My Personal Home: Beginning and End

The big reveal...

When I bought this house in 2006, I didn't have anything except a bed and some old furniture.   I worked with Anne Williams to pick out some new pieces and recover some sofas and chairs (originally plaid and jean).

You can see some of the new fabric above.... plus you can look at that cute Sister, so you're welcome.  She did a great job setting up my house so I could live in it.  It was sleek and minimalist... like a New York loft.  (I am KICKING myself for not having pictures of it when she finished.  It looked amazing.)

Unfortunately I like buying things.  Over the next five years I bought art and tables and accessories.  Having absolutely ZERO interior design talent, my house ended up looking like this.

There were great things there, but it just didn't feel finished.  Also, I started craving color.  Don't get me wrong, I love neutrals, but I was ready for a change. It was about that time when my good friend Cristi Holcomb of Charm Home suggested to Simply Buckhead that they feature my house.  There it was.  The push I needed to finish the house.

Having no idea how to start, I begged enlisted the help of my friend, the very talented designer Laura Green of L. Green Studios. She said the house was in desperate need of paint, refreshing and framed art.  Just as she gave in  agreed to help me, the snowpocolypse of 2011 hit.  For the next week and a half, my friends and family worked tirelessly (read the blog post about it here)...

There is my sweet mom painting book shelves.

My things all over...

Guest room with its bold new paint color...

At the end of the week and a half we were exhausted but ready for the Simply Buckhead photographers.

And then it was over.  I was happy to have the house finished and everything...  but as you know I am a photographer... a house photographer to be exact.  I needed to capture the project myself.

Enter Brian Patrick Flynn.  Among his NUMEROUS talents, he produces stories and photo shoots for his acclaimed blog Decor Demon.  He asked if we could shoot my house.  DUH.  I got coffee and sandwiches and waited for his crew to arrive.

We worked together for the next 7 or 8 hours, moving things around, creating vignettes, discovering Brian's vision for my home.

He directed, I photographed.

And finally we are ready to reveal my house.  Brian wrote the coolest story about it.  I am so flattered... and I can't believe I actually LIVE here.  How lucky am I?

This is my favorite photo we took!  To see the final pictures of my house, please visit Brian's blog, Decor Demon.

Have a great weekend everybody!

-Blayne

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My $758.93 Water Bill

Merry Christmas one and all. Speaking of Christmas, I got a nice little present in the mail last night.  A $758.93 water bill.  Thank you so much City of Atlanta (Department of Watershed Management)!  How did you know this was just what I wanted?  NOT.

This is where I live.  I love it here.  3 bedrooms, 2 baths.

It's the perfect home for me and Sister.... which is great since we are the only people who live there.

Yes, one person and a 2 pound dog racked up an almost $800 water bill.  How?

Well, around September 15th, I got a bill for @500.  I called to dispute the charges.  I had had a leaky toilet in July, but had quickly gotten a plumber out to the house to fix the problem and replace all the valves on all the toilets just to be safe.  The lady I spoke with said that I could appeal my bill.   I paid them $100 somewhere around October 1st.  They sent a man out to look at my meter and determined that there was nothing wrong with the meter, so it must be my problem.  On October 14th... I remember because it was my birthday, I got a letter in the mail saying if I did not pay the entire charge by October 15th they would shut off my water and then charge me the entire bill plus a reconnect fee to turn the water back on.  Thank God they accept credit cards.

Around November 15th I got a water bill for $463.02.  I called the water company again.  I asked if I could appeal this bill.  They said no because my last appeal still had not been finalized, and you couldn't have two appeals at once.  She suggested that I wait until my December bill and see if there was a noticeable difference in my meter reading.  I did not pay any money on that bill, and she assured me they would not turn off my water.  She also assured me there was a leak in my house.  To be on the safe side I got another plumber to come out to the house and look, and he also said there were no leaks.

Yesterday I got this in the mail.  After I stopped crying (true) I checked all the toilets again.  There were no leaks.

Here is the chart showing my water usage.  You can see that I had a toilet leak in July, which I got fixed.

My neighbor has a family of 4 and has an average water bill of $120 a month.

This may be more information than you wanted to know, but I added up my water usage, and this is what I got.

Showers: 8-9 a week, 36 a month

Toilet Flushes (sorry to share this information): @3 a day, 21 a week, 84 a month

Washing Machine Runs: On the high side we will say 4 a week, 16 a month

Dishwasher: 2 a week, 8 a month.

I can't think of any other time I use water unless I an drinking it or rinsing my dishes.  Sister gets 1 tiny bowl of water a day, and I am thinking of asking her to cut back.  JK

I had another plumber come to my house today.

He took this picture of the meter.  He watched it for @20 minutes and there was no change (meaning no leaks).  Then he had his assistant flush a toilet and the meter rose slightly.  This means there are no leaks in the house.

We wrote the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management a letter today explaining the situation.  We also called.  They have agreed to let me play $120 a month until my hearing, which could be in a month or two.  Any advice you guys have would be very very helpful.  Have you had to deal with anything like this?  I have no idea what the hearing will entail, but I am gathering as much evidence as possible.  $800 is insane.

If I don't get this resolved, then I will soon be selling a very small dog who drinks too much water.

KIDDING!  I would NEVER sell Sister, but could I interest you in a 3 year old flatscreen/anything else worth $800?  Going once....

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