Daughter's bedroom so far

Painting the range hood

Rustoleum

Stripping

Did the title get your attention?  Lol. I'm talking about stripping wood.  I read how strippers are difficult and that the fumes are unbearable.  I read that sanding was the best bet but who is trying to sand for hours in 90 degree weather?  Not me!  I came across Citragel on YouTube and also read Amazon reviews (the best place to go to for reviews) and I was sold!  I grabbed it at Home Depot.  I just applied this stuff on with a paint brush, watched a little television and two hours later scraped this stuff off with absolutely no elbow grease!  This stuff came off easier than nail polish!

Master Bedroom

Before

I'd like to call it "Now" instead of "After" because I plan to make changes in the near future (like replace my bedroom set).  This is the best I can do with what I have now though.

The couch is new, the bedding is new and so is the area rug, bookcase, chair and most of the accessories.  Everything else I brought over from the old house.  I'm happy with it so far.  If you like it, comment.  If you have an idea on how to make it better, please comment as well.  I promise that I'm not sensitive.  Lol

My Master Bath Linen Closet

I love that I have so much storage for my health and beauty items.  I also have storage (cabinets and drawers) in the vanity area that I keep my more frequently used items.  I keep my bathroom cleaning products in the cabinet under the sink.  This is tres' cool!  I still have some items at my old house to bring over but this is most of it.  I love how I can see everything and just grab whatever I need with this system.

Master bath progress

In a perfect world, I would gut my bathroom and rebuild a very luxurious one with floor to ceiling Carrera Marble, brushed nickel fixtures, a soaking tub with jets and a shower that has heads everywhere.  A bathroom straight from a 5 star hotel.  My bath looks like one from a three star hotel but I still love it.  I didn't do much to it but add accessories but I'm happy with it.  I have plenty of time to make it into my dream bathroom.  I already decided to do my bathrooms and kitchen last.  For now, here are pictures of how I made it "mine".

Before

During

How it looks today

I have the molding taped off because I plan to paint it white.  I'm also painting the doors and vanity.  I bought drawer pulls for the vanity as well.  I'm still accessorizing a bit, this will hold me until I can renovate.  I will post more changes as time goes by.

I Finally moved in!

Tonight will be my first night sleeping here.  I was supposed to move in yesterday but the movers that I selected on Uhaul's website was a no call no show!  How could they be so cruel?  Chris ( the mover from "Two Men No Truck") literally cut his phone off before he stood me up.  Uhaul did hook me up with another company (Movers R Us) and I am grateful that they jumped right in at the last minute to move me at 8 AM the day after Chris' unprofessional ass stood me up with a Uhaul truck and all my worldly possessions ready to go.

The new movers were cool and hard working, I think that the move was too big for them though.  I paid for 3 hours but ended up with using them for over 5.  They left my dryer, dresser and a few other things behind.  Couldn't get my fridge in the door so it is sitting in the garage.  One of the guys had to leave for work so there is a lot of things undone.  I still respect them though, they were working so hard and they wrapped my delicate items with such care.

I managed to unpack most of the kitchen and my bedroom.  I am overwhelmed by the stacks of boxes in my living and dining room.  I am wondering how I came up with so much stuff; mostly never used that I've been collecting for the past few years for this moment.  I have A LOT OF STUFF, GOOD LORD!

Day 15: Ewwww

While cleaning the master bathroom, I noticed that the sink had a slow drain.  I then remembered the inspector saying that during the home inspection prior to me purchasing it.  I took the thingy off to look in the sink and this happened.

I wish you guys can smell it too.  Gross huh?  Well I threw the sink thingy away and guess what?  No more slow drain.

Day 14: Moving Sooner than Thought!

I booked a UHaul Truck and they offered a list of movers and the prices were very right.  I selected "Two Men No Truck" after reading the reviews of their satisfied customers.  It will only cost me $140 for two hours and $55 for each additional hour.  I will be so organized that I will only need them for two.  I am just moving down the street...

