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On Cutting Losses… And Making the Most of It.

Kim and I are not new year’s resolution people. We don’t make vows to change our diet or to exercise more. This year, however, we did make one promise to each other. Simply put, we will not allow ourselves to push too hard (in an unreasonable way), finish projects on ridiculously tight schedules, or stress over things that don’t go the way we planned. Setting lofty goals that allow for letdown have been our specialty in the past, and attainable goals – one step at a time – will be our future.

For better or worse, this weekend was our first test.

If you follow us on Facebook, you might’ve seen that a full-on office gut job has begun. The space is making a slow and steady transformation over to Kim’s dedicated studio space. It’s going to be awesome… when we finish it.

We made solid progress on Saturday. Trim and doors were given a fresh coat of white, walls were primed and painted (more on the color later) and the project was on schedule. Yesterday, on the other hand, was a total disaster. Honestly. What began with an awesome morning dog walk turned into the mother of all shitstorms.

A simple crown molding installation turned into a nightmare (dramatic, yes) that still isn’t completed. We spent $30 renting a nail gun and $15 on finishing nails we didn’t even use – much to Kim’s budget-crunching dismay. The light we ordered for the room was cancelled from the manufacturer when they realized they didn’t even have it in stock. I drove 30 minutes to Lowe’s to find that they had just sold their last gallon of base paint we needed to finish the walls. We wasted hours of time, argued over the right way to do things and accomplished absolutely nothing.

So what did we do? We quit.  Feeling totally defeated, I returned the unused nailgun and changed out of my painting clothes. Big effing deal. Our first pseudo-new years resolution was a success. When the stress got to be too much, we realized that we’d be happier and more productive another day on a fresh charge of the old batteries.

We hoped to have an awesome progress report post ready for your perusal today, but we don’t. And ya know what? We’ll all live. In the meantime, we realized we still had a bunch of fun, awesome thrift store adventures to share with you guys. While visiting Kim’s family in Pittsburgh over the holidays, we found some gems hidden throughout it’s hills and valleys – with our tops being UFO and Bill’s Furniture (found on our way to Retro on 8th, which turned out to be closed that day!). Here’s what we saw through Kim’s lens, including the much debated Dorothy Draper knock-off that I convinced her we positively did not need.

But what we took home are a few carefully selected gems that did make it to the back of the Subaru. They’ll all end up in my lady’s studio – eventually.

In other (non)monumental news, our ol’ wagon reached the 100k mark. While it didn’t quite make it during the triangle of terror, it did reach it’s target during the umpteenth trip to Lowes over the course of the nothing’s-going-quite-right Sunday. How appropriate.

More news on the studio progress (or lack thereof) in the coming days. In the meantime, any thrifty scores make their way into your home lately? Resolutions you’re willing to share? And who else photographs their car mileage milestones? (Yeah, we’re literally all over the place. Sorry ’bout that.)

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  • Jill1.9.12 - 9:41 AM

    You’re only human, dudes. We have had our share of failures. Home Depot rented us a floor buffer thingie (forget the name, oops) with a broken bag that did NOT catch any of the floor dust, and we used it to buff all of our floors before we moved in. What a mess! We wasted so much time cleaning all that dust. Then, Eric also learned the hard way during our kitchen rehab that trim is definitely a two-dude job. I wish we lived closer to help each other out. That would be ideal.ReplyCancel

  • Kim1.9.12 - 10:02 AM

    Jill, ugh, yes, it would be so nice to be closer and help each other out! We couldda used Eric’s nail gun and some girl talk is always nice, too.ReplyCancel

  • Jane @ The Borrowed Abode1.9.12 - 10:27 AM

    Oh man, what a huge bummer that so many things went wrong. I know that feeling all to well. It usually ends with my proclaming dramatically to my fiance that “Everything is a disaster, a total disaster.” And he reminds me that it is not. But it happens to us all now and then – and it’s great that you guys recognized how useful it would be to decompress and start fresh another day.

