Out With The Old (Carpet), In With The New!

Our home has been undergoing some major interior changes lately!  (As I'm typing this, I'm sitting in my living room in a camp chair while wearing headphones.)  We had to have some noisy, boring foundation work done in our family room.  The family room is on a concrete slab, which was starting to settle.  That meant we needed to rip up the carpet in the family room so the foundation crew could do their thing.  Ripping up the carpet led us to a much more exciting change: getting new carpet!  When we moved into our home 10 years ago (how in the world has it been 10 years?!) we didn't have the funds to replace the carpet throughout our whole house.  So we prioritized replacing only the carpet in the family room that was heavily stained.  The rest of the carpet in the house was in decent condition and a neutral color.  We've done a lot of living on those carpets throughout the past ten years!  

Even though Jazzy was the best dog ever, she did occasionally trot through the house with muddy paws.  Adam and I used to eat dinner on the couch in front of the TV before we had kids and have spilled random food and drinks on the carpet.  Lyla and Archer have done their fair share of making messes.  I can still recall halfheartedly wiping up their spit up from the carpet when they were little babies.  Needless to say, it was time to replace the carpet!  

Now I know some of you may be wondering why we didn't opt to replace the carpet with wood floors.  While I very much like the look of wood floors, I just prefer the coziness of carpet in our living room, family room and bedrooms.  I also prefer vacuuming carpet to vacuuming and mopping hard wood floors.  Plus, the cost fit within our budget better.  

We visited a local flooring store nearby to check out our options.  It turns out there are way too many options out there!  We eventually brought home several samples to test out in our home.  It's always a good idea to get samples of flooring (or paint colors or fabric) and see what it looks like in your own home.  Everyone's home has slightly different lighting and finishes and seeing the sample in the space really does help.  

We settled on a nylon plush Shaw carpet (the color is called Dockside View) for the living room, family room, bedrooms and upstairs hallway.  Nylon is supposed to be more durable, not show traffic as much, and have a longer lifespan than polyester.  (Of course that also means it is more expensive.)  We decided to go with nylon, as opposed to a natural fiber like wool, for it's stain-resistant properties.  It's a beige color with some gray undertones.  It's slightly darker than our old carpet, but it somehow manages to compliment our many different paint colors and wood trims throughout our house.  For the stairs, we opted for a nylon Berber patterned carpet.  We wanted something with a lower pile for the stairs and since it was a smaller space, we decided to have some fun with pattern.  

Once we decided on the carpet, getting it installed was quite the challenge!  Adam and I opted to rip out the old carpet to save some money.  Adam also wanted to add more screws to the plywood to help alleviate all the many squeaks our floors made.  That meant we had to tear out the old carpet and pad and remove all the staples that were holding the pad in place.  Adam also wanted to paint some of the ceilings since we would have to move all the furniture and it wouldn't matter if we got paint on the subfloor.  He also wanted to replace the light fixture above the stairs and add some decorative molding.  The light bulb burned out in the original light fixture years ago, but it was way too high to get to in order to replace it.

With all those tasks on our to do list, we decided it would be far simpler to complete if Archer and Lyla were out of the way.  So I brought the kids to my parents' house for an extended visit.  While we were visiting, Adam stayed back to change the light fixture and add the decorative molding.  This was no easy task for him!  In fact, he had to build his own scaffolding in order to get to the light fixture!  Much to the kids' delight, he got the scaffolding up before we left for my parents so they got to play on it.  

After giving Adam a week to complete his stairway masterpiece, I returned without the kids to help rip out all the old carpet.  (Thanks for babysitting, Grandma & Grandpa!)  Due to rain delays, it worked out that the foundation crew and the carpet crew would be starting on the same day.  That meant that we couldn't have any furniture in the family room or the garage or parts of the basement.  (They were also doing foundation work in the garage and basement.)  So Adam and I had to get very creative about where to put all of the furniture from our living room, family room, Archer's room, Lyla's room and guest room/office, while also allowing pathways for the crews.  We had couches and tables piled up all over the place!  It was like a real-life game of Tetris.   

