it's almost 2011 and I'm feeling reflective.

Well, it's my 7th Christmas Vacation day off of work and I am finally getting around to updating the old blog. I was inspired by the lovely words of Candis and decided to steal her letter reflection idea. Not that I have much of a letter to write but definitely some thoughts that have been swirling around today, many of which have been brewing over the past weeks and months of 2010. It's amazing how God is working inside you even when you think he's all but disappeared from your life. But then you finally give him some time to speak and he does just that.

Justin and I were talking today about the past year, it's been the most tumultuous yet. 2009 was in some ways a preparation for 2010 and I'm so thankful we had that quiet time last year in Columbus to prepare ourselves.

In 2010 we lived in my parent’s basement for 8 months, searched for a condo, welcomed new jobs, a new city, new friends, a new way of life. Then we did it again when we finally found our home in Chicago, we moved again in May, Justin got another new job, we made some more new friends, explored the city from another new angle and attempted the unforeseen monumental task of rehabbing. We spent the summer learning new things; how to put up crown molding, lay bathroom tile, put up new door frames, paint, caulk, be an electrician, be a carpenter, be an interior designer, be a condo association member. We trained for our second half marathon and got to experience the beauty of Chicago from it's amazing bike trails and parks. We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Door County Wisconsin with the butterflies, sheep, melty chocolate chip cookies, horses, homemade breakfast, goldenrod, coffee, books, campsites, deer, rocky shorelines, ferries and fun. We've searched for a whole year for a church home; visting Harvest, Moody, First Free, Missio Dei, City Vineyard, Evanston Vineyard and Soul City. This task will be left unfinished in 2010...

And over the past 4 days I've been coming down from the Holiday High. Sustaining myself on leftover cookies, cakes, candies and fatty holiday leftovers.... laying around on the couch, watching old tivo-ed reruns of 'The Office'... taking part in the consumerism of America by exchanging gifts and consuming consuming consuming... all while searching for something more.

Where am I going next? My desires for life and passions have been driving me crazy lately and I've found myself lost within them all, striving to figure out the 'next' big thing or my future goals and wishes. All of this 'figuring out' and holiday excess has left me exhausted, depleted, hopeless and hungover. Only today, as I begged Justin to take me to 'Hot Dougs' for one last Holiday junkfood splurge were we finally thwarted by its very convenient holiday closure!

Instead we walked to the coffee shop where I found myself finally able to put into words the frustrations I've been feeling: 'Where to next?' And that is where God so kindly and gently reminded me that I'm not the one that's supposed to be figuring all that out in the first place!

The pure exhaustion I've been feeling is most likely from attempting to figure it all out on my own. So this is how I got to where I am on New Years Eve 2010... God will lead me to where I'm going if I simply let him... slow down on seeking for it yourself, God knows the desires of your heart, God knows your fears, your hopes, your dreams. He knows you need a creative outlet, he knows your passions for music, for art, for dance, for design, for family, for friends, for a church to call your own and a community to surround you. He's gotten you to where you are and he will get you to where you are going. It's time to trust him (again) and most of all time to get it all off your back and give it to the only one who can handle it all (with his feet up!).

Sometimes I think it's crazy that I must keep relearning this simple and fundamental principle over and over again in my life but then I am reminded that this is just the journey, and I am thankful that I have a God who's that big and willing to shower me with such undeserving grace. This past year during all the train time spent commuting I finally had the pleasure of reading 'Redeeming Love' by Francine Rivers... and was once again confronted with God's resilient love for our rebellious hearts and cheating minds. He always welcomes us back with open arms and a smile on his face, ready to meet us exactly where we are and love us for who we are at that very moment. And then I remember that he was there all along, waiting for me... standing next to me and hoping for my return.

It is my hope that 2011 will bring with it a consistent dependency on Christ and the overarching stability that I so desire and long for. If anyone or anything can provide stability, I know God can. He's already brought me so many steps closer just today – this last day of 2010.

Our first Dover Street Christmas!

