Tag: diy
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What we didn’t DIY
Back in May when I first started posting about our projects for the new home, I mentioned three tasks that we either couldn’t or didn’t want to DIY. These were three top-of-the-list items that had to be taken care of before September when Penelope arrives, and I’m happy to report that they have been checked…
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Refinishing the Stairs Part 1
We figured the wood stairs would be in worse shape than any of the bedroom floors because they endure the most traffic, but we weren’t prepared for the amount of tedious work it would take to whip them into shape. I’ll add: the jury is still out on what kind of shape they’ll be in…
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Back to the Bedroom Refinishing…
Utter contentment is chilling on the couch in between two big cuddly dogs listening to “An Elegant Affair” playlist on Spotify (Javier’s choice) while Javi waters orchids. Javier and I had our Birth Class Part 2 tonight and I got *extra* worked up about the insane amount of newborn first-time-mom stress that I’m about to…
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Finished Gradient Dresser for Penelope’s Nursery
Back in my previous life as a Sociology graduate student at Vanderbilt I was a big fan of a blog called Young House Love. My friend Ashley and I were completely awed by all of the projects this young couple completed, and their blogging style was pure fun to read. When I finished my coursework and delved into…
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Polishing Brass Hardware
Over the last week I’ve been working on refinishing an old wood dresser that has been in my family for a little over 30 years. My mom first got it from a friend when my dad was studying at Princeton, and my brother grew up with this dresser in his room. When I went to college,…
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Step One: Refinishing Bedrooms
There are three items on our must-do list this summer that have to be contracted out, and one major project we want to complete on our own before Penelope arrives in the fall. The items we can’t complete on our own are: Remove a dying tree (that actually belongs to our neighbors) that is hanging…
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Buena Buena update: Vintage Summer
Now that Derby is over, my brain has officially switched into summer mode. It’s a byproduct of growing up here; once Derby ends, there’s only a couple weeks left of school and then summer vacation! Of course this summer is a whirlwind of moving into a new house (more on that later) and not exactly…
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January and Minimalism (the documentary)
I’m so happy right now – January is my jam. I am a little bummed that the holidays are over and I hated taking down my Christmas decorations, but I love the subdued quiet and tabula rasa that January offers. The fact that it’s “snowing” (Louisville standards) right now adds to the mood, even though I don’t have any…
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More Odds & Some Ends
Beyond the wood floors, we’ve been adding other small details here and there to the house that have certainly made it a warmer, more inviting space. My favorite additions are the gorgeous curtains my mom sewed for our living room and kitchen windows. Our local Hancock’s Fabric Store is going out of business, but before…
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Paint Forever
You can bet your life is pretty chill when the most exciting thing that happens to you over the course of a few days is getting a brand new super vacuum. I don’t know what the normal life span of a vacuum cleaner is, but Javi and I have been using a standard canister vacuum…
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Shine on, wood floors.
When we moved to Louisville we decided not to move into our room until we took the carpet out or we’d never do it. The previous owners stapled down some fantastically ugly carpet over hardwood floors, which I’m sure was cheaper than refinishing the wood before selling. I prefer scuffed and scratched hardwood over cheap,…
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That’s so Louisville
“I’m a Louisvillian again.” “We live in Louisville now!” “Louisville is my new, old home.” “Louisville is my hometown.” All of these phrases keep rotating like marquee announcements through my brain when I wake up in our new house in our new city, and I’m wondering when it’ll just become a normal thing that Javier and I…
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Knitting Yoda
This fall I was inspired by a pair of adorable knitted mice and their maker Robin Nikkel to pick up my abandoned knitting needles and try to make something besides scarves using the most basic stitches. I haven’t ventured far into the world of cable knitting yet, but I did make a few little animals…
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5 years as a Rodriguez
Last month, well before our 5-year anniversary date, Javier told me (with that “I’ve got a plan” gleam in his eye) that he had an idea for my anniversary present. For the next week or so, I wasn’t allowed to check our amazon account to see what orders had been made, and one by one…
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Fire pit seats
So, back to where I left off: I had these 5 huge logs in the backyard and I wanted seats for the fire pit. Since the logs were tall, using them “as is” was not an option, and if I could cut them each in half I would have double the amount of seats. I…
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One person’s trash…another person’s project idea!
A couple of weeks ago our neighbor across the street decided to cut down a big tree from the front of her property. Well I think she decided anyway, I didn’t actually talk to her, but I saw a guy with a chainsaw going at it. Once the job was done there was enormous pile…
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Garden update! Roses, peonies, pansies…!
These past couple of weeks have been exceptionally warm, so the garden in the back and the beds in front have been exploding. The last time I posted the tulips were just coming up – and since then they all bloomed in a brilliant explosion of colors and subsequently shriveled up and fell apart. Now, the front…
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Signs of Spring in Nashville!
It’s spring! It’s gardening time! Javi has been working on a hydroponic garden – more on that later – and we both spent some time recently sprucing up the vegetable garden and getting it ready for spring. This included emptying out the pots and filling them with fresh soil, adding manure to the raised beds…
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Making Sushi
Out of the blue one afternoon on gchat Javier tells me that he wants to try to make sushi. I’m telling you, 100% of the projects we feature on here start with Javier getting a whim to do something, looking up videos on youtube on how to do it, and then going through with it.…
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Home-made Pizza!
A few weeks ago I was craving pizza. We normally buy the materials to make our own pizza, including the dough, from Trader Joes. Unfortunately the night I decided to make the pizza, the dough expiration date was about a week past and even though I thought about eating it anyways, I preferred to play…
Los Rodriguez Life 