Come September...

So friends, I seem to making this a quarterly blog as opposed to a more regular one. I've sat down several times to write this summer, but I never really want to post without pictures. And I simply hate messing with pictures on this thing... But. I've taken a few today of our most recent progress. I don't have any post-able 'before' pics, but use your imaginations. :)

Fireplace - used to be plaster-covered brick that was painted high-gloss black and went all the way to the ceiling. We resurfaced the bottom half with flagstone and textured and painted the top. We also created a stained cement hearth and framed out the mouth with welded weathered steel. David's currently building a mantel that will be pretty and white like the rest of our trim.



Cornice - You can hardly see it, but this puppy is 10 feet long and sits 9 feet in the air. David constructed it, and then we upholstered it in deep brown faux leather. I love it. I also made those linen curtains. Or my friend Sarah made them while I pretended to use the sewing machine. :) (Special guest appearance by Fleck the dog)



Dining Room - This is where the previous owners kept their dogs... and our carpet showed it. We continued the stained/scored concrete into the room, installed beadboard, and painted about fifty coats of purple paint (I know it looks black, but it's not) up top. We also installed the chandelier that I found on the side of the road and spray-painted white. I still have a few ideas on how to cover the bulbs, but I haven't pinned it down yet. (Fleck wanted to be in all the pics.)



And this is the artwork in our bedroom. Oddly enough I got the inspiration from a Target gift card in combination with some verses in Psalm 1. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.... but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all he does he prospers..." The light shines brightly through our bedroom window and onto this painting every morning. Gives me hope that He would bear fruit in us as his word sustains us.



Things are getting ready to change around here. Seems appropriate since Fall is approaching, albeit slowly. My department at work is transitioning out of state at some point next month, so I'm currently looking for something else. And talk of kiddos has crossed our lips a time or two as well. Everything's kinda up in the air right now, and I'm thankful. He's teaching me to trust him more than I do. And He's constantly reminding me that He's faithful and that He's sovereign. So I'm thankful.

"Time passes us by, and the way we love changes. And we learn how to waltz through the waves like everyone. Let it keep us from falling. Would you dance with me now?"

Update on los suelos.

Just a quick update. It seems my camera either makes things way too blue or way too yellow. Just wish you could see the real thing.

So here's the poster my roommate and I had hanging in our apartments. I LOVED the colors in it. I've never been to Cannes, nor do I know for sure what the words underneath mean, nor is there any significance to the pretty lady sitting next to golf clubs. I just love the colors. So it's in our kitchen 'cause it's pretty.

David built the frame to go around it, and I painted it. Not a bad way to save some bucks on a custom-made frame.


And here's how the floors turned out. You can't really tell from the photo, but I really like the way the color turned out against our already-painted walls.



I definitely like them better than our previous reddish laminate floors. And up next, we shop for fireplace material. OH, how I'm excited about that. That dern fireplace is the first thing you see when you walk in, and it's the first thing I wanted to change --- but it will wind up being one of the last.

And I had my quarterly home-improvement-related emotional break-down on Saturday because, PS, we have TERMITES. Blechk!! I tried vacuuming them up (the only logical way to destroy termites), but they just kept coming. It got kinda hard to breathe - and then the tears. The childish, oh-my-goodness-really-are-you-crying-like-that? tears. And poor David, whose reasoning and problem-solving skills somehow managed to stay in tact under crisis, just listened and nodded, looking up pest control people on the internet while I said over and over, "I'm sorry I'm crying so much. I'm really okay. I just need to cry.... wah.......!'

Thankfully bug spray can hold the little critters at bay until TOMORROW when the termite guy can fit us into his busy schedule. (I say that bitterly - I don't really blame the termite guy. I blame the termites. Misplaced anger.)

