Sid dropped off the promised flythroughs the other day (created by the very talented Rob), and wow—what a difference they make in my understanding of how the house will look when it’s finished. From looking at the blueprints, I certainly got that “this wall will go here” and “these cabinets will go there.” But I really had no idea what things would really look like. Well, that has changed … and I’m more excited than ever. The flythroughs even include suggestions for paint colors and cabinet and countertop finishes. Their choices are certainly nothing I would have chosen on my own, but I do like them a lot! They give a very clean, retro-yet-modern feel to the house.

Click on the image below to start a slideshow with several perspective sketches and three videos.

After months of pleading, I finally convinced Roger to go to the Strip Club last night (although with the name of the place I didn’t think it would be that hard!). Roger had a misconceived notion that the restaurant was of the Kincaids variety—special occasion steakhouse only. However, once I told him the St. Paul restaurant was by the same owners of our favorite Town Talk Diner, he perked up a bit and we made our way through some of the … ahem … shadier areas of St. Paul to find the restaurant at about 7th and Maria—on the bluffs overlooking downtown St. Paul.

Without reservations, we sat at the bar (although it was just 5:30 p.m.), but knew we were at the best seats in the house when owner Tim Niver greeted us and offered us a drink. (We’d experienced Tim’s hospitality on our first visit to Town Talk, which was the sole reason we returned just a week later!) I was convinced that Town Talk made one of the best sidecars in town, but last night’s cocktail at the Strip Club was, without exception, one of the best I’ve had. Our starters included a plate of artisan bread, soprasetta (salami) and crucolo (cheese) that was enhanced with, surprisingly, clover honey. The deviled eggs – one pickled in beet juice for a lovely purple color—delivered a kick. For our entrée, we shared the rib platter for two, with a side of slaw and the most crumbly, tender corn muffin on the planet. We then topped off our meal with a rhubarb tart, which was, sadly, the lowlight of the evening (slightly too tart for my taste, although the pastry crust was quite good, and I certainly had no problem finishing it!).

Of course, the evening became more lively as additional libations were poured by Tim and his incredibly experienced bartender, Dan. The woman next to me got in on the fun and bought me a drink; Tim mixed enough that five of us were able to toss back her coffee, cream, vanilla vodka and crème de cocoa concoction. As drinks were poured for other patrons, she and I were the lucky recipients of the leftovers, meaning I sampled more than my fair share of drinks paid for. Both Tim and Dan obviously take pride in the work they do behind the bar, as they should. Their mixed drinks are exquisite, topped only topped by their gracious hospitality.

Sadly, I am afraid that the two of us will not go back. What, you say, with such a glowing review? Well, Roger and I seem to have the terrible habit of falling in love with a place and patronizing it just a week later because it was so good the first time. Of course, the second time never lives up to our expectations … and, it will certainly be hard to top an evening as lovely as last night’s. However, we may be willing to take that chance; the Strip Club is far too good not to visit again.

Since we received the initial design concepts from Sid about a month ago, we’ve “mixed and matched” several ideas from all three drawings and came to a final conclusion on what we’d ultimately like our house to look like. Sid came back with a composite drawing — and a preliminary budget estimate which indicated that, of course, we could only afford half of what we really wanted! So, in the spirit of compromise, I gave up “my” remodeled bathroom in favor of some of the other items on our wish list. (Roger’s quote: “I can poop in a $10,000 bathroom as easily as a $30,000 bathroom.” Nice.) So, here’s what we’ll be doing:

• Remodeling the kitchen: This will involve pushing a wall about 18 inches into our living room to create more working space, and lots of wonderful cabinets and drawers. We’ll also get a new walk-in pantry and a counter-top height eating space.
• Creating a mudroom: We’ll put up a 4′6″ wall in the family room to create a mudroom-like entrance with (we hope) a bench, shelves, hooks and storage for shoes and bags. We’re also taking out the fireplace (which we don’t use).
• Reconfiguring the family room: While we’ll actually be making this room a bit smaller to get rid of its existing “bowling alley”-like feel, we’ll knock down another wall to open up the space.
• Making the living room “livable”: This space, which we currently never use, will become a multipurpose space for dining, entertaining, playing piano, reading in a comfy nook and more.
• Finishing parts of the basement: We’ll demo the office to create a new workout room for Roger, and also finish the main area to become a rec room, with his and her office-like space. The storage area and laundry room will remain unfinished.

Yesterday we met Sid to go over the blueprints, elevations (drawings of what the different walls, cabinets, etc. look like), and the electrical plan. Sid has also promised a “flythrough” of the space, which, if the technology gods allow, I’ll try to add to the web site this week.

The biggest stressor right now is trying to figure out what to do with all our “stuff” in the next month before the remodel begins. We’ve decided that most everything (kitchen supplies, furniture, books, etc.) can get stored in our garage, but figuring out how we’ll watch TV or fix lunch over the next three months might get interesting.

…. and I like to do drawrings!

The drawings are here! The drawings are here!

Sid came to our house Friday morning and presented three design concepts to us. Well, actually, he presented us two and a half concepts. The first two included both upstairs and downstairs concepts. The third concept (the Taj Mahal option) included only the upstairs. And all of them, of course, are over budget. Sigh. Big decisions lie ahead.