We made our goal and were able to decorate our house for Christmas. The living room is complete! Merry Christmas to us!

A congratulatory kiss!

...have a Christmas cupcake!

Happy Holidays! ...from our back deck! After being completely inspired by the talented work of my fellow designers at Hoerr Schaudt, I made my first meager attempt at winterizing our planter containers. We had several trimmings left from our Frazier Fir Christmas tree and then we went out and got some Red Osier Dogwood branches to add some color as well. Can't wait to see it once the snow falls tomorrow! I know they're pretty simple but now that I know how to create them I'll probably go all out next year. Hopefully we'll also have some more containers by then!

In other condo news, we FINALLY finished our ongoing light installation project! We got it up this afternoon, and I must say it is so very nice to have a real light again, rather than a hole in the ceiling. We've also updated our bed linens, blankets and pillows. Next, I'll be working on some artwork to go above our bed. So many more projects ahead! Happy Holidays!

It's been a busy couple weeks in the Weidl household. We've been hard at work to stick to our holiday deadline and complete our front two rooms, and we're getting closer! Even though Halloween weekend was a whirlwind of hanging out with friends, costumes, handing out candy in the suburbs, and our usual errands, we managed to finish paiting the living room as well! Here's some progress shots from Halloween weekend and this past weekend.

Justin, rolling out the walls...

The lighter color makes sure a difference in the space! I love how bright it makes it feel... and the sunshine through the windows in the morning is the best! Can't wait to get the fireplace going now as well... (hopefully re-tiling soon!)

Our Christmas tree window! Can't wait to break out the holiday decor! =)

Working on painting the french doors for our closet... still 1 more coat to go and then these will be ready to be put up for good!

We've been procrastinating the woodwork for the tops of our doors for a LONG time. We knew we wanted to match this detail (above) that is the original detail from the 1890's above our front door. We have similiar details above our windows too, however they are all painted white (this is why we chose to go with all white woodwork). The detail includes 3 seperate pieces - the bottom routed piece, the middle rectangular piece and the top crown piece. After months of trying to figure out the bottom piece detail, one of Justin's Dad's friends lent us a router so we could simply route our a square piece of wood to get a nice curved inset edge... it came out really nice! Now we just need to put up the middle and top pieces, caulk them all and then paint them all! Whew!! This project will be ongoing, as you can see...

Here's what the bottom routed piece looks like installed. Now we just need to finish it out!

Last but not least, we got our first ceiling medallion up! This is in our master bedroom. The job is not nearly as easy as I had originally thought it would be. This too will be a multi-step project (still not yet completed). We got the medallion up and secured, but we had to spackle all the screw holes and allow that to dry. Next steps will be sanding and painting the medallion and then installing the fixture for good! Can't wait!

living/dining...

In an effort to stick with our holiday goal, Justin and I are hoping to complete our two front rooms by Christmas. Having a goal in mind will keep us motivated, and I'm pretty sure we will be able to accomplish it! We have a couple images in mine for the overall 'look' but are still figuring things out as we go. Here's some inspiration:

Dining Room

Living Room

Progress this weekend!

Taking down and re-doing the picture-rail in the living room became Justin's 'labor of love' project. It had been put up during the last rehab by someone who didn't quite understand the whole concept of jointing wood together... we think caulk was their best friend! Additionally, the way it was situated on the wall left some very awkward terminating points, so Justin wanted to take it down so we could fix it all and just make it look better in general. We'd torn off the old picture-rail a couple weeks ago so Justin and his Dadwere able to put it all back up this past Saturday while I worked on painting our closet. The next day we all worked together and painted the brand new picture rail, the new trim in the dining room, the ceilings, and trimmed out all the walls. Here's a little bit of the progress... we still have 3 coats of paint left on the walls and some touch-ups on the basetrim. But, we got a LOT accomplished in one short weekend! Thanks to Justin's wonderful parents! It's SO nice to finally see it coming together!

