House Update - Interior

This week it looks like the interior has been studded all the way, all the walls, doorways and electrical are in.  The fireplace is installed and now when you walk in it's really starting to look like a house.  They also have the garage door in which makes a big difference.  Plus it keeps a lot of the wind out of the house so it's much less cold when we're walking around.

1. Garage Door
2. Front door, looking in to the living room. Stairs to go up on the left.
3. From the corner of the kitchen, pantry on the left.  Archway from entryway on the right
4. From the kitchen looking into the living room. 
6. Stairs going up
7. Master closet - which of course I had to take a picture of because that's probably what I'm most excited about.

We had our final meeting for interior finishes this week and every little detail is picked out. Although we made a couple of last minute changes, overall everything stayed the same.

1. Laundry room tile (we got the elongated version, same colors), wall color, countertops and floor.
2. Updated master bathroom tiles I forgot last time.  White accent tile for shower, (missing the main grey subway tile), rock tile for bottom of shower, countertops, floor and wall color.

BUILDING TIMELINE:
Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door (similar to this), interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles
Nov 5 (Day 29) - Ground breaking - hole digging and laying some foundation.
Nov 13 (Day 37) - Outside brick
Nov 18 (Day 42) - Cabinet place again - Changed our minds of the kitchen cabinets!
Nov 19 (Day 43) - Chose lighting, sort of because that was pretty hard. Still have to finalize some choices.
Week of Nov 24 (Day 53) - Pour concrete base - framing basement - finalize light choices and custom island color, custom hood vent and misc faucets.
Week of Dec 8 (Day 68) - Finishing up the framing and starting the roof. Plywood mostly put up all around the house. It's starting to look like a house.
Week of Dec 15 (Day 75) - Framing complete and ready for siding. Roof almost finished. Electrical walk-through, still deciding on lights.  Electrical rough-in and instal of fireplace. Tubs in bathrooms.
Week of Dec 22 (Day 82) - Inspections. Insulation and drywall will be up this week. Final interior finishes picks.

We should have an insulated and dry-walled house by the first of the year which will make it nice and toasty for when we come visit.  Bummer part is now we have to start paying for heat so those contractors better be closing those doors behind them!  Next up; selling our house!  Anyone want to buy it?!

We're ready for you Christmas!

...and we really are because all the presents are wrapped, baking in done, decorating complete and we're ready to celebrate with family. All a day early too!

So far we've been able to enjoy this much warmer weather which has been great!  No snow for Christmas and I'm loving it for once!  Jeff was able to take Noah to an MSU game before the weekend and I was able to relax at home all by myself.  Such a mom pleasure.

We've been doing a lot of cooking and baking and I'm positive Noah is going to be a chef when he grows up. Little buddy loves to help mom in the kitchen.

Noah's been super fun to be around during Christmas break so far and we can't wait to spend this Christmas together now that he's older.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

House Update - Electrical, Fireplace & Windows

This phase of building is going so fast that everyday on my way home from work I notice something else has changed.  The windows and doors are up, the roof is almost done. (Poor roofing guys, it's so cold!) On the inside, the basement is framed and on the main floor the fireplace is framed and should be installed today!

We had our electrical walk-through yesterday.  We walked through every single room thinking about where we wanted light switches and plugs.  It's seems easy, but there's a lot of thought that electricians put behind those choices. The coolest thing so far is how they'll wire all of our electronics behind the wall so we wont have to see any wires.  We really had to think where we will want tvs and such which makes you figure out furniture plans much earlier than anticipated.

Before and after roof and windows

BUILDING TIMELINE:
Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door (similar to this), interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles
Nov 5 (Day 29) - Ground breaking - hole digging and laying some foundation.
Nov 13 (Day 37) - Outside brick
Nov 18 (Day 42) - Cabinet place again - Changed our minds of the kitchen cabinets!
Nov 19 (Day 43) - Chose lighting, sort of because that was pretty hard. Still have to finalize some choices.
Week of Nov 24 (Day 53) - Pour concrete base - framing basement - finalize light choices and custom island color, custom hood vent and misc faucets.
Week of Dec 8 (Day 68) - Finishing up the framing and starting the roof. Plywood mostly put up all around the house. It's starting to look like a house.
Week of Dec 15 (Day 75) - Framing complete and ready for siding. Roof almost finished. Electrical walk-through, still deciding on lights.  Electrical rough-in and instal of fireplace. Tubs in bathrooms.

We have to finalize our interior picks next week which so far has been the most exciting for me. We spent  four hours last week going through literally every finish in the house. Wall colors, floors, tiles and counters.  I think this meeting is what really got me super excited because it really let me visualize what the inside of the house will look like.  I took a couple of random pictures last week. I'll try and be a little better next week and not forget the pictures. Plus it's nice to have them on my phone in case I need to reference them.

