S-O-L-D

Martha, you get a gold star for the day. I did indeed accept an offer on the Fixer(ed)-Upper!!!

I'd photoshop some kind of cool 'SOLD' photo with the house but my computer broke again.

We're closing in ten short days and I have to say that I'm very satisfied. There were a couple snags along the way (P.O. issues, STILL!) but in all it was a pretty easy deal.

It's a little bitter sweet for me though. It's nice to think that I've already made my last mortgage payment on the house, especially with the cost of living in NY, but it is hard to think back to all of the work my family and I put into the house. What makes it easier to give up is this next part. I'm totally stoked about this part.

The guy who is buying the house isn't an investor, he's going to live in the house himself. WITH HIS KIDS!!! I am so happy my house will be lived in by a family, not rented to more sketchy weirdos! The closing date is the 22nd, assumable so they can move in before Christmas. How nice is that? The mental image of a family opening gifts in my living room on Christmas morning is such a great picture that it makes all of the work worth it.

...AND I don't have to pay that stupid mortgage anymore! YES!!!

Troubles! Fashions! Photos!

Ok, so for the most part everything is going well with the house. We've had a lot of showings, and some interest already. No offers yet, but It's only been a couple weeks.

...now for the problem. Brace yourself:
Smack! Right on the neighbor's garage! There was some sort of storm that apparently couldn't wait until the house was sold. Fortunately their insurance will cover the cost of removing the limb and repairing the roof. Dad found someone who can reinforce the rest of the tree with cable so we don't have to take it out. Sadly, it was the best looking of all of the trees the yard had! This place never has and never will have pristinely manicured gardens, so I don't think it's too big of a deal.

My sister, who was living in the house the last couple months, got her paramedic degree and accepted a job offer in Iowa. The house is now completely vacant and ready for some new owners to take care of her. My wallet and I are hoping for this to happen soon...

For an NYC update, next week is Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and this week is when the castings are for those runway shows. I went to my first casting today, (saw a couple past ANTM winners there), and have another casting lined up for tomorrow afternoon. I had a couple test shoots last week and my agency ordered prints which should be ready by tomorrow. The prints will go in my book (portfolio... we call it a book) so clients can see my purdy mug all glam'd up. If you want to see the results of my test shoot, the best few shots are on my agency's website. You'll find me in the 'new faces' section. I'm the guy in the white, collared shirt under the name 'Nathan'. I'll keep you posted if I book any cool shows.

Take care everyone!

On the Market

Well, the house is on the market and I'm just waiting for an offer. From what I understand, the house was shown twice this weekend.

Dad and Mom flew out to NYC this weekend to visit. It's been a lot of fun showing them my new city and catching up. They're heading home tomorrow morning though. Wish their trip was a little longer. Have a good week everyone!

Finishing Details

Another batch of photos from Mom! She said that everything is ready to go now. A little cleaning here and there and a couple last projects. She painted the inside of the storm door, painted and hung the wood storm windows on the porch, painted the porch floor, and touched up some of the stain on the banister. The staircase is far from perfect, but the new owners need to experience some of the joy of old house ownership, right? Photo time!

The green-ified storm door:Paint for the porch floor and re-hung, painted wood storm windows:
For the staircase lets do a little retrospective. Lets start with the beginnings. Faux-wood paneling as far as the eye can see, a closet blocking the view from the living room, drop ceilings, worn-out rust-colored carpet. Behold the grossness:
DEMO!!! By far the easiest and most satisfying house project:Wall gone, paint stripped, carpet removed, walls repaired and painted. Lookin' good!Lastly, I'd like to wish a very happy 1st anniversary to my very, very good friends Eric and Lindi! I doubt they read the blog, but congrats to you two anyway! This is a photo from one of our Fraternity formals. Cute couple, no? They are seriously the most laid-back, easy going couple I've ever met. In the four or five years they've been together I don't think I've ever heard them fight... and I lived with Eric for a couple of those years. They're a perfect match.

