So close to done!

Posts have been wrapped. Now I just need to paint the doors a nice maroon color and put the edge piece on the porch floor and the exterior is DONE!!

And the birds have finally found my feeder!

My mom started a nice little rock wall in my back yard.

And the grass is growing!

"New York State of Mind"

Bar top has been installed. Now all I need are some nice bar stools!

Living room is now half "New York State of Mind" blue by Benjamin Moore! I love it!

Porch Floor

We spent a beautiful Saturday working on the porch. It was nice a sunny, and would have been really warm if it hadn't been for the wind. All in all, it was a great day and we got a lot of back-breaking work done. Now we have to take a day or so to nurse our sore muscles.

The porch framing:

Working hard (see Dan, we really are the ones doing the work).

Lunch break:
Porch flooring is done! What a great day!

Siding

The siding has started. We've had a couple really nice days and we've moved right along. A few more nice days and we'll be done before too long.

The guest room is partially furnished too. Well, I have beds at least.

Wainscoting done!

The dinning room is now surrounded by wainscoting. The added expense was worth it, I love it! Ten years down the road I might do it the rest of the house, but for now this will do.

I had to get a shot of these flowers next to the beautiful green walls.

Moving in!

I officially moved into the house on February 14th. Talk about a big change! The house is still currently "under construction" but my private quarters are 99% done. I just need to hang some pictures and decorate.

Last night we had a nice dinner at my house, finished off with a slice of cake from Sweet Sensations! It was a very nice celebration.

Lucy spent a good deal of time inspecting her new surroundings. She only stayed for the first night so far and will be back once all the sawing and noise making is finished. For such a big change, she did pretty well. I think she'll really like the new house too.

She did miss the outside, but once she's acclimated to her new environment, we will add the cat door.

The trim really looks good and is almost finished, just the wainscoting is left.

My bedroom walls got painted too (2 of them) a nice purple color, its called grappa by Benjamin Moore. I wasn't sure how I'd like it as such a bold color, but it looks wonderful and I am glad I chose it.

Oh, and as promised, here is a shot of the unfinished attic space. Still needs lots of work, but its not high on the priority list right now. It will be a great space however.

Back to homework and enjoying my new home!

Closet, Pantry & Headers

Well, its been a while since I posted, but we haven't been sitting on our laurels, for we have been hard at work doing trim. It all looks the same, but boy, is it time consuming.

Below is a shot of the headers. I think they look fantastic. The little details really do add a lot.

And we started the shelving in the pantry. Not finished yet, but I needed a place to put my Vegemite and my Belgian beer (oops, I drank it already)!

And my closets were put in. Still empty, but not for long!

We have decided, move-in date has been set: February 14! And we are going to celebrate with a chocolate raspberry cake from Sweet Sensations in Rockland! Yum!

So now I need to start boxing up all my stuff to move in. Actually, I already have lots of stuff in the attic (I forgot about the attic ~ stay tuned for pictures).

Boy, do I LOVE THIS HOUSE!

Kitchen Counter

The kitchen counter came in this week and I think it looks great! I have more counter space then I thought. So exciting!

We also painted the dinning room walls. I took a ton of pictures hoping to capture the exact green. This was the closest, but it doesn't really do it justice. It's the best green! No wonder it's my favorite color!

First Meal in the Kitchen!

Well, we spent the day prepping the trim, putting bins on the knots and priming. Its hard work with all that trim in such tight quarters. At least we got to smell something wonderful all day. We broke in my kitchen for the first time. First I had to burn off the stove for about an hour (smelled terrible) then we put a New England Pot Roast in to cook while we were working. Tasted great. Recipe to follow if you want to try.

New England Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 boneless beef chuck arm, shoulder or blade pot roast (4 lbs)

1-2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 jar (8 oz) prepared horseradish

1 cup water (approximate)

1 cup chicken stalk (approximate)

5 small potatoes, cut into quarters
2 small carrots, cut into large chunks

2 small onions, cut into eighths

2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks

1 cup small button mushrooms

Optional herbs:

2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme or 6 fresh sprigs

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Coat in flour. Sear the meat in all sides in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Coat the beef with the horseradish. Pour in the water and chicken stalk until 3/4 covered. Place in a preheated 325 degree oven. At hour one, flip the beef over. At hour 2, add the vegetables and herbs according to your preference. Let cook a total of 3 - 3 1/2 hours, until meat falls apart beautifully. Goes great with steamed cabbage, home-baked artisan dinner french rolls and Blackstone Zinfandel, or any red wine...and lots of it!

Oh yeah, here is a taste of the trim, very much still in progress. We are still waiting on a few more doors before we can aggressively attack this trim job.

Interior Doors

I know I am slacking on this. I will try to be better.

The over-the-range microwave was put in place and it looks good. Still need to be plugged in the next time the electrician is here, but I like it.

The interior doors came and we hung those this past weekend. I know they all look the same, but here they are.

Pantry Doors:

Utility Closet:

Office:

Guest room:

Wow, I think I need a little V8. These pictures are a little crooked.

Getting close to move-in day!

Tiling is now finished and we were able to return 6 boxes of tile!

The grouting is done too! Looks great!

One vanity is in place and ready to be hooked up. I can't wait to have a working bathroom.

The appliances showed up too. Stove will be hooked up tomorrow morning.

The fridge will be going back, as the door is defective. It's a really big fridge too, don't know what I was thinking. It also needs a boost to shrink the gap. I'll come up with something.

The washer and dryer look good. I thought for a moment that they wouldn't fit, but they do.