Tag: new home

Week 30: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – Florida House Update

I am writing this a bit bleary eyed as we just made it back home from Florida at 1:30 am. My husband Mike and I decided to squeeze in every last minute by taking a late flight and we are both paying the price this morning. Mike is off to work and I am peddling madly trying to catch up to my normal Monday routine, so I will keep this brief. If you want to see my original bucket list, you can do so here.

A quick bucket list report: My Duolingo language streak is intact. I have French class tonight. I hope I don’t nod off during class. In bucket list item # 18 – read 50 books, I finished reading “The Oysterville Sewing Circle” which I enjoyed very much and also finished “Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me,” a troubling memoir that’s being compared to The Glass Castle in regard to family complexities. I was riveted and finished it in two days. Thank you plane rides. That was book #69 for the year. Not quite sure what my next read will be. I am open to suggestions so please send them my way!

The comparisons to The Glass Castle prompted me to read this book. I would recommend it.

In item #8 – complete 50 NordicTrack work-outs, I managed to squeeze #60 in before we left for Florida, a studio interval workout. I did use the treadmill at the clubhouse in Florida and while I didn’t like it as much as my NordicTrack, I did get in a good workout with a spectacular view of the pool. We also managed a couple of walks through our neighborhood, stopping to greet neighbors and their dogs. I think our dog Kobe will enjoy it down here. I see a lot more walks in his future. The weather was beautiful, mid 70’s and plenty of sun.

We were in Florida from Thursday to Sunday and the trip was a productive one. We arrived early and were met in the driveway by workers. This pretty much set the tone for the visit. We had lined up a few things to be done while we were there and were able to check most of them off!

So happy to report that our pool is underway. They set up the external structure on one of the days we were there and poured it on Friday. It’s fun to see the skeleton of the pool and watch it come together. Can’t wait until it is done and the lanai is up. We are looking forward to coffee by the pool in the morning and cocktails in the evening. I can just about feel the steam off the hot tub.

We had fun checking out our new light fixtures and the furniture that had arrived since our last visit. We still need our sectional, our barstools and the desk and side tables for the den. We had also ordered a few accessories to be delivered while we were there. Actually the delivery window was a day before our arrival to the day after. We got really lucky because almost everything arrived while we were there. We were informed that our sectional has shipped so we are hoping for delivery before we return. There is still a lot of decorating to do, curtains, wall art and other design elements but I am going to take my time here. I am in the process of selecting accent colors and am waiting for some fabric options to complete things. We had selected a few things without actually seeing them, from a catalog. So far, we’ve not been disappointed in anything. Below I’ve posted a couple of the rooms in progress.

We added a backsplash and under and over cabinet lighting as well as changed out the standard light fixtures to customize the home and make it a bit more to our tastes.
We added the light fixture and Mike added lights under the console and around the television. We are waiting for our sectional.
Happy to report we have dining room chairs this time around!

We had envisioned a bit more of a relaxing trip but our days were packed. We met a couple of our contractors to pay them after taking a look at the jobs. We scheduled to meet a painter to give us a bid on our added trim work. In a happy surprise he came in at a good price point and was able to not only start it, but finish it while we were there. He and his two sons did a fantastic job. When does that ever happen? With the trim painted, our electrician came in and did the recessed lighting in our bedroom ceiling. He also added a couple of smart switches. He had already done some under cabinet lighting for us in the kitchen. We are really happy with the way it is turning out.

I did a lot of shopping to equip the house with the basics. I always think I’m done and then we notice something we’d forgotten, like shampoos for all of the bathrooms and extra beach towels. Target and Bed Bath and Beyond are starting to feel like my second home. I half expect to be greeted by name.

Mike has been happily making our home as high-tech as possible. It is already a smart-home with a ring doorbell. Mike has set up an Echo dot in many of the rooms, blink cameras for the front driveway, back pool area and main living areas of the house. He’s also added a few hue accent lights. He’s really in his element!

We are happy with the progress that’s been made and are looking forward to sharing it with our kids and extended family and friends in the near future! I also have to give a big thank you to my daughter Jenna and her husband for watching our dog, Kobe while we were gone. They have 2 dogs and 2 cats of their own and I am sure Kobe will very much miss all the excitement once he is back to our quiet house.

Cheneaux, Kobe and Roary all settled in to watch Lady and the Tramp. Kobe is going to miss these guys!

We topped off our visit with a quick stop at Mike’s mom’s house where we brought in dinner before heading to the airport. Our trip ended up being 80% work and 20% leisure.We were disappointed that we couldn’t visit with Mike’s brother who was unable to join us but we know we’ll have a bit more time in the future as we are hoping the work/leisure percentages shift to a bit more leisure.

