Monday, March 14, 2016

TWTW - the one before my birthday

The best gift one can get on the Friday before their birthday is the news that there is not a disastrous flood situation in their house. Thursday night MFD went to turn the water back on at the shore house and it came down the wall and out of the recessed lighting in the owner's unit...never a good thing. He couldn't get in touch with any plumbers that night and the ones he spoke with Friday couldn't get there until Monday. If you are around the Ocean City, NJ, area, Lenegan Plumbing saved our asses and they might save yours one day too. We ended up with a few cracked pipes but luckily the one in the main house could be reached through the kitchen access panel so we only have a few holes down in the efficiency. I got to the shore close to 9, horked down some pizza, said hello to my parents, cleaned up the shitpit of mess in the efficiency, waited for MFD to arrive, and went to bed around 12:30.
I didn't sleep much Thursday night and was running on manic plumbing obsession, coffee, and swedish fish all day Friday, so I almost didn't get up to see the sunrise on Saturday morning. I'm glad I did. I was so self-involved in this issue that I sort of lost context of my place in the world. The sunrise is a good way to remind yourself of how small you are.
But enough about feelings. My crew (MFD, Dad, and Carol) was put to work on Saturday at 6:30 a.m.
1 - Parents sanding shit before 8 a.m...perk of off-season improvements
2 - This looks like nothing, but it prevents the bathroom from being a live nude show for the neighbors. Carol and I put that up while MFD and my Dad were out at the hardware store and getting breakfast.
3 - My Dad, Carol, and I painted the trim on the second floor. Painting trim sucks.
4 - After MFD fixed the powder room sink and changed the supply lines/hooked up the garbage disposal in the kitchen sink, he put bead board up in the vestibule. I forgot to include the photo Carol took of him reattaching kitchen cabinets to the wall and spraying KILZ INSIDE while we sat on the couch and were simultaneously like WTF/laughing
5 - Dark pic, but some of my mermaids are up! Waiting on two more to arrive.
6 - My poor dad got up on the bunk beds to hang things over them and since the ceiling is low and he's tall, had a hard time getting down. Of course I paused my laughter to grab his phone and take photos since mine was downstairs. We also painted some trim on the third floor and finished hanging stuff up there.
7 - This house is 116 years old. There are no closets in most rooms. If you are in this situation or need hanging storage in your laundry room, this will be the best $6.93 you've ever spent.
8 - I can use caulk now. Big fixer. Much home improvement. Not usually in nail holes but I just needed a dab.
9 - My Dad and Carol nixed the rusted out chairs on the porch and gifted us with four new ones (two stacked in back to keep away from the railing/elements) that they picked up while we were out.

We scrubbed the paint and funk off of ourselves and sped out to celebrate Shawn & Maggie's wedding next to Scottish Rite in Collingswood. Everyone looked fabulous, the band was great, there were mini desserts (I love mini food), the photo booth was a hit as always, and there was a shitload of mummery, which was very fitting for this union.
We were home and asleep by 12:30 and up again at 7 Sunday. Getting out of bed was torture but alas more to do. I busted out my label maker, my Dad and Carol hung some stuff and cleaned, MFD installed the kickboard molding in the kitchen. And then they all left and it was just me, Bruce Springsteen singing Mary Queen of Arkansas, and some parts of the entry badly in need of paint. You can't see well here since I don't have true before photos, but it's a big difference. Before the whole entry was the greenish looking paneling on the side in the lower left photo with some dark hooks on the back wall. It's now Sherwin Williams Comical Coral (SW6876) and bead board. Naturally I looked like a hobo when I went to Sherwin Williams. They expect that from me when I walk in. I still have some more painting work to do in there and MFD will install shallow shelves in April, but it's good enough for now.
My favorite project of the weekend was spray painting the game cabinet from a washed out mint that really didn't stand out against my very green walls into a bright pink. MFD was all it's a little streaky. Hello this is an old shore house not Martha Stewart Living.
I left the shore around 2 I think, and hung out with Catie, Joe, and Murph the dog when I got home. MFD arrived soon after and I made a turkey and a ground beef meatloaf - I love meatloaf but it looks like shit in photos - yukon gold mashed, and steamed asparagus for dinner with berries for later.
No weekly food prep this week. It's my birthday week and I have shit in the freezer if I need it so I'm going to live on the edge.




This weekend was definitely a back breaker and I'm heading back to the shore tonight to finish cleaning but am so happy with the progress this weekend. It all had to get done, and it did. So grateful to MFD, my Dad, and Carol for not giving me too much shit about being The Boss because sometimes working conditions can get hairy. Seriously though, it takes a village and my village is awesome. 

Birthday Eve! Love you long time. 

