day 154

Another quick update...wish I had time for something more lately!

Things were super busy at the house on Saturday.  The finish carpenter was on site to finish up the trim, install the mantel, hang a replacement door, finish the master bath vanity, install the porch columns and hang our bathroom mirrors.  He was all over the place!

 
The new mantel does not have an inset back like the old one did, so we were unable to mount the outlet on the mantel itself.  I was a little bummed, but I've always planned to have a large mirror or artwork sitting in the middle, so the outlet should be hidden.  I feel like our original mantel had a chunkier top, but I haven't bothered to find the photo to compare it.  If anything, we can always add trim to beef it up later.  More than likely, I'll forget I even thought to do that.

Also, while wondering the aisles of Target on Saturday, I think I might have found curtains for the two windows that flank the fireplace (and overlook our backyard/porch).  I want something that will allow light through, isn't horribly expensive and is at least 8' (our ceilings are 10').  Enter these:

[Nate Berkus Heathered Herringbone Window Panels from Target]

In other news - the master vanity is finally done!  I can't wait to see it all cleaned up and with the hardware installed.  The electrician hung the scones next to the mirrors today, but they're currently facing upwards and we'd asked for them to be installed downwards.  It's slowly coming together.

And, you can't really tell from the photos, but the columns look fantastic.  The carpenters did a really nice job.  I think the only things left to complete on the exterior of the house itself are staining the front door and painting the trim.

The electricians were also on site Saturday wrapping up the network connections and installing the rest of our bathroom and kitchen fixtures.  Hubby and I were discussing our favorite contractors the other night and the electricians were easily number one. We're trying to figure out a nice way to let them know how much we appreciate their help.  Any suggestions?  I've only come up with a couple of my very favorite screwdrivers.  But surely they have their own favorites.

Anyway, I'm dying to see the kitchen with the protective paper pulled off the floor!  And eventually with a tile backsplash and crown molding.  It's crazy that the "once we move in" project list has already begun.

But back to what has to get done immediately.

The painter came back on Saturday to do touch-ups, as well.  I'm much happier with everything now that the ceiling lines have been refined, walls have been touched up and the trim is much more crisp.

And the plumbers were also there.  They made quite a bit of progress running pipe in the basement, but were unable to get started on installing fixtures.  Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with someone at the builder's office and all of the wrong fixtures were ordered.  They straightened everything out today (I hope - the Designer never called me back to verify) and we should now have new fixtures and the correct pedestal sink tomorrow or Wednesday.  Another delay.  

While we were all there together, though, they made a point to bring the tub up from the basement so we could let them know how we wanted it placed.  I'm in love!

And, more than ever, I'm glad we decided to go with the wainscoting around the tub instead of tile.  The tile looks great in the shower, but I really like the mix of materials.

Today, a crew worked on patching the drywall and getting ready for the rest of the touch-up paint.  It sounds like they also started cleaning out the basement.  I'm just glad that progress continues, since we're in such a time crunch to get out of the condo and into the house.  I'm on such pins and needles this week.  Ugh.

In exciting news, my father-in-law is making awesome progress on our dining table.  I can't wait to see the finished product, in person!

Note - I think the table legs are sitting upside down in this photo, but you get the idea.  It's large.  And gorgeous.  And amazing.

Hopefully more good news tomorrow... like painting and carpet and new plumbing fixtures.  One can hope!

day 152

1. It's quarter end and I work in accounting.  Enough said.

2. The condo sold.  We found out Monday night when our landlord called to say there was an inspection scheduled for Wednesday.  The sales contract says tenants have to be out 15 days prior to closing, which means we're supposed to be out on April 15.  10 days from now. (insert mini panic attack)

3. Our Construction Manager's last day with the company is this coming Monday -- April 8.  We found that out on Tuesday. (insert second mini panic attack)

4. On Wednesday, we had a painter come out to paint the master bedroom, powder room, living room/foyer and E's room.  I'd intended to do it myself, but we're running out of time. With the condo selling, I won't have a gap between the house being done and being able to move, so we just hired it out.  I was unimpressed with the work.  (insert third mini panic attack)  He's coming back tomorrow morning to finish touch-ups and clean up his lines.  Crossing my fingers he's able to meet my expectations.

