Me: 2, Dingy, Yellowed Off White: 0

Friday was a very, very productive day.

Since I completed the sanding in my bedroom, as soon as I got back from class I set to work priming the walls and ceiling. While the primer dried, I did a quick paint job in the bathroom downstairs. (more to come in a bit!) By the time I was done with the first coat in the bathroom the bedroom was dry and ready for its paint. I used a slate blue by Behr which, except for a couple places, covered in one coat. Gotta love that! All I need to do now is get the baseboards back up (I primed them Friday too) and repaint the trim and ceiling white. Here's the progression:



So, it's not quite the color I planned on but it's still ok. It looked perfect on the little swatch, but on the walls it's about a shade and a half too dark. The room's not that big to begin with, so the last thing I need to do is make it too dark. I'm sure it will be close enough once I get my stuff in the room, and the new light fixture should make everything brighter.

Like I said before, the bathroom got a coat of paint too. I know I won't be able to do any significant changes to the bathroom anytime soon, so I figured that in the meantime I would try to make it look less ugly with some qick fixes. I bought some new $4 blinds, new towel bars/t.p. holder, and some cheap Walmart paint. I should have known better with the cheap-o paint! I had to use two coats, three in some areas, and I would honestly rather pay the extra ten bucks for one coat coverage. Seriously, I'm a busy guy and my time's worth the cost of the better paint. I haven't gotten to the trim or the ceiling yet, but here's the change so far:
Pretty good for one night's work. Once I get my trim and ceiling painted in my room I'll be able to move in and get organized there. Once all of my stuff is upstairs I can finally start pulling the first floor together. That will definatelly be a good deal!

So Much White Powder, It's Like Kate Moss Moved In

Long title, large hurdle jumped.

I finished sanding the walls in my bedroom today! HOO-rah! Tomorrow I'll prime, then paint, and hopefully move in sometime at the beginning of next week! I'm so excited! You can't see it, but check out how smooth the walls are:In the process of making these walls look so good, I did this. I've got some cleaning up ahead.

I'd imagine Kate Moss's place to look about the same! I shouldn't say anything, I blew my nose after working on the walls tonight and out came white clumps... joint compound, not coke. Ha.

Check out this old guy working on the walls. Wait, that's me. That's my hair in 25 years, if I have any left!

I just can't wait to get the primer up tomorrow. It's all coming together!

Bust Out the Checkbook

I made my first mortgage payment today. I feel like an adult! I'm sure that won't last long though, ha ha!

This Shouldn't Happen, Ever.

My friend Sara came up from Minneapolis this weekend and used my bathroom to get ready before going out. The next day I noticed she had left a straightening iron in the bathroom. I happened to be able to call her before she left Fargo so she could come pick it up before she left. I thought I'd bring it out to the living room so it was nearby when she came.



I reached out to unplug it



and...



WHAT!?! That is NOT cool! It won't be too hard of a fix, but seriously, who just nails an outlet box to plaster? I did get a really good laugh out of it though. I'll just add this to my ever-growing list of things to do.

Get a 'Handle' on that Rain!

Ok, sorry for the pun. This post is mainly about a doorknob, but first things first. Last night at about 3am there was a pretty big thundersorm and I caught some footage of my living room water feature. Enjoy.

Yeah, sucks huh?

I contacted the roofer who "repaired" the flashing around the chimney and he's coming out to take a look on Saturday.

Well back to the doorknob. I've been in my house for over a month now, so I figured it was about time to put a doorknob on the front door. Nope, didn't have one. All it had was a deadbolt and a couple of window sash pulls, one inside and one out. I'm really hoping that my roommates are surprised. Hooray for small accomplishments!

Here's what it looked like to start with:

Starting to cut the holes back in (they were filled in with plaster):

Holes completed:Doorknob! Success!

I also started sanding down the walls in my room so I can get them primed and painted. I'm really anxious to get that space done and my furniture moved in so I can have some sort of sanctuary from my own house!

My Other Homes

Besides the house you're already acquainted with, I spend most of my hours in two amazing downtown buildings I feel compelled to share with you.

The first one is the NDSU Downtown building where my Architecture studio is.

