me this photo and said..."comfy, come home!"
 There were a lot of random nails and staples on the floor and dirt/dust everywhere.  Mateo wanted to go over anything that grandpa had missed once we arrived.
As you can see in the below photo, there are some rugs rolled up by the door.  The restoration co. took them to be cleaned (bonus!) and now we have a couple [I won't be using in the "new" house] out on top of the plywood so Mateo does have some soft/clean area to play.
It feels so strange here now, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  In fact, it is a bright light and the end of a relatively short tunnel!  Our insurance is covering all of the damage (minus our $1000 deductible) so we are getting new hardwoods (which we will extend into the kitchen), new tile in bath and laundry room, new drywall and a professional paint job for the the whole downstairs.  PLUS, a new master bath and carpet throughout the upstairs!!! I am meeting with the renovation contractor tomorrow to pick everything out.

Needless to say my mind has been racing.  We really don't have much time for thinking as they are going to get started in less than two weeks.

We are heading out west  (Albuquerque and San Diego) for a few weeks on the 15th, so they are going to do all the work while we aren't even home!  It will be like that show While you were out....except all my furnishings will be the sameNone of our furniture was ruined.

Overall, I am pretty excited!  I never did like the color of our hardwoods, nor the tile selection anywhere in the house.  The carpet was fine, but is worn in spots.  Also I painted the whole house in flat paint (big mistake!) so it will be nice to have someone else fix that for us.  That is a lot of painting!

Let me just stop you right here.  No, I didn't clog the toilet! I wasn't in town and I can prove it. 

Updates on my choices/options coming up this week after I meet with the contractor.

PS. My poor little Mexi-can contracted Roseola somewhere and was not feeling well all week.  I had never even heard of this virus.  I looked it up after my mom and Dr. Aunt Margie suggested that was what it was, and he had textbook symptoms.  High fever, with no other symptoms for 3 days, followed by a rash on his body.  "Your child may be irritable, clingy and whiny."

There is no treatment for this virus, although I did give him some Baby Tylenol.  If you notice a fever followed by a rash like this......(notice his chest) it could be Roseola.
It was a tough week, but he is finally back to normal. 

PSS.  I forgot to show you my score during my extended stay in Ohio.  I got this beautiful rabbit fur coat for $13.01 at Goodwill. Yeah!

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Christmas & New Years 2012

Christmas was a blast with my family (as usual), but we forgot the group photo! ugh!
Fortunately we captured plenty of pics of all the kids, which is now what Christmas is all about.  (I can't believe I just said that) Don't get me wrong, I was still excited about my gifts, but my new VS underwear just wasn't as exciting as watching the little ones.  (sorry mi amor)

Mateo needed some coaxing to open his presents this year, and once they were open he wasn't to excited about playing with them.  He was more concerned with Grandma and Grandpa's phone.

His big gift this year was a KidKraft play kitchen from Santa. (Left at our house in Atlanta)  He has been playing with his cousins kitchen and I think it is obvious that he has talent in this department.  I want to make sure we develop this so, like his papi, he can be a master chef one day!



My nieces, Kelli and Eleanor are just beautiful and Lukester and Mateo are future heart breakers.
For. Sure.
These two guys have changed a lot since last Christmas, wouldn't you say? 
It is so great watching them grow.   I know they will be the best of friends.  

New Years Eve was a relaxed night with family.  Laughing and playing games (Dominoes was our obsession this year!) until 12:01am. Ha! We are crazy like that!

My mom was "too tired" to join us and Ernesto and my dad could not be there with us due to a disaster at Casa Espinoza in Atlanta. (hint: water leak. ugh!)  Pictures and details coming! It could work out really well, or it could be very, very bad. 

Anyway Happy New Year amigos!  I don't know if it's even possible to top the amazing year that I had in 2011, but it has a lot of promise!

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