Our Stand Up Paddle Board Adventures on Lake Superior

For various reasons (both fun and decidedly un-fun), we decided not to launch our sailboat this year.  I was definitely disappointed about that, especially because I just love being out on the lake.  But after realizing last year just how much work owning a sailboat is, a little part of me was looking on the bright side and relishing the idea of a lazy summer just relaxing and exploring the bay with our canoe.  But when we flipped our canoe over for the first paddle of the season, we realized that bees had moved into one end of it, safely hidden behind riveted panels we cannot remove.

How does one deal with bees in a canoe? 

Drive into town and buy two stand up paddle boards!
 
Our interest in stand up paddle boards had already been piqued because friends of ours had them and were eager to go paddling on our bay of Lake Superior.  A canoe full of bees was the motivation we needed to get boards of our own, so we spent an afternoon checking out the local sporting goods stores and found the perfect stand up paddle boards, made right here in Ontario.
 
Learning to Stand Up Paddle Board

Learning to stand up paddle board was super embarrassing.  We didn't watch a single YouTube video or anything - we just pushed them out into the water and hopped on.  Hubby took to it much more quickly than I did, but we were both wibbly wobbly enough for a neighbor to comment: "not as easy as it looks," when she saw us the next day.  I think this implies that we were terrible at it and the whole bay was watching us.  In my defense, I have not fallen off - not once - but I did spend a lot of time shrieking, "I'm going to FALL" in the beginning.  I wasn't prepared for how high I would feel: because the water is so clear most days, when I can see right down to the bottom it was surprisingly trippy at first.  Plus any little ripple in the water felt like it would send me ass over tea kettle.

But I got used to it!

   
We were both off work for all of August so we went out almost every day and now I feel so much more confident paddle boarding.  I started by kneeling and then once I got a feel for it, I would stand up only when the wind was calm.  Eventually I found it less nerve wracking to stand where the water was deep because I was convinced that if I fell I'd crack my head open where it was shallow.  Probably an irrational fear, but paddling in deeper water ultimately helped me feel more at ease - even though it weirded me out at first.

Although we still definitely prefer calm days, we have also been out on crazy wavy days and I'm starting to love the feeling of getting tossed around.  I still cannot fathom how people actually surf because on even slightly wavy days here I feel like an extreme sports enthusiast - even though we stick to our extremely sheltered bay. 

On the day of the solar eclipse, though, the bay was dead calm so we actually paddled right out into the open water, which was such a cool experience.  We'd actually never been that far away from our bay because it's usually prohibitively choppy, so it was so exhilarating.  Although I felt very exposed being on this tiny little board in open water, it was also so peaceful.  Until I got distracted by the rocks.  I didn't realize that beneath the water out there are these massive boulders - the size of cars, polished so smooth into giant eggs.  I was really expecting a more sandy bottom, like in the middle of the bay, so I guess that's why I'm super fascinated by this discovery.  I also didn't realize how much random stuff is in the water, which is also super distracting because part of me hopes I'll find a chest of gold.

So far, no gold - just a lot of tires.  

Choosing the Right Stand Up Paddle Board

Choosing a paddle board was stressful because they're so pricey and every salesperson kept pushing the inflatable models.  We didn't really need the portability or small storage size of an inflatable board, although I did come very close to ordering this turquoise one from Amazon because of the color (of course) but also the great reviews and price - especially considering that it comes with an adjustable paddle and coil leash (even the paddle is aqua, I'm drooling).  Living right on the lake, we don't plan to bring ours anywhere so we liked the convenience of a rigid board - plus no possibility of leaks!  After spending days playing, "where is the air leaking from?" with the old inflatable Zodiac we use for our tender, neither of us were super excited about the inflatable paddle boards.  Once we started shopping though, we were blown away by some of the prices of the rigid fiberglass boards. 

