Two Dogs & A House

Dust Your Shoulders Off...

2011-09-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

The title of this post really has 0% to do with what you're about to read, other than the fact that I had to "dust off" my thrift store find before spray painting it. I however, can't get this song out of my head!

I've recently stumbled on some awesome blogs, where people are turning yard sale items, or thrift store finds into some awesome decor. And since this old house has been draining my wallet in home improvement projects recently, I figure I can use all the help I can get.

I found this mirror at my local St. Vincent dePaul. I'm not really sure who St. Vincent is, but he has some awesome stuff. After reading (stalking) my blogland friends (we're BFF's eventhough they may not know it) I have been blessed with an eye for crap. Yep, you heard me right! I can spot crap a mile away, and I could immediately tell you that I could spray paint it or add some new material to it and it would look awesome. FHH (future handy hubby) thinks I'm nuts and is constantly saying "Can't you just leave anything alone? Why do you have to spray paint EVERYTHING?"

Well, FHH, I'm not made of money and when I can't afford what I want, I'll make it myself. Like in the case of this mirror. I have been eyeing message board projects where people have painted chalkboard paint on their walls or even on their backsplashes and appliances! I may have crazy colored paint, but I know for a fact I can re-paint when the time comes without any complication. I haven't however worked with chalkboard paint before so I wanted to take a little caution. I also had an option of buying chalkboard paint in the spray paint variety...so I knew this would save me some time!

Before, Ignore the DOG HAIR!

So while checking out all of St. Vincent's cool stuff, I spotted this oldie but goldie, mirror. With my eye for crap, I knew I could make this into something awesome. Throw in some spray chalkboard paint for the mirror and some hot pink spray paint for the frame and I was in business!

Mirror Before

Chalkboard Paint Finished

After

What do you guys think? I just have to find a way to mount this to the wall, it's pretty heavy!

Final Cost of the Message Board:
Mirror: $10.00
Chalkboard Paint: $3.00 w/Coupon
Spray Paint: $3.50

Total: $16.50

No way I could have bought this for that price! I'm pumped!

You Win Some...You Lose Some

2011-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've been redoing my bathroom recently. More to come on that later...

However, this weekend's project was only supposed to be installing beadboard to the ceiling. I have been checking out the different wooden options and recently came across textured wallpaper that was supposed to resemble the real stuff. After reading several reviews online, I decided to try it out.

After a trip to Lowe's, I settled on the Allen + Roth brand. A roll covers 11 square feet and is about $20. It comes pre-pasted...so per the reviews it should have been as simple as dunking the paper in water, letting the paper set for 5 mins then smoothing it on the ceiling. All in all, it was that simple, but getting it to cling to the ceiling right away involved another step...screaming and saying a few choice words when the pre-pasted paper wouldn't stick. Try hanging on to something that was wet on one side and the other was covered in a solution the consistency of thinned petroleum jelly. This stuff was sliding all over the place.

Horrible i-Phone picture, but it looks great! IMO...

After 2 pieces were up on the ceiling we decided to take the light fixture down. As always...we found an interesting discovery. Water was pooled in the bottom of the globe and rust, mold and lots of other unwanted goodness. So...off to ikea we went for a new light fixture...hoping of course that the steam from the shower was the cause of all the excess moisture. I had been eying this cool chandelier that worked with the rest of the bathroom. Unfortunately for us, we didn't pay attention to how the chandelier was hanging from the ceiling.

Mold, and Knot and Tube Wiring

While the beadboard looks awesome and at first glance could be mistaken for the real thing...this chandelier hangs way too low, even for our short heights and the S-hook included...it just won't work. So back up goes the old light fixture, until we can find something else. Easier said than done though...the 2 rusted screws on this fixture were the biggest PITA to remove and re-install and I don't mean the pocket-bread variety. We replaced those with two new screws and putting it back up went much smoother.

Whoops...guess we'll be more careful
when picking out a fixture!

In other news...I found out my entire house has knob and tube wiring, which they stopped installing in the 30's. Yeah, my house is old! As long as the k&t was installed properly and wasn't modified to over increase it's load, the wiring is safe. However, knowing how everything else has gone in my house, I'm guessing this will probably need replacing down the road. Alana 1 - Money Pit - 9,781!

I guess you can't win them all...

Finding My Handyman...

2011-08-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

As I re-read the blog post the other night it dawned on me that I rambled all over the place without any real details about everything new going on in my life. So let's rewind a little...

This old (piece of crap) house, with lots of character (problems and curve balls) has caused me to reach my breaking point more times than I'd like to remember. Which usually resulted in a phone call to my brother and/or parents begging for their help because my water heater busted or random other appliance or piping would break. Which immediately would open the doors for said brother and parents to joke that I hangout in the aisles of Home Depot to look for a boyfriend that could help out around the house. Per my brother, it was probably best if he didn't speak perfect english...horrible, I know!

It wasn't that I was always single...in fact I was a serial dater. But for some unknown reason, I was always dating the wrong guy for me and absolutely none of them could have cared about helping out around this old (piece of crap) house. Until....in walks Steve! We met on New Years Eve last year. If you follow this blog at all, you already know I had a date for New Years...and (shocker) his name wasn't Steve! :)

Steve and I were friendly, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. I had a date and I'm not particularly fond of strangers so I spent most of the time hanging out with my date and friends. Which, like always, was someone who was completely wrong for me...anyone that knows me at all, can tell you that I am the biggest goofball and could make a joke out of anything. This guy seemed super serious all the time, and worst of all was annoyed when I stayed over late watching Ohio State's bowl game. I know, right!! What was I thinking? However, in his defense, via the power of facebook as a stalking tool...he seems very happy right now with a beautiful lady!

Anyway, Steve and I kept running into each other during various get-togethers of mutual friends. We hit it off right away. He started texting me non-stop...which was a bit creepy if we're being honest here! haha I'm an independent woman, kid, girl, something...anyway I'm independent. It weirded me out that he was all up in my bidness right away.

