I'm baaaaack!

Hey Guys! I know it's been like a year, but lots of things have changed. First of all, for some reason my photobucket accout has been gutted! All my pictures are gone! I am so sad! After picking myself up off the floor and going through a box of tissue, I am moving forward! I know it has been a long time, but that lovely Kevin Kriston I introduced about a year ago, is now my lovely boyfriend! I know I know, "OMG Gina found love, no WAY!!" Yes kids, I sho' nuff' did! Well, there's more.... I also live with him!! I know I know, "OMG you LEFT the Country Cottage?!!" Yup, love does strange things to ya',....that and the fact that he pays my bills. I have to admit, while I was packing up my Cottage, I again had to pick myself off the floor and get through a bulk rate special of tissues everytime I tried to pack a box! I told Panda (AKA Kevin) I had no problem moving in with him, I had a problem breaking up with my house!

I know I know, "WTF Gina, how is any of this good news, why are you getting my hopes up for more pictures and goofy montages?" I'm getting to it, hold on to your skivies! Devistated at the thought of losing the Cottage, Dad and I agreed to rent it instead of selling it! YAY! We found this great family who loved the house and couldn't wait to move in! After talks with Dad, I still want to make improvements and see my plans come to fruition! Dad agreed!! So inbetween renters I will be able to continue to paint, pave, spackle, and intall to my hearts desire!! Property never depreciates!!

So here's what's instore for the future!! Get this! The first improvement is a BIG one! We are going to add a powder room next to the laundry! I have always wanted to do that, but of course it is well out of my budget, but I will tell you, adding that will REALLY increase the property value as well as make the home easier to rent! The home is set up perfectly for this addition, the house is on slab, but all the plumbing is in that area, PERFECT!! Other projects I have in store are adding lighting (hallogens of course), finishing painting, changing out ceiling fans, new countertops (have you heard of granite transformations?) and adding a paved firepit communal area! Imagine the marshmallow carnage!!

Having this opporunity to continue with the home I truely love makes my soul happy, and I am so greatful Dad has continued to see ojo to ojo with me on this!! Best part of all? That Kevin Kriston STILL is an accomplished woodworker, and he likes me a lot!! Yes, there will be lots of crownmolding upgrades!! Ahhhhhhh the power of smooches!

So keep posted, these upgrades will not start for a while, they will probably only be done inbetween renters, BUT they will be done in bulk! OH the satisfaction!! Woo-hoo!!

I have loaded pictures of the house empty of course to get us all up to speed on where we are starting from this time!! Yea, these are saved on my personal computer......

Season 2 Wrap Already?

Hey guys, I know I have neglected everyone, and I apologize! Unfortunately I had to replace my pc and camera, and then had to ship off the pc to get repaired! SO, all the documentation of the den was non-existant! I apologize, BUT am feeding all of you at the BBQ reveal! Season 3 is underway and will include new paint and shelves in the laundry room, new paint for the master and guest bedroom, and of course the enclosed porch! YAY!! FINALLY! Some great news, my lovely Kevin Kriston is going to help me with molding throughout this season! He is quite the accomplished woodworker and I am looking forward to his help! Stay tuned, after the BBQ I will post the new pics of the den, and get started on a new season! Lots of love!

Season 2! Massive Blog!

