The Year of the House

SO this year has been dedicated to two things. Having a baby and re-doing our house. I must say I did an excellent job on the baby. The house was largely cosmetic but it was still such an undertaking. It is such a relief to have it done. The huge to-do list in my mind is largely blank and I now have room for "fun" projects again.

Our house is ca. 1915.

Here are the Before and After shots.

On the exterior we got a new roof and painted the outside grey. It was yellow with a green door and green mailbox. We painted the mailbox black and the door white. We also got a porch swing.

This was the easiest part of the renovation...we just paid someone else to do this part. Well, Chris and Derek did rip off half of the roof and raise the right side over the porch, which was sagging. So really it's only true to say that the outside was the easiest part for me. One of the roofing guys left to go to the bathroom and never came back. And Chris said never again to roofing.

Entryway Before

We especially loved (and by loved I mean hated) the wallpaper borders on the stairs and ceiling. In this picture you can see straight through to the laundry room. The front part of the hall was pink and the back part was a magnolia wallpaper--which I actually liked but for the sake of continuity it had to go.

Entryway During

You gotta love the plaster walls. The one good thing about the wallpaper is that it hid all the cracks.

Chickie painting .

Entryway After

I still need to make a pretty curtain for the laundry room door. It has an open glass panel. The laundry room looks like an addition that used to be a back porch.

This blog of the house is quite the undertaking itself. We are off to do fun family stuff today. So more before and afters will be coming later.

I'm thankful that my house is done.

Musings on the Carnton Plantation and other Thursday events

So, not long ago on a mini "vacation" the kids and I stumbled upon (i.e. got lost and ended up at) the Carnton Plantation in Franklin TN. Chickie woke up from her zombie like slumber, the slumber so deep that had me driving around semi-aimlessly in the first place, and I told her with as much enthusiasm as I could possibly animate that we were going to a Mansion! Reluctantly she got out of the car. It seemed like a good idea at the time, taking 2 small children on a historical tour. Honestly, they were pretty great all things considered. The last tour like this that I went on was in Utah at Wheeler Farm and the tour guide that day was just filling in and had absolutely zero knowledge of the farm house. So that was the basis of my expectation for this tour. However, the tour guide at Carnton was also the historian. He reminded me of Westley from the Princess Bride in that I was both entertained and slightly afraid of him...plus he looked a lot like him. Needless to say he was very passionate about the subject and painted a very exciting picture. My two favorite details were: 1. the awesome floor cloth in the dining room. Very inspiring. I need to shellac mine a lot more. And 2. the part about the nanny that ended up marrying one of the wounded soldiers that had to stay in the house for several months after the battle of Franklin. I found the whole thing quite fascinating and now looking at their web site they have ghost tours! I so want to go to that. I don't know what made me think of that just now. Maybe filling out my profile and thinking about Jane Austen. Is there a southern version of Jane Austen? I need to branch out and read some more good fiction, or historical fiction. I probably read way too many self- help books. How much help do I need? Do I really want to ask that question.... You know what I really need to read is Eats, Shoots and Leaves I have the worst punctuation. Maybe I just need to lay into a good Harbrace.

Today we went to the "beach" ( a pool called "The Beach") and it was really fun. Chickie went off of the diving board! I wish I got a picture of her jumping it was the cutest thing ever.

Other thursday haps: I was so saddened by the SYTYCD results. :( Jessi and Jesus were two of my favorite dancers. bummer.



Today I am thankful for a great day with Heather Addison and Riley at "the beach" and my kiddos of course. Heather is a great friend. She is an inspiration to me of how to be a truely great friend. Chickie thought the kiddie pool was for kitties. And Riley decided to water the grass with her mouth....if only I had a sound clip of her saying that in her 3 year old dialect. SO funny! Being a mom is the best! I get to spend all day laughing...well mostly, not counting bed time.

bedtime (after the teethbrushing, before the stories and the crying)

drea

something new

My first blog! Cling! It's such a momentous occasion. I feel very Carrie Bradshaw--the edited version mind you. Typing away. Hoping to find meaning in the everyday happenings of life.

Today has been lovely. The winds of change are blowing. Yet at the same time I'm really enjoying the contentment that this moment in my life is right now. My husband is adorable, very lovable. My daughter is almost too creative for me to handle. She is the constant reminder of how I block myself from the spontaneity of life. She is absolutely right most of the time in that there are no real reasons to not just get out there and enjoy the moment. Why wait till later? Those noodle necklaces won't string themselves you know. And there really is no need to mark it on the calendar for another date when we have today. Ah, and then there is Bentley. He makes us all laugh countless times throughout the day. It's so amazing watching him explore the world for the first time. His two biggest motivators are food and paper. He is finally an official crawler. I keep forgetting. Today he got into the pantry for the first time. Just chillin' picking dust bunnies off of the broom. Very funny.

Moments from today...

playing the wii

bathing cuties

Today I'm greatful for Mandee for sharing with me to the joys of blogging and new shampoo--the good stuff. :)

drea