How to Make Fire

So Matt has been walking around for the past month quoting Tom Hanks in Castaway.  You know the part...when he finally makes fire.  He grunts.  He pounds his chest.  He talks like a caveman.  It has been quite interesting.  As long as he doesn't replace me with a volleyball we should be ok.

So how to build a fireplace...

First, you start with the ugliest fireplace you can find.


Check.















I mean one that new hardwoods can't even make look better...

You rip it out and build a casing and some weird shape on the floor...

Once the casing is built.  You start working on the hearth.  

You have to stop and sweep several times along the way (which is why I will never build a fireplace)...

Always keeping things neat and tidy...

You gotta pick the PERFECT stones...

 Remember that casing?  It was important because that is where you build up the beautiful stacked stone.

As a mason's daughter I can appreciate some beautiful stone work.  And this is BEAUTIFUL stone work!

And then you work all day and into the night (which is why there are workshop lights lighting the room) to build out the trim work and mantle.  A mantle big and sturdy enough to hang some heavy stockings from at Christmas time!  Or a Volkswagen bus.  Brian and Darren assure me I could hang a Volkswagen bus from the mantle if I wanted to.  Should I ever want to.  

Ok then.

   

And...VOILA!  You get a fireplace.  A beautiful one.  Now here is where we have differing opinions.  Currently, it is only primed and waiting for paint.  There is a bit of a controversy over whether it should be painted the bright white color of the trim (similar to what it is painted now but see the color of the baseboards).  Or the softer white color of the cabinets (see the small cabinet door leaning against the fireplace). Some say that the wood around the fireplace is technically trim so it should be the color of the trim.  Others say it is such a stately fireplace it should be a focal point and stand out more.  It should pull the kitchen and family room together and when in the kitchen it should draw your eyes to it.  

What do you say??????

More to come...

Progress!

So have I mentioned our bomb-dot-com contractor?  This is Brian of All Square.  Matt and I think he is pretty much the best thing going since sliced bread.  Every time he describes the process he is currently going through on the project I nod my head in agreement (pretending to understand and agree with what he is saying) and Matt drools.  No lie.  He drools.  Then, we get in the car, and I listen to Matt go on and on and on about how that process we just discussed is so skillful and the "right" way to do it...of all the ways he could do it he always chooses the best way to do it.  Again...me...nodding and agreeing...


All I know is that everything Brian and the guys of All Square do is top notch so I don't mind the "man crush" my husband is sportin right now (Sorry honey!  Love you!)

P.S. Check out the sneak peak of the new backsplash!

In any case...let's talk fireplace (can you hear Matt grunting in the background????


So...I know it has been a while since my last post...(3 minutes or so?) but you may remember we had 12x12 black square tiles.  No hearth.  No mantle.  Pure ugliness.

Well...now we have a hearth!  Pretty, huh!?!?!?!

We also have sheet rock back up for the new tile I gave you a sneak peak of above.

They have also removed a part of the cabinet.  They are making me a new one with a custom size for my new double oven!  I know...shocker...we are not keeping the beauty you see in this picture.

 And finally.  We have choices to make.  I want dark hardwoods but I have a few choices.  Errrr....I mean "we" have a a few choice...WE (sorry honey!).

This is called Jacobean.









The bottom of this one is ebony.  The top of it is half Jacobean and half Ebony.  Hmmmmmm.....

We also need to pick wall paint.  Blue?  Bluer?  Bluest?  Or really, really blue?

Brian put up the colors on three different walls in three different lights so that we could be sure to pick the right one.  

Which one do you think we went with????

And finally...we need to pick cabinet color.  We have three options.  Tan (at the bottom), Paper Lantern (in the middle) and something I can't remember (at the top).  Which one????

Demolition Baby!

The Dumpster!

I suck at this.  Blogging that is.  I have about 30 drafts out there where I have started a post and haven't finished them (ok...slightly exaggerated...but you get the point).  In any case, we are pretty much done with the project.  Thanks for following all.

Just kidding.

We are nearing the end of the project so I guess it is time to get everyone caught up.  So here goes...

Demolition.   Ahhhhhh...so satisfying!  There is nothing like walking into your new home, that you paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for, and seeing it destroyed!  ESPECIALLY if you have issues with anxiety...  Yeah.  That's not stressful...AT ALL.  As usual...I digress.

So here's to the demo...

All cabinet doors and drawers have been removed from the kitchen for lacquering.  Yep.  That's right.  We are doing lacquer on the kitchen cabinets so they will look brand, spankin new!

The garage is now the home of the cabinets and drawers.  

The brand-new-never-lived-on carpet (yes, I know, I'm crazy) has been removed from the family room and office and replaced with hardwoods.  

 

And yes.  We got rid of the "Billy Jean" black and white checkered tile.  Can I please have a moment of silence?  Moving on....

 Stairs are going..

 going...

going...

 GONE!

Finally, they have removed the 12x12 black tiles that were a pathetic excuse of a fireplace to prepare for the REAL fireplace.  Every time Matt sees this he starts grunting and talking about building fire.  Needless to say...he is excited. 

One other thing that has been done.  The half bath.  Our toilet is funky in the half bath.  I don't have pictures but several people noticed the bathroom was weird but nobody could really put their finger on why...including me.  Finally...my contractor pointed it out to me.  The sink is on one wall and the toilet is on the opposite wall - and they are not directly across from each other..  You have to kind of scoot between them in order to sit on the pot.  It's weird.  Like I said...I never got a picture of it but the pot...errrr the hole...has moved and now the toilet and sink happily share the same wall.  All is right in the world.  

