Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Last week, my neighbors in the adjoining unit confirmed that they are moving out sooner rather than later -- possibly as soon as this month. I've been circulating their Craigslist post among my social networks, in hopes that friends or colleagues will join me at The Hilltowne Square Jamboree™.  The message I sent out is below:

"I live in a duplex in Chapel Hill (off the N bus route), and my neighbors recently told me they're moving within a few months and will be selling their 2-BR, 1.5 bath unit. They haven't even listed it yet, but since I am the only other occupant in the building, they're giving me and my friends first dibs.

I would love for some like-minded folks to move in, who would enjoy developing our spacious yard (i'm thinking gardens, composting, bbqs, and native habitat restoration) and possibly other shared improvements to the building. One other neighboring unit will be available within the next year, so we could create our own planning department neighborhood (there are three duplexes total, and all three are currently occupied by information and library science graduate students!!)

Comparable units sold for $115-$123k between 2006-07. Pictures and improvements are posted here.

Email me with questions -- and please pass this on to others who might be interested. I look forward to scheming with you."

Kitchen Makeover

Okay, okay, I know you are all dying to see photos of the kitchen makeover. After much deliberation (and sampling Benjamin Moore's Pale Avocado and Sweet Caroline), I decided to paint the kitchen Richmond Gray, which is a shade lighter than Sag Harbor Gray, which I was originally imagining for the living room. Turns out that the brighter greens appeared too bluish-cold against my red-orange counter tops, whereas the gray actually has a warming effect. It's so hard to see how green the wall is in the photos, but the results are lovely, and provide a subdued backdrop for my red, orange, and green accessories. A few highlights:

• Note the original Oh So Lovely Peach-colored paint, discovered behind the stove. This picture also shows off the greenness of the Richmond gray best, since you can see the peach, white, and strip of gray next to each other.
  
• Also, take a look at photograph of my cabinets, before and after a fresh coat of wood stain!
• Finally, check out my new appliances: a microwave, toaster oven, and RED rice cooker.

Having posted these, I realize that there aren't any panoramic views of the entire kitchen AFTER. I'll have to take some more pictures during our next sunny day.

The Crawl Space

Since my home is in the Bolin Creek floodway fringe the building was built with an 8" high crawlspace in case of the 100-year flood. It gives new meaning to Lord-willing and the creek-don't-rise. Nevertheless, the state of my crawlspace was pretty abysmal when I moved in, and despite my requests to the sellers to remove their debris, it remained a termite buffet under my house. Moreover, the insulation under the floors had been installed incorrectly, and was therefore falling to the ground.

On my parent's last day, Dad took it upon himself to clear out the debris and secure the insulation using a nifty invention of galvanized wire, cut with a 45° angle tip to dig into wood floor joists. He also attached the dryer exhaust to the outside vent, so moisture was no longer vents directly into the crawlspace. 

In the end, we removed at least 6-7 trash bags of cardboard and other waste, two bags of plastic milk jugs, a few bags of rocks and pebbles, a spray bottle, and several gallons of muriatic acid (for cleaning bricks.) Although I don't reckon I'll spend a lot of time in my crawlspace, it's comforting to know there's nothing living, dying, rotting, leaking or decaying down there.

Future under-the-house-projects will include: replacing my water heater with something more energy efficient, insulating the plumbing, closing off the deck to make secure storage for bikes, tools, gardening supplies, or ... chickens?

The Laundry Room

Previous occupants had repaired an old leak by nailing plywood over a hold in the ceiling of the laundry room. There was also a shoddy drywall repair job on one of the walls. Finally, the laundry room smelled "earthy" to me, and I suspected there was still some moisture or rotting hidden behind the machines.

So, I awoke one day to find the washer and dryer disconnected and the plywood and drywall ripped apart. There had, in fact, been a leak from the upstairs bathroom; but it wasn't from any of the plumbing, it must have been from an overflowing toilet or tub. As a result, the inside of the wall had become moldy, which it what I smelled. So, my dad replaced the rotted and missing drywall, re-plastered and painted the walls and ceiling (isn't the original peach color lovely?), built and installed new shelving, and reconnected the washer and dryer. My mother cleaned the appliances, inside and out, before putting them back. Et Voila!

Family Vacation Makeover

My parents visited for the week of Thanksgiving, and literally turned my home (especailly the kitchen) inside-out. My father gutted the laundry room and half-bath, removing moldy drywall, repair badly-patched holes, fixing leaky toilets, and smoothing out the popcorn-textured ceilings. Meanwhile, my mother, armed with toothbrushes and razors, cleaned every square centimeter of my kitchen, including the insides and outsides of the stove and refrigerator! Each day, I'd wake up to find my home improved in some way, along with home-cooked meals and leftovers galore! I'm excited to share the before and after photos.

Urban Cottage House Tour

I just came across "Karen's Urban Cottage" house tour, and i LOVE it. The wall colors, choice of furniture, patterns, and objects -- all after my own heart. I've been waffling between painting my kitchen a shade of green or of yellow. This post has me leaning toward green, and for my room and/or living room: a light sage or french gray (which was the color of my bedroom in SB.)

Paint & Colors:
All Benjamin Moore
Trim/Molding/Bead Board/Doors throughout - Decorator White
Living Room - Sag Harbor Gray
Hallway – Woodlawn Blue
Kitchen – Pale Avocado
Downstairs Bath – Carrington Beige
Upstairs Bath - Marilyn’s dress
Master Bedroom – Pale Sea Mist
Front Bedroom – Covington Blue
Study – Dill Pickle

Hanging some artwork

My living room, pre-dinner party. I finally started to hang some art on the walls.

