Bringing Back Sligo

Category: Life

• Furniture

  Posted at 10:30 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on March 1, 2019

  A few facts about us:  Marcus is a penny pincher (which is strange given he bought a giant house needing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of renovations but I’m trying hard not to beat that dead horse anymore).  I, on the other hand, like pretty things (as I’m typing this I’m watching a documentary about Tiffany & Co and this is going to take a lot longer to write than I anticipated…).  I’m going to assume most couples have the same dynamic though sometimes Marcus can take things a little further than most (does the ICEE Machine acquisition of 2017 ring a bell?  No?  That will have to be a post for another time).

  This is all to set-up the story which is a recent conversation we had about furnishing the house.  First of all, I would guesstimate that about 75% of our furnishings are second-hand, either handed down or purchased through Craigslist, yard sales, and consignment stores.  I’m not knocking it, I’m just stating the facts here.  And while I have often dreamt of a house filled with Pottery Barn I have come to accept that some things will just never happen.

  I feel, though, as if I have found a common ground for my love of pretty things and Marcus’s love for savings and that’s at one of my most favorite stores in Fredericksburg by the name of Seven Nine Designs.  They have some of the most beautiful and unique pieces that have been restored by folks who have way more business restoring furniture than I do (believe me, I’ve tried and it ain’t pretty).  The other thing I love about Seven Nine Designs is that the prices are reasonable, not Pottery Barn prices.

  Anyway, it was on a rainy day of Facebook browsing when I saw their latest offerings and the most amazing hall tree that I had ever seen (which is saying a lot).  Marcus has a weird hall tree fetish and I’m very well aware that he would love to put one in the hall of Sligo.  Honestly, I can take or leave a hall tree but I saw the one for sale at Seven Nine Designs and immediately had to share it with Marcus.  As much as he hates to spend money he would have to admit that this piece was perfect for Sligo and maybe, just maybe, he would tell me to go ahead and get it.

  That’s not quite the reaction I got.  Instead I received an email response about waiting until we have somewhere to actually put the hall tree and that we need to “…ensure we appropriately curate house furnishings…”  I shit you not.  This coming from the master of Craigslist.  I wrote him back, wondering if someone had just taught him the word “curate” and if they challenged him to use it in a sentence.  When the answer was “no” I then wondered if he considered purchasing someone’s used furniture as “curating” because the word, to me, implies actually spending money not just looking for the cheapest thing that will do.  He laughed at that and I’m still waiting for an honest answer on how he plans to furnish Sligo.

  Posted in Life, Main House | 1 Comment

• A First Person Look Inside the House

  Posted at 2:06 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on February 20, 2019

  For the third time this winter it has snowed.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school and Marcus is on travel.  It’s no wonder I woke-up with a headache.  It was as if my body was preparing for the day.  But, with the snow, comes a day full of nothing and gives me the chance to write.

  A few months back, quite a few months back actually, a friend took some really neat videos of Sligo using his drone.  I have been meaning to cut down the videos and possibly add music to them but it turns out my skills are strictly limited to cutting.  I think I might have learned how to add music in PowerPoint but I’m not here to give a presentation on the health benefits of not purchasing a 130 year old home so we’ll just have to do without.

  Now, the first video is shot from the ground floor up to the second floor and is pretty straightforward.  The second video is my personal favorite because if you can pretend like that’s you drunkenly stumbling from room to room you get a real sense of the layout of the house.  That is until the very end when “you” crash into the door jamb and collapse on the floor (inches away from the kitchen which is where you were probably trying to get to in order to get some coconut water to chase away that headache and induce vomiting because that stuff is nasty).

  (Thank you to Carl Lynn for bringing over his drone and helping capture Sligo in the state in which we acquired her.)

  Posted in Life, Main House, Video | 0 Comments

• The Paint!

  Posted at 10:48 am by Lauren Tepaske, on February 10, 2019

  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  Here in Virginia we have started what we refer to as “Second Winter.”  This usually comes after “Fake Spring” which we experienced last week with temperatures in the upper 60s.  It was a glorious few days that makes it all the more sadder that it is in the upper 30s now.

  Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk weather.  I was just sitting here recuperating from a day spent at the Kid’s Expo with our girls (which is akin to recuperating from a night out on the town only worse as I am an introvert and to spend so much time surrounded by so many people is an absolute drain on the very fiber of my being but I had promised my girlfriend I would go with her and her girls so when we got there and saw the chaos the two of us hid underneath the Bonefish Grill table, which was handing out “Bang Bang Shrimp” samples, and let the children run amok…how’s that for a sentence?) and thought I might update the readers on the paint choice we had made.  The painters were excited about the weather because, even though it is cold, it isn’t raining and they wanted to paint a particular portion of the house before the new roof went on the porch so, it was time to make our final decision.

  We decided on Benjamin Moore Wetherburn’s Blue which is the darker shade of blue out of the two we were contemplating.  It isn’t a traditional Victorian color, which would have been more earthy tones such as reds and greens, but it will be beautiful with the Benjamin Moore Capitol White trim and the Englert Mansard Brown metal roof and gutters.  I only call out the make of the colors in case you are so curious you feel the need to Google them to see exactly what I am talking about.

  So, without further ado, I give you a first glimpse at the new Sligo!

  

  I really like this picture as you can see the contrast between the old paint, the primer, and the new paint.

   

  Posted in Life, Main House | 2 Comments

• Trials and Tribulations

  Posted at 9:21 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on January 28, 2019

  It has been a long time since I wrote.  I’ve been in a bad place recently, feeling unhappy in just about every aspect of my life and it’s hard not to place the blame on others (*ahem* I think we all know who I’m talking about here).  Slowly, my mental state has started shaping-up and I’m starting to feel more like myself.

  At the end of this woe is me cycle I did rebel a bit and cut about 5 inches off my hair but it was either that or get a face tattoo so I went with the one that might help me better secure a job in the future.  It was a move meant to make me feel better about myself and guess what?  It worked.

  Through the last few months we have had so many friends and family and even folks in passing conversation encouraging the endeavor we have taken on with Sligo but guys, this is hard.  This project has brought with it a level of stress and friction that Marcus and I have never experienced before.  I mean, that might not be necessarily true.  I am sure we went through some major stages of stress after the birth of each of the girls.  I know Marcus was stressed to the point he would sleep-walk and looking back I definitely went through post-partum depression.  But, here we are, nearly eight years later and we’re thriving and still married.  Our girls are thriving (though mommy did fall asleep and was five minutes late picking them up from school the other day so there is room for improvement) and even though they’ve probably felt like their lives are wholly unfair at times they really do love us.

  Maybe that is where the lesson to all of this lies.  Despite the trials we have faced over the years we have come through in the end.  We made it through the early stages of marriage.  We made it through the early stages of parenthood.  We made it through the early stages of puppyhood (still kind of going through that actually).  It only stands to reason that we’ll make it through this project as well.  And, on the bright side, Marcus hasn’t started sleep walking.  Yet.

  Posted in Life | 2 Comments

• Quickie

  Posted at 8:53 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on January 10, 2019

  I’ve been meaning to write.  Really, I have.  So much has happened between receiving the most amazing packet of information from the Street family and work really, really starting on the house.  But, with all of that, there have also been children home from school, children having little social lives, children being ridiculous, me trying not to murder children, you get the idea.  Therefore I have been needing a social life in order to survive and by “social life” I mean putting children to bed and watching mindless shows for the rest of the evening.  By the time my day ends and I sit down to write something my mind is a blank.  I even stared at a rough draft for a new post for days before finally giving up and just leaving the computer alone for a bit.