Once all the furniture was moved, Adam focused on ripping up the old carpet and pad.  I helped haul it outside and remove the staples leftover from the old pad, while Adam added close to 2,000 screws!  It's no wonder we had so many squeaky floors.  A lot of the nails were coming up and Adam realized some of the original nails didn't even hit the floor joists.  It's safe to say our subfloors are now securely in place and our floors are far less squeaky.  

Finally, the crews arrived and took care of the foundation work and carpet installation.  It was a hectic couple of days around our house, but well worth the outcome.  The mudjacking we had to have completed in our family room did result in some cracked bathroom tile in our half bathroom, so stayed tuned for our next project.  But the carpet went in without a hitch and it looks so incredibly nice!  I really didn't realize just how stained and worn out our old carpet was getting.  Our new carpet looks and feels so luxurious!  It's a bit hard to see just how much better things look with new carpet, but I'll share some pictures.  

Let's start with our stairway.  Look at our sad, worn out stair carpet and that piddly little light that we had going on.  

Now look at our stairway!  It looks so much grander with the new carpet and decorative molding!  And it's certainly far more illuminated with our new chandelier!

It's amazing how much nicer the carpet feels when you are walking around on it.  I find Archer and Lyla just laying on the floor quite often now.  After we bought the carpet I got a little anxious that the new carpet would be too dark and make our rooms feel gloomy, but I'm happy to report it's the perfect shade!  Our hope is that any messes or spills that will inevitably occur won't stand out quite as much as they did on our old, lighter carpet.  

I took advantage of the kids being away to rearrange and declutter their rooms a bit.  The new furniture layout in both of their rooms gives them a bit more space to play.  They were both so excited about the new carpet and new layout that they haven't even noticed the stuff I decluttered.  (Shhhh....please don't tell them!)

I'm glad I have this photo of Lyla's cutely curated bookshelf because it will never look like this again.  

Now Archer, on the other hand, truly enjoys a nice tidy space.  He is very good about cleaning up and knows exactly where things belong.  I'm glad I passed down my organizing genes to at least one of my children.   

Ahh, another lovely organized bookshelf!  

It's safe to say our whole family is enjoying our new carpet.  

Now onto our next project...replacing bathroom tile! 

Goodbye, Sweet Jazzy

I said goodbye to my sweet Jazzy on October 2nd and there's been a gaping hole in my heart ever since then.  There will always be a spot for Jazzy reserved in my heart.  

She was a rescue dog.  Yes, Adam and I adopted her from a little shelter in the middle of Kansas, but Jazzy is the one who truly rescued me.  I was still drowning in the sorrow of losing my first baby and the infertility that came afterwards when Jazzy entered our lives.  Adam and I both desperately wanted a baby, but a human baby wasn't yet in the cards for us.  So Jazzy became our baby.  

While I don't quite understand why things work out the way they do, I do believe there's something bigger than us.  The universe somehow brought Jazzy into our lives.  I knew she was meant to be ours when I saw her picture online.  Adam wasn't convinced until we visited her in person.  As soon as we arrived at the shelter "just to look" at her, she trotted right up to Adam and gave him a big ol' kiss.  Needless to say, we brought her home with us.  

And she was perfect for us.  She was just what I needed.  Looking back, I was severely depressed and really should have gotten some professional therapy.  But my therapy came in the form of Jazzy.  I started taking her for daily walks, which meant exercise for me.  She kept me company during a very lonely time.  She helped me to focus on the joys in my life instead of just the pain.  She helped me to welcome hope back into my life.  I just cannot fully express what she did for me.  She somehow knew when I needed extra snuggles or when I needed some comic relief.  Staring into her soulful little eyes helped me heal.  

Jazzy was such a good girl.  She was eager to learn new tricks and to please us.  She took it upon herself to be our guard dog and protector.  She rarely barked, but did alert us if someone she wasn't familiar with came to our door or if another dog dared to come too close to us.  She adored walks and her excitement for them was contagious.  She was happy to walk around our neighborhood and loved the new smells trails offered her.  

