Back in 1903 “they” built two twin houses for the managers of Dallas Mills, here in Huntsville, Alabama. Fast forward 100 some odd years and we are trying to bring back the restored beauty of one of the properties (our house was cheaply turned into a duplex). Luckily, we are friends with our 90 year old neighbor, Vera, that lives in the identical house. While she has done some modifications downstairs, she has not touched the upstairs since she bought the place (we think in the 20s). We aren’t too fond of the paneling, but her upstairs has been a great blueprint for us to use while working on the upstairs.
Vera’s house still has the original three bedrooms upstairs. Ours had a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and a shitty bathroom added in…not to mention horribly built “closets” in the kitchen and bedroom. Our intention is to get it as close to the original floor plan as possible, while keeping the bathroom. This has become harder than it sounds.
When we first walked up Vera’s staircase, we were blown away by the tongue and groove ceiling (which Andy discovered we have too – YAY!) We are also wanting to add back the transom windows, and re-work some of the doorways so they reflect the original layout.
Vera was kind enough to let us take photos, so we have these to reference as we go along!
The first and second photo is the view from Vera’s middle landing on the staircase looking upstairs. Right now, our doorway (last image) into that bedroom is closed off, so we are hoping to open it back up. I love being able to see into the room from the stairs.
Vera’s house – detail shot of the trim work and tongue and groove ceilings
Vera’s house – bedroom #1
Our house – bedroom #1 currently, with the entrance to the bathroom
Vera’s house – bedroom #2
Our house – bedroom #2, but you can’t see the window to the left…and the previous owners that turned this house into a duplex took out the window that is straight ahead (as seen in the photo of Vera’s house) 🙁 WHY PEOPLE, WHY?!
Hey look! It’s our house out of Vera’s upstairs window!
Vera’s house – The first picture shows the stairwell ceiling (omg I can’t even imagine that task – the height of the stairwell ceiling is at least 24′). The second image shows the bedroom mantle we will never have since there will be a bathroom wall that will interfere with us being able to put up a mantle. We are sad about this, but trying to figure something out. Again, the bathroom is it’s own post entirely.
Our house – The first photo is of a door that has been blocked by a shitty closet that was built in the “kitchen”. That door has been blocked for over 30 years, and we finally got it to open! The second photo is of the closet wall as we were tearing it down.
Remember long ago (ok only five years, but still) when we started this restoration project? While our downstairs is almost complete (save the foyer, dining room tin ceiling, and the awesome living room doors that we are waiting to find us)…we’re finally beginning to work on the upstairs! It’s been a culmination of slowly saving and steady business growth over the past three years that we’re able to start again. We spent around two years getting our downstairs to the point it’s at, but we’re hoping the upstairs won’t take quite as long.
First: It’s less square footage…there’s no second story to the original back porch, which is now the kitchen/bath.
Second: There’s no kitchen to factor in! While the house was actually a duplex when we started, we ripped out the kitchen from upstairs, and have no intentions of adding it back. While we are trying to work out a bathroom (ugh, whole other post) we’re hoping (as usual) to keep the character top notch, and the price just right.
Third: We know the right people now! I’m SO excited about this. We had a “trial and error” period when we first started that probably cost us more than I’d like to admit, but hey – live and learn right…then meet the people that know what they are doing. Plus, we know the people helping us (with the electrical, plumbing, and drywall) provide quality work – something extremely important to us.
Fourth: We are doing a lot of work ourselves. From ripping down the drywall, tearing down two “closets” (ugh those were horrible), breaking apart The Bathroom From Hell, and bagging/removing all of the above debris has been a fun “start” to the project!
Anyway, from now on there will be less “random” posts, and more peeks into the continuing of our restoration. Here goes nothing!
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Andy and I took a vacation to the beach! It was incredible! We technically haven’t been on a relaxing vacay since our honeymoon….FIVE years ago. It’s hard for us to get away sometimes cause we immerse ourselves in so much. We are extremely lucky that our day-to-day lives aren’t ones we feel like we have to escape from, but it’s always nice to unplug and unwind.
We stayed at our friend’s parent’s beach house…and there were 18 of us at first, during that 4th weekend! It was an absolute blast! By Tuesday, there were only 9 of us left, but the fun raged on. Hopefully this will become a new ritual with our friends, cause who can pass up a beach trip every year?! By the end of the week, we were excited to come home and see our meow faces and get back to slangin’ records.
On the weeks leading up to the trip I debated taking my “good camera” but decided against it. I thought it would be fun to capture the trip with my instax (and phone) so here’s a smorgasbord of shots!
