Creating Memories on First

Starting to get nervous again....

2010-12-22T23:39:00.002-05:00

We heard the good news about the appraisal on Monday shortly after closing on 1st St. They said we should get the commitment letter that day or early Tuesday. Well, it's now Wednesday evening and we don't have it. Now the promise is tomorrow morning.

All this waiting is so frustrating! I hope to hear good news in the morning and get the keys asap! If we don't get it tomorrow, I'm afraid Friday is a bust because it's Christmas Eve. Then it's the weekend. After that, we only have 3 weekdays to move before we go to Indy for the wedding, then get kicked out of 1st St.

Good thoughts!!!!!

Things are looking up!

2010-12-21T23:42:00.003-05:00

We closed on 1st St. at 1o a.m. on Monday. Everything went off without a hitch. Luckily, the new owners have given us until the 1st to move out. So, that buys us a little time to figure out what our next step will be.

Very soon after our closing, we received the good news that the newest appraisal was good. (Albiet only $500 over our contract price. Pshew! That was close!) It's a Christmas miracle! So, the next step is to close on Coral. However, it seems that the seller's mortgage company takes a minimum of 10 days to get a payoff number. So, the closing will most likely be after the 1st. of Jan. The good news is we can likely get early occupancy and go ahead and move in before we own it. The owners have already moved out and are ok with the idea. Thank goodness!

So, the only thing we are waiting on now is the underwriters to review the loan & appraisal and give the ok to issue a commitment letter. Then the keys are ours! Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers. If all goes well we will likely be moving the day after Christmas. Lucky us!

What is going on!!!

2010-12-19T00:15:00.003-05:00

By now, you would think we'd be in our new house. Unfortunately, due to the new housing assesment rules/laws, we are in limbo. The house on Coral that we have been trying to buy for three months now, is no closer to being ours than the day we toured it.

We've already been through one loan process and the appraisal came in really low; way too low for the neighborhood. We tried appealing it, but the appeal process is a joke and it just goes back to the appraiser. Like he's going to say, "You're right, I did an awful job!"

So, the next step was to start the loan process all over again with a new company in order to get a new appraisal. (Apparently, the first company would only use the 1st appraisal, so doing another one with them was pointless.) So, we went through the loan approval process and have been waiting on the appraisal to come back for two weeks. Every day we get a little hope when we're told they expect it back today, but alas it doesn't come. So we wait to find out how our lives will change!

In the meantime, we close on the S. First St. house tomorrow at 10 a.m. The new owners are only letting us stay here until Jan. 1. So, between Christmas and New Year's taking up both weekends, we are supposed to find time to move. Not to mention, Taylor is a groomsman in a wedding for New Year's Eve in Indy. What the hell!!!!!

The only silver lining is that we have "The Condo" to move into as a temporary home. This is Taylor's parents Louisville place. They live full-time in Owensboro and only use "the condo" when they come to visit. We are so grateful!

The next few days should hopefully unfold a lot of information and we will be a little more clear about where we will be living long-term. Off to bed to dream of miracles!

We are moving!

2010-10-11T19:00:00.003-04:00

I haven't updated this blog in a while, but I have news! We are moving. And...it's not to the house in the last post! That deal fell through. The seller didn't have the approval from the bank to do a short sale, so that really sucked. Anyway, we've been casually looking ever since and found a great fixer-upper in Clifton! I'm so excited to get a bigger house & be in a neighborhood that is more kid-friendly. On the otherhand, I'll be so sad to move out of this house we've put soooo much work into; out of this neighborhood where almost all my family & tons of friend live within walking distance.

As soon as we have a closing date and it's more official, I'll post pics. I probably will start another blog because we won't be on First Street anymore. We'll be on Coral Ave. I like the sound of that!

Talk to you soon!

Our New House?

2010-02-03T23:56:00.000-05:00

There's a small chance we will be moving. WHAT!!!

Well, we found this house.

It's huge and we think the same price as our current house will sell for.

We figure it's an opportunity we can't pass up. I'll let you know how this adventure progresses.

Quilt Project Update

2010-02-02T23:51:00.000-05:00

My latest quilt project, Quilt-along the road to spring, is coming along nicely.