We hadn't really planned to spend thousands of dollars per board but it really seemed that it was either that or a $500 plastic one from Canadian Tire that got ho-hum reviews online.  When a salesperson let it slip that the fiberglass ones are actually really delicate and they can't be dragged over rocks or anything rough, it seemed like we might not get paddle boards after all.  Luckily we stumbled across the perfect one at a local place (Chaltrek for my Thunder Bay friends - they rent them too).  The Inukshuk (by Clear Water Designs) is linear polyethylene with molded fins and it's durable as heck, which is perfect for our rocky shore.  Plus it has a deck bungie and a paddle holder, which is really convenient. 

The $799 price tag was a bit pricier than the Pelican ones from Canadian Tire, but our friend bought one of those and after we compared the two, we found ours was much more stable, plus the Pelican board weight rating didn't seem accurate because it seemed to really sink.  Plus I could get blue with the Inukshuk!

Do you like my t-shirt?  I know that the SUP lifestyle demands a slim blond gal in a skimpy bikini for photos but this is my paddle boarding tee - it has sharks on it :)



Hubby picked out a black and white board.  I quite obviously picked out his turquoise swim trunks.

Like so many hobbies, the cost of this one definitely added up pretty quickly.   

 
In addition to two boards, we also each bought a coil leash (a must-have) and an adjustable paddle (If I had money to burn, I'd totally splurge on this turquoise one).  I liked the adjustable style because when I was first learning if it got really wavy I'd kneel for stability and the adjustable paddle was great for that, plus it's perfect for sharing my SUP with friends and family when they come to the lake to play.  I almost always stand to paddle but a friend of ours only kneels and she uses a kayak paddle, which actually would be really nice on choppier days, so I am currently shopping for a small one (this one's cute!) to keep clipped to my board. 
 We both already had a life jacket but I'm thinking of buying a newer style that's meant for SUP and offers a better range of motion.  We both have one of these self-inflatable ones on the boat but I keep an older style from our early days of sailing at home and that's what I've been using for now.  For the last bit of "gear," they don't look very cool, but we found that these cheap water shoes from Walmart (wish I'd seen these aqua ones) are the comfiest option because they can get wet and still offer good traction - flip flops are terrible for paddle boarding and bare feet feels weird for me, especially when we hop on and off on our pebbly shore. 
 

In the end, I'm grateful for those bees moving into our canoe because we've been having SO much fun with our stand up paddle boards.  Now that we have the hang of it, it's really enjoyable and I love that there's no set up required: we just grab our boards and head down to the water and hop on.  It's such a great workout and such a beautiful new perspective of the lake.  My only complaint is that summer is ending soon and now I have one more reason to miss the warmer weather...

Nobody talk about fall!

Instead, tell me: have you tried stand up paddle boarding?          

Highs and Lows Sailing Our Ticon 30 on Lake Superior

Hubby and I launched our new-to-us Ticon 30 sailboat a lot later than we expected, largely because there was so much work to do!  A sailboat is a lot like a house: there's always something to repair or tinker with, and so we spent much of the summer in our boat on land, which made us laugh.  It still had a waterfront view, I guess.  The reason we finally did launch was not because we felt ready, but because the boat launch was getting a new concrete pad poured.  Because it would be unusable for the rest of the summer, it was either launch when we did or not at all.  Secretly I'm happy we had that extra push because I think part of the delay was just a little bit of nervousness.  Although we had a boat inspection, for all we knew the boat didn't even float!  Both of us envisioned hopping in and promptly sinking to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Luckily everything went as planned!  The launch went pretty smoothly and we knew what we were in for because we had seen the process while boat shopping:

A huge boat travel lift came to our storage spot and moved the sailboat to the water.  I wanted to cheer when the engine turned on and the boat floated, but I played it cool.  Some fellow Yacht Club members were kind enough to help us launch, with only a minimal amount of heckling.

I might have failed to mention that, from the outside, our boat is an ugly little thing.  Beige fiberglass, brown hull, forest green late 80s bimini... We've already given the inside a makeover and we'll get to the outside at some point - we both love the idea of a black hull and black sails.  But most nights I repeatedly whisper "turquoise boat, turquoise boat" while Hubby sleeps.  I'm wondering how much longer I have to do this until he wakes up one morning, unable to shake the idea of a turquoise hull.

