Uh Oh....

Those of you that have been following our progress know that we are across the field from the baseball field.

Right across the street from the baseball field.

We were concerned about the number of foul balls that found their way into the front yard during construction - so we built the new house 10 feet back from where the old house had been.

We thought that would be enough.......

That's a little too close for comfort! 

I don't think my pretty metal roof is going to do well with baseball season.

Here are the updated photos from the porch project. 

Sorry for the delay. 

We still have to paint the post, and caulk everything. 

 

This will have the ceiling fan and light - we just do not have one yet 

I was worried that the porch roof would cast a shadow on the living room, and make it very dark. 

Although this picture does look a bit dark, it really has not made it darker. 

In fact, the wood color has given the room a warm glow.

I had originally planned to paint the porch ceiling the same pale blue that I have used for the ceilings on  the rest of the house - but now  I think I'll just use a clear coat, to keep the warm wood grain look. 

Punch List Doldrums...

To say that there has been nothing going on would be a lie. 

There has been a lot going on - just nothing fun, and nothing worth writing about. 

We have been working our way through the punch list. Retouching paint, filling in caulk, adjusting the diverters on the faucets, reworking the HVAC to get the temp above 54* in my bathroom in the morning.....

blah, blah, boo 

Oh and lets not forget unpacking boxes!

So...I am happy to say....

Today we started our first real project in a while! 

Woo Hoo.

It's time to cover the patio.

Here is the plan...

Here is where we are now...

I can't remember if I told you all about this - but the covered patio was always our plan.

 We ran into some difficulty with the design - which ran into difficulty with the timing-which ran into some difficulty with the permit - which made for a very cranky builder, so we finally threw our hands up and said we would handle it after we moved in.

I have to admit...the fact that we are actually doing it within a month of moving in is a shock to me! I was sure this was one of those things that would get pushed off - and possibly never done. It would have been okay, I think we would have used the patio sometimes. Once it's covered - I think the kids are going to live out there. It just seems like it is going to be a great place to hang out & invite friends.

We will see.

My view from the living room this morning! 

 I know - some people hate construction. 

I love it. 

I'll post the progress in a bit - it's moving quickly. 

I might have to slip home at lunch to see how much they have done!

It's been fun, but...

After a month without a refrigerator - I was downright giddy when it arrived today.

It really has been fun - An experiment - to see how dependent we have become on all of our modern conveniences.

The conclusion...

We are completely spoiled! 

Please don't misunderstand, we were not completely without a refrigerator, simply without one in the kitchen. 

(You'd be surprised how few things, my children consider, worth a trip to the garage.)

Fortunately, the timing worked out perfectly for us. The day before our move, I had a client call to ask if I could help find someone to remove an old refrigerator that had been left in her new house.

Bingo!  

I love when the stars align.

So we picked up her old fridge, and put it in the garage here at the new house.

This bought me the time I needed. 

It has not been perfect (it freezes everything, so all produce needed to be kept in a separate cooler) but it worked.

It took me a  long time to find the new refrigerator because we had built the kitchen to fit our old one.

(The one that the new owners really wanted - and we were willing to give up- to get the house sold)

 I thought it would be easy....go online... order the same one.

Sadly for me - that model was nowhere to be found. The 2012 model was available - but larger than my old one.

So...

After reading through countless descriptions and spec sheets & going to every possible store to see what I could find in person. (Not much- I found out that the stores don't  keep the counter depth models in stock)

I found THE ONE! 

And it fits!

I will admit, I was holding my breath as my husband was trying to push it back into the niche.

If it had been a hair bigger - I would have been listening to a whole lot of..."I told you so's."

Instead I was treated to... "Huh - that works"

Not quite the high praise that I had hoped for, but....who needs praise, when I have a refrigerator in the kitchen!

The one interesting feature, on this fridge, is the interior water dispenser.

I love to have cold water out of the fridge - but hate the drips on the stainless steel.

Hopefully this will avoid the drips and keep everybody hydrated.

Aside from unpacking and organizing - we have not made too much other progress.

We did, however, get the drawer pulls installed. (Note : I use the word "we" loosely)

Ahhh - to be able to open the drawers with ease is a dream!

I really wanted pulls for these. They were hard to find - or I should say...hard to find within my budget.

 I found these on Etsy.

I will attempt to add a link here...

Drawer pulls

The builder installed brushed nickel knobs, and these pulls are chrome, but I don't think it  makes a dimes worth of difference - and certainly not $10(more per drawer) worth of difference!

Now - if I could just get everything in it's place - I could get some whole room pictures.

Maybe next time.

Have a great day.

I think I will go get some refrigerated item from the kitchen - because I can!

Finished - bathroom mirrors

Finally got the second mirror  (the broken one) exchanged  and installed.

It is interesting to note....

Of all of the things I have purchased, online and in stores, for this project, I'd say 25% were broken, or damaged in some way.

The only positive side to this is that I have found Lowe's & Home Depot to be excellent about returns/exchanges.

Although we have barely unpacked, I realized around December 23rd if I did not pull out the Christmas "stuff", we were going to miss our chance. 

Although we did not pull out everything, there were enough decorations to make the new house look festive.

It was interesting to see the kids pull out our old things and find them  new spots in our new home. 

Now, post Epiphany, decorations down, I can say....We need very little to decorate this house. I'll have to add Christmas items to the long list of things that I need to purge!

Here are a couple of pictures of the decorations that I took quickly on Sunday  before they came down.

My daughter found this new spot for our Christmas cards.

We almost ran out of room - but it worked.

 We only needed about half of the greenery on the bannister - but...it looks much prettier than it ever did at our old house.

This week - I need to get the other bathroom mirrors and install them, and a few other small projects.

I will post the projects as I complete them. I hope this will encourage me to get them all done! 

Have a great day

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....