My Adventures Archives » Page 38 of 52 » Adventures of Empty Nesters

Empty Nest Renovation – Before Photos and Video

July 30, 2019September 21, 2015

Built in 1937, this little fixer upper needed some love and updating. The perfect empty nester adventure!

Oh my goodness this Empty Nest downsize and house renovation have been quite a ride. Just last summer we put our house in Laguna Niguel, CA (Orange County) on the market and this adventure began. We sold the house for the first time in late September, it fell out of escrow and then we sold it for the second time in December. We moved in to our fixer upper in Pasadena on January 5th, 2015. I have written several detailed posts that will help fill in the gaps for you:

We were only able to cram just about one third of our belongings into our little house in Pasadena. The balance of which is in storage and we know perfectly well that most of the rest of this “stuff” will never make it into the house. There is just not enough room and it will be time to purge when we move back in…which is actually a very good plan.

There are restrictions by the city as to how many square feet we may add based upon the size of the lot and the possibility of encroaching on our neighbors. We settled on adding a small master bath and walk-in master closet. The current closet was so small that we were forced to place a chrome hanging bar at the foot of our bed to hang the balance of our clothes. Very chic.

empty nester renovation — The closet was so small that we had a portable hanging rack in the middle of our master bedroom.

Our Dream Adventure at the US Open Tennis Championships

September 14, 2015

US Open tennis — The walk in from the subway to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center ~ Spectacular!

You do not need to be a fan of the game to be aware of the tremendous upset in the world of tennis. In the biggest surprise of the tournament, Roberta Vinci, an unseeded Italian veteran playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeated Serena Williams, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Williams’ dream of tying Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam record of 22 wins and to be the first person since Graf did it in 1988, to win four Grand Slam tournaments in one calendar year was shattered on September 11, 2015. However, my dream of attending this historic Amercian tennis tradition came true.

Upscale and Urban: The Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle

September 8, 2015

We never tire of the spectacular views of the Seattle skyline and have been coming to Seattle for the past 9 years. Our daughter attended the University of Washington and never came home.(We have adjusted to this fact over time) Craig and I have discovered over the last few years that we prefer to stay at the …

Photo Friday – More of The Road Trip to Seattle

September 4, 2015September 4, 2015

photo Friday - Redwood Forest, CA — These Redwood trees are so enormous that it is extremely difficult to capture the size. However, we were so in awe that we kept snapping photos over and over.

Photo Friday is a great way to share additional favorite photos of the week. We have just arrived in Seattle, one of the most picturesque cities in the United States from a road trip we took from Pasadena, CA to Seattle, WA. Our route took us up the breathtaking Oregon Coast and there is no question of it’s photo worthiness!

Rocky coastlines, emerald water, towering sand dunes and grazing elk were just a few of the postcard views that we enjoyed. You can click here to read up on the adventure specifics of the trip. For now, I offer more of this Kodak moment that lasted for a thousand miles.

Have a great weekend.

photo Friday, Blueberry Pancakes smothered with butter and syrup — No post is complete without a photo of food. These buttery, Oregon blueberry pancakes were even better than they look

Experiences for Empty Nesters

June 12, 2016September 2, 2015

Making it happen in the empty nest.

Fall has arrived and a new class of empty nester parents are drying their eyes and lamenting the fact that their last baby has left the nest. What will they do now that Johnny and Sally are at school? Where did all of the time go? What shall we do next?

Have some fun.

Experiences for empty nesters are the answer.

My husband and I are four years into enjoying life as empty nesters. I do not wish to make light of this emotional, transitional, monumental time in our midlife years. However, what I have learned through these past four adventurous years is that there are many ways to be happy in the empty nest.

Make lists, take a class, dream big, explore the world, perfect a skill! However, what I truly believe will get you out of that slump and put a smile on your face is to go out and find adventure. Get out and make experiences happen and you will thrive. Pick up this motivating bestseller called Thrive by Arianna Huffington. It is an inspirational book to help you “remake the world in your own image, according to your own definition of success”

Road Trip to Seattle: Would I do it again?

March 24, 2020August 31, 2015

I am giving you fair warning that this post contains a great number of tedious details. Think of it as a road trip diary of sorts. I understand completely if you do not wish to continue, but thank you to the rest of you who are still reading. It feels good to for me to vent a little about our recent road trip to Seattle.

Did you take driving trips with your family as a kid? Did your grandparents land on the East Coast and make their way west by car?

Did you take your kids on family road trips?