5. We found out Thursday that the hood vent we received (which was actually an upgraded newer model) does not currently have an extender being made for it.  And, without the extender, it's not tall enough for our ceilings.  After lots of back and forth with the appliance company, they found us a new hood (which is the older model) out of California, along with an extender.  Hopefully it arrives next Thursday (April 11) as expected.  The installer is slated to be there first thing Friday morning to get it in.

[36" Stainless Chimney Hood by Best]

6. Our new Construction Manager continues to assure us we'll be in by April 15 (the completion date per our contract and now the day we have to be out of the condo we're renting).  He's tentatively scheduled our occupancy inspection with the Village for next Thursday.  Like 6 days from now.  Day 158.  I'm not totally convinced it's going to happen.

7. W'e're hoping to be able to do our final walk-through and punch list on Friday (day 159) and then be able to move over the weekend.  It gets us out of the condo on time, but it also means we'd be living in the house while they're doing the finishing touches.  Not ideal, but it's going to have to work.

8.  Speaking of the painter coming, I had to pick out more paint colors.  Because of the craziness at work, it involved my Hubby grabbing paint samples from Sherwin Williams and me spreading them out over the kitchen table at 10 pm, trying to pick paint with tired eyes via poor overhead lighting.  While I didn't like the paint job, I like the colors.  One small victory!  Our house palette now looks like this:

Master Bedroom - On the Rocks

Main Bath - Nantucket Dune

E's Bedroom - Versatile Gray

Master Bathroom - Perfect Greige

Kitchen/Dining Area - Gray Clouds

Living Room/Foyer - Gray Clouds

Powder Room - Copen Blue

9. Our master shower is finally tiled!  I love the tile work.  But I'm not sure how I feel about the granite seat and ledge.   I thought it was all going to be tile.  At first I was insistent that the granite come out but the Designer talked me out of it.  He assures me I'll be happier with how the granite holds up in the long run.  I still don't like the look, but practicality wins out again.  I really hope the granite grows on me once everything else starts to be added to the bathroom.

The missing tiles have since been installed but I haven't taken a photo for some reason.

10.  The fireplace tile has also been installed.  I like the wall tile, but I'm a bit undecided on the floor tile.  Does anyone else notice the front right tile?  I know it's natural stone and the colors will vary, but it's the only tile that light.  And I think it looks odd.  The tile guy's solution was to pull a few of the darker tiles out and replace them with a couple leftover tiles that were lighter.  But, because the tiles were wet when I went out to see if I liked it, it still looked the same.  The replacement (and larger) mantel has also arrived and been primed.  I believe it will be installed by the trim carpenter tomorrow.

11. The electricians came out and installed a few more of our lights.  They'll be out again tomorrow to wrap up.

12. Our appliances were delivered last Saturday (day 146) and were installed on Monday (I think?).  The pictures below were taken on Easter, pre-installation (and mid egg hunt!).

13.  We celebrated Easter with an egg hunt at the house.  E was glad the Easter Bunny found him!  And we were thrilled to start making family memories in our new home.

 

14.  Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day!  The painter, electrician, trim carpenter and plumber will all be there.  I think the biggest items left to complete are: paint touch-ups, finish trimwork, install mantel, finish hanging lights, hang mirrors, install carpet and transition pieces, plumbing, complete front porch columns, rough grading, put in temporary driveway/sidewalk and then CLEANING.  It's a tight timeline!  Hopefully more updates tomorrow once everyone has gotten in there and worked their tails off.  I stocked up on Gatorade, water and am baking cookies to drop off in the morning.  I'm hoping a little bribery will go a long way!

happy easter!

Lots to catch up on (like we're supposed to be moving in just over a week!) but so little time to download pictures and put together an update.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Hopefully.

In the mean time, this little guy is keeping us sane, making us laugh and helping us to forget the recent chaos.

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! xo - Amy, Hubby and E

day 142

Lots of changes and little time to update can only mean one thing - it's time for an iPhone photo dump!