After the boat was in the water it was up to us to get the mast on, which took my Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Hubs and I the better part of an afternoon.  I got to operate the hoist (which is a lot less impressive than it seems - just a toggle switch for up and down):

It was grueling getting that mast up!  At one point my Mom was steadying the mast by hanging onto a rope to keep it from swinging as Hubby and my Dad tried to position it.  As I lifted the mast with the hoist, Mom's length of rope shortened but she didn't let go or ask for help.  At one point I saw her sort of leap and swing by in front of me, frantically gripping the last four inches of rope, toes barely hitting the gravel.  She's tenacious, that's for sure (Mandelbaum Mom I call her).

The rigging took another day as we tried to figure out what goes where.  This is our second sailboat, but our first - a 16 foot Fireball - was much smaller and we were already accustomed to it.  Luckily Hubby's Grandpa (the same one who painted our art) was an avid sailor so Hubby knows his way around a boat - that makes one of us.

Our first sail made us wonder why the heck we had waited so long to launch because it was just perfectly idyllic!  It was dusk, the weather was beautiful, the sailing was amazing, and we were just beaming at one another.  It was so peaceful and so much more comfortable than our last sailboat, which was tiny so we always got totally soaked and spent most of the time crouch uncomfortably.

Everything was beautiful - even the industrial area near the Yacht Club looked amazing from the water at dusk.

This is the life, I thought, feeling a lot of gratitude for essentially living in one of those smarmy motivational posters I always pin on Pinterest.

But, alas, Lake Superior is not always so nice to unsuspecting sailors like us.

Cue the ominous music in the Lifetime movie of my life.

We never sailed our boat home to the lakehouse as planned, because the day we planned to sail was AWFUL!  Our tow line for the inflatable dinghy got caught in the engine but we didn't know that, so we were frantically trying to figure out why the heck we were dead in the water.  (Lesson learned: the dinghy line should always be of the floating variety.)

The channel was super windy and wavy and we were about to crash our new boat into the docks.  An older gentleman was sitting on his boat, shouting instructions but we couldn't hear him so he was just a huge distraction - until he finally communicated the problem to us (thanks!).  Before we got it, Hubby went sprinting to the bow to drop the anchor - which we'd never used, so it was a nightmare to release and we missed a collision by inches.  I was trying to steer the boat but it was my first time and I had two people yelling competing instructions at me.  I was certain I'd crash a tear a big hole in the side.  We finally sorted out the problem, got out of the channel and hoisted the sails, only to find ourselves trapped in 28km/hr gusting winds and giant swells which almost engulfed us.  It was fun at first but then the sailing became really terrifying as it felt nearly impossible to stay in the cockpit.  I was certain one of us would be thrown out.  We tightened our life jackets and white-knuckled it for an hour or so before turning around and heading back to the Yacht Club, where strong winds kept pushing us around.  We were sort of close to the slip when Hubby hollered at me to run and jump off the bow of the boat with the dock line as the boat lurched wildly.  I looked at the slip, which seemed too far to jump to, and yelled back, "you want me to what now?"  I paused, terrified of missing the slip and cracking my coconut open.  All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see Hubby, previously manning the steering wheel, race by me and leap off the boat himself.

I seriously love this guy. (He's wearing an "Arrrbucks" pirate shirt - "bilge brewed").

After we collected ourselves, surveyed the minor damage (she needs a new paint job anyway - turquooooiiisssseeee) and grabbed a hot coffee, I think we were both thinking, "well sh*t."  Neither of us were looking forward to the 5 to 7 hour journey home, having just had our asses handed to us. 

Happily, we were lucky enough to be able to rent a slip for the rest of the season!

I think the club pitied us newbies because there's usually a waiting list - years long - for slips.  When we were "initiated" into the club there was an agonizingly long 45 minute lecture about how we wouldn't get a slip and I was all, "yeah, yeah we don't need one we're mooring on our bay" so I really had to eat crow but it was worth it.  Am I ever happy that Hubby thought my "buy a boat in Toronto and sail it home" idea was ridiculous.  "Too epic," he called it (that was putting it nicely).

But subsequent sailing adventures have been a lot of fun!  