So a pipe leaks and floods our floors and termites invade over a span of two weeks. We'll see what's next. The Lord is testing and trying us. And as much as I complain (Lord, help with that please) I really am thankful for his refining work in us toward our sanctification. In his timing, he led me prayerfully sing the song below just about three weeks ago RIGHT before things started going all cattywompus. He will not let us forget him or replace him as ultimate. He is good.

"Ruin my life - the plans that I've made. Ruin desires for my own selfish gain. Destroy the idols that have taken your place 'til it's you alone I live for. You alone I live for."

Story time with the Smiths.

Friends, neighbors, homeowners: lend me your ears. I come to honor my husband, not to shame him.
... But let's be honest, the man isn't perfect. I'd come to believe that David was capable of just about anything. He's one of those guys that picks something up, figures it out, and is instantly good at it. Amazing? Yes. Annoying? Yes. :)

He conquered the stained concrete floors. He handcrafted beautiful kitchen countertops. He cut and installed those pretty wide baseboards that I really really wanted. And all without a hitch. Or so we thought.

Tuesday morning David woke up to a leaking pipe in our living room. He said he heard the water gushing in the wall, so he ran to turn it off. He woke me up and let me know he was getting towels from Walmart (we have like four bath towels to our name) and that he'd be back in a bit. Like any supportive, loving wife - I went back to sleep. When my alarm went off a few hours later, I got ready for work sans shower, and left my handy hubby at home to fix the issue.

When I got back home that night, I found this waiting for me...


The water had seeped through the wall and onto our floors. Now, in the kitchen, no big deal. Sealed concrete is great for spills and leaks. But wood laminate that's not in the best shape to begin with - doesn't take to water so kindly. And thus, our decision to replace our floors (which was way way waaaaaaaaaaay down on the list of home improvement projects) got bumped up to first place.

This is Louis the plumber.


Sorry the pics are dark - I didn't notice that the flash wasn't flashing. :)

And this is the hole in our wall that Louis the plumber made.


Louis the plumber was kind and humble man, and we greatly appreciated his help. And after his assessment of the situation, Louis the plumber came to a conclusion. It seems my highly capable husband who carefully secured our baseboards into the wall -- carefully secured them into a pipe. And what Louis the plumber told us is that the nail my husband carefully secured into the pipe, stood strong for a few weeks. But after those few weeks, that nail started to rust from the water flowing through that pipe. And on Tuesday morning, when my husband woke up, he found the leak from the pipe that he carefully secured that nail into just months before.

Since we re-vamped our budget at the beginning of the year, brand new floors weren't a possibility, so we've chosen to carry the scored concrete from the kitchen into the the livingroom.

Here's what we've got so far:



I'm actually pretty excited. We knew we wanted to something like this along down the line. So I'm guessing there will be some reason in the near future that we have crossed this off of our list.

Moral of the story? Well, take your pick.
A) As Louis the plumber says, "It happens to the best of us."
B) Sometimes mishaps can turn out to be beneficial.
C) Well, don't nail your baseboards into a pipe.

The End.

"I start walking your way. You start walking mine. We meet in the middle 'neath that ol' Georgia pine. We gain a lot of ground if we both give a little. Aint no road too long when we meet in the middle." (There, Mandy. :) )

Backsplash!

Just FYI. Lower cabinets are turqouise-y blue. Backsplash is sage-y green. My camera doesn't do either of them justice.

Stay tuned!

One year.

So it's been about a million years since the last time I blogged. Actual life has been happening, and it keeps me from spending too much time hooked up to the internet - and I'm okay with that. :) But included in all the happenings have been improvements on the house. Still not done with the kitchen - but we're so close I can smell it. We've also started working on the half bath and utility room. Mostlyl just paint, but here's a pic to show our small progress.


Adaptations to the kitchen include hardware on the cabinets, re-covering/painting the peninsula, cutting out the little bookshelf, painting the hutch, installing recessed lighting, craigslist fridge, baseboards, and a few decorations. Left in the kitchen: backsplash, pendant lights, and wall decor. Still working on that part...









