Looking Back... One Year Ago...

In addition to the party-time atmosphere surrounding Dave's birthday yesterday, we also celebrated another milestone this weekend: OUR FIRST YEAR IN OUR FIRST HOME!

I've been thinking about this post for a while now, and I think it may take a few posts to get it all out there. I'm envisioning summing up what's been done and what's still on our to-do list as a self-assessment of sorts.

But first, a flashback...

Forgive the grainy photos, but this is what the place looked like in the listing that had us at "Hello!" -- you couldn't have turned this place down if you tried!

(our building, Thorndale Beach North - fictional home of Bob and Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show)

(The living room)

(Living & Dining Room)

(Ye Olde Kitchen)

(2nd Bedroom)

(2nd Bathroom)

(Master Bedroom)

(Master Bathroom)

(Balcony, complete with astroturf)

The view, which you can glimpse in that balcony shot, was always amazing, of course, and as I referenced in our first post and several times since then, it's the constant reminder of why this was a good idea.

More tonight with a look back at projects (planned or not) already completed.

Carpet!

On Monday morning, when we left for work, our two bedrooms (and more specifically, the carpet in our two bedrooms) looked like this:

Second Bedroom

(you could call this carpet color... Literally Dusty Rose)

Master Suite

(you could call this color... Dingy Mint)

And remember this old flooring... you might recall it from the old front hall... well, it continued on into the Master Suite hall and closet...

So that was Monday morning. By Monday evening, when we returned from a long day of work, our two bedrooms (and more specifically, the carpet in our two bedrooms) looked like this:

Second Bedroom

(this color is called... something Mocha - we can't remember exactly)

 

 

Master Suite

(this color is called... something Cocoa -- see explanation above)

 

 

And that hallway?

(she's a-carpeted, too!)

All the way into the closet:

(cold Chicago winter mornings? no problem.)

ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING US?! SO MUCH BETTER!

20th Project - August Do-Over

Now, that's more like it for August:

 

20th Project - August (Final Installment!?!)

Not what I would have expected for the August installment of this project (Happy Birthday Mel!), but we woke up to loud claps of thunder and torrential rain (I tend toward the dramatic here only because I *tried* to walk Lanie, who followed me out only because she was attached to the other end of the leash I was holding, but who thought I was an absolute moron for attempting to wade through the flood waters behind our building's back door and then walk around in it. The look on her face said, "Lady, you're batsh*t crazy if you think I'm going to get comfortable enough to *do* anything out here, but I'll follow you around until you take me back inside where it is safe and dry." Epic walk-fail.), and bits of flooded beach. The major storm has passed for now (it's going to be a long day like this, I think), so here's what our little beach looks like on this, the twelfth 20th of our life here in our little Home Sweet Schwab:

And here's a shot of the foggy-coated Lake for dramatic emphasis:

It's really hard to believe it's been twelve 20ths already. One week from today we celebrate one year in our first home. Time really does fly when you're having the craziest adventure of your lives... here's a quick summary of all 12 months of 20ths (and now I have to figure out what to do with this project...):

(September)

(October)

(November)

(December)

(January)

(February)

(March)

(April)

(May)

(June)

(July)

(August)

12 months in a minute. Incredible.

(You can view all of the photos from all 12/13 installments of the 20th Project by clicking here - there were several months with more than one photo as this project evolved.)

Lazy Sunday Morning

Just popped a banana bread in the oven, have some coffee brewing, and sitting outside, in the wind, still in sweats, watching the windy, wavy view below... Happy Sunday.

(And Happy (American) Anniversary Rags and D! We love you guys!)

Edgewater: Green

We're getting ready to do some more home improvement posting, I promise. We have carpets coming in soon, and some painting planned, too. But in the mean time, I thought I'd do another color post... I know I'll have some more to add to several of the colors I've done and am doing over time, but for now, there's just so much green around right now that I had to put a post together stat. Enjoy... Here's some of Edgewater as seen through green-colored lenses: