Fresh Start

Let me start by saying: I have officially failed... Over 2 yrs since my last post?!?! Time for a fresh (blog) start!
How about we begin with:

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!! 

This little charmer checked all the boxes:
(Please forgive the picture quality... These are pulled directly from the listing.)


3 bedrooms

2 baths











Hardwood Floors

Granite counters

Inside Laundry Room

 

Fireplace

...and most of all...

A POOL!

Please stay tuned for pictures, updates, home improvement projects, etc!

Hitting The Road

We've been in Fresno for almost four months now and although we are really loving the Central Valley, we decided it was time to get out of the Valley and see the ocean. So we hit the road for Pismo Beach. The drive was less than three hours from our front door and it was much, much easier than the drive from Redding to Eureka. The hills above were the only "mountains" we had to pass over to make it to our destination, the Pacific Ocean.

On the recommendation of one of my co-workers we made a couple of stops before making it all the way to the ocean. The first was at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

The Inn was eccentric to say the least. The sprawling compound on the side of Highway 101 is decorated with an abdunance of pink and flowers. We decided to stop for brunch, which turned into lunch. We found the food to be tasty and decently priced but, honestly, we were more interested in exploring the grounds than we were in eating. Once we finished our food we started exploring...

After wandering through the upper floor we made our way downstairs to the wine cellar (you can see it above in the bottom left photo). The cellar had a selection of wine and souvenirs along with some incredible architecture which mostly consisted of rock. It was amazing just to see the construction of the place. But the real reason we came downstairs was to see the men's bathroom. Weird. I know. But the men's room is the reason we were told to stop here. It has a urinal that is a waterfall. It is a functioning bathroom but the entire time we were there people were waiting with their families outside to get a peek at the urinal. I'll save you the trouble of waiting and just show you a picture.

It is much more impressive in person. The entire bathroom is like a cave and when you step into the urinal area the water literally begins to pour out of the wall. I have to say this is one of the most interesting bathrooms I have ever seen and the women's room was just as amazing.

After the bathroom break we poked around the rest of the 110 room hotel. The room are spread across the grounds in different buildings. The most impressive part is that every single room is decorated differently (you can see pictures of all the rooms, here).

Now back on the road. Our next stop would be San Luis Obispo. I had heard there was a great downtown area so we drove around until we found it. Boy, it didn't disappoint. We found a public parking lot, paid the meter and headed out. Our first stop was a free art museum, then we discovered a creek that ran through downtown. It was complete with a walking trail and artwork.

There were also plenty of cute shops to look at, including this one:

Habitat Home & Garden was amazing. I don't think there was one thing in that store that we didn't like! What made it even cooler is that almost all the pieces are custom made from reclaimed wood. The owner even told us that if we saw a piece we liked but it wasn't the right size we could it special made to fit our space.

After wandering around for a while we decided it was time to finish the drive to Pismo Beach and finally see the ocean. Pismo is about 15 minutes from downtown SLO and the drive is beautiful. The weather on the coast wasn't exactly as we expected it. For most of the day it stayed overcast and partly foggy. But we didn't care because we made it to the ocean!

We actually ended up visiting a few beaches as we explored Pismo. A few had cliffs overlooking the ocean with steep stairs.

Others had access so close to the road you barely stepped out of your car before your toes were touching the sand. Pismo Beach proper was the best of them all with white sand and a board walk filled with plenty of hotels, shops and restaurants. There was even a peer that led way out into the water.

Of course a trip to the beach is not complete without fish and chips! We heard of a great place called Splash Cafe but it had a line and we wanted to sit closer to the beach. So we ended up at a place called Pierside. The food was delicious and we got to sit at a table outside just steps away from the beach.

After eating it was time for a little exploring in the car. By this point we had decided that we wanted to move to this amazing little beach town. So we checked out the local real estate by driving around. WOW, there were some awesome places. Then, we made a wrong turn that turned out to be the best turn of the day. Following a little winding road we ended up in the town of Avila Beach. Little did we know this would be the hit of our whole trip! Such an adorable place to visit.

We got some coffee at the local coffee shop and then hit the pier. Relaxing on the edge of the beach sipping our java we watched the fog roll in and out. About every 20 minutes the fog would roll in and then back out. This is what it looked like from our vantage point.

You can see the difference in the distance we could see. It was pretty impressive. Finally, after having a relaxing evening on the beach we decided to head home knowing we'll definitely be making this trip again, soon.

