After talking about our future plans for the house and staying longer than five years, and the idea of future kids in the semi-near future. I realized I really wanted to not have to do the room over again. So we decided to combine the studio/office and the library together. This is what it looks like now:

The photos don’t show the fabulous view, since I took them at night. We started making plans for the room to make it work for us. I really need the storage space since I started my new business, and Steve needs a relaxing place to study. We’re in the planning stages, but I’m very excited. It’s long overdue.

It was your time to go, and I didn’t get to say exactly how I felt before you left. The last few months have been hard on you, and I am glad you are in a better place now. I will always remember when I would visit, and you would come home from work and play cards with us. Grandma would make delicious peanut butter fudge, and you would joke around. You will be missed, but I know you’ll be looking down us. Please know that I love you.

Love,

April

So our plan was to do anything we possibly could to prevent any future problems, resolve any current problems, and hopefully be able to store some canned foods and wine down there.

.

.

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If you hear crickets chirping, it’s because our intentions were great and fantastic, but we definitely delayed on this. So now we’re in a mad dash to take care of any problems before fall and winter hit.

Problem #1: Moisture

Our cellar had a ridiculous amount moisture, but I couldn’t figure out how much was because of moisture in the air or bigger problems. So I purchased this guy:

I purchased the 50- pint version from Lowe’s at $200, and we have it down there on high which is supposed to resolve any moisture problems within 3-4 days. Then you can set it at a lower setting and adjust as necessary. I purchased this two weeks ago, and we still have it on high. One of the nice ammenities of this product is the ability to connect a water hose, and then you can have it drain directly into the sump pump. Which leads us to….

Problem #2: Sump Pump Drain

Our sump pump is working beautifully (thankfully!), but the drain that flows out of the cellar is leaking. So in order to drain our dehumidifier, we must do it manually and make the trek up and down the stairs every few hours to empty it. We have someone who is going to help us fix that this within the week, so once we have that fixed we’ll have a better idea of any other possible moisture problems. Lastly….

Problem #3: Garden hose

I wish I could say that I went off track and forgot which space I was talking about, but sadly, I’m not. Like some problems, it’s easy to put them aside and figure out another way to get to the end. We have been unable to use our garden hose all summer, because the spigot has a leak and drains into the cellar as well. We have been using a bucket or a watering can in order to water our garden, and for the most part, our landscaping has just been left on its own.

So those are the wonderful issues we’ve been dealing with, and I know that we shouldn’t have let them go on this long. Do you have any problems you’ve pushed aside even though you knew you shouldn’t? What state is your cellar/basement in?

]]> http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/12/the-cellar-dun-dun-dun/feed/ 1 http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/12/the-cellar-dun-dun-dun/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhimsyFlavor/~3/UxaqJiEylUY/ http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/10/family-photo-shoot/#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:04:50 +0000 admin http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/?p=390 We had the opportunity a few weeks ago to take a hike at Glen Helen and get some family shots. To be honest, I get caught up sometimes with the house and doing this or that, and it takes Steve to ground me and bring my back to Earth and realize what it is that’s important. He has been wanting to take this hike for a while and get some photos of the waterfall and us, and I would continually put it off for one project or another. I am so thankful that we finally made it there, and I thank you for everything you do for me, Steve.

Lowers: Rustic Chandelier: I loved, loved, loved this chandelier, and I love the impact it has right when you walk in the house. We have windows in the door that show the light, and once we have our storm door installed the chandelier will be seen from the walkway.

Fabric: The fabric I found on clearance somewhere a while back, and I really love the character it has. We have one window on the landing of the second floor, so I need to update the curtains for that. I thought this fabric would be perfect for it, since I only have enough fabric for one window really.

Decor Pad: Inspiration: I recently found this website, and I love looking at the pictures for inspiration. It helped me to decide what to do with the stairs that would make them more impacting and warm. I also knew I wanted to add photos, but I like the pops of text with color that the other picture provides.

]]> http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/09/mood-board-foyer/feed/ 3 http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/09/mood-board-foyer/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhimsyFlavor/~3/5BRE57zglI8/ http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/2010/08/08/plummy-yummy/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:00:50 +0000 admin http://www.blog.whimsyflavor.com/?p=383

I took the rug out of the living room a few weeks ago, because I’m trying to make the room fell more open. I can’t wait until we get the new sofa.

Decor Pad

Decor Pad

I really, really like the second photo with the dark, slate gray color wall, but alas, we will not be painting our foyer that dark. However, I really am thinking I’ll paint the backside of the stairs white when I paint the window sill on the second floor. The other option is a stair runner like this one:

Decor Pad

Hmmm…which way would you choose, or should I do both?

If you guessed the man cave, then you’d be right. We bought a pool table several months ago, and now we’re focusing a lot of thinking power on how to set up the room in order to get the most use of it. Having a sort of party room was also one of the things on our list when we were looking for a house to buy. It needs a lot of updating and a good thorough cleaning. Here is how it looked when we got the place:

I have no idea how long that carpet had been in there, but I’m not sure that I want to know. We  have removed all of the carpet in the upstairs to expose the wood planking underneath.

We are considering several options for the flooring, and if you have any advice, we’d love to hear it. We have three main stations that we want up here: the pool table, seating/tv, and a bar. Ultimately we want this area to be where we entertain and host, so that the house won’t have all of the heavy traffic (especially with the animals). I think out first goal for this room is to host a party for Halloween and decorate it like a haunted house, but we will see if that happens since that leaves a mere three months to plan and execute. I think we may have to wait until Halloween next year.