Brief update

It stinks that life is so crazy busy that I can't find time to write a post or download pictures! Jim and I are co-teaching a 6-week graduate level class on multicultural counseling. We were last minute fill-ins, so we've been scrambling to get it all together. We didn't even get our book until the second night of class! Yikes! Anyway, the class is underway and our feet are beneath us (at least as far as the class goes, anyway).

We are about two weeks away from moving back upstairs from the basement. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait. Did I mention that I can't wait? Our house has been in demolition mode since the week after Christmas. The kitchen cabinets are amazing. The hardwood floors are beautiful. It is hard to believe how drastically we have changed the floor plan of our upstairs. I promise to post some up-to-date photos in the next few days. (and because I can't leave you without a picture, I am linking to the pendant light that will hang above our dining room table. Picture this in antique nickle with an all-white shade. Love it. LOVE it.).

There is a giveaway happening at Our Suburban Cottage for winner's choice of a beautiful print by Tim Irving. Stop by and enter for a chance to win.

Oh, and our "little project" ended up including not just the living room/dining room/kitchen, but two brand new bathrooms as well. Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait!

Such A Deal I Have For You!

I love a bargain! Have always been a Goodwill shopper and absolutely loved going to church rummage sales when I was in college for retro fashion wear. What a blast. Anyway...we got this little project goin' on, ya know? Hadn't planned on getting new appliances, the old ones aren't old enough. But my darling spousal unit brought the subject up one day and who was I to argue? It just wouldn't be right.

So, one Sunday afternoon, a friend and I stopped by Lowe's to look at a can of paint. Not buy, mind. Just look. I ended up with two amazing bargains. Our church just completed renovating a room to serve as a cafe. Jim and I committed to donating a stove for the endeavor. Jim even did the shopping to figure out just which one he wanted down there. He found one, but hadn't gotten around to pulling the trigger on the purchase. As we walked down the center aisle, we walked past all the clearance and bargains lining our path. Lo and behold, a white gas stove sat there marked down $300. Sheesh! So, I called Jim. Come to find out, it was the exact style he picked out. Know why it got returned from the previous owner after one week? It didn't work. Come to find out, the installer forgot to move a little lever from the left to the right. Shazaam! Works for us, thank you very much. God bless that little installer's heart. Bingo-bango-bongo, it's ours!

Then the little guy asked me if I needed a dishwasher because they had a few on clearance. I said no, but asked if he had any stainless steel refrigerators. He pointed to a few. There it stood. The roof parted and a great light descended upon the silver beauty. Before me was the very refrigerator I had looked at and quickly dismissed due to cost. It was marked down from $2148 to $1148 because it was a display model and had a dent in the drawer on the bottom. Suh-weet! Again, I called Jim. "What now?" he queried. When I explained, he said, "See if he'll take $1000." Ugh! He knows how I hate to bargain for myself. I can do it for anyone else, but for me? Uh-uh. Then he lays a major guilt trip by saying, "Remember what Dave Ramsey says...!" That was just not right. He knows that I'm a Dave Ramsey-wannabe. Grr. So, I sweetly look at the guy and said my husband wanted to know if he would take less. I watched as he desperately tried not to allow his eyes to roll back in their sockets. He hemmed and hawed a few minutes then said he had to talk to his manager. They talked and debated a good five minutes, then my little man came back with a hang-dog look and said, "I can't take any less than $1000." SOLD! You know what makes it better? They scratched the side that won't be seen when they brought it into our house on the dolly, so we finally got it for $950! I repeat---Suh-weet!!

I'm still doing the happy dance three weeks later.

Boys In My Basement!! Yay!

Ben and Adam strut their stuff.


This is Nick. This is Nick after taking a sip of soda and trying to cough at the same time. Pretty things exited his nasal cavity and dripped onto his plate. Nice catch, Nick.




Adam struts his stuff. Again.
Justin, Ben, Adam, Kyle.



Someone strutting his stuff. Any guesses who?




Nick works while the rest flex.







Justin, Ben, Adam and Kyle. Kyle came for the
pizza.
Tonight, I had boys in my basement. That makes me so excited. I haven't had a bunch of boys in my basement for a while. Once my son graduated from high school and he and his buds were off to college, boys in the basement were scarce to find. I love having boys in the basement. I miss the antics, the rough-housing, the noises that exude from both ends of their bodies, the jokes. I've always said, "Give me a house full of boys any day. Two girls in the same house create drama!" (Sorry, girls, but it's true).

So what's that got to do with a renovation? Well, before they were in the basement, they were ripping out sheet rock. God bless their ever-lovin' body-building hearts.

BEN
Every morning, Jim gets up at the crack of dawn to meet these guys in the weight room at our local high school. Take one old man and a bunch of boys and bedlam and muscle-flexing is sure to ensue. I have to send HUGE kudos out to these guys. They moved our project down the road tonight. I am sooooo grateful.








Adam flexes muscle and tries to light a fire.

Gotta love disaray

This is the old sink, installed in 1979. Removed 2/22/09.



Old sink now gettin' ready for Hillbilly Heaven which I hope will NOT remain on the back deck.


Temporary kitchen sink. This is what will be our pantry. The sink will remain as a utility sink in this space. We have no utility sink anywhere else. Imagine it with shelves around it. The cabinets are temporary for storage.


This is what the pantry did look like before. Dontcha just love the mirrored glass tiles? It used to have sign on it that said "Private Bar". I think that's what the previous bachelor-owner used this space for. We lived with this for nine years.

Yo, Jannie-Babe! It's a good look for you!

From the Beginning

As you look at these sad little pictures of our sad little house, remember that everybody has to start somewhere. We're just behind the decorating 8-ball, more so than many. That's why I'm always looking at all those fabulous blogsites---the ideas are endless!

This is where we are starting from. Bits and pieces of construction are evident from the first plan which changed dramatically six months ago. We're just a little slow in the planning and deconstructing.:

Standing just inside the front door into what WAS going to be the extension of our kitchen. This was a wasted space.


Looking backward toward the front door to our present living room.


Looking into our "delightful" galley kitchen. Two people cannot be in here at the same time without being in the way. It is impossible to have two people in this room and have the fridge door open. GaH!



Looking into the dining room while standing in the living room. The fireplace is going bye-bye. It sucks the heat out of the house and makes the floor cold. Love a fireplace, but this one is not 2009 efficient. This is where the kitchen will be.

Looking into the kitchen and living room while standing in the dining room. That wall will disappear. All of this space will be opened up to create an L-shaped open concept Great Room of kitchen, dining area, and living room.