While Jazzy wasn't particularly close with Archer and Lyla, she knew her job was to protect them and she took it very seriously.  She always greeted us when we came home from somewhere and wouldn't head back to her perch on the back of the couch until both kids were in the house.  She put up with their incessant noise and activity in exchange for treats and bits of dropped food.  She never showed any jealousy towards the kids, despite them taking over most of our attention.  She was just as content to get a quick head scratch in passing.    

She was such a good girl.  The best girl.  

Less than a year ago, Jazzy was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  She had always had a pretty prominent heart murmur, so we knew that congestive heart failure might be in her future.  We started her on medications and she responded really well to them for quite awhile.  Eventually, she maxed out on her medications and we knew it was time to start making plans so that her final days could be as comfortable as possible.  I read a lot about how to determine when the time was right to help your pet end their life.  Of course it's a gray area and ultimately you know your own pet best, but I read many accounts of people wishing they had made the decision earlier to eliminate suffering.  Armed with that knowledge, we were able to make the difficult decision before Jazzy had to suffer for very long.

Adam came across an organization called Lap of Love.  Lap of Love is a network of veterinarians all across the United States who offer in-home end-of-life care for pets.  Once we knew it was time to end Jazzy's suffering, we contacted our local Lap of Love branch.  Every person we spoke with was so thoughtful and helped us feel like we were making the right decision.  The veterinarian who came to our home was so incredibly kind.  I hope no one needs this service any time soon, but keep this organization in the back of your mind.  Allowing Jazzy to pass peacefully in her own home where she felt most comfortable felt like such a gift for her and for us. 

We made sure to give her the best day before her appointment.  We took her to a trail, brought her dog bed outside in the driveway so she could enjoy the fresh air and got her a puppy scoop from our local ice cream shop.  After a bittersweet final walk around our neighborhood, it was time for the veterinarian to arrive.  Dr. Emily was so sweet to Jazzy and brought her lots of treats to enjoy.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the whole experience was very calm and peaceful.  Adam wrote and read Jazzy a letter which had all of us (Dr. Emily included) in tears.  As sad as it was, there sure was a lot of love in the room. 

Here's Adam's sweet letter: 

Dear Jazzy,  

When Sara and I left our house on December 13, 2014, with the intention of “just looking” I had no  idea I’d be finding my very best friend. The moment we saw one another, you trotted across that dog  haired matted couch we sat on at the shelter and gave me a nice kiss right on the face. I knew Sara was  hooked from that moment (I was too), my only reservations were how much hair you left all over me  after sitting in my lap for such a short time (you were just nervous).  

We’re so glad you took a chance on us; we are so lucky to have spent the last nearly 7 years of our lives  with you. You helped us both out of the darkness of unexpectedly losing our first unborn daughter. And  later the unexpected death of our friend Tim. You were there to graciously greet your newborn brother and sister four years ago, even if it meant stepping out of the primary spotlight. Please know that you’ll  always be our first baby.  

We will miss your unconditional love and affection. Your excitement of when one of us has come home  from the office or even a short errand. We will miss your excitement every time we pull your leash  down for your next adventure. I will miss our late-night outings and runs. I will miss walking and  running you while pushing your siblings in every kind of buggy imaginable the last 4 years, no matter  how tricky that might be. I will miss your unwavering interest in the outdoor hikes we’ve taken around  here. Thank you for exploring with us. I will miss you snuggling with Sara and I and despite your size  somehow taking over the queen size bed.  

There’s so much more we wish we had time to do and so much I regret not finding time to do so. But I  realize that no one can divide their time enough, you just do the best you can. The regret / guilt we might feel just means we care for you so much.  

You’ve done so much to help heal, serve and protect this family. You’ve given so much to everyone  you’ve known (even cleaning up a dead mouse in my Dad’s basement yesterday). As gut-wrenching as it  may be, it’s time for us to return the favor and help you along as peacefully as we can.  

We love you so much and if there is a heaven, I know you’ll be there waiting for us. So, till we meet again my friend.  

