It wanted to do something special to celebrate my sister's birthday this year! So I made her a video slideshow of our memories over the years. Julie is such an amazing sister! She is beautiful, talented and giving! I'm so thankful to have her in my life! Love you Jewels!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
My New Chair
February 2, 2017
I went over to visit my next-door neighbor, Barb, and she told me she was selling this chair. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted it! It would fit perfectly in my living room! It belonged to, her husband, Chuck's brother. They received it 20 years ago, in 1997, when he passed away. She wasn't sure how long he had owned the chair before that, but Barb said it was his "pride and joy." So now I own a very loved chair, that I too love and it will always remind me of Barb and Chuck. I mentioned before, but Barb used to be good friends with my Grandma Thatcher. Plus she and Chuck are just the best neighbors. They are always doing things for us and bringing us treats. Paxton said once, "You know, Barb is just like our Grandma, always spoiling us!" So I love that I have something that will always make me think of them. It's an Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and although I do not know the year my particular chair was built, I did find out they were originally designed in 1956. And they still make this exact style of chair today.
Even my boys love it too! The chair swivels and they think it's just about the best place to relax.
Inside our Finished Apartment!
Our completed ADU Apartment:
640 sq ft, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
We listed the apartment for rent on Apartments.com and Zillow. We had a lot of inquiries, even though I did not have any interior pictures posted...as we had not yet completed the inside. --I'm so happy with the tenant we chose. She is super sweet and after signing a 12-month lease, she moved in on February 1st. We were still in the process of completing all the finish work when she first came to tour the apartment. I was out cleaning and adding finishing touches until late the night before she moved in. I can say I'm definitely happy to be done working on it, but a little sad to hand over the keys and no longer be able to take people in or escape there for peace and quiet ha ha!
Floorplan
Outside the front door.
(This is her wreath on the door.)
Front entry.
Slate tile.
Industrial carpet on the stairs.
View from the living room to the entry.
Hall closet.
Hallway to bedroom, laundry closet on right.
Washer/Dryer included.
Large 11x12 foot master bedroom.
Bathroom with tub/shower.
Marble countertop.
Kitchen/Living Room: We designed the kitchen island to double as a table top and added in a desk space in the right corner so our tenant could make the best use of the space.
View to the living room area.
I arranged a small gift basket to welcome our new tenant.
Some homemade bath salts, hand-lotion, mixed nuts and chocolate!
Gorgeous views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River from the window above the desk area in the kitchen!
As with most views, pictures often can't do them justice. The view from the apartment is simply beautiful in person!
Here's a short video tour of our apartment, since it's temporarily not ours to show. I think I'll use this video next time we list the apartment.
And this video is a walk-through tour I did myself, so not the greatest of tours, but shows more of the inside.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Building Our ADU
Because spending a year remodeling our home wasn't enough work: About a year ago, we began the process of filing for permits to build a detached garage with an apartment above, also known as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
March 16, 2016
Excavation began for the foundation footings and concrete slab.
March 29, 2016
We hired a cement crew to frame and pour the foundation.
April 6, 2016
Concrete poured.
Kaden helping to install the plates and brackets.
April 26, 2016
Dad came up to help frame the garage walls.
May 14, 2016
After Josh (along with help from Kaden, his friend Gabe and their family) installed the floor joists and flooring, Dad came up again to show Josh how to frame a 2nd story wall and jack it up into place.
May 27, 2016
Installing the rood trusses.
Dad came up and helped with that too.
August 11, 2016
Trimming and wrapping the house for siding.
Josh and Kaden installing siding on the front.
September 9, 2016
Finishing up painting. I painted about 90 percent of it myself. I had Kaden help with some of the places where it required climbing higher on the scaffolding.
Interior framing.
Josh did all the electrical work himself. With some assistance from Kaden and I.
November 11, 2016: Insulation.
November 17, 2016: Sheetrock
We hired out the insulation and sheetrock.
Ready for interior paint: Josh sprayed the primer for me and I used rollers to paint the rest of the interior.
December 27, 2016
Over a month after we ordered them, our kitchen and bathroom cabinets finally arrived. There we shipping delays due to the snow and ice storms back east. We ordered the cabinets from LilyAnn Cabinets and they come flat packed, like IKEA. Although they have solid plywood boxes and dove-tailed drawers.
January 6, 2017
I began sanding and coating the butcher block countertops with polyurethane.
January 17, 2017: I finished installing and grouting the kitchen tile backsplash. These are the same penny round tiles we have in our house, just a different color. I was able to pick these up a box of these, from Dal-tile, on clearance for only $25! Normally the box would have cost me $100, so I was thrilled to find such a great deal!
Dad came and helped us a lot near the end. He helped us install all the interior doors, window trim, baseboards, finish the flooring install, installing closet rods/shelves and frame up the back side of our kitchen island. Thanks so much Dad! We couldn't have finished it on time without you!
And thanks to Kaden, who was a huge help as well! He worked hard helping with framing, electrical, and various other jobs needed to help us finish.
Our signed occupancy permit! It felt so good to finally receive that signature of completion!
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