A-L-M-O-S-T

The House is FINALLY starting to look like a home.  Over the last month there have been some monumental steps towards completion...and although Megan and I thought we'd be moved in by now we've had all kinds of surprises over the last four weeks.

Everything from the Workers Comp surprise inspection, to a Smurf Blue "White" carrara counter...that needed to come out.  A light delivery guy that only quotes days of the week...but doesn't tell  you what week!  A newel post master carpenter that "Lost Power" and fell behind.  Oh...we can't forget about the driveway  that crossed the property line....TWICE...and is now being ripped out for landscaping!

So we are just a bit behind...but we hear closing is next week so we are getting excited. 

We are in the process of picking out some palm trees and finalizing the landscape design...which should tie in well with the title of the blog.   More to come by the end of the week, so look for an update then.

Check out what's happened since your last visit:



The rail for the family room.  Do you think the kids can fit
through those openings?



LEFT: A/C 1....CENTER: Hot Water "Tank"....RIGHT: A/C 2

Appliances!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kitchen Sink and Faucet.  Paired at birth.

My "Mouse Door".  The Entry To The Observation Deck!

Welcome to the Rooftop Bar!

Complete with it's own Dance Floor...and a Rail for those
who get too tipsy!

2nd story patio...also with a rail.  Something about county code
and kid dangers w/o it.

The Master Shower...LET IT RAIN!

Megan's Sanctuary...complete with Jets!

The finished counter...after the smurf was removed!

Those who stay with us...will see this a lot!

Kitchen nearing completion...can you see the hidden door?

 

Let there be light...(when there is power)

"Line Up":  Which one did it??!  The soon to be steps!

Our Welcome!  We'll leave the light on for ya!

Bathrooms, Tiles, Ceilings and More

This update is filled with Tongue and Grooves (ceilings), and lots of little squares!  In the last 2 weeks we've seen more paint go on the walls, but the real work taking shape is the Bahama Room ceiling and the tile everywhere.

Megan and I were sold on the stained wood ceiling after seeing it in the model...Tile all over the 1st floor however, is one where I lost the battle.  I must say...it does look nice now!

The Bathrooms are finally done and one that we spent WAAAAAY too long at the tile stores.  All in all they came out pretty good. I'm not sure I'm still totally sold on this "Band" thing everyone has going, but in the right places I guess it works. 

Take a look and let us know what you think.  We are going to start a coundown until the day we NEEED to be in the house.  Guests are coming and the end of July is the deadline...that will be a new feature to the site this week.  I'm not sure if it will make us more excited or get us more nervous.  Either way...it's coming!!!

Bahama Room Ceiling Going Up!

A view from the 2nd story into the Bahama Room Ceiling.

We have a window in almost every shower...did
we do that by design!?!?!?

I actually don't mind this one!



Can you see the band inside this window?



This doesn't do it justice...our basket weave in the
Master Marble.

One of my favorites!  1 X 2's

Our attempt at tieing in the basket weave...
No interior designer needed.

Literally the last tile being layed.

Look but don't walk!!!!!!!!!



Great...now we're gunna need to do something with
those steps!!!!



Time To Focus...On The Inside!!!!!

It's been 3 weeks since the last update and things are starting to move quickly...as are the decisions.  I would say that most of this house has been a compromise on things.  Though the roof-top observation deck is mine and the kitchen is Megan's.  Other than that, it's been a 'meeting of the minds' on everything else.

She's had a vision for this kitchen for a while...and it's now coming together.  Maybe all that HGTV did pay off...if you like this kind of thing!!!

Though the first picture is of the outside, this week's update comes with a focus on the inside!  A garage door , cabinets, base-boards and shower work have all begun...and some complete.  The cabinets are in...well those for rooms that we actually ordered.  Seems the 1st floor bathroom didn't exist until all the cabinets were in and people were scratching their heads...Uhhhh Yeah, we're gunna need another set of cabinets in there guys!

Tile and marble work has started in the master bath and should be completed this week...or so we hear.  Rooftop Bar and Bathroom work should be on the table for this week.  Stay Tuned.



Complete with Garage Door now.  (You'd be surprised as to the Garage Door Options)



Kitchen Cabinets...Kudo's to Megan on this choice.
Now if we only ordered enough for the whole house... 





Master Shower tile work starting.

Oh...cabinets did find a home here as well.  These got ordered!

Master base-boards are in!



So are Caroline's.




And the office.




No!!!!!  This will not be a storage garage.  Vehicle will go in here!!!



"A CHANGE WILL DO YOU GOOD"

It's been about 2 weeks since the last update...and you will notice some changes on this one.  We've gone from cinder block to stucco frame, to stucco, to painted!  Drywall is now hung and being finished.

