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Lessons Learned While Purchasing Carpet

1/30/2016

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For the last few post I talked about prepping for new carpet: Painting and Purging and told you I would share with you some important things we learned during our carpet project.
 
Purchasing:
DO NOT go to the big box stores! They do not have the best quality, because they sell "cheap". They also don't have the most experienced staff. Remember this is a big purchase that is supposed to last for decades, not years. Lastly they tend to add on additional cost.
 
DO shop locally owned stores, preferably one that has been around for decades. They know their stuff. They have experienced staff and the cost of installation should be included in the carpet, not an additional fee.
 
Buy Ecofriendly. Wool is the most expensive but it is also the most natural product out there. We actually chose an ecofriendly brand Mohawk. It’s from a corn based product and not petroleum. Thank about that for a second, do you want to walk on cornmeal or oil? Also this is super important if you have small children or dogs. Where do they play? On the carpet. They will have all of the synthetic fibers touching their skin and research has shown this can cause a higher risk of cancer. Scary to think about. Go Ecofriendly, it's not only good for the environment, but your family.
 
Budget. Jack thought our new carpet would cost around $2,000 and I was predicting around $4,000 because I knew I wanted quality and Ecofriendly. To be safe we budged $4,000 and anything that wasn't spent on the carpet would go to the next house project.
 
Shop around. I cannot stress this enough. We went to a local place and met with and told them what we were looking for. They seemed sort of knowledgeable, very helpful, and were willing to come for a measurement (required to get a true quote) for the following day after work. The quote came back to us at $3,500, right within our budget. But while we were getting frustrated because they couldn't email us the quote because they didn't understand what an underscore (_) was; we talked to Amber and Aaron about who they used to replace their carpet after the fire damage last year. They used and highly recommended this place in an old part of town. They warned us that there was piles of carpet everywhere and it seemed very disorganized, but the shop owner knew were everything was at. So during our lunch Jack and I went, carpet everywhere was an understatement! The shop was ran by an older couple who had been in business since the 80's and he knew exactly what I wanted and didn't look at me like I was scary when I said I wanted something Ecofriendly, like the other shop did. We found the same product as the other store and a few other options and scheduled a measurement (quote) the next day. Their measurement appointment was very different. The first shop a guy came took measurement and left. The elderly couple both came with samples and ready to write a quote right there. The gentlemen took the measurement while the lady and I talked about Duffey and their adventures in the Airforce in Europe in the 60's. Once the measurements were finished we began talking about the two carpet samples we liked. The first was the same as the shop before and the other was considered a Luxe carpet, fancy. After discussing the prices we quickly realized their Luxe carpet was CHEAPER than the other shops price for the regular carpet, we chose the Luxe carpet. Lastly we talked about a carpet pad; this was something that was never discussed at the other place. I'll talk more about carpet pads in a second. After deciding on higher end carpet pad and the Luxe carpet, we were ecstatic to see that our new quote was under $2,800! Much better customer service, higher quality product, AND a lower price? SOLD! We booked our installation that moment. If we didn't shop around, we would have regretted spending more for a less inferior product. Shop a minimum of two, three is better, shops before making your decision. It's well worth the extra effort.
  
Carpet Pads. The second shop brought us four samples that were made with different material and/or thickness. We were able to quickly dismiss the regular pads that were manufactured from left over furniture foam in China and focused on the two U.S.A. brands. One had a single layer of water resistant material and the other had a layer of water resistant material on both sides. The one with both sides was also quilted and provided extra softness. Since our home was built on a concrete slap, we opted to the quilted, double sided water resistant carpet pad.
  
Walk on the samples barefooted! This may seem like an afterthought, but it should be seriously done. We are all for feeling the texture and softness with our hands, but we use our feet to walk on it. Since the samples were brought to our home we were able to put them on a hard floor and walk on them. We tired each carpet sample with each carpet samples until we made our decision. You may feel silly taking your shoes off in front of a salesman; however, you wouldn't feel odd about lying on a mattress when purchasing one, so why wouldn't you walk barefoot on carpet?