  Plus, some of the things I really want to write about can be a little touchy.  Like, the fact Marcus has been the crankiest I have ever known him to be (hi, hun!).  This doesn’t work well.  For one thing, I am the cranky one in the family, there is no room for two of us.  Can you imagine what it’s like to have two cranky people sharing the same space, the same stressors, the same ridiculous children (have I mentioned them)?  Marcus left this past week for the Navy Reserves and will be gone for two weeks for…training?  School?  Brainwashing?  I really don’t know.  I know there were a lot of uniforms and preparation for this trip.  Whatever he’s doing, I am hoping the Navy beats the crankiness out of him (hi, hun!) and he comes back the Marcus we all know and love.

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• Just A Few Updates

  Posted at 10:04 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on November 12, 2018

  Everyone asks what our time frame is for moving into the Cottage House.  I tell folks that Marcus’s estimate has us moving in after Christmas.  I say since we’re throwing out arbitrary holidays I’m gonna go ahead and guesstimate that we’ll move in around Easter.  Or maybe National Doughnut Day (it might not be a holiday to you but it is to me).

  As it currently stands, the Cottage House does not have interior walls but it does have a new roof.  It also has new electric wiring throughout and the rooms and closet space for each have been roughed out but again, no walls.  Unfortunately, it will need new floors throughout as the current wood floors are just a mess, having been rotted through.  The kitchen is in surprisingly good shape and we won’t change much except to remove an exterior door and turn it into a wall for more space.  It also needs windows to be replaced and a new HVAC system installed.  Also, it needs a bathroom.  All of the aforementioned needs to happen in the next 6 weeks for us to move in “after Christmas” hence the reason for my disbelief.

  We are also in the process of employing Dovetail Cultural Resource Group to help us with the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) and National Historic Registry (NHR) and the tax credit process.  I did a little bit of the research on my own and we made it through two rounds of the VLR process but, as we got deeper, I realized my knowledge of historical research was limited and it is much more involved than just filling out a paper with what we think we know and getting approved for thousands of dollars in tax credits.  I don’t know why the government doesn’t just hand over money willy nilly?

  And, as far as the Main House and any updates with that…there aren’t any.  Marcus has talked about being in the house by his birthday next year which is in August.  My guesstimate for that move-in date is National Sibling Day 2020.

  Posted in Cottage, Life, Main House | 1 Comment

• Albatross

  Posted at 9:57 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on October 16, 2018

  The other day Marcus was suggesting that his purchasing a giant fixer-upper was equal to my surprise purchasing a puppy while he was on travel.  Really, the puppy couldn’t have been that big of a surprise since I had been talking about getting one since the day we were married but, nonetheless, he was surprised and mildly not amused.  It goes without saying that a puppy is significantly less expensive than restoring a Victorian mansion.  Plus, a puppy can supposedly lower your blood pressure though I have my doubts when it comes to the particular breed that we own.

  Anyway, this whole conversation started when I told him that Sligo will forever be the albatross around his neck as far as I’m concerned.  I mean, I can write a blog post about hot cops and fully expect to get away with it at this point.  In fact, the other night I left the husband, the dog, and both children at my in-laws house while I went home and slept until 7:00 in the morning and then napped off and on until about 11 while binge watching “Call the Midwife.”  If that’s not luxury and well-deserved I don’t know what is.

  Am I wrong to hold this against him for so long?  Maybe.  Am I wrong to use it to my advantage on occasion?  As long as I don’t overdo it.  Do I fully expect a Carl’s chocolate malt when requested?  Yes.

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• A Little More Excitement

  Posted at 10:05 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on October 15, 2018

  At 5:00 this morning I was awakened by a phone call from ADT because the motion detector in the Cottage had gone off.  It was a miracle I answered at all because, 5:00.  In the morning.  But, answer I did.  “Ms. Tepaske? This is ADT calling.  The motion detector in the shed (I don’t know why it’s called the shed) is going off and I was calling to see if everything was alright.”  “I dunno,” I said through a mouthful of retainer and mouth guard, “I’m not phy-thhh-ically there…”  (you gotta say it as if you’re wearing a retainer and mouth guard).  “OK, Ms. Tepaske,” said ADT, “I’ll call the police.  Good night,” and with that I promptly fell peacefully back asleep was wide awake.

