The Crosby ChroniclesA Life in Motion

As I look back through the pictures I took this week, it is hard to believe that less than a week ago the process of getting hardwood flooring had not even begun. I have to say, between the dust, dirt, unexpected subfloor disaster, cleaning, and rebuilding, I am exhausted. As of tonight, the floors still need another good wipe down, but for the most part things are back together around here. I think this is one of the greatest improvements I have made yet and I am thrilled with my choice of wood. I love my little condo and plan to hang around a long time. A special thanks goes out to my mom and dad who were here for me when I couldn’t be. You guys are the best! I could not accomplish many of the things I do without your love and support!

Before

After

Spring came and went and summer is slowly creeping by, so I have to get started on my summer goal of getting the old blog back up and running. Part of the problem in the spring was lack of excitement. It seemed like all I did was work, so needless to say, I am truly enjoying some free time. Adam has always said that one of the most dangerous things in the world is me with time to think, plot, shop, and make decisions about house projects. So here we are again, this time the project is flooring, hardwood flooring to be exact. I spent the entire month of June shopping for hardwood floors and getting prices from contractors. I think I went to every hardwood dealer north of Brazil and finally made my decision; 600 square feet of sepele, hand scraped, French bleed, 7 inch planks. I swear June 21st was one of the best days of my life because it was the last day of school and I ordered the flooring. It took a couple of weeks to arrive from the mill and yesterday the “fun” began.

Last night, Lamont and his buddy came over to rip out the carpet. This was an easy process and I was excited with how fast it went. Unfortunately today was a nightmare. The hardwood floor person who put down the original floor used enough glue to hold the floors down if a tornado should strike the courtyard. This made prying the floor up impossible and made the subfloor come up with old flooring. Tomorrow self-leveling cement will be poured in the kitchen so that the floor does not look like the Grand Canyon and all should be right with the world. On Thursday the actual floor will be installed.  After being involved with a couple bigger house projects now, I am starting to believe that there are some conditions that must be met for a house activity to take on project status. Here is my list:
1. Did the activity take longer than expected?
2. Did the activity require at least three or more trips to the hardware store?
3. Did the project cost more than expected?
4. Was there some sort of disaster or demolition involved?
5. Did someone bleed and curse in the process?
6. Were there phone calls for advice?
7. Did more than one person walk away saying they would never do it again?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you have a real home project on your hands. Please enjoy the pictures below of today’s disaster.

The First Pull

Dust Anyone?

No, this was not supposed to happen.

I hope the neighbors don't complain.

The wood finally arrived.

A few months ago, we decided to combine the 25 gallon aquarium with the 100 gallon aquarium because the maintenance routine was just becoming too much. This was a great move because I really enjoy having all of my little critters in one place. I also only have to transport 21 gallons of deionized reverse osmosis water every two weeks instead of 40+ gallons. Removing the tank left me with a little awkward spot in the office that just looked like a void. I decided on Saturday morning that I was going to go out and find something that would make the room look more decorated. Here is what I did. The picture was given to me by a friend years ago and I took it out of the bathroom. I bought the chair for a very reasonable price at HomeGoods and picked up a cheap pillow at Target.  Poof, in one morning I was able to make the room look complete. On Saturday mornings, I often ask myself what I am going to create or do to make my life or my surroundings better. I think this was another step in the right direction.

This was my little hunk of wall before.

Here is my little hunk of wall after.

My neighbors across the hall moved in January 15th and proceeded to put up their live pine Christmas wreath. I thought it was a little strange, but let it go. Today, on March 1st, this same wreath still adorns the door. If you know me, you know I am very type A+++++, so looking at this everyday is driving me crazy. Naturally this Christmas wreath situation got me thinking, when is it appropriate to put up seasonal decorations? I did some research on the internet and here is an article that I completely agree with http://lisahw.pnn.com/articles/show/29907-when-holiday-decorations-should-go-up-according-to-me

In January, I bought this adorable wreath at HomeGoods for only $20. I have been waiting for the moment I could legally put it up and not offend the neighbors. Is it too early to put a spring wreath up even though it is still technically winter?

