And here's Tracey and Jason's!
A few comments regarding ours:
1) Goodbye, Debbie Gibson Blue trim on the porch. According to Greg, this is My First Project. Otherwise, he will go blind and be unable to assist me with picking colors for the interior.
2) Goodbye, kitchen. The only explanation I can come up with for its current state is that originally, the house consisted of only the kitchen - without any other rooms - and that the owners were having a baby, would be bringing it home to their one-room house, and didn't know the sex of said baby. That is THE only acceptable answer for what has happened to that poor, poor kitchen. Other than the atrocious color combination, the room is HUGE and will serve us and our guests very well.
3) Goodbye, scuffed and worn-out floors. This will be Greg's first project.
4) PIANO WINDOWS! You know what that means...
Piano windows --> Piano to put under them. :)
This will not happen for some time, I'm sure.
There are lots of other things we'll be doing, like finishing the upstairs and turning it into a master bedroom (with bathroom!). There's a small finished room in the front of the second floor which Greg has suggested using as a reading nook/secondary office space, to which I counter, "Hello? THAT'S OUR CLOSET." Kidding. Maybe. No, really. Kidding. Well... Nevermind.
Eventually, if the basement isn't too damp for it, we may close off and soundproof a room for Greg to use as a man cave/practice space. The added bonus with this house is that there are actually a few possibilities for man caves within. Good stuff.
On Tracey and Jason's house: I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM. I just spoke with her this morning, and I can't believe how this house has fallen into their laps. This would be the part where I take a gracious bow and humbly mention, I FOUND IT! THAT'S THE ONE I PICKED FOR THEM! Their current home just went on the market listing Friday, and they got an offer YESTERDAY. It was literally like,
"Hey, you can put the sign in the yard now."
"Really? Cool!"
.... five minutes later....
**ringringring**
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is the realtor. We're showing your house tomorrow."
"Great!"
...tomorrow comes...
"Hi. They're bidding."
"Great!"
**ringringring**
"Hello?"
"Hi. This is the realtor for the house in Milwaukee you've bid on. They'd like to close the day after you close on your house, the practical upshot of which is that there will be no overlap of time in which you and your two children are homeless, thereby eliminating any fears you had regarding your move. Really, I was just calling to tell you precisely what you wanted to hear but didn't expect to happen. Have a nice day."
And you know what the best part is?
I'll give you a second.
GESSNER AND STEPHKE NEW YEAR'S EXTRAVAGANZA AT OUR HOUSE!
Posted by stephanie at November 14, 2005 10:11 AMThe Gessner Enclave/Dynasty/Clan/Force joins up with the Stephke Collective! Gessnephke? Stephkner? Brangelina, eat your heart out.
Also, a man cave is an essential element in a successful relationship.
Posted by: tracey at November 14, 2005 12:15 PMI like Gessnephke. :)
Posted by: Stephanie at November 14, 2005 05:21 PMDon't forget...you have access to a piano. House(s) look great! Contratulations to the Gessnephke project!
Love,
Mom
