Tricks and Treats

Lot of progress going on but we did take some time to do some trick or treating.

This isn't exactly how I remember the spiderman kissing scene but these are much cuter in my opinion:)

 

But of course there was work to be done as well. And just in time for the temperatures to drop we have insulation!!

LAUNDRY ROOM

 KITCHEN
  
                                                                     

















DINING AREA










 

HALLWAY
MASTER BATH

Digging for Buried Treasure

So I may have mentioned the old torn down barn on our property.  Well intermittently I go out there and dig around for things that may possibly be used in the house.  It is like a little treasure hunt.  Most of it is just junk but there are some things I may consider using.  It's just a Pinterest post away from greatness, right?

 This is an old frosted window.  I'm thinking of cleaning it up and putting a monogram on it and using it in the bar in the basement.

 These are structural supports I'm thinking of using somewhere.  They are super heavy so I will have to be careful where I can put these.

I love old weathered wood.  Again, this will definitely be used in the basement bar.

 It's pretty grow and I try not to touch too much in there but there is so much stuff to dig through out here!

 Doors, hinges, springs, you name it!!

First Fire in the Country

We had our old neighborhood friends over for a fire and some dinner at our new place.

We started with some stomp rockets.

And of course taking advantage of country living with some target practice.

Then our friend KD made herself right at home on the front porch:)

First Burn at the Hecht Ranch:)

October 20

Here is some of the progress made on the stone out front this past week.  And here is the stone that was started on the back of the house.

We are still working on tearing down the barn in the back of the property and continue to find more and more treasures that I can see working inside the new house somewhere.  

This really cool old window post drill could make some really cool decor items for the basement.

These are super heavy solid wood made from 4x4's.  I think they might be too heavy to hold a shelf which is how I originally saw them being used.  Now I see them as accents in a doorway.

 Here are some pics of inside the barn and some of the reclaimed wood I've pulled off of it.

Once again, it was great to have some visitors out tonight.  Wide open country makes for some good pellet gun target practice.

Oops! When bad things happen to good builders

We love our choice of builder. He has been so great through the process. But even the best builders can have a bad day. I think this one may come close to topping his list.  In his effort to make things easier for the siding installation, he was moving some dirt away from the house. Well, he sunk. And when he sunk, the excavator tipped over smack into the house. We are so thankful no one was physically hurt. However, there was some pride damage:)  It will be a while before he lives this one down.

This was the damage after he was pulled out by some friends of ours.  It was an easy fix, a couple 2x6's and a new sheet if plywood and all is well. It was completely fixed by the following day. 

October 15

An exciting day as they begin to add the stone to the front of the house.  I was worried that the stone I picked would be too light but is much darker than I thought it would be.  I love it!  I wanted something that would go with the darker gray siding we picked but would have some warmer tones in it.  I didn't want the house to look too cold.  Easy to do with as much gray as we have.  

I thought once I picked the stone color I was done but as they were putting it on I also had to pick what kind of joint I wanted.  Of course this had to be explained to me.  The masons were great and showed me three options.  I picked the 'butter joint'.  Butter joint is not brushed and has a very rustic and unfinished look to it.  I can't wait until I can see it next to the siding.

One thing we added last minute was some stone along the back porch.  We felt there needed to be some variation of texture back there.  We almost did Board and Batton back there but with the big ceiling being all white, we were afraid it would be too much white.  We couldn't afford to make it all stone on the back but I think the stone on the bottom half will be enough of a variation to give us the look we want without busting our budget.

So excited for the siding and again we are extremely please with our choice.  We love the dark grey and so glad we chose the white corners.  Another one of those things we hadn't paid attention to but when I drove around and looked at houses there was no question we wanted the white corners.

The shake color seems to also be exactly what we wanted.  And we love that way it is all coming together.  You can see Chuck down there on the ladder.  Nicest guy and does a great job!

More Concrete

Just when I thought we were done with concrete, we had more poured today.  This time for the steps for all the porches.  This will make getting in and out of the house so much easier.

 

The fireplace also came this week.

Electricians have been busy all week and there are wires everywhere to prove it!

Plumbing Inspection Passed!

Another inspection closer to being in our house.  Plumbing inspection passed with flying colors thanks to West Jeff Heating and Plumbing.
Thanks to Ronnie and the gang.

Holy IKEA

Apparently I am the last human on earth to visit an IKEA store.  Of course I had heard all the buzz but when I would look at their website nothing really struck me.  It all seemed very sleek modern and European which is not the style of our home.  I have never really wanted to go to IKEA until I started planning lighting for A's room.  After much research, they seemed to have a variety of cost friendly options.  Since our soccer tournament was rained out in INDY, it was a perfect opportunity to make the trip.  We had to kill some time before we picked up the new wall oven I had bought on Craigslist in Cincinnati - SCORE!!

Happy to admit, I was terribly wrong about IKEA.  I think I could live there.  I finally get what all the hub-bub is about.  You have to see it to understand is what I had heard and everyone was right.  I completely wore A out, but we pressed on and we were able to get to every corner of the store, including a bite to eat.  I was pleasantly surprised to see many items that do match our style, along with our budget.

We left with a light fixture for her room, a few Christmas presents (those of you who know me, believe it, I have started prior to December 20th)  Best of all we left with a list for Jeff to pick up the following day with his trailor.  I solved my vanity issue in the 1/2 bath and basement which is a big relief.

IKEA is indeed awesome and I can't wait to go back.

After IKEA, we headed over to Ballard Designs outlet which is also a great place to go since it is just down the road.  I was able to get our bar stools for the kitchen in a doorbuster sale for cheaper than I have seen any barstools anywhere.  And these are actually the kind I really wanted.

The Grass is Greener

The grass Jeff and the kids planted has started to come up already!!

October 4

Front door and rest of the windows are in.  You can also see the beginnings of the white trim around the gables.  For complete beginners.  Gables are the triangles at the top.

The light is so much warmer as we begin we descend into fall.

Some people are just wired that way

So many things about this process are fun.  Then there are the things that are not so fun, at least for me.  ELECTRIC.  Walking through the house deciding where every single outlet and switch is going to be about killed me.  It is one of those things that if it is done right, you never appreciate it.  If a switch is in the wrong spot, it could drive you loco for as long as you live there (rest of my life).  Pardon the pun, but I am just not wired for that kind of work.   I can log electrician as one of the jobs I could not do.  Didn't help that this process happened at the end of a very long work day.   Luckily our electrician was very good with his suggestions.  It's amazing how they think of everything.  I admire their work and attention to detail.

FINALLY HAVE SOME WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The doors apparently come on a different truck but the sliding doors were a part of the window package so those were on the same truck.  We are missing a few windows and we had to reframe a couple of windows.  Nothing major.

Not only do we have some drywall in the garage but we have some stairs.  Much better than the walking of the plank that we were doing.  I was ready to be done with playing pirate.  Drywall in the garage is so when the doors come, we can get the place locked up.

Chuck the siding guy has started his work.  He is so nice, as have been all the people we have worked with so far.  He has started putting up all the soffits.