We started hanging out more and more, neither of us thinking anything serious would come of it. Sharing dinner and more buffalo mac and cheese than I can count over a drink or two at Keystone on a regular basis. We probably watched every movie that was out this spring and Steve probably consumed 5 tons of popcorn...the kid can't go to a movie without eating popcorn. Well thanks Steve, now I can't either!

Not long into our "friendship" I found out I lost my job (yet another detail I left out). Losing my job was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me, in hindsight at least. I was absolutely MISERABLE at my last job...but getting called into an office and being told your being laid off sucked more than anything I've experienced in quite awhile.

Steve and I had planned to go up as friends to go see my brother from another mother in Chicago that weekend. After receiving Friday morning news that I lost my job...I knew there was no way I was up for a weekend trip to the windy city. After calling my Mom, I immediately called Steve to break the bad news. Lucky for me, he wasn't too upset and later in the day agreed to come up to my place and keep me company over the weekend. I know my crazy mother was overly thankful for this. For whatever reason, Mom had me on suicide watch. I would say I'm just kidding here...but I'm pretty sure she was afraid I was going to do something dramatic...something about the texts and phone calls I received every 5 minutes asking me if I was okay, or what I was doing. Which by the way, I was forced to respond to whether I liked it or not...because no response meant the worst. Crazy, right?! Sorry, Mom...you know it's true though!! hah

Anyway...Steve came up, hung out with me and the dogs...took me to the aquarium and cooked Chicken Riggies...a recipe that came from where he grew up in New York. Don't worry I'll share the recipe later. I make him cook it all the time now. Liz Roberts had it recently and loved it and Brutus always manages to get his hands (paws) on a bowl somehow or another. Fortunately he has managed to keep it all down, which is nuts, because this dish is SPICY!

It was after this weekend that I was hooked. And shortly after that, that I knew I had found my handyman for life! So after the longest of all stories I'll leave you with this, the top ten reasons Steve is a perfect match for me, in no particular order here you go...

10. He lets me boss him around
9. He can hang out with my friends like he's known them forever
8. He can handle my messiness
7. He loves to go out and do things as much as I do, be it museums, playing putt-putt, shopping, or taking a drive, we are always on the go.
6. He can cook (I struggle in this department)
5. My family loves him already and he doesn't mind hanging out with them
4. He can handle Brutus and better yet, loves the dogs like his own
3. He's a christian and goes to church with me
2. He will clean up dog pee...friends that know Brutus, know this is an issue! haha
1. I can't make him mad. Believe me I've tried. He takes my sassy pants attitude like a champ!

I could list a million other reasons, why I'm absolutely head over heels for my handyman but then Steve may think he's the star of this blog...Brutus and Annie would be ticked off for sure! So without anymore rambling...introducing my handyman!

All Smiles Here

Taking a Nap with the Dogs!

Not Wasting Time Digging In

Enjoying a Reds Game

Underwater

2011-08-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Work has been kicking my arse lately and sadly my blog has taken a backseat. I find myself repeating the phrase "Just keep swimming...just keep swimming!" over and over. Working 11-12 hour days have been a refreshing change of pace. It's nice to be needed and truly pushed to my potential for once, but most of all it's nice to feel like I'm ridiculously good at what I do. I feel like I've finally hit my stride with my "career" and enjoy going to work every morning. Downtown has been a challenge, to say the least. Stepping over urine and other bodily fluids has become a daily task. But that's a whole different blog post.

There have been tons of projects going on around here, but it's been mostly exterior stuff. Honestly, until recently I could have cared less about taking care of the actual structure of my house. I mean come on, I've got at least 30 other walls begging for some crayola paint color...who cares if water is slowly leaking, or pouring for that matter into my basement. Well lesson learned here folks (or just Mom, being as I'm sure all my readers have long forgotten me), you can't paint drywall when there is mold growing up the wall!!

Lesson #2 learned...check your basement for leaks, water damage, mold, etc. Or stumble upon this awful scene while pulling your steam cleaner out of the basement storage room, for you guessed it...a mess of Brutus'. Needless to say after finding mold city, on my walls, carpet and ceiling my focus has changed from trying to shock everyone with my wild colors on my walls to making sure my house is structurally sound and as waterproof as possible. Trust me this picture looks a lot more calm than what it really was. And only one section of the room...gross!

I've learned a lot in these last few months, bought my first power tools (I am addicted btw...someone buy me more!!), learned demolition is a great stress reliever and having family and a my one day handy hubby's help is priceless! Well technically it cost me a few gatorades and Chipotle for my brother and Steve (future handy hubby). I'd say I got off easy. Minus the fact that I'll be hearing about the help that my brother and his gun show provided for the rest of my life. I guess after 6 hours or more of busting up concrete and shoveling gravel to roll around in a wheelbarrow up and down hills...I can't complain.

All jokes aside until recently I've been getting less and less sleep...with my house issues, crazy work schedule and trying to maintain some type of social calendar. I've become a fan (addict) of Starbucks (sorry Mom I know that habit ranks up there with smoking and boozing it up) coffee is an amazing thing in the morning and I am hooked!

I've missed having this outlet to share my "bidness" to complete strangers who find my blog because their dog inhaled cornmeal! Thankfully things seem to be calming down...WOOOOOOO!!!!! It was about time! And lucky for you, I'm ready to begin sharing my "bidness" to all of my readers (my mom!) again. I can't promise you anything colorful and exciting, just yet...but I can promise you some entertaining laughs at my expense and maybe some valuable tips in DIY demo and home improvement along the way. Hopefully now that things are mold free (well almost) around here, I'll be able to start working on more fun projects.

So there's an update on what's up around here. Cry me a river, right? Thanks for letting me ramble...can't wait to get back at this! Brutus and Annie send their love your way!

