Days 18, 19, & 20

The past 3 days have been wonderfully productive!

Monday - Our beautiful granite was installed. Mark it off the list!

ProStone cutting the granite!

We worked until midnight painting the living room and both hallways because we needed the room to "store" my staging furniture we were picking up on Tuesday. The house that the furniture was set up in was closing on Wednesday so we had to clear it out by then. We didn't want to put it back in storage just to have to pull it out again when Sugar Pine was ready for staging...

Tuesday - We headed to Trailwoods to pick up our staging furniture. Lucky for us, the house is only about 10 minutes away from Sugar Pine so we didn't have to rent a U-Haul and got away with making just a few trips. Love it!

Like my $30 Craigslist couch? Thank God for slipcovers!

 After getting it all unloaded and into the living room, we headed out to check out another possible deal...

Wednesday - This morning we went by the gas company and got our request submitted to turn our gas on. After this we headed to Lowes to get our lights, toilet, faucet, and other odds and ends. We also had to pay for the carpet we ordered and schedule the install. Lucky for us, they were running a special on the install charge and were able to get it for $37 as opposed to $97! Not bad, eh? This is the first time we have used Lowes to install the carpet that we purchased from them...so far, we dig it! Can't beat that price! And of course, I also had a 10% off coupon so we saved $135 on the total receipt for today. Love all the savings!

After this we headed to our 24 Day Challenge and got right to work painting the bedrooms so they will be ready for carpet. We almost finished 2 of the 3 bedrooms before calling it a night...

By the way, here's a few pics of the freshly painted mailbox (it matters, people!) and the front of the house featuring the new red door...I've gotten behind on uploading the pics of our progress! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
- Benjamin Franklin

...4 days and counting...

Days 16 & 17

Yesterday was my birthday! It was a delightful day full of fun surprises and wonderful relaxation. I thought we were going to work at Sugar Pine as planned but Dave made the decision to take the day off - and of course I didn't argue too much...it was so nice to take a break! We lounged around, ate some great food and rented a movie. Perfect Saturday, one which we hadn't had in weeks! Here are just some of the sweet surprises I woke up to! I'm truly blessed! -)

Today we were back to the grind. This morning we picked up the door from storage and before heading on to our 24 Day Challenge, we stopped by 2 houses Dave has been watching. Both need a ton of work but have been on the market for quite some time so we may be able to get them cheap-cheap...As soon as The Beauty sells we will be buying 2-3 more with that money so we are trying to scope out possible deals in the meantime.

When we got to the house, I went to work finishing up the painting on the shed and Dave installed the new front door, which looks fabulous! After this, he installed the new exterior lights, sprayed the cabinet doors/drawers with primer and started painting color on the kitchen walls. Our granite guy was unable to install the granite yesterday as planned. He brought it to the house but realized he needed to remake a few sections. He supposed to come install it all tomorrow...

I painted the first coat of red on the new door after finishing the shed and the first coat of gloss on the fireplace. Happy to see some more progress happening on the inside! The outside is now 99% done which is exciting...just have a few teeny things left to do.

We are happy with our progress so far and thrilled with how the outside turned out! Looking forward to watching the inside transform over the next week.

Here's a few pics of the painted shed...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

"I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."

- Donald Trump

...7 days and counting...

Days 14 & 15

Day 14

I spent the morning paying bills and balancing the books...my most favorite thing ever (insert sarcasm here). It sucks to do but feels so good when everything balances to the penny! Yes, I'm that girl. :)

After this we headed over to our 24 Day Challenge. I got to caulking and painting the new columns and touching up the front of the house. Dave installed the shutters and went to work priming and glossing the shed, which he finished in the dark. :)

Here's some pics of the beautiful shed doors he made before being painted...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I painted the front door a beautiful red - but realized that even though Dave was able to fill in a lot of the dents and dings, there were a ton more we didn't see before that were highlighted by the glossy red. I hate we spent the time on it but that's just what happens sometimes! We actually have an extra exterior door in storage  that we bought for Pocahontas but didn't use it...so alas, crisis averted! We didn't have to spend any extra dough on another door. :) This makes me happy! And the red is beautiful so at least we know the new door will look phenomenal!

We ended the night by taping down paper over the tile floors we are keeping so Dave could start spraying paint on the cabinets, vanities, ceilings, trim, and doors in the morning. Our granite is being installed Saturday so the cabinets and vanities need ample time to dry tomorrow...

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
-Proverbs 29:18

...10 days and counting...

Day 15

I spent all day painting the exterior shed walls gray and finished all but a wee bit. Dave finished spraying the vanities and cabinets so we are ready for granite, and he almost finished all the trim, ceilings, doors, and closets. Our carpet guy came and pulled measurements and we heard from our granite guy that we are still a-go for tomorrow's install. Looking forward to seeing it and putting more pieces of the puzzle together! I will post pics tomorrow...