Bedroom Lighting

We've been hinking about lighting fixtures... the bedrooms are getting pretty close to being complete but we still need to order some fixtures. We originally purchased this chandelier type light for our bedroom from Lowes then realized that the shades were alabaster glass (yuck) and that it couldn't be on a dimmer, which is a problem because our switch is a dimmer switch. So much for going the cheap route...

Now we are investigating other options. Rejuvenation still has some of my favorites. We are looking at these two similiar fixtures; the pendant for our bedroom and the ceiling mount for the other bedroom. They would both be in an 'oil rubbed bronze' finish. Thoughts?

out with the old!

the old

The day has arrived! We took the plunge and are having a brand new furnace and A/C installed. This is not a cheap endeavor; I think the money we are spending outweighs pretty much all of our rehabbing costs to date. But, this is a big investment and should last a good 15-20 years. Plus, there are tax credits available so right now is a good time to get this taken care of. And hopefully it will save us some money in the long run as well since this furnace/ac promises to be more energy efficient, etc...

Justin and I are both really looking forward to having a very quiet furnace... we will NOT miss the clunky rattling that we've grown accustomed to!

the new!

Since I was up there, here's the view of the skyline from our roof! Wish we could get a roof deck back up there... it's pretty nice! Maybe someday...

feeling pretty blessed

Lately we've been spending a lot less time working on our condo and a lot more time running. The Half Marathon is drawing closer and we're gaining in mileage every week! Tonight we enjoyed this amazing view on our 5 mile run along the lakefront. But it hasn't all been easy, did I mention the 95 degree sweaty heat? Oh, and the clouds of knats at dusk!? Well, you get the picture... it's not always pretty. But as we approached the skyline tonight I couldn't help but think back to this time last year and thank God once again for all the blessings he has given us! Every single one of our prayers from this time last year has been answered. We're very fortunate to have jobs in this city, near my family AND own our very own home. Inspiration is merely at our doorstep and the beautiful chaos of the city continually fuels our passions for urban living, planning and design.

Running along the lakefront this summer has been a dream! Not only are we blessed to live here but we are simply blessed to have such freedoms and luxuries to live in such an amazing country and pursue our dreams. I am constantly reminded that not everyone in this world is so fortunate to have such opportunities and resources at their feet. That's why I'm so excited to be running for the children of Angola this year. I know there are people far away from Chicago that walk a mile everyday over rocky ground, without shoes on their feet or sometimes clothes on their back, just to get water. And they have to carry that water (usually on their head) back to their children. Their children attend school beneath trees and sit on rocks and small stumps. If they are lucky they might have a tattered schoolbook. Many of them don't complete 5th grade and many of them don't get an education at all. Education is the key for Angola, a country that was plagued with civil war for years and years. They are on the long road to recovery and patching a country back together after such devestation is not an easy task.

RISE seeks to build up the children of Angola by bringing them education. If there's anything Justin and I have learned through planning & design is that EVERYTHING comes back to education. And I think education will mean a world of difference in the lives of these children and Africa as a whole. If you haven't already, please consider supporting me as I run 13.1 miles on September 12th for Team RISE. I'm hoping that I can make a small difference this summer by contributing my time, training, dedication and and even summer sweat to the children all the way in Angola.

You can sponsor me by visiting my fund-raising site:
http://www.firstgiving.com/brettweidl

the little things...

We've been taking very small (but neccessary) steps over the past couple weeks on the condo. A host of different visitors have stayed with us over the past month (which we have loved, by the way!) so we haven't had any large chunks of time to work on things. But we have been making headway in getting some small things accomplished! Like doorknobs!

As usual I agonized over the style of doorknobs and plates to purchase from Rejuvenation. It was between a beaded metal knob design, glass or the white porcelain. We ended on the porcelain because we like how they contrast the oil rubbed bronze plates and it's also very Victorian inspired. We're also really excited that the plates have keyholes (you can't get those at home depot!)

