Love this sink.

The laundry room is still a work in progress, but this sink! I couldn't love it more. I tried to paint the base brick red, hoping I could go bold, but it was too out of my comfort zone. So, blue it is.

Vintage Cast-Iron Sink From the Dump

You never know what treasures you'll find at the dump. In Maine, when we lived there, there was a dump store, a shed where people could display their trash that still had life left in it, where people could shop. Here in Henderson, NV, there is no store, but I still like to shop. A few months ago I found this awesome vintage, cast iron, utility sink. I spied it about 1/3 of the way up the huge trash pile. (I'll spare you the long story of how Dave tore his bicep "rescuing" it for me. Let's just say it is VERY heavy and tripping with it in your arms is not a good idea, and leave it at that.) It spent the past few months down in my garden where it would have made a fine potting sink, but I longed for it in the house. So, I decided to move forward and have it installed in our new laundry room, once I clean it up a bit and preserve its awesome vintage patina. It's the perfect combination of industrial meets farmhouse, and is just what my laundry room needs.

My restoration plan is to patch the chipped enamel, scour the bowl and polish it, and scrape down some of the rust on the base and seal it. Whether or not i'll re-paint the outside of the bowl has yet to be determined, but I like the idea of dark green. This vintage model looks very much like the American Standard reproduction utility sink that is sold today, but I love this one more because it has been well loved and withstood the test of time. Imagine all the projects that were cleaned up in this sink over the decades!

I ordered a mounting bracket today, and a porcelain knobbed industrial faucet. Once Carlos patches the walls in the laundry room, they'll be ready for tile, and then, I can install the sink. I plan to get working on it this week. I'll post updated pictures.

This Renovation is 6 Months Old!

I have been so busy renovating the orange house, that it has been 6 months since I posted! That is just so wrong. So much has changed over that time. The good news is that we are almost finished with the interior work. The bad news is that we are still in the planning stages of the addition, which we desperately need finished before we can move in. The outside is still orange. Not much has changed there. But I can not wait to post pictures of the inside. Tomorrow. I'll post them tomorrow.

Let the Renovations Begin

I'm not sure what I was thinking the day we pulled up in front of the orange adobe. A pocket listing on Zillow led us there. Basically, that means the website said "for sale" and gave an address, but the listing wasn't actually active on the MLS, so it didn't show up on our realtor's searches. There was no sign outside, but there was no doubt it was the right house. You can't mistake a sprawling orange adobe for anything but what it is.

I remember saying to Dave, "What the hell is this place?" Then I followed with, "I'd live here, look at the land!"

We sat in his truck outside for a bit and combed through the pictures on the website. Without much hesitation, I opened the car door and started to get out.

Dave asked, "What are you going to do?"

I answered, "Well, if they want to sell their house they wont mind me knocking on the door and asking for details."

I heard him say, "You're crazy", as I walked toward the front door and rang the doorbell.

Carl, the homeowner, answered the door. Before he had time to worry about why I was there, I explained that I had found a listing online for his house and wondered if it was for sale. He seemed curious, and explained that a realtor friend was getting ready to list the house, but it wasn't active or on the MLS yet, because they weren't really ready to sell until after Christmas. I explained that we were ready to buy now, and wanted to see the inside, and right then would be good. He must have realized the opportunity, because he let us in. I ran back to the truck to get Dave.

"OK, Honey. The house is for sale, but it's not active yet. They said we can come in and take a look. Let's go." I think I remember hearing another, "You're crazy". But he followed me in.

Carl was a former construction engineer. We could tell by the attention to every detail of the house, that he was meticulous. I love houses in general, so I was excited for the tour. I had never witnessed adobe style, and although it was not my taste in the least, I found it interesting; the orange Saltillo tile floors, copper sink, exposed wood beams supporting what felt like ridiculously low ceilings. The house was dark, and small, but very cozy, not worthy of excitement, but felt very comfortable and loved nonetheless. The guest house was a mini version of the main house, one bedroom, living room and a kitchen. Underwhelming. The pool was pretty (but no spa). It would do, I guess. But then we
got to what I was most excited about, the outdoor space, which was what prompted our search for a new house in the first place. (Remember I said I was able to see past the house in the beginning?) Carl started explaining things. In addition to the three car garage on the main house, there was an additional two car on the guest house. (Perfect workshop space for painting furniture.) And then, there was the tack house and stables, the gardens, and the surrounding mountains, and the horses next door that peeked their cute heads over the fence.

This photo courtesy of Zillow listing.

We made our way to the back side of the property toward the tack house that had been converted into a tack-pub. There was even a hitching post outside. This little room was the perfect, tiny little man-cave. I already imagined it decorated with all of Dave's Navy memorabilia, and him and the boys bellying up to the bar for late night conversation, and maybe a little whisky.

