Guest Blogger this week/month is me again the project financier. DWB

Since last Wednesday the changes made are: tile, trim, decks stairs, the tub was delivered and a lot of dirt has been moved. We've been out of town, so it was interesting to see the progress from last week.

As you will see it poured the night before and of course we couldn't keep Mr. Bluejeans out of it while we filled nail holes, prepped trim, and calked for hopefully painting this weekend. He had about 2 inches of mud caked on his shoes, which caused a negative parental reaction. Does anyone make an 18' kids gate for our garage?


A moment of silence was taken for the remains of the giant dirt pile which was the kids favorite feature of the house.

Remains of the front door we thought had been stolen.

Master bath w/ tub framed and the tile just laid.
(Love the barrel ceiling)

The bubble free tub for 2.
Mechanical bubbles add a $1000. Swimming lessons = free

Slate tile around gas logs. (Awesome job Tony) We wanted a wood burning fp, but they require a massive 24" outlet pipe to provide the proper draft. We settled for vented gas, since the gas fumes stink and give me headaches.

Our simple trim. Stained in the great rm and dining rm but painted everywhere else. This picture also shows the electrical crews oops, where a post was supposed to be. I blame it on the littlest crew member.

Laundry room tile

Perfect set of stairs for the kids to fall down now.

Time to get dirty painting this weekend.

Guest Blogger this week/month is me the project financier. DWB

Well we have been a little busy working on the house, playing soccer, attending church and taking care of school work, so the blog has suffered. Things on the house have changed just slightly. All the siding is done and they have begun backfilling the front yard. The exterior is mostly done except the stone now and staining the porch, deck and cedar posts. The gas line is in after having to go under the hwy, a fiber optic line, and two water mains. You would think we would have gotten to tap into the gas main in the back yard, but that isn't the case. The water line is also hooked up, so we can at least wash some of the dirt off the kids now. Stacie and I also laid the electrical service entry conduit yesterday, but it was dark when we were done, so no pictures.

Trim is going in and our tile guy has started laying tile. The budget is looking pretty good and we think we will be under budget, but not by a lot the way things "pop-up". Below are the latest pics.

Cedar Shutters and 8x8 cedar posts

The cedar is all done, we just need to finish backfilling and building the steps. (10' wide steps)

The deck with a big first step and the inspection crew.

4" Unfinished Hickory Hardwood. 2' to 8' lengths -final finish will be a clear polyurethane. I was concerned about the wildness of variety of the wood, but since we used the big wide boards that were long it looks good. BTW we love heart hickory. It looks a lot like walnut which we wanted, but costs way to much.

We put the hardwoods in ourselves with Stacie's parents help in 3 days which saved us about $1000. After doing it we recommend good knee pads, a big bertha flooring hammer (Stacie loved), a miter saw with a new blade (I finally replaced the blade dad) and a pnuematic flooring nailer. Thanks to our neighbor Oliver who works for a flooring company who took care of us. We appreciated his help greatly, plus the kids love playing kick ball with him.

Note the 8x8 cedar block. There will actually be a 10x10 post there. :-)

The kitchen was a little more challenging due to all the angles. Luckily all the angles were 45 degrees. Also see all our trim. (4" & 6" MDF)

We would have loved true panel doors but with them being double the $$$, we opted for these molded interior doors.

The drywall guys going to town. They rocked the whole house in 3 days and then mudded/sanded it in 4 days. Most impressive was the guy hanging drywall by himself on the walls. Drywall mudding is most definitely an acquired skill that I don't have and the drywall dust went everywhere when they sanded it. What a mess.

Well that's it for now. Up next is painting, which we hope to do some of ourselves in the basement and maybe getting some grass seed down. Until next time. Later DWB

House Update

I know it's been quite a while but there really hasn't been much to show you. The electrical has been finished and passed inspection. Also the HVAC has been finished and passed inspection. They've also inspected for codes: framing, plumbing, roofing, etc. Last week the masons came and bricked up the basement portion of the house. We really LOVE the brick. Today they started installing the Hardie Board/Certainteed siding. This is a wood looking, fiber cement board with a baked on paint finish. It looks fantastic and gives us the look we were going for without the expense of Cedar or another wood.







One they finish all the Hardie Board and vinyl they will start insulating. While they are insulating the backfilling will begin. I really hope we can get the front porch down to only 4 steps but we'll just have to wait and see. When the insulation is finished then it's time for drywall, then Derek will install the hardwood floors and the tile will go into all the bathrooms, then paint and so on. Hopefully while these things are being done on the inside the front porch will get all of it's decking, cedar posts and stone.

We've been having a very tough time picking out the granite for the kitchen and bath counter tops. It's been difficult and brain racking but I finally finished it all today and I was able to get a price I was happy with.

Here's the final choices.

This is Giallo Ornamental Light, it is for Lily's bathroom.


This is St. Cecilia Light, it is for the boys/hall bathroom.

This is Steel Grey, it is for the perimeter countertops in the kitchen and the master bath vanities. The cabinets in all the bathrooms and the perimeter of the kitchen are all (almost) white.


This is Luna Pearl, it is going on the Island. The Island will be painted an almost black color with light distressing.

