Back in the Burgh

I have returned from my adventures in the Rockies in one piece, though burned in some places. But I climbed a friggin' mountain and now feel determined to fight just as hard to get my tiny home completed. Hopefully it be quite as physically painful... Here are some snapshots from the trip!

5th generation cowgirl lead us through the mountains.

Why am I smirking? Just conquered a friggin' mountain!

Even in the beginning of spring, it is magical here.

While I was away, my wonderful brother, his energetic wife, my supportive father, and a reliable friend from church picked up the science cabinets I hope to use in my kitchen. Even if they think I'm crazy (which I'm sure they did before I ever started this tiny house adventure!), my family has been wonderful through this journey. I don't think I would have ever attempted this without such open minded and supportive people in my life. :) My cabinets are now added to my accumulated inventory and await the construction phase.

Anyone else ever travel halfway across the country to avoid heavy lifting?

On the subject of land, I may have mentioned before there were two properties I was excited about possibly purchasing. They were in neighborhoods I liked (close to work and good dog walking roads) and under $20,000. Before my trip I had driven past them both and was very disappointed to find the land very uneven and wooded- making them practical for my home would likely be out of my budget. My aunt is in reality and was able to talk with the representing agents, but I haven't touched base with her since returning from Colorado. Fingers crossed she has encouraging news!

Another big purchase I made recently was for a tiny house bundle from Ok Tiny that included blueprints for multiple houses from multiple designers, books about downsizing, personal tiny house stories, classes on Sketch Up, etc. It was $99, and I cringed making the payment but think the plethora of resources will be worth it.

I'll leave you with an image of the creepiest motel sign in Colorado, possibly the nation.

Retail Therapy

This time of year is often a gloomy one, drained from the holidays and gloomy from the dreary weather. What better way to lift one's spirits than with spending money on material possessions!

A while back I had found this wonderful little sconce at Construction Junction. Without any idea originally where to put it, I couldn't pass it up for just $15.

While browsing Craig's List, I found another light. It kept popping up in my searches for lights and eventually was being offered for free. At first glance it looked quite tacky, and not a surprise that it was being given away. But looking closer at it, the glass looked similar to the sconce I bought- the pair could be good for my bathroom. I took a Saturday morning and drove 40 minutes south of Pittsburgh to pick up the light and a bathroom door. We rendezvoused at a BP and to my delight, the glass was an exact match! The light as a whole was in nice shape too, just needs some cleaning and paint. (Remember if you can't have someone go with you, meet in public places!)

While I was in the area, I planned to pick up a door on clearance at 84 Lumber. First hurdle, the place is a friggin' maze! There are at least half a dozen buildings but none are labeled well from the outside and there wasn't a soul around to ask. When I did find the retail shop, second hurdle; the staff said they didn't have the door, was in their book but nowhere in the warehouse. I had called the day before to confirm it was still for sale, had cleared out my car and drove almost an hour, and now they don't have it?! The guy went back a second time, still nothing. I was so angry and frustrated- this was the first and only door I have found in months of searching that fit what I wanted. The second staffer went to look. He found the door and thankfully I did not have to write a scathing review about a horrible experience and incompetent staff (though the one kid light a cigarette while in the warehouse. Seriously why does anyone under 30 even try smoking? Expensive, gross and we all know better).
So my new $15 bathroom door and light made the trek back home! It was a bit crowded in the car if I'm honest, and I may have broken some laws since I couldn't see anything to my right.... Still worth it.

That is the top of my door. It is about 3 inches from the windshield.

My latest trip confirmed a vision for my bathroom. Once again I stopped off at Construction Junction after church and found the perfect medicine cabinet. Solid wood with an aged mirror, with a little paint and tlc it will fit wonderfully in the shabby chic white bathroom in my head. But the cherry on my recent shopping spree was in the lighting section. Can you find it?

If you look closely, you can see a sleeping cat in the reflection.

Another glass cover exactly like my lights! I have never seen this design before in my life and now I'm stumbling upon it everywhere. I'm sure I'll find out it is something made by Wal-Mart in the 90s that I'm just naive too, but for now it is a fun treasure.

Happy little family.

Oh look, a cat in the middle of something. How surprising.

Tune in next time folks for a riveting tale of zoning laws, the department of transportation, and occupancy laws! Stay sexy and don't get murdered!

Land of the something...

The focus of this journal is to catalog my journey to tiny house ownership; that also includes some personal aspects. I do not indent to delve into politics but will be honest that the recent presidential election left me devastated, ashamed, and afraid. I have spent more energy trying to educate myself on being more educated and active in politics (which we should have learned about in school, right? because I have never needed to use calculus but voting seems like something everyone would need when you live in a republic). ANYWAYS, this topic has sucked my time and then sucked my motivation for a time with such a horrific turn of events.

With that out of the way TINY HOUSE STUFF!