Welcome to the Country Cottage Season 2! So many fun projects are in store for us this season! Thanks to the good ‘ol US education loan system, we are ready to get started! Unfortunately I am not able to upload beautiful bean footage due to the fact I got a new laptop and my den is gutted along with my connection, so it will be a small wait until you get quality blog, sorry!
“Gina, are we finally starting the porch?”
Sorry kids, the porch is still a luxury, I NEED a functioning den! As previously covered, my den is a hodgepodge of surfaces, no drawers, not enough shelves, and extremely poor lighting! This room has the most potential, and houses the most important aspects of my life. My design friends understand my pain when I say during design studios I can spend up to 15 hours straight in there, and it helps to enjoy the paint, ya dig?
I have found furnishings I really liked, but they all total to about $3000! I knew I had to design smarter, more efficient, more creative and CHEAPER! This lead me to my soapbox, could you get the light in the back? Thanks.
I would like to take this small moment to recognize the academy and my brother Gil, who exposed me to the wonders that ARE the IKEA-cheap-ass-furniture-and-meatball-expo-center! Don’t forget the Dame Tart and Swedish coffee on your way out! Good-cheap times! Here’s the plan!
Mass shelving! That mofo is going to look like a library! Shelving is WAY cheaper than closed storage, so I found the GORM shelving @ IKEA. It is solid untreated natural pine, and has a wonderful blond luminescence to it. I was hesitant due to the fact that the wall color is butter cream, I did not want it to become a monochromatic nightmare, but I found the butter cream enhances the blond highlights in the wood. I will now have shelving for my 2 businesses as well as college, work , and personal affairs. I also have plans for a S&S craft center that will house all of my packaging, ribbon, clipboards, calendars ext. The best part of my design is the tension wire that will span the bookcases above my craft table incorporating both stability, efficiency, and conveniently thread my many spools of ribbon, and even hold stamp! I found corrugated storage boxes for all my design sample, (thanks Gil) and all of my mags.
The Palette:
Butter cream, white, stainless steel, and bitch red, YEA! As my design friends remember from color theory, red increases your blood pressure, raised your energy level, even increases appetite. Yellow is a warm welcoming color, so this office is going to be a virtual shot of B-12! (and it’s right of the kitchen for snacks!) Exxxcelent! Red is like salt, if you don’t have enough, it’s bland, too much, it’s ruined, you should have just enough to enhance all the flavors in the pot! Wield your mighty accessory shaker with precision and gusto!
Butter cream will cover the existing paneling, and white will cover the other 2 walls with the intention of yellow cream wainscoting and crown molding applied later. The desk is white and glass, and mounted curtain rods will hold my architectural plans (they can get up to 4 feet!) and a collapsible table will serve as additional storage and surface usage. I am taking lighting this spring, so I consulted with Abby “Goat Feet” Smout, a 4th year senior extremely versed in lighting design. Together we concocted a reflective ceiling plan with adjustable oculus lights highlighting the corner shelving, and red pendants over the craft table and draft table for task lighting. A new stainless fan with adjustable halogen lights will wash my desk and highlight the area rugs and add ambient light. The area rugs are a lesson in rhythm kids! A red circular rug brings definition and whimsical flair to the desk area, and has a level cut pile and a raised pile asymmetrical circular pattern throughout. This shape nestles into the surrounding furniture arrangement, and a red rectangular rug with linear raised pile nestles in the rectangular area adding the same design elements. With all this powerful color on the floor, I must raise the color to balance the room, and will use that in storage, labels, and light fixtures. Whew! There you go!
Star Date
12-15-16
Christmas ended early at the Country Cottage this year. I had to dispose of my x-mas tree early to make way for all of the contents of my den. I was sad. I told Dad about it, and he immediately asked
“Well, where is it?”
“In the back with the brush”
“Lemme back the truck up!”
Yes, it is as you all are envisioning, he collected my deposed tree and it is not proudly displayed in his front window! It has a Christmas Story Leg Lap feel to it now….
I emptied the den save my gynormous draft table, and sent Dad packing with the mix matched shelving and desk they so kindly let me borrow. Tuesday I will prime the entire room, and Thursday I will paint! Due to the fact I have 3 colors it will take 3 days to cut into the edges of the walls and ceilings. Ready for the really good news? Troy “runs with scissors” handyman is slated to install my new window in early January! SWEET! I will then take final measurements and take a caravan up to the meatball expo center and load up on EVERYTHING! Gil doesn’t know it yet, but I will be housing some of my wares in his garage for a day or 2 to get it all back to San Marcos. I will assemble and start organizing, and about the time spring semester rolls around, I will be ready to go! The lighting will have to wait a few weeks after that, but for all practical purposed, it will be done! Wish me luck!
Star Date 12-20-06
I have a piano in my hallway. That is satisfactory foreshadowing of my first evening of realization. I knew this room was going to be difficult to paint, it has paneling, and as Candace Olsen tells us all, paneling is a B****! So I embarked with my primer and began with the ceiling, and I never noticed but the texturing is so deep and jagged, my regular roller was not getting into the crevasse effectively, so I had to really lean into it to get adequate coverage. After half a gallon of primer and some muscle spasms, I know I was going to need another gallon of paint, Saturday Night Fever sdtk, and some Jolt (now banned in 7 states!) I started on the paneling, and held small hope the roller would push the paint into the ribs, yea, no. Since the paneling is such a smooth surface it took 2 coats just to get quazi-satisfactory coverage! I then proceeded to use my brush to fill in the ribs and have to do it in 3 stages, from top to bottom. HAND CRAMP! I went until I ran out of primer. I am excited though to see the white walls, the room seems so much more spacious. So my original plan to colors on Thursday is replaced with finishing the primer. This works out because it takes some stress off me, and it is going to be about 3 weeks until I can get the furniture anyway. I am getting used to having no living room, did I mention I have a piano in my hallway? With fumes seeping into my pores, and no lighting in the den, I am able to hit the town in the evenings! ALL of you know this is a rare treat! FYI I had a great night watching Apocolypto awesome movie! Anyone up for extreme put-put? Beers on me! Troy is stopping by tomorrow to measure for the window! Wish me luck!