Today, I bought switch plates and plastic mattress carrying bags for our mattresses during the move.  I put the switch plated and outlet plates up throughout the house and it gives it a more finished look.  I took down the masking tape from the ceilings and baseboards through out.  I think I will need to touch up some paint from where the masking tape accidentally covered,but I will do that after the move.  In fact, that will be best because there may be a few nicks on the wall from the move so I would have to touch paint up anyway.

 (insert photos with switch plates here)

Tomorrow I may be at the house that I'm moving from more than at the condo, I have to pack.  I will be loading smaller items into my jeep and take them over to the condo when I do go; killing two birds with one stone.

Day 13: Striped Wall

I was only at the condo for about an hour today.  We need to rest, we've been at it for 12 straight days from morning to night.  Although I was supposed to rest today, I did sneak in some prep for my striped wall.  I measured the lines 15 inches apart, drew them with pencil and taped the wall.  All under 1 hour.  All I have to do is fill in three stripes with white paint then I'm good.  Much much easier than the stenciled walls.  You can't go too wrong with straight lines unless you attempt to do it without a level.

Day 12: Getting the inside of the cabinets and drawers ready to fill

I lined all of the drawers and cabinets with gray and white chevron contact paper.  I wrestled with that stuff and still got creases but I'm not going to worry about it.  I lined some drawers and the cabinet with the dishes with a gray non-slip mesh on top of the contact paper to keep things like my wine glasses from sliding or my utensils from sliding when you pull the drawer open.


I am really regretting not taking a "before" picture of the stove.  It was really dirty.  It was so dirty that I originally planned to just throw it out and get the stainless steal one that I want.  I came to my senses and just gave it a well-deserved scrubbing though.  As mentioned in an earlier blog that I self-cleaned the oven and it looks great.

The grates on the stove were wearing my fingers out and I knew that there had to be an easier way to clean them.  I found a Youtube video saying to get four 1 gallon ziplock bags, put a grate in each bag, then put Ammonia in the bag.  Let them soak over night and then the next day, lightly wipe them with your dish towel and soap, then rinse with warm water.  I did just that the other day and it was easy peasy.  I also soaked the stove knobs and those round thingies that go on top of the burner.  Today all I had to do with the stove was get a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, dampen it and wipe the dirt from the side of the stove off.

Day 11: "Same Old" from yesterday

Yeah, so we prepped with frog tape then painted baseboards, door frames and doors today.  Nothing picture worthy.  I'm exhausted.  Hopefully I will be moving in within the next few days.  Tomorrow, I'm bringing my iron/ironing board, all the curtains and curtain rods for the rooms.  Whichever window frames that don't need another coat will get covered.

Day 10: Painting doors, frames, baseboards and molding

Painting the trim white is really making everything look new and making the rooms pop!  It's a great contrast to the dark walls and floors.  It's leaving a very clean look and I am loving it!

Here is the hallway before the trim was painted

Here is the Hallway after one coat of trim

Tomorrow my sister is applying the second coat and applying a first coat to the rooms that we missed today.  My son came by to paint the inside of his closet.  We hope to start moving in this week.  Today I put on the finishing touches to the Imperial Trellis Wall, finished painting the kitchen cabinets, my sister finished painting the kitchen walls, I cleaned my stove grates using the Ammonia and ziplock bag method (worked perfectly).  We did a lot in 11 hours!

Day 9: Imperial Trellis Wall

Do you think that I'm crazy to tackle on another feature wall especially after yesterday's bullish?  Well tomorrow you're going to think that I'm insane in the membrane because I am going to do a tired feature wall.  That will be tomorrow's post though.  Today, I used a stencil from Etsy and it is wayyyy easier than the stencil by The Curting Edge.  Look at the difference (well quality) of the stencil itself. The little clear piece above is a small stencil by the company that made the chevron one.  The thick opaque one that doesn't curl up is what I used today.  It costs less than the cheesy one too!

Pictures

Day 8: Conquering the Chevron Wall

So today, I cleaned up the sloppy lines from that difficult wall stencil.  I saw the bad reviews on Amazon about it and they only gave it three stars (read for yourself right here) but I took the risk and ordered it anyway.  I thought that just maybe I'd be in the minority of

Day 7: I love my floors!!!!!

Oh. My. God.  I love my floors.

