Rare and Beautiful Treasures

I am with you on all you said about the blogger co...

2012-05-27T15:46:20.710-04:00

I am with you on all you said about the blogger community. I want a piece of land out in the middle of nowhere, with a old house that needs creative love and touches and renovation. Hubby just thinks I am nuts. Great blog post! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

This is like my favorite blog post ever. Thank you...

2012-05-27T08:15:35.990-04:00

This is like my favorite blog post ever. Thank you SO MUCH for keeping it real...real frustrated, which often, I am too. Working full-time and caring for 2 young boys has made the home improvement really tough over the past 3.5 years. I hate it when people come into my house now and say, "wow, this looks good...wasn't it worth it?" I can honestly say, NO! We spent so much time on random crap when we should have been doing family stuff, etc. We've been a slave to this house for a while. Luckily we've moved past some big projects, but renovation is not for everyone. Even though my husband is super handy...he just doesn't have the time to do everything that needs to get done! {vent over} ;-)

Aimee @ sixteenfourteen.weebly.com

Oh my heart goes out to you. Renovation is hard w...

2012-05-26T18:13:41.637-04:00

Oh my heart goes out to you. Renovation is hard work, takes way longer than it should and costs more than you think. But, perseverance has it's good reward and I know you will be happy with how your cottage turns out. Thanks for being so honest about it all, it is so comforting.

Hi Erin - Thanks for stopping by Cottage and Creek...

2012-05-26T11:26:53.658-04:00

Hi Erin - Thanks for stopping by Cottage and Creek. I LOVED your post and send you my heart-felt best wishes on your floor project. My stair project was a total bummer for me, but now, the better-quality vinyl flooring from Mannington has proven to be a good decision. The flat part is stuck tight, but there are two stair riser pieces that keep coming up. I need to just squirt some Gorilla Glue or some other adhesive behind them to affix them better, just haven't done it yet. But otherwise, I'm very pleased with the quality of the tiles. This weekend's project for me? Cleaning and staining my large deck with fresh redwood stain. Yuck. I'm procrastinating and even considering returning the stain to HD and pushing this off till next year! Finding myself suddenly-single has been both challenging and rewarding. And I know my sweet hubby is looking down and cheering me on when I attempt all the home-improvement projects around my humble cottage. God is good and we can learn so much, even from the "oops" projects. Best wishes and I'm delighted I found your blog. Love it!!
Lynn

We moved into our house almost 19 years ago. It wa...

2012-05-26T11:26:45.932-04:00

We moved into our house almost 19 years ago. It was (is?) a fixer-upper. 5 different carpets in varying shades of gold, orange, brown and green. A bathroom tiled in what can best be described as Southwestern pinky-salmony-I hate this color. A kitchen with turquoise laminate and appliances. (Turquoise was NOT cool in 1993!) 2 weeks after we moved, we found out we were expecting Baby #1! It was all I could do not to throw up every time I walked in the door of our house, because it smelled like 30 years of cigarette smoke. Fast forward 19 years. The house has been painted (most rooms more than once), we have wood floors in most of the house and nice berber in the bedrooms, the kitchen has maple counters that my hubby made and black appliances (you can buy a $2 can of black appliance paint and cover the turquoise oven, thereby saving the price of a new wall oven). And the bathroom? Still the same color! Many years of debate and 4 children later, we finally have the majority of plan for that eyesore, which is set to happen in August!!!!!!! It's not as easy as it looks on TV or on blogs! And I think I might need to schedule Humble pie into the meal planning every now and then. Thanks for keeping it real, and may your projects this summer go smoothly and non-stickily!

thanks for leaving me the link to this, sis. isn&#...

2012-05-26T10:27:19.621-04:00

thanks for leaving me the link to this, sis. isn't God's grace just like that? oooooh gives me {goosebumps}!! wynn is getting so big! i pray you all are doing well <3 love, sj

Oh Erin, This post made me laugh out loud - not be...

2012-05-25T21:58:45.123-04:00

Oh Erin, This post made me laugh out loud - not because I think it is funny at all that you are having these problems but because it is so good to not be the only one - and we might as well laugh rather than cry (I may have done some crying too). What really got me laughing was the "Humble pie friends, humble pie". I learned the hard way too that humidity is the enemy of paint that is trying to cure - at least mine wasn't a floor though! A big struggle with our old house seems to be vermin of all kinds. We've had/have: racoons, carpenter ants, moths, mice and currently squirrels. Ugh. In fact, of that list the only ones that I think are definitely no longer an issue are the raccoons, the others come and go. Oh well. God is good - vermin and all.

