Sometimes the Answer Is Right In Your Back Yard!

A friend and I were recently asked to help decorate for a wedding reception of two friends in our church whose children are getting married.  Even though I have a lot going on, I couldn’t pass this up.  This is what I love to do.  I love to transform spaces into magical oasis for big events in people’s lives.

Yesterday my friend and I drove all over St. Louis looking at things to use for the reception.  We went to look at vases for the centerpieces, ribbon, material, and flowers.  We have a tight budget and we are determined to stick to it as best we can.  I love the challenge of limited resources that force you to be creative and work with limits.

We were blessed to find some great deals.  But it’s a wedding, and weddings need flowers, and flowers are not cheap.  We visited a wholesale florist to get some $$ figures on what we would need.  We were encouraged with what we found and came away knowing that the bulk of the budget would go towards flowers.

The brides colors are golds, creams, browns, greys, and hints of red.  With the flower purchase I knew we could get the main flowers, but filler is always the thing that seems to get you in the end.  It can be pricey but is so necessary to complete the whole picture.

As we drove home I was thinking about this and how we were going to make it work.  As we were just about to reach my house a tall grass plant caught my eye.  It was dead, but it was cream.  I literally gasped out loud as if something finally “clicked” in my brain.  Nature had delivered the answer we needed.  All of a sudden instead of seeing dead foliage and weeds I saw a smorgasbord of different plants we could use all in hues of creams, browns, and greys to help round out our decorating needs.  And it was ALL free. 

    {This one is my personal favorite.  I know the pictures aren't the greatest and it all looks like a bunch of brown and tan, but that's exactly what we needed.}

I pulled over and my willing friend traipsed through mud and tall grass clipping things as I pointed to various plants that would work.  We were both elated!! 

I really felt like we had hit the jackpot.  But God was not done delivering the gifts.  As we drove through the neighborhood to see if we could find anything else, we drove by a house that was recently purchased and is having some work done.  In the driveway was a huge dumpster and in the dumpster was a piece that looked similar to a mantel sticking out.  We pulled over to take a look.  It ended up not being a fireplace mantel but a trim most likely from around a window and right beside it were to leaded glass windows.  Mega Jackpot!!!

After talking to the owner, my friend traversed the ledge of the dumpster and we plucked those beauties out.  The window frame wouldn’t fit in my car so my cute friend carried it to our new house.  We aren’t quite sure how we’re going to use them yet, but I’m not worried.  They were free and we have sometime to think about it.

{She really is awesome - and so cute!}

There are so many things I love about yesterday and the lessons it teaches.  We most definitely need to put in our own time and effort to come up with solutions to our problems.  I am a firm believer in God giving us brains so we could use them and not be puppets but I’m also a firm believer that God always wants to help us.  He wants to grant us gifts greater then we could ever imagine, we just need to be open to possibilities that perhaps aren’t always obvious at first.  That’s when our capacities are increased, miracles happen, and our faith grows. 

This reception is going to be stunning!  I can’t wait to see it all come together.  And I will certainly post pictures of everything put together.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Go HERE for a great talk on the power each of us have to make our lives great and use our agency to follow God.

The Reveal - Front Room

I loved reading all your comments on the kitchen.  I love how it reminds many of you of the kitchen you grew up in.  When I'm done with it I'm hoping it will look nothing like it does now but still enough for you to see the kitchen that's always been there.  

OK, let's move along on the tour shall we?

As you walk out of the kitchen into the great room, the stairs to the basement are immediately to your right.

Can we just say, "Bring on the SHAG?!?!?"  It is actually pretty nice carpet and has an awesome pad.  It's just so...shag and blue!  It's got.to.go.

If you turn to your left, you will see these doors which lead to the giant deck in the back.

 

As you step back in the room towards the front door, you will see the fireplace and larger window to the right that looks out on the deck.

From the position of looking at the fireplace, if you turn to your left you will see the railing for the stairs leading to the basement and the stairs that lead to the 2nd story lofts.  Notice a pattern here?  Once again we have no banister.  The seller was working on that but I told him to not put it in so that I could do what I wanted.

If you turn around in the room, you then look at the front door.  It has no trim and a piece of broken glass.  Hopefully all quick fixes.

From the front door, if you look to the left, you will see the hall leading to the hall bathroom and bedrooms.  And YES, the bathroom is not finished.

Well, that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed it.  We will do a tour of the end of the hall and lofts soon.  Then onto the creepy basement.

