Reflecting

I came across this blog post from exactly a year ago today.

Top 10 Signs that Renovations Aren't Complete
10. Your lunch sack is a plastic bag from Home Depot
9. You worry about falling through the kitchen ceiling every morning when going into the tub
8. Contractors come to your house more often than your friends
7. You go to the dog park and someone points out that the dog has paint on him
6. Plastic drop cloths are considered a home decor
5. Sundays are spent mudding & taping instead of watching football.
4. The upstairs foyer table is actually a piece of OSB. With a mitre saw on it.
3. Fixing the main roof truss that is 100% cut through is on the same 'to do list' along with purchasing 1/2" screws for the closet.
2. You get certified letters for the weeds & junk in your back yard.
1. Two words - drywall boogers

I'll never forget moving into the house when renovations were nowhere near complete in August 2008. My brother's friend helped move all my stuff, and when he first walked in you could tell he was thinking, "Kevin, this is where your sister is going to live?" Everything was torn up, tools were everywhere, and there was a hole in the bathroom floor. We ended up just piling all my boxes of things in the guest room to the ceiling until the dust settled and I could unpack. I lived out of moving boxes for months because I couldn't put things in my closet while we were frantically finishing the master bedroom. At the same time, we went to the gym every day for several weeks, not because we were diligently trying to get in shape (I think we burned enough calories working on the house every night and weekend). But because we had no shower while the bathroom was being renovated. Ahhh, the good old days!

It's still hard for me to believe that renovations are 'done'. I'm proud of all the work we did ourselves, and I never thought in my life I would learn how to install wood floors or be a mudding and taping guru. Although demolition is still my favorite renovating duty :) Luckily, we don't have to worry much about drywall boogers these days, and we no longer decorate with drop cloths. In fact, now we spend many evenings relaxing on the most comfortable sofa in the world.

Kudos to anybody in the midst of renovating right now! You deserve major props for all your hard work - keep at it!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for Baltimore Rowhouse every day until October 9th! We are in sixth place now, movin on up!

Mobbies and a Birthday Present

Yesterday we came across a contest for Maryland's outstanding blogs held by the Baltimore Sun. Some of our favorite nominees are daily food inspiration, a neighbor, a Patterson Parker, a fellow renovator, a photography favorite that we met at Patapsco Park last year, a new hilarious discovery, and a fellow dog lover.



We also discovered that Baltimore Rowhouse was nominated! Looks like we are in 7th place in the Neighborhood category right now. Voting is through October 9, and you can vote once daily in each category. We're feeling a bit competitive after coming in second on HGTV's Bang For Your Buck last month :) Vote for Baltimore Rowhouse!

On another note, Corey turned 30 on Tuesday and is now older than 42% of the population in the U.S. Last weekend, his best friend from college flew up from North Carolina with his wife to surprise Corey. We also had a big birthday bash. This weekend I am 'surprising' him with a trip to Lost River Modern. I decided to spill the beans this morning because he already was suspicious that we were going there. I have had this trip planned since April, and I'm glad the weekend is finally here.



We plan on posting about our HGTV experience soon. In the meantime, if you didn't catch us the first time around they are showing a rerun on October 13. Have a great weekend!