renovate: to restore to a former, better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding) - merriam-webster

the house steadily moves forward, not super-fast-like but in a manner in which we're happy with what's getting done. to start, let's take a look at gadgets and products that are topping our favorites list:

pink ceiling paint! this stuff RULES... you can easily see where you've been and don't waste paint going back over places you're unsure of.



double whammy shot: pink ceiling paint and the shop light! thanks to the handy shop light, we could work into the night in rooms in which we'd removed the lighting fixtures... we also used it to figure out which outlets were on which breakers so we could label them.



these paint can lids are a wonderful invention. not only does it make pouring a snap, it's so much less messy than opening and closing the can lid all the time.



dollar store rubber spatula (photo not available)

thanks to this little guy, we're able to scrape cans/trays and save a lot of paint that otherwise would likely be wasted.

one day last weekend (they're all running together), we embarked on the Great Lighting Fixture Caper, which involved multiple trips to Home Depot/Lowe's to hunt down which fixtures we wanted, purchase them, get them home, put them up, decide we didn't like them, take them back, get them home, discover the ceiling fan hangs down too far, take it back, etc. in the end, tired but thankful for Lowe's no-questions-asked return policy, we were very happy with what we got:



one of my FAVORITE fixes... we really liked this fan and the price was right, but the globe was white. those globes over there in the dining room are amber-ish. who cares, right? me. I do. so I started brainstorming how to match them a bit better, took the globe outside, and rubbed dirt on it. boom! behold the designer look! (and if we ever change our minds, it all comes clean with water and a rag):



another fun fix... we found these smaller fans and thought they'd be perfect for the bedrooms (they actually match the initial fan we'd bought for the living room - the problem was that the larger fan couldn't be mounted to hug the ceiling... it would have hung down low enough for a tall person to whack themselves in the head while crossing our living room). anyhoo, these still seemed like a good choice for the bedrooms, apart from the gold/bronze band around the middle. observe:



it just looked a little dated to me, a little saloon-y. I purchased a $1.16 tube of raw umber acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby, tore a corner off of my kitchen sponge, and went to town:



I know it's a tiny thing, but all of our fixtures are starting to look like they live in the same family now.



one of the things I've been doing a LOT of is simple cleaning. weird how much better cleaning something makes it look and smell, and makes you feel. the old linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom was pretty gross, so I gave everything a once-over with the mop and it really did make everything feel better, even just to work in. our hopes for the kitchen are to paint the walls and cabinets, replace the countertop, sink, and refrigerator, notch out and install a dishwasher over there to the left of the sink, and someday replace the stove:



even clean, the floor's not in great shape and portions of it are cracking, as seen in the next photo. underneath it is another layer of older linoleum, and then concrete floor:



we weren't sure what we were going to do about it, then decided to just scrape it all up and paint/seal the concrete like I did in this room way back when:



it's a pretty cost-effective fix for now, until we get the foundation done someday and entertain notions of real tile and whatnot. we'll likely repaint the room above, the kitchen, and the bathroom floor all with a $25 5-gallon bucket of OOPS! paint I picked up the other day.

I continue to find new holes to fill in and sand down in preparation for paining the walls. I'll say it again... our sweet renters never met a nail they didn't want to make out with. :) we also found this busted kitchen drawer that'll need replacing:



I've been prepping, prepping, and prepping for the walls to be painted in the hall, the bedrooms, and the living/dining room this weekend. yesterday's task was to fill in the rest of the cracks/holes, start washing down walls, and remove the baseboards. let me tell you, it was a dusty mess. my little hand broom was worth it's weight in gold to me as I tried to get everything clean and labeled so we can recycle by painting and put them back in the end after the wood floors are done. I also used the hand broom to go around the window and door trim to get everything nice and neat so the people who paint have an easy time. look ma, no baseboards!



what's that? pregnant ladies shouldn't be around all of that dust and whatnot? oh, dear reader, never fret... I'm being as careful as I can, and I work with as many windows open as possible. I LOVE that you can open every window in that house! M and I have missed the open window (most of the ones at 406 have been sealed). see, here's me being thuggy with my mask:



and taking an end-of-day breather with Chino, who seems a bit confused at going between the two houses right now. I like taking him with me to work over there, though - he gets to exhaust himself stalking the yard and sniffing at neighbor dogs through the fence and I get to feel safe and enjoy his quiet company.



today's skeleton of a to-do list:

fold laundry
get my act together
go to yoga
go to Woodfin: finish sanding and wiping down walls, stock the 'fridge with beverages for the weekend, um... I know there's something else.
go to do some voice work later
come back to Woodfin to watch husband install the baby room ceiling fan (he has to anchor it in the attic first).

I can't wait to see some new color on the walls. :) the kitchen and bathroom are going to be pretty big projects, but it's nice to see the easier rooms being transformed already.

-m.y.