Overheard at the Gaetano House

I think I'll start a new series of posts "Overheard at the Gaetano's".  I'll tag them all with that label so they're easy to find (mostly for me).

Here is today's gem, compliments of Cate at 3 yrs, 4 months.

"Oh No, Dominic!  A hippo ate our baby Jesus."  

Do you feel like you missed the context on that one?  I was listening and still have no idea where that one came from.

Piano Purchase

Phew!  What an exhausting purchase to make.  Well, not really to make, to get.  I saw it on Craigslist.  The price and location were right.  Even the picture looked right!  I called and drove out that day to look at it.  Bang.  Deposit.  Bang.  Then the hard part of figuring out how to get it.  Part of putting a deposit on it was so that there was no backing out--we had to figure out how to move it the 5 miles to our house.


First we were going to use 4 men and a pick-up, relying mainly on brute strength and then some ratcheting rope things that I picked up for the job.  On further thought and after several people expressed hesitation about this idea (not that the men aren't strong...just well, they're professors not engineers), the morning of the move I called both a moving company and Uhaul to see what options they had for us.  The moving company charged $300 and required 48 hours notice.  That was definitely out.  Uhaul had a truck available with a ramp and we could rent a dolly.  I pondered for a couple of hours and then decided that it was worth $60 to not be the cause of a professor or two putting his back out or my piano sliding out of the truck or fingers being sheared off (no joke, this happened to one of my grandpa's friends).  In the end, it was worth all the hassle.  I share with you the result.

Desk Remake

Here are some before and after pics of my latest projects.  This is the first of 4 pieces that make up Cate and the new baby's furniture.  This desk has definitely seen better days.  It's a French provincial style with a dirty cream paint and "gold" edging.  (It does have all the drawers...I just forgot to take one before this point).

After:

After removing all the hardware, sanding and washing it down, I did two layers of Kilz latez primer (no oil-based for preggie me!) and then two layers of Frozen Vanilla Glidden semi-gloss.  I spray-painted the handles oil-rubbed bronze (they were gold and white).

More projects to come!

"Who's a friend?"

Here's some Cate love, especially for Grandma and Grandpa and cousins Stephen, Eliana, Abigail, and Miriam.

Buyer's Remorse

Owning your own home opens up a whole new realm of window shopping envy.  Things I never even thought about wanting are suddenly overwhelmingly appealing--to the point where I'll google it to see if the price is more than slightly prohibitive.  What kinds of things?

Oh, you know, a high efficiency washer and dryer.  A side-by-side fridge with an ice maker and filtered water dispenses (or just one with better space management than the one we currently have).  Comfy leather couches that resist crayons and juice.   A fence and remote controlled gate across the driveway.  A food processor without a crack in it.  A new, efficient and not peach toilet that does not "whine" whenever it is flushed.  A light kit for the living room fan.  Three-pronged outlets and a gfi breaker in the kitchen.  I guess I've moved from window shopping to house wishes.  Let's just be glad that I haven't put "three-pronged outlets" into Google, at least yet.

Settling into a new house brings along some buyer's remorse.  I've been told that this is inevitable.  No matter how prepared you are, the unexpected things pop up.  Things you overlooked before may come to bother you.  The first months are a money drain and you wonder, "did we do the right thing?"  The rose-colored glasses come off and you see up close the eyesore that a sagging chain link fence can be, the tar spots the your maple trees have contracted, the pipes that mysteriously leak, and the holes and live wires that previous owners just wallpapered right over.

At the moment, the remorse has waned, probably the result of our living room painting and rearranging.  It helps to make the space our own so that it's no longer "that house we bought" but is now our house, where we (and hopefully others) love to be.    

All Around the Planets

Dominic, with his face between angelic and mischievous (stalling before bed), told me, "Mommy, I love you this much"--and he made about ten 10's with his fingers.  And then he emphatically restated his great love for me, clearly influenced by their unit study of the solar system at preschool and the longest distance he can think of, "Mommy, I love you all around the planets and back again to Pennsylvania!"

Ah, those are the moments when he melts my heart.

 Dominic before his first day of preschool at Countryside Montessori.

Standing in front of the school, right before his first afternoon.

Living Room Makeover

The home makeover crew arrived on Saturday for a long-anticipated facelift of the living room and back yard.  This crew may seem motley with just a doctor and a housewife team but don't be fooled, they are creative, hard-working, and thorough--boy are they thorough!  Their drive to bring joy to others and to improve whatever it is they set their hands at are a powerful combination.  In short, my in-laws are amazing.  So please, enjoy the fruits of our (and most significantly their) labor.

It's a little hard to see the color in this first picture.  It's a light teal-grey color.  Think of the relaxing color you might find in a spa or waiting room for a massage.  That might be right if you have the same imagination as me.  If you don't recall, it used to be a boring beige that just muted the fireplace.

We did a little rearranging as well.  You can also see our new "game table" in the back.   This one show the color pretty well, although it's obviously a little lighter when natural light streams in.  Any ideas for curtains??  (something fairly casual that can be drawn completely to block out drafts in winter would be ideal).

We moved the reading nook to be more cozy by the fireplace and also function as an additional chair to the main sitting when we have lots of people over.

 By moving the side table from behind the couch (in front of the big wall) we made a little display place with a neat Italian painting.  The accessorizing needs some work...