1. Tile work in the master bathroom shower has begun.  I think they started last Wednesday and currently have the floor and half the walls complete.  The photos below are from Sunday.

Since these were taken, they've laid the floor (rectangular mosaics) and hung the diagonal square tiles above the small pencil edge tile.  Can't wait to see it finished!

2. Granite was installed in the master bathroom last Friday.

[Vanilla Ice granite counters]

And I don't totally love it.  Which makes me sad.  I'm hoping that once the additional shelf is installed in the middle of the vanity and the plumbing, mirrors, lights, etc. are added, I'll like it much more.  I had really wanted a neutral granite that didn't make a big statement and, right now, this is a bit bolder than I had originally hoped for.  I'm sure the fact that it's currently the only pattern in the room does not help.  Nor do the cardboard-covered floors.

Also, we had to make a last minute change on our faucet locations.  They were originally supposed to be offset, at an angle, on the outside corners of the sinks.  We received a call from the granite folks the morning they were to install, letting us know they'd just gotten a complaint from the last vanity they did that way.  Apparently, water keeps splashing out of their sinks.  In favor of function over design, we decided to mount the faucets as normal, centered along the backs of the sinks.  I'm just bummed now that we didn't go with the rectangular sinks.  Unfortunately, by the time they'd received the complaint and called us, the sink holes had already been cut for the oval bowls.  Oh well.  I was just grateful to find out about the splashing issue before they'd cut the faucet holes.

3.  And granite was also installed in the main bathroom.

[Coffee Brown granite counters]

There is more brown in the stone than the photo is pulling.  And as nervous as I was about the dark color, I really like it.  Phew.

4. We finally got around to painting our Craigslist dresser this weekend.  After much debate, we opted to do a charcoal top with a medium grey base and drawers.  The contrast is definitely greater in person than the photos are showing.  More details to follow on this project.

5. After a ton of browsing, I think I finally found a shower curtain that will work for the main bathroom.  I really want something kid-friendly, but classy.  And it's been amazingly hard to find!

The shower curtain was found at Tuesday Morning ($16) and I think I'll need 2 yards each of the navy and green fabrics ($3/yd).  So, for $28, I should have a shower curtain I love.  Hopefully!

6. I also found hardware for the master bathroom vanity!  I don't know if they're new to Lowe's, or if I've just never noticed them before, but we finally decided on using a combination of knobs and pulls.

Knob: allen + roth 1-1/4" Polished Nickel Round Cabinet Knob

Pull: allen + roth 3" Center-to-Center Polished Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull

7. I found a mirror that I love for the main bathroom.  But I think it's a little too large.  And I think something rectangular would probably fit better.  The one below is from Hobby Lobby, but I'm wondering if we could make our own if we bought a plain beveled mirror and then trimmed it out with some painted and distressed molding?

8. We might have decided to wall paper the wall behind the toilet.  Or maybe the powder room.  And, yes, I swore I'd never use wallpaper in my life.  Especially after living in this highly wallpapered condo.  But isn't it pretty?

9. Weren't my boys handsome in their St. Patty's Day attire?

10. The electricians are coming out on Saturday to wrap everything up!  We're going to have them install one more light outside of the powder room/by the drop zone.  We've noticed it's a bit dark at night and figured we might as well have them take care of it now.

11. The new bathroom vanity cabinet should be delivered tomorrow or Thursday.  Can't wait to have it installed and to finally be able to check cabinets off the list.

12.  The plumber was supposed to start working Monday but we haven't seen him yet.

13.  Unlucky number 13.  We stopped by the house this weekend to drop off our kitchen faucet and a replacement light fixture that had been purchased broken.  In the time it took us to walk into the house and quickly drop off/check for updates, E discovered the latest project.  They'd filled our master shower basin with cement.  And it was fresh.  I'm sure you can imagine what happened next.  Hubby worked hard to smooth everything out while I cleaned up the kid and his less than two-hours old shoes.  Breath in.  Breath out.  

The countdown is on....20 days to go!

the winner is....

...lucky #1, JP!

