Wheelz.....

This post actually has nothing to do with the house, just sharing another new development. My Honda Fit has turned into a radio station vehicle, and relocated to Virginia. You would hardly even recognize my little scooter bug anymore, but she makes a gorgeous radio car. She has pep and personality.




With my car off to a new calling, it was time for me to find a new set of wheels. After a lot of exploration, I chose a 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman S. I love it!

Fairy Godmother

Our Fairy Godmother came and turned the pumpkin into a beautiful tudor! (Kenny may not know he is our fairy godmother, but I guess he is, now). Pumpkins belong in pie, jams, and cheesecake, but not on houses. We are so happy the paint is getting this close to done, and will be thrilled when it is finally done (the rain is slowing the progress down).

Making A Doggie Safe Haven

We have started fence re-construction! Step one was the removal of the cable wire fence that ran along the driveway. More fencing updates will follow, but we are in progress to make the property safe for Lady and Charlie to romp, swim and run and frolic in the sun.

She Huffed And She Puffed...

And she blew my weeping willow tree down! I am so so sad about this. The big storms we got last Monday were extremely intense. Joel and I have never seen so much wind damage before. We feel blessed that all that happened on our property was two downed trees as we saw everything ravaged around us, but it is still sad to lose such a beautiful plant, that can't be easily replaced.

King of My Castle

I love my little family. Just being out here and enjoying the fresh air with Joel, Lady and Charlie is fabulous. Couldn't ask for more.

Breaking Ground

We are having a very big garden this year that will serve our family as well as Benjamin and Allison. Benjamin contributed his arm power to the tiller, as Joel, I, and Douglas looked on from the creek bank. Can't wait to plant!

Move Day!!!!!!!

Two 26 foot UHauls, 2 Trips, 2 Days...3 movers, and an Annual report on form 10K due to the Securities and Exchange Commission the same day! What an exhausting adventure, but we got it done.

At It Again

Poncho and Jesus got hard at work replacing the rest of the bad boards on the house. All the rot is gone, and the EIFS is replaced with Hardi Board around the whole house. Another big infrastructure success.

Special Announcement

In the midst of everything happening at the house, my fabulous oldest nephew, Ammon had a birthday! So, here's a very Happy Happy Birthday Blogpost. We hope your day was fabulous, and love you very much!

Warning - Wet Paint, Do Not Touch

The hardwoods are in, preparation for paint has begun. This is exciting and transformational. Gone will be the blue and orange, replaced with a soothing earthy palette. Our colors have great names like Stem Green, Bungalow Gold, Belgian Waffle, and Duchess of Windsor Peach.

Oohhh...Shiny!

These photos speak for themselves. Love hardwood.

A Touch Of Home

Even though it was a little pre-mature, I started moving things to the pantry to get a little touch of home into the house. Lots of pantry space. Very well organized pantry space. I will really enjoy cooking in this kitchen.

Debris and His Cousin Debris

A phonetic explanation of this post title---we tend to intentionally mispronounce the word Debris as a little play on words based on some of the very interesting names we see on the news or hear in the more ethnic neighborhoods around town. So, as you may guess, this is intended to be said as Deh-briss and his brother Duh-bree, which well sounds like some rather interesting names. We couldn't resist this after hearing about a young girl in Nashville whose name, as printed on her birth certificate is L-A.

L-A? You may ask????? Why Ladasha, of course!

Well, enough of fun with phonics. Here is our current pile of Debris.

The Big Dig

Poncho, Jesus, and a really big hole--2 really big holes actually. The foundation needed some attention after 2 years of vacancy, failed rain gutters and water pouring right down on the foundation. Poncho and Jesus, shovels in hand in one day dug 12 feet down to the base of the foundation and repaired it completely with tar, foam, cement and all sorts of other good waterproofing stuff (that's my technical term for it). Everything is all good now, and there is no leakage into the basement, and the foundation should not have any issues at all. Though the photos aren't dramatic, this is actually the big stuff, and is so important to the longevity of our home.

Bringing Balance to Bogus

Back to the Bogus Room---On the left was bright brass ceiling fan. On the right was a tiny little spot light, pointed at the fireplace. Both just had to go. Replacing each are matching lights---Dothan Place Chandeliers by Jeremiah Lighting. A fabulous find by Joel.

Their Loss, Our Gain!

Introducing our new back door! This amazing Pella Fiberglass door was merchandise returned, and it is now in our family room leading out the back deck. The Crystal Rosettes in this door are beyond gorgeous, and the light filtering through them in the morning is a happy thing to see. I think this fits the house perfectly, and the camera just doesn't do it justice.

Onward Towards an Allergen Free Home

The humans in our home don't have bad allergies, but the fur kids do--so we try to be as allergen free as possible. Of course, that doesn't completely help our cat that seems to be allergic to cats (or humans), but it does make things better for them. All of the carpet is now out of the house--including in the massive upstairs guest suite---or should we say Guest SWEET!

Look Mom, No Leaks!

The ceilings in the Master Bedroom and Foyer where we had our huge messes are repaired!!! Just waiting on paint (which is now done, but wasn't at the time these photos were taken...)

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

With our new plan to refinish and update the kitchen, we won't be doing copper. I found a stainless undermount sink on Overstock that looked fabulous. Since it was limited in quantity I went ahead and ordered it up. It comes with lots of accessory pieces, and will be perfect. I love the angles on it, and it's nice and big to hold large pots during summer canning season.

Don't Jump To Conclusions

Sometimes it is good to live with something before you make a decision. The kitchen in our house is one such thing. We didn't like it when we looked at the house, but now that we live here we have found the layout to be amazingly functional, and I even like the small skinny island---it has turned into my juice bar. The cabinets are honey oak, which I don't like, but I think we have found a solution to that which will save us literally about $20,000 dollars (can you say swimming pool???).

Enter cabinet refinishing. In researching, I found a company with an awesome portfolio. They are called Mojo Faux and are based in Murfreesboro. I have my fingers crossed that they will come as far as Gallatin, because I would love for them to do our kitchen. Here's a sample of their work:



Here is a Before Shot:







This one is After:








These two are a finish that I love that they call "Bronze Works":

Not So Bogus Anymore

The Bogus room is becoming progressively less and less bogus. It will be the showplace of the house in time. The horrible gross burgundy carpet is gone!!! The subfloor is in great shape, so just some minor re-levelling, and hardwoods can go in.

Not Long For The World

A month before we even owned the house we came across a killer deal on a Merchandise return door to replace the french doors. This is the french doors in their final moment on the house---they are now in the basement, and for sale. If you know anyone who wants a patio french door, just some paint to get rid of the orange, and they are in great shape!

Deconstruction

Recall the original dining room photos? Flanking each side of the fireplace were large built-ins. They weren't bad per se, but they didn't really work with the room, and certainly wouldn't work with our dining room furniture. So, we decided to remove them. They are currently stored in the basement, and will make a beautiful wall unit in the rec room when we later finish some space in the lower level.

Sorry for the bad photos in the next few posts--my camera settings were apparently off.

Old Friends

We love Hinoki Cypress trees. They are elegant, have gorgeous form, a unique close needle that is feather soft, and they smell good. These two have been with us a LONG time, and they have come with us through 5 moves now--this will be the last one. We're not moving again. They are in the permanent spot, flanking the sidewalk at the entry way to the house. They are landscape plants, but we consider them friends.