Going Up?

When we left things last week we had a framed in basement. Now we have this:

That folks is a second story! I like to call this "grown-up land". I've told Brandon he can't take off his socks and lay around in his underwear upstairs and he and his cute tushy can hightail it downstairs with the toys and the stinky boy feet. This is also where the recliner will go so I imagine he won't protest. I may be the only lady in the house (term used loosely) but there will be a small modicum of civilization, even if I have to lock everyone downstairs! (I'll just keep telling myself this. That means it will work, right?)

This is the front entry way. You can't tell yet but there will be a fairly large covered porch. Here I will sit in my rocker and sip sweet tea. At least in my fantasies. What mom of boys has time for anything other than boogers and band-aids?

This is one of my favorite places in the house, the kitchen! I can't wait to show you the appliances we picked out. (shout-out to Kevin at Sav-Mart!). I opted for a slightly less open floor plan than what is most popular now because I like separation and I have an easier time cleaning rooms when I feel like I can take them one at a time. Also, I plan to hide in here.

This is the front entry from the inside. The open space is the staircase to the downstairs. We'll just put a pony wall in here so it will be open and we will get light from the front windows and the back.

Here's Griffin perched in his windowsill with daddy. Keeping him close to the house may be a problem because he likes to wander off and look for crickets and all manner of critters. I am hoping the window will not be used as a method of escape.

The rest of this week consists of sheeting the house in OSB and starting the deck. Outdoor living paradise! We meet with the cabinet lady tomorrow and I am nervous and excited. Once I make that final choice I can't go back.

I'll just go question every decision I've ever made now- see you soon!

All the New Trends

Last weekend was one of our favorite yearly events- the BNCW Home Show. Local Wenatchee area builders showcase new custom and spec homes, and often sell them for ridiculous amounts of money. Brandon and I love going and seeing what the latest trends are and what catches our eye. This ear was definitely a do-or-die kind of year for us because we are building the house so decisions must be made now.

There was one prevailing theme this year- grey.

From Apartment Therapy.

There was dark grey, light grey, shades of greige. It's the new neutral. Unfortunately I'm kind of stuck in creams and tans. Call me old fashioned.

From South Shore Decorating Blog.

I like it, and it's modern, but it doesn't make my heart sing. And it really doesn't go with my dream copper sink.

About the only true inspiration we walked away with this year was a really cool concrete shower floor in our neighbor's new house.

In the meantime the upstairs layout is complete and I will be sure to post pictures when the walls go up. I had an exciting date with the appliance guy (yes a date, it was too exciting to be a meeting), and we should meet with the cabinet lady later this week. Things are coming together quickly, and I'm so ready. The thought of a shorter drive has me absolutely salivating.

Sticks and Stones

So in a matter of a short week the bare foundation has gone from stark naked to this...

And then just yesterday to this...

It's getting to be a real house now! The boys know where their rooms are and Bowen proudly marches into his and says "Bowen's room"! Griffin apparently thinks his bathroom is huge; we'll see how he feels when everything is in there because it feels narrow to me. The basement rec room is pretty darn big. In fact I stare around wondering what the heck I'm going to put down here. A kid's racetrack? I'm sure it will fill up but making good use of the space is a priority to me because I hate a bad flow and disorganization. Since this will be toy land I will be scouring the area for storage furniture galore.

Griffin isn't sure why he gets two windows but I showed him the awesome view he has. He's way too cool to be kissed by mom now.

The upstairs floor joists are almost all on now and framing of the upstairs should begin today or Monday. The house is flying together and we're doing our best to keep up but sometimes it feels like racing a cheetah on foot!

We also have a potential buyer for the Waterville house, hopefully we will meet him Sunday. In the meantime it's home show weekend so I'm geared up to get some great ideas for finishing off the house. I'll do my level best to take pictures. Ok who am I kidding? I'll say "Honey, do you have your phone? Take pictures!" Poor man.

Until next time...which probably isn't long from now.

Feel the Burn

It's probably only fair to my husband to etch in stone (figuratively) the hard time I gave him about a fireplace in the new house. I don't usually have the stones to ask for what I want but when I get an idea under my skin I sort of keep scratching at it until I satisfy my itch. Our house was not designed with a fireplace of any sort, but in the nice area we are building it's pretty standard and it's a pretty big house. I mean what the heck am I supposed to do with a giant formal living room wall? Also, I loved laying in front of the gas fireplace we had when I was a kid.

