Mic Drop

Bam.  It's done.  We have accepted an offer on our house so now, we are truly done.  We're not ones to toot our own horns, but DAMN!  We did some good work here.  When hearing of our move to Portland, some people said, "Oh no!  All that work you did and now you are leaving!"  For Andy and me, that's not even a thought.  Renovating houses is our hobby and even if we were staying in Decorah, we would probably be looking for our next renovation project.  We love getting into the bones of a house, bringing out the character and making it livable for the modern family.  There will be many things that we did to this house that I will miss (a post on that coming soon!) but everything we learn in each house we do gets brought to the next and so on and so forth.  Conquering the world, one house at a time.

So.....drum roll please.... this is it.

Exterior Before:

Exterior Now:

What we have done:

•   Removed the old siding on 2nd floor and put in board and batten

•   Painted upper board and batten (Raindance by Benjamin Moore color-matched by Sherwin Williams) and lower siding (Rushing River by Benjamin Moore color-matched by Sherwin Williams)

•   Removed chimney on left side of house

•   Ripped out and rearrange garden beds

•   Created a gravel walkway and widened the driveway

•   Removed the garage and prepped area for seeding

•   Painted deck with Behr Deck Over

•   Replaced concrete steps to main entrance with small wood deck

•   Repaired cellar entrance

•   Replaced gutters on portions of the house

Porch Before:

Porch Now:

Things we have done:

•   Built-in storage

•   Painted all walls and trim white

•   Removed coat hooks

•   Painted ceiling blue (Flint Smoke by Behr)

•   Replace light with fan/light

•   Updated door hardware

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen Now:

Things we have done:

•   Removed curtains

•   Painted ceiling white

•   Painted walls (Flint Smoke by Behr)

•   Painted cabinets (Spanish Olive by Glidden)

•   Painted handles black

•   Painted all trim white

•   Removed paint from hinges (previous owners had painted all 30 of them faux wood!)

•   Replaced light (can't see it here but we got a great one!)

•   Replaced fridge

•   Replaced stove

•   Painted all trim and windows white

•   Painted doors (Natural Linen by Glidden)

•   Installed a dishwasher

•   Replaced sink and faucet

•   Removed carpeting and painted stairs

Dining Room Before:

Dining Room Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted ceiling white

•   Painted walls blue (Flint Smoke by Behr)

•   Took down blinds

•   Painted trim and windows white

•   Replaced exterior screen door

     Updated door hardware

•   Painted door (Natural Linen by Glidden)

Living Room Before:

Living Room Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted ceiling white

•   Painted walls blue (Flint Smoke by Behr)

•   Took down curtains

•   Replaced ceiling fan (the new one is a flat black)

•   Tore up carpeting and refinished hardwood floors

•   Painted trim and windows white

•   Replaced beige outlets with white

Kids' Playroom Before:

 Kids' Playroom Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted ceiling white

•   Painted walls taupe-ish color (Puddle by Behr)

•   Took down curtains

•   Replaced light

•   Tore out carpet and replaced with hardwood

•   Painted trim and windows white

    Updated door hardware

•   Removed door from living room to playroom

•   Replaced beige outlets with white

Master Bedroom Before:

 Master Bedroom Now:

Things we have done:

•   Repainted walls  (Blue Grey Slate by Glidden)

•   Painted ceiling white

•   Tore out carpet and installed hardwood floors

•   Replaced beige outlets with white

•   Painted trim, doors, windows white

•   Updated door hardware

•   Built a new closet organizer and removed bifold doors

1st Floor Bathroom Before:

 1st Floor Bathroom Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted walls purple/grey color (Milestone by Behr)

•   New ceiling light

•   New shower curtain

•   Removed some of the handicap bars

•   Painted all trim and doors white

•   Painted vanity (Puddle by Behr)

•   Built a wood farm around existing mirror

•   Replaced hardware on vanity and doors

•   Replaced beige outlets with white

•   Built shelves into the closet (originally just a clothing bar)

•   Replaced vanity countertop

Laundry Room Before:

Laundry Room Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted walls and ceiling white

•   Replaced washer

•   Tore out ceiling drywall to replace upstairs bathroom plumbing 

•   Moved and painted coat hooks from porch

•   Replaced dryer

•   Painted trim/doors/windows white

Upstairs Office/Craft Nooks and Hall Before:

 Upstairs Office/Craft Nooks and Hall Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted walls and ceiling white and green (Spring Cactus by Glidden)

•   Made the stair wall a half wall

•   Tore out closet for office nook

•   Widened doorway to craft area

•   Tore-up linoleum and painted wood floors

•   Painted trim and doors white

•   Replaced all lighting

•   Replaced beige outlets with white

•   Replaced breaker box

2nd Floor Bathroom Before:

 2nd Floor Bathroom Now:

Things we have done:

•   Complete renovation from framing out including new electrical, insulation, plumbing, flooring, window, tub, vanity, lighting, paint.

2^nd Bedroom Before:

 2^nd Bedroom Now:

Things we have done:

•   Painted ceiling (Arctic Ocean by Behr)

•   Painted walls (Ancient Pewter by Behr)

•   Moved ceiling fan from living room and painted hardware silver and put on new globes

•   Tore out carpet and laid square tiles (classroom tiles)

•   Painted all off-white trim/doors/windows white

•   Built a closet organizer, painted closet floors and walls

3rd Bedroom Before:

3rd Bedroom Now: 

Things we have done:

•   Complete renovation including new electrical, insulation, drywall, flooring, new vaulted ceiling, in wall electric heater, window, door, lighting and fan.

