New Job, New House, Old City

I've previously mentioned that the Fall of 2015, my husband Pete and I moved out of our first house on Camp Avenue after I was offered a job at a  law firm in downtown Chicago.  We spent about 2.5 years in Chicago, where we lived in a few different neighborhoods and fell in love with the city.

Camper Remodel: The Reveal

Wow! After all of that hype, I never actually posted the reveal of our camper. So, as I sit here in frigid February temperatures dreaming about our next adventure, I present to you, without further ado, our camper remodel:

Camper remodel: floors and cabinets

Just a little teaser update! Peter and his family have spent the past week working on the camper while I am stuck in Chicago working. Fortunately he has sent me just enough photos to see some progress: 

Camper Remodel: This will end eventually, right?

We have owned our lovely camper for about 3 months now, and over the course of those 3 months, have spent nearly every weekend getting it prepped for our big trip to the East Coast over the 4th of July. We have had a lot of fun fixing this thing up, but I will be completely honest and say I am so ready to start camping already! I can only paint fake wood for so long ;)

With that disclosure out of the way, here are some pictures from our weekend. 

1. Peter worked on installing the fridge enclosure while I cleaned out the fridge.  By the way, the fridge kind of smells gross. Like mildewy? Maybe what you'd expect in a 20 year old camper fridge? I've been trying a few tricks, like vinegar, baking soda, etc. I will let you know if something works. 

Camper Remodel: Painting is done!

Just another camper remodel update --- this is pretty much all we are doing in our free time lately (besides some wedding planning) since our trip to the east coast is scheduled to kick off July 1.

I finally painted the interior walls and cabinets. For the walls, I went with Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray at 50% strength in eggshell. I actually used the Behr Paint + Primer and had Home Depot look up the Benjamin Moore color and match it.

Camper Remodel: Primed and Ready for Paint

Another week, another camper update. This update is the most fun one yet though. We finally got the gross floor removed and the sub floor down in the body of the camper. This means that I finally got to go in and start priming the cabinets and walls!! I got to work taping off anything that I didn't want to turn white, and then used Glidden Gripper primer on everything. It took me about 4-5 hours to give everything a first coat of primer. 

(before)

(after first coat of primer)

(before)

(after)

Posing for a photo paint brush in hand. Peter spent the afternoon fixing the molding around the door and putting it back on. (not shown - paint EVERYWHERE all over me)

(Gracie's new cuddle friend = the Shop Vac)

 So fresh and clean!

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend, so we are hoping to have 3 nice days to do some major work! The end is in sight :)

Engaged!

<3 <3 <3 My heart is full! On 3/24/16, after a long fun weekend fixing up our camper, we returned to Chicago and went out to the beach, where Peter asked me to marry him!! Apparently, he was going to ask the day before, but I had too much paint on my hands from painting cabinets ;) 

Camper Remodel: Painting Cabinets

Progress continues with the camper. This week we took the first step in replacing the floor that we had to take out due to severe rotting :(

While Peter was doing that, I got busy removing the cabinets, priming, and painting. I used the oil-based Zinsser primer, which I brushed on initially. After doing several of the cabinet pieces, I ended up buying the spray paint version which went on a million times faster.  I am interested and hopeful with how it will hold up on those lovely laminate cabinets!

(My station all set up as I primed)

I found a really nice shade of white/off white, which is White Dove by Benjamin Moore. This is the shade I am using on the cabinets, although I don't have pictures yet of them all finished with that shade. 

Finally, I laid out all of the hardware and primed and spray painted it with a nice oil-rubbed bronze.

Above is what the rusty/off colored brass handles looked like before spraying! 

Camper Remodel: Cleaning the Tent Ends

It is finally warm out in Illinois! We drove to my hometown for the weekend where we have the camper stored. My big task was to clean the grimy/moldy tent ends. Peter came in with no plan but ended up demolishing the floor (long story for another day). 

This is what we started with:

A few weeks ago we attempted to clean the canvas, and bought two different products. One was a mold cleaner from Lowes, and the other was a 3M mold/mildew boat cleaner from Gander Mountain. We had luck cleaning the outside canvas, but the inside was not budging at all. 

I read a bunch of reviews and decided to order two of the Bass Pro Shop Mildew Stain Remover sprays. This was the best decision ever.

We decided it would be easiest to take off the tent ends so I could spread them out and clean them outside. It was a bright warm sunny day which I think actually helped activate the bleach a bit (I could be totally wrong there).  We used the spray, a soft bristled brush, a sponge, and a bucket of water. 

The technique I used was to spray and let it sit for 1-2 minutes, then I dipped the brush in water and scrubbed the canvas, which created some suds, but definitely showed that the tent was getting clean. Afterward, I used a wet sponge to wipe down the fabric. I'm not sure if the sponge totally cleaned out all of the spray product, but it smelled clean and bleach-like, and I'm ok with some of that being left over in the fabric.

My patch test revealed that the spray worked awesomely. 

Below is a good picture showing how clean it makes the fabric (left) versus the side I hadn't sprayed or scrubbed (right).

(The final clean product. So pleased! It looks new!)

And now for a few pictures of my handsome boyfriend working on the inside with the camper airing out! 

Our little camper

Every summer, Peter's family goes to Salisbury Beach, MA on the New England Seacoast for a week of camping. Peter's parents and siblings (and their families) all have campers that they stay in, and it is a ton of fun to hang out and relax.

A few weeks ago, Peter and I bought a 1999 Forest River Shamrock camper.  The camper is 19 feet long and is a "hybrid," which means it has bunks that pop out like a pop up camper.

The camper is in working order, but we got it for a cheap price and therefore have a few fixes that we will need to make, including some cleaning, water damage, and decorating.  I hope to document this process on the blog. You can check the link bar at the top of the page for more posts about the camper.

House goals 2015: Master Bedroom

My bedroom has seen some serious improvement since the day we got the place.

We repaired the plaster, removed the carpet, and sanded the floors.

Then, I moved all of my bedroom stuff into the room. I got bamboo blinds, a headboard, and some other random items. The room is kind of crowded with furniture I don't want in there (hint: the Ikea shelving unit next to my bed) because my closet/dressing room is still under construction.

(This was literally right after I moved my stuff in)

The room is slowly starting to come together.

I purchased a black bordered hotel-style duvet cover from Gilt, which I really like. I'm not crazy about those teal pillow from Pier1 that are currently on the bed. I've had them for years and used them in various places. They are super comfortable, but I don't want things matchy-matchy in this room. I'm not sure what will go in their place yet though. I do love the new faux fur mink throw that I picked up at Pier1 yesterday on sale (available here). 

The bamboo shades and bamboo storage baskets are making the room look a bit too "natural" for me, which is not quite my taste. I plan to white-wash those shades for a brighter look. I also want to get some light curtains hung once I can decide on what kind I'd like. 

Also on my list for 2015 is to paint the bedroom furniture either black or white, change out the hardware (if painted black), and add a nightstand and matching white lamps on either side. I also want to hang art.

My raised Jenny Lind bed: A year later

A year ago, I wrote about finding an antique Jenny Lind bed and raising the headboard to a more standard headboard height of about 52 inches. The bed has been finished and in my house for over nine months.. I think it's about time to post a few pictures!

The bed turned out great and has held up exceedingly well. I am currently using it in my guest room, which is not quite decorated at the moment, but definitely serves its purpose.  

If you recall, this is how the headboard previously looked. It was too short to use a box spring, and it needed a bit of TLC.

Here is how the headboard looked during the refinishing process:

And this is it now.