happyflamily

I have long been lamenting the situation of our fireplace. It is ugly and, especially when compared to our bathroom, it is so dated. So, after making Shad promise not to yell at me for whatever happened that day while he was at work, I ripped off the ugly wood that covered the top of the fireplace.

Of course I was hoping that we would find some hidden treasure, as we did when we pulled up the carpet and found hardwood. But alas, it was not so nice.

The brick work that was revealed was obviously never meant to be seen. I’m not sure why the fireplace was built like that, but it is my problem nonetheless.

Stay tuned for updates and after photos of this mess!

In honor of my 28th birthday (and simply because it fell on that day) my friends, Shad and I ran a “Warrior Dash” in Portland. There were all kinds of obstacles on the 5k course. Obstacles like jumping over fire, going over hay bales and jumping over logs in a freezing pond. At the end you crawl under barbed wire in a pit of mud.

Awww, Amy and I all clean and ready to get into Uncle Charles’s car and head out to the race…

After the race!…

Shad and I dirty…

We went to Mima’s to shower afterward. Thanks for not yelling about the mud, Mom!

As a surprise for my birthday, Shad arranged for Uncle Charles to come visit us. Sophie and Lillie love him and were so excited that he came. We went to the park, took long walks, had movie nights and ate cheese sandwiches (well, really Charles and Lillie left us out of that one.) We also got to go see my mom and siblings.

Uncle Charles is awesome and by the time he left, even my friend Amy was calling him “Uncle Charles”. Come back!

The exterior of the house is coming along well. There is still another layer of window trim to put on and the new porch still needs to be stained, but here is a before and after of the progress!

BEFORE:

In the remodel we ripped out the bushes, painted the house, removed the shutters and added new trim and put in a walkway to the sidewalk so that visitors don’t have to go negotiate the driveway to make it to the front door.

DURING:

AFTER!!!!

I didn’t want to post pictures of the work as we got toward the end, as I wanted it to be a surprise.  So here are photos of the rooms that are done.

If you want to see before pictures, they are here:

http://happyflamily.com/2010/04/15/our-new-house-2/

THE BATHROOM:

This is the view from the door of the bathroom.

Step into the bathroom and look at the tub…

We did all of the tiling ourselves, it is natural slate. The colors are so variable, from gold to green to rust to gray. We also hung pictures above the tub, including on of Lillian brushing her teeth in a bidet.

The lights above the tub and in the shower are on a dimmer for mood lighting.

The are two shower heads, one is a regular one and the other is a rain shower, coming directly out of the ceiling. Lillie and Sophie prefer to use the rain shower and then jump into the tub and play.

The bathroom fan is hidden in the light above the toilet. We also have warming floors, so that the slate will not be cold in the morning.

THE LIBRARY:

One of the rooms that we were all most excited about is the library. The girls chose to share a bedroom so that we would have an extra room. We all love it. The CD player is in there, so the girls can listen to their annoying children’s music as much as they like.

The sofa is a fold out and anyone who wants to is welcome to come visit!!!

BECKY’S KITCHEN:

I painted the entire kitchen white and minimized the cupboards and cupboard doors. Note, of course, my pink oven! We also replaced the light fixture, hung a pot rack and hung shelves for the dishes. The microwave is also a fan and we installed a flat cooktop in addition.

Oh, and we also got a new fridge, with the freezer on the bottom. Lillie only wanted to make sure she could reach the milk, which she can. However, she can also reach ice cream and popsicles.

CURB APPEAL:

Our home is a mid-century home and lacks the traditional architecture that makes a home beautiful. So we decided to add a covered porch. The men doing the work are simply wonderful, hard working and polite.

Day one… Ripped out the bushes, jack hammered the walkway and dug holes for the posts of the porch’s foundation.

Day Three… Work when so quickly, Day Two they poured concrete for the posts and after that dried, this was just one day’s progress!

Day Four… The roof goes up!

Day Five… the roof is in place.

As of this morning the shingles are on and the path is dug. Work to do includes trim and finish work on the posts. Railing will also be added and as a flagstone walkway.

Not a day goes by that a number of people don’t stop by and gush about the house. It is amazing what difference an 8  x 12 porch can make. We will remove the shutters that are only on some windows, and add a thick trim. The house will be painted in a few weeks.