Here's one of my favorite photos of the wedding party. We were in the limo midway between the church and the reception. As we passed a park we had a spontaneous photo session. I'm on the slide on the left, second guy in (look how short my hair was! What was I thinking!). Eric and Lindi should be obvious. He's the guy holding the girl in the white dress. Yup, that's her. Really, you should have already figured that one out by yourself. Fun factoid: The guy to the left of me and the girl standing to the right of Eric are my friends Tony and Laura who are getting married September 6th. That's right in the middle of Fashion Week so unfortunately I can't make it. Eric and Tony were best friends growing up and Lindi and Laura were best friends growing up. How did they meet? Lindi and Laura were my friends from high school. Eric was my roommate in the dorms and when we moved out Tony, Eric and I got an apartment together. Basically, they met through me. Cool, huh?

Somebody Else's Fargo Fixer-Upper

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Get your very own Fargo Fixer-Upper! The house is officially on the market! Might I add, a couple G's above where the Realtor originally thought. Of course this is because the family did such an extraordinary job with the little details. Details now including:

A fresh coat of paint for the front windows:
(You'd never know that window was broken!)

New light fixtures in the stairwell and second floor hall:
A new downstairs bathroom sink! Look at the difference:The old sink had curling iron burns on the top and the home-made, particle-board cabinet was rotten from an old leak. The new one looks so nice and clean!So there you have it. One beautifully cleaned up 1928 gem. All of this can be yours... if the Price is Right! (Fargo house hunters... COME ON DOWWWWNNNN!!!!)

I'll be praying for multiple offers in church in the morning!

**Happy 28th Anniversary Dad & Mom!**

Fargo Photo Update

More photos from Fargo! The newest shots to land in my inbox featured freshly painted trim and new brushed nickel light fixtures in the two South bedrooms. Mom gave the Southeast room a coat of Provincial Cream paint, which she said turned out a little more yellow than she though it would be. It looks really bright and clean though, so I like it. I think the khaki color is the only paint in this house that has turned out as planned!

Here are the before-and-afters of the work:
Here's the new light fixture in the Southwest room. Same as the other bedrooms, but still thought I'd post it.The downstairs bathroom has not only new flooring, but also freshly painted walls and trim.

Before and after:
If there is enough time before listing, Mom wants to put in a new vanity in this bathroom. I'm starting to wonder who's going to be sadder when this place sells!

Whose House is THIS?

Mom emailed me more photos today. I was floored. Shocked. Stunned. My jaw literally dropped. Did she break into someone else's place and snap some photos? I wasn't prepared for the sight of completed projects. One word: KITCHEN!!! I'm going to do before and afters of the pictures so those of you joining in late (or who need a refresher) can see the extent of the changes. I'm still blown away.

The Realtor wasn't able to come today because she had to show 20 houses to someone from out of town. Yes, in one day. I gave her my sympathies. Mom didn't want to start painting in case she came, as there would be a big mess, so she and my sisters spent much of the day cleaning. I'm still not sure how she got the wood floors to look that good. They looked like garbage while I was there, but that most likely has more to do with my cleaning deficiencies. I think Mom said the Realtor will be coming tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be hearing back soon.

Mom mentioned in the end of her email, "It is going to be hard to see the house get sold...... I have become attached to it!" I didn't even need to read that because as soon as I saw that there were curtains hanging in the kitchen I knew. The house is similar in style and layout to Dad and Mom's first house after they got married. Their house was much cooler though with oak built-ins and it was in much better condition. I know, just get to the pictures, right?

The upstairs bathroom really just needed to have a good cleaning and accessories to get it market ready. I don't know where she found it, but that's the perfect shower curtain. Almost makes the stupid blue tiles look like they should be there!

Before:
After:Upstairs Hall: New paint, new wall on the West side with replacement doors and trim.

Before:
After:
Saved the best for last for you guys. The kitchen. Who wouldn't want this kitchen now? New appliances, new paint, new hardware, new faucet, new flooring. New curtains!?! (Mom's officially attached now!)

Before:
After:
It's so amazing. I wish I could just get the house picked up and dropped in Manhattan! I'm very excited for my next talk with my Realtor just to hear what she says. I think a listing isn't too far off! Again, hopefully up a few k's from her earlier estimate... still dreaming right?

