Flip 1217 - A success!

Whoa... I am way behind, as usual. But in any case thought it would be worth it to document a pretty awesome project we took on in 2010. Flip 1217. The short of a long story goes something like this... we partnered with Matt's cousin and his wife to 1) start a company... Raybill (named after both the guys' dads) 2) combine capital to purchase a foreclosed property and 3) flip that shit! (apparently it's the corporate tag-line, FTS for short).

It started something like this.... According to our partner one of the most important things to do first was tackle a corporate logo.

Next was to secure a production crew in the hopes of making it big on ? HGTV, perhaps? (I really have no idea... at this point it was all the guys, which probably explains a lot). Until the "production crew" actually showed up it was imperative to take homemade videos on site.

Umm yeah, quality programming right there.

Finally we documented the "pre-flip" condition of the house. Please excuse my crass humor, I felt a little guilty attempting to make money off of someone else's misery. But at the end of the day, with condo living, Matt & I were in dire need of a project.

And then the fun began. We ripped carpet out of the main floor, completely demo'd the lower level, upper story and porch. As for one bathroom and kitchen it wasn't a complete demo but close enough. The entire main floor was painted in a beautiful pink color, hard to tell in the pics but it was a light shade of pepto. Thankfully the exterior, windows and mechanicals were relatively new and in good condition. And to top it all off we were blessed with a brand spanking new 2 car garage. Not too shabby for a big project at the start of the best time of year in Minnesota... summertime.

Overall, we logged way over 600 hours between 4 people. We did most of the work ourselves with the exception of carpet installation, mudding and taping, bringing the electrical box up to code and installing new flex plumbing in the basement. Everything else... paint, new electrical fixtures, tiling, bathroom install, framing, sheetrocking, egress window, curb appeal, new door installation, counter/cabinet install, trim and refinishing the hardwoods was all us. all raybill. It was a lot of sweat, a little bit of tension but overall a ton of fun. Would we do it again? You betcha! Here's the finished result... oh and we sold the house ourselves in a short 6 weeks! at a profit! Cha-ching!

The Great November Hunt.

(consulting his trusted advisor, while scouting for the best spot)

It's December, which for me means getting used to having my husband home on the weekends again. We are in weekend #2, a vast improvement from weekend #1. I am actually starting to like him again ;)... well it does help when your bff is in town and you get to catch up with old friends. Anyhow, over the past few years, November has become the month of the hunt. The month of the disappearing husband. When I met Matt, I could have sworn he didn't even know what hunting was. He never did it. Never talked about it. Never came home outfitted in camo. Back in those days, I don't even know he owned a gun much less ever found it in the trunk of my car or back of his SUV as I was making a grocery trip. Nope, hunting just did not exist in our world. Not the case anymore. Now I find random game in our freezer, get text messages on the sweet sounds of nature and have to tend to my pretty, city dog's hunting wounds. I am really not a fan. It's another one of Matt's things I just don't understand. In my mind there is just something very odd about sitting in a tree, by yourself, with a gun. very odd.

Although I will say he does look pretty good in orange.

And nope, the hunting was not successful. Well not in term's of a hunters mind. But a lunch stop at the casino and $10 jackpot hit and I'd say it was a huge success! Hello winter shopping spree! Matt thinks it was luck. I say it was karma and mother nature's way of saying thank you.

Hobby Haven

It occurred to me during my last graduate class that I did not have many hobbies. Certainly, not enough to keep me busy... especially when you consider the outrageous amounts of free time was about to experience in just a matter of a few short hours. What was I going to do? Travelling, shopping and drinking (wine or coffee, you pick) can only keep you busy for so long. And then one day the mail arrived and with it the answer to my newly found free time... community ed classes. It's amazing what you can do in community ed.... manufacture your own homemade organic lip balm, whip up killer Chinese potstickers, enter the classroom again but this time as a photography student, you can even learn to belly dance if you so desire. While I was thumbing through the possibilities it also occurred to me that I was not the only one without a hobby, certainly Matt needed one and what did Ali and Alicia do with all their free time? The answer.... all of the above, although substitute wood shop for belly dancing. (I have not gotten that bored yet). And so for a couple of Monday nights, Ali, Alicia and I will make fantastic lip balm and potsticker creations, on Tuesdays I fly solo to photography class while Matt does custom cabinetry. Community Ed has produced some pretty good results. For example, we (aka Matt with some prompting) have finally completed our basement. I can barely wait to see what the winter semester catalog has in store for us. ;)

Ridin the Rapids and Stimulating the Economy

Unfortunately I am not as skilled as Matt on our new kayaks.... 2nd trip down Minnehaha creek and I end up tangled up in a fallen tree with a snapped paddle and almost sunk the kayak... for those not familiar with the creek it is an intense kayaking experience.......................

We survived!

Matt survived another grouse hunting trip with Mikey and this time no getting lost! Thanks to Jon, Matt managed to find his way around the woods with a GPS unit. And the only damage done was 7 birds - 5 shot by Matt. I'm starting to get worried, he is beginning to think that he is really good at hunting and that it's a lot of fun, despite my nice reminder that he had 7 years to develop a hunting addiction... and that chance has been long gone for a while now. I think I need to find a new approach... I on other hand spent my weekend shopping and hanging out with the dog. It was the first time in a weeks I've been able to relax and it was so nice. A fancy dinner for one at Al Vento (wine, scallops and rissotto), one good book (Kite Runner), 2 walks on a beautiful fall day (L. Nokomis & Stone Arch), a pair of the best, fitting tight jeans I have found in a long time (Martin + Osa) and an unlimited number of things to buy. All in all, makes for one good weekend. Plus, I survived running around the cities without the use of my personal GPS system "Jake". Maybe that's it the more Matt hunts the more I shop.... He'll figure it out once he looks at the bank account, right?

One Last Boat Ride....

It was a sad, sad day.... the last boat ride of the year. Well not really, back to normal life - productivity again! The to-do list has been growing all summer long. Plus think of all the new ideas I've had time to come up with being I took the summer semester off from school... Matt is thrilled. I don't know what's more devastating for him, being without his boat for eight entire months or all the house projects.