Step one: Purchase fabric. Check!

Most of it anyway. I haven't purchased the backing, binding or batting, but the main stuff is purchased, washed and ironed. All ready to cut out!

This is my inspiration/starting fabric!

I can't wait to see how this progresses!

Latest Craft Project

2010-02-01T23:42:00.003-05:00

This is my latest craft project: The chalkboard playmat. It is a play mat that you can bring to a restaurant or anywhere else that you need something to keep your kiddo occupied. One side is a chalkboard and the other is soft flannel. It rolls up for easy travel!

I made it for my friend's son, Anderson. He's a little young for it now, but he'll be ready for it soon, I'm sure. I was very pleased with how it turned out. So much in fact, I plan to make a few for my etsy site and see if Mama's Hip is interested in carrying them along with my other handmade baby items!

What's Up With Ruby?

2010-01-31T23:36:00.003-05:00

She's playing in her tunnel!

Making messes! Yes, that's Trix cereal. She got into a box when we weren't looking.

Eating spaghetti for the 1st time!

More spaghetti!

...and more spaghetti!

That's my Ruby update!

Quilt-Along the Road to Spring

2010-01-24T10:12:00.006-05:00

I made my first quilt for my friend's baby who was born last summer.

Needless to say, I fell in *love* with quilting. However, I've been so busy, I haven't picked up another quilting project. However, I just came across i have to say...'s blog. On it is a great project she calls Quilt-Along the Road to Spring. It starts tomorrow, Monday, January 25. I think I'm going to do it!

I'll keep you updated on my progress. Anyone else want to do it???

Update: It's a New Year!

2010-01-12T23:12:00.006-05:00

Hello again. I know it's been forever since I've updated this blog and I want to back into the swing of things. So first, an update.

Last I talked with you I had just had my baby girl Ruby and Graham had turned 3!

Here was her first bath!

Ruby with the Easter Bunny!
Summer came and went!

4th of July!

Graham started Pre-school!

We celebrated World Breastfeeding Week in September!

Graham was an Astronaut for Halloween!

Thanks to Mema's sweet sewing skills!

Ruby was a flower.

Thanks to Grandma's sweet clearance shopping skills!

Ruby celebrated her first Christmas!

Graham loved all his presents, especially his BIG WHEEL!

The New Year came and so did the snow.

Ruby loved it!

Aren't they cute!

So that's it in a nutshell! We didn't do anything on the house! Yikes! Hopefully this year we'll get more done! See you soon!

My boy is 3 years old!

2009-03-29T19:15:00.003-04:00

Graham turned 3! Here's some pics from his party!

He was so excited about his cake!

Here's an close up of the cake. Leah with Louisville Wedding Cake by Gallery House make the cake. She's located in the neighboorhood: Old Louisville!

Here's Graham with his new powerwheels!

Nursery Curtains and Crib Skirt Complete!

2009-03-08T22:36:00.003-04:00

The curtains and the crib skirt for the nursery are done and up! Yay! I can't believe I finished them before she got here! Now, all that's left is to hang pictures.

Here is an overall look at the nursery.

Here is an upclose of the crib with skirt.

Here is an upclose of the curtains opened.

Here is an upclose of the curtains closed.

Here is the armoire with the new knobs.

That's it for now!

Another homemade gift project

2009-03-06T22:45:00.004-05:00

Graham's friend's birthday party is tomorrow (Saturday), so I decided to make this adorable apron for her. I also bought a kid's cookbook to go with it. It's reversible and so cute! I hope she likes it.

Oh, Graham broke my sewing machine for good on this project when I was almost done. I had to resort to using an old sewing machine (the kind that's in a cabinet) to finish this project. It was a little frustrating, but ended up working out. I need to get myself a new one soon! Especially since I have to make the curtains and crib skirt for the nursery!

What do you think?

Fabric Choice?

2009-02-13T14:47:00.005-05:00

I went to JoAnn's yesterday and looked in the home decor fabric section. Here are some samples I picked up. I'm trying to decided what to make the curtains and crib skirt out of. Any suggestions?