I feel your pain! I think Layla at the Lettered C...

2012-05-25T21:48:28.751-04:00

I feel your pain! I think Layla at the Lettered Cottage does too, they had 2 different floors in their living room I believe. She has blogged about it here is the link to the post ...
http://theletteredcottage.net/the-lettered-cottage-layout-our-flooring-dilemmas/

Jo

When renovating NOTHING ever goes right! EVER! We ...

2012-05-25T16:58:22.250-04:00

When renovating NOTHING ever goes right! EVER! We have a ton of experience with mishaps as well can't wait to see everything!

I love this post. Not because I am happy about th...

2012-05-25T09:37:01.735-04:00

I love this post. Not because I am happy about the struggles you have had renovating your cottage, but because I am there too. I pull up, tear out, and knock down things in hope that I will find a gem behind all the less than glamourous cover-up....Every once in a while I am pleasantly surprised, but there is that occasion where it just doesn't seem to turn out quite as it did for the person who inspired me to try it in the first place. Example I just saw an unfinished laundry room turned magnificent with floor epoxy and cinderblock paint. Not a fully finished laundry space, just a modestly updated, bright and fresh basement one. fast inspiration for this girl who dreads going down into her dark and dreary laundry room to do a less than fun chore. Right to home depot the hubby and I went to talk to a gentlemen about the paint we would need. It was super affordable, and seemed almost too easy. Now, a week later, the floor epoxy just will not properly cure, my mats want to stick to it. The cinderblock is not tolerating the paint that claims to be specifically designed for it, perhaps due to the years of water damage our old house endured before we moved in and had it properly water proofed? I am not giving up....I am determined and inspired to make the space bearable at an affordable price. So happy you are doing the same!!!! xoxo-Jolie

Aw Good luck Erin! I know you can do it. If you ne...

2012-05-25T08:56:16.853-04:00

Aw Good luck Erin! I know you can do it. If you need any advise or product recomendation let me know, i have a lot at my disposal. And since I used to share a bathroom with you ;) it's free advise :)

thank you for sharing your setbacks and lovely pho...

2012-05-25T08:43:34.105-04:00

thank you for sharing your setbacks and lovely photos of what your house DOESN'T look like!

on our honeymoon, we plotted out our plans for renovating our house. we had a neat little plan for moving through the house and it seemed like if we really buckled down we could get through it in a year. oh how we laugh about that now. 4 years later and we're about half done.

I don't mind being half done anymore, but there were times when things got so chaotic and I didn't know how we would ever get out of this mess. Of course I except projects on tv to look too easy to be true, but lots of home blogs with "real people" seem that way as well. I don't know why those people don't seem to run into snags, don't seem to be too tired to get into projects after work, don't seem to have any issues finding the most stylish fixtures and materials (at a deep discount no less)... Well, I don't know how they do it, but I just know that our projects tend to take a long time and our old house throws us curve balls. I didn't get the exposed beam ceiling when we tore out the ceiling in our bedroom either. But, I will say that we have absolutely loved everything that we've completed and now that our expectations are more realistic for us, I think we are enjoying the journey together.

best of luck!

I can't even begin to tell you how many levels...

2012-05-25T08:09:55.689-04:00

I can't even begin to tell you how many levels of understanding I had for this post!!!

We are dreamers, this is true!!!

My heart goes out to you! My husband and I have l...

2012-05-25T07:51:49.688-04:00

My heart goes out to you! My husband and I have learned very quickly that we are NOT DIY people and our skill-set maxes out around painting :) It may take a bit more time, but you'll get there!

Oh, I can relate! Actually, I see all these gorge...

2012-05-25T07:11:43.796-04:00

Oh, I can relate! Actually, I see all these gorgeous cottage renos. and wonder where people got the money! Renovating is EXPENSIVE!

Even my husband was taken aback by this, when we purchased the 4 level, 50 year old, back split we are living in now, for the past 2 1/2 years.

I thought it was ugly, and tried, oh, I tried, to convince him it was not the house for us. Even our real estate agent did. He tuned us out...and, since that time, he has really come to understand the time, and money that is required to update, and renovate.

We have even gone open housing several times. Actually, that is as good as a date night for me. I love it!! And, finally, we sat down with a pen and paper and did the math, and figured we are financially better off staying in our home, and being creative, thrifty, and sensible with the renos. we do. Bit by bit, we're getting there.

