The Little House

Welp.  You just may be hearing a lot about what I have deemed "the little house" in the near future.  Yessiree, we have a house (all financial rigmarole pending of course).  We bid on a 1080 square foot house in SE Portland and this time the owners didn't change their minds about selling!

As of right now the house is far from what a had dreamed we'd move into.  Instead of an adorable craftsman bungalow, we ended up with a mid-century plain Jane.  HOWEVER, to me plain Jane equals blank canvas!  My mind has already been racing with ideas to give the house some spunk. 

Spunk is exactly what it needs too.  The entire house is monotone inside and out.  The textures are even boring.  No worries, however, a year with the Becker's and the little house will be nice and loved up.  Want a peek at it?  (again, please realize we're buying good solid POTENTIAL here, not a better homes and garden cottage)  I took these pics from the rmls listing.  They're not the best quality, but you'll get the idea.

yep.  The ENTIRE house is covered in cream colored vinyl siding.

Imagine a new, colored door, wood trim details added in same color (what color would you suggest?), painted garage door and possibly a mini pergola over it similar to this one

Eventually we'd update the garden beds.  I don't like rhododendrons at all and the azaleas are looking pretty old and rough and I don't like how they distract from the big windows (which currently have ugly aluminum storm windows on them).

The back yard is HUGE, a rarity in P-town.  Again, I HATE rhodies, but we'll live with them for now.  I really like the clothes line and can't wait to use it.

This is the view when you walk in the front door.  Aren't those marbled carpets lovely? HA!  Luckily the entire house has gorgeous oak flooring that has been hiding underneath marbled and chartreuse carpet for decades.  Project #1: get rid of ALL carpet!

After we tear down the track lightly and 1987 brass chandelier I've been toying with the idea of broad horizontal stripes in the dining room.  Maybe two neutral tones like taupe and white.  What would you do?

Alright. The kitchen is definitely where we need some help.  The fridge, curtains and stove will go right away (anyone want an antique?).  As for the rest of the kitchen I think I'm going to have to live with it for a little bit to figure out what exactly I want to do.  It's itty bitty so some real brainstorming will have to take place.  The cabinets are solid wood, which will give us a nice starting point.  The floors...oy, the floors.

The bathroom is without a doubt going to be a BIG project someday.  It's layout is horrible and everything is super outdated. I'm going to take more pics during our inspection tomorrow so that you can experience the atomic style heat lamp for yourself.  There is probably less than 24 inches between the sink and the tub wall.  Maneuvering around in there is going to be interesting.  If I could I would tear everything out and start over.  That's probably not going to happen for a very very long time. First step will be new mirrors, lights and eventually a new vanity.

All in all this little house just needs some lovin'.  It's structurally in great shape, in a great location and we're not going to be breaking the bank.  I'm so thankful.  I'm ready to be done with the paperwork process and get on to the painting!  We have an inspection tomorrow, so I'll take more pictures then.  Did I mention the tray ceilings?  I'm going to have all kinds of fun with those!

More Random Updates

I totally should be cleaning right now.  I shouldn't still be in my jammies.  I should probably turn off FoodNetwork.  I don't want to.  So, here I am!  Ta Dah!  Ready for more updates?

Let's see...the launch team for Hopecity is growing!  We have met together 4 times now and each time I get more and more excited for our future together.  We recently have added a new couple who just moved here from Texas.  They found us via a maze of blogs that eventually connected to Brian's announcement of HC.  They're lovely people that have taken a huge leap of faith for the sake of a new season in their lives and we are honored to be a part of that new season.  We are expecting at least 3 more families to check us out at our next launch meeting August 29th.  It's hard to believe the favor God is showing us, but we'll take it!  (If you'd like to be on our mailing list or email updates send us your info to theoffice@myhopecity.org)  The next step is to work on our preview schedule/events and finding a location!

Along with finding a location for the church, we are scrambling to find a home of our own is SE Portland.  We accepted an offer for our house over a week ago.  We made an offer on a new house the same weekend, but due to mysterious circumstances the owner decided to pull their house off the market. SERIOUS BUMMER!  So, we are now on another hunt to find a home.  We have one real prospect, but haven't quite made a decision yet.  I"m so ready to get into SE.  For me that will make everything feel like an official new season.

I now realize this is kind of a boring post.  Hmmm...what can I do about that?  OH!  How about a random tip?

If you haven't grilled peaches yet this summer, you must!  My favorite dessert of the entire summer was by far grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream.  Seriously.  Just halve the, brush both sides with oil, and grill cut side down first.  When you can see grill marks or some carmalization flip the peach halves over.  Put a small dab of butter in the hollow of each half and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Shut the grill lid and wait just until the peaches start to soften.  Place in a cute bowl nestled next to a scoop of vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.  DELISH!

There.  Now it was worth your time reading this post. :)

Vacation at the lake

I said I would update you on our lives and since I don't want to be a liar, here I am!
Let's see...vacation was wonderful.  We had an entire 8 days to relax by the lake fishing and floating our little hearts out.  Of all of the activities to do (other than eat, which seems to be the main occupation at Wanacut) Elli most enjoyed all things having to do with dirt and gravel.  Nana B. brought her a cool bucket with a water pump attachment, but the only thing Elli wanted to do was fill, dump and repeat. 

Elli experienced quite a few firsts on vaction.  Throwing rocks in the lake, seeing a live trout murdered by her dad (I only say that because she screamed her head off when Brian knocked the fish out after catching it), playing in a sprinkler, eating a rib, taking a shower, wading in water and riding in a raft and boat were all some big firsts.  She also received her first cowgirl hat, which happens to be one of the only hats she'll keep on.

                                      (only E could still be a diva in a giant yellow life jacket)

                                                                                 (apparently cowgirl hats require air guitars)

As for Mama and 'Dada', vacation with a toddler is an entirely different experience than vacation sans children.  In order for us both to get some good laziness squeezed in we took turns napping, floating, and chasing.  Brian was sweet and took the morning "shift" with Elli and breakfast so I could indulge in some extra pillow time.  I took the scrubbing/bedtime "shift" while daddy went out on the boat to catch some fish.  In between Nana B, aunties and cousins also helped so that everyone got their share of Elli and relaxation.  It was lovely.

I never imagined I would be so happy with an annual vaction spot, but the lake has become a special place in my heart. 

 

And we're back!

Don't be alarmed.  I know the last time you heard from me was right before vacation...over a month ago!  Despite the rumors, I did not die, I did not immigrate to Canada, nor did I drift away on the world's greatest float while sipping diet Coke and coated with SPF 93 never to be found again.  Nope.  I simply...well...I don't know what happened really.

Oh. wait.

Yes. I DO know what happened.

Summer.

Yep.  Summer, July and August in particular seem to have this mysterious ability to fill every waking moment with acitivities, appointments, visits and people all in the name of "fun".  My "not so crazy" summer calendar turned into a pencil smudged resemblance of a Jackson Pollock the minute we returned from vacation.

Don't worry, I haven't been miserable.  It's been a great summer.  I just haven't been able to settle myself down long enough to give you anything that would satisfy my perfectionist creative genetics.

Over the next few days I'll do my best to update you with all we've been up to.  Some of it I'm sure you'll care less about nod at and think is nice , but, let me tell ya,  some of it is a BIG and you wont want to miss. (No, mom, not, "I'm having a baby" big, but just a few notches below that).

I'm sure you'll be waiting by your computer clicking the refresh button over and over until then.