These are our “FUCK YES BEACH TIME” faces! We left after the store on Saturday, and got to Destin around 9pm…it was such a nice drive!
Our street corner! When we got into Destin, everyone was out eating, so we went by the house to drop off our stuff. Soon after, everyone came back and we all headed down to the beach. It was awesome putting my toes in the sand. It’s amazing how soothing sand between the toes can feel. ::sigh::
DAY ONE
We spent most of the day at the beach bobbing in the ocean drinking beer. It was so fantastic. The water was crystal clear and the waves were fun, but not too rough. After soaking up the sun, we went to one of the best restaurants of the trip, Dewey’s. We came back to the house and made pina coladas and relaxed on the beach more.
DAY TWO
We started the day with a delicious breakfast at the Donut Hole before going to the beach for a while…before the seaweed took over. Once the crabs (that lived in the seaweed) started getting too close for comfort, we moved the party poolside. For dinner we went to Pompano Joe’s…which is on the beach, and within walking distance to the house. After the delicious meal, we enjoyed hours of fireworks that stretched along the beach for miles!
DAY THREE
By this time, our group was cut in half. I felt bad for the peeps that had to head back to Huntsville, but it was nice to have a bit more room in the house. We decided to trek over to Seaside (about 20 minutes away) to do some sight-seeing and such. I love Seaside! Normally I’m not one for the cookie-cutter look, but I can dig it when it’s a beach town made to look that way. After Seaside, we freshened up at the house before walking to dinner at a not-so-great restaurant…the only bad food of the trip.
DAY FOUR
The day started with a trip to the beach, but upon discovering there were even more crabs and seaweed in the water, we decided to hit up some thrift and antique stores. Andy found a Bang & Olfusen record player for only $20, so that was by far the best thrift score for us in a while. After spending the day “shopping” we lounged by the pool until the evening. Half of the group went to a seafood market to get stuff for the big shrimp broil, but Andy and I took the time to stroll along the beach at sunset, just the two of us. It was a much needed couple of hours, and definitely the most relaxing part of the trip (aside from bobbing in the ocean the entire first day).
(this pretty much summed up the trip!)
beach mullet (so gross)!
DAY FIVE
Our initial plan was going to be wake up super early, go to the beach for a few hours, shower, grab lunch, head home. However, after discovering the water was pretty much a GIANT floating island of seaweed, we decided to just head home super early. We left around 7am, before anyone had woken up…seemed easier that way. It was a pleasant drive home and we arrived in Huntsville mid-afternoon. That night I had a part in a Crash Boom Bang play that was a BENefit show for our friend Ben, who had broken his hand playing drums with the Pine Hill Haints. We raised enough money for part of his surgery and such. It was super fun coming home from vacation and there being something exciting to do that night!
So while at the beach a group of us got into geocaching. I’ve actually been wanting to do it for a while, so it’s cool to finally have started! We found our first geocache while at Seaside, and once we got back to Huntsville, we’ve been finding all sorts of spots! A lot of the times we go at night, which can certainly present a challenge, but some caches are supposed to be found at night.
we found these stickers at the mill while searching for a couple of caches. I love ’em but I have no idea who is putting them up!
While the beach was certainly a blast, we totally missed our kitties. Who wouldn’t? We came home to Sadie’s sappy face and Tiny’s mischievousness (and Maple’s shyness).
awwww
The night we got back Crash Boom Bang was performing a benefit play for one of our fellow friends and actors, Ben. He shattered his arm when he fell a few weeks back, and now has a plate in his arm. The play raised over $300! It was pretty awesome because once we unpacked and settled for a bit I went up to the mill and got a briefing of the play. Before I knew it – showtime! The play was called “John Carpenter’s Escape from the Titanic”. Summer and I played the iceberg and were part of the finale. We basically danced out from the audience, danced and “attacked” Ben(‘s character, Snake) until he eventually snapped our necks. It was rad having something awesome to do the night we get back from the beach!
The next night we met some friends at Big Ed’s pizza before heading to a friend’s “speakeasy”…although we were pretty exhausted so we didn’t last long.
And here is the radtastic record player that Andy found while at the beach!
Finally…after 4+ years, Andy and I went on a vacation! Although it started like a big party (there were 18 of us!), it eventually settled to be a relaxing trip. We left Huntsville around 4pm straight from our record store. The drive was 6ish hours, but we made it in about 5 and a half. It was a REALLY nice drive…lots of backroads, open skies, sunshine, tiny summer rain showers, and old houses. When we got in to Destin everyone was finishing up eating, so we just met them at the house. It was really neat to have so many of our friends AT THE BEACH.