29 comments:

  1. Ugh, pluming issues that sucks, so sorry you had to deal with all of that. The house is looking fabulous, though. I'd totally take a picture of my dad too, documentation is key with family right ;)! Loving the pink cabinet, looks fabulous next to the wall! Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You guys got so much done - way to go!! I love the way the kitchen is looking and I don't know how you did it all and managed to go to a wedding! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that hot pink cabinet now--its such a bright fun pop of color in that space! So glad that you've had so much help getting the shore house together and up and running. I know it's been a lot of work, and having help makes it that much easier. The wedding looked like a lot of fun too. I'm always in awe of your sunset pictures. I can't wait to be taking a few of my own in a couple of months when we get up there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad that the plumbing issue wasn't catastrophic.
    Happy birthday week - live it up and enjoy my dear! ;) xo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your village IS awesome..glad you were able to get so much done!
    I love that lace-overlay dress. Those are my favorite kind of dresses.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You got a lot done and I am sure you are glad the whole plumbing issue is resolved. I seriously need to paint all the trim in my house. I hate it, and keep procrastinating with other projects. Happy birthday Eve!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yayyy for opening shore houses, mom opened hers this weekend and was greeted by mold that needed to be cleaned. UGH.

    I like the pink cabinet and streaky is part of the "charm"!

    ReplyDelete
  8. that pink cabinet is everything! i love the pop of colour. happy birthday week!!!! xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love what you did to the cabinet, such a pretty color! Also, yay to new outdoor chairs!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Everything looks great. Love the entryway and the bright pink cabinet!! Love the sunrise and what you said about it! This shore house in my favorite shore place is a dream come true ! Love. Your. Momma.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love all the color you injected into the shore house. That hot pink is so fun. The fact that you guys cleaned up enough to attend a wedding amidst all of that is so impressive.

    Also, you'll appreciate that my new bring your own vinyl bar did not have a copy of Born to Run. We found that out Friday night and remedied it by Saturday night. Even Texas needs some east coast vibes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Everything is turning out so adorable! So nice of your parents to help out. Mine definitely will not when John and I work on our house... but they might hire someone for us. I'd be shocked if my dad has ever changed a light bulb in his entire life. haha he has other talents though!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The shore house looks great! I love the color you painted the cabinet. Looks so good.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So glad the plumbing ish was minor. The shore house is turning out so great!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow what a busy weekend, and so glad the plumbing issue wasn't as bad as originally thought. We're currently dealing with a leak from our master shower down into our kitchen - fun fun! You guys looked fabulous at the wedding, and yay for mini food! Hope you have an amazing week <3

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh gosh - house issues gives me such anxiety. I'd just leave & let the house flood. I cant deal.
    You're going to need your own HGTV one day after all this.
    PINK!!! I love that color!!
    I love smart little storage ideas in small houses. Our closet space is horrid - especially with a husband that has a jean obsession so I'm always looking for good ways to store space. Looks like another Amazon order for me now too :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. oh my word. what a mess of a weekend! glad it was all sorted though, and seriously your village is awesome. thanks for that link because i definitely need extra laundry storage and that is brilliant.. i also love the hooks you have behind the door with the blue bag hanging off.. that is very smart.. i might do that at my house instead of the stupid coat rack that is always falling down.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Plumbing issues are the worst.

    I love how much you've done with the house. I have to come down and see it one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sorry for all the plumbing issues you dealt with! Never fun.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow you really squeezed a ton in there over the weekend. The leak sounds like a nightmare!! Plumbing issues are never fun to deal with because of the damage. Loving those mermaids you put up and how the shore house is coming along. Happy belated birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love the St. Patrick's Day themed wedding and all the trinkets and colors in the shore house. You got so much accomplished! YAY for birthday week- enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I know you were at the shore all weekend, but I was in your beautiful city, and said hi to William Penn and the Liberty Bell, and Rittenhouse for you, and thought of you often. I also probably ate all of the pork in the city. Sorry about that.

    ReplyDelete
  23. ahh plumbing, it's the worst!! looks like you had some nice weather for the shore. the st partricks themed wedding it awesome! happy birthday eve!

    ReplyDelete
  24. That's so awesome that you had so much help this weekend getting stuff done! I don't think that my husband and I would be able to do half the stuff that y'all are doing at the Shore house! Photo booths at weddings should be required! They're always so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I LOVE the pink cabinet. It's such a happy piece of furniture. How could you look at it and not be happy?! Your new porch chairs are snazzy, too. Happy birthday week!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Love the pink cabinet and its Buddha! Happy birthday tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Those sunsets are the ONLY redeeming thing about that stupid water leak... but I'm glad you found a plumber. THANK G FOR THAT!!!! You do have an awesome village... I don't know many people who would get up at 6:30 on Saturday to do my manual labor... they can stay. ;) And... HOW DID YOU MAKE IT DOWN FOR A WEDDING AND LOOK CLEAN? You totally have a time-turner.

    ReplyDelete
  28. LOLOLOL @ "live nude show."
    Good call on painting the game cabinet pink... I love it! I don't really think it looks streaky... it looks like it's rustic on purpose!

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think, leave a comment! I'll reply to you via email if you have an email associated with yourself, otherwise, check back here for my reply. Your data will not be used to spam you or sold for others to contact you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Blogging tips
Pin It button on image hover