    Would you be willing to spill the beans on how you created that clever little photo gallery below Bill’s Furniture? Love that layout!ReplyCancel

  • Kim1.9.12 - 10:42 AM

    Hi Jane, that sounds like me! I’ll also dramatically rest the back of my hand across my forehead while pretending to faint.

    As for the little gallery, it’s a setting we use through our blog template (we use ProPhoto Blogs 4). I do nothing other than select what photos I’d like to use and click on “insert gallery” on the back end. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but I will say we love ProPhoto!ReplyCancel

  • Tina @ heatherandtina.com1.9.12 - 10:57 AM

    Looking forward to the studio pics…sorry it was such a rough Sunday.ReplyCancel

  • Katie1.9.12 - 11:06 AM

    Well done with the more relaxed attitude. We could all use a bit more of that!

    Also, I adore that sweet little deer painting.ReplyCancel

  • Emily @ Our Waldo Bungie1.9.12 - 11:07 AM

    Ugh. I hate when projects don’t go as planned! No worries though, my friends, I am sure you will come out the other side of this debacle with an amazing space and we will all oooh and ahh and make all the pain and suffering worth it!!! :)

    As far as thrifty finds, I didn’t score any of those recently, but I did get a frame on a certain Row Boat Press print that came in the mail and hung it in our kitchen. Pictures to come, but FYI – it looks AWESOME!ReplyCancel

  • kirsten1.9.12 - 11:35 AM

    Cannot wait to see updated studio pics – excited to see the transformation!ReplyCancel

  • Rachael1.9.12 - 12:36 PM

    Sorry things got hairy for you guys yesterday! If it makes you feel better, it took us forever to finish our Ikea closet installation. I was vacuuming up drywall dust for months! You’ll just appreciate it that much more when it’s all finished! And maybe we can all go in on a nail gun since we’re thinking about adding crown moulding in the distant future?ReplyCancel

  • Aleksandra1.9.12 - 3:40 PM

    I can’t wait to see what you do with those gorgeous frames. Will you paint them or leave them gold?

    Also, I owe you some JPEGs of sweet sweet Dora-bull. I will send those along ASAP!ReplyCancel

  • Kim1.9.12 - 4:29 PM

    Rachael, we’re tempted! That’s a possibility, for sure.

    Aleks, eee, Dora! Some frames will be painted, and some will stay gold. I’ll put it this way: the “real” gold frames will be untouched, but the cheaper knock-offs will get the extra TLC.ReplyCancel

  • dave1.9.12 - 5:00 PM

    Guys,
    My Senco(an Anderson Twp. co.) nail gun is here in Cincy for the borrowing.
    Scott, you know the potential of this fine tool. I know it is not a Milwaukee, but, it will make life more enjoyable. ROAD TRIP to the first leg of the triangle of terror is in order.
    DadReplyCancel

  • Miranda @boucksy1.9.12 - 5:23 PM

    Cold brews and bad TV sounds like just the ticket to what happened yesterday! Good riddance to the clusterf*** and hooray for a brand new start on a brand new day (which may have been today…or tomorrow…or next week)! No rush! I still stand by what I say! …just an unfinished project waiting to be completed the way it’s supposed to, whenever it’s read ;) They have a mind of their own, those projects!ReplyCancel

  • Two Grads1.9.12 - 5:53 PM

    the frames look like a great find!ReplyCancel

  • mom1.9.12 - 6:26 PM

    Scott – Do you remember the book from your childhood titled “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day?” It sounds like Sunday was that for you. Hopefully today was better. -MomReplyCancel

  • Kyley at Painting Pony1.9.12 - 9:25 PM

    oooh I love me some ornate frames! It’s always a treasure when you find them in the thrift shops. We’re in the midst of an office makeover ourselves & we certainly have had “some of those days”. Can’t wait to see you’re finished product!ReplyCancel

  • Sara Grace4.15.12 - 4:39 PM

    Lusting after those frames you got!!ReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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