Glimpses of Christmas at the Ranch...

...it's sort of like the HGTV special 'Christmas at the White House.'

Only smaller. And better. :-)



It's been a great year at the ranch - from new paint, to a new boiler, and from great new furniture down to awesome and unique accessories. But soon we will all be opening presents and welcoming 2012 without looking back. Although the holidays can be stressful, they offer us the time and ability for reflection: upon ourselves, our accomplishments, our goals, and our many relationships.

We share these small glimpses of our holiday home in hopes that they provide a small break from your hectic week while conjuring great memories of Holidays past. May we look toward 2012 with hope, and may we all see each other more often in the months ahead! Now that we have heat and hot water at the ranch, we can even host. :-)







And it looks as though the new decorations have even pleased the neighbors:



PS - For all of you haters (Tom): I apparently already failed at Rebirth Mondays. Rest assured it's only because I had to make sure the tree was perfect.

Holiday Punk'd

Imagine my surprise when I return home after a 2-day business trip to THIS. A catastrophe beyond words - the trashiest Christmas this home has ever seen.

Apparently, the Michaels thought it would be funny to 'decorate' for Christmas while I was away. Tired from the flight, and starving for dinner, I did not find it as funny. I spent my first hour home taking down the blue tinsel trees, blow up snowmen, and cheetah-printed stockings. The white tinsel wreath and mismatched lights also had to go - did I act too hastily?

A much *classier* Christmas ranch to follow this week, stay tuned!

Rebirth Mondays begin!

You're in luck! On this very special, inaugural Rebirth Monday, there is so much to share - from a new boiler to new furniture, and from new lights to improved water quality, sh*t's getting done. :-)

The first bit of great news: After multiple months of angry phone calls / fighting / yelling / with National Grid, we have a whole new heating system *just* in time for winter! We have made the switch from oil heat to natural gas, we have installed a new hot water heater, and we have installed a new boiler! After two cold months, we can officially turn the heat on again.

And judging by the looks of the original 49-year old boiler, this conversion could not have happened any sooner:



Photos of the new system to follow in the next few days.

We also finished cleaning up our latest Craigslist steal, and this means the living room is almost complete! Check out our new sideboard, direct from 1962.



Also, thanks to your input (both on and off the blog), the new outdoor lights have been chosen, installed, and are letting the new paint and windows shine even more. Thanks to everyone for your input, and a special thanks to Matt C. for bailing on the install.



The lights went up on the front door, the garage door, and the back door (below).



Last but not least, our fight with the Water Department over the quality of our water seems to be nearing its end. We have been suffering from high percentages of iron in our water for months, and have only recently discovered that our friend is Chairman of the Water Board. :-) He arranged for some intense water main flushing, and the department has been very responsive ever since. They will be out again to test samples this week.



Consumed by my impatience, however, I also had an entire house filter installed at the home's water main this week. :-) Pictures to be included with the boiler photos later this week.

As Thanksgiving fades away, we have much to be thankful for moving toward the December holidays and the New Year. Now that we have heat, clean water, and lights, we can have you all over for dinner. Stay tuned throughout the week for more updates!

Announcement: Rebirth Mondays start 11.28.2011

With the passing of another Thanksgiving, I have discovered one more thing to be thankful for: outspoken friends and family.

It has come to my attention that I am a complete slacker - a blog fraud, if you will. You're complaining about infrequent updates, unmentioned projects, empty promises of future posts, and the lingering photos from Hurricane Irene (Jen).

Well I'm announcing right here, right now, that this week marks the start of something big: Rebirth Mondays.



I am pledging to post something new every Monday of every month, just for all of you happy readers. It may be at 1am, it may be at 9pm, but it will happen. The first time I miss a Monday, I will buy drinks for the first five people who hate-text (hext?) me.

Happy reading!

Executive Decision Needed

Which exterior lights should we go with? Each one has its unique charm and would be a great addition to the ranch.



Thoughts?

Before and After

So I spent - potentially - the last sunny, warm day of 2011 painting window trim. :-/ On the bright side, the trim looks great and really makes the new windows pop!

