Our House Atop A Tree

Where do I begin...It's been a long and filthy road to the completion of our little love nest at 442 A Main Street, Placerville. But, lord oh lord, has it been worth it.

When we first heard that there may be a one and a half bedroom apartment available above Sierra Rizing Bakery downtown, our stomachs were alive with butterflies! We called Gloria Smith (the almost 87-year-old land lady, who informed us it was ours if we wanted it, no deposit, no lease, just $450 per month).Giddy with excitement, we ran down to main street and unlocked the dark red door with the adorable mail slot. As we climbed the steps, a foul (to put it lightly) odor filled our nostrils and we were hesitant to even set foot in the front door atop the stairs. But, we continued up anyways. Past the cracked walls in the hallway, we came upon a front door with two shattered window panes and a living room (I would prefer to call it an "un-living room") with what used to be white carpets (I think...?!). There were black spray paint stains, concentrated dark colored smudges, and trash EVERYWHERE. Crumpled paper, an old couch, trash bags full of rotting food, a leaking refrigerator with spoiled mayonnaise and half and half, stuff carved into the walls, empty jars labeled "Medicinal Cannabis", YOU NAME IT. Well, see for yourself (mind you, it is unfortunate that the pictures are unable to capture the rank smell)...

The cracks all along the hallway




Now this is a sight! Rotting bags of trash in the sad little clawfoot bathtub


The molding, disgusting sink


Perhaps the most disgusting, although it's hard to say...the back porch. How nice it was to find out we have a placerville rooftop to ourselves AS OUR BACK PORCH, and then how horrible to see this!




And just when we thought there couldnt be any more CRAP around, we found this cubby above the stairway..filled to the BRIIMMM.



Every square inch was covered in a filthy energy that was hard to stand. And I told Joey I didnt think I could do it, because doing work on the place meant spending money on the place, and a LOOTTT of work meant a LOOOTTT of money. So, joey decided to call our land lady. She decided she would pay for new floors, new paint, dump runs, and anything else we could possibly need to make the place liveable and make it our own! So, who could refuse.

Our first trip was to The Paint Spot, where I put almost $500 on her account. And so, the painting began.

The first coat, primer on the random and dirty blue wall.


Overwhelmed by the work ahead..


Just crap in the living room


The bedroom going from blue/white/gray to beautiful brown (Evan was our HELPER the WHOLE time!)



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The living room, Periwinkle as can be! :)



My beautiful Spanish Blue front door, in progress



More living room work!



...and play



Then Heather joined us and helped paint the kitchen Sunflower Yellow (as the other projects were still underway)



okay, now, get ready, some serious results are just ahead.

Living room coming along..


Bedroom coming along (WITH CARPET PULLED UP, Thanks to Stanny)



Our other SAVIOR pops.



The New Mexican Pueblo of a kitchen coming together!!







And then it happened...the best day of my life.
THE HARDWOOD FLOORING GUYS CAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


So, we took a trip to Home Depot to get a refrigerator, a new toilet seat, new light fixtures, a new showerhead, screening materials for the windows (since many were torn or just plain missing), more painting tape/brushes, a door knob, cleaning supplies, glass to fix window panes, etc etc etc etc....$900 dollars later, we were SET!

Then came the bathroom

(first I painted it bright orange, then re-painted it ha!)

So, once the painting was done, we were ready to move a few things in and celebrate a bit.

My brother and Evan enjoying our 2nd hand sleeper sofa


Joey dancing his pants off


Rounding up stuff at Heather and Darins


Joey getting started on his Music room (the work never ended)


Boxes and Boxes moved into our new house, waiting to be unpacked to become part of the nest.


Now, even though it was grueling and filthy (cant stress the FILTH FACTOR enough), and even though I had to spend 3 hours in the emergency room to get stitches on my thumb..








...it has been MORE THAN worth it!



And here's why..


Before- Kitchen view through living room, into bedroom



After:



Kitchen Window before:



After:


Living Room before:



Living Room after:



Bedroom before:



After:


Joey's music room before:

(yes, thats a hole in the house, semi-boarded up)..

After:


Bathroom before:


After:




Our kittens before:


Our kittens now:


So thats it. Maybe the longest blog ever made. Of course there is much more to see, now that we are completely moved in and living happily across from Placerville Hardware, but we have no plans to leave anytime soon, so come check it out. We are so happy and at peace and, being the ones that worked so dang hard up here, we adore every speck of space and detail surrounding us. Cant wait to have you all over for some Office, some red wine, and some LOVE.