New Addition to TD&AH!!!!

2011-04-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce Two Dogs & A House has a new addition! I couldn't help myself...I did a terrible thing and visited a local shelter and found Big Ben! A full-blooded GREAT PYR!!!! I took Brutus and Annie to visit Big Ben and they were just as smitten as I was. Here are some pictures of him at his foster family's house.

How Could I Turn Down This Face?!

Easily Has 100 lbs on Brutus!

Big Ben will be joining us this weekend! You may think I'm crazy but...

APRIL FOOLS!

ARE YOU ALL NUTS?! ANOTHER DOG IN TD'AH?! HECK NO!!!!!!!!

Hope you got some good pranking in! In all seriousness Big Ben is up for adoption in the D.C. area, you can find him on petfinder! :)

In Case You Didn't Know...I'm Famous!

2011-03-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

For all those skeptics out there...

While a bit hard to read, I'm finally showing up on google! Not only am I able to find it but I'm getting multiple texts/e-mails from people saying they've tried it. Check out the last link on the picture. Guess you just have to know what to google! I would also like to point out that a lot of dogs must have been chowing down on some cornmeal between December and now! Because when I googled "My dog ate 4 boxes of Jiffy, WTH do I do now?!" nothing came up!

A big thanks goes out to Brutus for loving Jiffy Cornbread Mix, on top of managing to expand your stomach to elephant size proportion. That takes talent, buddy! Without your love for eating random items in my house, my existence in the blogging world wouldn't have been possible! I however, would still be able to eat said cornbread. Is it strange that I walk by the section of the supermarket aisle and cringe? Man I loved cornbread...it was a weekly staple at Two Dogs & A House. I just can't get over seeing what came out of him!

Gross, right?! Hopefully I haven't ruined cornbread for everyone reading this!

My Dog Isn't Alone...

2011-03-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

On a daily basis, I check out my page views to see how many people are actually reading this thing. It really surprises me sometimes! Anyway, one of the options is to see how people were referred to my blog posts. More often than not, it comes from my facebook posts. However, this morning, someone found me via google. And the search words were none other than...are you ready for this?

"MY DOG ATE CORNMEAL"

It's nice to see that Brutus isn't the only dog, who can get into random groceries when my back is turned! For those of you who are new to the blog, check out this post! Brutus chowing down on Jiffy cornmeal was the entire reason behind starting this blog. Seeing those words pop up in my analytics cracked me up this morning!

Sending well wishes to whomever's dog will be feeling a little uncomfortable for the next few days. Just know that spooning and burping are the best medicine!

Guess Who's Back...

2011-03-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Alana...remember me? You may have seen me blogging here on a fairly regular basis. Well at least I was, until...

1. I started focusing on working out and eating healthy, to win a biggest loser challenge! This requires grocery store visits and planning instead of drive-thru windows and playing ennie meenie miney moe with the menu.

2. Decided to plan a surprise party for a best friend, way more work than what I expected! But she was surprised! I think her exact words were "WHAT IS THIS?!" haha

3. Got back into reading.

4. Two dogs needing yearly vet visits.

5. Got saddled with an 83 lb dog with Allergies! Whatever treatment way I go, none of them are cheap or quick.

6. Got saddled with an 83 lb dog with Allergies and a ~~tiny~~ super-sized dose of fear aggression towards the Vet, which required two vet visits, a muzzle and a tranquilizer which didn't work until I arrived home from the Vet...but that's another story in itself.

7. Started training for a half marathon. Regardless of starting out at the rock bottom and only running 10 miles a week or so, it still takes a heck of a lot of time out of your schedule.

8. Experienced/ing a shaky atmosphere at work.

9. Painting, picking up dog poop outside (glamorous I know), cleaning, shopping for the house, and general home up-keep. It's been going on, I just haven't had the time nor energy to blog about it.

10. Worked on my general awesomeness*.

*Disclaimer - We all know this one is a lie, however who can leave a list with only 9 topics...obviously not me! Maybe no one will read this, since the font is so small and italicized...better yet I should have written this in wingdings.

Well, I think that just about brings you up to speed. There have been a million times I've wanted to jump on the computer and overshare about my ordinary shenanigans, but my 83 lb dog threatened to show a little fear aggression my way if I blogged about his embarrassing (read terrifying...for the vet at least) couple of visits. That's my story and I'm sticking with it...

I appreciate the notes on facebook, emails and texts from everyone that enjoys the blog. It was awesome to see that people actually noticed that I stopped blogging and requested I start again.

That being said, let the oversharing begin again!

I'll leave you with this teaser, more to come on this picture later. When Brutus isn't reading of course. :)

Brutus THE BEAST!

TD&AH Dialogue

2011-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

After explaining to my Mom that my tub faucet was now dripping and I was tired of my house constantly breaking. Apparently she felt the need to address not only my broken faucet but my lack of a significant other, you know other than my dogs. :)

Me: My tub is dripping now.

Mom: Eharmony. Look for a guy that enjoys plumbing and walking in Home Depot.

Me: Thanks, Mom.

Mom: I think it's a plan. Funny enough to quote me on your blog...

So Via Google Images, here is my Mr. Right, an attractive, accomplished plumber, speaks English as a first language (according to my brother that shouldn't matter) and enjoys long walks down Home Depot aisles. A girl can dream, right?

Would You Like Some Cheese with That Wine?

2011-02-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

I like to imagine what the previous homeowners of my home were thinking when they did shotty repairs, random decorations, etc. I wonder what they would think now that I have started dismantling their previous home and painting my rainbow of bright colors everywhere.

Before I started this blog I got into a few home improvement projects, simply because I couldn't stand to look at the existing eye sore anymore. Or the smell that the previous fur-kids left behind, whom were obviously not set on going outside to use the bathroom! So, the next few posts will travel back in time, before blog land existed to me and I started my oversharing of my ~~overly exciting~~, everyday life.