I wish the sailing season wasn't winding down already because I feel like we're only just getting the hang of it.  We'll be ready for next year though, and we'll be able to launch a lot earlier because shopping for, buying, and fixing up the boat consumed a lot of our spring and summer.  I'm excited to actually bring the boat home to our bay next year.  A neighbor made us a really cool mooring anchor that screws into the ground.  To get prepared, we're thinking about signing up for sailing lessons but in the meantime we've been taking the Ticon out in inclement weather so the next time we end up in huge swells, we won't be caught off guard.  Hubby always tries to aim for nice days but I tell him that while we're sailing from the club and have the luxury of staying close to shore, we should sail in any weather so we learn how to handle the boat no matter what Lake Superior throws at us.

P.S.  How adorable is the Yacht Club?  There's a washroom with shower facilities and a kitchen (not pictured) that is seriously nicer than mine.  They literally had to remove the couches because some dudes were just living here.

It has tulip tables, tulip tables. 

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Two Years of Turquoise Dip Dyed Hair, Rainbow Hair FAQ, Plus My Short New Haircut (!)

I get a lot of questions about my teal hair:

Is your hair real?
How did you get your hair this colour?
Do you have to bleach hair to dye it bright blue?
Does the bleach and dye fry your hair?
Why did you dye it teal? 
How long does the bright hair colour last?
Will you try another colour? 
What shade and brand of hair dye do you use?
Does bright hair dye rub off on clothes and bedding?



The question I'm not asked is: "can I touch it?" - instead, people just reach over and pick up a lock of my hair, suddenly realize what they're doing, and stumble away, wide eyed and muttering apologies.  My hair draws people to me like a moth to a flame.

It's been exactly two years since I first dyed my hair teal and I just recently chopped it all off (!) - see photos of my new 'do at the end of this post - so I thought it would be fun to look back at how it's changed over the years and answer some of the teal hair dyeing FAQs I field.

In April of 2014 (on April Fool's Day, actually), I marched into a salon with a crazy idea: bleach the bottom half of my hair and dye it aqua.  I had actually planned on a peachy-pink colour but, at the last minute, decided that aqua was more me (no surprise there).  The stylist was really excited and went to town creating an ombre look that faded from blue to teal, with some purple tossed in.  It was her idea to create the ombre look, and I loved it.

How Do You Dye Hair a Bright Colour?

Getting teal hair took a long time: first the stylist back combed my hair a bit (to avoid a harsh bleached line) and then applied bleach to the ends, lightening my brunette hair to a very pale, yellow blond.  Then she applied the colours, layering in the different hues.  It was an expensive, butt-numbing experience (three hours!) and she was so flustered when the dye didn't take perfectly that she actually forgot to cut my hair (she had chopped it haphazardly before the dye job, but hadn't gone back in to fix it up).  When it was over, I decided that my turquoise hair would be short-lived.

(Rebecca, from A Clothes Horse, has a great post about how she changed her dyed hair from bright red to bright blue and she also wrote a thorough post for A Beautiful Mess about how to get the perfect rainbow hair.)

Hair needs to be bleached very light for bright colour to take, otherwise it can look sort of muddied - which you can see where the blue hair dye was overlapped with my naturally brown hair.
  
How Long Does Bright Hair Dye Last?

Afterward, the salon colour faded really quickly (it was pretty pale and splotchy after a week) and, although the stylist offered to touch it up for free, I just couldn't fathom spending another minute in a salon chair.  I wasn't ready to let it go, though, so I ordered a bottle of Manic Panic Amplified Turquoise and painted some aqua on the ends myself.  I used tinfoil and a soft artist's paint brush - it was so easy! 



I couldn't achieve the same ombre look on my own, but it turned out that I loved the solid teal.  Dyeing my hair blue at home was a thriftier alternative to going back to the salon and I found that the Manic Panic dye didn't fade very quickly, either; I only needed to touch it up every month or two, so aqua dye for me really wasn't a lot of maintenance (although it might help that I only wash my hair every two or three days).  Plus I didn't mind if it faded to a more pastel hue - I loved every shade of aqua my hair became! 