The Guest Room!

With the season 1 wrap party days away I took another look at my back bedroom. I am expecting company for the holidays and well, that back bedroom is like my brother's entire collection of barchelor apartments....fake! A move set! Looks great, just don't sit on anything! I have no sheets under my quilt, and it looks great during the day, but at night, I have no light! I only had a cheap black lamp that emits poor light! I took off the ceiling fan and have not found one I really like, so there is no overhead lighting. I have a cheap sheer thrusted in a gaping hole in the wall to serve as a window treatment.





All I really wanted was the sheets! Just a top and bottom sheet, OH and a bedskirt. That way, the room is ready for guests! So off to wally world I go! I chose crisp white sheets, and a whimsical white bedskirt with a small floral pattern.



Upon returning to the cottage I think,
"You know, it sure would be nice to have 2 pillowcases that matched the sheets!"
Now mind you, these are plain white sheets, but they add a clean crispness to the room.



Tearing down the aisles at walmart to get the pillowcases, I "accidentally" stumbled on the window treatment aisle, and found these adorable cafe curtains!



They have a small red floral print, and are perfect because I wanted something that was more scale appropriate for the room, and would add character and let lots of sunshine through. I love the fact that part of the window is always exposed, but the bottom is tall enough for privacy. And what luck, right behind me was a cafe curtain rod with "crystal" ends!




Precious! The "crystal" is like the glass in my antique doors! But what would all this be without a light to see them with? Hmmmmm,..... Hey there are the lamps! And look at this one with the antiqued finish and mirrored sides to reflect even more light!
"You're coming with me!" (snatch!)
I already had the perfect lampshade at home with little beads to add character and brilliance!



On my way out I saw a small trashcan that had the same diamond leaded glass pattern as the doors! Yup, didn't even break my stride as that puppy landed in my bracket!
Poised with my electric drill and new hardware in hand I thought,
"I am doing so much so fast, maybe I should -WHIRRRRRRL grind grind!"
"Awwwww, so much for that!"
ADORABLE!! So adorable in fact, I just stood in the doorway of my newly lit guest room LOVING it, and realized I could use a bit more fluff on the bed!

Assuming my previous position of barreling down wallmart aisles at 3:00 in the morning, I found the cutest throw pillows with the right color, pattern, price, and as tired as I was, felt good to lye on in the middle of the floor. I'll take 2!



I plopped those babies on the bed, PERFECT!

You know that glass is so barren, I really need to put something there, but what? Dried flowers are un-fung shui, and I don't want to remove the glass, OMG! What about script? What about G.U.E.S.T., it's symmetrical! Maybe I could paint them red, and trim them up with a white border! I could use my puffy double sided sticky tape to attatch to the glass, and that would bring up color to the stark glass and balance the room much better! God i'm good!
No, I did not go back to walmart, but I went the next day, and voila!