That's all for now.  Pics of the changes coming soon! (Yea...yea...yea...sooner this time.)   

A New Chapter...

So I have been thinking about blogging for a long time now. I read blogs.  I even enjoy some of them.  But I never really thought I had much to say that was worth listening to.  Moving to Georgia though has changed all that.  Ok. Not really.  I still don't have much to offer as far as something worth listening to.  BUT...I do have plenty of people to keep in touch with in Texas.  I am horrible about keeping in touch.  Awful.  Always have been.  There were summers that I would go to my dad's for a visit and go weeks without calling to check in with my mom (Emmi and Addi...I will HURT you if you ever pull that on me.)  But I digress.

Anywho...we are here in Georgia.  I would say we are "settled" here in Georgia but that is a bit of a fabrication.  We are holed up in a two bedroom apartment with the girls in one room and us parentals in the other.  It is small.  It is cramped.  And it gets trashed SO easily.  But.  It's a blessing.  A HUGE blessing.  Cause it is free (thank you Doosan!)  So while we are waiting for our housing project to be finished...we are living expense free (at lease HOUSE expenses free).  Not too shabby huh?

We got to Georgia March 30.  It's May 13 now.  Where has the time gone?!?!?  How is that possible?  I am happy to report we did get the house we wanted to badly.  The house the bank (it's a foreclosure) had told us "no" to and told us not to bother coming back to them with another offer in March.  The house that the bank then called us (at the end of March) asking if we would make another offer (who's laughing now!?!?)

We closed on April 30; however, we started acting like it was ours WAY before that.  We had our own "secret" way in and I would meet contractors there to get bids.  We removed the microwave and put it on the counter.  I even got mad when I saw someone had been in the house...probably a realtor showing the house.

In any case...take a look at our dream home!  Hopefully you can use your imagination and see the potential and not the ugliness it started out as!

We found out about our house when our realtor, Joe, called me in Texas to tell me he was walking through it and to pull up the pictures on the Internet.  I took it as a bad sign when he said "just skip over the first picture...it doesn't do it justice."  Can you say The Adams Family home?!?  I asked him if it was haunted...

I think this picture does it better justice but it still is not nearly
 as pretty as it is in person.  In any case, we are situated in on
2 acres right on the Milton/Alpharetta border, just 3 miles
from downtown Crabapple.  

Welcome to our home...

Come on now.  Don't be jealous.  Not everyone gets
the flooring right out of the Billy Jean video for their foyer.
"The guys" (Matt and Joe the realtor) had a hard time getting
me past this.  Needless to say.  It is the first thing on our
contractor's "to do" list.

When you walk in the front door (into the foyer) the dining
room is on the left.  The is a picture looking into the dining
room from the foyer.  The door you see on the right is to the
kitchen.

A view of it looking towards the foyer.

Immediately, to your right is a living room/office.  This is
standing inside the office looking at the front door.

The photographer took some serious liberties with the lens.
This is the same room as the one above (office.)

Look closely and you will see the "gorgeous" black and
white tile.  This room is at the end of the foyer.  It's a guest
bedroom with a full bathroom and walk out to the deck.  It
is the only room that will still have carpet on the main floor
when we are done with the renovations.

Ahhhh...the kitchen.  The oh so "why did they do THAT"
kitchen.

The bank installed the granite.  They didn't think to change
out the 18 year old appliances or "straighten" the
cabinets that are all lopsided. And can anyone explain
why you would have a plug outlet, against the metal sink,
just below water????

The eating area. It is a nice sized eating area but not THIS big!

Oh my favorite part of the kitchen. I still can't
believe the bank thought it was ok to leave
the mismatching oven and microwave!

Again, a little liberty with the photographer's lens but it is
a nice sized room.  This is the family room which is attached
to the kitchen.  The photographer's back is to the double
doors leading to the deck and the entry to the kitchen is to
the left.

Let's head upstairs...

Emmi's room...of course it will be much cuter when we get
done with it.  She has her own full bath and walk in closet.

Part one of the master bedroom.  The "living" area.

Part two...the sitting area.  It's obnoxious how big the master
suite is. My biggest problem with the house has always been
how big the master suite is.  I guess it is a good problem to
have.

The master bathroom needs some love.  There is carpet
sea shell sinks, and just pretty "blah". But it has lots of
potential and that is what I am crazy about!

At least the carpet is new and clean!

Poor bug.  I just realized I don't have a picture of her room.  I downloaded these from the realtor's website so it is not that I just totally ignored her room while taking pictures of the home.  In any case, she is also spoiled rotten and has her own full bathroom and walk in closet.  

On to the basement...

Apparently this was once a theatre room.  There are plugs
and phone jacks EVERYWHERE.  It is vinyl flooring and
has a horrible echo. I don't know how they pulled off
a home theatre in here.  I don't have a separate picture of
the room to the left but it is a big play area.  There is also
a full bath in the basement.

This is the bedroom in the basement.  It is huge and has a door
to the outside.  Our parents have threatened to move in. I told
them they were not old enough yet.

Moving outside!!!!

The family room is behind the photographer and the kitchen
is to the right.  Yes. That is a hot tub to the left.  Not currently
in working condition.

Boy would it be nice if we can get it up and running though!

The backyard...Lord willing a pool is in our future! There is
not swim/tennis in the neighborhood so with two little ones
it is pretty close to being a "must".  We want the kids to
want to be at our house as they are growing up.  A pool might
help ;-)

Finally...heading up the driveway.

Tomorrow I will try to post some pictures of the demolition and then keep the blog updated through the construction process.  Hugs!