Prepping:
 
For every room you are replacing carpet for, you have to remove EVERYTHING! We were offered to split up the installation, but we decided to get it all done at once. If you have a lot of rooms and not a lot of time to donate removing everything, do the multiple days. Like I said in my pervious post we used this time to purge the rooms so we would have less to move, twice.
 
Pets. We asked Amber and Aaron to watch Duffey for the day. We didn't want her getting scared or getting in the way of the installer. Plus it also made me nervous that he would accidently let her get out as he was bringing in the supplies. I was much happier the day of the installation that she was safe and happy at her Auntie Amber's house. Please don't forget to think about your pets on the day of installation and plan accordingly.
 
After Installation:
 
Be warned new carpet smells, it’s new and the smell goes away after a few days. We used scented candles to help since it was winter and unable to open up windows.
 
Moving back in. We put the bigger items in first, expect the dressers (that's another project). We were very careful on what we brought back into the rooms. We didn't bring in Jack's old desk, shelves, or couch; instead we are using a folding table and purchased better quality shelves. Once the rest of the rooms were back together, they felt different. They felt clean and new and we want to keep that feeling around for a long time. Our bedroom now feels like a place of relaxion and not chaos.
 
Enjoy your new fabulous carpet!

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 Winter Cleaning

1/28/2016

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​For the first time since we have bought our home, we are hiring someone to do a project. Normally I don't have a problem with Jack learning and taking on home projects and I get to be his lovely assistant, but this time we were getting new carpets in our bedrooms and we just don't have the skills nor the tools to install carpet. We needed a professional in this case since we wanted to make this major investment last for decades and not years. Once the carpet is installed I will post before and after pictures along with some helpful tips and lessons learned. For now I want to talk about prepping for such a huge project. Thank about it for a second all three of our bedrooms were getting carpet so that means we had to pack up and move EVERYTHING out of them! We took this time to purge our offices and our clothes to make it easier to pack and move (twice). I had several tubs full of fabric and unfinished craft projects that I cleaned out and organized. Anything I no longer wanted either got tossed or donated to a local therapist office who held children support groups and uses crafts to help work through their feelings. I was able to clean out about 2/3rd of my tubs, but I still feel like I have too many unfinished projects. We also were able to shred unneeded files, toss out old school notes, and donate books and other Knick knacks. Lastly there were the clothes; I think I buy a new wardrobe every other season. I had so many clothes I just never wore or no longer was my taste, same with Jack. The one thing I do not donate to thrift stores is clothes; I always take the time to donate them to the local foster care shelter. Most of the children there have nothing and all of the clothes are communal. Jack and I always have gently used professional clothes that the older kids and wear to court. Technically this is a tax write off, but we never use them.
 
As we moved the last pieces of furniture out of the rooms a very weird feeling came over us. We hadn't seen these rooms emptied in eight years and it really felt like we were moving. We knew this was silly, but it was an odd feeling. Thankfully we are not moving and tomorrow we will have new carpet and hopefully the energy to move everything back into our rooms.