That brings us to the most awesome (read tacky) wallpaper ever! Check it out!

HOT! I know, right?!

Here's Another View...

While you're checking out this most awesome wallpaper ever, please don't look at my most awesome cabinets ever. Second only, to of course...the wallpaper. Or those snazzy curtains, left behind by the previous owners! Side note - when drafting a contract for purchasing a home, things get pretty specific, as in leave the 20 year old stove and snazzy curtains! I however did not request for all of the window treatments to stay...however, lucky me!! I was gifted all of them! Oh yeah, plaid, lace and yellowed blinds, the works! Awesome!

I'd also like to take this moment to point out my beautiful ceiling fan, also left behind by the previous owners. Don't let the fan fool you, it may look like it blends in, even camouflages itself with the white ceiling...unfortunately it's an every day yellowing even more cream. Gross!

If there was anything I had the ability to easily snap my fingers and change in my house, without any change in my bank account, or disruption to my everyday life it would be to have my kitchen completely remodeled. New cabinets, new appliances, new overhead lighting and yes even new curtains! I digress...

Believe it or not, I had a couple of people who walked in and loved my wine wallpaper and plaid curtains. Wowza! This wallpaper made me cringe every single time I walked into my kitchen, so it ended up being my first home improvement project!

After reading a few blogs online, I was confident that I could remove the wallpaper without screwing something up. Off to my trusty Home Depot, I grabbed a paper scrapper that I had seen on the blogs but opted to not buy the $20 tool that pokes holes all in the wallpaper and essentially helps the gel removal product (which I also purchased) soak into the wallpaper.

Let me tell you, BUY THE $20 TOOL! It will be well worth it! My rationale for not buying the incredibly important tool was that I had only a tiny amount of wallpaper in my house. I could figure something out to do without. Well I did. It's called lots of wasted time and effort. This wallpaper had to be pulled off layer by layer and I went through almost an entire bottle of removal gel!

Paper Scrapper

Glue Removal Gel

$20 Tool YOU MUST BUY!

All in all, things turned out pretty good. Here's a picture mid way through. See what I mean about layer by layer?

No More Wine!!!!

Unfortunately after all was said and done, I didn't snap a picture of the final result. I'll be sure to add one to this post down the road, when I remember to snap a picture of the fresh and clean wall! Not bad for my first home improvement project, huh?

Another One Bites The Dust...

2011-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

I spent most of my weekend doing loads of laundry! I have a guest bedroom, that sadly has become my catch-all for dirty clothes. I had waited probably an entire month to have a major laundry day, other than a few loads here or there when I ran out of something or another. Gross, I know! I never claimed to be perfect. :)

Over the last few weeks work has been a bit stressful, with planning a move to a new office, end of the month, etc. my hours have been a bit extended. On top of that, add my new love for working out and avoiding drive-thrus, I just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up. So...my guest bedroom has been my dirty (literally) ~~little~~, MASSIVE secret!

At about 8 loads in to my laundry, my closet decided to put my task on hold...when this happened! Eek!

My Closet Rack...only About 2 Feet Lower than Where it Started!

All The Clips Broke, or Ripped Out of The Wall!

I was actually thinking to myself, I'd love to get into another home improvement project, other than painting! I guess my 84 year old house heard me. Guess I'll keep my thoughts to myself next time...

Now what to do with this closet? Most of you know I have an obsession with Ikea! I'd love to get rid of the horrible white grates and turn more towards Swedish bliss or Sex and The City, ohh laa laah Carrie, style! However, with the shape of this closet looking more like a long hallway, I can't quite figure out how I would make my closet transformation happen?

I have two identical closets on each side of my room. Part of me wants to knock down both closet walls so I could make one large closet and just extend my room in one direction. Essentially, not losing space in either closet real-estate or bedroom real-estate. Just shifting and combining the two closet spaces, making a more functional closet space. The other half of me is screaming "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

I haven't quite moved up to being adventurous enough to knock down a wall or two, at that!! In time though...I see some disasters coming my way!

Good Riddance to Glidden!

2011-02-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

Unlike the saying, I won't be waiting till a "third times the charm moment"! Glidden brand paint has failed me again! After the suggestion of the Home Depot paint staff to try out samples on Glidden paint choices, because Glidden is known for not actually matching their paint swatches...I decided to stay on the safe side and buy some small paint samples.

I had stuck with this brand for every paint purchase in my home since it was a great bang for my buck. The quality of the paint is great and it spreads evenly. Not to mention it's several dollars cheaper than the other Home Depot Brands but still seems comparable in product. Their colors seem to be quite contemporary and have a massive selection of the bold hues I've been selecting throughout my rainbow inspired house. However, on my previous two paint picks, the color has been completely off. After spending $10 in samples to test out the paint, the value per gallon is completely lost. So after this last mishap, it's Good Riddance to Glidden!!

I've been searching for a lime green color to paint my kitchen with. My few requirements are that I don't want it to look like a highlighter, neon black light paint, blind me when I walk into my kitchen or glow in the dark. Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner!! NOT!! Unfortunately, all of my color choices, even Granny Smith Apple, the darkest non-bright color that I thought would be way to puke green, ended up "Ouch, MY EYES!" bright.

Look How Muted These Shades Are Compared To The Wall...

Another Shot of the $3 a Pop Paint Samples That Do NOT Match The Swatches!

And Finally...On The Wall!! Holy Heck, What Happened?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a new paint brand to use? So frustrating! While I like the idea of sampling paint, I'm now stuck with a kitchen that has 3 random green (YELLOW) splotches on it! Awesome!

Anyone Need a Big Spoon...?

2011-02-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

My persistence is paying off! This was the view looking down from my bed late last night. My sweet (only when sleeping) furkids have finally decided to do their sleeping in their own bed!! Brutus, however, demands to be the "little" spoon. Annie, weighing in at over 60 lbs less than her big brother, doesn't seem to mind. I on the other hand, can't say I don't miss being the middle spoon in this mess of my furkids.