It's coming together, but the perfectionist in me is going NUTS wishing things moved faster. But David's really made it a point for us not to let the house run our lives. The Lord has blessed us with a continuous project where we get to work with our hands, and we get to work together. But the Lord has also blessed us with restful Sundays and eventful weeks that keep us from obsessing over the task at hand. Of course we have our moments (ahem, I have my moments) of stressing and worrying about how slowly things are coming together, but when I look back on housework photos, it's encouraging to see how far we've come. A year ago tomorrow was our first weekend in the house, and we were spaying water onto our ceilings and scraping off popcorn. SO thankful we're not there anymore. It's funny - at the time, it wasn't so bad - because we were excited about diving in and doing the work. But now, since we've come so far, I wouldn't dream of going back...

I'm telling you - God uses this house every day to teach me about my sanctification and the slow, painful yet beautiful process. One year later, I can look back on the work He was doing in me back then and see how he's taught me and grown me and changed me simply by revealing himself to me... the closeness I feel to him now compared to a year ago... Praise Him that He finishes what He starts, and that he will not stop until it's complete.

"God for the shameless pride and times when I rolled my eyes to laugh at simplicity - show me mercy. Knowing what I know now, it's hard to imagine how I could feel anything but unworthy. And the mystery of your love for me's not as hidden as it seemed to be. Should've known then when you said to me, "Seek and you shall find," it was right there all the time..."

Reset.

Can you believe the weather lately? It's been absolutely gorgeous... I swear I was experiencing seasonal depression during the month of September, but these beautiful, blue-skyed, breezy days have certainly cheered me up! And we've made some real progress on the house lately - which is always helpful to my mood. I feel like the house is all I talk about here... but it really is the biggest thing in day-to-day life right now - and it's really something I've looked forward to since high school. For a while I had to check myself and make sure it wasn't becoming an idol, but honestly, it's so much fun to put my (our) hands to work and make, create something beautiful. Like our sanctification, the process is painfully slow, but I was telling a friend today (and I say it all the time) that living in this house, working on this house, is a bonafide blessing. Every single day, I think to myself - How on earth did we wind up in this place? By no stretch of the imagination have we earned or do we deserve this house - this neighborhood - this space... It doesn't make logical or financial sense that we should land here. And then I remember that the same is true of everything I "own." That every kleenex I wipe my nose with, every shoe I put on in the morning - every breath that I breathe is given to me by the Lord in heaven. I'm thankful that he would use something potentially superficial to teach me about himself and his grace. So here's an update.

Practice run for concrete countertops. Wasn't my first choice to put concrete countertops above concrete floors, but we found a kind that resembles limestone (not shown), so here's hoping. :)

Cabinets primed. Waiting to see countertop color before painting.

New bedding - verdict is still out on the pillow selection but it'll work for now.

We also went to the Mutemath show at the Palladium on Thursday. We haven't been to a concert in a venue like that in a long time, and I gotta tell ya - I've forgotten what it means to be a music enthusiast. Standing up for four hours right in front of the speakers and so close to strangers that it would be entirely inappropriate in virtually any other setting used to be at least a monthly experience for me. Now that David's not as much in the "scene," we don't venture out to Ellum as much - or any other "club" for that matter. But, while I felt a little fake hungover and temporarily deaf in my left ear, I had a great time. Mutemath always puts on a great show - and by NO means sacrifices the integrity of their music. I highly recommend.

This might be "Spotlight." I can't remember, though.

Andrea tweeted all week in hopes that they would read her posts and ask her to be their friend. She cracks me up.

This is what we felt like after the show. Totally worth it.

