...because home doesn't happen overnight.
10.22.11 / Giveaway Winner & Weekend Update

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the Children Inspire Design giveaway!  I really enjoyed reading all the great parenting advice you guys offered up.  As a mother, I tend to overthink little things when it comes to parenting and your comments reminded me that I should see those things for exactly what they are…little things…and focus more on living in the present. And that’s great advice for anyone – not just parents!

Congrats to Katie who advises parents to go with their instincts since they’re the ones who know their children best.

Now, switching gears completely…

THE UNDERDOG PASSED GAS AND FRAMING INSPECTIONS TODAY!  And Handy Hubby gets all the credit for that. He’s been over at the Underdog every evening after work and spending all weekends there too in preparation for inspection. In fact, last night he drove over directly from work and didn’t get back to the apartment until after 11pm finishing up a few small framing projects.

Not only is this passing grade a huge relief and accomplishment for HH, but it means we’re on schedule for insulation next week!  And insulation leads to drywall and drywall leads to real walls and real walls lead to a real house!  Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself but each little nugget of progress feels like Christmas morning to us. We’re very much looking forward to putting the finishing touches {flooring, tile, kitchen cabinetry, paint, etc.} on our fixer-upper.  She should start looking more like a house and less like the inside of a jail cell soon.

image:  Children Inspire Design

11 COMMENTS
budget decor, giveaway, kid-friendly, renovation

11 Comments

April was in CT now CA
22.October.2011

I’m trying really hard not to be a 14 year old boy, but I’m giggling at “The underdog passed gas” LOL

Congrats on passing the inspections!!! It’s been so much fun following along so far.

Ariane
22.October.2011

Isn’t Handy Hubby definitely a “Hurray Hubby” ?! Well, congrats for this huge step, and I know how well it feels when you’ve been spending a lot of time doing tiny things around and then, you paint the walls or lay the tiles and it appears all finished ! + it’s time to decorate ! So much reward !
Take care and enjoy !

Lauren
22.October.2011

Hey April! The first thing I thought was, “The Underdog passed gas!” too!!! Congratulations.

Molly @thewaffler.com
22.October.2011

I just found your blog, and I’m loving it. It’s going to be fun to watch the Underdog evolve!

Lisa
22.October.2011

Congrats!! That is very exciting. I can’t wait to watch the Underdog come together in the next few months!

Iva @in my studio
23.October.2011

Congratulations! will def be following!

Lauren @ chezerbey
23.October.2011

Woohoo!! It’s always such a relief to get the stamp of approval from the inspector (and framing is a big one!).

Barb
24.October.2011

Out of curiosity. Your 3 month lease on the apartment must be up soon, were you easily able to extend your lease? How much longer do you think you will be in the apartment?

housetweaking
24.October.2011

Barb – Our 3-month lease is up at the end of this month {October}. Good memory! Obviously, we won’t be moving into the Underdog by then…which is why I made certain when we signed our contract with the apartment complex that we’d be able to stay on a month-to-month basis after fulfilling our 3-month lease. Fortunately, that was their policy exactly…once your contract is fulfilled {whatever length that may be – in our case 3 months} you may stay on and pay on a month-to-month basis thereafter. We just have to give 30 days notice before moving out. It’s working out great for us since we knew going into renting that our renovation most likely would take longer than anticipated. Great question!

housetweaking
24.October.2011

Lauren – We agree! You never know how inspectors are going to interpret the county’s regulations. Luckily, HH was adamant about communicating with the county inspector and contractor before we started any demo to make sure our plans were doable…removing walls, vaulting the ceilings, installing a support beam for support, electrical upgrades, replacing a window with a door, foam insulation, metal roof, etc… and would pass inspection upon completion. He spent a lot of time up front finalizing everything before we started any of those projects. It paid off because we passed with flying colors! Such a relief!!!

housetweaking
24.October.2011

April – Too funny! I totally didn’t see that at first…maybe I should have my boys edit my posts. They definitely would have been rolling with that one. Hehe. Thanks!