My husband Craig traveled by car with his family every summer. He has fond, vivid memories of these vacations, discovering majestic national parks and visiting different parts of the United States. My family traveled by car only once to Missouri to visit family when I was 8. I hated it (for a multitude of reasons I won’t go into) then and the memory stayed with me.

With our young family of four, we drove as far as San Diego or Palm Desert and once we drove to Danville (Northern California) for a Thanksgiving Holiday with friends from our home in Southern California.

So other than an occasional short driving trip from point A to B, the Staverts always took a plane for vacation. Now as empty nesters, our focus has been on using airline miles and hotels points for parts unknown and usually far away.

When we decided to move to Seattle for 6 months (learn why here) we were moving with our dog Rocco (we did not want to ship him by air) and needed our car while in Seattle… We had to take a road trip. Yikes. That is not my idea of fun. I do not like sitting for hours at a time and Rocco had never been in a car for more than an hour. Craig’s job is very demanding and can’t be away for very long. This road trip presented some major personal challenges, but hopefully no disasters.

The Road Trip Plan

For reasons of comfort and tolerance (mine), we decided to break up the nearly 1200 mile trip into 3 1/2 days of driving and three overnight stays. We packed our SUV with as much of our belongings as possible which was mostly clothes, computers, dog stuff and flat screen TV. The only room left in the car was a small space in the back seat for Rocco’s bed and Rocco. Otherwise, every bit of air space was taken. This was truly a hillbilly-like situation.

Our first potty/food stop was a truck stop in Bakersfield at Burger King. Oh my favorite! It was a blistering 95 degrees and we found a small, dry stretch of grass for Rocco and we stood on this patch of grass while eating our “delicious” lunch. Rocco did his business and we were off. After easily 4 ½ hours of more driving, we traveled through San Francisco and tremendous traffic to stop in Santa Rosa for the night.

Our Empty Nest Renovation & 6 Months in Seattle

March 24, 2020August 17, 2015

empty nest renovation - Glen Summer House — The renovation of our empty nester fixer-upper will begin in September.

The last time I wrote about the empty nest renovation was clear back in January. It has been quite the roller coaster ride with so many details, so many decisions, so many ups and downs.

A quick review:

Craig and I decided to sell our home, downsize and leave our beach community of Laguna Niguel after 27 years. We left our dear friends, daily routine, and a house full of memories. Not an easy decision.

We purchased a much smaller, 1937 Spanish Colonial fixer-upper home on a quaint, tree-lined street in Pasadena, CA in order to live closer to our family and my Dad who is fighting cancer.

With so many adjustments and challenges, these past seven months have been really difficult and exhausting, however the quality time I have been able to spend with my Dad has been priceless. The move was truly worth every single minute of heartache or discomfort.

We hired an amazing architect, a well recommended contractor and were finally given approval by the city to begin. Truthfully, we have delayed the start a couple of months because of Dad’s illness. He is an inspiration and has suffered more than any person should ever have to. Dad is still outrunning it and plans to continue on this path!

We have chosen fixtures, tile, marble, granite, appliances and floor coverings. The decision making is overwhelming, but exciting. So… now we needed to find a place to live while the house was under construction. The renovation will include every room and every crevice and to live there was just not feasible.

~ Travel Quotes Can Be Inspiring ~

August 14, 2015

Thank you to Teri Walker from 1802 House Bed and Breakfast, Kennebunkport, Maine for this travel quote. ”A tourist experiences disconnected sights and sounds and enjoys them without drawing meaning. A traveler roams the earth, digests what he sees and hears, and collects them in a framework of understanding which he both brings to his travels …

Two Generations, One Music Festival: Outside Lands

August 10, 2015

Outside Lands reigns supreme in my new world of music festivals. A three day, thoroughly engaging, eclectic, excessively HUGE, outstanding music festival for all ages. Who knew that two people in their mid-fifties could mix and mingle successfully with the hipsters, hippies and young music lovers in their 20’s and 30’s? Designed to showcase over 100 bands and offer headliners like Elton John, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Sam Smith and even Billy Idol. I expected to like it, but I honestly loved every morsel.

Elton John - Still fabulous — Elton John – Still fabulous

I went to Outside Lands for three reasons:

To Experience:

To gain entry into the world of my twenty-something children and experience their passion for music from the inside. It was so special to see how by teaching and sharing his passion for music, my husband fueled the musical interests of our children. From the time they could talk, Craig would quiz them, share stories and play all kinds of music for them.