Pumpkin Mousse & Before/After

I think I secretly want to be a food stylist.


And, because I finally have a little time, here are some before & after pictures of our home. All the painting, drywalling, etc. was done before the school year began, of course.

Before of the bathroom - note the eighties wallpaper. It was also on the door!


After: We couldn't change as much as we'd like in the bathroom, not having the budget to re-tile and all, but we did manage to get rid of the wallpaper.


Now here are some dramatic changes. Before of the basement: check out the plush, green-vinyl bar! Even the moving guys had snide comments to make about this ("party room!!").


After: amazing what a coat of paint can do. We still have the bar and stools, having not had the chance to burn them yet.


Also before in the basement: that built in TV is made in 1949! I think I'm going to sell it on eBay sometime.

After: this is really due to M's sweat and tears - pulling out the crap and putting up drywall, spackling, etc.


Too bad we don't spend any time down here as it's our "fun room" and we do nothing fun!!! Oh well, Christmas is a-coming soon.

Proud, New, Tired Owners

At last, after what seemed like endless trials, we own a home!! Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it's been a lot of work. We've spent the last week cleaning up and painting. Some tips for current and future homeowners: please don't do anything half-assed or downright stupid! For example, don't:

1) glue lattice onto your living room wall
2) put up wallpaper - over older wallpaper that's been painted over (#$@%^#@^!!!??)
3) install a TV in the wall - especially one from the 1970's
4) repair a hole in the wall by taping a piece of cardboard over it (what the...?)
5) have a light switch in the bedroom that causes lightning to shoot from the overhead lights (this is not a joke - if the glass light-fixture cover hadn't been there, I could be without hair right now)

Some images from our week: Here we are, so eager to begin...

and then...
This pretty much sums up our feelings after a few hours, days, of literal blood, sweat, and tears. Notice the even more hideous wallpaper behind me that I uncovered. There's nothing like getting a borderline OCD person covered in wallpaper paste on a wet tarp. Not a good thing.

But, finally, we did accomplish our goals. Here's Molt, enjoying the fruit of his labors in the living room:
And isn't this better than my archaeological wallpaper discovery:
Come visit us please!