Little by little

We are plugging along, trying to get organized.

Right now my art room is a storage room, the dining room is a storage room, the garage is a storage room, and... I had my husband put up a 20'x20' tent in the backyard as an additional storage room.

I just need some more time to figure out what is going to fit, and where.

In the mean time, we have been working on all of the little unfinished details of the house - i.e.: light fixtures and mirrors.

Here are the pictures from the boys bathroom.

I love the restoration hardware mirrors - but, I do not love their price tags.

So...

I found this Delta mirror @ Home Depot for less than a quarter of the cost of the similar Restoration one.

I know, it's not the same, but, I think it looks nice.

We still have 3 bathrooms that need mirrors, but we will get to those soon.

Although he did not help with this project - my 14 yr old has mastered the art of looking productive, while not actually doing anything!

There was a broken piece on the arm of the 2nd mirror - so that one has not been installed.

Once I can get it exchanged, and installed, I will add an updated photo.

Just in - trying to unpack - Oh yeah, and then there's Christmas too!

We are living like pack rats.

 There are boxes everywhere! 

Every time I empty one - there are 10 more right behind it. 

We just have too much stuff!

Luckily, I've had some neighbors come and take a few big things. Also, a  friend put me in touch with a refugee family that really needed some things. It is amazing how easy it is to let things go, when you can get them to someone who needs them.

Now - if I could only do that 100 more times, we might start to fit into this house!

Once the garage was full, I had my husband put a 20'x20' tent in the back yard. 

We moved the last loads into the tent - and we are going to have to start unloading it some day soon.

I don't think that is going to happen before Christmas.

The rooms are so full - I haven't even tried to take pictures yet. I will try to work on that this week. 

Here are the only updates that I have....

George leaving early. It is so nice that he does not have to wait for his siblings.

(Can you see him? He's on the right of the driveway - trumpet in hand)

Atha - watching her children head off to school. 

So far , the kids walking to school has been the greatest perk of the new house.

And...my daily treat...the sun rising over St. Chris.

 I am really enjoying the new view.

Update & Mail Slot

Well... we are in! 

Things have been quite hectic. I apologize for the lack of updates.

A buyer for our other house appeared, just as we were ready to take it off the market.

There was already a lot of "buzz" about the little house, so I had decided that selling it would be the practical thing to do.  (And - I thought- the only option, since the other house was not moving despite multiple price drops!)

We will not close until Dec. 13th, but that is right in the middle of exams for my children, so we decided to move over early.

Thank goodness we decided to start early!

After moving things for days - we still have a ton at the old house.

Downsizing was the goal. I just have to keep that in mind, and FOCUS.

Saying it, and doing it, are two very different things.

Although I am not a hoarder, I have somehow accumulated so much stuff that I don't even know where to start.

On that note...

If anyone would like the Queen set from my guest room, please let me know. Although we have had it for years, it has never been used daily - only occasional visitors.

Oh...and a see saw, and a climbing dome. (Both outdoor play equipment)

I am sure that there will be more - but, that's all that I can think of at the moment.

Here is the latest little house project...

The mail slot. I love it, but it was not as easy as I had hoped.

It took Marcus, a capable carpenter & John, my very handy husband, two hours to get it installed.

I love the the way it looks on the blue door!

While Marcus was here, I had him help with the blinds too. Living in a fishbowl was not fun. 

I met a neighbor yesterday that asked about my children. When I told him their names & grades, he said...

"Oh, is the 8th grader the one who plays guitar?"

Ewwww! 

He had seen Colin playing guitar in his room while he was walking his dog!

Now I know that he was not creepy - but, the idea of our lives being so visible was creepy.

So...now the blinds are up.

I had grand ideas of plantation shutters for each window, but they are a fortune, and just to get someone out to measure was going to take a week. Then another 5-6 weeks before they could be installed.

These work.

Thanks for your patience - I'll try to do a better job of updating the blog.

Sunrise over St. Christopher's

Kids walking out the door to school....

Photo update

Photo updates!

Almost done.

The sod will be delivered tomorrow.

No shutters yet. I think the black shutters are really going to finish off the house well.

The Construction address numbers are still up, and the mail slot still needs to be installed, but... we are getting there. 

We had someone offer to buy our house yesterday. I am really happy for the offer, but very nervous too.

When I was a little girl, I always knew when my Mom was worried, or nervous, because she would scrub the back steps. 

I am turning into my mother!

Although I do not scrub the steps - I love to have a project when I am at my most stressed.

The new garage needed some floor paint - so this was my perfect Sunday de-stress project.

It is hard to see the difference in the picture - but in person it looks much better.

