Updates and looking ahead

So, I guess it's been a few years since my last post.  Yes, years.  Some things have changed around here.  I've gotten married and have a daughter.  Our house is a lot more chaotic than it used to be.  I was just looking through some old posts and wondered how I ever got it so neat for photos!  I'd like to start blogging again, though I don't know how I will squeeze it into my far more busy life.  If I had a hard time before, how will I do it now?

I also want to talk about some different things than I used to.  I rarely get to yard sales any more, my mom, or partner in crime, has had problems with her knee for a few years making it difficult to walk, and bringing a toddler along makes things, challenging, let's just say.  The few that I have been to haven't been all that great, I wonder if that's indicative of an overall decline, or we were just unlucky.

We haven't done too many projects around the house except for finishing the nursery.  I think it's the one room in the house that's actually finished!  I will try to put together a post on it soon.  We've started the upstairs hallway, but haven't gotten too far with that.  There was an insane amount of paint scraping and spackling to do, and since we can't do either with my daughter home, things haven't gotten very far.

I have done a lot of gardening over the past few years.  It's one area where I can work on it either with her while playing in the yard, or while she's napping, and it's okay if I have to just drop everything to change a diaper or make lunch.  Our yard is still kind of a mess, but I've been laying the groundwork and re-configuring into a layout that works for us and for the house.  I started a local Facebook group for gardeners to share advice and swap plants and have gotten lots of new plants that way.  Most are recently planted, so they haven't filled in yet, but I'm hoping once they mature, things will really start to look good.

I also started scraping loose paint on the front porch.  It's a massive task and due to workload and childcare limitations, I haven't gotten far at all.  I have picked out colors for whenever I actually get to start painting it.  Turns out, they are remarkably close to the original colors of the house!  I've started a Facebook group for local old house lovers, too.  So far it's pretty small, but we're looking for new members who live in the Huntington area and love old houses and buildings.

On top of all this, I am also trying to start my own side business.  I no longer work for the architecture firm that I used to, and though I like the work we do at the non profit where we both work (mostly downtown revitalization work, improving transit, walkability, etc.), I don't get to do much design work and I miss it.  I haven't gotten my license yet (it's a seven part exam that costs quite a bit of money), but luckily New York State allows for certain small projects to be done without a license.  I'm trying to navigate the legalities and tax nonsense and get myself started.  That part is no fun- especially since my day job keeps getting busier and busier.  It's that last thing I feel like doing in the evening once the LO has gone to bed.  I want the business to combine several of my related interests- architecture, old houses, walkable neighborhoods and gardening.  Figuring out how to categorize it for business purposes is a bit of a challenge.

I'm going to try to focus on these topics some more on this blog, not just interiors furnished with fun yard sale finds, but also on exteriors and how to add traditional character to homes and neighborhoods.  Some of it will be locally focused to Long Island neighborhoods and houses, but I'm sure lots will apply to old houses and old neighborhoods in many parts of the country.  It should be an interesting journey!