  I wish I could say this was the first time ADT called us about the house but, it’s not and if you’re a fan of this blog you may remember the first time the police came to the house.  Let me refresh your memory in case you forgot (though how could you):  Excitement

  Since then the house has been graffiti-ed and more windows smashed in.  It’s amazing that with all of the activity we have witnessed in a few short months that the house is still standing at all.  I mean, the youths have certainly given it their all so I suppose it’s a testament to the quality of old construction.

  Anyway, long story short, I never did hear from the police if anything had actually happened so later this morning I took my guard dog (whose hobbies include chasing bugs and eating cat poop) and we went to the house to check things out.  It all looked the same:  Same old graffiti, same old smashed-in windows.  The Cottage door did look slightly ajar which was weird because it’s usually drilled to the door jam (yes, you read that right) but I wasn’t brave enough to go in and look around so my guard dog and I left.

  I am definitely ready for work to start on the Main House.  I think once that starts two things will happen:  1.  The youths will get the hint and hopefully stay away and 2.  If they don’t stay away, and they start messing with the money we’re investing to restore this property they’ll have my guard dog to deal with and I’ll make sure he’s just eaten cat poop.

  Posted in Cottage, Life | 2 Comments

• Life is Bearable

  Posted at 10:39 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on August 31, 2018

  Ah, the joys of moving back to the town one grew-up in.  To be even more specific, ah, the joys of moving back into the house one grew-up in.  We’ll be with my mom for an indefinite period of time (I’m hoping this isn’t the first time she’s hearing about this…if so, surprise, mom) and so we’ve moved all of our clothes and precious belongings to her house.  The precious belongings, in no particular order of importance, include the children, the pets, and the coffee pot.  The first few days back home my mom and I spent it reorganizing books from my childhood and throwing away things like nail polish and Bath and Body Works perfume from the late 1990s.

  Just in the few short days we’ve been back in the area I have run into a friend’s mom at the grocery store, telling her that I was back, living with my mom.  In retrospect I probably owed her a little bit more of an explanation than that and the rumor mill may or may not be churning (as if anyone cares).  Then, another day, Marcus and I were sitting down for lunch at the outside space of one of our favorite restaurants and friends of ours happened to see us.  They drove up and stopped for a chat making us remember what it’s like to live in a town small enough for something like that to happen.  Friends and family are the big reason why moving back to Fredericksburg will be bearable.

  Take the other day for instance.  Marcus spent one of his recent mornings at the City of Fredericksburg offices in order to get permits for the work we’re currently doing on the Cottage House.  While there, speaking with one of the building inspectors, the father of one of my childhood friends (we’ll call him “Papa John” to protect the not-so-innocent) popped his head into the office and proceeded to tell Marcus that if we didn’t get our things in order they were going to condemn Sligo.  Marcus texted me to tell me this and I was livid.  How dare they condemn the house now!  I even got my mom riled up about it and we both fumed over the audacity of the city to put us in such a situation.  I texted Marcus back “Uh…why didn’t they condemn it ten years ago?!” to which Marcus replied “Papa John = Your friend’s dad.”  I even texted him back with a curt “And?!” and then it clicked.  Oh yes…Papa John was and is a kidder and if you can feel me cutting my eyes at Papa John then you would be correct.

  I saw Papa John earlier today, walking along Caroline Street in Fredericksburg as the girls and I were driving through the city and I almost yelled at him but couldn’t because of the traffic behind me.  I regret the decision to not hold-up traffic because it could have been great:  “Go ahead!  Do us a favor!  Condemn my house!” and then I would have peeled out, laughing maniacally while the girls sat in the back worried for their little lives (which is frequent, I’m sure).  I’ll just have to settle for writing about it now and honestly, funny enough, it’s moments like these that are helping me work through moving back.