1. Tile for the fireplace.
2. Navy kitchen island, wood floors, grey subway tile, wall color and counter tops.
3. Dark grey for walls, counter tops, white subway tile and accent tile. (Although that will be in the same colors but long thin tile)

Visiting Santa & Finishing the Tree

Usually after a three day weekend I'm ready to get back to work but we had such a great time that I'm a little sad to be leaving the weekend behind.  We finally got the tree up and decorated and even had time to shop the rest of our Christmas presents AND wrap them.  The house was cleaned and dinners were made.  Lots of things we're accomplished which leaves us with a very relaxing, stress free holiday to come.

Noah was a huge helper and after a couple times of hitting the ornaments he finally figured out the tree was a no touch area.  Of course now he points to every ornament as we name what they are over.and.over.  We attempted a nice father-son picture but Noah is the boss of this house and he wasn't having it.

We were able to spend a little time outside since the weather has been great.  Just warm enough to hang out in some pjs and a coat.  We splashed in the water and gave daddy kisses through the door. Judging from this picture though it looks like Noah is going to have to learn how to kiss a little less messy before he gets to high school.

Finally, we ended this weekend with a brunch to see Santa (and Loui the Laker)... I called it from the beginning but I think this next picture says it all.

Not a fan. Hopefully next year goes better. =/  The food though was pretty amazing so I'd say it was worth it.

Friday Favorites - Home Edition

I've got house on my mind and things are finally underway so I figured why not a Friday favorites full of house finds.  

When Noah starts drawing and coloring I'm sure he'll want them all displayed on my nice new refrigerator which I myself see as art itself.  Honestly I'm not super fond of random items everywhere. I need clean lines and a clean house and this idea for hanging childrens art has to be one of my favorite.  Make their art into your art.

No doubt we'll have another garden at the new house with all the old veggies.  I'm excited to try some new ones too since I'll have more room to play around.  You can't plan much in a little planter when your tomato plants are a million feet wide.  Maybe I'll find a good place for a little herb garden separate for the main one.  I would love to make it part of the landscaping.

I'm always looking for a new sewing project and this cactus pillow looks like a super easy and fun one to do.

Building our house, I'm crossing out one of my biggest accomplishments on my bucket list.  I'm so proud that my husband and I have been able to work hard and save lots of money to get this done.  This custom watercolor would be a perfect way to showcase your house in the mudroom for everyone to see.  Although even better would be if I painted it.  Less money, more sentiment.

Since we'll be moving in a couple months before summer I should still have some time to get the house together for a summer party on our new deck.  I've been stalking these globe lights now for ages and this is the best website to get them.  I ordered things for my wedding here and not only did everything look great the prices are always competitive.  Not to mention the sheer amount of things they have. 

These ceramic baskets are tiny but pack a huge punch.  Berries for breakfast anyone?  Clean them up and put them right on your table.  No extra dirty dishes needed. I hate making extra dirty dishes.

Ikea has be best products for DIY projects.  I've seen this Ikea step stool done a million different ways and they always turn out so cute. For only fifteen dollars you really can't go wrong here even if you "mess it up". Why not let your toddler go wild painting it in colors to match their bathroom? Here are a couple of ideas --> Here, here & here.

Have you seen these invisible plugs?  I wonder how easy they would be to install if you already have regular ones?  Seems like such an obvious idea. I'm not sure why these aren't in every house.

I mean, I could go on forever... we'll save it for another Friday. =)

House Update - More Framing & Finishing the Basement

The framing is moving along and the weather is cooperating nicely.  Not a lot of snow in the forecast which looks good for the roof by the end of this week. The framing inside has already begun too which makes it way easier to picture how things will look.  I'm very pleased with most of the house so far but the kitchen and living room seem to be a little smaller than I thought.  I've been told that until the drywall is up you can't really tell anyway so I should just set my worries aside and wait 'till then.  The pantry on the other hand is huge and exactly what I wanted.  I can't wait to go crazy in there organizing everything.  Maybe I can even get it to look like this! Color organized cookbooks anyone?  I love it!

 

BUILDING TIMELINE:
Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door (similar to this), interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles
Nov 5 (Day 29) - Ground breaking - hole digging and laying some foundation.
Nov 13 (Day 37) - Outside brick
Nov 18 (Day 42) - Cabinet place again - Changed our minds of the kitchen cabinets!
Nov 19 (Day 43) - Chose lighting, sort of because that was pretty hard. Still have to finalize some choices.
Week of Nov 24 (Day 53) - Pour concrete base - framing basement - finalize light choices and custom island color, custom hood vent and misc faucets.
Week of Dec 8 (Day 68) - Finishing up the framing and starting the roof. Plywood mostly put up all around the house. It's starting to look like a house.