I am also wrapping up my "interviews" of contractors getting bids on all the jobs that need to be done.  I had a bit of a panic earlier in the week but it's looking to work itself out and hopefully even better then I originally thought.  I've gotten a ton of good advice and am ready to start to see things happening!!!  I can't wait!

Real Beauty

No matter how beautiful I end up 

making this new house, 

nothing will ever be as beautiful as this....

{Kidlet #4}

She is 1/4 of the most beautiful things I've ever created.

*Reveal continues tomorrow!

General Contracting 101

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend.

It should be obvious to you all by this point, that the house needs quite a bit of work.  With 4 small children, a full time job on my husband's end, and life in general, our spare time is very limited.  We had a mutual understanding in buying this house that a LARGE (if not all) portion of the immediate work that needs to be done would be contracted out.

Enter Me.  The new general contractor.  Of sorts.

Since we know we are going to be spending a bit more money by paying someone, I have been meeting with tons of contractors over the last week and a half to get bids and hopefully get the best price for the best job.  This process has it's pros and cons.

On the pro side, I have learned a ton and gotten a lot of useful tips and feedback from everyone who has come through the house.  Everyone has an opinion on what you should do - and that's good and bad.  It's good from the standpoint that almost every scenario is addressed but bad because it becomes a bit overwhelming.

On the con side, it takes a lot of time.  We are a bit pressed for time on when we would like to move into the house so I feel a little heat on my heels.  It takes a lot of time to go through what you'd like each individual to do and then it takes time for them to get you a bid.  A few have given me bids on the spot which has been wonderful because it at least gives me a starting point.

I know a large part of this process is going to force me to be a good juggler and I'm up for it.  I need to remind myself of that every once in awhile.  I know I'll make mistakes, but that's ok.  That's life.

To help make my life a bit easier, I have what I like to call, "The Command Center".  Or if you don't want to be so for boding, "the command bag".

{Vera Bradley}

Here is a picture of what I have inside (contents may vary from day to day, but this is a general overview).

Let me explain everything for you:

1.  The folded up white papers with blue trim are the blue prints of the house.  We were super lucky and got them from the seller.  They have been invaluable. 

2.  The HGTV magazine.  I get my inspiration from everywhere so I love to grab a good decor magazine and look through it for good ideas when I have some down time.

3.  My laptop.  I use this for budget planning, writing this blog, and many other things.

4.  To the right of the blueprints is a tape measure on top of two books.  The blue one is my calendar where I write all appointments for the house and our lives in general, and the brown book is where I have every contact number from plumbers to concrete layers.  I also write notes of things I need to do and bits of info I need to remember.  If I lose either of these books come looking for me at the local hospital because I will be heavily sedated from a panic attack.

5.  The purple striped binder holds receipts, bids, etc. that need to be organized and filed.

6.  Last, but not least, the granola bar.  I always carry something to get me through a long appointment or quiet one of my children.

Not pictured are a pen and my phone.  My phone (swoon).  I truly love it.  

This is all a process and I'm still enjoying it so that is good.  I can't wait to actually start to get things going.  I'm just as excited to start to see a transformation as all of you are.

The Heart of the Home - Kitchen Reveal

{Source}

This is an exciting reveal.  My kitchen is where I live so I love seeing other people's kitchens and how they are laid out and decorated.  This kitchen is far from my dream kitchen but after going over about a gazillion layouts in my mind, I think I finally have one that would make me happy for a long time.  There are a few kinks to workout and it is probably going to cost a bit more then we originally planned, but I think it will be worth it since it truly is my "office".

Let's take a look!

Welcome to my kitchen!!!  Oh wait, welcome to my laundry room.  Well, not really because that is being moved for sure.  I hate where it is so much right now and I don't even live in the house yet.  It's going in the basement (trust me on this one).

A slight turn to the left and you walk into the eating area.  It's not huge, but I love the window!

Taking a step in and looking to the right you see this..

It's funny because the pictures make it look so much bigger.  I do love the morning light that shines in.  This will be so nice on cold winter days.  I'm hoping the sun will be a bit higher in the summer so the heat isn't as intense.

Here is a more direct look..

Now inside the U...

Once inside the U, if you turn around, this is what you see.  It's the pantry and to the right of it is where the refrigerator is suppose to go.

If you keep looking to the right, back towards the garage entrance, this is your view...

That door on the left is to a study that sits behind the kitchen.  It's so dark in there, I haven't gotten any good pictures of it yet.