All Together Now...Awwwwww!

Meet Hampton...

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

I'm still struggling with keeping the dogs off of the furniture. After Brutus' incident, I'm staying strong, no matter how much he begs or gives me the puppy dog eyes. Look at his face? Look how much he wants to get on the couch! And then I remember him peeing out of spite on my floor and I want to roundhouse kick him in the face with my shoe! Is my foot located there on purpose or coincidence? I guess you'll never know. I have to give it up to him for his persistence! When I ignore him at the far end of the couch...he comes CLOSER!!!!

Look How Sad I Look...

Does It Help If I'm This Close?

After dealing with a few days of up close and personal time with Brutus and Annie I decided I needed to find a rug that they could hangout on but still not be all up in my "bidness"! So with Ms. Shuey in toll, I went off to the amazing land of Ikea!! Is that store dangerous for anyone else's wallet, or is it just me? I could spend hours following those arrows around on the floor!

The trip was a lot of fun, I found some kitchen cabinets I'd like to re-do my kitchen with, once I win the lottery or marry for money! Jamie managed to navigate the cart with all of our whos-its and what-its sticking out everywhere. We kept seeming to run into the pathway of an elderly man driving around on his scooter! Never failed, if we were in picture frames, bath, bedding, etc. he was coming right at us! I could get around him fairly easily but sticking James with the cart was pretty comical, for me at least! In hindsight I should have totally taken a picture of this...but you'll have to use your imagination on this one!

We eventually made it down to the basement and I found an amazingly cheap rug for $20.00, but decided to go with a tad more pricey option which fit my decor more. So, I present to you the newest addition to Two Dogs & A House, Hampton! :)

How Hampton Came Packaged...

Flattening This Guy Out Took Some Effort...

Annie & Brutus Are In Love With Him!

I ended up "shopping" my house after the Ikea trip and moving my coffee table back over in front of my couch. We'll see how this goes...The main reason for me relocating it, other than for it to hold my empty fish tank, is because of Brutus' huge tail! It is the exact height of say plates, cups, glasses full of liquid! So smart me, decides to buy a white rug and put the coffee table on top of it so Brutus' tail can knock everything off onto my new 100% spotless, white rug!

IDIOT! I'm guessing this won't last long...but for now, enjoy! My house is looking less college-esque and more home-like everyday. I could probably help with that by not painting wild colors on the wall, but what fun would that be and since when have I had a drab personality to match toned down paint?

Final Result...I Love It!

2011-02-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

The other morning I was woken up by Brutus (read, worst dog in the world) jumping around like a maniac, barking at our next door neighbor’s furkid, Lacy (read, dog that barks at everything including the wind, which causes my dog to bark non-stop, which causes me to want to murder myself as well as Brutus, the worst dog in the world as well as Lacy who is the worst neighbor dog, EVER). Let me also mention that this all happens when my bright-eyed neighbor wakes up at 5 AM or earlier. While I’ve been known to get up at the occasional 5 am for an early morning workout, I by no means feel the need to scream at the top of my lungs to wake up my neighbors or let my dogs bark their heads off so my neighbors want to murder themselves.

Brutus Barking at Lacy...Annie Behaving

Anyway, so here I am lying in bed, at 5 AM, trying to sleep and Brutus is jumping on top of me, trying to jump out my second story window to eat Lacy, the neighbor dog. At this point in time I’m welcoming his need to launch himself out the window, I’m half tempted to open up said window just so I can go back to sleep. Instead, I decide to kick my foot as hard as I can in order to get him to shut up. However, at 5 AM, I have to say my aim is a little off…my foot ended up kicking said window instead of Brutus. How my Jackie Chan kick of my foot didn’t go through the glass, I will never know.

This however, was the last straw! I had caved in letting the dogs on the couch and bed, and decided that after being attacked by my Brut of a dog, this wasn't going to happen anymore. So the next evening I got in bed and instructed my dogs to lay on their mat. Annie, the angel dog, decided to do as she was told. Brutus however, decided to get as close to the bed and stare at me. The lights were off, I threw the comforter over my head but I could feel him looking at me! I turn my back to him and hear him walk away...thinking that he's going to go to his mat.

Brutus Staring Me Down...Annie Behaving

All of a sudden I hear a dripping noise then a full-blown woosh! That stupid dog hiked his leg and decided to show me who's boss! I am convinved that Brutus understands english and was giving me a proper "Screw You, Mom!!"

Brutus Showing Me Who's Boss...Annie Behaving!

Guess who won this battle?!

McDonald's Arches...New to Thompson Ave!

2011-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

Along with the carpet removal, I was able with the help of my AWESOME MOTHER!!! Wait let me make that a little bigger, AWESOME MOTHER...That's much better (gotta keep my help happy)!

I was able to tackle yet another painting project. Someone at work commented that I should have all of the rooms in my house painted with as many weekends as I've spent painting! If only that was the case. Painting takes time, patience and a steady hand at least to trim around the baseboards and ceilings, etc. While I could have all the time in the world, my ability to paint around trim looks like I tried to reenact a fist-pumping Jersey Shore member, beating the beat up with a brush in my hand! So fortunately my Mom doesn't mind to come over ~~every once in awhile~~ every weekend paint brush in hand! A paint brush, might I add, that isn't even allowed to stay at my house for fear that dog hair will swarm it, it will get lost in the mess of my house, etc. Please reference pictures below...

This weekend it was the hallway leading from my kitchen to my basement which includes a small pantry. I started out trip one to Home Depot looking for a light orange, a color called Refreshing Mimosa. It was light, but still bright enough to keep up with my purple walls in my dining room. Now, let's pause here for a moment. For all of you non-drinkers out there, a Mimosa includes Orange Juice and Champagne. So wouldn't that lead you to think the color was a shade of orange?!