I hung up my his and hers towel racks and my room started coming together!



More beans?

Wallpaper Washout!

It's been along time my good friends, and we have a lot to catch up on! In the history of this blog, there have been set backs and bumps in the road, but there really has never been a tragedy! Well, we've got ourselves a tragedy.

As you have all read, I planned on wallpapering the kitchen and my good friend Lia "The Wallpaper Wonder" was going to lend her expertise. Unfortunately she has fallen ill and will no longer be helping with the Country Cottage , but I thank her very much for all the work she did! With her sudden absence I was forced to hire someone to hang the wallpaper, and the first person I thought of was Esteban my wonderful painter. I called and asked him if he hung wallpaper or knew someone who did, and he advised he did and would come out the next day! I was so excited to finish the kitchen! He showed up and said it would cost me $200! I thought this was high, have you seen my kitchen? Tiny! Scroll down, ....go on,..... yea, tiny! But I really wanted it to be over, and I trusted his work, so I gave the ok. He sent us to Sherwin Williams for some paste and that set me back an additional $25! He got to work and I noticed he was not hanging it the way I always saw on HGTV, but whatever he needed to do to get the job done was fine with me! After about 4 hours he only had 2 pieces up, and I had to go to work. He said he tore some pieces and would be back the next day. I came back from work excited to check out the work so far and I noticed THE PATTERN DID NOT MATCH! I couldn't believe my eyes! How do you say you know how to hang wallpaper, and pattern is not lined up! That is why there is a repeat pattern and measurement, so you can MATCH IT!





The next day I told him that it did not match, and that I was not going to buy more wallpaper because of what he wasted, AND I needed it done in the next 2 days so I could get in my kitchen for Sugar & Spice orders. Remember...tiny! He told me he has never been asked to line up wallpaper before! He then said he was not comfortable finishing the job and offered to refund the $50 my Dad gave him up front. So there I was with a botched wallpaper job, just days before my season 1 wrap pary, where my interior design friends will be to check out my work! There was only one name in the yellow pages, Jerry Strong. I called him up and he came out the next day to assess the damage. It was bad. Real bad. He said Esteban was just cutting pieces to fit the wall, and he even put the paper up SIDEWAYS! He wasted about a double roll playing Tetris with my $60 wallpaper! The glue he sent me to get? The wrong kind, and would not even hold to vinyl wallpaper anyway! He gave it a tug, and sure enough it peeled right off! How much to fix this mess? $200! AHHHGGGUUUUHHHH!!! I also did not have enough wallpaper for the job, I needed 3 double rolls total! Esteban "Ruiner of Dreams" wasted one, I had another, so I had to purchase 2 more for the job! I can't turn back now, my kitchen is half done with paint from the ceiling all over the old paper because I knew I was going to paper over it!
I thought I was going to be out of pocket $120 for the kitchen total! That was the price for 2 rolls of wallpaper, and I thought THAT was high! Now I have the original $120 for paper, another $120 for more paper, $25 for glue, and $200 for the install! Yea $515!

Let's not mention the tear stained pillows, shirts, car seats, desks, phones, cats, and floors that went with that. Now I know why people sue for pain and suffering! We're just getting warmed up kids! You might want intermission here........

So I have to order the wallpaper ASAP, and they ran out of the run #! That mean the exact same wallpaper. Manufacturers will continue to make it, but they usually have slight variances in tone, shade and color. I blew my nose and called Jerry who advised the difference is usually slight, sometimes undetectable, so I ordered it, but we will have to see when it gets in. IF everything comes through for me, the wallpaper will be up Friday! Jerry came by today to do all the priming, taping and sanding.



I called "Dream Killer" to get the refund of $50 to help with the cost to repair his damage, and wanted to know what his cut was for the work he did!!! Are you kidding me? Seriously! I almost hyperventilated over the phone! Well, when I was done telling him what he could do with his cut, obviously I was not getting that $50 back!

Total.....$565!