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 Fresh Coat of Paint

1/24/2016

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I've talked about having to remove popcorn from our living room and hallway ceilings in previous post so I won't bore you with a repeat. What I will say is that during the last few weeks prepping to get new carpet, we had to finally remove the last of the popcorn ceiling from our house, our offices. As we finished painting the ceiling in my office I got the genius idea that it was time to paint my office, again. This will make it the fourth time painting my office over the last decade. There were several reasons why I made this insane decision a week before we got knew carpet; 1. I got white ceiling paint all over my walls and didn't have any spare paint; 2. There was drip streaks from removing the popcorn; 3. Over time the current color seemed to become lavender than grey and I wanted a more neutral color for a one day nursery; and 4. The current color was going to look weird with the new light grey carpet. Jack decided to let me just go along with my crazy plan, but he wasn't going to help since he needed to finish purging and packing his office. I took a sample of the new carpet and a sample of the current paint to the home improvement store and picked a color. I bought a gallon and another 1.2 gallon since this is the fourth time painting my office I knew a gallon would barely be enough and I wanted to have touch up paint this time. One major benefit of getting new carpet is not having to stress about covering the floor; I moved all of the furniture into the center of the room and taped up the freshly painted ceiling. I turned on Eureka a series I have watched several times and got to work. I am thankful that my office is just a medium sized rectangle with a door and a closet and the first coat was on in no time. I wanted the first coat to completely dry and give my arms a rest, so I waited to paint the second coat until the next day. I am waiting until tomorrow to remove the tape, but be warned do not wait longer than that, the tape will get harder to remove the longer it is up. I love the new color and I can't wait to see it with the new carpet! 
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Be Thankful

1/19/2016

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The other day I shared an inspiring story from my favorite Cafe and today another experience stopped me in my tracks and really reevaluated my life. After having a bad morning at work and tired of fighting the depression for the day, I went home sick. On my way home, I stopped by a fast food place to get a quick fix to the emptiness inside. As I left the drive thru, I saw a man standing in the pouring rain at the light where I needed to turn holding a cardboard sign. I tried not to stare at the man, but I was highly impressed with him standing in the downpour. I thought he must be really hurting or really driven. As I got closer I was able to read his sign, "Be Thankful for what you have". As I read it, I got the same feeling I got when the Holy Water first touched my skin at Easter several years earlier, when I knew I found a home at the Catholic Church. God was speaking to me; he was trying to fulfill the emptiness. Once I got home I shared this story on Facebook just like I did with the Cafe story, and one of my friend commented and said God is speaking to you, be still and listen. I read that and I cried. I knew what I had to do, but the question is was I going to continue to fight it because I was too scared or was I going to take the next step to reach my purpose.
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So for now I leave you with this, I may not be standing in the pouring rain holding a cardboard sign, but "Be Thankful for what you have".
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Blessing Bags

1/16/2016

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While sitting at a cafe, I watched this nice looking women get out of her BMW to walk into the cafe, but when she saw two homeless people and walked back to her car. She opened the passenger back door and grabbed something. As she walked closer I saw that it was two large zip lock bags filled with personal items and she handed them to the homeless man and women. This lady was dressed in heels and caring a Louie Vuitton bag and stood there for a moment talking to them before coming inside to get her coffee. As I watched this all unfold I realized, that is who I want to be when I grow up.
I decided I wanted to start doing the same and carrying personal items in my car for whomever I ran across who was in need. Here is a list of items that can easily be purchased at the dollar store and shouldn't cost too much to help several people in need:
Can Opener
Knit gloves
Beanies
Deodorant
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Floss
Body wipes
Hand sterilizer
Small first aid kit
Snack packs
Useable water bottle
Poncho
Socks
Comb
Local support information
Mints
Femine products for women
Change
Shampoo/conditioner
Chap Stick
Razors
Shaving gel
Q-tips

This site sells a lot a great of mini items on the cheap too. 
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 Post Holiday Blues