Probably the most exciting news for us comes with the final pictures. Something we've waited over a year for.....Take a look!!!!!!

So this is how they make siding out of concrete. 
Evidently wood and sea breezes don't mix

Jax wants to know if he can "play on the jungle-gym"

The winning color...OH and the Roof is on! 

Drywall hung in office!

1st floor foyer

Uhhh....Did you guys forget the ceiling?
Nope, we have something special planned here.

Master is coming together.

Even the boat spots it!!!!

The boat beat us to the new home!

Making the perfect bed: Downy Wrinkle Releaser Giveaway

I've been combing through catalogs lately (alright, so that's not a new thing!) looking for ideas for bedding in the guest room. And, my own bedding got jealous, I think :)

I like very simple linens. In fact, every year I ask for new white sheets for Christmas. It makes it easy to launder (hello, bleach!) and I can mix/match sets if necessary.

I pasted a few of my inspiration pieces below, but I wanted to tell you about a fabulous find.

Downy Wrinkle Releaser got me through college. I hate to iron and this product works GREAT on casual clothing like t-shirts and other knits.

But, it also works great on sheets. I am NOT Martha Stewart (I thought about changing my blog name to notmarthastewart.com but there are TONS including, http://www.notmartha.org/) and I do not iron my sheets. That said, I do like them to be unwrinkled. I think I sleep better.

The Downy Wrinkle Releaser is a God-send, then, for my wardrobe AND my household fabrics. Here's how I do the sheets.

1. Wash and dry sheets as normal
2. Pull the fitted sheet on
3. Spray Downy Wrinkle Releaser on the fitted sheet when it's already on the mattress
4. Using your hands, smooth the wrinkles out in a swooping-fashion
5. Put the top sheet on and repeat the Downy Wrinkle Releaser steps
6. Smell the fresh Downy scent
7. Put the comforter/duvet on
8. Admire your work :)

I'm going to give away 10 bottles of Downy Wrinkle Releaser.  To enter, become a Google Friend (look to the left of this post). If you're already a Google Friend, leave a comment here with another usage tip for Downy Wrinkle Releaser.  Oh...and it comes in a 3 oz travel version, too. Great for travelling!

Wisteria.Com

Wisteria.com

Pottery Barn

Clearly, one of these things is not like the other!
But, I do like the idea of this coral/blue quilt.
Garnet Hill

Color Conundrum SOLVED!

And the winner is....HUMBLE GOLD :)

 The color is a bit deceiving, though. We used Sherwin Williams to color match the paint of the condo currently next door to us. So, this is what the color actually looks like once paint goes on. Oh, and paint should go up SATURDAY!

It's not you, it's me

We've been dealt another blow to our timeline. This time, the cabinet builder/installer is closing shop and heading north. The coup de grâce was when he noted in an e-mail that he only wishes this could have been done 4-5 months ago. When it should have been.

I'm beginning to take this personally. Maybe it's us....Nah, can't be :)

The good news is he didn't leave us too much in a bind. We've got his wonderful plan and he put us in touch with another salesman. (Am I deluding myself to think maybe this will *save* us money?) We meet with him on Thursday.

Before this snafu, Keith and I had already been debating over the color of the cabinets. We're on the same page (for once!) as we agreed that one cabinet was too red, the other too black. The new salesman directed us to Home Depot to look at a similar line (ours are Timberlake. Home Depot carries American Woodmark, a sister company).

The good news is that I think we have found the correct color. Here are the overall color choices, and our final selections with the red check mark. The Bordeaux was our original too-red selection. We're both leaning toward Java.

The Color Conundrum

With the roof and stucco on the near horizon, Keith and I began a full-court press to settle on choose the outside paint color.   

You should know that we approached this from opposite ends of the spectrum: I wanted blues. Keith wanted something more in the sunset family.

There's a condo in our current subdivision that Keith and I both love. And, it's yellow. So we set out to find that match. And, I tossed in a few blues just for fun.  Here are the contenders, all from Sherwin-Williams:





The swatches don't really do the actual colors any justice! We ended up getting samples of each of the paints and painting swatches on the house.

In the meantime, which one do you like?

ISO: Under Bed Storage Bins

I was flipping through a copy of All You magazine's April issue, which is all about staying organized. If it's one thing I'm not, it's organized :)

I think the take away from the article is a lesson my mom has struggeled to teach me: A place for everything and everything in its place.

In one of the images, they show this adorable bedroom. I love the storage drawers and they would work PERFECTLY for Caroline's bedroom.

Where can I find them?!

They look like they'd be from Land of Nod, or Ikea.

I'm off to shop :)