The worst thing? This guy doesn't even think he did anything wrong, he thinks I was asking too much! So kids, a lesson to you all, it's just business, ask all the question you need! Like to a wallpaper installer,
"Do you line up the pattern?"
"Do you use paste?"
Sure they look at you with sympathy for the obvious accident that befell you in your youth, but that look, and that stomach nawing of not wanting to be that hovering , questioning, scene causing customer unfortunately is necessary if you want your job done right! You may have done my floors, walls, and ceiling, but if you are now doing my windows, it's like I don't even know you, man! This lesson has cost me a LOT of money!

"SOMEBODY GET ME A TISSUE!"

You guys should have seen Dad "Rainbows and Lollypops" Garcia while I was breaking down. ALL smiles! There I was in a puddle of snot and tears and he's all,
"Mija, all education costs, and you learned a lesson, what did you learn?"
"How will this influence your future decisions?"
Look, I am all about the silver lining, but I gotta let the rain past first, you dig? Dad told me he would leave me in my stew to keep warm and trots off to spread sunshine and good cheer for all the world. I went to class puffy and moist and unleashed on Michelle and Andrea and they gave me the proper responses.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Seriously!"
There were occasional bastards, and a sprinkles of jerks, with a few poor things, THEN I felt better! Thanks guys!
So I had planned to horde all the final pics for a surprise, but this is just too juicy! Enjoy your trauma beans! (twitch-twitch)

Season 1 Wrap!

Well kids...It's been a loooooooong run! I unfortunately will be closing season 1, and will resume in a few months to launch season 2! And OH what a season it will be! I have slated the screening of the back porch and a new window in the den, just to name a few!! I will send out a mass e-mail when I start up again! I am hosting a season 1 wrap party and launch of my new small business Sugar & Spice Gourmet Desserts www.sugarandspicegourmetdesserts.blogspot.com 11-7-06 from 7-10 pm, all are invited to see the changes first hand as well as sample the goods!! I will hold off posting the final pics of the wallpaper, window hardware, and back guest room until after the party, so there will be a great surprise when you come in! I will post one more entry with pics and that will be the conclusion of the first season, stay tuned!

Feast your eyes!

WOW! What a difference a day makes! Esteban showed up early to have a taco with us before he got to work. Fully caffeinated and fed, we settled down on the couch in the kitchen to watch him go to town with the cedar stain. He did the beam, AND the mantle! We even found out he screens porches! (EXXXXcelent!) Lia found out he scores and stains concrete as well. She has been wanting to rip out her carpet and treat the slab, so we know who to call when that time comes! This guy is great, I have his number if anyone wants it! Even though it is fall, it has been almost 100 degrees! I can't put the A/C on with all those toxic poisons seeping into my pores, I will grow a 6th toe! So after a LOOOOOOOOONG night of sticking to my sheets and choking on fumes. I was surprised my cognitive skills were still working! After he finished up the stain it looked AMAZING! The wood is so deep and rich!



Lia and I set to work painting the green walls, and all the trouble was totally worth it!
The green looks incredible against the blue ceiling!






My house is like a different house! It feels like it has a happy soul! There is so much character and depth, and I feel as bright as the colors when I walk in the rooms! It is so unique! It is going to be a while until the wainscoting and crown molding go up, but my crew was right, it was worth making these changes now. As the light changes throughout the day, the colors change completely! I have studied all of this in college but I really had no idea until now. We painted the back guestroom the same color as the living room, and they look completely different, it is amazing!

The yellow wall and the rest of the kitchen was next! I learned my lesson and dragged my pillows and few remaining brain cells to Dad's to crash at night. Today we finished painting the kitchen and hallway yellow, and the kitchen ceiling blue! The pics do no justice for the magnificence that is....my kitchen!!











Lia suggested we wallpaper over the existing because the existing is attatched so well. I have removed wallpaper once, and as any of you who have, this is great news! I also purchased roman shades for the living room, and want to get them for the middle guest room too. They look great! FYI the metal pole and finials are sold separate, and you need them at the same time or it will look like this.....



I LOVE this shade, it makes the green wall stand out even more! I have ordered the wallpaper and Lia advised it should go up in a day and the kitchen is donesies for season 1!! WOO-HOO!!

