Projects: Exterior Painting - Phase One

Phew! We just finished the first phase of what's probably going to go down as my favorite house project we've done to date. Operation: kill vine and paint house is under way.

This is what our house looked like before we purchased it. You'll see there's a huge vine growing up the side of the house. While it may look pretty, it was really not good for our house. This vine was vicious.

So, a few months ago, we chopped the vine near the roots and started to kill it. After a month or so, the whole vine was nice and dead. Honestly, taking it off the house didn't take that much work. Luckily it came off in chunks.

The big task was chipping off any loose paint over and above what the vine took off the siding and sanding it down.

The vine wasn't only on the front, it was on the back as well. I understand how pretty it was, but it wasn't going to be good long term.

Before

After prepping both surfaces, we got to work. We went to our favorite place, Sherwin Williams, and picked up a gallon of Duration paint. This exterior paint has primer in it, so you don't have to paint in steps. It saved a ton of headache.

Progress

Progress

I'm so happy with the results. Next up will be match up the trim and painting the front and back pieces.

After

After

We thought this project would be super overwhelming, but it only took about an hour or so to do both places. We're very pleased with the results!

Chicago - A Wrap-up

It's been long enough - I need to tell you guys about our trip to Chicago.

It started out exciting enough, with flight delays because our flights in and out of Atlanta were stopped because of Air Force One landing. We had to circle around Birmingham before coming in and then we got stuck on the tarmac in ATL coming out. I did sneak a peak of AFO taking off right next to our plane...

By the time we saw the shoreline of downtown Chicago, we were very happy to be done with planes for the day. We were traveling from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day.

 It may be hard to tell, but Paul cleaned his plate at a local Thai place near our hotel that had some amazing yellow curry dishes. He even went back the second day to get it again while I was in my conference!

 Did we do some touristy things in between my conference? A little bit, I would say. We had to get our "We're at the Bean" shot in Millennium Park.

 And, of course, we had to eat deep dish pizza. So good!

We also found out that there would be an awards ceremony for the arts in Chicago while we were there with lots of music and performances, so we went and listened for a while after dinner.

 One night, we also went up to the top of Hancock Tower for a drink and a view (truly, the only way to really do a skyline view of Chicago). They charge you $18 to see a 360 degree view from the top OR you can just go to the bar one floor down for free and have a drink. We think we got the better end of the deal. 

 It's official: I need one of these in my life. This place was called Naansense and is such a smart and fast concept.

 We also took a boat tour of the river and lake. Probably one of the highlights of the trip!

 I also told Paul we had to visit Wicker Park. It didn't disappoint.

 After more crazy flight schedules (we literally were seconds from them closing the boards on our plane when we were running down the terminal in ATL), we finally made it home super late. I had never been so happy to see my own bed!