So I met with people. I picked at the budget and bugged our builder. I drove my husband nuts with my logical arguments. Now we won't freeze if the power goes out. Oh look, Roddy at Gale can plumb the gas line to the kitchen for an extra $200 so we can eat in the dark too! It will drive up the appraisal, etc.

I think he caved just to get me to be quiet, but I promise you won't regret it honey!

So our builder got it lined out with the county and it seems I get what I want. So now... what do I want?

I LOVE this fireplace from Hammers and High Heels.

I don't think I could do the super custom cabinets like they made but if the dimensions work I could hack something similar with pre-made kitchen cabinets from Lowe's. And the good news is we already have stone from a casino job Brandon worked on!

There's a lot more woodwork on this fireplace found here. It does look very clean though.

I saved this room from Jane Lockhart as a great frame of reference for our house because the living room will have vaulted ceilings. Though honestly I prefer for the stonework not to go all the way up. Which I suppose is good because we don't have enough.
 












In any case I'm so excited to include this feature in our home. Please tell me what styles you like, I'm all open for any input!

Foundations

I'm a little behind times but, this happened last week.

Our house has a sturdy bottom (harhar)! That tiny little fellow you see is Bowen standing in the downstairs rec room. I'm envisioning this as boy-land, and I shall banish all toys to this realm. I  honestly can't imagine what it will be like to have a living room upstairs that is toy-free and looks grown up. Though I know I'd be kidding myself to think the toys won't magically creep upstairs, the goal is to deport them swiftly and without mercy. 

In the corner you can see Papa Mike being a huge help to us by backfilling with his trusty helper Griffin.

Griffin loves his machines, working and the outdoors. He reminds me so very much of his dad. Who for some reason I didn't catch in any of these pictures, oh well.

I love the view from our house. These high concrete walls are part and parcel of the daylight basement design we choose- but gosh are they spendy, Like make me want to throw up spendy. I can only hope that in the event of  a zombie apocalypse all that concrete will come in handy. 

As of right now it doesn't look hugely different. The plumbers are in the basement roughing in the boys' bathroom and the downstairs bar area. Next up comes pouring the slab, but the big changes won't come until the lumber package shows up in the next 2 weeks. That's when the house will really start to fly! It's exciting but also majorly scary. Also, I think I may never want to make another decision again, like ever, when we get this beast done.

Speaking of exciting and scary- look at this bean sprout.

 Today was his first day of Kindergarten. I am baffled because I'm pretty sure I gave birth to him a few weeks ago. How is he in Kindergarten already? He did great at drop-off but he was really trying to hold it together- his face was flushed and he was very silent. I saw him scrub his face when I walked out the door and my heart broke but he was so stoic when he kissed me goodbye,

Ok now I am going to cry to- can't talk anymore. I can't wait to ask about his first day!

See you when the walls go up.

The Waiting Game

Right now we are playing the waiting game- waiting on permits mostly. I was hesitant to submit them before we closed on the loan but now I wished we would have.  I was fearful we'd be out the money from our pockets I suppose. Oh well- we should have good news (and foundations) to report next week! In the meantime I thought I'd share a post I wrote about when we first bought the actual land and what hoops we had to jump through to get dirt to build on in the first place.

How to Build a House- Step 1 Buying Property

You can tell this picture was taken a while ago - we haven't seen rain clouds in quite a long time unfortunately.

Hopefully we'll be back very soon with news. I'm ready to see some concrete flow!

Resurrecting the Beast- With a New Purpose

For a good long while I've let any pretenses of writing lay quietly in a corner molding away. It happens you know, the whole 2 kids, a husband and a job thing. Most nights I want a nice adult beverage, a video game or a book, and soft sheets. But for the last 3 years now my husband and I have been patiently sitting on a piece of property we bought in 2012 that we planned to build on. Like fluffy little hens we sat on this egg until the time was right, and now on the cusp of pouring a foundation, I find this is a project I really want to have clear memories of.

I'm the kind of person who is terrible about cameras, can't be bothered to take a picture, and is too busy living in the moment to stop and think about how much I enjoy reminiscing sometimes. I've written a blog before but with much different, monetary goals. It's nice this time to write something for myself and my family so we can remember all the hard work we've put into this dream. Kind of like when Brandon and I caught Bowen looking at old photos of us, it was nice to remember what being skinny and well-rested was like!

Here's a peek of the monster that will consume our lives for the next 9 months or so. I can't wait to install tile, stain concrete floors, and build tables with you, whoever you may be. If you like building things too, please feel free to chime in and tell me about your experiences, I'd love to connect with you!