Behind the tack house sat five fully outfitted horse stables. And in the last one, just before a goat pen, (yes, a goat pen!), was a cute little chicken coop. For years I had been whining to Dave about wanting to get chickens. In addition to the stalls, there was an open area for horses to run, (or in our case, our kids to run), fruit trees surrounding the perimeter with ripe oranges and lemons, and raised garden beds for growing vegetables. I had totally forgotten about the house by now, and was in love with the property. "I'd totally live here." I said.

If I were to make a list of every house style that existed, adobe would probably be at the bottom. So, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that buying this particular house was not at all in the plans. Not only was the color a huge turn off to me, (orange inside and out), I had made a list one day when I was thinking clearly, of all of the things that our new house had to have if I was willing to move the family...again. The list included such things as:

• a house that required very little work
• completely open concept kitchen, dining, family room
• space for each kid to have their own room, and a dedicated guest room
• a huge laundry/utility room
• a pool/spa with a storage closet for chemicals and floats
• at least a four car garage
• a good sized lot
• no HOA

...and did I mention, we didn't want to do any work?

That day I was blind to all practicality. We left that tour thinking this might just be the house for us. After sleeping on it (which was more like me laying awake all night stressing about it), I came to the realization that the orange adobe house checked off very few of the the things on my list. As the days ticked away and our contingency time was almost up, I expressed my concerns with Dave.

• The house requires a lot of work
• It didn't have the open concept we wanted
• We'd have to add a three bedroom addition at the least
• The laundry room was only a small closet
• There was no spa and a plastic trunk for pool storage was not the closet I had in mind

However, my initial excitement was too convincing, and Dave was hooked. There was no looking back. We were soon to be the proud new owners of an orange adobe.

"When its all done, this is going to be the perfect compound for our family," he assured me. 

Let the renovations begin!

Welcome to the tack room.

Stables

Our next door neighbors.

Some days orange is actually pretty. (Like my positivity?)

Fresh oranges and lemons too.

We don't have these in New England, or Florida.

This photo courtesy of Zillow listing.

An Adobe House and a Vintage Glamper

So much has been happening that I just had to write, partly to share our news, and partly as my therapy. Dave and I recently became the proud owners of two new really big projects, an adobe style horse property here in Henderson, NV that we closed on a couple of weeks ago, and as of today, a vintage, all original, 22' camping trailer, (or future glamper) as I like to call it. Both were made in the 1970's and are in excellent structural condition. And both are in need of some serious updating...and paint. Especially paint! Take a look at the picture of the house, and you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. I plan to document every step of the way as we work our magic transforming these beauties into modern spaces that our family can love.

Davison is king of our humble, orange, adobe abode!

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

Last night, when I knew I would be at Drop Anchor until the early morning hours, I brought Stella for company and protection. She is the sweetest most loyal pup to me and the kids, but not to strangers. She was particularly neurotic on the ride to Boulder City, jumping all around the truck, trying to escape at the Chilly Jilly's drive through (I may or may not have stopped for a large Dole Whip Float on the way), and then barking at every single person who walked by the store, or anywhere within a 30 foot radius. Stella is not the type who will greet customers with a wagging tail. She finally settled down somewhat anyway, in the store window, where she could get the best view of town. And all night, as I worked, I kept thinking of my Ninie, who always used to sing, How Much is that Doggie in the Window. Thanks for keeping me company last night Ninie. I know you'd be so proud of Drop Anchor, and you'd love Stella too.

Just in time for National Dog Day. Stella in the window.

Before and After: Vintage Military Trunk Transformation

I spied this trunk as soon as I walked in the door of one of my favorite junk stores. "That trunk's been here for a day,' said the clerk, as she saw me looking for a price tag. Then she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Let's just say it was slightly less than a fountain Diet Coke at McDonald's, something I buy regularly without even blinking. Before Dave even made it through the door, I had the trunk loaded up in my shopping cart. I also tossed in a green-painted, slightly rusty rake too.

"What?' I asked, as he gave me that look.

"I love them both," I whined.

He just smiled, shook his head, and went on his way digging through bins, looking for treasures.

I had had an idea in my mind to transform an old piece of luggage, or a trunk, into a treasure for someone's guest room. Before I got home, I already knew the plan. After a bit of elbow grease; removing the tape, scraping the metal with a wire brush, and a heavy cleaning, I created a sweet treasure, great for storage and display. What a great piece for the foot of a bed in a guest room, or to set on top of an armoire or bookshelf to fill some empty space.

Before.

After: Ready to take to Drop Anchor