I've noticed the Lord lately bringing things back around again in what seems like an attempt to show me from where I've come. Examples. A friend of mine and I are going through a Beth Moore study together, and I'm really enjoying it so far. Now, the me from 05-06 would've sneered and said, "You legalist. Going through some daily study in order to feel like you've checked in with God for the day. Besides, Beth Moore is far too saccharine, and only 'cute Christian girls' go through those..." Because the me from 01-02 wanted desperately to be one of those 'cute Christian girls.' And since 'cute Christian girls' went through Beth Moore studies together, that's what I did. And God totally used it to change and refine me, but a walk through the desert left a bitter taste in my mouth for all things 'Cute Christian.' He's since, however, been leading me toward still waters where my bitterness wanes, and the thirst for genuine knowledge of and fellowship with him requires the humility to step back into a study format I unofficially swore off. And it feels really refreshing.

Part of the study encourages spending time daily with our faces physically on the ground before the Lord, praising him in prayer and thanking him for his mercy. Coincidentally, we sang a song at church a few weeks ago, "We will seek you first Lord... ... early in the morning...." A song that immediately jolted me back to freshman year at A&M, singing songs at breakaway on Tuesday nights. Another thing that "cute Christian girls" did. :) And I wept with joy as we sang at The Village, recalling what it felt like to sing it back then, and to feel what it feels like to sing it now, and to relish in the work God has done on me in between. Like hiking a mountain, reaching a peak, and looking down to find your starting point. And then the daunting, yet exciting part, is looking around the bend to see how much further you have to travel. Which is ALSO what the study has to do with... I well up even now to think about how, out of love and encouragement, He takes the time to remind us of what He can do with us - even if, sometimes, it involves kicking and screaming... or maybe even some sitting and sulking.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.

"...that we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream..."
(I'm pretty sure I've used that one before, but it's fitting.) :)

I can't do without my kitchen man.

Two months, good heavens... I'd say that we've been terribly busy, and that's why I haven't posted anything recently. But mostly it's because I haven't been taking many pictures, and I couldn't bear to submit one more blog without any photos. I still don't have any pictures of the rooms we've actually finished, (and by finished, I mean construction-wise. Still no decorating aside from a few new pillows...) but I've got some photos of our current enterprise: the kitchen. I mean, we've textured and painted the walls and finished the floors. But we've actually gotten to the functioning parts of the kitchen - and right now, the focus is our cabinets.


I wish I had some better before pictures, but here's what I got:


So you can barely see that the microwave used to live on the countertop -- where this built-in butcher block from 1979 also lives -- with all of the germs accumulated since 1979..... blechk!!!

Now, however, you can see that the microwave has its own little home where there used to be a miniature wall oven. (Courtesy of my husband and his brother.)


You can also see in the before pics that there used to be a few cabinets hanging over the peninsula that really closed off the space. Those were one of the first things to go - thank goodness. It limits our storage space even more than before, but it's worth it for the room to feel twice a big. Plus, it's the perfect place for some pretty pendants - eventually.

This weekend, we removed and sanded down all the cabinet doors and drawers. David also cut out the section where the new range will go. As of right now, it's sitting in our garage. But here's what it looks like as of right now.



And while all the cool people of the world rocked out to Muse and U2, David and did the last bits of demo and started sanding the skeleton.


We're trucking along. This is the really messy part where we're limited to crock pot and microwave meals for - hopefully - just a few weeks. We'll hopefully finish priming this weekend, and there's a bit more construction to do around the range area, but we're making real progress. And that makes me happy. I've really been amazed at the things we've been able to accomplish. And while the whole thing has taken waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than I ever hoped, little by little, I start to see things come together.

For example, the aforementioned pillows have brought a little more life to the living room.

There's still random furniture hanging around the room, as well as the vacuum cleaner, but like I said - progress. :)

And I can't remember if I've posted any pics of Fleck yet...




He's not the brightest dog on the planet, but I grow more and more fond of him all the time. Plus, he can curl himself impressively into a tiny ball that fits on the case of one of our couch pillows.

Not much else has happened since August, and I haven't felt all that insightful. But we've found ourselves with a bit more free time than previously, so I have hope that my brain will start to kick in again. Maybe then I'll have more substantial things to write about than renovations. But until then, happy home-owning!

"It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song..."