One other small accomplishment is that we put up some curtains in our bedroom. I know everything is looking very black and white right now... in time, I promise, we will have some color in our lives. The overall plan for our bedroom is for most everything to be black and white with simple pops of color as accents (new duvet and pillow covers soon to come as well as some additional furnishing pieces).

coach house cabinet

The history of the coach house cabinet: So, when I was a kid, my parents rehabbed houses. We moved a lot and were often living in the houses they were fixing up. When we weren't rehabbing a house, we were living with my Grandmother at her old coach house in Wilmette. The house used to be a real stable to the larger house next door. The horses and coaches were kept downstairs and the upstairs was an attic apartment for the coachman. In the 70's my Grandmother bought the place and fixed it up as her little getaway... it was called 'Happy House'.

So we lived there on and off when I was a kid up in the attic apartment. It had 2 bedrooms, a living area, small kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen had the cutest vintage stove and refrigerator. There was also a small countertop for food preparation, which we are assuming the coachman built. Though currently painted with about 3 layers of various paint, the wood is a mixture of oak, birch and maybe mahogony? The back of the piece is actually wood beadboard that was used throughout the coach house itself and the top is possibly zinc - the coolest part being that it has hundreds of knife marks on the top of it from chopping assorted things over the years. We stored all our cereals, cookies, snacks, etc in the bottom roll cabinets and our silverware in the top two drawers.

Now that we have our bedroom all set-up we've decided to rehab the cabinet and turn it into a dresser of sorts, I'm thinking those old storage cabinets would be a great place for jeans and t-shirts! =) We just started the process of scrapping off some of the paint this past weekend. More progress photos to come in the following weeks!

can you tell I made him pose for this one?

bedroom!

We moved into our very own bedroom this past weekend! Horray!! We've finally moved out of the kitchen and in our very own bedroom, and it feels SO nice! =) Ok, so the photo probably doesnt do it justice but after countless hours of patching, caulking, sanding, sawing and painting... the room was in good enough shape to live in; and that's good enough for us! We still have to put on outlet faceplates, install our ceiling light/medallion, finish the door casings and purchase our closet doors. Not to mention decorating! I have plenty of ideas, now I just need to find the time to help make the room truly look finished... but in time I suppose.

The other monumential occurance is that since we moved our bed out of the kitchen, we were able to move our couch and tv in to take it's place! We haven't had a couch/tv in about 3 months, so it's very nice to have that pair back in our lives. Justin and I made a realization while living without these things just how truly lucky and blessed we are to have such luxuries in our lives. Most of the world lives with very little 'space' and very little 'things', yet we live in abundance here in America. For most people here, having a family room with a tv is just a standard way of life. This experience has once again humbled us and shown us how lucky we really are. We are so blessed to have a home of our own and the freedoms to make it exactly what we want. And for that, we are thankful to God.

historic photos

A week or two ago I downloaded the Dover Street Landmark District report and read through the entire thing over a 2-3 day period during my EL commutes to and from work. I am in love with the history of place so knowing that our street has a significance in Chicago history is just so much fun to me! The report was filled with wonderful historic photos of the street, old architects, train stations and architectural detail shots. I love seeing old photos with buildings I have begun to recognize and are still standing today. And I get the most fun out of seeing people in the pictures and thinking about what their life was like back then living on Dover Street.

Anyway, here's a short clip from the Report and some of the pictures capturing what it was like in the old days! Enjoy!

"The handsome residential buildings of the Dover Street District reflect the history and development of the Sheridan Drive Subdivision (later known as the Sheridan Park neighborhood within the larger Uptown community area) and the associated importance of middle-class housing in late 19th- and early 20th-century Chicago. Possessing a distinctly suburban character, the District is made up of single-family houses, two and three-flats, and small apartment buildings. Situated on wide lots that are generously set back from Dover and Beacon Streets, the buildings of the District exemplify the residential growth and development of this North Side neighborhood in the years after its annexation by Chicago in 1889."

This photo (above) was taken in front of our condo building looking north at our neighbors house - the one with all the children on the front stoop.

Dover Street today