It has been very slow, almost stagnant trying to get information about the legality of parking my house. Only two local officials actually replied and answered my questions, though their answers were almost less than helpful. There was a back and forth similarly to when your mom says "go ask your dad" and your dad replies "go ask your mom". No one seems to know a solid answer since tiny homes are such a grey area.
I am thinking of presenting the local government with a few places I want to park and asking "what would I have to do to live here?".  That means actually finding land, three options I've found for that.

1. Trailer park: my house would likely be very permissible in a trailer park. They would also be already set up for water and electric hook ups. Unfortunately there are not any parks in the area I want to live (and many have lots close together and poor management).

2. Buy land: This would offer the most freedom but being short on money anyways, not very practical. Plus the area I want to live in can be price because it is in a popular school district (I just like it because it is the perfect distance between the city and country, close to work, friends and fam).

3. Rent land: This is likely the route I will end up going but the most awkward by far. I don't know anyone personally that has land I could rent space from, so this means going up to strangers and asking if i can be their neighbor. There are some places Jack and I pass on our daily walks that I picture my house sitting on.

So now I'm drafting up letters to give to a few neighbors and browsing Zillow. To keep my spirits up, I am also doing more shopping! Last weekend I purchased two large windows for the living area. Brand new and only $150 for both! I don't have a photo of them (they are just simple white windows anyways) but here is a photo of tape on my wall so I could get an idea of the window sizes.

Outer square is 42x36, the size I bought

Just one more segway from the normal topic, all day Wednesday I was in a horribly dark mood. While walking Jack, we found a scared kitten hiding under a porch. After assuring the neighbors I wasn't a prowler, we caught the little guy. Once inside with food and warmth, he quickly started purring and giving nose boops! Can't help but think God sent this little guy for me to find to help lift my spirit. How can you not feel happy looking at this face, and those adorable piggies!

So cute, I just want to squeeze him!

Shopping!

With building my house I plan on using mostly salvaged materials, to be eco friendly and save money. This does cause a little issue because I can't make any solidified plans since I don't know what materials I'll find and those dimensions. So even though I don't have a house or even the trailer yet, still shopping!

I've been searching Craig's List quite frequently for windows. Being such an important part of keeping my house insulated, I'm only looking at new windows. On the one end of my house I want to make a bay window. Instead of using an actual bay window, I'm going to use three separate windows and build the walls out. I got the idea from the Cleone design from Tiny House Design.

I found a set of three matching windows and negotiated with the seller for a total of $135, that is $45 per window! When I went to pick them up I discovered one casement window and two single hung. They were also brown on the outside. Well, I did find them on Craig's List and for what I paid I can't complain (too much...). And the seller had a dog so I gave him my business card for the shelter because I can't help myself.

Next on my shopping spree, a kitchen sink. I really like the old fashion farm house sinks. Another Craig's List find for just $50. Other people were asking over $100 (and new, this could easily be $300+). The look is unique and having part of the sink continuing as a counter is handy for washing dishes or working with messy food. This thing is friggin' heavy though! I ended up having to drive around with it in my car for a few days, I could feel the difference in my car's acceleration. I was a bit worried about the weight with having a foundation with a weight limit; I reached out on a fb group and it was almost unanimous "Awesome, you should get that!". And they suggested to just cut weight elsewhere.

This thing took up most of my car, my poor little hatchback!

Just needs new hardware and some tlc.

Remember shoppers, always be safe when buying off Craig's List! Either meet somewhere public or take a buddy. And always follow Jack Donaghy's advice,

Construction Junction, what's your function?

 A unique situation has fallen into my lap. One of the trailer makers I contacted has a 24" low-utility trailer already made to sell. Pros of this development is my build could start by the end of this month. Cons are two of man's greatest enemies: time and money. I had hoped to save enough money to avoid taking a loan out and I am not close at this point. I was also expecting to have a few weeks while waiting for the trailer to be built to finalize my design. Besides my front door, I have no other materials or even the exact plans for the house.

Not helping this decision is the rollercoaster life has been in just the past week. I learned that I don't actually have lyme disease; someone had misread my initial blood work. While there are still some tests the doc wanted to run, it seems most likely all the health issues I've been having the past few months were all from stress. STRESS! Sure, it is a relief to not have a serious disease but it is slightly embarrassing that my body was just flipping out on itself from living life. Also, there isn't a pill to take and fix stress (well, any legal ones that don't cause lifelong ramifications or death).


On a more uplifting note, I took my first trip to Construction Junction! This store boasts a huge warehouse of materials from hardware to toilets in every color. I had hoped to find my windows, but there was nothing that grabbed my attention. What I did find was a box old key hole covers for $1 each (and while it wouldn't break my budget, my dad was sweet and insisted on buying them for me). They are perfect additions to my type drawer display.

One of the few decorations that will definitely be in the tiny house.

So there is a big decision to be made in the next few days that could possibly jump start my build. At this point I have no idea which way I am leaning. Until next time...