Love you always and forever,  

Adam and Sara

I miss Jazzy so much.  Our house feels so empty without her presence.  She wove herself so tightly into our lives and there are so many times I find myself still thinking about her.  I miss her little snores that would wake me up in the middle of the night and the way she would scoot her little body right next to mine in bed.  (The bed Adam and I said she would never sleep in.)  I miss the way she always seemed to know when I took out a pair of socks from my drawer and thought it was time for a walk.  I miss her laying in the sunshine in our yard.  I miss her toenails prancing along our floors.  I miss her crunching her dog food.  I miss her excitement when I opened up the bag of her favorite treat.  I miss her warm greetings whenever I came home.  I miss her rolling around on her back when she thought she needed some attention.  I miss her help in cleaning up all the crumbs under our kitchen table.  

I know eventually thinking about Jazzy will bring smiles instead of tears.  I am so lucky to have had her in my life.  Goodbye, Sweet Jazzy.  

Old Porch Posts + Old Deck Spindles

We've been on a bit of a table kick around here.  Not too long ago, Adam refinished a table for our kitchen.  Most recently, he used up our old porch posts and old deck spindles to create a gorgeous new table for our deck.  With the exception of a few cedar boards for the center of the table top and the bench slats, Adam created a whole dining set using repurposed lumber!  All of the old lumber would have just been hauled off to the landfill, but with Adam's hard work and skill, we now have the perfect addition to our deck.  

Allow me to go back to the beginning of the project and give an extremely simplified description of all the work Adam did.  There were too many steps for me to keep track of and I definitely didn't do the best job of photographing all the steps.  (In all fairness, I was wrangling Archer and Lyla so Adam could work on it.)  

In the midst of the pandemic, Adam was searching for projects to do that would keep him busy, but the high cost of lumber limited what he was willing to tackle.  Luckily, he had a pretty good stockpile of random lumber.  Adam had thought to save the old front porch posts from when we replaced them with new cedar columns.  He also saved all the spindles from the deck when we replaced them with cable rails.  This lumber had been sitting in our shed, awaiting the perfect project.  

After tackling the deck, we decided we needed a bigger table with more character and more seating.  So Adam got to work designing a new table and some benches using the lumber we already had on hand.  After he had his design, the next step was to plane all the spindles.  He took these worn out spindles for a trip through his planer... 

...and brought them back to life!  

He then laminated the spindles together to form planks for the table top.  This step took lots of patience.  After spindles were laminated into planks, he sent the planks through the planer again to get everything smooth.  He did have to supplement one cedar plank down the center of the table top since there weren't enough spindles to make the entire tabletop.

The base of the table came next!  He used leftover lumber and our old front porch posts to build the base.  Since the porch posts were already painted white, Adam decided to keep the base white.  Stripping and sanding off the paint would have been quite the job with all those nooks and crannies!  

The white base adds a bit of contrast and also ties in with the white railing posts.  

Adam had plenty of leftover planed lumber to build the bench bases.  Since those were nicely planed, he decided to stain those the same color as the table top.  He did have to grab a few more cedar boards to create the bench seats.  

Finding the perfect color to stain the table top and benches was quite the feat!  We wanted something to contrast the dark color of our deck, but still complement it.  After looking at several samples, we settled on a stain that turned out to be way too orange in person.  Ultimately, Adam decided to use Osmo Decking Oil in the color Thermowood.  It's the same product we used on our deck and have been very impressed with how well it's held up!  

Since we wanted to optimize seating, we decided to add two additional chairs to each end of the table.  Adam's mom was able to use our old patio table and chairs, so we opted to buy some chairs with a smaller footprint.  We also wanted to ditch the chairs with cushions since they would get wet when it rained, despite our covered deck.  The benches can seat 3 adults comfortably and 4 in a pinch.  So we can now seat up to 12 people!  We have already eaten many meals at the new table and enjoy spending time sitting around it.  

(At least Adam will look at me when I trying to take a picture these days...)

Our new dining set is the perfect addition to our outdoor living area!  It fits the space nicely, without taking up too much room.  There's still plenty of room to play and grill up dinner.  

I love that Adam built it.  I love that he saved materials from the landfill.  I love that it brings our family even closer together.