(Insert photos here)

Here is a little before and after for ya.

(Insert photos here)

Today I managed to get my daughter's wall stencil to act half way right.  I will post a pic tomorrow after I make some touch ups.  I also painted the lower kitchen cabinets

(Insert photo of cabinets here)

Before leaving, I bombed the condo to kill every daddy long leg or any other creepy crawly thing left.  My daughter and I set up 5 cans spreader about the place.

(Insert photo of fogged here)

I hope it works well, the reviews were favorable and it only costs $8 for 6 cans so...

Day 6: Bonus Entry

As the guys from Empire installed the carpet, I was in the kitchen painting cabinets.  Here is what I've done so far:

I watched a YouTube video on how to paint kitchen cabinets without removing the doors.  His secret was to use a small art brush to pain around the cabinets so I bought a set from Home Depot.  Works like a charm!

Day 6: Empire Strikes Back!

So Empire came out a second day in the row to install the carpet in the bedrooms, my walk-in closet and the step in the living room.  I'm pretty pleased with the plush/Berber hybrid.  I hope that my kids respect it, I ain't buying new floors for a very long time, if ever again.  Here are photos:

I was waiting for my first coat of paint to dry on my cabinets as Empire install the carpet on the step.

They let me keep the leftover carpet,  If you want it, it's yours!

Day 5: Empire

Not the Fox TV Drama "Empire" (although I can use some of that Lucious Lyon cash right about now) but my appointment with the flooring company.  The sales representative was very knowledgeable and I knew what I wanted so it didn't take long.  He could not give me the hardwood floors that I wanted because I am on a concrete slab.  He said that they couldn't nail the floors down plus wood expanding over concrete will cause buckling not to mention what happens when moisture gets trapped.  He showed me an alternative, laminate floors that have the look of hardwood (and also has the tongue/groove interlocking).  It's a floating floor made for concrete slabs.  The samples were cool, I just know that I did not want carpet in the living room, dining room and hallway.

I chose the darkest color selection (walnut) and for the bedrooms, I chose Berber carpet.  I was torn between the light gray and the beige or darker beige but went along with the darker beige.  I like that it's stain resistant, oh and I have a 60 year warranty on the laminate floors which are low maintenance and scratch resistant.  I am not going to type the total of my bill.  That is the unpleasant part of the consultation but it could have been worse.  I am going to focus on the good part, which means that the ugly, buggy, dirty, dusty, dated shag carpet will be gone!  Thank you Jesus!

They are coming tomorrow to lay the carpet in the bedrooms and then another crew is coming on Thursday to lay the hard flooring.

After the consultation, I attempted to apply the chevron wall stencil on my daughter's feature wall and that was a complete FAIL.  It kept curling up on me and the stencil wouldn't even stay with 3M painter's tape or Frog tape.  I even sprayed the tact glue on back but no Bueno.  I have the stencil laying on the kitchen counter with books on top to straighten it out.  I will try again when Empire leaves tomorrow.  If it doesn't work then I don't know what to do.  I ignored the negative comments here about it hoping to be one of the few satisfied customers.  I'm not throwing in the towel so easily though.

Day 4: Touch ups and more painting

My second oldest sister is really hanging in there with me every step of the way.  She and I touched up the paint from yesterday.  Although it is Behr's premium primer/paint, it did need a second coat in some spots because the colors are so dark.  We covered up some white that was seaping through.  We also finished painting my daughter's room and we painted my bedroom.  When applied to the wall, my bedroom walls looked a little on the yellow side.  I hope that it dries in a cappuccino color because I don't want to have to repaint it.  I will know in the morning.

My daughter's room BEFORE

My daughter's room AFTER (Ballerina Tutu by Behr)

I am meeting with Empire for an estimate for flooring between 10 AM-12 PM.  I pray that the price is reasonable, the flooring is quality and the installation is done properly.  I read mixed reviews online.    I know that I need floors, just hope that the process is a pleasant one.

Day 3: Painting, Gas Leaks and Stuff...

So today, my sisters, daughter and I painted the foyer, living room, dining room, hallway, my son's bedroom and my daughter's bedroom.

