OK, so it has been so long, I am not going to bother with lots of excuses, stories, etc. But I actually have a free hour before I have to start dinner while Joe is at a meeting, so here are bunches of pictures of the past several months. Enjoy!

Some "new" pieces of furniture, our favorite way - the recycled way!

We used to have a single chunk of really ugly cabinet/countertop here, next to the stove, with really awkward shelving inside. I finally rolled up my sleeves, and removed it, and replaced it with this great piece - that I found in our basement! I scrubbed off the years of cobwebs, and will eventually re-top it with butcher block. I am happy with the result!

We have very limited closet space, and we had been piling sheets and towels on the floor, on top shelves of closets, where ever. So we scored this 100 plus year old dresser (the drawers are dove-tailed) at an antique store from a guy who is trying to get out of the business...amazing bargain. Apparently, there is a mirror that attaches to the top, which he said he will send us if he ever finds it. We'll see! This is sitting in our upstairs hallway, at the top of the stairs. 

We got this buffet from the same antique store. It is great, because we have this huge dining room with almost no furniture in it. It is very large, and fits well in our dining room, and also helps out lack of counter/cabinet space in the kitchen. It is filled with big pots and casserole dishes, and allows us to display our pottery. Oh, and the two jugs on the top shelf are full of mead...our most recent brew. Can't wait to have it at holiday time, when it is ready!

I have to admit, this is one of my favorites. We spotted this vanity at a garage sale while we were on a run. We cut the run short, and ran home to get some money. It was a great buy. It is in our new bedroom (see below!) As has become the pattern with our new pieces of furniture, it helps hold the items that were spilling out of the bathroom!

We have moved into our master bedroom! It is not 100% finished, but here it is so far. I will post pictures of the finished product, hopefully soon.

Installed our own ceiling fan on our beautiful new ceiling - minus popcorn finish!

Green walls!

Beautiful rug, that we chose room colors around...

And last but not least, the absolutely gorgeous newly refinished hard wood floors. Scroll down to older posts if you don't remember the original floors we inherited - painted green! This floor took months, and tears, and lots of sweat. But we love it, and are so proud of it. I am not looking forward to the other two upstairs bedrooms that need the same treatment, but at least we know what we are in for this time!

Well, hope that shows what we have been up to. There has been a lot more progress, just not anything interesting to show in pictures. Stripping wall paper, organizing the basement and attic, installing glass block windows in the basement, and lots of outside landscaping (I will get pictures of that stuff soon). It has been a busy summer, and these last two weekends have reminded me of how much I love fall. We stay home more, get stuff done around the house at a slower pace, and drink hot drinks! Hopefully this means I will have more time to post what's going on here on Green Street!

OK, I know it has been way too long. Life on Green Street has been quite busy. Here are a couple of green projects going on at our house. Life is hopefully calming down soon...so I will hopefully post more. There is a lot going on that I want to share!

So we have officially started our garden. I planted seeds in these pods in late February. There is a cover to create a sort of greenhouse, and it sets on top of the refrigerator in indirect sunlight. I was hoping they didn't die during out vacation...no spouts yet...

Hurrah! The peas and green beans are eager, and sprouted while we were on vacation. 

A week into spring, and some peas, green beans and yellow squash had to be transplanted, while the baby sprouts (tomatoes, herbs, onions, other squash, flowers, etc.) stay in the greenhouse. 

Mmmm, we are excited for good eats this summer!

We also took the first steps in our big "insulate the house" project due this spring. During a visit from the water heater man, he informed us that our heat vents were leaking air like crazy. So we bought some insulating tape and went to work. 

Next step, blow insulation into the walls! We will have lots of pics from that project! And more green project posts will come soon =) Check out facebook for pics of our Utah vacation!

Re-Furnish

A big part of our green life in our new home, is furnishing. After moving across the country we didn't have much in the way of furniture, and did not get much while in our one bedroom apartment. So we are now in the process of furnishing our three bedroom home. Along with finding green builders, and pieces made of renewable resources, is our new favorite strategy: re-using. We have found some really incredible pieces over the past year - at garage sales, ebay, as hand-me-downs, etc. Here are some of our favorite "re-furnitures".