The building was constructed in 1903 as a warehouse for the Robb-Lawerence company. Sometime in it's history it became the Northern School Supply which it was until the late 1990's when somehow the business closed and the building was condemned. It was purchased by local entrepeneur Doug Burgum who started Great Plains Software (now bought out by Microsoft) and donated to NDSU for $1. He actually purchased the building days before it was to be demolished! The focus of the renovation was to make efficient studio space for Art, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture students as well as offices and a few lecture rooms. The architect left the beams and original brickwork exposed throughout most of the building and the whole building is open and full of light. The ideal studio! The building is also LEED certified for it's environmental friendliness. I love this building.

Here's the exterior

The lobby

Just a cool hallway on the 4th floor where my studio is
Third year studio! My desk is the messy one out front. If you didn't know that I'm messy when I work, you need to check in on the blog more!

My other 'home' is the Hotel Donaldson, just 2 blocks from the NDSU downtown building.

The building was built in 1894 after most of the downtown burned in 1893. The building was originally the meeting place of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization. In the 1920's it was purchased and renovated into the Donaldson Hotel. It fell into disrepair in a big way, and became an 'extended residency hotel' as they like me to phrase it at work. It was a disgusting slum full of unsavory peoples. This building was also viewing a wrecking ball in it's not so distant future. Our owner, Karen Burgum was in on Great Plains Software the whole way, and wanted to give back to the community that had made her a success, so she decided to create a place that would celebrate our community's visual, performing, culinary and literary arts. Thus, the Hotel Donaldson was born!

The hotel has 17 guest suites, each one featuring a different local artist's work. Frette linens, down bedding, Bose radio, robes & slippers, heated tile floors, rainfall showers, aveda bath products, turndown service, etc. etc. These rooms are amazing and I dare you to find better anywhere!

The lounge has an extensive martini list, which is kind of what we're known for, but we also have at least 175 wines on our wine list at any point. Take note of the curvature of the bar, that's the shape of the Red River as it goes through downtown!
The HoDo Restaraunt, where I host on weekdays (I'm at the desk in the hotel on weekends) features locally grown and organically grown foods whenever possible. The food is some of the best I've ever had, and I wish I was more of a foodie so I could rave about how amazing it is. We feature live music quite frequently in the lounge and restaurant with jazz nights every Friday.

I couldn't find a picture anywhere online, but the rooftop features a garden lanscaped with plants indiginous to our part of the state. There is a bar there with tables and umbrellas for evening drinks on the rooftop, and even a stainless steel hot tub sunk into the patio. I've been in the tub on a chilly December evening. Believe me, sitting in a hot tub on the roof of a 3 storey building looking out onto downtown Fargo all lit up while little snowflakes fly around is the coolest thing ever.


The best part about this place though is the amazing staff/friends I get to work with. It's by far the best job I've ever had... probably why I've been there for 3 years and am still having fun. Where else do you get that? If you'd like to learn more, check out http://www.hoteldonaldson.com/ for more info. You can stay there when you come to Fargo and help me with my house! Good plan?

...And I Didn't Even Zap Myself Once!

Today between my first and second class (a span of about five hours - great schudule, huh?) I wired in the outlets in my bedroom. It wasn't really too difficult, but I'm still a beginner here so I'm pretty pumped about it. Yes, they even work. I tested 'em out.

This was after Dad left on Saturday:

and this is after I finished today:

I realized I didn't add any pictures of the new washer and dryer, so here they are.

First, The old pair - anybody want 'em? I wouldn't set my clothes basket on top of them, let alone put clothes in those rust-buckets.

The new pair! Thanks Dad & Mom!Here's a quick photo of the door to my room I finally got up on it's hinges. So it doesn't close all the way yet... baby steps here, baby steps.

And, finally, I took some video of a quick walk-through of the first floor. I really should have taken video during my final walk-through before closing. What was I thinking? Just dumb.

I hope you enjoyed the video clip. I havn't been able to keep the house clean this week, and as you can probably see the dining room is completely used for storage now. I just thought the video might help you visualize in your own mind what the house looks like. I'll have to do the upstairs too sometime.