I hope to be back tomorrow night with a few house updates.  The countdown is on... just three weeks to go!

staying organized.

I'd like to think that I'm not the only one in paperwork overload during this building process.  Between multiple floor plan revisions, cabinet plans, electrical plans, inspiration photos, draw requests, change orders, price comparisons, shopping lists...and on and on and on...I was feeling quite overwhelmed.  I'm one of those people that is very organized in some aspects of my life, but not others.  My pantry and cupboards are usually well organized, labeled and clean.  The pile of mail on my counter, not as much.  I swear, my mail must reproduce overnight. And now that we're adding school projects and newsletters to the mix, it's just out of control.  My goal for the new house is to conquer the mail mess.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Ha!

Anyway, I finally decided to take control of the building paperwork craziness and started a construction binder.  It's been a lifesaver and I actually wish I'd started the thing about four months before I did.  No more wondering if I have the most recent floor plans or digging through piles for the receipt I need to return a broken light fixture.  Such a nice feeling.

If you'd like to make your own, I'd recommend the following materials: heavy duty 2" binder (although, my first one is almost full and I'm about to start on binder number two), sheet protectors, 3-hole punch and  your preferred tabs or dividers (I personally like these by Post-it).

I'm a big fan of using sheet protectors for most of my documents because it just keeps everything protected.  Plus, I can slide papers in without needing to find my hole punch.  For my checklists, notes, drawings and other things that I actually write on, I do tend to use the 3-hole punch.  The only downside to sheet protectors are that normal sized dividers (like these by Avery) can get 'lost' in the binder because the sheet proectors stick out farther than a normal, hole-punched piece of paper.  It's all about personal preference.

And, because I couldn't put together an organizational binder without making it pretty, I created a set of dividers, worksheets, checklists and other helpful tools.  The best part?  You can use them to make your own binder pretty, too!  At my Hubby's encouragement, they're now available for purchase through Etsy.

If you're interested, you can check out the details here, on the lot23home shop.

And the second best part?  I've decided to give away a set of printables!  Just comment on this post with your name and e-mail address and I'll pick one winner (using a random number generator) on Monday, March 25.  All entries should be submitted by Sunday, March 24 at 11:59 pm CST.  If the chosen winner does not acknowledge my e-mail, another winner will be selected one week later (April 1). 

The worksheets would also be helpful for home remodeling projects or even planning for a future building project.  If you're interested, but would prefer the cover sheet say something other than 'construction', just send me a note!  The Etsy site also helps you get an idea of the different categories I used to divide my binder.

I've also used Excel and Pinterest to help myself stay organized.  All of my financial worksheets are in Excel.  It's easier for me to update an electronic worksheet when comparing loans, updating interest rates or even keeping track of change orders.  Plus, I'm a total Excel nerd.  Spreadsheets make me happy.

Pinterest (see my house boards here and here) has been awesome when we've been scouring websites, debating light fixtures, selecting faucets or even just saving things we'd like to purchase later.  It's also been a great place to save links to the selections we've made, so that I can access them anywhere via the Pinterest app on my phone, and not just when I'm not lugging my binder around.

Now, I'd love to know what other house building organizational ideas you have, as well as any tips to help me conquer my mail problem.  And don't forget to enter the giveaway - remember, it ends on Sunday and the winner will be announced Monday.  Good luck!

day 135 (and menu monday)

We're supposed to be into our new house by April 15.  I'm probably the only one that finds it funny.  Despite not being a tax accountant, there is just something about Tax Day no matter what type of accounting you do.

Anyway, it hit me this weekend that it's only four weeks away.  In some ways, I'm like "Four weeks?  Still?".  And in other ways, I'm all "Holy moly.  Four weeks?!  There is still so much to do... and pack."

We've been living as minimally as possible these past six months, so I'm hesitant to pack up too much right away.  As I was pondering what I could start putting into boxes, I realized there was an easy and obvious start.  The freezer and pantry.  Why even pack them?  Let's eat the food up!  Besides being less to move, it should save us some cash, which will be especially nice with the double bills we've been paying lately (rent and construction loan, double electric bills, double water bills, storage unit, PO box, etc.).

