Inspiration - It Really CAN Come from Anywhere

Meet my grandmother...

Well, my grandmother as she looked 40-something years ago. She would probably kill me if she knew I posted a picture of her in her bathing suit on the Internet. But sadly, she passed away a couple years ago and anyway, she was HOT!

This picture has been sitting on my desk at work since the day after she passed away. I look at it constantly (for many different reasons). One thing I've recently noticed about this pic are the colors...they're beautiful! The black and white bathing suit, together with the coral blanket make for a really nice color combination.

I've been trying to come up with a good spot in my house to try using these colors. So, for inspiration I did some googling...

and then I realized, I really like coral. It brightens EVERYTHING. Now, this room could benefit from a little coral, eh?

Not that it's not beautiful - it is. But it just seems less "happy" than the other pics. I think I'll start with small doses and see how it goes...

Happy Birthday, Cullen!

My "baby" Cullen is two years old today! Happy Birthday! We love you, Cullen Eric!

*I believe this is the pic he uses in his match.com profile. I've heard swimmies are a real turn-on with the pre-school set.

Wow! Time Flies...

I can't believe it's been TWO WEEKS since my last post! I literally thought it had been maybe 5 or 6 days. Clearly I'm sleep deprived and a little nutty. Well, I've been trying to put together a nice, long, informative post on the attic renovation. That was where we started when we bought the house and I thought I'd try to catch you up in chronological order. The upside is we have MANY photographs of the attic transformation. The downside is we have MANY photographs of the attic transformation - which makes it difficult for me to clearly and easily tell the "attic story." I do, after all, have a tendency to be a bit long winded. Anyway, I hope to finish up that post in the next couple of days.

Going through a major home renovation with two small children definitely makes things interesting. For example, it's not entirely uncommon for drill bits to show up in the silverware drawer. The kids LOVE touching Daddy's tools. They also LOVE hiding them in crazy places. I always chuckle when I find any of these hidden tools, but the one I found this morning really made me laugh...

Hmm, why is this metal thing stuck next to my mattress? What is this metal thing stuck next to my mattress?

Ahhh, the old putty-knife-in-the-bed-frame. They haven't used this one in a while :)

On a side note, here's me and my handsome husband going to a Fire Department function. He got the Medal of Merit for his work at a car accident - probably why he's so smiley.

Happy Birthday Finn Michael!

My "baby" is three years old today. Happy Birthday, Finn. We love you.

Better Late Than Never

Admittedly, I should have started this blog about three years ago. And yes, this is another house blog. After some consideration I decided that not only might this blog interest a few other people, it would also be a great way for me to document the (planned) transformation of our new house. Okay, here's a little background:

In April of 2005 my husband, Michael, and I bought our 3000 sq. ft. money pit from the Methodist Church in our hometown. The Church had owned the property for over fifty years and in that time it was a parsonage, a Sunday school, offices and rental property. Needless to say there was a general lack of TLC given to the house during those years.

Initially, based on city records and our Deed, we believed the house (a quasi-Victorian) had been built in 1910. Not so. Upon further research, we found the house clearly depicted on a map dated 1900 and a Mr. Cobb lists the house as his residence in a city directory in 1898. We now believe the house was completed either in 1897 or 1898 - we're still looking into it. One thing we know for sure is that the house has changed hands no more than three times in its 110 year history. Pretty cool.

Starting in the Spring of '05 my husband and I began the extensive, whole-house renovation that has consumed us for the last three years. We started at the top, and worked our way down. For the first year and a half, the house was totally uninhabitable and we lived with my husband's parents while toiling away on weekends. So far, the third floor has been completed, the second floor is about 75% done and the first floor is about 75% done. Oh, and my husband just had to build a deck this spring. :) Here are some pics of his handiwork (yes, I know I'm lucky to have him - he reminds me ALL the time):

Oh, and here's a pic of the actual house. Well, this is what it looked like the day we closed - I'll have to take an updated pic later today. The outside of the house wasn't in bad shape - just some minor cleaning needed. Our "Someday" plan is to remove the vinyl siding and replace it with clapboard. Someday. Like, after I win the lottery...

We call that paint color on the front porch "mac 'n cheese." It has since been repainted white.

Well, I think that's about it for my first post. Hopefully someone out there in the blogosphere bothers reading...