Find a good before / after photo below, showcasing the new exterior paint, the fresh trim paint, and the brand new windows!

Autumn reportings

Well folks, yet again I've let too much time go by. But rest assured, there has been progress! We have installed a natural gas line, we are awaiting a new boiler, we have gotten all new windows, we have found great new furniture... And so much more!

I will be updating the blog with some pictures this weekend - stay tuned :-)

Irene

Long story short; we were not prepared for Irene. Find our "hurricane-readiness" kit below:

Little did we know, the wind and rain would be rough...

...sailboats would wash ashore...

...we would lose power for four days...

...and have to empty our refrigerator of everything delicious. Lessons learned: 1. Don't mess with Mother Nature, she's a b*tch. And 2: That we're incredibly fortunate for good friends, beer, bananas, and that we did not suffer from any real damage.

Gettysburg Gray

The day has come...

The house is getting painted! The house is getting painted! The house is getting painted! The house is getting painted! The house is getting painted! The house is getting painted!

Updates to follow soon :-)

Out with the old...

Not so much a stylistic change... but a much needed functional change. Not only did the old faucet leak, but it was also misaligned to the point that 95% of handle directions resulted in hot water.

Before:


After:

Ahhh, hand washing dishes has been made so much easier (that is, until we invest in a dishwasher!)

Bedroom painting!

What better way to spend a holiday weekend than painting some bedrooms? Oh wait, don't answer that...

Master: (don't mind the mess...)

Guest: (don't mind the mess...)

Deck Removal!

The entirely unsafe deck that was "attached" to our house is now gone! Make way for the original concrete stoop and some new house paint. :-) Thanks to all who helped out, especially Rod who has made it very clear that manual labor in the middle of June is the reason he pays for work to be done at his own home.

Rapid fire posting...

Well folks, it's been too long. Instead of boring you with all of the details, I'm just going to bombard you with images so be prepared.

So many exciting projects happening recently - deck removal... interior painting... EXTERIOR painting... fixture replacement... get ready!

Spring spruce-up!

Well folks, lots to report on... spring has dramatically increased my enthusiasm and ambition, and the wheels are in motion once again.
With the help of Boston's own gardening guru, we have a beautiful new Kousa dogwood and fresh sod in place of the old spruce.



Aditionally, we have started planting our annuals (better late than never!)



And the nightstands have found their new home! Stay tuned for the bedroom wall painting... picture hanging... headboard making... bookshelf making... ;-)

Deadbeat homeowner

Next week marks the one year anniversary of this blog - can you believe it?! Time has gone by so / too quickly.

Granted, we haven't LIVED in the house for a full year, but I'm starting to feel like neglectful ranch parents. Life and work have taken over, and we have not accomplished as much as we had anticipated.

But as everyone said, "take your time, do things once, and do them correctly." When I reflect on this blog, I realize all of the things that actually HAVE been accomplished in the past year. That said, it's still hard to look at empty walls and minimally furnished rooms...

To that end, I give you the latest endeavors! I'm currently in the process of building two nightstands, a bookshelf, and also framing some of our artwork. Thanks to Kate for staying on me for all of these tasks, and for providing the wonderful framing workshop! The Framers' Workshop in Brookline is an awesome place, not to be missed! Ross, Kate and I had a very successful journey.

Nightstands still need to be sanded... edges need to be trimmed flush... and the front surfaces need walnut veneer. But they're getting close!

A peak inside...

For those of you who haven't had a chance to visit the ranch yet, here are two rooms still stuck in "before" mode. Stay tuned for the updates!

The kitchen as it stands today:


The 49-year old wall oven: (still working perfectly!)


The dining room:


Landscaping starts next week - wish me luck!

Signs of spring!

Does anyone know what I have sprouting behind my house?! Looks like all of that hard work clearing out the backyard has payed off, even if just for a few sprouting perennials.

Please assure me these are not weeds... I don't think I can handle the disappointment!

Random texture of the week

Enjoy this sneak peak into my daily life... this is the tile that wakes me up each morning :-)

Just for Candace!

Wait no more :-)