Here is a close up of the cabinets.  Still trying to decide whether or not to paint them or get all new. 

They are definitely worn, but are real wood and well made.  They are almost 30 years old!

Well, there you have it.  The kitchen of "The 8 Cow House".  I'm excited to see what we finally decide to do and for you all to come along on the journey.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!  

Our choices truly do make a difference.  Go HERE to find out more about why we need to choose wisely in all that we do.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Why THIS House?!?!?

I’m going to start a little series every Wednesday that I’m going to call the W⁴ .  Why, What, Where, & When.  It will give me a chance to answer a lot of questions everyone may have.  So ask away and then come back on Wednesdays to get the answer.

To start us off this week, I’m going to answer a question I’ve gotten A TON!  So many people have asked me, “Why THIS house?”

I only have one answer.  God wants us to live here.  That is the honest truth.  The style of this home is not one I would have picked.  The curb appeal leaves a lot to be desired.  We looked at other homes, homes with great curb appeal (in fact our friends bought one of them and it has such GREAT curb appeal) but none of them felt right.  This house always felt right.

It is clear just from the outside pictures that it needs tons of work.  The inside does as well.  In so many ways it would have been easier for us to buy a bigger - brand new - minimal things to fix - house.  But that’s not what God wanted for us.  I’m not exactly sure what He has in mind and the purpose of us having THIS house, but I’m going forward with faith and that is the most reassuring thing of all.   I have had enough experiences in my life to know that when God tells me to do something, or confirms something as the right path for me and my family, I do it.  The thought of what might happen if I don’t is way worse then any hesitation I may feel with not knowing exactly how everything will play out when I do act.

Once I felt like God wanted us to live here we did do more homework and kept listening closely for any direction that would tell us it was a bad idea.  When we saw the inside for the first time I told Greg I was only looking for major issues that would make me double check with God.  The first big one was making sure it didn’t smell like smoke and didn’t have any major structural issues.  Those two checked out almost immediately and we carried on from there to where we are now.

There really is a lot – A.L.O.T!!!! – to do, but I know it’s all going to be ok because God wants us here and when you do what He says, you will never be led astray.  Not even when your path consists of a big brown house in need of a lot of TLC.

Inside Reveal - Garage

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."

~Flora Whittemore

Thanks everyone for your more then kind and encouraging words yesterday.  It’s so nice to read such nice things from people, even though I’m well aware many of you are probably thinking I’m crazy.  Who isn’t crazy though?  Take a minute and honestly ask yourself that question.

Are you ready for the inside?  I will do my best to give you a good idea of what it’s like, but pictures can be tricky.  If you stick around long enough, I’m sure you’ll put things together.  There is a décor blog I have frequented for years and only just recently was I really able to understand the flow of her house.  A little mystery never hurt anything anyway.  

Since there is so much going on inside, I'm going to give you one room at a time over the next few days and possible weeks.  This first one isn't super exciting but it is a great feature of the house. 

THE GARAGE

One thing that is awesome about this house is the garage.  It is HUGE!!  It’s 3 car but an Extra Large 3 car garage.  We aren’t going to know what to do with all the space but I have no doubt we will fill it in no time.

Let’s go in, shall we? 

This picture is taken looking at the double side of the garage.  In the back corner is a door out to the back yard.  To the right are the stairs leading to the main floor of the house.

 Here is looking to the right side of the garage where the single car is.  That carpet is from the basement.  I couldn't wait to tear it out.

Here are the stairs leading up to the house.  fdgdDid you notice something’s missing?  Safety and code were not really on the sellers top priority list.   It is at the top of my list, so this will be fixed soon.  At first I was a sad that there is a set of stairs up to the house, but every house has something that is unchangeable, that you wish you could change.  Of unchangeable things, this is minor in my book.

Harry Potter worthy stairs.  At least in Harry Potter they had railings!

Let's move onto "Bonus" material.

The can shoot down to the trash for recycling.  Ingenious really.  My boys will love it - if I keep it.

 A random hole in the ceiling.

 The cover for the opening into the attic.  We are planning on putting in pull down stairs.  There's no way to get up there otherwise.

A good shelf for storage and gardening equipment thrown in!

The best  for last - THE CAN CRUSHER!!  My boys will definitely love this.

I've got to run.  Sorry it's not more, but I will get it to you, just be patient.  Doing something like this is all so foreign for me, but in a very good way.  My head hurts after talking with so many contractors all day.  I just pray I can keep them all straight and not cry.  Please bless that I won't cry.