Indecisons, some help please!!

As anyone remodeling will tell you, you have to pick & choose what to splurge on and what to save on. Unfortunately I splurged on a lot and have to save some more $$$$ for the bathroom & first floor laundry renos. But everything else pretty much has been purchased and it is just a matter of putting it all together. Kitchen is almost complete. Crown molding is up & shoe has to be finished and I am clueless about what backsplash to put up, so if you have ideas please help me out and leave a comment below!! Also have no idea what to replace the light fixture above the sink with so again IDEAS PLEASE!

The below tiles I liked because they fit in with my more modern kitchen and the gray makes them neutral colored. The entire backsplash with be planks in the gray color staggered.

The tile above the stove is glass tile. I was not sure about glass because I don't like the gray so I'd have to pick a color and that might be a little too much commitment for me. I like sticking with neutrals....but the colors i liked was olive green & slate blue.

Ugh there is that ugly light above the sink!! Help me out guys!! and I did not know what to do with the space above the curtain. Hand a wood sign that possibly says "Cocina" or "Bon Appettit"

Slow Progress

We have slowed down a lot since I moved in and summer started. This hot humid weather is not helping anything! I'm now living in my bedroom and it is almost does except for the trim wood work and my new doors being painted. :-) My dad is AWESOME!! We still need to do ALOT though. We have to trim the entire house, tile and trim fireplace mantle, tile the new first floor laundry, plumb for the first floor laundry, paint 2 bedroom & laundry, assemble stair railing, install more doors and bifolds, and then we'd move onto the more "wish" like list of things we want to do. We are going to drylock the basement, build a slightly bigger deck and patio, insulate & drywall the garage and maybe put a door in the new first floor laundry like I want :-)

AND I was crazy enough to get another dog. She is a 7 month old chocolate lab.

COCO

Yay for Drywall

Drywall seems to be the pitt fall. We are stuck on it. Here is just a peek of some of the drywall my dad has taken care of and we still have to finish the two back bedrooms.

Still In The Works

It has now been 8 months since I bought my house. I am finally living in it, but living in my living room. I wake up pretty early due to the light from the 7 windows down stairs...including the side lights on the front door. That is not so fun, but I do have my own house.

My dad is currently working on my dry wall upstairs. He thought there was water damage but I guess it was really just a bad job putting the roof back on. The wooden beams were slopping. We hired someone to do some drywall and my dad put up the beams. I think that was a few months ago now, but anything in life is worth waiting for right??

I just can't complain because my dad is awesome for helping me and for being able to teach himself how to do all house stuff. On top of that he tries to do it right unlike so many of these do-it-yourselfers.

I am hoping to have the upstairs bedroom painting in the coming weeks. My upstairs bathroom will have to be put on hold because there are so many other things to do and not enough $ to do them all.

This is probably about the time mouse dropping kept raining on him. Then something fell out of the ceiling and my mom screamed...we thought it was a mouse but learned it was a live bat....it was guano (bat poop).

You knew this would happen

It is the 3rd week in May and I am sleeping at my house, in the living room that is. The house is not done of course. We hired someone to try to fix the drywall upstairs so it is a mess up there. There is carpet protectors on all the floors and drywall dust everywhere. It even made its way down stairs!! My kitchen turns out has a leak in the wall so i can't really use the water yet. So I feel like i can't do much here and on top of that I am coming down with a cold when i never get sick! Geeze!! So we still have to fix leak, install trim, tile fireplace, make stair case, install moulding on cabinets, hide the sides of the cabinets where my dad had to use splints of wood to make the wall even behind them, prime upstairs, paint upstairs, and i am sure there is more. Phew!

It's Been Awhile

Ok, I've been slacking on my duties as a blogger. The last month flew by and since my sister will be here in 2 weeks we are hustling like mad dogs trying to finish up my first floor. So far most things have been taken care of. Kitchen is almost done and just need finishing touch ie crown moulding up, hardware put on and back splash. The living room needs the fireplace tiled and mantle constructed. The foyer needs the spindles and hand rail put up and landing wooded. Oh man!! and i mowed my grass for the first time. You get used to a riding mower when you have to mow 1 acre! Hoping soon to have a bonfire!

Paint Colors for Bedrooms, bathroom & laundry room:
We went to Sherwin Williams Grand Opening May 1st and got 40% off all paints!

My new induction slide-in Range from Craigslist

The cabinet hardware we are thinking of putting on

Uh Ohh

Stopped by my house today to check and make sure no one busted in and stole all my cabinets, appliances, etc. I was just about ready to go when something told me to check the basement, so I walked down the steps to find to my horror the basement had 2-3 inches of standing water. That is right. That stupid sump pump stopped working. My dad ending up having to walk me through the process of taking apart the old one then buying a new one and installing it. Oh geeze! At least I feel I am slowly becoming more handy around my own house.

More Progress

My Dad is sooooo awesome. All the cabinets he pretty much put in himself with a little help from my brother Michael. I was not crazy about the cabinet color when i picked it out but limited budget = limited colors. I wanted to go with a cream color but somehow white painted cabinets made the more go up 20%. My dad also installed that microwave and of course all the beautiful floor you see! I can't wait, my dad is AWESOME

Flooring

It is nice to finally see something going into the house rather than being pulled out. I do have to say the part of the floor that is in now looks amazing. I love my wood floor!! Brazilian walnut is awesome! And although I did not like the stain of cabinets I picked up I love them in the kitchen. Everything is coming together in there awesomely (if that is a word). I have a good feeling about this. Once my house is done I think I will absolutely love it.

DAD LAYING PAPER FOR WOOD FLOOR:

BEFORE:

IN CONSTRUCTION:

Excitment in the Sticks

My mom and I were getting ready to go to my house and do some painting and my dad was already there. A few hours after my dad had been at my house I get a call on my cell phone. It is my dad and he sounds distraught. He says "Jenny, call 911." He continues and tells me there is a car on my pond that has been smashed up and there is a person inside screaming. I call dispatch on the non-emergency line and with my dad on one ear and dispatch on the other tell them what the deal is at my house. I tell them there is injuries and to send rescue. Mom and I then jump into the caddy and race to my house just in time to beat the ambulance there. We waived them all back to behind my house. I think at one point there was 12 rescue vehicles there.

*In the above picture: the tire tracks to the left are those of the the car that crashed. She had gone off the road through my neighbor's front yard missing several trees head on but did hit one of the side of her car jumped their fence and kept going until she went onto the frozen pond. She had passed out while driving.

It gets worse before it gets better, right?

Alright, so the kitchen is officially M.I.A. Dad and Michael tore them out. ::Sigh:: So I have no kitchen now. But that means my new one is coming!! Tomorrow actually...the cabinets are being delivered! Yay! and I have no floor on the main part of the house. The wood will be getting installed in the next coming weeks. I can't wait to see them. I love my brazilian walnut! Can't wait to see my kitchen all put together, i am hoping it is gorgeous.

My Kitchen- empty

Half Bathroom -empty

Longer than I thought

So I have not updated in awhile. As can be expected with Christmas and my sister and her husband just visiting for a baby shower for my new nephaew. Progress has been slow on the house. Seems like everything that is done uncovers another project and with me not knowing how to do anything without my dad makes for even slower progress. But we did get my water system put in so my water no longer is orange and smelling like sulfur. Yay! And the living room, hallway & kitchen are ready for paint. It is now just up to my sister to pick out my colors...since i am terrible with picking things that flow together.