The Loft Tour

While I do not fancy myself a writer, I am going to make an attempt since the resident blogger (Noah) appears to be on strike! While we fully intended to be constantly posting about some great adventure we were having, we have not posted a single thing. It's not that we haven't had our share of adventures (during the first couple days even a trip to the grocery store seemed like an adventure), it's just that we have not made time to write about it.

Now that we are pretty much settled (with the exception of a few odds and ends that need to be purchased and hanging of the various art we have) I decided it was time for a tour.

I will start the tour at the obvious place...the front door!

On your way in make sure and say hi to the gnome!

When you enter apartment 124 you will step into the living room and will see across to the bar. All we need is a few stools and this will be "dining room".

This little half wall is home to some of the only artwork we have put up so far... I think it looks pretty snazzy!

If you turn to your left, you will see our entertainment center. Soon I hope to get rid of those tacky bunny ears! Yuck!

If you look to the right you will see our living room. It's pretty lack luster right now but once we hang some art, buy a nice area rug and find pallets for my coffee table project, we will be set!

This is a picture of what our future coffee table will look like. Well, that is if I can find any friggin' pallets! I had no idea they would be so hard to find! I am on the verge of dressing in all black and stealing a few under the cover of darkness from Lowe's. Will someone bail me out?

Now back to the tour.... Here is the view out our front window. We have a nice little courtard with some picinic tables and TONS of roses.

Next stop is the hallway to the bathroom which houses some of the only storage as well as a space for an apartment size, stacking, electric washer and dryer which, if you didn't know, are IMPOSSIBLE to find!!!

Here is our linen "closet". I use the term loosely since there are no doors to speak of. Eventually I will buy a shower curtain rod and make a curtain to hide it but for now, this is how it looks.

Next is "critter corner".... This is where our IMPOSSIBLE to find washer and dryer should be. If you look closely you can see some little critter eyeballs staring at me.

Now we have reached the bathroom... Very small, no storage and the only one we have but we make it work.

Note that there is not even a medicine cabinet....

Now we will head back down the hallway into the living area toward the stairs... Here is a look at our itty bitty kitchen through the passthrough.

Yep, that's it... That is all the counter space we have.

After passing through the kitchen, you reach the 1st little landing that leads upstairs. It has a small storage cabinet with display space and a "display window." Can you tell that these lofts were designed for gypsy-like, artsy-fartsy people? No storage but TONS of room to display art...


Here is the display window. Dispite my snarky remark about artistic nomads, this is a pretty cool feature. Since we are an interior unit it looks out onto the parking area (some of the others are out on the sidewalk) and they even installed lighting. We are thinking of using as a little green house to grow herbs. Right now, it houses my wedding bouquet which is looking pretty sad and dried out.

Also on the landing is a storage cabinet and yet ANOTHER display area with it's own lighting. We still need to work on this display area but for now it features my prized glass head and a basket for things that need to go upstairs. Soon I hope to find a nice vintage hat for "Headdie"...

Now we will continue upstairs where you will see the 2nd landing....

Now we have reached the top and are entering the loft area. Please excuse the ratty little cabinet, it's in transition.

Now you will get the 1st look at the bedroom. You will see an office area at the far end, the end of the bed and the other accent chair.

Here is the bed in it's little bump out over the kitchen. Kind of a tight squeeze with the 2 night stands. The landlady told us that a king size would fit up here... I highly doubt that since our queen mattress barely fits and the box spring didn't even come close to fitting. We had to spend the 1st month or two like poor college students sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

Next you will see the only other artwork that we have hung so far. This is a one-of-a-kind, signed Esther Mapes original. :)

It may not look like much, but this is our office, sewing room and vanity. With only 630 sq ft to work with, we had to be creative.

And what is behind the curtain you ask?

Well, this is our walk-in closet that we made! Once again, we had to be very creative when it came to storage!

Pay no attention to the man, er, CAT, behind the curtain! What a pain... sleeping on the laundry!

Here is the little cubbie that I assume was intended to serve as a "closet". Obviously designed by a MAN (as a matter of fact, it was - Reza Assemi)! This this space is our "shoe closet".

This is the view of the downstairs from the loft... For anyone coming to visit, this is the guest room. :)

And lastly, here is the bain of my existance... On the day we moved in Noah decided to open the blinds on the upper window and to this day we have been unable to get them all the way back down.... GRRRRRR!

This concludes our tour... I hope you enjoyed seeing our new place!