Previewing the Finished Product

In the marathon known as our home renovation, we're nearing the half way point. It's cause for celebration...we've reached a significant milestone, but we still have a LONG way to go...and know that it's likely to be painful at times as we cover the distance ahead. Despite that, we keep putting one foot in front of the other. For those that don't run marathons, this may not make much sense. But hopefully you get the idea.

Over the course of the past two weeks, we've moved in completely and have managed to achieve some level of organization. (Translation...We now have a place that can sufficiently entertain guests and give us a quiet retreat from real life!) We even have cable and Internet installed -- including my favorite Apple TV!

Yes, we still need to replace the furnace, and do about 100 small projects around the house, but it's generally livable. This -- we've decided -- is also the calm before the storm as the kitchen designer arrives next week. While the kitchen remodel is absolutely necessary, we expect it to be a bit disruptive over the next month or two. Fortunately, there are great restaurants in Napa that make cooking very unnecessary!

In the next week or two, we'll have real before/after photos posted that will hopefully reflect some of the changes we've been making, but for now, these photos will have to suffice. And for those that don't follow Spence on Facebook or me on Twitter, you'll notice one with the hot air balloon. This was taken from our backyard early Saturday morning as Abbey and I enjoyed our morning coffee.

Check back soon for the "reveal". (Sorry, we've watched too many HGTV shows...) Or better yet, plan your next trip to Wine Country. We've leave the light on for you.

Cheers!
Trever & Spence

It Looks Like a Real House!

Over the past week, our house has undergone a huge transformation. The wood floors are in, as is a new vanity, toilet and tile in the bathroom. We spent the weekend painting (of course!) and hanging new light fixtures. Phase 1 of the Napa renovation is nearly complete. Whew....

And not a moment too soon. The movers are coming this weekend to move our furniture to Napa. In the very near future, we will have a fairly functional house to host afternoon wine tastings for anyone that is interested.

Spence and I are excited to have the next couple of weeks behind us. After spending countless hours at the house or driving to/from it (more on that in a minute), we are looking forward to a weekend of doing absolutely nothing. The renovations have been -- dare I say -- enjoyable because we've done a decent job at understanding what is within our capabilities, and what is best to contract out. We know there will be endless weekends of projects ahead of us, but it's nice to know that the "big" work is drawing to a close (at least for what we are physically doing).

So, now to the driving story...which I think is best told in a simulated Twitter format. Read on for a chronological account of our afternoon...

1:30 p.m. : I wonder if the furnace works? Let's turn it on and see.
1:45 p.m. : Hmm...No heat. No pilot light. Faint smell of gas. Not good.
3:00 p.m. : Maybe it works now? I'll try again.
3:15 p.m. : Nope. Still nothing. I give up.
9:30 p.m. : Finally...we're leaving. Can't wait to get home.
10:30 p.m. : Crap. We left the thermostat on. With a furnace that may or may not be leaking gas into the house.
11:00 p.m. : We should drive back up. Blowing up the house would ruin our night.
11:01 p.m. : Let's switch cars. Mine goes faster.
11:55 p.m. : turn thermostat off.
1:15 a.m. : Finally crawling into bed.

So, as you can see, going to work on Monday morning has been a welcome relief lately. Not exactly the way weekends should be, but it's become somewhat normal for us. Thankfully, we have movers moving us this weekend. This, I've decided, it even more stressful than renovating the house. Especially when the home you're leasing has been foreclosed on.

But that, is a story for another day...

Cheers for now!
Trever & Spence

Harvest Weekend in Napa

We spent this weekend -- like the many before -- in Napa. The only difference was we mixed in a bit of play this weekend as well. Friday evening we joined a few friends for a Harvest dinner sponsored by ZD Wines. Held at the Carneros Inn, the evening went a long way in reminding us why we've been putting in hours of work on the renovations. The good news is...with the house in mid-renovation a few miles away, we restrained from purchasing any wine over the weekend. And for those of you who have spent time in Napa, you know this is difficult to do when "tasting".

During the day, we continued our quest to re-paint the entire house -- one room at a time. The living room and downstairs bedrooms are now done...just in time for the wood floors to be installed. For those of you who plan to paint anytime soon, the only feasible way to reach vaulted ceilings (or the wall over the stairs) is with a Little Giant ladder. A big shout out and thanks to Chris for letting us borrow his ladder.

The upstairs is also nearly complete! (Wahooooo!) New carpet was installed on Friday. Walking bare foot without fear of catching a disease is really very exciting. Believe it or not, it is actually starting to look like a real house.