Refreshing Mimosa...

Like everything else, Glidden sells, the color above is not true to the paint swatch. Imagine a little warmer orange. After being satisfied with the paint swatch, I picked up a gallon of Refreshing Mimosa to roll on the pantry and hallway walls.

Lots of Screws to Remove...

It was about midway through these shelves, I realized I need to buy a drill! Or at least an electric screw driver, holy crap that was a lot of work! The hallway was a tan color before that extended to the ceiling. The picture below shows it painted with the tinted ceiling paint. That later dried white.

Before of the Hallway

And here comes the interesting part....HellllllOOoooOOoo Ronald McDonald! I'll have a double cheeseburger, fries and a large sweet tea!

That Isn't Just the Lighting Folks!

And Yes...It Looks the Same on the Wall!!!!!

I mean I wanted to be "refreshed" but it looks like someone put a little lemon-aid in my Mimosa!! Eek! This folks is when I found out that Glidden's paint samples, do not match their actual paint. What the heck is the point of having a paint sample to take home and hold up, if it isn't going to match? Thankfully, I had my awesome mother with me to be the "b", her words not mine.

After a second trip to Home Depot, and 45 minutes of arguing with "Kate" behind the paint counter, we were able to succesfully return my lemon-aid Mimosa paint. With the added knowledge that paint swatches of Glidden have a disclaimer behind them that the swatches don't match the actual paint I was thrown for a loop and decided to sleep on the decision of what color to paint my now McDonald's inspired hallway.

The next morning I headed back to Home Depot for trip #38203948023984, or trip#3. I decided to totally switch directions after waking up craving a cheeseburger! I picked up a few samples and tried them out then sent a few pictures around to friends and family and begged my mother to come over yet again so I could avoid the fist pumping action on my ceiling and baseboards!! Thanks Mom.

The Color I Ended Up With...Deep Aqua

Trying to Decide Between Two Blues...

Look Mom...Your Famous!

First Coat is Done!

Looking Down The Stairs...I Love It!

Brutus However, Isn't Sure...

Or There is a Window and My Neighbor is Outside :)

Finally 4 trips to Home Depot later I have a painted hallway, pantry, and some brand new, yet extremely ridicilous, Glidden paint knowledge! What do you think?!

Better Be B-Dry...

2011-01-31T09:05:00.000-08:00

Before I even started this project, I have had their catchy tune in my head! You know the one… Water, water, everywhere, it leaks into the ground…something about your basement being wet? …then the unforgettable chorus, better be b-dry, before it hits the ground, b-dry…Okay so maybe it isn’t so unforgettable because I can’t remember the words. However, what I do remember is stuck.

Anyway, my basement is pretty water tight, or so it seems for the most part. Other than an old coal storage room that looks like it may have had some previous water damage. I started this project right after Christmas, scrubbing the walls down with bleach and making sure the mold was gone from the walls.

Check Out the Gross Mold...

Gearing Up!

After The Mold Scrub Down...But Before of the Gross Carpet!

Eventually, I'll need to strip the paint off of the walls to paint a concrete sealer. However, with that room being in the basement and having no insulation or air vent, I'll be waiting till we have a warm sunny day that I can spend indoors stripping paint for 8 hours! I know, right? My exciting life, with an ask this old house style home!

I decided I would start on a quick project that could be finished in a short enough time that I wouldn't freeze to death. Ripping up the nasty, water damaged and pet stained carpet, Gross! A box cutter and a little elbow grease and the smell is gone from this tiny storage room! Like the walls, the paint on the floor will have to be stripped...eventually! Let's not get ahead of ourselves!

After The Gross Carpet Was Removed!

I'm trying to decide on a floor covering after I get this room looking ship-shape. Ceramic tile is a no-go, considering the poured slab of my basement is pretty uneven and the tile would crack. I guess with 84 years, the house has shifted a little. I'm leaning towards doing a decorative stain on the floor and then throwing an area rug down to keep from walking on freezing concrete when I have to go in the room. That is...if I can convinve my Brother to show me his expert knowledge of concrete staining. I'm hoping for a nice Block-O design like the pic below! What do you guys think?

O-H.....I-O!!!!

Why I LOVE My Dogs! (Graphic)

2011-01-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

SO...Being as this blog is supposed to focus on my joys of dog and home ownership (read trials and tribulations) I figure I shouldn't hold out such awesome material from my 1 or 2 readers...probably my Mother and Brother. Hey Guys! :)

I have to say I love mornings that start out like this...you wake up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, turn on some tunes and hop in the shower. Only to find when you walk in your room, your sweet angel (devil) dogs have gotten sick ON YOUR BED!!!!

Annie may look sweet and innocent but that dog is capable of some major damage, please reference overly gross picture. I guess I can't fault her...it looks like she tried to make it over the bed and well, unfortunately, JUST MISSED!

I immediately grab my sheets off of my bed when I discover there is more puke right in the center (I'll spare you, only one picture)!!!! Jesus, Mary, Joseph...Annie you weigh 20 lbs how can you produce so much grossness! Guess who is not allowed on the bed anymore?! Yeah that's right...Brutus! I'm sure somehow this was his fault! haha

Anyone have any tips for keeping the furkids off of my bed while I'm out of the room? So this doesn't happen again?

Ewwwwwwwwwww!

I have to say, if there is a sunny-side to this overly nasty situation it is this: my dogs have taught me extreme amounts of patience! No longer do I get upset at traffic, long lines at amusement parks or annoying people in malls or grocery stores. In this situation, the only thing you can do is laugh...and of course take a picture, right? I know, gross...but that's how I roll!