Hopefully I can make it to Hancock's and Hobby Lobby to see thier choices. I might not even use decorator fabric...maybe I'll use something lighter? Let me know what you think?

Thrifting Pays Off....

2009-02-09T16:18:00.003-05:00

...well, if you can call Craigslist thrifting. I woke up this morning and found that someone had literally just posted this rug a few minutes earlier. I wasn't going to take any chances, so I picked up the phone and made the call. I made an appointment to go and see it at 10 a.m. Well, it looked good enough for me. I brought it home for only $15! Here it is:

Nursery Ready To Decorate!

2009-02-05T20:07:00.004-05:00

Here is the finished chandelier. I painted a vintage brass & white chandelier (or rather had my Dad & Taylor paint it!). I picked it out because of the flower details under each light. I made the pink scroll cord cover and hung crystals on it.

Here are the two pictures I got from Brittany and Jen S., respectively, at my baby shower. I am going to use them as inspiration to pick fabric etc... Cute huh!

Here is a picture of the armoire we got off of craigslist. I bought some cute knobs to replace the boring white ones. I just need to put them on. We needed this because there is no closet in this room...I mean NO closet!

Here's the crib we got because our other one was recalled. Thank goodness we didn't have to buy a new one. It's just like my other one except white. I like the vintage look. Now I just need to buy a mattress...oh yeah, and make the crib skirt.

I was thinking about putting this side table in there, if it fits. I may or may not change the crown knobs. What do you think?

Could've Been Worse....

2009-01-30T21:29:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when Graham is quiet in the kitchen by himself. He was quiet for a long time, then I heard him yelling Happy Birthday! Oh the fun of toddlers! Lots of clean-up!

Snow Day #2 - Sledding!

2009-01-28T20:26:00.004-05:00

Today was another snow day. Taylor was actually off work today. That NEVER happens. So, we all braved the weather and went sledding at Cherokee Park. I, of course, opted out of the actual sledding and was the official photographer!

Graham was having a blast!

Brittany and James took a try!

Taylor and Grant raced.

Grant!

Snow Day!

2009-01-27T15:18:00.004-05:00

It's too cold to finish painting the chandelier for the nursery...so you probably won't get an update on the nursery for at least another week. It's not supposed to warm up at all this week. :(

So, today was a snow day-no school for Graham. Here's some pics!

Happy to play in the snow!

Making snow angels!

He's getting a little big for this slide!

Sneak Peak of Paint!

2009-01-18T17:16:00.004-05:00

Taylor started painting yesterday and is finishing up with the stripes today. They're the same shade of pink, just gloss and matte. It's a very subtle strip, but very chic!

When he's done, I'll take more pics.

I've decided to go with a chandelier...still trying to find the right one: gorgeous, but cheap! If you have any suggestions on some, please share!

Then I'll just put a fan in the room. I'm thinking one of those slim tower fans...very inconspicuous.

If you can't see the stripes very well and live in the neighborhood, stop by!

The nursery gets drywall!

2009-01-01T23:18:00.003-05:00

It's the first day of 2009 and Chuck and Taylor didn't waste any time. They started drywalling the nursery ceiling today! Yay! Hopefully it'll be ready for paint by next week. Shabby chic nursery...here we come!

Chuck said he has allergies...I think he just likes the mask?
It's almost finished! Taylor said today he might do picture rail where the new drywall seam is on the wall. I think that would be awesome. Stay tuned...
Oh, before I go, I need your imput in the light fixture. I want to do the total shabby chic, girly thing and do a chandelier. Taylor says we should be practical and put up a ceiling fan. What should we do?

Christmas is over...

2008-12-30T10:17:00.005-05:00

It's kind of sad. You always build it up and then it's over so quick. Oh well! Graham had a great Christmas season. He had five "present opening" sessions. He received some great presents, probably more than he needs, of course, but who can resist his cute little face? Here's a few pictures from Christmas.

This is Graham opening a present. See his enthusiasm.

Here's one of Graham with Grandma and Grandpa. He looks out of it.

Here he is in front of the tree on Christmas morning.
Here we are when we made Christmas cookies.

Now stay tuned for more posts as renovations of 2009 begin!!!