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."
 - Steve Jobs

...9 days and counting...

Days 12 & 13

Day 12

We started off the day going to Lowes to see if they could beat Home Depot's window quote. Long story short, we ordered them today from Home Depot and we should get them in 2 weeks.  We also knocked out ordering the carpet from Lowes and should be hearing from the installer tomorrow about coming out to measure the rooms...

Our goal today was to finish painting the front of the house...and we did it! The color rocks and we couldn't be happier.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Tomorrow I will be working on painting the front door red and shutters black and planting all the new plants we bought yesterday. They were on sale (3 for $10) so we bought enough to replace all the ugly twiggy half-dead bushes that are currently dragging down our curb appeal. :)
 

Dave is going to fabricate and install the new shed doors and hopefully by the end of the day, we will be getting paint on the shed...

"Action is the foundational key to all success."
- Pablo Picassa

...12 days and counting...

Day 13

This morning I got right to work ripping out all the old bushes and planting our new beautiful crotons! Dave started filling in all the dents and dings in the front door; then headed off to Home Depot to grab wood for his shed doors and a few odds and ends that we needed for the day...

I'm so happy with the new flower beds! Hopefully my talented gardening Dad with the green thumb will be proud :)

And, Dave's doors look beautiful! The new buyer will love them! I will post pics of them tomorrow...

After he knocked out the doors, he started trimming out the front columns. The new trim makes them look more grandiose and helps the small porch make more of a statement...

I wasn't able to paint the front door because the bondo Dave used took to repair it took all day to dry. So after planting the beds, I spray painted the old green shutters a glossy black. Such an easy update to do...so inexpensive and really changes the look of the house. It will bring that contrast we need for our color scheme and perfectly frame the new windows (when we get them ;))
 

BEFORE

AFTER

I also worked on sprucing up the old ugly mailbox with the same black we used on the shutters. It now looks brand new! Don't let your mailbox bring down your curb appeal, people! ;) I'll post pics tomorrow!

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."
- Abraham Lincoln

...11 days and counting...

Days 10 & 11

The past 2 days at The 24 Day Challenge I have been painting...painting...and painting some more. Yesterday, we picked up more siding to finish the chimney and Dave knocked it out that afternoon. Then, he grabbed a brush and painted along with me! Today we were able to finish painting the entire back of the house and prime the front. I love our new color! We usually do a beige on the exterior but the neighborhood is full of unique colors so I knew we would be fine changing our color scheme up a bit...will post pics tomorrow! Our goal is to finish painting the front of the house tomorrow, which is the only side left to do...yippee! I was back on a 10 foot ladder today and hated every minute of it! Will be so happy when it ends!

This morning we went to Lowes and Home Depot to get quotes on the windows we have to replace, which come find out is ALL of them. Gonna have to figure out a way to squeeze it into the budget. Both manufacturers guarantee to beat each other's prices. Home Depots bid came in at $300 less than Lowes...going back to Lowes in the a.m. to see if they'll beat it ;) Love playing them against each other! When you're having to replace 9 windows, every penny saved is very much appreciated! 

Today was an outstanding day! Got a lot accomplished at our Challenge and even got a few direct mailers from real estate agents about The Beauty. We emailed those ladies as well as had a call from an agent who is going to show it on Thursday. We are up to 6 showings in 3 weeks so far...

Sorry for no pics! Will post tomorrow...for now, "Seacrest out!" ...and into bed :)

...13 days and counting...

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."

- Bill Cosby

Days 8 & 9

So I missed blogging yesterday because after working late Dave and I had a long conversation about the direction our flipping business is going and the things we need to do to grow and improve it...a pow-wow if you will! He spent most of the day having to run errands so while he was gone, I painted my little heart out. I was able to get a lot more of the house primed and had a few visitors which was fun! Lawrence, our mentor, stopped by to check out our progress and Dave's BFF came to see our latest flip. BOTH men had to to try out the swing set, which was hilarious! Lol, the new red paint must be working...Hopefully it will be just as appealing to our buyers!

Today David knocked out almost all of the chimney rebuild before running out of siding and I was able to start working on glossing all the trim and soffits. It's amazing what fresh paint will do!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

1 coat of primer...

GOODBYE UGLY BROWN!

The chimney looks awesome. He did a great job on it! We used a composite siding so the new owner will not have to worry about any more rot.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

SAY CHEEEEEEESE!

After dark, we began working inside. I got the rest of the fireplace primed and Dave went to work in the hall bathroom pulling down the wallpaper. He is going to try a new technique on the walls to cover over any remaining wallpaper and camouflage the sheetrock imperfections. Excited to see how it turns out!

BEFORE

AFTER

Tomorrow we head back to Lowes to pick up our exterior color and more siding to finish the chimney. Mobile is supposed to have gorgeous weather for the next week so we are going to continue focusing primarily on completing the outside in the next few days...

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
- Thomas A. Edison

...15 days and counting…