It still doesn't feel like home.

Maybe it's the fact that we like the former owners, or that the close was such a long process. It could possibly be that unpacking with a toddler is like putting mittens on an octopus, but I'm going to put money on the fact that this house won't feel like home until we address the wallpaper. There is so much wallpaper! In the closets, hallways and ceilings. That's right, ceilings. Don't ask because we have no ungodly clue why someone would wallpaper a ceiling.

Jeff seems ready, eager in fact, to tackle the first floor wallpaper and acquire more furniture. He's nesting.

My motivation is stuck in the unopened boxes piled in the dining room, the office, the guest room and lining the perimeter of our bedroom.

The kitchen took three attempts to put things away. It feels like our kitchens since York have gotten smaller and more challenging to unpack. Then I realized it was just the added obstacle of the monkey running around to inhibit one clear thought through decision...it'a like playing wack-a-mole on a lazy susan.

I'm getting a workout on the stairs. My mommy-brain ultimately forgets any number of items on the other floor that I then have to go retrieve only to forget what that item is/was the moment I arrive to retrieve it. My mom always suggested retracing my steps to help jog my memory. Are you seeing a theme yet? Buns of steel, I tell you. Clementine is loving the options as well. "Front or back stairs, Clem?" "Umm, back." and off she goes. I think she prefers the back stairwell because of the PINK carpet and floral wall paper.

The family room is going to be the first BIG project we will tackle. Bye bye wood paneling and carpet. I'd love to see some built in bookshelves but we will have to wait and see.

The guest room we initially selected has become a make shift playroom. Not sure how long that will last but the idea of moving any furniture right now guarantees a six month commitment to said arrangement. 

The monkey picked this room herself. Again, she might get evicted if it proves necessary. Currently, she thinks this arrangement suits her just fine.

The current guest room features military wallpaper (not pictures). The former owners were big on accent walls. But every wall had wallpaper. Not one was left bare.

The backyard is more patio currently but that works out perfectly with the vast number of parks within blocks of the house.

He's downright giddy folks!

Again...giddy.

We weren't even close to being unpacked but I noticed the paper in the living literally peeled away from the wall without any hesitation. So I tested a strip causing my mother-in-law's heart to palpitate for fear that I was making more work, but it came right off. So within that instant I ignited in Jeff the motivation to paint the living room and sun room. Again, I wasn't there yet.                     


The peeling of the paper is cathartic. But the "surprises" under the paper stifle the busing motivation. Plaster lath was the bane of my existence in LA and it has found me once again. This time, instead of tearing it out, we are patching and repairing. The house is old enough that the plaster is cracking and showing signs of wear. This is to be expected but has been hiding under some choice wallpaper for the past...40 years.

Over-achievers.

We finished up the living room and sun room in roughly four days. Peeled (easy peasy), washing the walls (ugh!), joint compound for cracks and holes (plaster lath sucks), sanding, priming and painting. Phew! And then we moved onto the dining room. We are nuts! The paper in the dining room proved to be more of a challenge. We attempted to score and spray but ended up sheeting off the top layer and saturating the paper and paste layer. This was far more effective. We are in the midst of spackling and sanding. Once the dining room is painted we will post some before and after.

Jeff has described the LA house as a sprint and this is a marathon. In LA we needed to overhaul the house inside out before we could even live there. This home will take time and patience...and eternity.