This is our newest piece - an ebay purchase. We had to pick it up, due to size, but luckily it was from a family between Canton and Cleveland, so we spent the night with the fam before anchoring it into Joe's truck. It is HUGE! Very tall. We plan on refinishing it, including staining it to match our woodwork. Our TV is neatly tucked inside.

This chair (and three others that match) is a hand-me-down 

from my sister Beth when she and her husband moved from 

Pittsburgh to Canton. They were going to throw them out, 

and we saved them! They of course need refinished as well, 

and I got some great fabric to re-cover the seats. I need to wait until Joe is done using them as step ladders in the bedroom we are working on first though!               

This chair is a one of a kind, and a great deal! We found it in our basement! We are leaving it as is, and it stands in our bathroom to set clean towels on. Best part? Free!

                                

This is another fun and functional piece that also came at an easy price tag - it was free again! But for a limited time. We are house-sitting it along with several other side tables while our friend Meghan is in Africa. Oh, and the coasters on the table? Individual tiles we bought from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store that I glued felt to the bottom of.  25 cents a piece!

And I left my favorite for last. A garage sale piece we bought almost two years ago in Canton, and stored in my parents' house until a couple of months ago. It was worth the wait! We love it. It is locked shut, but we will probably get it opened eventually to make it more functional.   

So we may spend some long days with no luck at garage sales, and late night searching ebay, but it is worth it when we bring home great stuff that is easy on the pocketbook and easy on the earth. Happy hunting!!

Pet Life On Green Street

A couple of cute pics of the pets. After our first shocking heat bill, and before we begin the big project of insulating our house, we keep the heat pretty low at our house (unless we have guests over!) Sage, who would prefer that it be 82 degrees and sunny every day, sometimes has a hard time warming up after a cold walk outside. We feel bad and try to bundle him up ---  which he LOVES.

Mashpotts was getting a little thin when we moved here, and we realized it was because Sage was scarfing down his food every chance he got, no matter where we put it! We got inspired by a contraption we saw at Target, which was a window seat you built onto your existing window for the kitty. All our windows in our house are really low except this one on the landing, which is really high. So we built our own window seat, I sewed a soft bed for it, and we built a "step" for him to get up. Now he has a comfy place to eat which is safe from Sage, and a nice view of outside!

Dreaming of Montana

We have had some pretty cold weather lately, and some great, white fluffy snow. It makes us miss Montana so much, and we have reverted to our Montana winter survival techniques: get out in the winter! Sunday we went cross country skiing. It was a little sticky, but so fun and beautiful. Sage had a fantastic time romping and sprinting through the snow. He absolutely crashed when we got home. He doesn't have as many opportunities here to run to his heart's desire as he did in Montana, so we try to find opportunities for that. He would run way ahead, then turn and sprint back towards us, making powder sprays with each turn.

Sage stayed nice and warm in the coat he got for Christmas from "grandma". Plus he was easy to spot in the woods when he got far away.

     

Sprinting down the trail between Joe and me.

Joe had the day off and got the chance to go ice climbing with some friends. I was pretty jealous, but hopefully will go sometime soon. He had a great time, and we love that we have found so many new friends here who are into outdoor adventures as well. 

We are planning to try our first downhill skiing, West Virginia style, in a couple of weekends. We will try not to be too snobby about it. 

Project Room Update

We got a lot of work done on "project room" this past weekend, thanks to some help from Simon and TJ. We have decided to remove the popcorn ceiling from the house, one room at a time. We were a little concerned since it is such an old house, so first we sent three different samples from throughout the house to a lab, and confirmed that it is asbestos free. Then we got to work. It was really quite easy. We sprayed down the ceiling with a mixture of water and liquid dish detergent. The secret is to get it wet enough to scrape off, but not so that it saturates the ceiling. Then, we used paint scrapers and simply got to work. It took several hours, but we had hot bowls of chili waiting for us when we were done (plus beer to keep the boys going). It needs a final coat of sanding, then primer and ceiling paint, so we aren't done yet. But one step closer!

Dividing the ceiling into sections made it easier to wet and get to before it dried. TJ made very scientific divisions of the ceiling!

