Last summer we used our tent trailer a lot. It was wonderful to get out a camping so much, and since it was our first summer with the trailer it was also nice to figure out little tweaks, or hacks, we wanted to make. Immediately, I knew exactly the first thing I wanted to do. The cushions for our dinette would NOT stay in place! I was constantly having to pick them off the floor (and sometimes us up off the floor too).
* Action shot of me falling off the bench *
We’re finally starting to see the end of the tunnel on our kitchen remodel. Well, really at this point it’s more like a half-house remodel! At the last update, we had just finished framing walls and installing utilities. Next we installed insulation, sheetrock, mud & taped, textured, and prepped the floor. All of that was a little bit of an adventure, but then we get to the stuff that really starts to bring it together – floors, paint & lower cabinets! Below are pictures, with a more detailed explanation each step of the way.
Getting away for a long weekend is always a great break from the grind. Being a little bit nutty when it comes to packing (I usually start two weeks before a trip, no matter how long it is) I’ve developed a printable packing list template to keep my organizational/list making craziness under control. Now I only have to start packing a week in advance!
Along with cleaning out my brush, cleaning make-up brushes is one thing I should probably be doing more often. It’s a simple process, and doesn’t take very long (when I remember to do it!)
One of the last food projects I took on before the kitchen demolition was to make tomato sauce from scratch. My tomato plants decided to explode in November, partly because of weird fall weather we had. So, i had a TON of tomatoes and with no way we could eat them all. The best part, is that I froze the extra sauce (there was a lot!) so we have some deliciousness while we have no kitchen. The sauce part of the recipe is inspired by my Dad’s tomato sauce recipe, which was my FAVORITE as a kid (and still is). Yum!
Camping season is here (or almost here)! We took our first trip this past weekend. It was cold. But in the middle of our kitchen remodel we just really needed a break. We camped so much last summer that we had getting packed totally down, it was a sleek, organized process that took minimal time. It was great. And, we’ve forgotten how we did it already.
How did we do this again?
The kitchen is slowly humming along and we’re now starting to build it back up. Rough construction includes framing, utility installation and other things that will get covered up by the “finished construction” phase. To get all this done on the weekend, we’ve been spending every Friday night at Home Depot.
As we get into this phase, the trade knowledge necessary to keep things moving is increasing. This means sometimes its easier for The Boyfriend to do things either by himself or with a friend who is also skilled. I’m a quick learner but we’ve realized where I can be most helpful is to be the “Logistics Officer” (we’ve definilty taken too many incident command classes). I’ve been picking up and dropping off rentals, making phone calls, running errands and making sure everyone gets fed and takes breaks. I’ve also been the lead sweeper/cleaner-uper, and hander-of things (especially into the attic or crawlspace). Of course i’m still assisting with the physical work a lot too, but dividing the work this way seems to be working out pretty well. Continue reading
Do you have weeks where life is just too busy and chaotic to keep everything straight? A lot of my weeks have been like that lately! With the kitchen remodel, and a new assignment at work my normal routine has disappeared. While things will be calming down eventually, in the meantime we’ve had to bring a little extra organization to our house in order to keep things moving along.
I hear from a lot of people that demo is fun. And The Boyfriend was the only one I knew that hated demo, and I mean HATES it. I thought it was just because he did construction for a living and was just tired of it. I mean, who doesn’t love breaking things? However, after our own demo I have come to agree with The Boyfriend. I think people that love demo either, 1. really just love the IDEA of demo (and maybe have never done it), or 2. have done smash demo and haven’t had to clean it up. Our kitchen demolition took four full days of work and resulted in sore muscles, a few minor injuries, and frustration. But at least it’s done!
I have a great house. When I bought it, at first I was surprised that a family hadn’t swooped it up right away. And then I tried to cook something, and I understood!