Peacock Blue!

Here is the painted door. 

I love the color- and the high gloss finish.

Thank you Sunny for the recommendation!

Farrow & Ball - Peacock Blue

It is already up - I'll go by today and take a picture. I got this great rubbed bronze mailbox - I can't wait to see how that will look against the blue.

It is bright, but someday when I can finally add black shutters, I think it will be just the right amount of punch!

Photo updates....

The Island has arrived - and in one piece!

 It's dusty in these pictures, and I took them with my phone - so it looks a bit flatter than it really is. Once it is all cleaned up - I think it will look more exciting.

This shot shows the Bamboo on the first floor. I really miss the concrete - but I think the bamboo warms up the room. 

Besides...if we have to sell the house, I think most buyers would prefer the bamboo to the concrete.

This is a shot of the front hall/foyer. 

On the door you can see color samples. I was tempted to just stick with black - to match the shutters. 

(The hypothetical shutters - since I can't seem to find anyone to make shutters that I can afford!)

My husband gave me a hard time about the black - and reminded me that part of the reason I wanted to choose the neutral siding color, was so that I could have a fun door color.

So....I called my trusted color Guru, Sunny. 

She recommended this "Peacock Blue" - and (sight unseen) I decided to take the leap.

The kids are thrilled - they love the color!

In my continued effort to avoid bland and boring choices...

I asked the painter to redo the stain on the railings. I asked for the darkest stain - that would still show the wood grain. 

He switched to ebony, and rubbed the edges so that some areas are more "worn" looking and show more of the oak. 

I think ot adds a bit of Umph

These are the Calen knobs that the builder helped me find. He knew I was looking for a basic, traditional looking knob - and these were a good price. 

Someday - if I get to live in this house - I think I will switch out to glass knobs. In the mean time - I like these.

This is a terrible picture - but I wanted to get a shot of the pantry. 

What defines a farmhouse better than a great big pantry? 

Can't you just see my jars of jam & pickled cucumbers lining these shelves?

(I know ... I should probably start cooking dinner more often, before I make grand plans to start canning, but... I like the idea of it. Who knows - maybe I will start spending my days in my new kitchen, over a hot stove, cooking, baking, canning, singing as I work....stop giggling - it could happen!)

Metal roof is going up - and we are bickering with the city about the driveway - but other than that, nothing more to report at the moment.

I'll get the pictures of the door up soon.

It is sure to make a stir in the neighborhood!

Take care.

Pinterest - it's a beautiful thing!

For those of us that are limited in the memory department, 

Pinterest is a beautiful thing.

For months now I have been able to gather ideas and inspiration from multiple online (and print) sources, and gather all of them on my...

Little House Ideas board.

I don't know how I would have gotten by without this wonderful resource.

In fact, you really could gather all kinds of ideas right off the Pinterest site - without ever venturing out into the wilderness of the WORLD WIDE WEB

(Funny ... Do you remember how they used to talk about that vast abyss on the news - and just the mention of it was confusing and intimidating? Oh my  - what a difference 20 years has made. For better , or worse, things sure have changed! Pinterest is one of those positive changes for me. It sure made the slelctions process easier for this project. I think all builders would be silly not to use it for their clients)

The greatest part, for me, was that I could gather ideas - or style ideas- and save the images as reminders. Once I had the idea, I could scour the internet for an inexpensive way to accomplish  the same look.

One of the great examples of this is the Boy's bathroom. I love the look of the Brockway sink, by Kohler - but that is going to have to wait. In the mean time - I was able to find a great alternative to the vanity lights shown with the sink.

I found these at the Lowes.com site.

I had a wonderful experience ordering from there. The site was down, so I had to call in to the 1-800 #

The gentleman I dealt with could not have been any nicer - or more helpful. I ordered (8) lights - knowing that I only needed (4), but wanting to see them in person before making a final decision.

They were delivered to my local Lowes in about 4 days (no shipping charge)

Here are a couple of the others that I ordered for the kitchen.

I love these too, but now that I have "lived" with them for a few days, I think they are too small for the island. We have plenty of other spots that I can use them around the house though - (mud room & at the top of the stairs would be a couple of the options)

The one thing that I would mention here is that all of the fixtures that I found were in the outdoor lighting section. So consider checking there - on any of the sites - to make sure that you are getting a chance to see all of the styles offered.

We are still shooting for that semi farmhouse/rustic (ish) look - so outdoor lighting works well.

I need to head off to the house to check in before work, but...before I go, I want to add a couple more pictures.

They put the bamboo in this week... 

And the carpet on the 3rd floor...

It's hard to tell from the photos - but it does look nice.

Have a good day!