The next few days were spent at the beach or at the pool (when there was way too much seaweed and crabs). We watched Fourth of July fireworks over the ocean…and people were going all out! You could see fireworks for MILES all along the coast. It was amazing! On one of the days (beach time = totally not knowing what day or time it is) a few of us went thrifting and Andy scored the record player of an audiophile’s wet dream (Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4002) .
Delicious seafood, sandy toes, clear ocean swims, poolside beers, late night laughs, air mattress tent city, beachside fireworks, and fun friends made this a much needed vacation. I took my point and shoot camera, but something is wrong with the battery and it won’t maintain a charge, so I had to use my phone a lot (surprise!) BUT I also took our instax camera. That proved to be loads of fun! Once I scan them in of course I’ll share, but for now – phone it is!
those are our ‘going to the BEACH bitchezzzz’ faces!
We went to Seaside! It was fun…more stuff was there since last time I had been. Of course our first stop was Central Square Records. Gotta admit, their prices were soooooo high! I know it’s a different market, but wow. While there wasn’t a whole lot of vinyl, they had great selections (although $$$). We spent about half the day at seaside before heading back to the house and then drinking beers by the pool. We tried the beach first, but there were so many crabs in the water that it made for a not-so-fun swim.
pool mullet!
The day we went antiquing and thrifting was really nice. After scoring our loot, we met the gang at the pool (still too many crabs at the beach!) for a couple of hours. A carload of people went to a seafood market to get dinner stuffs, and that gave me and Andy a chance to ourselves. We walked to Pompano Joe’s for some fancy drinks and then spent a few hours walking along the beach and talking. It’s really nice when we get a chance to spend relaxing moments together, because that’s usually when we have our best brainstorm ideas and conversations. When we got back to the house, they had started cooking for the big shrimp broil. Between 9 of us we conquered 8 pounds of shrimp and a couple pounds of scallops. It was delish!
I feel like I should apologize for my lack of “real photos” on my blog, but it’s just SO much easier doing everything through my phone since I usually always have it with me. I actually used to swear I would never become one of “those people” that just blogs about cell phone shots, but now I’m eating those words (and they taste great)! I’m embracing being that person so here’s a post full of randomness.
A few weekends ago we shot a STUNNING wedding in Big Canoe, Georgia. Jaime, the bride, had told us it was a gated community, but we NEVER imagined just how fancy it would be. Nestled in the mountains about an hour north of Atlanta is a serene setting for a true Southern wedding. While I can’t show the photos form the wedding just yet, I do have some fun fone (phone) fotos from the trip! It was about a 3 and a half hour drive, and we made great time getting there…however after getting lost in Big Canoe for half an hour, seeing a horrible wreck near Chattanooga and getting detoured 30 minutes out of the way, which made us pass the exit we needed, driving another half hour out of the way, retracing our route through Sewanee, getting pulled over by a (nice) cop (no ticket!) we finally made it back home in one piece (well, there were three of us – so three pieces)!
Andy and I made a pact this summer to “do shit” whenever possible. Last year we didn’t go swimming at all…that’s blasphemy! So far we’ve had a blast with friends going to the river(s), having BBQs, cheering/heckling at baseball games, started bands, played shows, gone to shows, and we’ve even made beach plans. I’m so stoked. I haven’t been in years! Anyway, so far this summer is shaping up to be an awesome one!
Totally kidding about the “pests” part…it was just a silly typo I decided to leave. Anyway, recently we acquired a new pet – my family’s pet cockatiel, Pacino! My mom brought Pacino home from the “bird lady” 8 years ago. However, one thing led to another and now Andy and I are the parents to Pacino. We are encouraging the vocabulary he already knows (hello Pacino, pretty bird, whatcha doin?, gimmie kiss, get your water, get your treat, yum yum, come here come on, stop it, sing Andy…and then he kinda can sing the Andy Griffith theme song) and teaching him new phrases (play a record, nom nom, see ya later). There are a few things he says that we have NO idea what he’s saying, so that’s been fun trying to figure out.
The kitties don’t seem to mind him. They are very curious, but don’t bother him too much. Tiny will sleep on top of his cage (we put a towel down on the top so it doesn’t scare Pacino when Tiny jumps up). Luckily, Pacino is used to other animals because my parents have a cat and a dog.
(Pacino likes to sing along to some of those songs on that album)
And here’s a video of Pacino in action…singing to himself! (the real fun starts at 2:05)
…and let’s not forget about the kitties!
(look closely in that last photo and you can see Maple’s head sticking out of the stair railing)
