six months later

we've owned this house for just over six months. honestly, that fact coupled with the truth that none of our rooms are actually finished is a bit discouraging. on friday night, we got a little down about it. we've been waiting for our framer to get started on the siding, new windows and roof - he has been busy building a haunted house at buck hill! funny.

we're ready to get moving on the finishing touches. we spent a few hours at menards picking out our base profile. i'd love to do a really wide base - something really substantial - but we don't have high ceilings. what we picked is nice, though. i didn't really like anything they had in stock for casing. thankfully, ordering from scherer bros. is an option (sometimes, menards just doesn't quite cut it), and my father-in-law had a bunch of leftover samples from his homes. yesterday, i primed and painted them to see which one we like better. i think we'll go with the one on the left. the edges are a little softer. again, i'd love to do something wide and dramatic, but we have a simple ranch home and we don't want to go overboard.


ben also framed out the new hearth so that it will meet code. we are going to install a really basic solid taupe tile surround with a white mantle. we are hiring a contractor to do a sort of smooth stucco treatment over the brick, so it will appear to be drywall. we can paint it the same color as the room.


i've been priming and painting doors in our living room "workshop."


and yesterday, i finished tearing down the wallpaper around the front door.

(before)

(after)

our new front door came in last week, and i'm excited for less of a peep show! it just has a few small panes of glass on the very top, so people won't be able to see so much into the house. i think it'll make us feel a little safer.

pressing on!

weekend update

the weekend isn't over yet, but it has been fantastically productive. ben took friday off of work to work on the house, and we accomplished quite a bit: taking down wallpaper, taking off siding, narrowing tile choices to two for the fireplace surround, picking up roof samples, and other small things. our new front door, garage door, and a window were delivered, too.

kristen graciously volunteered to spend her saturday morning helping me and ben outside. we started tearing off the masonite siding on the back of the house. man, was it hot and humid!

(kristen takes it to the house. literally.)

(and she holds the rope for my man on the roof, while i snap pictures.)

(hanson sisters unite!)

(at one point, i'm sure it was "the lovely white house on the corner.")

(ben takes a sledgehammer to the fireplace.)

(admiring his handiwork. better already.)

(today, three tiles came off the vanity. i heard a crash and this is what i found. this bathroom has to last us for a while, though...)

(decisions, decisions.)

we are going to push hard to get a lot done in the next month. we're finally getting the summer weather here in minnesota, but fall isn't too far off and we want to have the windows, siding, and roof finished soon. then we are going to take a break.

scenes from a house

i stole/tweaked that title from an ingmar bergman movie we watched in my scandinavian literature class at the u. i don't know why it came back to me. (it's really called scenes from a marriage and i'm not sure i'd recommend it.)

anyways, we are still here, still working. here are a few snapshots.




as for that list, here's where we stand:

*choose, paint, and install casing, base, and trim (half round, too)
*install trim above cabinets
*paint door to garage
*paint closet doors
*paint door to basement
*paint pocket doors
*install doorknob to garage no more hole in the door! :)
*touch up paint in kitchen
*touch up paint in mudroom
*take off siding
*order windows
*take down wallpaper

hmmm.....that list got simultaneously shorter and longer.

to-do list.

it's been quiet around here. we are loving our kitchen. loving it. i spent most of sunday cooking and baking, and it was just wonderful. returning to our normal routine for grocery shopping felt great. it was my turn to lead bible study on monday night, which means i got to bring treats. i had a request for some raspberry/white chocolate/almond bars, so i just had to bring those (i was dying to make them - they are one of my few favorite non-chocolate desserts). my mom also has a killer sweet chex mix-type recipe, so i tried that out, too. turns out ben thinks pretty highly of it, so i think we've found a keeper.

i think having each piece of this kitchen come together so slowly has made us so grateful for it all. i mean, when the windows went in, it was jump-up-and-down exciting. then the cabinets, countertops, appliances...wow. what a blessing to have this kitchen. ben and i pray that we will use it for God's glory and not our own...so Lord willing, lots of people over for meals and fellowship and time spent making treats to bless others!

we've taken a little breather from any intense house projects and we're just enjoying the space. it isn't done yet, so i haven't posted many pictures. i'm realizing there is a big difference between "done" and "functional." it is currently in the latter state. here's our to-do list for the kitchen, mudroom, and half bath:

*choose, paint, and install casing, base, and trim (half round, too)
*install trim above cabinets
*paint door to garage
*paint closet doors
*paint door to basement
*paint pocket doors
*install doorknob to garage (we FINALLY picked one out...this whole time, we've just had a hole!)

and that doesn't even include decorating (the best part, of course). we'll just use an old table with a tablecloth and some chairs we're borrowing from my parents until we find some suitable furniture. we're like-minded in the thought that we'd like to live in the space and see how we'll use it before we buy anything.

currently on our plate is the exterior of the house. right now, the exterior is cracked and peeling all over and it looks terrible. the pitch on one part of the roof is causing some strange runoff and potential water damage. so new siding and a new roof are in order.

(the sad current state of affairs)

we've narrowed down siding choices and roof colors. we're ordering new windows for the entire house. i'm actually looking forward to taking the siding off ourselves (to save money). i'm learning that i really enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a job involving manual labor.

i've also got some small projects to complete. i showed some friends at work house pictures, and one friend was surprised that we haven't painted over the upstairs rooms yet. it's funny - we still have this old wallpaper up around the front door! we've been so focused on big projects that there are many smaller things that we just haven't gotten to yet.

(can you see the wallpaper around the door? it's gotta go.)

it'll get done. for now, we're gonna work hard, but enjoy some summer while it lasts.

ahhh...vacation

we just got home from a lovely extended weekend up north. we were at a cabin on gull lake with my family.

the great news is that on friday, the day before we left, we got to bake in our kitchen! ben and i made homemade pizza and brownies. then i baked some blueberry muffins and made some bean dip to take up north. it was fabulous.



thanks to everyone for the encouraging e-mails and facebook messages! i'm glad to know people are reading this and enjoying the pictures. i recently looked at some old pics and was amazed to remember what the house used to look like. we have a lot of work ahead, but we have a functioning kitchen. praise God!