Whenever it came time for a trim, I'd whimper because each snip meant a little less aqua.  At some point, though, I grew to love just having the very bottom ends bright aqua - like I'd dipped my hair in paint.

The colour varied a lot, starting out a deeper, more muted teal:

But then the Manic Panic Turquoise hair dye would fade to a lighter, brighter aqua.  My hair naturally created a sort of gradient where the dye overlapped the bleached and natural strands of my hair. 

With each hair cut (my Mom was trimming my hair for awhile to save money), I decided the days of my aqua ends were numbered because I'd have to endure the time and cost of having the ends bleached again - something I was way too scared to try at home.  

But I couldn't go back to being a boring brunette!

On impulse, I ended up at a salon on April 1st 2015 - exactly one year after I first dyed it aqua.  I didn't even plan it, I just phoned a Chatters Salon because it seemed like an affordable place, and that's the appointment date they gave me (clearly the Universe has a sense of humor).  The stylist I got was new there (fresh out of beauty school) and she was so thrilled about my aqua-loving ways.  She gave me a trim and bleached the ends again.  When she applied the teal-green hair dye (Joico Peacock), she also painted some colour onto my brown hair, which I didn't love, but it faded and washed out pretty quickly, anyway (dye just doesn't grab unbleached hair with the same vim and vigor):

My new stylist recommended Joico's Peacock and although I loved the original hue (which was a bit more green than my old turquoise), it faded to a really bright green so I once again turned to my Manic Panic Turquoise when I needed a touch up.  She was cool with me doing my own colour in between salon visits (although she would have preferred I used Joico - but I just found it more difficult to apply and it faded more quickly).

Does Bright Dye Harm Hair?

My hair is so thin and weak and I do notice that from the bleaching, my hair gets a bit drier on the ends.  I have been trying to be generous with the conditioner and have started using a leave-in conditioner, but I really should be doing more regular treatments to condition the bleached ends.  Otherwise, I can't say the hair is that much different in texture on the ends than where my natural brown hair is.  But because I dye my hair on the ends, once it's bleached I just keep adding colour until it grows out and we start again - I don't have to re-bleach it regularly to hide roots, which I think is much harsher on hair and scalp.  So if you're looking for low commitment brightly coloured hair, just bleaching and dyeing the ends is an easy way to try rainbow hair!  It's very difficult to go back from bright hair, so being able to get rid of the aqua with a single haircut was a major plus for me - even though I love the look of a whole head of bright colour (like Rachel's awesome, allover hot pink hair!)

While I was in Toronto dealing with my family emergency, I stayed on a rural property for several months and the well water there did a number on my bleached hair.  All of my hair felt gross, but the bleached part fared the worst.  It just felt like straw, so I started wearing it in a bun all the time and gave up on touching up the dye, so it faded to a mint green:

When I finally came home, I had to chop a lot of length to get it feeling healthy again and I lost all of the colour, so I asked my hair stylist to bleach a fresh chunk and go nuts.  My hair ended up two thirds Joico Peacock - the colour started a few inches from my roots.  This snapshot from Instagram is the only photo I have of the colour from that salon visit:

It was beautiful when fresh but, again, the Joico Peacock dye faded to a really bright, yellowy green.  Here's another Instagram photo once it had grown out - one thing about my hair is that although it's thin and lifeless, it sure does grow quickly (thank you, hair)! 

I think the bleached part wasn't bleached white enough and the yellowy, brassy blond beneath the colour was turning any shade yellower.  I decided to counteract the yellowy green by dyeing the ends with Manic Panic Amplified Voodoo Blue, which is supposedly more of a dark teal but over my original dye and bleach, it just ended up a richer turquoise with more blue and less green - which was fine by me!  I loved the aqua shade!  And you can see that although you should bleach hair to dye it a bright colour, the Manic Panic brand of dye definitely did stick a bit to my brown hair a little (better than the salon brands, which turned muddy over brunette hair). There's an inch of dye on my natural hair where the brown and turquoise meet:

This is the colour I had been rocking lately: Manic Panic Voodoo Blue layered over the original Joico Peacock.