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• Mental Health

  Posted at 10:21 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on August 27, 2018

  Some things you may not know about me, besides now having the hots for some of the Fredericksburg City police officers:  I love to shop, I like reading historical fiction novels, and, if given the chance, I can sit on my butt all day and binge watch Netflix shows.  Furthermore, while I can put the “L” in “lazy” I also enjoy running which might make me a little crazy and, speaking of crazy, I have a BS of psychology and, as such, am pretty open about mental health.  It also means I have the ability and knowledge to be empathetic but rarely am, I should know how to raise children but I don’t, and I can look back at myself and my frame of mind and have a sense of humor.

  Anyway, both Marcus and I are just slightly panicked.  Unlike me, who is used to such feelings as anxiety, depression, and stress, Marcus has lived his 39 years in a blissful state, with nary a care.  Recently, however, he’s been feeling the stress of our lives.  Not only is he facing the reconstruction project of his nightmares dreams, he is starting a new job, selling a home, moving in with his mother-in-law (hi, mom!), helping his young daughters cope with moving and starting a new school, and attempting to keep his wife sane (sorry bud, lost cause).

  I, on the other hand, have been in a state of panic since the day we purchased Sligo and it only got worse yesterday while at Target.  Marcus, the girls, and I headed out to what should be a mecca for any female over the age of four months (and really, it may be younger but it’s about this time that the Target bulls eye becomes more clear and a conditioned response).  Anyway, we did our back-to-school shopping which is stressful in itself as items are thrown willy-nilly into the basket and I start to lose sense of what we actually need and what is something the girls think is cute and it doesn’t matter how cute and sparkly it is but the teacher specifically asked for a black and white marble composition notebook and by golly that’s what we’re going to get so please put that thing back!  *deep breath in, deep breath out*

  So, after what felt like an eternity in which nothing was accomplished, the four of us (because somehow I hadn’t killed anybody and buried their body under the millions of leftover boxes of non-sharpened #2 pencils) made our way to the produce section of our new-to-us Super Target.  Or is it Ultra Target?  Mega Target?  I have no idea.  I do know they need to get their shit together because the two Williamsburg Targets put this particular store to shame in hospitality, organization, and cleanliness.  Which, to be honest, aren’t those kind of like, Target’s three main mantras and 100% why I don’t shop at Wal-Mart?  Anyway, it was this realization that sent me down my spiral of despair.  As I watched an elderly gentleman berate a young Target employee for not being where he needed to be (and I fully back the elderly man on this one), I started to realize that this would be the Target I would shop at for many years to come and I snapped.

  I casually walked away (not really…it was a weird shuffling away as the tears started to fall), dropping the school supply list in the basket, mind racing about where to go where I could just curl up in a ball and have a good cry.  As my face continued to pinch and the tears started to stream I realized staying in the store would be weird because ultimately I had decided on getting a bag (or is it a box?) of Oreos and finding a changing room to cry in so I walked outside and sat on a bench.  After about 10 minutes of off and on crying, and a nice Target employee asking how my day was and me considering for a split second to tell her everything about me starting with birth but then deciding against it, I walked back into the store and found Marcus and the girls.  Of course, upon seeing Marcus, the waterworks started up again and this time we hugged in the bread aisle as shoppers awkwardly walked around us and asked if we could step aside a bit so they could get their 100% grain bread.  The girls by this point had lost all control and were galloping up and down the aisles and pushing each other over (and if you think this is the most untruthful part of the whole story you would be sadly mistaken) and so we decided it was time to go as the Tepaske family had truly left their mark.

  Fast-forward to today and I feel better mentally.  I mean, things are still rough as we put our Williamsburg house on the market and we settle into the unknown of when renovations will start but at least Marcus and I will have each other to hug in the bread aisle.

  

  WIth any luck this will be Marcus and me one day.  Probably the day the renovations are complete.

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• Recent Posts

  • Preoccupied December 20, 2021
  • The “Haunting” of Sligo August 4, 2021
  • Rehabilitation Tax Credits April 27, 2021
  • Put Me in Blogger Jail April 6, 2021
  • Virginia Historic Registry and the National Landmark Registry August 6, 2020
  • My Good Boy, Axel July 14, 2020

• Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X
  • Pinterest

• Search

  Search for: