Final Countdown

We have scheduled the floor guys to come NEXT WEEK!  This means we are on a time crunch and still have so much to do!  Trim, closet doors, fixing windows, installing light fixtures and getting plumbing fixtures hooked up. The floors being sanded down and refinished is huge as this is the last big step before moving in!

After that we are basically set!  We are getting excited, but also feeling the pressure.  Scott starts his ICU rotation on Tuesday (going in almost every day with 30hr days every three days) so the timing is perfect as he will basically be worthless outside of the hospital.  I am so grateful for such a hard working, motivated husband.  He really has been such a trooper - working his shifts at the hospital and then coming home and working 4-8 hours on the house (or working those hours and then going into the hospital at night).  I am just so blessed to have such a stellar dude that I'm married to and had to brag a little at how well he provides for us.
Here are a few pictures.  All the details are coming together and we are slowly scratching off details on Vinnie's final list

.  

Trying to decide on paint colors...

Erica and Roman in bedroom #1 with the new paint (ignore the shelving to your right - it will be moved eventually)

Bedroom #2 - painting in progress (it's finished now)

Aaaaaand bedroom #3 - still need to scrape that window down and prime and paint it.

Putting our last craigslist appliance, the double oven, in - it was a beast to deal with, but is absolutely beautiful :)  If an oven can be beautiful...

Installing the hardware our neighbor found for us at a garage sale which we painted to coordinate with our kitchen.

Fans and light fixtures going in (don't worry - we'll put the blades on soon)

Sissy Visits!

Erica came to visit for the last 5 days with my sweet little three-month-old nephew, Roman.  She flew all by herself with him and was quite the supermom.  We didn't do anything too wild but had such a good time together, catching up on lots of missed time together.

We spent quite a bit of time over at the new house.  Picked paint colors for the last three bedrooms and painted for several hours.  Roman helped a little.

Inspecting Vinnie's carpentry work

He already has quite the little personality and it was SO fun to be able to spend so much time with him.  Check out that smirk!

Roman with Uncle Scott

I am so proud of what an excellent mommy my sister has become.  It's so beautiful to watch how well she does with him - makes me pretty proud of her :)

They flew out yesterday afternoon and it was hard to see them go.  I miss them so much already!

Fall

I think it is finally here in New Orleans!  Today the temp dropped from high-80's to mid-50's in a matter of hours, and the wind is blowing like crazy.  This weather puts me in the mood for sweat pants and baking!  (It's also a good excuse to procrastinate on the homework...)  So, I quick mixed up some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread.  Oh. My. Deliciousness.  I'm trying to stick to only one piece tonight.  We'll see how that goes...

Ariyah's been bugging me for a piece as well.  I just had to get her little face in there for you all to see how guilty she tries to make me feel for not sharing...

We're getting closer!

We're moving right along with the house!

Sorry the video cut off early - I ran out of room on the memory card.  I was about to tell you where the toilet and new double vanity will be going.

This vanity was our find of the month so far.  It is solid poplar, with a granite top and two under-mount sinks. It was originally $1100 at Lowe's and happened to be on sale last weekend so we went to buy it and discovered it was slightly damaged (a little nick I'll never point out to anyone and will be impressed if you can find), so they marked it down some more.  While they were trying to load it onto the cart to take to the register, the manager broke the back-splash and we bargained them down even further!  We ended up getting it for $375 and are so happy about it!

We're hoping to be moving into the house sometime in the first half of November and are getting more and more excited about it.  We're hoping we don't have any big set-backs before now and then and that everything continues to stay on track.

The details that matter

The last two weeks have been full of finish carpentry.  We've been putting up crown moulding, hanging doors, painting, and working on plumbing and electric work like crazy.

A stack of trim - ready to go up.

 Vinnie found us a fabulous deal on moulding/trim at a warehouse and they practically gave it to us.  We're so happy to have someone on our side who knows where the good deals are and who knows how to talk his way into an even better deal before you even know what's happened.

Kinda blurry picture of the crown moulding in the living room

Here's the front bathroom.  We bought the vanity at Home Depot, I painted the walls in Arabian Sands (by Behr), and we're doing the oiled bronze fixtures for a little added flair.  Yesterday Vinnie put a door on that bathroom. Today Scott's putting in the drain on that shower and finishing the plumbing for it and the toilet, which we bought yesterday, so we can finally have a somewhat working bathroom over there!

Scott's dad came down for three days last week (he was a trooper with his recently operated on broken ankle and all).  We set up little work stations with comfy stools for him and he helped Scott figure out the rest of the major electric work.  Scott's been working on connecting everything throughout the house for the last few weeks now.  A big task considering we have about 150 outlets and light switches alone (not including light fixtures) - the more the merrier, right?

Another big project has been the master bathroom shower.  We were originally going to do an Acrylic shower insert which we special ordered through Home Depot.  Three days after it was supposed to arrive, a few weeks ago, they told us it was back ordered for at least 5 more weeks.  Such a frustration.  SO, back to the drawing board.  We decided to go with a tile shower, but were afraid of leaking, due to the fact that we have heard only horror stories of completely tiled showers which crack and leak within a few years.  Because we really like the brand new sub floor we put in throughout that whole area of the house, we decided to play it safe and hopefully avoid leaks and termites and rot and all the fun things that come along with water seeping into places it shouldn't, with a fiberglass insert for the base.

I painted the room last week and we went shopping for the tile on Monday evening.  We picked out a marble tile from our local flooring outlet place for $1.99/sq ft and love it.  

Scott found the glass tile border on clearance at Home Depot.  We have enough to hopefully carry that through to a back-splash for our vanity and maybe around the bathtub in the room?  Details that can be added later as we go. 

Our tile man is over there grouting everything as we speak and will be done with it today so Scott can move onto the plumbing in that room next.  

Kitchen Progress

Everyday new details are added to the kitchen.  Vinnie has worked hard on the pride and joy of this house and I really have no idea where we'd be without him.  He is so creative and so FAST at just making beautiful things out of nothing!  Also he is so knowledgeable.  If we don't know how to do something, or have a question about where to start or proceed with a project, Vinnie knows exactly what to do. And he listens.  This is the biggest thing I love about him that I have learned many other construction guys lack.  You go over the details and hash everything out multiple times and you come back 10 minutes later and they're doing something completely different.  But not our beloved Vinnie.  I could sing his praises all day long and our kitchen reflects how wonderful his attention to detail is.

So, without further delay - here are pictures to catch you up on what's happened in our kitchen since my last update.

First - please remember that this is what the room looked like in May:

And here's where we are now:

Granite being installed in August:

A close-up of our Verde Butterfly granite:

Trying to make final decisions on the paint colors...

We went with Behr Laurel Mist (that green) for all the walls in the kitchen, living room, and back hallway, and Behr Castle Path (reduced by 25%) for the ceiling in the living room, with an even lighter version of it for the kitchen ceiling.

Putting up the back-splash: 2in x 2in slate with a stone border.

Tying the kitchen together with finishing details.  If you look closely you will notice above the cabinets where he added the border of our stone back-splash below the crown molding for added height, color, and to tie everything together.  All the molding was taped up at this point as we tried to decide a color for it.

Back-splash behind the stove top.  

Vinnie had the tin piece "just lying around" and we've since polyurethaned in to darken it and take out the extra colors caused by oils on it.  I love it there!

Vinnie putting all the grout in the back-splash:

Another one of Vinnie working - nailing all the trim into place:

If you notice on these last few pictures the beams are darker with a richer color.  These were the original beams used to build the house - they were originally 24ft long here, spanning the width of the house.  Vinnie cut them and sistered two of each together when we decided to add the vaulted ceiling in the kitchen.  All that was done to them for the color was sanding them down (to remove the big imperfections and coloration differences) and adding a coat of polyurethane.  I love the character they add to the kitchen!  Another great, great idea by Vinnie.

And this is what it all looked like a few day ago!  More details have since been finished, but it is really getting close to being done!

View down the back hallway so you can see the stained-glass windows

Floors and Walls

SO, SO much has happened to the house since our last update!  I keep thinking of the few faithful readers I have on here and feeling guilty that I haven't updated you, but honestly I just haven't had the time or energy.  Anywhooo - now you're going to get a rush of posts as I try to catch up while I'm on break from school.

This last week flooring was the goal of our lives.  We bought almost an entire pallet of slate shipped straight from India to our local flooring store and made available to us on sale for $0.99/ sq foot.  A steal of a deal. Hence the reason we bought so much.  It was hellish to carry all of that from the truck, up one flight of stairs, and into the house.  My arms and legs were shaking after only half of it was in the house and we were both sore the next couple days.  I will be happy if I never ever have to carry that much slate in my life again.

We found some great tile guys on Craigslist and they laid it last week.  We now have slate in the back hallway, our pantry, our master bathroom, the other back bathroom, and our laundry room.  About 360 sq ft of slate.

Our slate.  

Half-empty pallet in the back of the truck:

First few pieces laid in the back hallway.  It was such a dusty ordeal!

All the slate laid and looking dirty from the thin set.  

(I spent about two hours squatting/hands and knees cleaning off the tiles so I could seal the slate before grouting it)

My husband, the stone mason.  Chipping away some high edges so we can open and close our back door

Two coats of semi-gloss sealer for all the slate:

Finished product:

We picked a different porcelain tile for the front bathroom.  I love it.  The shower surround is matching porcelain with a travertine tile design border.  We found the tile at a great price and it ended up being only slightly more expensive than using a fiberglass shower surround.  We're pretty happy because we love this look so much more than the fiberglass we're used to and were expecting to use.

Shower and floor laid: filling in with grout.

I forgot to go back and get another picture that evening with it all done.  I'll show you next week once we get some paint on the walls and a toilet in (we're so close to having a working bathroom over there!)

The big decision this week is what tile to use in our master shower.  We're trying to figure out how to use a different type of tile (we think slate would get gross in a shower - it's so rough and porous - even after sealing it) to use that will tie in well with the slate on the floor.  Hoping we can come to a decision by Tuesday so that tile work can get finished and we can start hooking all the plumbing up!

Feast or Famine

After weeks & months of problems with our phones missing calls and text messages, and several hours of time spent deliberating on the phone, Verizon agreed to send us new phones for free.  Last week.

When the FedEx lady drove right past my house on Monday, and we still had no phones, I was irritated.  Then my sister in Minneapolis called to ask why she just received a phone for Scott.  Huh?!

After another angry call, Verizon said they would overnight a new batch to us and profusely apologized, requesting that Erica refuse any more packages that may come from them this week.

Tuesday morning this is what arrived here:

Do you think they would notice if we kept them all?! .

Coping Mechanisms

Yesterday was rough - it was a Monday that just did not go well, full of frustrations and a few tears.

Today will be better.  In order to start it off right, I marched through the smoke (our bayous & marshes are burning) to the corner store and bought my cure for distress.  I then proceeded to have a healthy dose of it for breakfast.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream for breakfast.

Today has to go better now, right?

Sheetrock + Granite = Progress!

We were gone last weekend in the Boundary Waters (I know, I need to blog about it - maybe tomorrow...or the next day) and came back to our sheet rock going up!  They finished hanging it all this weekend, on Saturday, and today they start the mudding and taping.  We're way past this video, but I thought I should share it anyways to give you an idea of the progression of things. 

Today the granite men showed up with their big slabs of rock for our kitchen!  I just want to sit over there in  a corner and watch them work all day.  It's SO interesting.  They are quick and I feel like I'm missing lots.  However - I have so much school and this other house to keep up.  Also, who wants some girl hovering around watching your every move as you work?  They'd probably be irritated.

Here's the work station they have going outside to make all their final cuts and holes:

Working inside - making all their final measurements

(Like our front-and-center pile of trash? We're getting our THIRD dumpster today)

Wooden counter top before the granite:

Alright, my curiosity is killing me!  I'm going over to check on them again :)  

Everything's Coming Together

Here's a quick video update of the house for you all - enjoy looking at those studs!  It's the last time you'll see them on video.  Sheet rock starts going up on Monday!

(Sorry it's rather shakey and discombobulated - I was in a hurry and a little distracted when I took it)

Big things that have happened with the house in the last week:

• We ordered our shower for the master bathroom and bathtub/shower for the front bathroom
• Almost all the cabinets are installed - only two left to go!
• We picked out the granite for our kitchen (Verde Butterfly) (sounds green, but the slabs we are getting are more black with silver specs to bring out the stainless steel appliances) and put our deposit down.
• We decided on tile for the back splash in the kitchen.  This was a big step for me, for those of you who don't know, I mini-panic when it comes to decorating and picking colors.
• The exterior of the house started getting painted - the first coat is on and they're working on coat #2.  It's been raining rather randomly though so they're trying to work in between all of that.

We've Gone Green

We got a new lawnmower yesterday to be shared among the neighbors.  Found an amazing deal on Craigslist and we are pretty excited about it.  It's a cordless, chargeable electric one!  Perfect for our little yards.  As you can tell, we TOTALLY needed it.

It's quieter than the old gas one and cut that grass with NO problem.  We're pretty excited about it.

I'm home!

For a few days at least - but I couldn't leave without lots of cute pictures of my little nephew!  I know most of you probably don't care, but here's a few I snapped for everyone else interested.

So serious with his daddy's eyes

I could just gush and gush about how precious this sweet boy is, but I'll spare you all.  Besides, it's back to the books for me, as I am waaaaaay behind on school.  I'll try and get a house update on here soon.  Lots has happened since the last time!

And his name is...

Roman Titus

Aka: Little Bean, Mr. Juicy Lips, Lil' Tie Tie, and many more pet names to come

Everyone is home safe and sound and finally getting a little sleep!