The before and after...still needs a sanding, but much improved. 

TJ, Simon and Joe hard at work. 

Oh, and it was really messy!! So glad we invested in a durable drop cloth!

Joe has also been working hard on removing all the paint. He has been using a dental tool (the creepy one they use to scrape the plaque off) to get into the grooves of the woodwork to get all the paint out. He has much more patience than I do...it looks great!!

Until next time!

Our babies

The PETS on Green Street

I know some people think we are a little crazy, especially those who don't have pets (including my family!). But our pets are like our kids! We don't have kids yet, so we spoil our pets, and treat them as part of the family. So I thought I would introduce you to the pets on Green Street. Sage, our boxer, turned two in November. He is so friendly and fun loving...and needy! He seriously has separation anxiety and shakes at the door when we are preparing to go anywhere, so anxious to see if he gets to come. He really has been a really good dog...his main downfall is miniblinds. He HAS to be able to see out the window if we are not home! (Sorry mom, dad and Beth and AJ!)

                                                                   

Our cat, Mashpotts, has had a long and colorful life. We think he is around 8, and he has lived in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Montana, and West Virginia. At least. He was a stray who was adopted by a friend of ours, who could no longer care for him. We adopted him from there. He has been my constant pal who knows just when I need a snuggle. He is starting to take to Joe as well! Word of warning: though he is quite cuddly, he cannot tolerate being picked up. I have the scratches on my arms to prove it!

                        

The best part is that these two guys get along so well, they really are like brothers. It does seem silly, but having pets has definitely enriched our lives =)   But, we really can't wait for babies!!!

                                                

Project Room

So here are some early pictures of "project room" - before and after. The previous owners painted the beautiful hardwood floors in all the upstairs bedrooms, and all the trim including the beautiful mantle in one bedroom. The house is old enough that we are assuming lead paint. So we are stripping it painstakingly without sanding. Even so, Joe has a huge gas mask type thing he wears when stripping the paint. We have had the ceiling tested for asbestos, since it is the popcorn ceiling type, and we are planning on stripping it smooth. Joe has been working long days on this room (I help once in awhile). It is going to be beautiful. More pics to go along with project updates soon! I have been working long hours/weeks to keep up with our projects and new mortgage, so my weekday time to blog is limited =)

Welcome to Green Street! Our house is the one in the middle - grey with red trim. I will give you the tour of our favorite spots in the house!

This is the living room. We love the hardwood floors and fireplace mantle. We do not love the textured fuzzy wallpaper. It is already halfway ripped down.

This is the dining room. Not much wrong with this room to be honest. One of these days it will get a nice coat of paint, and new curtains. It is low on our priority list though. 

And here is the kitchen. I love the sink for some reason, but it also leaves a lot to be desired. The kitchen will be a huge project someday after we have saved a lot of money!

And out the back door is out cute back yard. It isn't very big, but it is fenced in and private. In this neighborhood, just having a yard is a bonus. Sage loves it, although he has already broken out once, so the fence is a priority in the spring. 

So that is pretty much the downstairs, with a tiny bathroom we didn't show. Upstairs is where the current project room is. I will post that next time.

Thanks for taking the tour with me! More later!

Welcome to Green Street!

Well, here it is 2009, and I am starting a blog. I can hardly believe it. I have kept a journal on and off for many years - I find it the best way to keep myself sane. So I figured what better way to be motivated and held accountable for my plans, dreams and promises than to publish it for all to see!?

This blog is meant to track the adventures of our life, and the way it is turning out to be. Joe and I bought a house in November. It was stressful, scary and so exciting and we love it! It was built in 1910, and the adventures of remodeling, renovating, and bringing it back to it's glory is a daily (and financial) challenge, but it is a great one. 

"Green" to me has a double meaning as well. Through experiences and situations in the past several years of my life, I have come to believe strongly that we are called to be better stewards of this earth. Going "green" is an enormous undertaking, I have discovered. And while self-sufficiency is the goal, it is a financial undertaking as well, at least in the beginning. So I invite you all to join me through trial and error, pricing, concocting, tasting, growing, and all the little things that go into this lifestyle change we began about a year ago. 

So welcome to my blog, and welcome to Green Street!