Empty Nest Life Archives » Page 9 of 14 » Adventures of Empty Nesters

The Pasadena Empty Nest Fixer Upper Update!

March 24, 2020April 29, 2016

kitchen remodel — The refrigerator and freezer panels are waiting for the appliances to arrive. Next up: The hardwood floor to be finished and hardware for the cabinets. There is paper covering the new floors for now.

Another update for the empty nest fixer upper…

More progress, more decisions, more changes, rinse, repeat. It does seem that the little house in Pasadena has made some significant progress, but with that progress came a couple of setbacks.

Every time we are cruising along at a healthy pace, something happens that slows it all down just a bit. The tile that I had originally picked for the front of the fireplace arrived and I was taken aback at what I had chosen. There was nothing about it that I liked. The architect urged me to choose something more traditional, more “old Pasadena” and we made the choice together. I now see that the colors were wrong, it seemed old fashioned, but I made this decision in the middle of the last few (horrific) months of my dad’s life. I made a mistake.

Empty Nest: New Update for the Fixer Upper Renovation

March 24, 2020April 7, 2016

The outside stucco color is a vanilla malt, the doors are a fabulous color of persimmon, and the trim is a chocolate-brown.

More news on the fixer upper renovation!

Oh boy, there is a lot to talk about. I started reviewing older posts from as far back as September. My video makes it fun to see the old house and I was so optimistic that we would be completed in seven months but the reality is more like nine months. What is a couple of months when we have a lifetime of enjoyment ahead of us!

My original video:

If you receive this post via email, click HERE to see the video.

An Update of the Renovation of the Empty Nest

March 24, 2020March 23, 2016

Last week was a total blur, but in the midst of seeing old friends in Orange County, meeting the sweet new baby of my wonderful boot camp leader and attending the Women in Travel Summit, we stopped in to see the renovation of the Empty Nest.

The Empty Nest Home Renovation is Delayed… a little

March 24, 2020March 4, 2016

Original Backyard home renovation — The original backyard – There was a super odd looking (and useless) planter in the middle of the pool deck. All of the back of the house has changed with new windows and doors and the second story addition.

The Empty Nest home renovation is…DELAYED, but just by a little.

I know many of your heads are nodding and you are silently saying “I told you so”, but we do have a slight delay of our home renovation. We cannot blame it on El Niño, we cannot blame it on the contractor, we cannot even blame it on me.

building the wall home renovation — Without the planter in the middle of this small yard, it will add more usable space. The new wall being built will add privacy along that side of the yard.

When Your Parent Gets Sick – An Adventure I Don’t Want to Take

March 24, 2020January 20, 2016

The life of a grownup isn’t easy. We have come to an age where we have to deal with adult situations that are challenging and heart breaking too. I am sad, so sad. Sometimes my heart doesn’t know where to go to relieve the pain. My dad is so sick and fighting an amazing …

The Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2015

March 24, 2020January 3, 2016

You do not have to look too deep in to the world of social media to see that everyone is publishing topics like the Top 5 Most Popular Posts ,The Nine Best Instagram Photos, The Best of This, The Best of That and even The Top Ten Dishes of 2015 (I did that). There is a very good reason for this. Reflection. As responsible bloggers, we need to reflect upon the work from the prior year in order to plan for and evaluate the next year’s editorial calendar.

However, my favorite part of the “Best of Post” is revisiting a topic that made people happy! My goal was to bring together a community of empty nesters to share their adventures. I am indeed the largest contributor, but there have been many Guest Adventurers who have written amazing articles and were willing to allow me to publish them! Thank you for that!

Christmas With Our Adult Kids (and other thoughts)

March 24, 2020December 30, 2015

Christmas with our adult kids is different now. Not bad different, just different. Change is inevitable and as our children get older, they take on new interests and their Christmas wish lists have gotten much smaller. Visits to local, intriguing distilleries, trying new cocktail bars and great restaurants and going to the movies is now the order of the day. They prefer money over gifts. They check their emails and texts. They watch football and play in football fantasy leagues, have a boyfriend, a girlfriend and are quite competent in the kitchen. Times are different, but I like it.

No more assembling toys, taking bites of Christmas cookies and preparing for Santa’s arrival. I made the mistake of listening to a couple of Christmas albums that I used to listen to when they were young. These songs sung by Celine Dion and Harry Connick Jr. caused me to cry remembering those holidays from their childhood. Longing for those times from years ago, yet understanding that they are gone forever.

Empty Nest Renovation Update, Marriage & Midlife

March 24, 2020November 19, 2015

I just wanted to give you an update to the downsize and Empty Nest Renovation adventure! We so appreciate all of your support and good vibes sent our way! We are just about halfway through…if you stick with the 6 months estimate for the renovation. We moved to Seattle, still travel a great deal, …

Happy Thoughts About Long-Term Marriages

March 24, 2020October 28, 2015

seflieinmaui — Our Maui selfie, taken on our anniversary trip last week.

Allow me to declare that any and all anniversaries should be celebrated! Any time a married couple begins another year together it’s fantastic. Long-term marriages are an important milestone and I wouldn’t be me unless I said we also need to find adventure in life too!

Aren’t we all looking for hope? Hope for a great life for our families, for ourselves and for our friends. On social media I see where “likes” of happy things way outnumber the negative. I actually just scroll past the negative. You and I both know that negativity is floating about, I just don’t need to focus on it, but that’s just me.

hugging in the cornfields — In the cornfields in the Pacific Northwest, a couple of years ago

The Journey of Becoming a New Grandparent

March 24, 2020September 15, 2015

Teri and Roger are owners/innkeepers for the 1802 House Bed and Breakfast in Kennebunkport, Maine. Teri was was kind enough to share her personal thoughts about becoming a new grandparent. The beautiful 1802 House Bed and Breakfast is a member of the Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America, has been awarded the TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence, and is a BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection property.

Becoming a new grandparent – Insights from Teri

My husband and I are currently living in Maine where I’m lucky enough to be living my dream of owning and operating a Bed and Breakfast. My husband is English and we met in Boulder, Colorado 20 some years ago working at IBM when he was on assignment to the USA. We married and my daughter and I moved to the UK. I spent 20 years there and while it certainly feels like home now, I always had this desire to own an Inn. And really, the USA is the place to do that. We talked about it for years, looked occasionally and couldn’t find anything, then kept on with our corporate lives. In 2012, while we were in Kennebunkport on our first Maine holiday, we found THE INN. Perfect location, perfect size and a really beautiful property. Six months later, we had moved back to the USA and became the new owners of the 1802 House Bed and Breakfast.