Roger’s mom was awarded the Silver Beaver Award this past weekend for her contributions to Boy Scouting. And, to make the event even more special, sons Roger and Mark (both Eagle Scouts!) were on hand to present the honor. Check out pictures of the special event.

Are you kidding me?!

Today we had our initial interview with Sid Levin and Rob Aldecocea from Authentic Construction. Oh, in case I didn’t mention: We definitely aren’t doing this remodel ourselves. While we had plenty of offers from both our families to help fix up the place, we decided it was in our best interests to leave it to the experts. So, we’ve decided to work with a design build firm, who will oversee the project start to finish.

We first met Sid and Rob during the 2007 Fall Remodeler’s Showcase, where nearly 100 recently remodeled homes throughout the Twin Cities are open for three straight days for yours and our voyeuristic pleasures! We weren’t exactly looking for a contractor at the time (rather, some fixer-upper ideas), but one thing led to another and the next thing we knew we were checking out contractors. Our first interview with one contractor was quite exciting, considering he told us he could make our house “smokin’.” But, after we met him in his office a few weeks later and were asked, “Why are you here again?”, we decided it wasn’t quite meant to be. So, we put in a phone call to Sid, whom we remembered from a Showcase home in Edina (he and his design partner Rob had been playing Scrabble at the house, which we found quite amusing). After the two of them visited our home in December, and after further conversations with Sid, it was pretty easy to tell that Sid and Rob totally understood us and would be a great fit for. Plus, they sent us flowers.

So, it wasn’t a surprise that our interview with them today was a blast. They asked us some general questions, like, “So, what’s the first room you’d show off to guests when they see your new home?” (Duh, the TV room), and “What do you do in your bedroom other than sleep?” (Uhh, mostly dust). It will be quite interesting to see how our “his and her” answers come to life in the concepts they’ll be presenting in a few weeks.

Since we moved into our home in January of 2002, Roger’s done some pretty amazing things to make the place ours. (I say Roger, because I merely supervise and then tell him all the things he’s doing wrong.) He finished a section of fence and the timber window wells that the previous owner left undone; painted nearly every room in the house (most of them twice, because someone, who shall remain nameless, changed her mind); laid carpet throughout the basement; created an amazing playpen for the dogs; wired our new TV and sound system (with some help from my dad); installed our outdoor canopies and put in a huge perennial garden (with help from his mom and dad); and is constantly fixing things around the house …

… except that once piece of trim.

That unfinished piece of trim—due to the fact that Roger hasn’t quite been able to figure out how to match original woodwork with the cheap crap from Home Depot—has caused a few moments of tension in this marriage. And, somehow, it led to, “Well, if we just ripped out the wall with the offensive piece of trim, then our problems would be solved, wouldn’t they?”

Which brings us to today. After more than six months of deliberating, today Roger and I signed on the dotted line to undertake a remodel to our little 1954 rambler in east Bloomington. While my folks have told us we’re crazy to throw a dime at this place, and Roger’s folks looked at us cross-eyed when we told them how long the process will probably take, we’ve decided to plunge in and spend the next several months eating off paper plates … and building a place we’ll stay in for a long time. We’re planning to finish the basement, fix up the bathroom, remodel the kitchen, and of course, while we’re at it, move a few walls around (maybe). We’ll be starting the design process soon and expect to start getting dirty this summer (the perfect time to be outside). So, stay tuned for remodel updates along the way!

Our tans have nearly faded and we’ve stopped saying “Hola” to everyone we pass (including the pizza delivery guy), but the photos of our annual winter vacation will keep our memories of our annual winter vacation alive just a little bit longer!

This year we ventured to the “other side” of Mexico to Puerto Vallarta. We stayed at the Barcelo la Jolla de Mismaloya, a resort about eight miles (and a 30-minute cab ride) south of Puerto Vallarta proper. Having become accustomed to the beautiful beaches of the Mayan Riviera and Dominican Republic, we were a bit disappointed with the small, shady and cold beach at this resort, so we spent our days by the pool. But really, how bad can lying by the pool, reading good books with a frosty beverage in one’s hand for seven days straight really be?

Our room was quite nice — the nicest accommodations we’ve ever encountered in all of our tropical travels. We also were on the 9th floor so had a beautiful view of the resort and surrounding area, including the ocean. The resort’s buffet was standard fare, with breakfast providing the best options. Unfortunately, I became sick for a portion of our trip, although I can’t for sure attribute it to anything I ate.

We ventured out of the resort one day to the small town across the street, La Jolla. There we took a tour of the local tequila factory (not much of a tour — just the two of us who found a staff member who showed us around and gave us a few shots) and also experienced the Puerto Vallarta Zoo. Our very close encounters feeding the animals was certainly something to behold, which you’ll see in a few videos in the slideshow. I would have included more videos of Roger feeding the animals, but in his excitement, his language became a bit colorful and sadly my video editing skills do not include standard bleeping. As it is, you will hear Roger ask “Is this where camel toe comes from?” in one of the videos … bad enough, but not that bad that I’d sacrifice the entire video!

When we returned to Minneapolis we were met with 45 degree temperatures, but only for a day. Last week’s frigid weather made us wish we’d booked our trip for two weeks! However, it is good to be home and both of us feel well-rested after a much-needed vacation. And that’s just how it should be.

Lynsey’s alma mater: Two Rhodes Scholars!

Roger’s alma mater: Two more swastikas!