I haven’t done a bit of Christmas shopping except for a few “Angel tree” gifts. Our neighborhood club adopts some families and everyone takes an angel or two off the tree with gifts written for the family members. The deadline required I get that done, so I did. Looks like I may have to give myself a deadline to get the rest of my shopping done. Until next week I hope that your work leisure ratio is looking good. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Week 24: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Monday again? Guess what? We closed on our Florida house! It’s been a busy week getting everything scheduled for when we head down sometime this week. We are meeting with various trades to further customize our home. Furniture delivery happens the day before we arrive, though not all furniture is in yet. They are so used to snowbirds down there, they even have a service that actually accepts delivery and sets up your furniture for you so when you arrive, your home is furnished and ready to go! So excited to see the what everything looks like all pulled together. My husband Mike and I will need to divide and conquer with him doing most of the tradespeople meetings while I am out shopping for towels, linens, dishes, kitchenware, and other essentials. I will be relying on my friend Kim’s help and expertise as she has already been through this process and has done a stellar job with her own home. I promise to post a few pics of our house in progress. Wish us luck on getting everything we’d like to accomplish done in the few days we’re there.

Progress reports on one of our last house modernization projects; the back entryway. The wallpaper is stripped and the trim is painted. As far as wallpapering, I have the wallpaper and supplies but will need some uninterrupted time to start on the task. Besides stripping the walls and painting the trim, I am working to clear out the closet of old coats, scarves, etc which I will donate. I also cleaned the grout with a product called Magic grout cleaner. It worked pretty well, though it didn’t completely lift all the staining. I would say it is 95% improved. We had ordered a bench for the back entryway from Grandin Road which arrived broken. I am happy to report customer service for Grandin Road was amazing. They sent someone to pick up the broken bench the next day and two days later the replacement was on my front porch. I will post pictures of the whole project when it is complete.

This product worked pretty well. I would recommend it. It does require letting it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing with a nylon brush.

Duolingo continues with an 801 day streak. I was delighted to hit the 800 day mark! French class is underway and I’ve purchased the second book Alter Ego A2. We have almost finished our first book and the semester ends in a few weeks. I am really enjoying the challenge of orally conversing in French. I am still working on overcoming my “stage fright” when asked a question. It’s definitely a process.

I am at 49 work outs on my Nordictrack, almost up to my 50 workout goal. A migraine slowed down this week’s progress. This week I did a studio interval workout and a walk through the Scottish Highlands with Scottish actor Graham Mctavish (The Hobbit). This was the first time that a walk was conducted by a celebrity rather than an actual trainer. I am still concentrating on walking programs rather than running. However the studio interval incorporated a slow but tolerable intermittent jog that was manageable. Noom continues, 7 pounds down 6weeks in. My clothes are more comfortable and I am trying to be patient through this process. Only 3 more pounds to goal!

A nice stroll through the Scottish highlands to see a waterfall.

Meditation, affirmation, visualization and short yoga stretches continue. I am still using the app Headspace for Meditation. I look forward to talking more about working on our family lineage through Ancestry.com. I will go more in depth with that on another post.

The new to us restaurant we went to this month is Griffin Claw Brewery in Birmingham. We were looking for a place to eat after attending the Lions game with friends. It was a special game because it was a “Crucial Catch” game, honoring cancer patients, survivors, those who have passed and caregivers. As I’ve mentioned before, my daughters are both Lions Cheerleaders and they were dancing in honor of their Grandfather Les. It was very moving for us. I know their Grandpa Les would have been so proud of them both. So, we were looking for somewhere to relax and share a meal with our daughter Jenna, her husband Kristianth, our daughter Samantha and her boyfriend Andrew, his lovely parents and his good friend Jacob. We considered a few places before settling on Griffin Claw Brewery in Birmingham. They were busy but able to accommodate our party of 9. They offer outdoor seating with heaters and a fire pit along with indoor high tops, tables for 4, and long picnic tables pushed together. We were lucky to snag a picnic table for our group. They specialize in their own beers, offering seasonal brews as well as specialty releases. I passed on the beer and ordered the Apple Harvest Salad which featured apple slices, turnips, greens, goat cheese, sugared walnuts with Balsamic dressing on the side. Our group had a variety of orders ranging from shrimp tacos, burger and fries, jambalaya, macaroni and cheese, grilled chicken sandwich, with appetizers of fried pickles and pretzels with mustard dipping sauce. I may have missed a couple in there but everyone enjoyed their meals. They all came out at roughly the same time and everything was hot on arrival. This is a very noisy, lively place and great for after a sporting event. If you are looking for a quiet place for a private conversation, this is not it. I would definitely recommend it for a fun evening and will return if the opportunity presents itself.

The girls with the sign they held up during their dedication dance in honor of their grandpa.
Sammi acting as my model in front of Griffin Claw Brewery. You can see the outdoor seating directly behind her to the right.

Item #18: Finish 50 books in 2019. I finished the book “After the Flood.” I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. I am currently reading book # 63 “An Anonymous Girl” by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen. So far, I am really enjoying it. Here is something not on my bucket list but I feel like I need to give it a shout out. If you haven’t seen the Netflix Series The Blacklist, do yourself a favor and check it out! It has seven seasons and we are only part way through season 1 and we are riveted! If you do check it out (or are already a fan) I’d love to know what you think!

Bonjour, mes amis! That’s all for this week. I look forward to sharing more about our Florida house next week. Make it a great week and see you all next month. (YIKES! It’s almost November!)