Recently I wanted a change, though: something shorter for summer so I can spend less time blow drying and styling my hair, and more time on the lake (or not doing anything)!  So I asked my stylist to chop it all off into a layered, angled bob with a twist: my hair stylist bleach the bottom half and dyed the lower layers Joico Cobalt Blue mixed with a little Joico Titanium, and the top layers Joico Mermaid Blue.  She was ecstatic throughout the whole process because I'm so laid back with my hair - I just let her do her thing and default to her advice when it comes to the cut and colour.  I have never before trusted a hair stylist as much as I trust her, and it's making salon visits fun!   After a series of terrible stylists and hair blunders, I had become a bundle of nerves but now I've relaxed.

Here's a peak at the bright turquoise and cobalt layers that peak out.  It was the first time I'd ever had bleach applied right to my roots (whoa, that was itchy!):

I'm in love with my new hair!  It feels so light and it's easy to get some volume in my flat hair now.  Even my bedhead looks good - my hair stylist is amazing at understanding fine hair.

Why Do I Dye My Hair Teal?

I really didn't think I would ever end up this smitten with aqua hair.  It was a lark: something fun and frivolous to mark the end of my twenties and the completion of my PhD.  I had spent so long trying to be taken seriously as an academic and I felt liberated when I finally got my doctorate.

But darn it, this aqua hair makes me smile!  I've always hated my hair because it's fine and flat and mousy brown.  I've used hot rollers, crimped it, slept in a damp french braid for some waves, flat ironed, and back combed the life out of my poor (stubborn) hair.  Over the years I've dyed it jet black, red, and streaked it blond.  I've used henna, home dyes, and spent hours in salon chairs.  I've had a pixie cut, short retro bangs, an angled bob, long sweeping bangs, I've grown it down to my waist and have spent a good chunk of time sporting only Mad Men-inspired updos.  I've wasted a lot of my life trying to make peace with my hair, but I've never been happy with my hair until now.  Even on my worst hair days, I still love my hair.  It's aqua, how could I not love it?!?

So I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep the aqua.  I guess until it stops making me smile...

Does the Bright Hair Dye Rub Off on Things?

Yes and no.  When it's freshly dyed, it will rub off on my hair towel after a wash and also on my pillow if my hair is slightly damp at night after my bath or shower (I've only just started using a shower cap and it's made such a difference).  It has never rubbed off on clothes or scarves once it's dry.

Will I Ever Try Another Bright Colour?

I would say yes!  Now that I've started to experiment with the colour a little, I am tempted to try new hues.  I'd love to first get my hair to a greyed out shade of teal or steel blue hair (as opposed to such a bright, bold hue), but then maybe try an icy pale blue or something similar to this gorgeous lavender hued bob!  I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to hair and fashion where I've been pinning haircuts for fine hair and colourful hairdos.  Baby steps out of the blues!

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See Our Old Townhouse, Decorated by the New Owners!

In the fall I was outside on the deck, making my evergreen wreath, when Hubby called me from work:

Hubs: "Hey, how are you?"
Me: "Bleeding and covered in sap."
Hubs: "Oh my god, why?"
Me: "I'm making a wreath."
Hubs: "Oh. Well, do you have a minute to go to your computer?"
Me: "Is this another Movember video about why mustaches aren't creepy? Because I want to finish this wreath before it gets dark and the zombies come out. Can I look at whatever this is later?"
Hubs: "Yeah, sure, I'll send you the link. The townhouse is for sale."
Me: "Wait, what? Our townhouse?"
Hubs (smugly): "Yep."
Me: "Alright, I'll head to my desk right now."
Hubs: "Thought you might"

It is the weirdest thing to see your former home lived in and decorated by someone else!  I have been waiting for this moment for two years, hoping the new owners would sell and that we'd get a chance to peek inside and see what they changed/what they kept.

Of course, I immediately wanted to share with you, because so many of you were with me back when we were decorating the townhouse and you were there for the emotional (and disappointing) experience of selling it to buy our dream home.  But then I wondered if sharing photos would constitute some kind of invasion of privacy?  I waited months, mulling it over.  Finally I figured that because the listing photos could be accessed publicly - it's not like I'm snagging them from a private Facebook page or something - that it's okay.  It's been staged and photographed for sale, and therefore public viewing, so I'm sure any embarrassing and extremely personal items have been removed.   