I spent about an hour this weekend taking an inventory of our cupboards and freezer.  And then I made my weekly meal plan based upon what we had on hand.  We're still going to need to buy fresh fruits and veggies, milk, eggs, yogurt, bread, etc, but I'm hoping all of the meat and most of the non-perishables will come from our existing stash for the next few weeks.

Besides the items above, we also have the staples -- oils, spices, flour, sugars, condiments, etc.  And our freezer was actually stocked with quite a bit more meat than I realized.  I love good surprises like that!

After careful review, I came up with the following plan for this week:

Sunday: Chicken Parmesan
Monday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia (based upon Broiled Tilapia Parmesan - but modified to use panko, bread crumbs, cayenne pepper and Old Bay seasoning), Yellow Rice, Mixed Veggies
Tuesday: Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Best Pancakes Ever
Wednesday: Chicken Strips (based upon Simple Southern-Style "Unfried" Chicken), homemade Mac 'n Cheese
Thursday: Pork Chops, Veggies, Rice
Friday: Frozen Pizza
Saturday: Crockpot Italian Chicken (chicken breasts, Italian dressing packet, water - on low for 6 hours - served with mozzarella cheese on a toasted bun)

 
We had to pick up a few things, but the majority of the ingredients came from the pantry/fridge/freezer.  One week down...three more to go!  I have a few more ideas for the coming weeks, but I'd love any input on some of your favorite recipes that use the ingredients above.  Possibilities include: Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, chiles), Granny's Swiss Steak (cubed steak, onion soup mix, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, egg noodles), Chili (chili diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes, ground beef, tomato sauce), Baked Mostaccioli (pasta, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese), Spinach Stuffed Shells (jumbo shells, creamed spinach, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce) and The Best Pork Chop You Will Ever Taste (Ranch dressing, breadcrumbs, Italian dressing packet, parmesan cheese, pork chops).  Now - it's your turn.  Do share!

In house related news, our trim was painted last week at some point - maybe Thursday or Friday (day 130 or 131).  The most exciting part was that the carpenters were out on Saturday to install our master bathroom vanity.  Of course, it didn't go off without a hitch.

I've been in love with this vanity that I found on Houzz since the day I first spied it.

Traditional Bathroom by Denver Interior Designer Chalet

It's beautiful, right?  Our cabinet supplier was able to design something very similar, but once the assembly started, we realized it was going to be about 15 inches too small.  We had used our builder's cabinet plans as a starting point when we met with the cabinet supplier we ended up using.  It turns out, the plans were based upon an older floor plan, when the vanity was on a different wall.  And, while Hubby and I double checked all of the kitchen measurements, we never checked the master bath.  Aye.

After a bit of a panic, I finally agreed with the idea of inserting another 15" cabinet in between the center two banks of drawers.

We debated between adding another 3-drawer bank, installing a pull out trash can behind a large door or just doing open shelving.  My cousin did a rough Photoshop mark-up of the 3-drawer option and the open shelves option and we ultimately decided on the open shelves.  The cabinet order was placed yesterday and we'll hopefully be able to wrap this up once and for all next week.  Well, after I finally decide on hardware.  Any suggestions?

Additionally, after a panicked call to our granite supplier on Saturday, we were grateful to learn that our granite slab is 116" -- which leaves enough room to accommodate the new 110" vanity.  Thank goodness!

The carpenter was also able to work on installing the wainscoting around the tub, as well as the crown moulding on the kitchen cabinets.  The small details make such a difference!

[wainscoting tub surround]

[Merillat Tolani - Maple Chiffon cabinets with added crown moulding]

[Kashmir White granite - in the daylight!]

[Merillat Tolani - Maple Chiffon cabinets with added crown moulding]

[drop zone - Merillat Tolani in Maple Sable]

We should receive our new wall oven cabinet this Thursday and I'm hoping the new fireplace mantle is slated to be delivered this week as well.  Did I mention the current one is much too small?

Each day that goes by, I think I get a little more anxious.  But we're in the home stretch.  And I'm so grateful.