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Totally kidding, but we thought about it…for just a millisecond. Doesn’t he look ready to join the construction crew as he stretches out on this bearskin rug?! Hahahaha! Mark had no time to sleep on a bearskin rug as he spent this weekend and last weekend cleaning bricks. Like 1,500 of them. No joke. 1,500 bricks. You saw in the last blog post that we had to tear down the front brick wall on our…

Yes…most people think we’re nuts, but life’s too short to slow down and not go for your dreams. And this house is part of our dreams! We took Baby Hank to see the work we’ve done so far. We told him that it doesn’t look like much now…but Daddy’s vision for this old Victorian house is spectacular! Our first order of business was to fix the brick work on the front facade. The brick had…

This. Is. Exciting. After months and months of nothing, we are finally starting demolition on our second house…the gorgeous old Victorian that needs lots and LOTS of love. Since I am “with child” and, hopefully, carrying the next world hockey legend, I’m not actively participating in this demo. Want to spare the little nugget from inhaling too much of the yucky dust and dirt. I did, however, designate myself Project Manager and will be expertly…

Major preparations going on over here… We are getting ready to start the renovations on our second house! Woot woo! Mark got the permits we need from the city to start demolition. [wpvideo BGv2VKlo] The demo phase is our favorite phase…it’s also the dirtiest phase…and when we get rid of any pent-up frustrations we’ve been holding. 🙂 We’re doing this a bit differently this time around…we’re bringing more people into our circle! Because the more…

Everybody who reads the blog either conspired with each other OR the design without the awning is just butt ugly. No one liked the rendering above…all of you agreed that the “after” picture of rooftop deck WITH the awning at the Grand House is the way to go. Mark and I agree, but we do have one concern. Doesn’t it kinda look like a Pizza Hut? You can see it, right? The brick below, the…

You dedicated blog readers know that sometimes I can veer into “gushing” territory when I talk about my husband. I’m sure some of you hate it and roll your eyes…others might think it’s fake…but, I’m tellin’ ya right now, the gushing is LEGIT. For instance… Mark’s renderings for the new fixer upper, aka the Grand House, are spectacular! He’s able to not only build a 3-D model, but also add the special touches like the…

We needed a longer tape measure for our first project at the Grand House. The damn house is so grand, we can’t get all the outside measurements in one clean swoop! That’s why Mark and I are a team. He tells me what to do and I just listen and follow behind him…holding his notepad until he needs it. (Not sure if that’s the definition of teamwork or just a master/servant relationship!) We took several…

When my in-laws called last Thursday and said they were going to come in for a quick visit, I said to Mark “OMG, what’s wrong?” Turns out nothing was wrong. 😉 Mark’s mom and dad had their original plans fall through and so they thought…”Let’s go see our son and make sure that Pittsburgh girl is being good to him!” All the Brennans came over for dessert Saturday night after a really good dinner at…

Maybe more than a bit. I think this new house project has put that “overwhelmed” feeling into a category 5. Whenever I start feeling this way, it usually means it’s THAT time of the month. But I think this time around it might be something a little deeper than Mother Nature’s monthly blessing to women. 😉 Don’t know about you, but whenever I look too far ahead into the future I start to panic. I…

Now that Mark and I have 2 houses in Lawrenceville we need to name them. This is for our sanity and so all you blog readers can keep it straight! Our current (and almost complete) renovation will be called, The Row House. (I know, I know…SUPER imaginative) The new Victorian we’re going to restore will be called, The Grand House. Since we don’t have kids (much to the dismay of my mother and mother-in-law) we’ll…