For that matter, two real estate agents I have spoken to, within the last month, got out of the "flipping" project, because the price of buildng materials has just gone through the roof! But, then again, I'm in Canada. Maybe it's not quite so bad in the States.

So, we're plugging away, and plugging away, hence the name House Pretty (Sue@housepretty, there's another House Pretty, or, I should say, House-Pretty taken after I named my blog, grrr...), since I'm trying to make an ugly house into a pretty one, without busting our budget.

Sorry, I don't mean to discourage you! From what I'v seen, you and your husband have done a really, really, lovely job so far! It's just not as cheap as people make it out to seem. And, if you're not careful, it can become far more costly than just purchasing a new, or next to new house, from the onset.

Make wise choices, my friend, and God will reward you for it. God is GOOD!

Sorry I wrote a novel here, lol!

Thank you for sharing! It is so easy to think that...

2012-05-25T00:45:37.435-04:00

Thank you for sharing! It is so easy to think that everything goes perfectly for everyone else. I love when a blogger keeps it real.

We are looking for a fixer upper to buy too, and I winced when I read about your drop ceilings. The one we're going to look at tomorrow has ugly and missing ceiling tiles, and of course I'm thinking, "No problem, I'll rip those right out!" This may be the reality check I needed today.

Firewife, just click on my board names in the post...

2012-05-23T16:15:58.184-04:00

Firewife, just click on my board names in the post above (the red text), and it'll open up each of the Pinterest boards for you!

Oh those crab cakes are calling my name!

2012-05-23T11:53:09.643-04:00

Oh those crab cakes are calling my name!

This is a great tip! I think I'll start doing...

2012-05-23T08:40:40.719-04:00

This is a great tip! I think I'll start doing it, as I've already got the overflowing Food catch-all board. What's your name on Pinterest, I'd love to see some of the recipes you've pinned! Mine's theefirewife

I loved this post!!! I am a total girlie girl and ...

2012-05-21T23:11:32.698-04:00

I loved this post!!! I am a total girlie girl and yet I have an utterly manly man for a huband (which of course I wanted ;)) and an 18-month total man child. I love being the girl between these guys, but I really, really hope to have a little girl in the near future... Yet, putting aside my need to be mommy friend to a little girlie girl with frills and flowers and painted nails and lover of shopping and shoes and coffee dates.... I think that maybe another little boy child would be fun too. That way someday we can introduce the baby sister to two of the most adoring fierce protectors of big brothers and what girl wouldn't want that to grow up with? :D So I'm a dreamer.... I'm not even pregnant again... yet. :D

Anyway, this post was so sweet and makes me anxious to have another child.... girl OR boy. :D

I am reading this post in the middle of a rainstor...

2012-05-21T21:26:30.265-04:00

I am reading this post in the middle of a rainstorm, and there are gigantic holes in my roof ( my husband made them, getting ready for some work ) water gushing through my bathroom vent, and through the ceiling fan over my bed!

Thankyou!

CB, thank you for sharing! I love what you said a...

2012-05-21T20:17:25.945-04:00

CB, thank you for sharing! I love what you said and agree-my little guy could easily stay outside ALL day long, especially if shovels, dirt and lizards are involved (all in abundance here in NC)!

Congrats on another little boy!!

2012-05-21T19:40:24.487-04:00

Congrats on another little boy!!

I have not one ... TWO ... basketball hoops in my ...

2012-05-21T12:24:47.516-04:00

I have not one ... TWO ... basketball hoops in my living room. One is the nerf style and mounted on the wall above the door to the hallway. That one, I'd like to paint a fun color, just to make it look really intentional. Maybe turquoise? The other hoop is a Little Tykes free-standing one that raises to 6+ feet, so all of my guys ... from dad, 11 year old, 6 year old and almost-2 year old ... love to play.

Boys amaze me with their creativity to make fun out of simple stuff. Boys also are blessed with a better sense of contentment, I think. I watched my little 1-3 year old boys at the nursery at our homeschool co-op. That day, we went out to the playground for an hour and the three little boys (no girls that day), dug with little beach shovels and buckets, ran around, tried to find lizards, and never once complained or asked for anything ... especially not to go inside! And boys also make teams well.

I love my girl too ... but you asked about being a mom to boys. The best thing I heard when I found out we were having our third boy was from my 11 year old son's karate teacher, who said that the world needs more boys being raised into strong men, so our parenting of boys was very needed. :)

As a sister to 3 brothers, I loved reading this.

2012-05-21T08:40:33.024-04:00

As a sister to 3 brothers, I loved reading this.