“Buy a house,” they said. “It will be great,” they said. Investment, ownership, blah blah blah.

This often ran through our heads as we began the overwhelming task of renovating our new home.

For two people and two toddlers, it’s a near impossible task. Thankfully, we are blessed and privileged to have so much help from parents and family. They love us! Okay, let’s face it: they love the kids. It’s all for Gigi and Bash!

Sebastian and Gigi send huge hugs and thanks to Papa Lorenzo and Nana Yvonne for their support of our renovation fund. Also, huge hugs and thanks to Yaya Maria for everything she did to help us with the new home and renovations. Last, but by no means least, a million hugs and thanks from Bash and Gigi to Gramma Lorena and Grandpa Juan. Grandpa Juan was there with us every day – cutting and hanging sheetrock, knocking down brick walls, corralling contractors, doing electrical work, putting up with our slow work time and making sure we all did our parts. We absolutely could not have done it without this incredible show of support for our family and our new home.

Upon closing, Jessie and I visited our new home as owners for the first time. After the traditional carry over the threshold and a pop of champagne, we looked all around and began thinking of everything that needed to be done to refresh and rebuild parts of our very loved but very old home. Walls needed repair, carpet in the living room needed to be removed and replaced, wood floors needed refinishing and both the kitchen and bathrooms were in need of complete renovation.

We got to work! Our first task was making sure we had a clean canvas. We removed wood paneling from the living room and kitchen walls. We knocked down an arbitrary brick wall in the living room. We replaced sheetrock and made WAY too many trips to Home Depot and Lowes. Working closely with Juan, we scheduled contractor work for tape and float of walls, bathroom renovation, tile, plumbing and electrical. And we had to work fast. Many nights were spent in dust and debris, moving bricks, sledgehammering walls and making the biggest mess of our new home. Sometimes we had to bring the kids with us, sometimes one would go work on the house and the other would stay home with the kids.

We needed patience when there was none. We needed calm when there was none. We needed time when there was none.

Jessie began planning out the bathroom redesign. It truly is a pleasure to watch her work in this capacity. When Jessie creates from a source of love, it is masterwork. She is precise, she is artistic and she is the most talented person I know. With any design decision she makes, I know it will work.

But the end product was not without its road blocks.

For the kid’s bathroom, Jessie selected a beautiful black and white floral pattern tile for the floors. The nearest tile distributor was in Plano, Texas. Our order was made and arrived right on time. It also arrived in small broken pieces.

Buy a house, they said.

For the master bathroom, Jessie selected the same tile that decorates the bathrooms at the Williamsburg Hotel. It reminded us of a wonderful trip we took to Brooklyn to celebrate the marriage of one of my closest friends. Home Depot was able to special order the tile from the distributor. We were given a delivery date three days from purchase. That turned to four…to six…to a couple of weeks…to, who knows at this point. Day after day we would try to track down this tile order, and each day we were told that delivery was taking a bit longer. And then, it finally arrived…incomplete. Thankfully, we had enough to complete the project, but Home Depot did everything from lose the order to give us grief over returning the last box. As a public service announcement, let me say that you do not want to go up against Jessie Almanza when you screw up her tile order seven times. Don’t try it, just don’t!

It will be great, they said.

After weeks of work and clothes smelling of paint fumes, we had two newly remodeled bathrooms, finished floors and walls repaired and painted. We also placed new tile in the kitchen and began working on ways to refresh cabinetry and appliances.

This process was not easy. It tested our patience, caused a dozen arguments that you forget about 10 minutes after having them, bruised bones, strained muscles and caused a dozen or so splinters and cuts. At times we had to renovate while our children ran around and found all sorts of tools and nails to play with. We were tired and dirty, but we felt like this home was ours, was something we worked hard to make perfect for our lives. Just like our relationship, it’s something that we work on daily. It may, at times, cause frustration or chaos, but when it’s all done and when you look back on everything you put into it, you know something great is going to stand in place of everything you worked to improve.

We welcome you to our new home…but give us a few days to settle in. I suspect we’ll all need naps.

Before remodeling the kitchen.

After!

We still need to purchase some hardware and barstools.

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Reading Nooks

Sebastian’s Room

His room still needs art work and maybe some shelving.

Our new fence!

The “formal” living room.

No more wood paneling or brick wall! Still needs art work and a rug. The wood beams need to be covered.

Kid’s Bathroom

A light fixture needs to be moved over and the mirror sill needs to go up.

Gigi’s Room

She still needs art work and possibly a new rug.