3 Months & Counting....

2008-12-19T19:41:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted last, but we didn't do too much and I lost motivation. I'll post pics soon of the finished downstairs bathroom. So you can see how that turned out. But what really motivated me to start posting again is that we started construction on the nursery. Only 3 months left until little baby girl Inge arrives. Because the room we will use for the nursery is pretty small, we wanted to get rid of the drop ceiling to make it not feel so closed in. So, Taylor started busting up the drop ceiling. Here's the first hole.

Here's another shot of the whole drop ceiling torn out besides the framing.
Isn't the old wall paper lovely! We think this was a kitchen in it's former life?

So, that's it for now. I'll do my best to get those bathroom pics up soon and keep you updated on the nursery progress. I'm so excited. The plan is to do it shabby chic....pink, white, green & red! I can't wait!

Bathroom Progress

2008-04-30T22:14:00.005-04:00

Here is the bathroom progress pics so far. First, here is the subfloor.

Here is the wall tile up with the heated floor put in. Yay!

Here is the new tile floor.

Here is little G helping T. So cute

13.1 miles...we did it!

2008-04-27T08:49:00.002-04:00

The Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon was yesterday. We did it! Myself, Jen & Chuck, Amy and Brittany finished. It was Jen's and Brittany's 1st time...hooray! They did a great job. This was my 2nd time and I shaved a few minutes off my time from last year. A special thank you to Taylor for driving us to the start line and to Mark & Bill for letting us use your hot tub to sooth our muscles!

I'm in Chattanooga

2008-04-20T21:03:00.002-04:00

Graham and I left for Chattanooga about an hour and a half after the earthquake on Friday morning. That's right, we felt the earthquake in Louisville, Kentucky. It was so weird...it woke me up and I didn't know what to do. At least it wasn't too bad. Well, like I said, Graham and I are in Chattanooga, so I can't update the bathroom pictures until I get back on Tuesday. Well, Taylor did e-mail me some pics...but I really don't feel like saving them to my 'rents computer, etc. That's it!

Vintage Bathroom Remodel Day 2 - New Pipes

2008-04-16T20:17:00.002-04:00

Only some of you may think this is interesting, but day two was installing new PVC pipes. Here's the pics.

Vintage Bathroom Day 1 - demolition

2008-04-15T13:39:00.005-04:00

This is so exciting. We're (Taylor is) remodeling the downstairs bathroom. Finally! He has 2 weeks off, so let's hope we get a lot done! Day 1 is demo, yikes! The plumbing is really bad, so Taylor had to rip up the floor to bust up the pipe and put a new one in. I can't wait until this part is over and the fun part begins...tile! We picked out some great stuff. Black & white hex for the floor, white subway tiles for the wall, and either black & white or black & silver damask wallpaper for the top of the wall. We're salvaging a vintage clawfoot tub and we were going to try to salvage the vintage pedestal sink we already had, but the plumbing is bad and the whole for the faucet is huge, so we might have to get new one with a vintage-look.

Here is the before bathroom.
Here is a picture of the floor we're getting!
Here's a picture of the sort of general look. The black & white floor with white walls and black & white wall paper on top. We'll hopefully paint the outside of the tub black and have silver feet!
Here's the style of sink I think I'll get. I also love the mirror!
OK. Here it is. No floor!!!

Here is the pipe for the toilet. More pipe stuff.
This floor joist fell when Taylor took up the last floor board. Freak!
More pipes.
and....more pipes.

Hallway!

2008-04-06T21:04:00.007-04:00

Hi guys. I know it's been forever since I've updated this blog. SORRY! I'll try to be better. So, the hallway is the main thing we've accomplished. We repainted it a nice tan color called earthy cane and put up new light fixtures. Here's some pics. I also threw in a picture of the glass piece I created at Glassworks walk-in-workshop. I actually cut the glass myself. I'm so proud of it!

First, here is the hallway with the red color we painted when we first moved in.

Here's what it looked like when we first moved in.

Here's the random glass piece I did! :)

This is modern track lighting that is on the 2nd floor ceiling.

This is a modern glass art sconce white with black (it's hard to see in the picture) at the top of the stairs.

Here is the view from the back of the hallway.