No Buyer's Remorse Here

I picked up my new kitchen furniture on Saturday, and momentarily experienced the anxiety that accompanies most major purchases, questioning whether this was money well spent. Two days later, as I sit in the kitchen with my laptop, bills and papers spread out around me, sipping a cup of tea, and watching my neighbors rake the backyard and push their daughter on a swing, I can say that my new table and cart are perfect additions to my home. The kitchen is my favorite room in the house, and now that it has functional furniture, I can spend more time here, soaking up the Southern Exposure.

New Kitchen Furniture

This weekend is the final week of 2009 Kitchen Cure, which I am marking with the purchase of new kitchen furniture. Tomorrow, I am acquiring two craigslist finds: a kitchen table (and chairs) and a kitchen cart (CL pictures below.) I wasn't originally looking for a cart, since I don't need more cabinet storage, but I am looking forward to the extra counter space. Yesterday, I made panacea vegetable soup, and found myself needing more room to prepare vegetables and such. Also, since I am hosting my parents for a week for the Thanksgiving and My Birthday holidays, I've been looking for an attractive, modestly-size kitchen table. Ideally, I would have preferred an round table that extends; but the table I'm purchasing is simple, functional, and perfectly suits the space I have.

Cleaning out my files

In addition to cleaning up my kitchen this past week, I spent some time organizing and updating my files, which I keep in a hanging file under my desk. For as long as I can remember I keep my files ordered by:

1. Bank accounts
2. Credit Cards
3. Social Security
4. Monthly bills
5. Insurance
6. Lease (and now Mortgage) Information
7. Student Loans
8. Current year receipts (i don't really keep these anymore, I take photos of the important ones and save them to Evernote)
9. Retirement accounts
10. Investments
11. Tax Returns

In another rack, I keep my (non-financial) health and education records. Something else that I love doing is using the company's logo or letterhead for labeling each hanging file. I figure these corporations spend millions on creating memorable images, so I will take advantage of their brand recognition; thus, saving myself the valuable time of reading each label.

My Own Registry

Since my trusty Popaire 2™died today, I decided to start my own Homewarming Gift Registry, so that friends, family, and total strangers from near and far can pitch in whenever they like to furnish my home with some bare essentials. No matter whether it's a pocket-change contributions, or folks who just want some goals for thrift-store, craigslist or yardsale shopping, this seemed like a more fun way to keep track of my Wish List.

Squeaky Clean and Green!

Today, I came home to a nice, clean home, à la Squeaky Green Cleaning. The Kiddos™ were a bit traumatized; I found them hiding under the bed. But they came out to inspect the work a few minutes after I arrived home, and, as you can see, they are feeling back at home on my homemade  afghan, knitted with love by Grandma Sparks.

"After": Organized Pantry, No more black shelf

This past weekend, I accomplished a number of kitchen related "cures":

• I stocked and organized my pantry, transferring all my food items from the open shelves in my kitchen to the pantry shelves. I grouped food items by grains & cereals, legumes, canned foods, vinegars & oils, and baking-related supplies. I also dedicated a shelf to glass containers (for re-use) and another for cookware. I'm sure I'll re-organize this over time, but it's nice to have a well-stocked kitchen and see all my food in one place!
• I sorted my recyclables (which I'd been collecting all month, since I didn't know where my recycling bin was or when pick-up was!) Since I only have one bin, and need to separate glass/plastic/aluminum from paper, I will have to take out one or the other each week until I can pick up a second bin from the county. I'm impressed that Orange County has free curbside-recycling!
• I hung a picture and moved my makeshift "table" to the wall where the black shelving unit was. Eventually, that might make a nice wall for a kitchen cart, which would provide more counter-space than I current have. For now, it also serves as the meal central for the Kiddos™.
• Finally, it may seem like a small thing, but I printed out the oatmeal poprocks mosaic and pinned to the wall behind the oven. The colors make me really happy, and I'm still trying to consider the best way to incorporate this palette into my home.

Lazing About

I haven't completed my kitchen assignments yet, in part, because I've been catching up on my real assignments: for school! Also,  I'd originally  scheduled an eco-friendly housecleaner for this week, and was planning to wait until she worked her magic before cleanly my kitchen shelves and pantry more deepy. However, I ended up rescheduling the cleaning for next week, so I'll have to put in some elbow grease for Halloween.

"Before" Photos: The other half of the kitchen

In my previous post, I forgot to post photos of the other half of my kitchen, which includes a not-yet-organized dining area.  So far, I've been using this space to collect all the things on my to-do list:

1. Land line phone: I need a cordless phone for the wall, but since I have DSL, I'll also need a filter. Eventually, I can move my red phone and answering machine to my office/living room, but I also need to buy a splitter.
2. Recycling: Turns out that homes don't come with "how-to" manuals, so I'm still trying to figure out where, when and how to take out my recycling. I found an overturned blue recycling bin in my back yard, covered with dirt. I think that might be mine. Until then, I've been sorting my recycling into leftover moving boxes.
3. Veruca (my red bike) has two flat tires: One of the tubes needs to be replaced, so I need to find a good local bike shop. Also, I might want to buy a less expensive bicycle for commuting to/from school. Veruca prefers to live indoors and I'm not confident about locking her up on campus.
4. Kitchen table: As is evident from the photo, I currently have a makeshift table, which I rarely use for dining. I'd been holding off on looking for a table and chairs until I knew my roommate situation. Now, it's time to start looking.
5. Plants: At least half of my plants didn't survive the move. The other half didn't survive the kitties. Cricket and Oliver made it clear that they don't mind houseplants -- in fact, they love digging in the dirt and chewing the flower petals! I need to find a way for all living things to co-habitate under one roof.

"Before" Photos

Storage, storage everywhere, but not a single full-sized drawer.