Nice Stilts!

Put your seatbelts on kids, this is gonna be a bumpy ride! Ok, here we go! We will begin yesterday. As you know the crew and I have plans to paint the back guestroom and we already primed the walls, and I was to prime the trim after work. I realized that night as I flipped the non-responsive switch, THERE IS NO LIGHT! We took it down to paint the ceiling, so I could not see to paint! F.Y.I, X-Men 3 is a pretty good show! So bright and early I finished the priming, and Lia and I were ready for color!
TO THE LIVING ROOM! Well, the living room has peeling tape at the very top of the vaulted ceiling from the original sheetrock and it has been an eyesore since I moved in. In the spirit of home improvement, I called Esteban, a painter Dad met on one of his daily streetwalks, to see how much he would charge to fix it. He offered to come out to the house that day for a free estimate! He gave a great quote, AND said he could start the next day! SWEET! So today he showed up with all his equipment, and just for grins, I asked what he would charge to paint the vaulted ceiling.





No I am not lazy... well.... hmmm... it's just that I don't have stilts, and he does! He gave another great quote, and even threw in painting the tops of the living room walls so we could reach them to finish painting. WO-HOO, no trimming!! This is awesome news, BUT it also means I have to finally decide on the liging room wall color!! AHHHHH!! I have been putting this off since day one!



Remember ghetto renderings 1 and 2 for the guestroom? I had chosen to put buttercream wainscoting and willow green top color with white trim? Upon further contemplation, I decided to switch to green bottom, cream top with white trim. Dark colors are "heavier" and tend to "sink" and I believe the room will feel more natural and stable with the green bottom. I say this because the renderings are the same idea I had for the kitchen area. So the cream top in the kitchen means the cream will have to cross into the livingroom where the fireplace is because it is a seamless wall. This made me sad because I was hoping for green on that wall because I thought it would look great against the brick, but the visual stability of the room is more important. I decided to put green on the other 2 walls in the living room for more color, especially because my couch is brown and will look best with a green background. Now mind you, this decision process took like 2 hours! Our painter friend highly recommended Behr pain, so I sent Dad to take our paint chips to get color matched and to get various supplies while Lia and I went to paint the back guestroom.
Ok, in my defense this WHOLE thing has been very spur of the moment, although very fun, BUT I have had no time to plan! I am O.C.D. for a reason people!! So there we were ready to paint, and I realized I sent Dad to get a new paint tray, because my stupid butt forgot to rinse the old one out, and it was ruined! Dad was going to be gone for along time, so Lia and I headed to walmart to get one, and when we came back, I realized I sent my last roller with Dad to make sure he got the right one!! AHHHH!! The good news though? At walmart I found a new shower curtain!



I have been in the market for one like this! Now my skylight can really be appreciated, there is a new pallet that matches the guestroom, and a bright new spacious feel in the bath! YAY, new towels!! Now, back to the drama at hand....
We decided to just wait for Dad to come back and started painting around the trim. Mind you, we will have to paint the trim white, and put up crown molding, so don't worry about the many boo-boos! A good chunk into our trimming, I had the sudden realization we were painting the entire room green, but we had just changed our minds to paint the top cream instead!! AHHHH!! Lia bowed her head and took deep breaths in her paper bag as I paced the floor in my plaid trenchcoat and wooden pipe. We discussed our options and realized the room is so small, and there are going to be busy patterns throughout the room, so keeping the walls simple and fresh would add to the room more so than distract from it. We decided to go green top, with white trim, wainscoting, and crown molding. This will keep it clean and basic, and most importantly, not match the kitchen!



All the excitement was too much for Lia! By osmosis, she has taken up the "siesta", I am so proud! (Sniff-sniff)



Dad arrived with the goods and we finished the room! Wow, in one day!





Tomorrow we move the furnishings back in the room, and get started painting the living room! Esteban offered to stain the beam in the livingroom for us if we only buy the stain, well.....YEA! Being do-it-your-selfers (trial and error at that!) it was sweet to hang out on the couch IN THE KITCHEN and tell Esteban where he missed a spot!