We usually stop by the house once a week.  Construction, especially during this phase, really isn't meant for kids but Noah is really stepping up for the most part.   Soon enough he'll be able to run around without supervision. Until then, I suppose a piece of wood is a good place to hang out.

Eighteen Months

My little baby has grown up.  He's a year and a half and these last six months have flown by compared to the first six months of his life.  The older he gets the more fun he is. I love that although he is lacking in words he's learning to communicate more and more each day.  His kisses and hugs are the best, and on the days with only one nap the prebedtime cuddles are my favorite.

• Stats: Size 5 Diapers | 2T clothing
• Size: 31.5lbs
• New Abilities: He's running all over the place and fast! He can really use a spoon well and eats his yogurt all by himself.  He can climb on anything and has figured out that if it's too tall he can use something else to help him get up. When you ask him how old he can show you he's one with his finger.  He's finally saying yes by nodding his head.  He will try and move and push you when you're doing something to move you where he wants.  Like when I wash the dishes and there's music he'll push me to the middle of the kitchen so I'll dance with him.  We're working on just grabbing a hand to be pulled somewhere. He can stick his tongue out and knows how to pick his nose.  He can point to most body parts on him and other people.
• New Words: Nothing new this month.
• Sleep: Sleep has been crazy this month.  I'm pretty sure he still needs two naps but between traveling and major teething he's taking much shorter ones and even his night sleep is a little uneasy.  He still sleeps all night and will take one to two naps but not as easy as before.  We're hoping once his molars pop thru he will feel better and be back to normal.
• Mom Check-In: I'm excited for the holidays as Noah will finally be able to better enjoy them.  Most of my Christmas shopping is done and our Christmas cards have been ordered and sent out.  I'm feeling accomplished.  

This next month will fly by as well I'm sure with all the holidays.  Jeff and I both have three weeks of work which will finally give us some time to slow down and spend time as a family. We still need to finished putting up the rest of the tree since we've had barely any time together to do it. The lights are literally all we have up right now. Better late then never, right?
I'm hoping to get lots of dinners made and even a few desserts here and there. Maybe I'll even be able to sleep in a couple days so I don't have to be in bed at nine. Winter break is looking good!

House Update - Framing & Lights

It looks like while we were gone for the Holidays the house was getting busy and the cement must have been poured.  Thank goodness the weather got a little warmer for us! They also started the basement framing and it's starting to look like a house. It may only have changed a little since we last saw it but this is good progress to build on that shouldn't' be affected by the weather too much.  With another warmer week ahead and little snow we're hoping for even more work to get done.

We also finalized a couple of things for the house.  The major one for me was lighting since I was having so many issues picking the lights.  Unfortunately I just couldn't find a good matching choice for my favorite pendants so away we went with those and went with something a little easier for the island.  We also chose our dining table light and the pendant over the sink.  Our final pick still standing was the entryway chandelier which might be my new favorite.  We're making some progress guys and it's getting more exciting!

Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door (similar to this), interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles
Nov 5 (Day 29) - Ground breaking - hole digging and laying some foundation.
Nov 13 (Day 37) - Outside brick
Nov 18 (Day 42) - Cabinet place again - Changed our minds of the kitchen cabinets!
Nov 19 (Day 43) - Chose lighting, sort of because that was pretty hard. Still have to finalize some choices.
Week of Nov 24 (Day 53) - Pour concrete base - framing basement - finalize light choices and custom island color, custom hood vent and misc faucets.

...and we're back!

...to real life that is.  You know, where you work all day and get back to the grind.  And although I must say this last week was a nice change, I'm always ready to get back to it. I'm gearing up this morning for some major cyber monday shopping and catching up on business here at work, but before that a quick weekend update.

The french silk pie I mentioned on Wednesday was a hit just as planned.  I will for sure be making that again.  The pumpkin pie also a hit, especially for being the first time I made it.  Little did I know that although I made it for my mother, she does not like the crust and literally picked the inside out of the pie.  Who does that? and who doesn't like pie crust?!  Next time, pie filling only!  We had a great traditional turkey meal as many of you may have had and spent lots of family time hanging out and chasing after Noah as he tried going up and down the stairs a million times.

For the weekend we went up north and celebrated with our other side of the family.  Jeff and his sister Molly also took part in an alumni basketball game which was super fun to watch. The basketball was a little rusty but can you blame them? =) Noah was a spunky cheerleader from the stands as he cheered on.  Lots of yelling and screaming but still way cute.

Of course no trip with a toddler is without surprises and ours this weekend was Noah learning to take his shirt of while buckled tightly into his car seat.  Which may I add was finally turned front facing even if just for the four hour trip.  Noah thought the whole thing was very entertaining and possibly even a game and I can't say I tried too hard to make him keep it on since it was so hilarious.  I might be paying for this in the future though.

We hope everyone one else also had a great Thanksgiving as we did.  And here's to some Monday shopping!