Update Up North

Mom sent me some photos the other day of her progress painting in the house. She's been working on the upstairs hallway and, might I add, doing a fantastic job. The trim received a fresh coat of crisp white paint and the walls are now enjoying a seller-friendly khaki that extends up from the living room. She said that Dad's finishing up a little plaster work on the ceiling so that will get a coat of white in a little while. The white for the doors were on her agenda for today.

I thought, instead of just showing the most recent photos of the hallway, I would take us back to last summer. Wait! I've almost had this place a year now! That is so weird to think about.

At any rate, the West side of the hallway: a fairly big transformation I'd say.

before:framing in the wall between the bedroom and the hallway:
a little drywall:
doors and trim:and finally paint!Looks like that wall's been there for 80 years doesn't it?

Now the East side. All we really needed here was to take off the door to the stairway and paint.

before:
and after:
I hope you noticed in that last set of photos how the stairwell went from 70's paneling to plaster.

This was kind of fun to see. I might have to post some other progression photos from other projects.

I called my Realtor this morning and she is going to swing by the house this afternoon and take a look around. I really trust her judgment and I know she'll give it to me straight. She'll let me know what needs to be done still and what isn't worth the work for the sale. Last time she was in the house was back in the tail-end of April so I'm pretty sure that she will be shocked to see how it looks now. I can't wait to hear what she thinks and I'm even more excited to get the house on the market. Maybe it will even be looking better than she thought and we can bump up that listing price a little. Hey, a broke New Yorker can dream, can't he?

An Update and a High-Five from New York

In case anyone still checks this blog once and a while, (and per Kathy's request) I thought I'd leave an update.

The house is coming along, thanks to my amazing parents who are putting everything back together for me. I absolutely couldn't be doing what I'm doing in New York without them picking up after me. Thanks! From our conversations, the living room and dining room are all painted, and the stairwell is done too. I think Mom's going to email me photos, and I'll share them with you as soon as I get them. She said it looks really nice and that it's probably exactly how I would have wanted it to be while I was living there. I really wish I could be there to help. I feel like I left my baby with its grandparents and I'm missing its first steps!

My roommates have all moved out but my sister moved in, as she was looking for some short-term housing in Fargo after her roommate moved away. It's pretty cool because she can keep tabs on it and hopefully it won't get that weird vacant house smell. You know, the one you get at an open house that's been on the market forever and the owners are long gone.

Now, as for New York, it's been in interesting month!

I've moved into an apartment in Harlem, which is much nicer than the models' apartment I was staying at in the Bronx. It's nice to have a permanent place to make my own... even if it's a 10 X 7 foot room. It's a five bedroom, one bathroom apartment I share. Thankfully the lifestyle of a fashion model allows for a later wake-up call than the roommates. When I get up they're all gone and the bathroom is mine. MINE!

I did paint the room when I moved in, so I guess that's close to being houseblog-able. I went for a steely blue color. I had photos but accidentally deleted them. Kinda upset about them, but more upset about the photo of me flashing gang-signs in my Bronx subway station at 3am. I could recreate it, but I don't think I'm going back to the Bronx. Ever.

As for work, it's been picking up the last week or so. I booked my first job on Tuesday, modeling for a press presentation for Topman that was held Wednesday. I was photographed by DNR magazine, and videotaped by the BBC. I have no idea if that video will ever surface, but I'd be interested in seeing it if it did!

I checked DNR magazine's website today, and it seems they decided to forgo the photos of the other models and me in favor of the company's owner, who I personally feel is a couple notches down on the chic scale from the rest of us. Even though I can't prove it, I was fully dressed in Topman, standing in front of that orange neon sign. I swear. I'm going to stop into a magazine shop tomorrow downtown and see if they included some more photos in the print edition. I had better be in there! I didn't wear a button down shirt, heavy wool sweater, double-breasted wool coat and gloves on a 95 degree day in NYC for nothing! I guess I got paid, so it doesn't matter.