Drip...Drip...Drip

2011-01-27T05:18:00.000-08:00

I never knew a sound could be so annoying! My upstairs bathroom faucet went from barely dripping after being shut off, to a pretty steady stream. After doing a bit of googling, I discovered what I thought was the problem and decided I could no longer take the noise from the constant...drip...drip...drip coming out of my bathroom.

After removing the decorative handle, I inspected all of the washers that everyone told me would be the issue as well as every google link I could find. However, just like every other case of home improvement I've conquered (failed) so far, my 84 year old house decided to throw me for a loop. The washers looked brand new, there was no wear and tear visible or gross buildup. So cartridge stem in hand I head off to my second home, Home Depot. They should hook me up with as much as I plug them...

The Faucet Without the Decorative Handle

(Don't Pay Attn to my Need to Clean)

Perfectly in-tact and Beautiful Washer

Other Than Some Rust...It Looked Fine to Me!

After speaking with a very knowledgeable guy in plumbing, I discovered that my house had screwed me, like always! I was correct in my belief that the washers were perfectly fine, however, this meant I needed an entire new ceramic cartridge. Knowledgeable guy then told me that Home Depot didn't stock the cartridge I needed and told me to go to a specialized plumbing retailer that ironically was not open on Sunday. BoooOOooooooOO!

So Yesterday I stopped by my local plumbing store and spent the best $11.16 I have ever spent in my entire life. After a few turns of a wrench and phillips head screwdriver, my sink is back in business minus the drip...drip...drip! My first 100% fix by myself!

Now, if I could only figure out how to tile my bathroom, re-do my entire shower plumbing, refinish my hardwood floors...the list is never ending!!!

What I've Been Up To...

2011-01-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile…so since pictures speak a thousand words, I’ll let them do the talking!

Since I’ve last updated I.... hosted a New Years Eve Party at my house. New and old friends came over to visit for a few hours before we went to watch the ball drop at a bar downtown. Aleesha even showed up in sweats and feeling horribly just to say hi.

My purple walls in my dining room turn out to be an amazing background for pictures, I love it!

All of the Girls...

My Hot Date...

Our Horrible Expressions...From the Stranger Pouring His Drink Down Our Backs!

Needless to say, we didn't stay at the bar long. When midnight hit, we ran out of there like Cinderella at the Royal Ball! Note to self, When people start making plans for New Years Eve, please offer up your house to avoid the following: bar brawls, spilled drinks down dry clean only dress, all forms of d-bagness, long lines for drinks...do you really need more than that?
Once we got back to the house we played some version of charades, where everyone had to list famous people. Safe to say, we all had a blast sitting around my living room shouting out famous people! Which apparently doesn't include Jim Tressel, Ted Ginn, Maurice Wells, or Chris Gamble...aka all of my picks. For those of you non-Ohio State lovers, they are all past players and the sweater-vest wearing coach. Other than myself not being allowed to pick famous people ever again, (ruled by everyone in the room) the game and the time after the bar was hilarious!!
A few weeks later I celebrated my 26th Birthday with some friends. We tried out the new piano bar in Cincinnati, which was much different than our go to bar in Lexington. I had a great time with everyone, but Ms. Shuey gets an extra special shoutout for hanging out on the dance floor with me all night long!
Demonstrating my Awesome Dance Moves!
The Crew, Crammed on a Couch...
(say that 5 times fast!)

Justin's Way of Saying Goodbye?

My Girls...Always a Blast With Them!

Ms. Shuey and J-Grills

Wet Paint...

2010-12-27T05:18:00.000-08:00

Give me a few days off of work and as long as Home Depot is open, I will tackle a home improvement project. My day after Christmas was not spent hanging with my family, or finding great steals and deals out shopping (although I heard Target had some cool ornaments on sale...thanks for the temptation Liz) but I spent it painting my entire basement! Thankfully I had my friend Mollie around to help with the entire project!

After a quick run to HD we began the never ending process of painting my full basement. For whatever reason when my basement was finished they broke it up into lots of little cubby areas. Which made for lots of corners and lots of trimming. The paint will definitely need a second coat, but I think it turned out great!

Before of the Main Basement Area

After

A Better Shot of the Color

Midway of the Half-Bath

After the Half-Bath

Here's a View With Both Colors
The dogs (with the help of a baby gate or two) surprisingly stayed out of the way...for the most part. That is until we left for a dinner break and put them in my spare bedroom. I didn't want Brutus using his tail for a paint brush so I made a bad decision. I knew this was a bad decision from the start, but after painting from noon to right around 6, I was ready for some food and to be holding a fork instead of a paintbrush! This is the mess I came back to...

Way to Go Dogs!!

All is well that ends well though, right? I have a freshly painted basement...if my biggest casualty is a shredded book, I'll take it!

TD&AH First Renovation

2010-12-23T05:40:00.001-08:00

Merry Early Christmas to Me! Recently my garage door (like everything else in my house) decided to break in some fashion or another. Which then resulted in my parents and I trying to fix it. Which in turn, resulted in a ~~resolved problem~~...calling a repair man because we made an even bigger problem! Our knowledge of this 84 year old home and it's unique characteristics (as always, read problems) are slim to none. It's a shame my brother the engineer, who has basically flipped his house doesn't live closer.

A big thanks goes out to Mom and Dad for getting up on their day off to hangout with A&E door, while I'm still at work.

My Parents On Vacation...

Sure they are having just as much fun, watching the install!

I left my house this morning with a broken garage door and I will return with a brand new door, tracks and springs! Woo Hoo!!!

While I love and appreciate my parents...I don't have the same love and appreciation for my Mother's new ability to text. So far this morning I have received these two texts:

"Where is a lighter to lite 2ndle"...

And..."Thfy r here."

From this I gather that Mom is not satisfied with the smell of my house...that A&E door finally showed up and most importantly that she got into my cabinet hutch full of booze.

I'll post pictures of my new door soon!

TD&AH…Soon to be Zoo!!