Dining Room BEFORE

Dining Room AFTER

BEFORE (another angle)

AFTER---It looks black on the photos but it is actually a datk gray called "Intellectual" by Behr

The Living Room was painted about two shades lighter than the dining room.  The color is called "Coal Mine" by Behr

Hallway BEFORE

Hallway AFTER

My son's room BEFORE

My son's room AFTER

My oldest sister kept smelling gas and we thought that she was being her usual dramatic self but I called Nicor out just to be safe.  They checked my laundry room and it was fine (dryer connect needed a cap though; he put one on) then he checked the stove in the kitchen.

The dryer cap that Nicor put on the gas line until I bring my dryer over

Sure enough one of the gas line had a leak and he immediately cut the valve off from my stove.  She loves to be right, I'll humbly apologize because that saved our lives.  The place was already filled with fumes after I put the oven through self cleaning yesterday.  Had my sister not caught that, things could have went several disastrous ways.  I thank God for yet another blessing with this condo.  My daughter, both sisters, my dad and I were all there, we were in a dangerous situation and God kept us.

Our lungs are fine, nothing blew up, God is awesome!  The Nicor guy said that they can fix it for $65 or we can call a handy man.  I think I'll set the appointment with Nicor because a handyman may or may not be able to fix that.  Gas is pretty serious.  The stove can stay disconnected for now, when I move my washer and dryer in then I'll call Nicor to fix it.  They can properly hook my dryer up too!

Day 2: Prepped for Paint

It doesn't look like we did anything but it's been an accomplished day.  My oldest sister and I taped and spackled the walls for painting.  We ran out of tape so we had to go to Walmart.  It was good to get out because I had the oven on a "self cleaning" cycle and the fumes were getting to us.  The oven turned out great though.  We are painting tomorrow for sure!

Condo Tour

A few hours after the closing, I went to Home Depot and dropped $470 on paint supplies then hit Family Dollar to drop another $60 on cleaning supplies. 

My sisters, son and I then gave the place a well-deserved scrub down.  These photos were taken before we did anything.  I just wanted you all to see the before because I plan to hook this place up!

FIRST LOOK:  Click here to view a slideshow of the Condo.

Today is paint day, "Oh joy!".

Day One: The Closing

When I tell you that God is good, oooh weee!!!!  Everything was divinely orchestrated to bring me here.  The way that I found the property, the way that the price was decreased, even the dark moments of being denied a mortgage loan for the amount that I needed, all the waiting for the short sell to be approved.  ALL was apart of God's plan.  The price dropped again and I was able to pay CASH for my condo.  No mortgage.  CASH!  Won't He do it?  God didn't stop there.  When I got to the closing, I was given a generous tax credit which was more than the closing costs.  The title company ended up giving ME a check.  Lol  I am still in awe of his goodness.  No, He's better than good, He's great, awesome, fantastic, remarkable and I can go on and on.

When I left the closing, I went over to my condo and walked around.  All 1,329 sq ft of it!  I'm in love... I see it for what it's going to look like.  It is already decorated in my head.  I have a lot of work ahead of me but I don't mind.  In fact, I am grateful to put in the sweat equity to make it my home.  I look forward to the memories that will take place there.  The meals that I will prepare for friends and family, the "Me time" that I will have and the quiet time with God that I will share.  I am looking forward to this summer that my kids will spend there.  I also look forward to them returning to college in the fall.  :-)

I've dreamed a long time for this day.  I've been storing boxes of homegoods and furniture in my basement for years.  I'm so over the big house thing.  I will be moving out of this 4200 sq ft "McMansion" within the next few days and I couldn't be happier.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have lived here; I am just so excited about what I really want (the condo).  It is mine and I am ecstatic!

To new beginnings,
Nikki
xoxo

Prayer:  Thank You Lord for making my dream of homeownership a reality.  Thank you for this condo that I've been looking at for well over a year.  You've not only heard my prayers but you brought them to pass.  I am forever grateful.  I will be a good steward over it.  I pray that your favor continues.  I pray that you protect my family and home from harm. I pray that great memories will be made there.  In Jesus' name, Amen!