To show a fair comparison, I've included photos I took of the townhouse, as a reminder of how we lived in it, and then I've shared a direct comparison of the real estate photos.  Listing photos don't tend to be very flattering, so I thought that it's only fair to compare them.  You can see the full townhouse tour by clicking here and to see the two sets of real estate photos taken when we sold the townhouse, check out this post!

Welcome back to the townhouse!  Here's what the hallway and front entrance looked like when we lived there:

It looked a lot plainer for the real estate listing photos.  The new owners (bottom photo) added shelves where we had an occasional table (and later, a bar cart). 

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

Here's our old powder room, which we painted right before listing.

Although I accidentally chose way too bold a hue, the new owners didn't paint! 

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

I loved our living room because it had a wood burning fireplace and so much light!

The new owners didn't paint the brick fireplace in the living room!  I would have been so disappointed if they had, because I'd wanted to do it but kept it natural for re-sale.  I am so jealous that they replaced the old, rickety sliding patio doors - something we wanted to do, but we'd already spent so much money updating this place.  The new white doors really brighten the space and make it look so much more modern.

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

Here's a different angle of the living room, this time their photo is the top one:

Top Photo: Now // Bottom Photo:When it Was Ours

Not much changed in the dining room, either.  Here's a reminder of what it looked like when we lived there:

It's kind of hilarious how similar our old dining room chairs were to theirs!  The new owners kept the light fixture we chose, as well as the layered sheer curtains.

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

I am so thrilled to finally have turquoise kitchen cabinets, but I do miss things about the old kitchen, like our DIY houndstooth tile backsplash and brand spanking new fridge.  Ugh, our appliances in the lakehouse are all so old and rickety (please don't tell them I said that - my appliances always fail after I've spoken ill of them).

I thought the new owners might paint the kitchen cabinets, another project I wanted to tackle but didn't because I was warned it would alienate some potential buyers (plus Hubby loved the wood).  The new owners didn't paint, but they did replace the fabulous cantilevered light fixture we found for above the sink, where there was an off center junction box.  It took ages to find that and it made the off centered box look intentional.  I am so curious as to why they swapped it out...

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

When we lived there, the townhouse master bedroom was used as our guest space because it had a handy powder room that gave guests some privacy. 

We staged the room as a master for sale, which is how the new owners use it.  They invested in new blinds (unsurprisingly, because our DIY window coverings, here and here, were a budget-friendly quick fix).

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

If I were them, I would have placed the tall boy dresser beside the long dresser on the same wall, but I'm weird.  (Our bed was a king size, that's why it seems so much tighter with our furniture in there.)

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

Our bedroom, which was technically a guest bedroom, saw the biggest change of all!  We kept it airy like the rest of the house, with white walls and sheers.  We chose this as our room largely because I loved the treed view and giant window.

I think it's the only room they painted and they swapped out our black curtain rod and sheers for a white rod and purple drapes, which is so perfect for a kid's room.

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

They used the smallest bedroom as a guest room/office combo, but we had used the space for two desks.

The new owners had asked for some art that I hadn't wanted to leave behind so it was removed from the contract.  In the end, I ended up leaving them the painting in the office as a peace offering.  It's strange to see it in the exact same spot in the office!  They moved the bedroom sheers in here and got rid of my silk drapes.  I wish I'd known they'd chuck them, because that was a lot of silk and I really wanted to take the panels with me.

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

In the bathroom, not much changed but you know that I approve of their aqua towels ;)

Top Photo: When it Was Ours // Bottom Photo: Now

The basement, master powder room, and exterior didn't change much.

It's kind of neat to see our former townhome - our first house! - decorated and lived in by someone else.  We had some amazing years there and I think that because this was the first home we purchased, it will always have a special place in our hearts.  It looks like the new owners enjoyed their time there as well (at least I hope!) and I hope they've had a successful sale and moved on to their dream home!

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