Here is the view from the front door.

Backsplash Done!

2007-11-19T21:58:00.000-05:00

The backsplash is finally finished! Check it out!!!!!

New Decoration

2007-09-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

I totally copied Jennifer and Chuck and went out and found old tin ceiling tiles and hung them on our living room wall. Do you like?

Front Steps

2007-09-29T18:16:00.001-04:00

Our front steps were crumbling and were dangerous. So, before winter comes we're going to redo them. Here are some before pictures and an in progress picture. The side walls have been poured. The steps should be done by Monday! (crossing our fingers!)

Tree Boxes

2007-09-29T18:10:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my great neighboorhood friends, Mark & Bill, We now have tree boxes around the two trees in front of our house. They are so perfect! Now all I have to do is plant flowers in them. Any suggestions?

Backsplash layout

2007-09-04T19:26:00.001-04:00

I know this is dorky, but I am so visual that we set out our tile for the back splash on the floor so I could see what the design would look like. Here's what we came up with. Hopefully, we'll get it up soon!

Our Windows are Finished!

2007-08-27T17:48:00.000-04:00

Our windows are finally finished...well mostly. The facade windows have been restored and the outsides have been painted. No more boarded up windows. Aren't they pretty! I love my house! Double click on the pictures to see them bigger....and be sure to leave a comment. Here's a close up of one of the windows that shows the detail.

Upstairs guest bedroom windows

2007-07-31T21:41:00.001-04:00

When the window restorers (who by the way are incredibly slow) took out the windows from the upstairs guest bedroom to work on them in their workshop, they realized there were no headers. The windows were holding up our walls. That night some of the bricks (our wall is only made of bricks, 4 bricks wide) fell out. So, not only did Taylor have to build and install new headers, he had to rebrick and mortar the walls above the windows. Fun, fun!

On a side note, our window frames and trim are in, but the sashes (the glass part) isn't. The window openings are just covered in plastic. It's so nice to know the only thing stopping a burglar, the wind, and the rain is thin plastic! The boards that are in the picture below are gone...it's just plastic covering them now.

The kitchen spung a leak!

2007-07-31T21:36:00.000-04:00

Just as most of the holes were repaired from a leak we think was coming from our upstairs shower when the door wasn't being shut all the way, another leak sprung. It ended up being the upstairs toilet. Taylor spent a large chunk of a Sunday fixing it...but the hole in the ceiling is still there!

Lights and Barstools

2007-07-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. Our kitchen still isn't finished, it's kind of on hold while in-laws are in town. Here are the pendant lights above the island and the new barstools. The pictures don't do the light justice. They're actually red...not so much this amber. We have the tiles for the backsplash, but haven't had a chance to start tiling. Please excuse the messy kitchen!

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-17T17:40:00.001-04:00

Here's the painting we had comissioned for Taylor for Father's Day. I just thought everyone would want to see it. It's pretty cool!

Finished Cabinets!

2007-06-01T18:16:00.000-04:00

They finally finished our cabinets. They hung the one that will go above the fridge. They installed all the molding above and below the cabinets...and they put in the hardware! Now all we have to do (or Taylor has to do) is the lighting and a few other small things!

Grass!

2007-06-01T18:14:00.000-04:00

Here's Taylor mowing our new grass for the 1st time!

We've Got Countertops!

2007-05-22T11:10:00.001-04:00

We finally got our countertops installed! I'm so excited. Tomorrow I will meet with our designer, Leigh Stoess, of Claudia's @ Stoess, in Crestwood. We'll work on designing the backsplash and maybe the window treatments and counter stools. I love it!!!!

Watching Grass Grow

2007-05-14T20:28:00.000-04:00

Taylor and Chuck tilled, seeded, and put straw on our entire yard. Now, all we have to do is water and wait!

Here's the back yard.

Here is Chuck trying to be a scissor sister! Do you like his crocs? They're real.

Kitchen progress

2007-05-08T16:43:00.000-04:00

Our kitchen cabinets finally got installed! Yay! They still need to come back to install the molding and the cabinet on top of the fridge. They plan to do that in about two weeks after the countertop gets installed. I can't wait!