Other than that, I've had some good go-sees lately. For those of you who don't watch the TV show America's Next Top Model, a go-see is when models are sent out by the agency to meet with casting directors, photographers, or designers. These people would take your information, might ask to see your runway walk, and take some basic photos to keep on record for when they have jobs that come up. I had a go-see Thursday with a very big casting director that went really well. He had me show him my runway walk, sat there with a deep-thought look on his face, then asked me if I could do it again. As I finished my second pass, he muttered "genius" under his breath. As I left he said "we'll see you soon"! He called my agency and told them he liked me and asked about my schedule for an upcoming show. Of course, it means nothing without actually booking the job, but at least I caught the attention of the right guy! I'll find out if I got that job this week, as well as another show I've been on hold for for two months. It would be really cool to book those jobs, considering they're in Florence and Milan!!! BIG name designers, but I don't want to jinx it.

Other than that, I've just been taking in the city and trying to keep up with people back home. I check my google-reader account every day, so I'm keeping current with everyones' blogs. It's sad, but I get my renovations 'fix' vicariously through all of you. I'm going through construction withdrawals!

Lastly, I was between go-see appointments the other day and I was trying to kill time (they were a block apart and scheduled an hour apart) so I did a little browsing. The building next door to the first go-see was an URBAN HOME DEPOT!!! I've never seen 'the Depot without a parking lot or freight entrance. I definitely had never seen one that had three levels. I took a photo, but that was in the batch of photos I accidentally deleted. When I'm back in the area I'll do it again. It just blew my mind. The merchandise was different from Fargo too. I think a lot of people here are looking to either use luxury materials or restore old buildings because there was a much larger selection of quality materials (hello, boards and boards of marble samples?) and vintage inspired items like amazing mosaic tiles, classic patterns, light fixtures that were NOT available to me, and the coolest entry sets. What I also saw was an obvious lack of the 'builders special' basic items that clone themselves into every suburban split level in America. It was just cool to see the difference.

Oh, sorry, rambling post. This one got long! Thanks to anyone with the patience to get this far.

NYC in 10: Trim, Trim, Trim.

First, before the trim talk, last night I started working on the kitchen tile. Ugh.

It was a pretty straightforward job: peel off old tiles, lay down new tiles. Not too hard, right? No, not utill Nate decides to start doing things the right way. I already had a good part of the kitchen re-tiled but then, behind the fridge, I realized that the sheet vinyl underneath was coming up from the floor. "I should really peel that up first" I thought. Big mistake. I spent the next two hours redoing the work I had already done. Peel off the new tile, chip away at old sheet vinyl, replace tile. After about a third of the kitchen the sheet vinyl stopped coming off, so I had to use my scraper to kind of taper the edge off to the wood floor. Then I could transition from vinyl tile over wood to vinyl tile over sheet vinyl. Here's a photo of that transition.

By the way, check out how amazing that sheet vinyl was. I want to meet the person who decided that was the best option for their kitchen. Seriously.
Here's a photo of the part of the floor that is done. The rest has to wait until the subfloor dries out from the leaky shower. Yeah, that's on my to-do list too. Just imagine white cabinets and window trim. The hardware we picked up today was the wrong size, so we'll have to exchange that. Yeah, I forgot to measure it and just took a guess. Of course I was wrong.But, back to the main topic of the post: TRIM!!!

Yesterday Mom and Dad came up and helped me get started with the trim replacement. After a trip to the Depot to get lumber, Dad and I started cutting trim while Mom primed the boards. We replaced all of the missing baseboards and quarter-round trim on the first floor. Photos:

Today they came up again with my brother and sisters. After another trip to the Depot, we started with the crown moulding. After about a hundred bad cuts, we finally got it up. We've got some filling to do at the corners and seams, but it's good enough. Yeah, I don't think we have a future as a father & son crown moulding company. Next came the cap moulding over the window and door trim. Check it out!

After we finished, we moved upstairs and Mom primed all of the wood. We need a little paint yet, but we're on the home stretch.

Upstairs, Dad and I hung the trim around the North West bedroom door (inside and outside trim) Next we hung up the door to the linen closet. It went up really easily, much to our surprise. It only took, like, 20 minuets to hang an 80 year old door in a new frame in an 80 year old house. Everything just lined up level on the first try. After we put the trim up around that door, the family took off for home. It feels so good to have this much progress happen in two days. I'm feeling a little less stressed out. Next step? Finishing the baseboards and quarter round trim on the second floor, priming, then a couple coats of paint. Then big old before and after pictures. I love nothing more than some good before and afters!

