House Updates

In December we will have owned the new house for one year. It seems like such a long amount of time to have so little done. Nolan spends a lot of time reminding me of all the things we HAVE done, which is actually a pretty long list. When I truly think about the things we have accomplished so far I am SO proud of us. For me personally, because I work from home and am surrounded by it all day, I tend to only see the looming mound of projects ahead of us, and tend to forget quickly about the hurdles we have already conquered. At any rate, a lot has changed-

Did some demo downstairs...

With my favorite helper!

Built a chicken coop (well, it's about 98% finished)

Built a fence along the back stretch of our backyard.

Began frightening the neighbors with black paint.

This is what the side the neighbors see looks like.

And this is what our side is painted to look like. Don't worry, in about two years you will all see the vision.

Decided I needed a giant painting of an ape.

Didn't want to pay $3500 for one, so I painted one myself instead. Meet Stella.

Dug a trench and ran electrical and plumbing for a water play area for the kids.

Cleared out endless dead trees, brush, ivy, bamboo, and other unidentifiable foliage. Now finally have a level back yard! Driveway gate to come (to plug that gaping hole in the fence).

Demoed a disgusting poorly constructed shed.

Much better!

My favorite girl "LuLu" turned out to be "Luca" the rooster. Despite my desire to keep him around, for the good of the flock (and our neighbors) Luca went to a new home this weekend :(

Built a firewood holding device while Nolan was at work. I think my neighbors think I'm crazy.

Found a vintage rattan patio set on craigslist for $60. There is a love seat that goes with what is pictured here, but it's in storage. I still need to refinish the sofa and upholster some cushions for them, but seriously, how great are these?!

Kids started school (Jax insisted on having his eyes closed...)

Kindergarten.... ugh, where did the time ago?!

Became an official construction zone.

Protecting our living space (and my 1800's piano) from the demo.

Proof that I help.

Even in unsafe footwear.

Seriously, this addition was the dumbest, most pointless part of the house. WHY? WHY WAS IT THERE?! It served no purpose other than to block where the garage door belongs! Ugh. Anyway, see where the plastic is, covering the gaping hole on the right there? That is where this is going-

Isn't it fantastic? I designed it myself :) Obviously it still needs paint, and hardware, but seriously so beautiful. 

And look at how much natural light will come in when the glass door is there instead of plastic?!

Here's my super fast, not even close to scale sketch I texted to my friend in another state so that she could understand what the heck we're doing. That circled part is the part of the house we just demoed. The person living here before us converted the garage into a "meditation room..." yeah...
That's going back to a garage STAT.

Anyway, that should sort of catch you all up. So much more has happened that I never even photographed, and so much more that I don't want to let you in on until I have "after" shots. To say we are surround by partially finished projects would be a huge understatement.

New driveway and garage coming soon!