The Master Bath Sinks and faucets came today. We have two of these in the Master Bath. Vessel sinks! Love em'!!!


The Master Bath Sinks and faucets came today. We have two of these in the Master Bath. Vessel sinks! Love em'!!!
(Love my little cheeser in the background) He keeps me smiling.

On other fronts the kids are all healthy and the oldest two are doing great in school. It is really hard to believe I have a 3rd and first grader! Caleb is playing soccer this fall and that along with house building is definitely keeping us busy. Derek and I are both teaching Bible class this quarter as well. October will be a nice break.

I'm working out daily. I started with The 30 day Shred by Jillian Michaels. Hardest workout video I've ever done. My friend, Erin, comes over every Tuesday and Thursday to workout with me while Levi naps. This week she was a workout superstar. She worked out every single day and 3 times on Thursday! I workout by myself on the days she isn't here. It definitely keeps me accountable when I know she will be her depending on me. We started the Shred it with Weights DVD by Jillian Michaels on Tuesday. I did it last Saturday and Sunday and thought I was going to kill over and die. My hamstrings were killing me for days! However on day 3 of it with her yesterday, day 5 for me, we made it through the whole DVD without stopping! We were so excited we woke up Levi. Trust me if you do this DVD you'll be happy to do the same.

I haven't really lost any weight yet but my muscle tone is definitely improving dramatically. I'm happy with staying the same weight if I'm really lean and tone.

I'm headed to Alabama this weekend with my little guy. One of my first cousins is getting married tomorrow and we are going to the wedding. Derek will have a busy weekend here with the other two.

I hope you are all doing wonderfully! Leave me a note and tell me what you've been up too!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Love,
The Boss Lady

Current GRITS Embroidery Promotions!

Back to School Special: Take $5 off of every $50 you spend. Ends Sept. 30th

Birthday Special: In honor of my upcoming 32nd birthday the "Jessica Bag" is only $15! That's a 50% savings! Comes in Color Choice 1: Cherry Linen


Morning Glory Linen exterior

with Full Moon Dot Cherry interior.

And last but not least go support my friend Jessica over at Vanilla Stitchin'.
"LIKE" her on Facebook and mention that GRITS Embroidery sent you. When you do this you will receive either $5 off your next order or FREE shipping off your next order.

Happy Friday!
Stacie
www.gritsembroidery.com
G.R.I.T.S. Embroidery on Facebook

Fabric Voting Results!

Results!!! I know it's taken forever! Although we didn't have all that many participate on the fabric voting we will still have a winning fabric. Drum Roll please.......... Lotus Morning Glory Linen!

The Prize! The next two people to place an order will receive the Jessica bag in this fabric for only $20!!!! That's a 33% savings! ...To place an order just e-mail me at gritsembroidery (at) yahoo (dot) com or send me a message on FB. Thanks for your participation!!!

Happy Shopping! Love, Stacie

Master Bath electrical. For my vanity.


Can and Pendant lighting in the kitchen.



Front of the house with windows!



Front of the house with windows! Front Door isn't here yet.



Back of the house. We have windows!!! and exterior doors~! Yeah

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The electrical crew: Top row: Derek, My brother Jared and My cousin-in-law Rob
Levi, Me, Lily, Caleb and my nephew Jaden.

The electrical is almost done. Derek and I and anyone we can recruit to help will be running the cable and phone. HVAC goes in the end of the week and Brick is scheduled for the end of next week.




Me, Jonna and baby Macy. She's precious!

I'll try to write tomorrow. We are very busy. At least I got pictures up :)

A very busy week!

Well it's been one very busy week. My parents came up on the 3rd with 3 of my nephews. They all belong to my brother Jared and his wife Ellen. Strangely enough I didn't get a picture while they were here. Thankfully they will be back in a couple of weeks when Jared comes to wire the house for us! They celebrated 15 years on Wednesday and today was Jared's 36th birthday!

We had a great week! My dad was able to stay until Monday morning then he went back home to work at my Mee-Mees and his own backyard. Mom stayed and she and I managed the 6 kids everyday with Derek helping out in the evenings. They were all very well behaved and played beautifully together. Tuesday night they all, minus Levi, helped Derek build a track for his RC truck up in the back of our neighborhood, coined the Junkyard by Derek, Caleb and Lily. We enjoyed going to the local Splash Pad type place and having a picnic lunch on Wednesday. Of course Bible class that evening. Thursday we met a friend and neighbor with her three kids at Check E. Cheese and let the kids play games then we went on to a great local Italian restaurant for lunch. That afternoon we all went to see Toy Story 3 at an old nostalgic theater and had free kids meals at Captain D's. I love free kids meals and I now have a list on my phone of which restaurants have them each day of the week.

Friday I spent 4.5 hours at the new house, the majority of it with my builder and my cabinet maker. The rest with both of our builders. They are a husband and wife team. I am very thankful the kids were very well behaved for mom while I was gone.

During the week they finished framing the house and roofed it. There are a couple of small things that have to be fixed but nothing earth shattering. We are very happy with how everything is coming along and I LOVE the house!

Here are some updated pictures!

This is a side view of the front porch.



View from Great room into kitchen.

View of Great room through to Master bedroom (straight ahead) and master bath ( back left) and foyer and dining room front left.