This is the neighbor's Christmas wreath.

This is my new lovely spring wreath.

The month long Salvation Army credenza turned dresser project is finally over. I may have ulnar nerve/elbow problems from the sander, but all of the hard work really paid off. I would like to thank Dad for special help with the sanding and painting and Ethan and Adam for helping me get the monster into the house. I would also like to thank Mom for always feeding the troops and letting me paint in her kitchen when it was thirty degrees outside.  I would love to have more time to work on projects like this. It is such an eco-friendly way to turn someone else’s junk into your treasure! I hope to keep this piece in my home for many years to come.

I ran across this post on (http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/01/what-makes-a-house-a-home/) a few weeks ago on a blog I read called Centsational Girl. It really made me think about the meaning of home and how everything does not have to always be magazine perfect. For those of you who know me, type A does not begin to describe my personality, so I thought I would repost this to remind myself that a little cat hair on the couch is ok!

We love to curl up together on the leather couch!

Today was the 10th Valentine’s Day Adam and I have spent together. In honor of the special day, and in an attempt to be cheap, I decided I would get a bit crafty and make Adam a collage of memories from the past ten years. What is the point of having all those “special memories” in a box you can’t reach in the back of your closet? I picked up a $12.99 picture frame from TJ Maxx, sorted through the memories, cut, chopped, and glue sticked, and here is what I created. The best part was Adam’s huge smile and the conversation about many of the wonderful experiences we have had over the past ten years! There you have it, a Valentine’s Day or special occasion gift that can be made for under $13.00!

All of the memories I wanted to frame were first collected.

The pictures were glued to poster board using glue stick.

A little dollar store ribbon was added to make it a bit more festive.

When I walked into our condo in March of 2007, I remember asking the agent, “is there anything else we can put on these floors?” Unfortunately, we bought our condo too late in the game to choose the flooring we wanted. We have a very open floor plan that includes ugly, damaged laminate in the kitchen and fuzzy looking carpet in the living room, dining room, and hallways. We always knew we would change out the flooring in the main part of the house. Naturally we assumed that we would put down some nice bamboo hardwood floors so we could have an eco-friendly, wear resistant floor. At one point, Adam event wanted to polish the concrete that was underneath the carpet. The hardwood plan soon turned sour when I actually started looking at hardwood floors. After picking up several samples and pushing on them with my fingernails, I realized that I was about to spend a lot of money on something that did not appear to be any more durable than the crappy laminate we have now. That is when I turned to the idea of tile. Now, I know this is an unconventional move, and many of you might be saying in your head, that is a horrible idea. Fortunately, we are not your typical white picket fence, 2.5 children type of people, so you should expect some odd things from us once in a while. Below you will see some pictures of rooms that I think are super modern and beautiful. I love anything that strikes the eye as a little different, so this seems to fit the bill. A bonus is that Adam has actually almost committed to taking a free DIY tile class with me. This could be the biggest project or disaster we have made yet!!! So, what do you think? Have I gone too far with this one? Is this an unsavory decision?

I am determined to get my new dresser done. If that means that I must sand in 29 degree weather then so be it. On Sunday, I began the sanding process and here is the progress I have made. I know the project will turn out great, but it is hard to believe with the way it looks now. I used 120-grit sandpaper on the entire body of the dresser inside and out and here are the results.

Let's get the party started!

I promise I will be beautiful one day.

We fixed the crack with a small amount of wood filler.

For months now, I have been wanting to go to Norfolk Wholesale Floral to see what kind of deals they have. The sunflowers that I picked up two weeks ago were finally showing their age, so I decided that my Saturday morning treat would be some fresh flowers. When I arrived, I was disappointed at the lack of fresh flowers, but noticed these orange stickers on everything. I asked another customer what was going. I was thrilled to find out that Saturday morning is clearance time at the wholesale florist. This event translated into 50% off flowers for me! I picked up two bunches of flowers for a grand total of $5.00 and I was on my merry way. I came home, cut and pruned, and put together two little flower arrangements; one for my desk and one for my dining room table. Overall, I am thrilled with my Saturday morning five dollar surprise.