New Bedroom Fan

This is the legendary fan.  The one we've owned for more than a year. 

Cradle, Cradle, Cradle

This is the cradle Olga slept in as a baby.  We picked it up and put it together today. It came with instructions.  While simpler and sturdier than anything we'd ever gotten at IKEA, it's heartening to know the Olga's father might have struggled thirty years ago with furniture instructions -- the same as we do today with all of our IKEA and even Crate & Barrel purchases. It's great to have in our house and will stay in our bedroom. 

Pantry Shelving

I also picked up this metal shelving unit from IKEA as a temporary measure.  It's not pretty but does the job -- for now. 

Media Room with Furniture

A couple of weeks ago I did a run up to IKEA in New Haven (while Olga hosted her cookie party).  I brought home all that you see in these photos.  With the room only being 7 ft. wide I need a really small couch.  I also wanted to keep things cheap.  How did I get the couch into the media room?  All by myself.  In fact, the couch is so small it actually came in a box.  The ottomans needed to be assembled, which tells you a little about them.  They're a bit different than our Ethan Allen ottomans upstairs but fit the bill for the man cave. 

Garage Doors Finished

Peter's Photos and the Back Room

As requested, Peter Leslie had sent us four of his photos to hang in our house.  We like having family-produced artwork and these are great photos of the Rockies.  It took us a looong time to hang them but they're up and look great.  

They even make the back room look bigger.  

With the baby coming, we're thinking of doing something with that back nook, which has essentially gone unused.  We're thinking of adding a bar table (above) from IKEA mixed with stools from CB2 (also above).  We'd then paint it a neutral beige (BJ Carrington Beige or Bleeker Beige) to make it feel a bit more like a separate room. 

(Excuse the ordering of the photos -- they're out of whack; they uploaded in wrong order and it's a pain to fix.)

Chili Wreath

With Olga essentially under house arrest, this was our first Christmas at our home.  We didn't go for a tree or much decorations but we did receive this great wreath from the Leslies.  It really pops against our black door.  And, we can use it next year. 

Garage: Painting the "Carriage" Doors and Trimming

Someone had attempted to put some insulation on the garage doors.  It was essentially the same beige material they had put up on the walls and ceilings, except the insulation on the doors were stained even worse.  I don't think the insulation job insulated much and it look terrible so I stripped it off and repainted the doors the same gray-black paint (BJ Dragon's Breath) I used for the ceiling in the media room.  This job was a pain in the neck.  First, I should have done it when it was warmer.  Second, there was years of paint I had to chip away at, especially around the windows.  I also did the trimmings in the same gray-black color.  It looks great with the Sag Harbor Gray. The carriage doors have some real character that was hidden beneath the insulation. 

Typical Work Outfit

This is what I typically look like working around the house.  Not my typical yuppy attire I wear to the office.  The other day Olga asked me to go to Target to get cookie racks and mixing bowls but first I had to go the dump.  So, I wore the outfit you see first to the dump and then to the baking section of Target.  Trust me, I was the only guy there look at mixing bowls.  And I was certainly the only guy with a big strip of painter's tape across my back weighing the plusses and minuses of different cooking racks.  I got more than a few strange looks from some rather well put together woman.  

Our First Thanksgiving at Home

Okay, this post is very, very late but here's a picture of our very first Thanksgiving turkey.  It was cooked with plenty of coaching and hand-holding by Helena.  It tasted even better than it looks. (I need to learn how to photograph food-magazine style; these photos don't do any justice.)

Painting the Garage

I finally got around to painting the garage.  Actually, the painting was the easy part.  It's the taping and spackling and sanding and spackling and smoothing out that was the hard part.  I did an okay job in the media room and an okay job on the garage walls but boy did I screw up the garage ceiling.  I got to the point where I said, "hey, it's only a garage."  So, the painting began.  I used Benjamin Moore Sag Harbor Gray, which happens to be one of the colors my company uses for its offices and call centers.  It's a great color. Great for a garage, which I really want to feel more like a garden shed. 

The Bump: 28 Weeks

Olga Wins a Combination Planter & New Dwarf Spruces

We had some time to kill while we were waiting for Bridget to get her haircut so we went to the Darien Garden Center.  We bought the dwarf spruce trees you see above for our planters.  When you buy some thing at the Darien Garden Center, you get to spin a wheel for a prize.  Olga spun and won the big prize -- a combination planter.  The funny thing is, it came with a ornamental cabbage, which Olga HATES.  I don't mind it. 

The Bump - 24 Weeks

Some More Photos of the Man Cave

Painting the Basement Walls

We primed and painted the basement walls over the last week.  (The photos above are in reverse order.)  They don't look like much but it took some time to get the spackling right (though in the end it was not perfect) and then waiting for it to dry.  Priming, then waiting for it to dry.  Then painting and waiting for the coat to dry.  Then another coat of paint. We used the paint we had left over from painting the kitchen pantry, thus the yellow. 

The Man Cave Floor

We bought the Pergo floor many months ago from Lowe's.  The deciding factor was that it was called Springdale Cherry -- Springdale being the area in Stamford where we live. Who knew it would take this long to get it down.  Joe came down and he did a great job cutting the edge so it lined up with the stone wall -- no easy feat.  He also had to cut around the sump pump.  The main bit went down fairly easy and then... we ran out of wood at the very last section.  We actually had enough wood -- but just not the right pieces that slot in where they should.  Sheesh. What's unfortunate is that we now have to buy a whole package.  Joe also installed the heat, coming back two days later to finish job.  The room looks great and heats up very quickly.                    

Dragon's Breath Paint Just Right

I had read Benjamin Moore Dragon's Breath 1547 was a very good ceiling paint color but when I saw it I had real doubts.  I didn't want a black ceiling.  Even after the first coat went up I was worried.  But as it dried the worries faded.  It looks great.  Not a color you'd use anywhere else in the house as a ceiling paint but this is a media room and it absorbs the light off the screen just great. Next step:  the floors.  

Herb Harvesting

The Light Goes On

Wow, lights make a huge difference.  Before Joe installed them, we had to prime and paint around them.  Now the electricity is almost done.  

Leaves

This was just the first round.  We had much, much more.  This year, however, we were smart enough to buy a gas-powered blower... and we used a tarp to drag leaves right out the back door.