Lets Build Walls!

First of all, let me just say that this post is extremely difficult to write. I'm sitting in the backyard with an extension cord running to an outlet on the side of the house! I'm mooching a wireless signal off of one of my neighbors because I don't have wireless yet in the house, and I can't stray far from the house because my battery is just about dead! I'm sure I look like a huge dork!

My dad, grandpa, and brother came over yesterday to work on the house for me, which was a huge load off of my mind. Grandpa tackled the wiring from the living room wall that I busted out while Dad and my brother worked on framing in the closets and bedroom wall upstairs.

Photos of the progress:


The walls upstairs are just about done being framed in and Dad's coming up to Fargo after work to finish them off for me. Grandpa's coming back Friday to finish up the wiring and I have the weekend off to get everything in liveable order before school starts Tuesday.

I'm heading out to Menards in a few minutes to exchange the mis-matched locks, then jetting off to the ReStore to pick up some doorframes for the bedroom and closets. I'll pick up some of the old hinges they have there that match mine. They're the pretty standard old house hinges, ball on top of the pin and on the bottom of the hinge. I figure as long as I can get the old ones, I might as well do it up right!

BTW, I've developed some sinus issues due to all of the dust (I should have known better) so I've been blowing my nose a lot lately. Because I'm stuck in the backyard I just attempted to blow my nose in an elm leaf. Don't try it, it doesn't feel good.

Day 3, Can Be I Done Yet?

Today went pretty well. I still need to drive down to my storage compartment and pick up my stereo and porch swing, but maybe I'll do that after supper. The dumpster's almost full already. Eek! I haven't even gotten the cabinets out yet! Then there's the washer and dryer in the basement and some disgusting old appliances in the kitchens too. Better go with the 18 yard dumpster next! I hate the thought of how much I'm sending to the landfil, but I guess I have to look at the situation as if I didn't do the renovations; the whole house would be on its way soon.

My Mom and twin sisters came up today to clean some of the grossness off the house. They cleaned one of the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the downstairs bathroom from top to bottom. A tall order, considering the condition of the house! They also brought me a TON of cleaning supplies. Thanks guys! Mom lent me her digital camera, so I can keep the pictures coming now.

I finished removing the framing from the dining room closet, and removed all but four studs from the living room partition wall. I'm not looking forward to taking down the wall with the wiring, so i'm letting that one simmer a while. The jumble of studs would be from the intersection of the two closet walls and the wall where the 1st floor unit's front door was. For some reason the PO nailed together this horrible cluster of 8 studs. No, it wasn't load bearing, don't worry! In fact, once I pulled a neighboring stud down, the 'column' started falling over. It took a lot of strength to carry that thing out to the dumpster.

I ripped up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and NW bedroom. The backing made it out to the dumpster already, but I need to cut the carpet into sections so I can bring it out the front door. That's the big wad of carpet in the middle of the bedroom. In the photo it kind of resembles a dead body lying on the floor. I wish it was whoever removed that wall! The newly revealed hardwood floor shows exactly where the walls should be... just a little off from where I thought. The walls were load bearing, so when they were removed somebody threw in a huge joist that cuts across at an angle. I'm not looking forward to framing that out again. Did I mention I've never done any framing before? I'll be calling Dad...

In other upstairs news, I started taking apart the cabinets upstairs. They'll be on their way out as soon as I smash 'em up a bit. P.S. Look at my amazing new drill on the kitchen counter!

In the stairwell I ripped out the last of the wood paneling and scraped the loose paint from the ceiling. Look at that exposed plaster just begging for some paint. (and some kilz!)

Mom took a photo of me while I carried out the LAST piece of fake wood in the house. Success!

Notice how in the photo I am wearing flip flops. Just add that to the list of lessons learned the hard way. Yeah, I stepped on a nail. It went all the way through my shoe, but just poked my foot; no skin broken. I was wearing my gloves though, so I am learning!