The Last Straw

After a 14-hour marathon day on Monday, we managed to finish seeding the yard. We ran out of straw with about a third of the yard to go. It was actually a relief... I don't think Aaron would have agreed to stop otherwise! So after Paul helped us replenish our straw supplies, we finally finished spreading the straw on Tuesday night.


Turns out that was the easy part! Once it was all done, we needed to start watering. After a somewhat feeble first attempt, our neighbors took pity on us and brought over 4 sprinklers (the fancy tripod kind!) and several hoses so we've been watering ever since. And this morning, after a reasonable downpour last night, we had grass sprouting up in the front yard!! It's pretty cool to see our hard work paying off already.

A Yard is Bigger Than I Thought...

The unpacking has completed (which I suppose means I should post a few pictures, but those are coming in a later post - stay tuned!) and now we are looking to the outside of the house. This past week, we've had a lot of heavy machinery in our yard to move rocks, power rake, and grade. The good news is that our unsightly silt fence has been removed... the bad news is that we have been slaving away to plant grass and cover it with straw to keep our new yard from eroding away in the rain.


So far, the front yard has been completed by the crew and Aaron and I managed to plant grass and wildflowers on Thursday night before the rains came. It rained much of Friday, which means the yard is too wet today for more machinery. The crew will be back tomorrow to work on the back yard, which means that we will be sowing seeds and throwing straw on Sunday and Monday. I am actually enjoying the straw in the yard because even that is more attractive than the mud moat we've had all spring!

Now the Work Begins

We had an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, immediately after we were granted occupancy (around 11:30 am). Several dignitaries were there (ok, just our builder) but we had a blast cutting through the ribbon to make it official. We spent 16 hours hauling boxes on Friday using a cargo van and probably wouldn't have been able to do the third trip without the help of Jeff. I know there's no way I could have lifted the other end of our TV, even if I hadn't been hauling stuff for 12 hours already!!


The move on Saturday went very smoothly. The strapping young lads shown above made it all possible. They were able to load the moving van with all our furniture in around 2 hours! And although the weather was less than ideal (mist and fog), everything was in the correct rooms a little after noon! I hear that there was even enough time for one of the guys to ride the elliptical trainer down the hill behind our house, but I have yet to see photographic proof of said ride.


And finally, here's a preview of the house taken last Thursday after all the cleaning had been finished. Above is the kitchen and the two below are of the pantry. I probably won't post more pictures until we get a little more settled (since there are only two rooms without boxes in them right now).


We are truly blessed to have been able to take this journey over the past year and a half and we're really looking forward to being settled. Then, I can find our next big project!! Actually, I think we're both ready to have no next project and to just relax and enjoy everything.

I Heart Organization

Yesterday could very well be my most favorite day of checking the progress on the house. Not because everything is finished (it's not, there are several little things that will need to get done over the next few weeks, plus some exterior work in the spring). No, it was because the closet systems were installed! For a person that has a slight tendency to be organized, there is no more magical a thing than full rooms and closets dedicated to organization.


All of the pictures shown here are of my closet. Our friends at All About Organization helped us decide what to include and what would work best for us. Aaron's closet is completely different than mine (more tailored to what a dude would need, which I guess is less shoe storage, among other things). We were both thrilled with the results! Ok... I was ecstatic and Aaron was as excited as a guy can get about closets, so I think that averages out to thrilled.


The closet installers will be back again today to work on the pantry and finalize all the little details on various things (knobs on doors, etc.), so we'll have to check it out tonight when we bring my car home! That's right, starting this evening, we can attend two different events at the same time because we're a two car family again!!! That's almost as exciting as closet systems!

Magic Carpet

I know that tile has nothing to do with carpet... but our kitchen tile is up and grouted and looks fantastic! We are waiting on a few more tiles to be installed behind the stove, and a small strip over the fireplace, but otherwise, the tile is looking fantastic!


Our carpet was installed on Monday! Like most of the selections, it looks a lot different filling up a whole room vs. the tiny square we've been carrying around, but we love it! And it's made out of corn by-product, so it's a green choice. Carpet was installed in our bedroom and closets and then in the loft and upstairs bedrooms. It looks and feels great!!


Finally, our closet systems were delivered yesterday! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time (and think about it every time I try to pull something out of my tiny, inefficient apartment closet) so I am really excited to see this installed. They are going to start putting them up today!

Smoke and Mirrors

We arrived at the house on Friday night and were rewarded with something unexpected: shower doors! They look fantastic! The rest of our mirrors were also installed (one in the upstairs bath and one in the master bedroom closet area). But wait... that wasn't all! The glass in our cabinet doors was also installed! It looks even better in person than it did at the show room when we picked it out all those months ago.


Another very important, but less visually impressive improvement was in the basement. All of our heating ducts are in, which means that instead of just blowing hot air into the basement, it is directed to each room in the house. It made spending 3 hours waiting for the cable guy this morning much more enjoyable.


The last of our light fixtures are also in. The final few were outdoor lights, so not nearly as important as the others. Below is the light in our screen porch.


We're heading into the final week of construction and are busy trying to pack up everything that isn't already in a box. There are a few key things that still need to happen before we move in, but we're on schedule to start hauling stuff on Friday! We're really looking forward to this portion of the home building experience being complete!!

What Can I Say About Balusters?

On Tuesday, work continued on the plumbing and the electrical in the basement... but that doesn't exactly make for interesting pictures (some might argue that the majority of my pictures qualify!). All the balusters (aka railing pieces) were installed in the stairwells and in the loft. They really look sharp! I'm sure the cats will be eager to stuff toys through the slats...