Starting Anew

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — 
-John Pierpont Morgan

It's January. Cold, snowy, and to paraphrase Judy Holliday in Bells are Ringing, the partying is over. It's the start of a new year and the time everyone wants to start fresh or improve their life. My goals for 2014 are getting healthier, surprise surprise, managing my finances better, being a better sister, daughter, mother and friend and restarting my blog. 

I have wanted to restart my blog for awhile and seriously, what better time is there than January. Before restarting it, I took some time to reflect on why it wasn't successful the last time. It wasn't the growing pains that accompany a new blog such as not knowing what the heck you're doing, the poor quality of the photographs or poor writing. These are all things that improve with experience and time. Time. Time and time management was and is my biggest obstacle. When you work a full time job as I do and commute 90 minutes each way, sometimes when you come home after a long stressful day all you can think about is dinner, a shower and sleep. Blogging, whether you do it full time or part time, is work. Paid or not it is still work. It's work that brings me joy. What I learned is that I can't allow the things I have to do, aka employment, prevent me from doing those things I want to do, blogging. My first goal is to manage my time more efficiently so this month I will blog about having better organization in my home and my life. 

“So what do we do? Anything. Something. 
So long as we just don't sit there. 
If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. 
If we wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late. 
- Lee Iacocca” 

So it's January, the holiday's are over, it's cold outside and I am excited about my blog again. My home is important to me and though my resources are limited I still want it to shine. I will use my blog to share with you my ideas on how you can take what you already own or can get on the cheap, give it an update and use it to make your house the home you want it to be. I know today my blog may be a little rough around the edges, but time will smooth them out. Time and a good sander.

Remember, it's never to late to start over.

B.

Working With a Contractor

My friend is my contractor but my contractor is not my friend. What I mean by that is even though he is a friend, and I trust his skills completely, I don't always trust his judgement aesthetically simply because he has his tastes and I have mine. He is a good friend of mine that I can call on anytime if I need help with installing or repairing something or even making something. There is no one I trust more. When it comes to making a decision about what I want for my home, he is no longer just a friend, he becomes someone I've hired to do a job because of his skill and expertise. 

Over the last few years my contractor has completed several projects for me. When I bought my house it did not have a gate. When my Pug Roxie adopted me, it became necessary to get a gate because she kept finding her way out the yard. I asked him to install it and he offered to swing by and do it. When I came home the gate was in and I hated it. I didn't hate the material, it was just a simple cedar gate, but he put it right at the front of the house and it lined up perfectly with my neighbors gate. This really looked odd because it looked like one long 15' fence and you couldn't tell where her property began or mine ended. I wanted the gate to be at the back end of my house, but it was totally my mistake for not stating that. My contractor graciously came back, cut down the post because it was set in concrete, ripped out the gate and relocated it. In other words, he had to do it twice.

When it was time to install the tile in my bathroom, my contractor wanted me to use 6" x 10" tile. It's quick and easy to install because they're larger and would require fewer cuts, but that was not what I envisioned. I wanted 6" x 6 " tile in a running bond pattern. It was a little harder to put in, but it was what I wanted and I'm happy with how it turned out.

We installed the marble top in the downstairs bath but had not worked out the backsplash detail. The top came with a 6' long marble strip that was tapered on the ends. We cut the ends off and glued it to the wall but it looked awful. I asked if we could instead take the rest of the top and cut a 4" high piece to make the backsplash and wrap it around both sides of the counter. Again, it took a little longer but he did it the way I wanted and it made a tremendous difference.

When we installed the light, I again was not home when he started. I came home in mid installation and it was good thing I did. The placement of the light was too low and two far right. I wanted the mirror centered under the light and the way he positioned it my mirror would not have fit. He took the light back down, moved it up and over and now it's perfect.

What I learned is that even though your friend is your contractor it is still your project. It's important to review exactly what you want to avoid not being satisfied with what you get. You never want your contractor or even your friend to do anything twice because their time is just as valuable as your money. It's so important to be around when the work is being done because it's much better to catch a mistake at the beginning where it's easier to correct than it is to walk in, see it finished and have to rip it out.

I am so blessed to have a friend like Monroe work with me on my home. The amount of money he has saved me over the years by not taking advantage of my lack of knowledge is huge. We've developed a good working relationship and for every project we do I will make sure to discuss every detail thoroughly. This is the best way to maintain our working relationship and especially our friendship which at the end of the day is the most important thing.

Monroe rocks!!

We go, We go!

When I was a kid my brothers and I would occasionally drive from Chicago to Moline with my parents. We’d all pile in the car and my dad would say, “We go, we go”! Something about that saying always excited me. It meant every thing was set and it’s time to start our journey.  

I have wanted to start a blog for a long time. It wasn’t until I noticed that lots of folks were starting blogs with my ideas and I got really angry with myself. The only difference between us was that they had the gumption to get out there and do what I’ve only talked about. No more talking about it. It’s time to just do it and join the fun. 

I’m happiest when I’m being creative. I like taking used and abused items from thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales and make them look better than when I found them.  I enjoy scanning the internet and seeing the work of other bloggers and am totally inspired by their creations. I hope one day they will allow me to link to their sites. Some of their work is so beautiful that I want to share it with everyone I know. 

Part of why it’s taken so long to get started is I wanted my blog to be perfect and polished out the gate. I’ve come to realize that if I wait until all the details are worked out I may never get started. So be forewarned, the first few months of my posts may be crude but at least it’s a start and something I can build on. No more waiting, no excuses, no procrastination. Let’s get the party started.