Morning Surprise

Husband has been burning the midnight oil this past week while working to finish the first of many stained glass projects that he has for the house. Here is the template and pattern that he drew for the window in the living room.

Husband was off yesterday so that he could install the finished project while the scaffolding is still in the house. I was itching to get home to see it!!! However, it was dark when I got home from work, so I had to get up super early to see it this morning!!! TaaaaaDaaaa!

Totally worth waking up early! Please note that this was the first time for me to see this window as I was not privy to the design process...I did have a hand in picking out the glass, I just didn't know where it would all go! I love it!!!!

 (...not to mention, thank you trees in neighbor's back yard for still hanging on to your yellow leaves till now! You look great through my new window!!!)

This is far beyond what I ever imagined it would look like! I am so thankful for my talented husband!!! I can't wait to show you what else he has in store!

I also happened to make a quick peek around the rest of the house before we had to head to work. Yes, you did spy some color on the walls in the living room!

Tile work has begun on the shower walls...

...and the floor!

And the ISLAND is here! More on that later...

I love this man who climbs ladders to install security devices in a suit at 6:30 in the morning!!!!

How much, you might ask? Well, in the words of G, "100-100-199!"

In fact, I think I shall take some time off to spend with him! Hope you all have a safe and wonderful end of 2010! See you next year!

Mediterranean Blue

I forgot to mention that we also stopped by the house on Christmas day to see what had taken place while we were out of town. Looks like the painters started with Mediterranean Blue...

...the pool deck guys put a little texture on the concrete,

 and the tile guys made a delivery!

Here is a behind the scenes look at the "flare" in the tile! (Caution: objects in picture are smaller than they appear.)

There is some progress going on in the shower. Right now it looks like a mud room!

The linen closet in the master bathroom is painted.

The cabinet to house all things related to the television is also in!

Doors to hide the mess will come later.

I love that it is all starting to come together!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Hello, dear friends! We have had so much fun being off for a few days that I almost didn't come back! Husband and I headed to my hometown on the 23rd, which also happens to be my little Brother's birthday. (Okay, so he's 26...and bigger than me...but he gets so fussy when I call him little brother, that I have to keep it going...after all, I am his sister...its my duty.) We had Christmas Eve with my Dad's side of the family at Little Grandmother's house. How I managed to take a vacation from my camera is beyond me, so you'll just have to take my word for it that we had a great time together and ate entirely too much food and all had the best hair days of our entire lives. Then Hubs and I drove back home to get ready for Santa's arrival!

Christmas morning is always so much fun. You know that you're spending too much time building a house when your kids get presents shaped like this and the first thing they ask is if they're house plans!

They were excited to find out that they were NOT house plans, but were full of decals to go on the walls of their new rooms! Diva got a giant peace sign and G got tons of pink polka dots to scatter about. They also got remotes for their ceiling fans. G was particularly happy about that as she is not a big fan of getting out of the bed. 

These sweet sisters even discussed sharing a few of their presents with each other.

I love these guys!

Speaking of things I loooooove! These!!!!!

Quite possibly THE best gift for any cold natured person on your list! (Thank you Diva) I would have worn them to church if Husband wouldn't have made fun of me.

Next on the agenda was brunch at Mimi and Grandpa's with Husband's sister and her family.

All the grand kids with their Mimi and Grandpa...

Husband and I even managed to get a picture by ourselves. (Although we both look like we could use a nap!)

G is recovering from her surgery nicely. She was able to eat some mashed potatoes and homemade mac and cheese. One gift in particular came in pretty handy while she is still in quiet mode.

The crayola crayon maker:

Pretty snazzy, huh? Sure beats ruining one of mom's pans to make them on the oven like we used to!
Step one (after you've used up the 6 crayons provided): find a bunch of old crayons

Step two: carefully remove all paper from old crayons.

Step three: break the crayons into pieces and select your desired colors.

The machine does the rest! We doodled the day away!



I hope that you all had just as wonderful of a Christmas as our family did!!!

I think it has been a while since we've taken a peek upstairs. It, too, is primed and some rooms even have light fixtures installed.

G's linen closet is completely installed in her bathroom.

Diva's room is ready for color!

Her chest of drawers is installed in the cubby area.

Her bathroom vanity is almost finished. Here's a sneak peek...

In backyard news, it has finally warmed up enough for the pool guys to pour the deck.

Now that we've got the pool deck poured we're ready for things to cool down so that we can have a WHITE Christmas!

We hope that you have a Merry Christmas!

Details, details, details

Things are moving right along with the dining room too. Here is a before shot of the dining room...

And here it is after being primed...

The ceiling of this room is my favorite! We have this trim framing the chandelier. The center of this will be painted the same color as the walls and the outside color will be a bit lighter.

I love how the columns look now that they're painted.

The cabinets in the outdoor living area have also been primed and are ready for paint!

The most exciting thing is that my tub is here!!!! It is currently chillin in the master bedroom, but it is here! Just wait till this guy is in the bathroom and has his feet installed! Ahhhh! I.am.in.love!

The shower is still a work in progress, however it now has walls rather than open insulation. The tile is stacked neatly in boxes in our bedroom awaiting installation!

The foyer chandelier has been hung! You can imagine what it is going to look like even though it is covered right now.

Husband made these medallions to be part of the crown molding detail in the foyer.

Hopefully, when I come back with their reveal, I'll have another surprise to show you! Any guesses as to what it might be....????

What's cookin'?

Some of you have been asking what is happening at the house now. Well, while we've been getting ready for Christmas, the guys at the house have been trucking right along. Everything is primed white which makes the house look a lot bigger to me. I haven't been taking many pictures of this step because it is tough to tell a difference between coat one and coat two! However here is a before picture of the breakfast nook: 

...and here is the after!

Let's take a quick tour of the kitchen... The farmhouse sink will go under the window and there is the pantry that is full of paint buckets right now.

Here is the view from the window seat. The wall to the left of the pantry is where the oven will be and the wall to the right is where the fridge will go. See the light from that hallway by the "fridge?"

That hallway leads into the great room to the right and the dining room to the left.

Beside the breakfast nook is the door to the back porch and around the corner is a hallway leading to the great room and the staircase.

Next up for the kitchen is the island! Stay tuned....