1/7/2016

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​I have been fighting this emptiness within me for about a year and it really escalated when I returned to work from my Christmas vacation. I knew something hasn't been right for a while and during my vacation, I faced the reality that I was no longer feeling spiritually or creatively fulfilled at work. Coming back to work after realizing this only made it harder for me to get up, get dress and get to work on time. My poor boss, a former therapist popped into my office cheerful and asked me if I was happy to be back and work and I broke down in tears and said no. He was sweet enough to talk to me and he told me it's hard coming back from what you want your life to be (vacation mode) and reality (work mode). The more I thought about it the more it made sense. During my vacation I was able to spend time with loved one who I rarely got to see, have our home better organized and less stressful for Jack, took better care of myself, and had time to read and reflect. When I am working my life looks more like a blur and sadness that I don't feel fulfilled. Our marriage seems to be a little more stressed and our quality time seems to be less frequent. I realized on that Monday morning, that I wanted to follow my heart and be an at home wife. This was something that we have talked about once we had kids and Jack was finally okay with that decision, but how would I ever convenience him to let me do that now? I didn't want to be a fictional 50's housewife, bored all day and waiting for Jack to come home where I'm wearing a pearl and holding a martini as he walks through the door. Not that neither of us would mind that once in a while! I wanted to stay home a follow my passion, for the first time I wanted to do something that brought meaning to my life. I wanted to donate more time to my Parish, to my creative side, and to this blog. I started to realize I have always lived my life trying to please someone else and meet their expectation for me and I began to ask what about what I want?

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 Snack Jar

1/6/2016

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​To continue my Grab and Go Meals, I wanted to share my favorite Mason jar snacks:
 
Carrots, celery and hummus
Colorful bell pepper strips and ranch dressing
Apple slices (dipped in lemon) and peanut butter
Small mason jars
 
I have been taking the Yogurt Jars, Salad Jars and one of these snack Jars all week for work. It is so nice to have everything ready to go in the morning and who knows this year maybe that health resolution will finally be accomplished.

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 Slower Cooker Beef Stew

1/5/2016

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​It's cold outside and nothing warms me up better than a bowl of homemade stews! It's even better if it is ready for me when I get home from work. This is one of my favorite go to slow cooker winter recipes; it also makes a great freezer meal!
 

 Ingredients:
2 lbs. cut stew meat optional to sheer for more flavor
1 medium sized yellow onion
32 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables
Can of tomato sauce
14 oz. can of stewed tomatoes
Salt, pepper, pinch of Cheyenne pepper (optional), cumin, thyme, paprika.
 
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.
To freeze place everything in a freezer bag and lay flat to freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.

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Salad Jars

1/3/2016

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Yesterday I shared my favorite grab and go breakfast, today I am going to share you my favorite grab and go lunches. These are easy to throw together a couple at a time before heading off to bed.
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Mason jar 16 oz.
Salad mix
Dressing
Other salad toppings: Cheese, croutons, dried cranberries, fresh apples (dipped in lemon juice) and/or chicken

Layer each ingredient accordingly:

Layer One: Salad Dressing
Layer Two: Firm Diced Vegetables
Layer Three: Soft Diced Vegetables/Fruit
Layer Four: Cheese
Layer Five: Protein - Cooked Chicken, Beef, Eggs, etc.
Layer Six: Salad Mix
Top with croutons if desired.

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 Yogurt Jars

1/2/2016

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It's a New Year and that means the annual health related New Year Resolutions! One of my own biggest problems is I just don't eat breakfast, and I hate getting out of bed so I only leave enough time to make a cup of coffee and run out the door. This year I am trying to change that, I still might only leave time to grab and go, but now I am grabbing these amazingly easy and delicious yogurt jars. I make 5 of them Sunday night before bed and just grab them on my wait out the door. I still eat them at my desk, but they keep me full until lunch time!



Ingredients:
32oz Vanilla Yogurt
1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
2 Cups Fresh fruit or frozen
5 Mason Jars 16 oz.

Instructions:
Mix 1 Cup Old Fashioned Oaks with the 32oz tub of Vanilla Yogurt in a large mixing bowl.
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Using a canning funnel divide the Yogurt Oat Mixture into the 5 16oz Mason Jars.

Slice fruit into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the Mason Jars. Strawberries and blueberries are my favorite.

Refrigerate at least overnight and enjoy up to five days.

For the yummiest results mix the fruit and Yogurt Oat Mixture together before eating.

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    From Me...

    I created this blog to share my creations with hopes that it will inspire others to show their creative side.

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