Weekend highlights

This weekend we received a wonderfully welcomed respite from the brutal heat and humidity of the passed week. Sat & Sun we had temps in the mid 80s and very low humidity. It was absolutely GORGEOUS here on the southern Delaware coast.

Sat morning Spouse went to his personal trainer appointment and I watched "Sell This House" as usual. But the last 1 in the back-to-back episodes was a repeat, so I turned off the TV, turned on some music and tidied up the kitchen and ran the dishwasher. Then I moved all the furniture to 1 side of the porch and swept, moved it all to the opposite side and swept, then arranged it all back to normal. Then I made tuna salad and filled our water bottles with ice and water, in preparation for going to the beach. When Spouse got home we slipped into our swim suits, grabbed out lunch and headed to the beach. As stated above, it was absolutely magnificent. On a scale of 1-10, it was an 11. We had a great time with Steven, Bob, Joe P, Alisha & Jack, Robin, Jason, and Kevin.

After showering, Spouse & I went to Radio Shack and Walmart, then met Bryan & Jason for dinner at Applebee's. They have dinners for under 550 calories AND they have the Weight Watchers point values on several of their healthier entrees, which is very helpful. We had a nice time dining with those guys, then returned home to feed and walk Jordan. We sat on the (clean) screened porch for a while since it was so delightful outside. Spouse settled in for the night with the remote and I headed out to meet up with our friends at Mandance. Had a lot of fun dancing and hanging with my buds.

Sun morning Spouse & I headed to VA to finalize the condo renovation project. We stopped at his mom's house and left Jordan, and took his mom and brother with us. The renovation turned out very well! I wish I had some "before" photos, but we forgot the camera last time. I took some "after" photos yesterday for the MLS listing and online advertising. The complex is designated as a historic community, built in 1947. Here's the courtyard, with mature oak, magnolia, and crepe myrtle trees.

Here's a seating area in front of our building's entrance.

After walking in the foyer, this is the living room. We had the nasty old carpet removed and put in cherry laminate wood floors, chair rail and crown molding, and painted. We love the original radiators - they add so much character!

This is the dining area, with doorways to the bedroom and bath on the left and to the kitchen on the right.

Here's the bathroom with its new vanity/sink/faucet, mirror and light fixture. The bathroom also received new flooring, new towel bars and fresh paint. We also replaced all of the electrical outlets and light switches throughout the entire condo. Details like that really add to the overall 'renovated' look and they improve the safety of the electrical system.

Walking into the bedroom and looking left, this is the view.
Standing in front of the windows in the bedroom and looking at the opposite side, here is the extra large closet. The nasty carpet was replaced by the same cherry flooring and was painted the same colors as the other rooms.

My favorite part of the renovation is the kitchen transformation. The kitchen used to have nasty linoleum flooring, gold countertops, and off white paint. Very bland and dated. Now it has cherry wood laminate flooring, granite-looking countertops, new stainless steel sink, new faucet, new garbage disposal, new glass mosaic back splash, new stainless hardware on the cabinets, and fresh paint. I love it!

We're very happy with the overall look and feel of the renovation. I'm hoping the careful but attractive investment in the renovation will help us get a renter quickly. After settling up with the contractor, we headed back to Spouse's mom's house where his sister was waiting for us. His niece came over too, and we all visited for a while. Then Spouse & I packed up Jordan and headed back home. We fed her and took her for a nice walk, then had dinner on the screened porch since it was so beautiful outside. We ended our weekend with a little relaxing TV watching.

The weekends always seem to pass so quickly! I always try to mix productivity with a generous share of fun.

Crush du Jour: Landon Donovan