2010-12-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

I got some great news over the weekend. One of my best friends Mollie, is going to be relocating from Lexington, KY to share my home with myself and my furkids, in Ft. Mitchell! Along with her…dun, dun, dunnnnnnn…she’s bringing her two ~~cats~~, ~~fish~~, (one could hope, right?) DOGS!!! Yes that was plural! Two Dogs & A House, will now be Four Dogs & A House!

I know what you’re thinking… "Holy crap that’s a lot of dogs!” Well guess what? SO AM I! Ft. Mitchell’s Newest Attraction: Petting Zoo! The next few weeks I will be ridding out and dog-proofing my house for the Zoo’s arrival. Trying to figure out the logistics of where everyone’s animals will be staying as well as where all of Mollie’s stuff will be going, is going to be a bit of a headache.

My two bedroom one and a half bath, thankfully with a finished basement will now be home to myself, Brutus, Annie, Mollie, Dexter and Maddie! I’m counting my blessings that Dexter and Mattie combined, weigh less than my smallest furkid. Dexter is 13 or so pounds and Mattie is a whopping 5 pounds.

Meet Dexter - All Dressed Up For Christmas!

Meet Maddi & Mollie!

All together my home will have 136 pounds (give or take a few meaty bones) of furkids! I used to tell a friend that I wanted to live on a farm so I could have a barn full of dogs. If you forget the farm and barn part, I’m well on my way!

As big of a challenge as it will be to have 4 dogs in one home, I really am happy to have Mollie moving in. This girl has a love for painting and decorating and my new home could use both. Mollie has awesome taste and I can’t wait to get started on some home renovation projects with her! It will also be nice to have a built in dog sitter for both of our parts when we want to take a little vaca from our hectic Zoo home. Staying late for work or wanting to go to the gym right after work will no longer be an issue, with another hand to help care for my furkids.

So despite my jokes – I cannot wait to have all of my new residents! I’m sure 90lb Brutus can’t wait to get his hands on his 5lb girlfriend. WOW! That sounded creepy! He just likes to chase her around and sniff, I promise it’s PG. And one last blessing to be thankful for…all animals have been responsibly altered so there will be no Maltese/Great Pyrenees puppies running around anytime soon! Bob Barker would approve!! :)

WARNING! Chocolate Cravings Lead to Fire!

2010-12-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

It’s 10:00 PM on a Thursday night, I’ve settled onto the couch while watching CSI when I get a horrible craving for chocolate. I weigh my option of going out and braving the avalanche (5 inches of snow) I would have to scrape off of my car to get a milkshake and decided I should probably find an alternative. I realized that explaining to someone that I wrecked my car in the icy conditions, venturing out only for a female chocolate craving, would sound a bit crazy to ~~most people~~ any male.

After scouring my pantry, I realized I had the majority of the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. Mind you, I normally go to bed at 11:00 PM or so, I’m thinking to myself, “I’ve got to do this quick or I’m going to be exhausted in the morning” So I take my self-rising flour (I was out of baking powder and salt) and I begin to make my cookies.

Now let me first mention that my goal has already been reached. I wasn’t really looking for the baked portion of the cookies, only the cookie dough that came out of the equation. However, after eating 3-4 spoonfuls of raw cookie dough, (I can hear my mother now, “Don’t eat that, you’re going to make yourself sick!”) I thought it would be wasteful to throw it all away. So I decided to go ahead and bake the cookies.

My batter was a little stickier than normal, because I didn’t have enough butter for the recipe so I omitted a little flour. Yes I realize that I was doomed to the start of baking these cookies. And yes I realize that baking is an exact science, but when you only want the middle result…it doesn’t really matter. So I grease up my cookie sheets extremely well so they wouldn’t stick to the pan after baking.

I look at the clock as I start to pre-heat the oven. “Holy crap, it’s late, I’ve got to speed this up!” I think to myself, I’ll pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees and it will get to 375 quicker. I understand that this doesn’t logically workout. Although at 10:45 PM when all I wanted to do was go to bed, it worked seamlessly in my head.

I proceed to throw the cookies in the oven, without even letting it pre-heat, not remembering that I had turned the oven up to 500 degrees to magically heat up faster. I went to sit on the couch, not setting a timer (I never do) and expecting to start smelling fresh baked cookies.

Smell was not the first sense I noticed…I look up from my couch and I have smoke billowing out of my kitchen! “WHAT THE HECK!! WHY ISN’T MY SMOKE ALARM GOING OFF!!!” I run into the kitchen open up the door to flaming trays of cookies! My gas stove at 500 degrees had somehow managed to completely blacken and catch one of my trays on fire. I immediately threw each pan in the sink and hosed them off. With smoke still billowing out of my kitchen I’m secretly thankful, yet scared that my smoke alarms aren’t screaming at 11:00 PM for all of my neighbors to hear.

After I managed to cool down the trays, and fan away some of the smoke, I started looking for my smoke alarms. Oh wait, I have a total of one (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in my 84 year old house. Thank you previous owner…let me also mention that its location is in my bedroom on the second floor! Well awesome. If there’s a fire, I’ll know it’s there, right before it traps and kills me! What a night!

My ruined cookie sheets

Moral of the story, if you’re going to give into you’re cravings, take the easy way out and go after that milkshake in the avalanche of snow and icy roads. If not you may end up with a kitchen fire and nightmares of dying in your own bedroom.

P.S. Smoke Alarm Installation happening ASAP!

Two Dogs & A House Dialogue

2010-12-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

While instant messaging my friend Max at work, talking back and forth about the 5 inches (plus) of snow we received over night. Check out those snowy steps and covered sidewalk...

Annie scoping out the neighborhood...

Bru playing in the Snow!

Me: I really need to get a snow shovel!

Max: Good Luck with that! Why don't you get a shovel and a man, then stick them both outside together and see what happens?!

Me: Hahaha. Oh Max...if only it was that simple!