Outbuilding and Property Improvements:

The outdoor shower- our most Pinned post!  Thinking we may start an outdoor shower business in Portland...

Forgive the terrible picture but it's super windy today and I wasn't in the mood to mess around!

•  Built an outdoor shower
• General clean-up of all outbuildings
• Created a fully functional workshop with lighting and electrical
• Made a children's playhouse with loft
• Built 4 raised garden beds
• Built 3 compost bins
• Built a chicken coop
• Removed extra fencing and old cattle bins
• Built sandbox

Looking over the pictures, part of me is still surprised Andy got me to buy this house.  Must have been those pregnancy hormones but I don't regret a single day of living here.  Three years of frustration, stress and mess of constant renovation has also brought us the joy and pride of doing work yourself and making a home.

We've seen Esther grow in this house and brought in two more babies.  It's going to be hard to leave but the memories are always there and we are always together.  On to the next project.

The Sum of My Knowledge

As we prepare for our big move, in my abundant free time (extreme sarcasm here), I have been thinking about the things I know about our new home state, Oregon.  The last time I was in Oregon was in middle school when my family drove the Pacific Coast Highway from Washington to San Francisco.  My first visit to Portland will be this weekend.  So, here is the sum of my knowledge.

1. The license plate is super sweet with an evergreen tree.  Super excited for this!
2. Marijuana is apparently legal.  Considering it took a dictionary for me to figure out how to spell it, this is not something I will be partaking in.
3. I can name most of the suburbs of Portland and their location but have no idea how to pronounce them.  (Tigard... You'd think Tih-girrd but apparently it's more like Ty-gird!)
4. There are trees, mountains and beaches/ocean within driving distance
5. Goonies was filmed in Astoria, Oregon.  I'm sure this will be one of our first weekend trips, despite the tarp over the iconic house.
6. The weather is temperate and surprisingly of similar precipitation amounts as here (just more rain as opposed to snow).  Apparently, no one carries an umbrella.  Not sure if this is because they are "too cool for school" or just totally unprepared.  Iowa country living has taught me the importance of appropriate weather gear and dry feet so you will see me in my boots with a rain jacket and umbrella.  Don't care if that makes me like a tourist!
7. You can't pump your own gas.  Right now this is so wacky to me, but when I first moved to Decorah I was totally freaked out by the Faraway cart boys and now I don't know how I'll live without someone unloading groceries for me!
8. Biking is a big part of the culture.
9. It's in a different time zone- Pacific Time which is 2 hours behind Central Time.  Family/friends:  I apologize in advance for the mistakes I will make with this.

Four years ago, Andy interviewed in Cresco as I toured Decorah for the day.  After his interview, I said, "Yeah, I can't live here."  Now, four years later and I am so sad to leave.  Despite not having a heck of a lot of knowledge about our new home, I know if we could settle so fully into county life, we can settle anywhere!  Our Acreage Adventure: The West Coast Chapter?  

The Goldilocks Dilemma

As a mom of three young kids, I am more versed in children's literature than the latest best seller novel or Oprah's list book.  I can recite "Brown Bear" and "Moo, Baa, La" by memory and amuse myself by singing the "To Market" book.  Inevitably, the books I try to hide in the back of the bookshelf are the books the kids aways request, among them "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Throughout the book, Goldilocks seems like a spoiled little juvenile delinquent, first breaking into the bear's house then complaining about all of their stuff.  "Too little/ too big, too hot/too cold."  Well, after the past several months, I think I perhaps have a better understanding of Goldilocks' pickiness.

Andy is a manufacturing engineer and has been working at a plant in the area specializing in air filters.  At the plant, he is the APD (accelerated product development) supervisor which basically means he is a super problem solver.  Through his experiences over the last four years at his job, he has become very passionate about LEAN principles which can be utilized within any company, not just manufacturing.  The time came to move on from his current position, which is typical in his field so he began an extensive job search.

After some initial bumbling, we focused in on three things that a prospective job would require for us to move forward:

1. Job Description- something focusing on LEAN
2. Location- a place to grow with interesting things to do/see, focused on outdoor lifestyle and family friendly
3. Product- the company makes an interesting product that Andy can stand behind

We encountered several jobs along the way that knocked two off the list but kept looking for a slam dunk.  We turned down a few opportunities that just weren't the right fit, at times feeling like a petulant Goldilocks looking for that perfect bowl of porridge.  Finally, the waiting paid off and we were able to fall asleep in that "perfect bed".  

So, we'd like to announce that we are moving to Portland, Oregon.  Andy will begin his job in two weeks as a Senior Manufacturing Engineer at a company that makes ergonomic desks (wacko that he is, Andy had actually custom-built a standing ergonomic desk for his current office).  We are super excited for this change, especially since we spent SO much time researching every aspect of it but also sad to be moving away from a town we fell in love with and our little farm that we put so much sweat into.  

I never would have guessed three years ago as I was driving here the first time from the Chicago suburbs that we would be so sad to leave but, alas, we are.  We will miss family, friends, neighbors and those damn chickens but look forward to new adventures that await.  

Yes, we will continue blogging... it will look different since we plan to rent for awhile so perhaps some posts on adventuring in our new state, learning about west coast living after 31 years of midwest life, or maybe there will even be a tiny house in our future (?!?), so stick with us as we navigate a totally new environment.  We will keep our current title so our web address stays the same but perhaps add an addendum to it... Any suggestions?  So this little Goldilocks is packing away her lock pick set for a bit and preparing for new adventures.