More new windows

2007-05-08T16:28:00.000-04:00

Taylor's been working on installing the windows we had made.

Here's the kitchen window before it was painted. I'll post painted pics later.

Chuck was helping...but he had to put band-aids on his blisters from when we did the mini-marathon!

Here's when Taylor took out the old window.

This is our bedroom. Taylor took out the old windows.

We didn't take pics of the new windows yet! I'll get them up soon.

Boarded up window?

2007-04-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

Our top windows are being restored one at a time. Because they were so bad and we want them operable, they have to take the entire thing out to work on it. So, in the meantime, we have to board up the hole. Isn't it lovely!

Home Depot F'd up!

2007-04-11T21:45:00.000-04:00

The installers came today, realized the Home Depot designer had entered the measurements into the computer wrong and the cabinets won't fit. So, they have to reorder two cabinets narrower in order to make things fit. We don't know how long it'll take for them to get in yet. This is the most annoying thing ever. So far they haven't offered any compensation for the trouble. I hate them right now! So our cabinets are just sitting around.

It's ready for cabinets.

2007-04-11T21:41:00.000-04:00

Taylor put up drywall and then painted. It's ready for cabinets!

Kitchen Demo

2007-04-11T21:26:00.000-04:00

We demo'd our kitchen the weekend before Easter. Here's some before pics and some of the demo!

Restored Windows.

2007-03-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

Our first floor facade windows have been restored and newly painted. This is a new color we picked and I think it's going to look great on all the window!

On another note, a bird is nesting in our upstairs bedroom window!

New Garage Doors

2007-03-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

Taylor put in new overhead doors on our garage. Now all we need are automatic openers installed!

Attic

2007-03-20T22:29:00.000-04:00

Taylor got up into the attic to put insulation in it-for efficiency. He also put plywood up there so we could use it as storage. Here's some pics.

Rewired

2007-03-20T22:18:00.000-04:00

We had our main service entrance and main panel upgraded from an old antique piece of crap to a 200 amp 40 circuit panel...whatever that means! Then a 60 amp subpanel put in the garage. Here are some pics.

Here is where Taylor did the rewiring in the garage.
Here's what it used to look like in the garage.
Here's where they dug the trench to get the power to the garage.

New Windows

2007-03-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

We're working on restoring the facade windows. Pictures on that will be posted later. The are replace 4 windows (side and back) with replacement wood windows and will be putting storm windows on the rest of the side and back. This is an effort to not only make them look good, but to also be energy efficient! LG&E bills in this place are crazy! Here is a picture of the 4 wood windows that have already been made and delivered. We just need to find time to install them.

Our new neighbors!

2007-03-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

Our good friends Jen and Chuck just moved to the neighborhood. We couldn't be more excited! Here's their new house! Leave a comment on what you think.

We ordered our cabinets!

2007-03-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

We just got home from ordering our kitchen cabinets. Yay! All those little extras-pull out drawers, decorative feet on the bumped out sink base, pots and pan drawers-really added up. Sorry, we don't have any pics for this post, but I am very excited and just wanted everyone to know. We should know an approximate delivery date next week. They say it's normally 4-6 weeks. Once they come in, then they have to be installed. Then we have to get countertops measured, ordered, and installed. And a million other things. This is going to be a long process, but I can't wait until it's all done!

Update: Our cabinets will be delivered on April 9th!

Kitchen Design

2007-02-19T21:04:00.000-05:00

We went to Home Depot to sit down with Sabrina, our kitchen designer, this weekend. We were there for about two hours! Here is what we came up with. We haven't officially ordered it yet, but plan to do so in the next few days.

Here is a view of the kitchen you would get sitting at the island. It's huge, 9ft long! Here is another view. This would be standing between the island and these cabinets, facing away from the island. The fridge is on the left. We bumped the sink cabinets out and added decorative feet. The dishwasher is to the right of the sink. The pantry is on the right. The two cabinets above the sink will be glass fronts.

Here is the view you would get standing between the cabinets and the island, facing the island. We had the microwave built into this. The stove will be a slide-in and gas. We plan to have all the appliances stainless steel. The drawers to the left of the stove will be deep pots & pans drawers.

