Housewarming

(I wrote this on 1/29 and somehow never got around to posting it...)

Last Saturday we had our official "Housewarming Party"

Not everything is done here.  And we haven't really even begun to decorate.  However, we decided we needed to do it sooner, rather than later - and all the etiquette websites I looked at gave us permission to go ahead now :)

Here are some pictures of our CLEAN house right before the party started.  

Oh, but first.  Just to remind you all - this is what the "kitchen" (and the entire rest of the house) looked like back in July....

And it now looks like THIS: 

[View when you stand in the front of the house, looking back] Living area, dining area, kitchen way in back

[View standing in the dining area facing the front of the house:]

[View of the kitchen facing the back of the house:]

Those cabinets and appliances we found on Craigslist turned out pretty well I do believe... It never ever would have looked this way without all of Vinnie's amazing inspirations and expertise and hard work.

[View of the kitchen facing the front of the house:]

Vinnie made those colander light fixtures over the bar

Our bedroom & closet:

We had an amazing turn out with so many friends and co-workers that were able to make it, which made us so happy!  Although the AC had trouble keeping up for a little while there (it was very warm that evening and quite humid), everyone seemed to have enough room to move around and socialize.

Scott smoked brisket for people to make sandwiches with. We also served all sorts of sides with a veggie platter, humus and pita chips, along with various cheeses and meats.

We gave little tours throughout the night.  Scott got his projector all set up in the media room, and we had a slide show going with all of the pictures of this project since we bought the house back in March.

Overall it was a huge success, and I'm glad those of you who made it were able to come!

There have been many laughs, owies, aches, tears, furious rants, and moments of sheer terror as we have brought our house through such a huge transition and it has become what it is today.  We never could have done it without the help of our amazing families and many of our wonderful friends and awesome neighbors.  We are so blessed to live in this house and never imagined in a million years that this would be part of our journey living here.  Although there are several perks we enjoy in this house, we are mostly grateful for the space to more easily spend time with our friends and family and show hospitality to others.  SO, once again, as we always say - if you're ever thinking of coming down to New Orleans, please call us up.  We've love to have you come visit :)