Here is the style of cabinet we chose. The main cabinets will be maple, the island will be cherry.

Here is the color we chose for the main cabinets. It has a vanilla bean glaze.

Here is the island cabinet color. It's peppercorn.

Here are the granite countertop choices we narrowed it down to. Which one do you like? Please leave a comment.

Privacy Fence In Progress

2007-02-09T17:07:00.000-05:00

Our privacy fence is being installed. It's almost done! I'm so excited. Here's some pics to show you the progress.

Here is what our backyard looked like before. Notice the rickity old fence on the right and no fence next to the left of the garage. Here is the new fence. It's not quite finished, but what a change!

Here's another view.

Here's where the gate will go on the side of the house-access from the front yard.

Here's where the gate will go in the back of the yard, next to the garage-access from the alley.

Cutting Trees

2007-01-28T22:46:00.000-05:00

This weekend Taylor focused on cutting branches out of the way so our privacy fence can be installed...and just general tree trimming. So, these pictures show him on top of the garage and using his chainsaw/tree trimming attachment to his weed wacker!

Neighborhood Restaurant

2007-01-14T19:54:00.000-05:00

We have a lot of restaurants within a block or so that we can walk to. CarlyRae's is less than a block away and we want to keep it alive...so we're going to make it our new go-to place. This is our good friends Jennifer and Chuck with us at CarlyRae's!

It's ours!!! Now let's get dirty!

2007-01-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

We closed on Friday...FINALLY! Today, Taylor and Chuck went down into the cellar and into the crawl space to work on the air ducts. It's pretty tight down there.

And really dirty!

A few updates

2007-01-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

We're working hard to get this place liveable. Also, we decided to make the front room the living room after all and just have the middle room as the playroom temporarily and down the road make it the dining room.

Here is the front room/living room. We put up new curtains. Thanks to Taylor's parents. They really look great! It's not easy to find 108" length curtains!

Here is the middleroom. Same curtains!

Here is our bedroom...still messy. But notice the new curtains. They're short right now, but hopefully when Judi comes into town, she can sew a panel onto the bottom and they'll look great!

Here is a picture of our air vents before:

After!

Moving Day!

2007-01-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

OK. So we're all moved in. Now it's just going to take a little time to put things away and get settled. Then it's on to the fixer-upper projects!

Guest Bedroom:

Office:

Our bedroom:

Graham's bedroom:
Notice the temporary curtains. Graham's Memaw will be making the fabric into real curtains next time she's back in town. The color is really growing on me!

Foyer:

Front Room:

Middle Room:

Kitchen:
We did get a new stove. That was nice.

The Painted House

2006-12-28T18:11:00.000-05:00

We've done a lot of painting. A special thank you to Mark and Bill!

This is the front room.

This is the middle room. Same color as the front room. Copley Gray.

This is our bedroom. Adiago, which is a slate blue.

Here is our hallway from the upstairs. Wow! Merlot Red. This is only one coat of primer and one coat of red. Hope it only takes one more coat!

This is the hallway from the downstairs foyer.

This is the guest bedroom. Italian Saffron.

This is Graham's Room. Wow again! I don't remember the name of the color, but I'm scared. This is only the first coat.

More before pictures...

2006-12-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

This is the upstairs water closet. Funky!

This is the upstairs bathroom. Nice door to the upstairs deck. Not.

This is a small room upstairs that will be my office/craft room.

This is the kitchen. It's pretty funky, but has so much potential!

This is the downstairs bathroom. Oddly, it's off of the kitchen.

Some Before Pictures...

2006-12-28T08:44:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of me and Graham on our new stairs!

This is the view to our back yard and to the garage.

This is the back of the house.

Here is the foyer. The stairs are gorgeous!

This is the front room. It will eventually be our living room, but may be a playroom for a while. Notice the original fireplace. It is one of four in the home.

This is the middle room. It will eventually be our dining room, but may be our living room for a while....this is the second original fireplace.

Our New House!

2006-12-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

We just bought an old house on First Street in the historic district of Old Louisville. It was built in 1901 and I belive it is italinate style. It needs a lot of work, but I love it! Here, I will post the progress as we make it, so you can follow along!